Eighty-Eighth Chapter
The Fierce Search-and-Destroy Operation
Within a certain area of the human domain, a group ran at full speed from shadow to shadow within what little natural forest remained. The sunlight filtering down from the artificial sun pushed away those shadows, stretching from the trees.
All of the trees here seemed miniature compared with the trees of the Outer World. They were once supposed to be a normal size, but in this distorted world, they were now the standard.
Those running through the forest were Fanon and her subordinates. They had two targets—a pair who had abetted violent criminals in their escape from the Trojan Prison as well as inflicted serious damage on the citizens of Clevideet.
The pursued pair included Gordon, the former warden of the Trojan Prison, and his former vice-warden, Suzar. Gordon had been a Double Digit Magicmaster of Clevideet and candidate for the position of Single.
Their elimination was a priority for Clevideet.
Naturally, Fanon, who they had humiliated, had volunteered to hunt them down. She was more than willing to go on a rampage and use the full extent of her abilities. After all, she was the “Hardest Magicmaster,” known for her selfishness and sternness.
However, before the incident, Gordon and Suzar had stolen the latest AWRs from the secret military area Area 90. So Fanon’s real mission was to reclaim the third arm, Barbaros, as well as the newest gun-type AWR, Caligula.
In reality, Fanon had little experience with this type of mission, and if anything, she was bad at them. So in effect, it was her second-in-command, Exceles, who would be in charge of the mission and, as such, carried the heaviest responsibility.
Exceles ran without a trace of exhaustion despite the luggage currently hanging from each shoulder. On one was a cylinder containing the parts for the AWR Three Precept Contradiction, and the other carried a cylindrical case containing an umbrella with a lovely design.
Both were Fanon’s favorites.
Despite appearances, Exceles was anything but calm of mind.
Sheesh, this was supposed to be a secret mission, she thought, but Sir Alus has already seen through almost all of it. I can only hope the top brass will understand that I did what I could...
Even with these thoughts, Exceles moved like the wind.
Eventually the group weaved its way through the dense forest of Alpha and out into the bright light.
At the very least, we have to be the ones to eliminate Gordon and Suzar... Exceles thought.
Exceles knew that by now Alpha should be carrying out a major roundup of the escaped criminals. Regardless of the outcome, it shouldn’t be long before it was all over. Now that Alus Reigin, ranked even higher than Fanon, was on the move to get rid of the escaped criminals, Exceles wanted to at least finish one of their missions.
After all, if Alpha intervened even more, they might get in the way of this mission’s success. That said, since Alus had most likely seen through their mission being only to recover their AWRs, there was no time to casually consult with Clevideet on how to proceed. It was now a battle of speed.
Seeing Exceles’s face cloud over, another female member behind her frowned and spoke up.
“Aren’t we too obedient to Ms. Felinella? Sure, it was a dangerous situation that could have increased tensions between our nations back there...but aren’t we the ones who should be thanked?”
The Magicmaster who was half complaining and half asking was one of Fanon’s loyal subordinates. Her name was Lurier, and she was no less free-spirited than Fanon.
She had taken a hit from Loki Leevehl when they had encountered Alpha’s rank 1, Alus Reigin. Loki’s overly sharp kick had struck her in the arm, but the wound had already fully healed. However, she couldn’t keep herself from moving her arm from time to time to confirm her sensation.
Fanon, who was running in the front of their formation, didn’t bother answering and instead gave Exceles an exasperated look.
So Exceles said, “Don’t say that. Alpha’s Second Magical Institute came under attack, and Lady Fanon can’t well show off the full power of her Three Precept Contradiction.”
“But...Ms. Felinella is just a student, isn’t she? We should be fine, right?” asked Lurier.
“We’re talking about Lord Socalent’s daughter. That’s not going to fly. We will give Felinella Socalent nothing to use against us. If we were to show her a national secret like the Three Precept Contradiction, we would need to gain something of equal value. Otherwise it won’t be worth it, and I doubt we would hear the end of it from the top brass,” said Exceles.
The Three Precept Contradiction consisted of three parts, but only one of them was top secret, while the secrecy of the other two was one step lower. But Clevideet and Alpha weren’t close enough to reveal secrets for free.
Unusually, there were currently male Magicmasters in Fanon’s group with them. They were all dead silent, as they had no say. Or more accurately, they restrained themselves from saying anything unnecessary.
But Exceles could sense that they were not satisfied with the situation either. It wasn’t hard to understand how they felt, having just come back from the Outer World and then being dragged into this troublesome mission.
