(……Well then)
Switching my consciousness over to combat.
...Honestly, since their armaments are all the same, I can't tell at a glance who I need to take down. This is pretty confusing, but what should I do──
──That worry was resolved in an instant. Because,
"There he is! The devil incarnate! Kill him no matter what!"
A handful of church soldiers who'd been attacking other church soldiers, the moment they spotted Ermes──immediately changed their expression and charged straight toward him.
...Their behavior was clearly not that of escort soldiers, so taking them out first should be the right call.
"Don't let him use magic! Surround him in close quarters and pound him, and even that devil won't──!"
And it seemed countermeasures against Ermes had been passed down to these church soldiers as well.
Taking them down before they can cast──that's a universal weakness of magic users. While it's harder to pull off against Ermes, there's no doubt it's effective.
...That is, "assuming it's before the Northern Rebellion."
Naturally, he who had overcome that upheaval couldn't possibly remain the same as before.
With that certainty, Ermes drew a breath──and declared.
"Formula Replay──'
Messenger of the Faceless
'"
He released the magic whose Chant he had already completed upon stepping out of the carriage.
The spell he had chosen was,'
Messenger of the Faceless
']. A spell he had prepared in advance, having read that the assailant would likely come at him in close quarters.
Moreover — this was something he had received direct instruction on from Lucius, who shared the same Bloodline Magic, during the three days before their departure. As it happened, they had also sparred during that time... and naturally, without magic, Ermes was completely outclassed and sent tumbling across the ground time and again. Truly, the Hero of the North was a monster beyond what the stories conveyed.
But thanks to that, his mastery of this particular spell deepened to an extraordinary degree.
And above all... after growing accustomed to Lucius's movements, the clumsy charges of the Church soldiers were no different from standing still.
"Guh—" "Wha—gah!?" "Impossible, he's a mage—!"
He didn't let a single finger touch him.
With divine speed and dazzling martial technique, he mowed down the armed Church soldiers one after another without so much as a glance.
In truth, he could have simply scorched them all at once with a high-output spell, but given the difficulty of distinguishing friend from foe, this was the best approach for now. Besides... with opponents of this caliber, there was no reason to struggle.
"Kuh... damn it, he saw through us...! Then we change plans — crush him with firepower! Before he can switch his Chant—!"
"—By the time you say that, it's already too late."
A short while later, the assailant's commander shouted the order, and the Church soldiers' movements shifted.
Just as he had predicted — sure enough.
These Church soldiers had built their tactics around the Ermes who had left the Royal Capital. They had planned to corner him using the same organized military tactics that had pushed him to the brink back then.
The transition was swift. Perhaps the Ermes of before would have been cornered.
...But.
None of that served as any kind of countermeasure — or even useful reference — for the Ermes he was now.
As if to demonstrate exactly that, Ermes continued onward, releasing yet another Chant.
"—[
Shatter
]"
Delayed Chant
.
I read the church soldiers' movements and Chanted once more—
maintaining
the Bloodline Magic I had held in reserve, and unleashed it.
The effect was immediate.
The church soldiers, caught off guard because they didn't expect Ermes to pursue, were struck head-on without any proper defense in place. Since both friend and foe had been identified through the fighting up to this point, the magic bullets hit the enemies with pinpoint accuracy—not a single one went astray.
"Impossible..." "That many, in just an instant..."
These were words from the church soldiers who were on the "allied" side. They were undoubtedly shocked that someone had so easily crushed the very opponents they had been struggling against.
……However, on their faces—not a shred of gratitude for being saved from their predicament.
(……I see, then.)
Confirming once more what he had already largely surmised about their attitude toward him.
Ermes briefly averted his gaze to check on the surrounding situation, but—
(Well, they should be fine.)
There, he could see Katia and the others—like him, putting their abilities to full use as they easily scattered the attackers.
Including Niina, every one of them was a mage worth a thousand. There was nothing to worry about. The problem was……
(……Why had the "church soldiers" attacked at this particular moment?)
Which side was thinking what? What was the difference between the beings who had come to meet them and those who had attacked?
And above all—
— which side was the ally?
……Well,
That was something pointless to dwell on here.
Having reached that conclusion, they regrouped with Katia and the others, who had finished dealing with the hostile church soldiers that had attacked them with clear intent to kill.
Without delay, they headed toward the person in charge—who was glaring at them with undisguised loathing.
"You meddled for nothing...! We could have handled that much on our own!"
It seemed they had no intention of conceding, even out of sheer stubbornness.
The Church truly did prize its authority, as they'd heard. Their attitude of trying to cover up the obvious scandal—"church soldiers attacked by their own during an escort"—and their dismissal of Ermes and the others' aid as "unnecessary interference," despite it clearly being anything but.
That was surely not something they could demand a correction for... and honestly, even forcing a correction would serve no purpose.
Therefore—
"—None of that matters to us."
After checking with those around him—particularly Yurugen and Liliana—Ermes stepped forward.