As if representing their inner thoughts, Lurier asked again, “But for example, what would be something of equal value?”
With Exceles around, the others could be truly carefree. They had clearly paid no attention to political affairs since they didn’t have to deal with foreign negotiations. But as someone in charge of them, Exceles felt a need to educate them.
“Well, that would be secrets regarding their own Magicmasters,” the Spotter said. “Alpha’s Lettie Kultunca obviously has a lower rank than Lady Fanon. So it would need to pertain to Alus Reigin...more specifically his weaknesses or habits, I suppose. Anything that would give us an ace card to use against him would be most welcome.”
Exceles paused and looked at Fanon. She probably felt the same way. They had caught a glimpse of the power wielded by the Magicmaster who stood at their peak, but there had been no end in sight to the depths of it. His mysterious magical properties were particularly interesting to Exceles, both as a Spotter and as a Magicmaster who fought on the front lines.
Even without favoritism, it was clear that the Singles above rank 4 were all unimaginable monsters.
“If we, at the very least, had information on what attribute he specializes in or his AWR...” Exceles stopped there. Or rather, she let out a sigh.
Frankly, he wouldn’t let them get such information easily. And unless he let them have the information, it was pointless to even hold any hope. Exceles could read people, and she had come to that understanding after their short discussion.
The boy was sharp and had unfathomable insight...and then there was the situation they were in. No matter what they tried, the scales were heavily tipped in the other side’s favor.
Seeing how meek Exceles was, Lurier nonchalantly spoke.
“In short, petty tricks are pointless. But from what I saw he was just some big-headed brat. I’m sure someone as beautiful as you are has other means at your disposal. Maybe you could get something if you stripped off your clothes and showed each other your private parts and genitals under the cover of night? You have nothing to lose so it would be all profits!” Lurier smugly exclaimed like she’d just proposed a brilliant idea.
Exceles couldn’t help but be stunned. “Can you not talk about matters of national importance using your virtueless sensibilities? In fact, who do you think you are, selling off your second-in-command so casually...?”
“Oh, come on, it was just a simple suggestion. Well, it is a matter of national interest... Also, I was thinking that maybe Lady Fanon is more his type.” Lurier smiled innocently as if she was brilliant.
Exceles failed to hide the surprised expression that crossed her face.
Some of the male Magicmasters found themselves frowning at Lurier’s overly frank manner of speaking and looked away.
“Are you really the type to say that kind of thing?” Exceles asked.
“Oh, well, you see, I wanted to say something clever... When I overheard you and Lady Fanon negotiate, I found myself strangely inspired,” Lurier explained.
“Just whose influence is this, I wonder. I don’t care what you say,” said Exceles, “but please try to show some class outside of the squad. We wouldn’t want to be blamed for something you say... Isn’t that right, Lady Fanon?”
But contrary to expectations, Fanon didn’t react immediately. Instead, she waited a beat, then glared at Lurier over her shoulder. “Private parts and genitals... Should I consider those your last words?”
Her tone was harsh, but it was hard to tell from her expression if she was angry or embarrassed. She was probably angry, though...all the while hiding her maidenly embarrassment at having imagined the scene.
“It’s just a figure of speech, Lady Fanon. You know, like a ‘honey trap.’ It’s an old strategy...” Exceles made excuses while Lurier apologized and skillfully lowered her head while sprinting.
Fanon herself lacked experience and imagination and had little knowledge of matters between men and women. Incidentally, Fanon’s sexual knowledge was only at a child’s level because Exceles and some members of the unit had been sure to give her an ultra-pure education. Her subsequent hatred of men had been a miscalculation.
Exceles cleared her throat to attempt to ease the strange atmosphere before continuing. “That said, our opponent is a problem. Lord Socalent’s experience will only work against us in an information battle.”
At best, they could show their earnest sincerity. As one could expect from someone with a background in the intelligence field, he was a cut above when it came to trickery. In fact, their conversation with Vizaist had left them more mentally drained than anything else that had happened recently.
Exceles sighed and her shoulders slumped. She never wanted to be seated at the negotiating table again, having to try to hide their circumstances and weaknesses.
“Well, let’s get back on topic,” said Exceles. “I told Ms. Felinella about the attack on the Institute because we both served to profit from it. As a result, she ended up returning to the Institute faster than she had planned.”
“Aye.” The squad members nodded, coming to the conclusion that it was all a matter of perspective.