"Wh-What do you want...!"
And no matter how much they denied it with their mouths—
They had undoubtedly witnessed with their own eyes the real, overwhelming power of Ermes and the others—beings they had probably always regarded with doubt, beings they had reviled as demons.
And so, the slender boy who approached them so casually—who until now had never seemed remotely threatening—now appeared as an utterly terrifying creature.
"What position you hold, what intentions brought you here, whose orders you're following... that's all irrelevant right now. And I doubt you'd tell me the whole truth even if I asked."
Without concealing the intimidation born of being truly understood, Ermes continued in a flat tone.
"We want to reach the Church headquarters, which is why we're on this wagon. We didn't follow your orders—our objective simply happened to align with your actions."
—Which side was holding the initiative?
They had made that abundantly clear—along with the undeniable power to back it up.
"So, we only have one question."
Speaking in a manner that represented the powerful mages behind him, Ermes posed his question.
"You—"
"truly"
"intend to"
"deliver us"
"to the Church?"
"Do you"
"have that intention?"
? If you do, I don't care what you think of us or how you insult us. It truly doesn't matter to me in the slightest."
"Th-that is..."
"If that's the case, we'll docilely allow ourselves to be 'delivered.' However, if that's not the case..."
Ermes raised a finger as if to halt the flustered person in charge.
"—then we'll simply make our own way to Church headquarters. In that case, what will happen to 'you'... I trust I don't need to spell it out?"
"B-behind us, there are...!"
"No matter who's back there, if they get in the way of our objective here, we won't show mercy. ...Ah, one more thing."
He'd rather not say something like this, but—finally, he delivered his last word.
"—We crushed Archbishop Johann. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"...!"
—These people were for real.
They were never the type to cower before authority or anything of the sort. The moment their goals demanded it, they had already steeled themselves to cut down anyone who stood in their way.
"You— you insolent wretches...!"
"How many times must I tell you— I couldn't care less what you call us?"
No matter how desperately he squeezed out a rebuttal, it didn't so much as prick him.
He glanced at the soldiers around him, silently begging for help, but every last one of them had seen what they were capable of just now and was too terrified to move.
"......"
And then, before long—
"......We do intend to take you to the Church headquarters. That much is certain..." he managed to force out the bare minimum of words.
◆
"......I'm sorry. Perhaps I was a bit too heavy-handed with the threats?"
"No, it's fine. Their attitude was clearly far too dismissive of us. Showing that kind of firm stance will pay off down the line."
"Agreed. Besides... ever since then, they haven't said a word to us."
After climbing back into the carriage—
Ermes offered an apology for going too far, but Yurugen and Katia shot it down. The others around us showed no inclination to blame Ermes either.
The effect had been real enough. Just as Ermes said, the soldiers had quietly resumed carrying out their escort duty without a word. None of them approached us. ...You could practically feel the fear radiating off them.
All in all, it was a stroke of luck.
Because now, at long last—we could finally talk in peace.
"...Well then. A great deal of surprising things happened, but—one thing we now know for certain."
With that firmly established, he began again.
Yurugen... laid out the truth that everyone had surely already come to understand.
"There's a schism happening within the Church."
"...That's what I'd expect."
Otherwise, none of it would make sense.
The Church soldiers who had attacked them were the real deal—undoubtedly genuine. That was the assessment of both Sara and Yurugen, so there could be no mistake.
If that was the case, then the Church had split into at least two factions. Infighting had broken out among them, and there was no doubt about it: one faction wanted to invite Ermes and the others to Church Headquarters, while another faction opposed it.
Which side was which, and what exactly was happening? What was the intent behind wanting to invite Ermes and the others—and what was the reason for not wanting them there?
...A mounting pile of things that needed to be confirmed.
"Regardless... choosing to head toward the Church was the right call."
That much, at least, they could all agree on.
As the carriage pressed onward in solemn silence, they discussed the details of what to do next and how to handle the situation ahead.
(The mysteries of the Church, the true identity of that magical tool, the process of the internal schism, and—Genesis Magic.)
It would take roughly two more days to reach Church Headquarters.
Until then, they would have to stay alert for whatever might happen along the way—and Ermes, too, threw himself deep into the thoughts that demanded his attention.
For now, establishing where everyone stood was complete.
Next time—(probably) after a bit of breathing room—they'd be arriving at Church Headquarters. Stay tuned!
Two more days until release!
It seems copies are already on shelves at some stores...!
And now, another highlight of Volume One!
This is likely limited to the first printing, but in addition to extra content...
You can read a "20,000-character bonus web novel" for a limited time!
The content is a past story about Ermes and Katya,
a tale of how Katya came to fall for Ermes.
I think you'll enjoy seeing the two of them in those cute master-servant days!
Combined with the additions, the first printing includes a total of 50,000 characters of brand-new story,
so I'd be absolutely delighted if you'd consider picking it up!
That said, I hope you'll continue to support *Creer of Creation Magic* going forward!