Fanon, at the front of the formation, suddenly raised her hand to signal the rest of the squad.
“I’ve found it!” she said. “If you want to idly gossip, save it for after we’ve cleaned those two up. Exceles, ensure that our formation and coordination isn’t disrupted. Not that there’s any idiot who would stray from my barriers. As for your suggestion, you’ve finished the preparations for that, haven’t you?”
“Of course, the preparations are perfect.”
“As for the aftermath, after using that, tell the people back home that they’ll regret it if they screw up the information concealment,” said Fanon.
“Excuse me, Lady Fanon. I’ve made sure to threaten them with a three-day solo exercise in the Outer World if they get directly involved,” said Exceles.
Fanon’s subordinates shuddered hearing that. One of them even noted that they would obviously die from that.
“That’s what it takes. Otherwise the men back home won’t put in the necessary work,” Exceles said as if she had a screw loose.
To some, that was just how important the mission was.
“You’re a second-in-command that I can rely on,” said Fanon.
With Fanon herself paying compliments to that insane statement, they were once again reminded of the kind of conditions their squad operated under. It might sound strange, but as fellow countrymen, they couldn’t help but feel gratitude toward their fellow comrades in arms who would be in charge of cleaning up the aftermath.
Incidentally, Fanon was exceptionally soft on female squad members, so even on the battlefield, the male Magicmasters ended up taking ninety percent of any blame.
While they were stuck in such an unreasonable squad and put through hell, the male Magicmasters were naturally trained to become the best of the best, so maybe it was for the best after all.
“They’ll notice us soon. Exceles, let’s get started,” said Fanon.
“Okay!”
They were currently right on the border of Alpha and Clevideet. Fanon’s squad had been running down the border in the direction of the Outer World.
“The closest village or city is at least thirty kilometers away, Lady Fanon,” said Exceles.
“I know that.”
Exceles read Fanon’s intentions and gave instructions to the squad as they vigilantly pursued their targets Gordon and Suzar. They adjusted their speed to each other and kept a certain distance from each other... It was thanks to Exceles that they could maintain such a precise distance.
Fanon nodded at the report coming from one of the men and swiftly swung a hand down.
“Lady Fanon, please don’t provoke Alpha too much by being too flashy within the country! Enemy coming from the front!” Exceles shouted.
Immediately afterward, a chilling grazing sound rang out as something flew directly in front of them at high speed—a magic bullet, fired by Suzar from the stolen AWR Caligula.
Fanon quickly stepped forward and used her AWR to swat it away. With sparks of magical light, the magic bullet changed direction and then burrowed into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Fanon’s AWR was no longer made with a frilly and cute cloth. Now eight thin magic plates created an umbrella.
A bright light emitted from the magical plates and eight diamond-shaped plates broke away to spread out through the area. The umbrella that had been protecting Fanon now floated around, forming a circle around her.
This was one part of the Three Precept Contradiction: Aegis System.
“Don’t think the same attack will work twice against the world’s Hardest Magicmaster!” Fanon proclaimed, staring fearlessly into the trees far away.
She held up her AWR, which was supporting her enormous mana output. Her powerful AWR was no longer just the shaft of an umbrella, but a commander for eight royal guards. The mana emanating from it spread behind her like a feather with a long tail.
With this it doesn’t matter where the attacker is hiding. When faced with the Aegis System, they will flee in fear as any means of attack will fail, thought Exceles.
With a single glance, Exceles could tell that Fanon had changed modes. No magic would work against the AWR. Because it focused on nothing but defense, the Aegis System was unparalleled at protecting against physical attacks and magic.
Therefore, it was only obvious it could repel a magic bullet. While she was convinced of that, Exceles still found herself amazed at the power of the AWR.
The AWR’s main body was the eight plates, all engraved with magic formulas. When detached from the shaft they could move autonomously and flexibly adapt a formation.
That said, the biggest strength of this system is not its defensive power. Rather it is its excellent information accumulation ability thanks to its advanced automatic program... thought Exceles.
The plates were not just excellent shields. They were also the pinnacle of information analysis. They were equipped with a special formula that allowed them to automatically analyze the current battle situation and coordinate with each other to optimally deploy barriers. On top of that, they instantly analyzed any magic that touched them, and they could even reveal the process of its formula composition.
Combined with Fanon’s abilities to read the battle, they could react to any attack without delay and create a variety of barriers to give her an absolute advantage.
As long as she had that system, Fanon would always stand at the top of Single Digit Magicmasters when it came to defense. Even as Exceles was thinking about that, several more gunshots came from the direction they were advancing to.
Tearing through the air, the magic bullets headed straight for Fanon. It seemed these bullets were loaded with a different formula from the first one. They exploded midair before reaching the barrier, creating a barrage of fragments to stall Fanon and the others.
It was next to impossible to see...but not a single member of the squad adopted defensive measures. Instead they advanced at the same speed.
More magic bullets came flying, and the Aegis System detected and reacted to them. The eight plates slid forward and deployed the same duplicate barrier, creating a giant dome-shaped shield without any gaps.
But these magic bullets were made to explode before touching the barrier. They split into several small fragments and deployed some sort of small mana reflector between them. It was a hail of bullets using ricochets to try to circumvent the divine shield and make their way inside.
At first it was just a few bullets, but now a swarm of thousands attacked Fanon and her squad. The explosive bullet was called Biamma.
In theory, these bullets set up multiple reflectors around the target to contain it within the area of destruction. Through numerous ricochets and small explosions, a hail of bullets overran the area from all directions.
However, after a single look at it, Exceles understood the spell’s structure.
It is certainly powerful. Caligula’s magic bullet-loading system works so well with magic, thought Exceles.
No individual bullet had that much mana within it, but they were well thought-out and well conceived. In particular, it was difficult for normal magic to replicate their capability to handle multiple spells between setting up the reflectors and the exploding bullets. That’s why the synergy of the magic formula engraved on the AWR’s barrel and the bullet was Caligula’s true value.
But even then—
Fanon’s squad was perfectly fine under the protection of the Aegis System. When combined with Fanon’s brain, it was a true marvel.
Seeing the complicated behavior of the magic bullets, Fanon agitatedly swung the shaft of the umbrella, causing the deployed barriers to expand. The fragments and reflectors were caught up in the expansion and blown away.
Fanon coldly glanced at it like it was a petty trick. “We still have some leeway. Exceles, hurry them along.”
“Understood.”
Exceles immediately nodded and looked over at Lurier with some apprehension. The girl’s words and actions sometimes left Exceles uneasy, but she was one of the squad’s most-skilled members.
‹‹Lander the Box››
In the next moment, the white barrier Fanon had created appeared far ahead of them. It was a rectangular box with fifty-meter-long sides. But it was just an inorganic floating cube with no entrance or exit.
Then, the umbrella shaft in Fanon’s hand started heating up from the magic formula and the box fell with the force of a meteorite.
“I will do my best to match you, Lady Fanon!” said Lurier as she readied her mana with great enthusiasm. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and the edges of her lips twisted upward.
“Burn down!”
‹‹Flame Cradle››
After she finished constructing her spell, flames wrapped around Lurier’s arms. She didn’t mind the tail of fire licking her cheek, though, and brought her palms together. As she did, the flames disappeared and instead a large fire erupted from within Fanon’s spell far in the distance.
Normally, spells would fiercely clash and only combine if the casters and attribute had good compatibility and both casters were very precise with their magic. But unlike ordinary magic, Fanon’s barriers didn’t have an attribute, so it was not subject to interference by other spells.
The flames surrounded the white box and turned into a roaring fire, but ultimately the massive heat dissipated until it was just a small fire at the bottom of the box that was eventually snuffed out. However, the trees that had been seared by the heat now sent smoke and steam into the air.
The distant fire would serve as a smoke screen... It would stall the target without interfering with Fanon’s own spell.
“Haaah... That really used up a lot of mana,” Lurier said, her shoulders slumping and her speed dropping.
“Well done. Our chances of catching our target will be greatly improved now...although I suppose you could say that you’ve managed to bring out Lady Fanon’s sadistic side. So you should reflect on your actions,” Exceles said with a wink, to which Lurier could only reply with an “Okaaay” and a dry smile.
Exceles studied their opponent from afar with her detection and glanced at Fanon. “It was a success, Lady Fanon. They have been stopped.”
Fanon nodded in satisfaction.
“Try not to be crushed so easily!” Fanon barked happily, increasing her speed even more and feeling like a hunter who’d driven her prey into a trap.
A huge mass was slowly descending on Gordon and Suzar. But it was covered in white smoke. By the time they noticed, it ought to be too late for them to escape and they would end up being crushed.
Incidentally, it was exceptionally solid. Lander the Box was composed of a single magic formula engraved on the umbrella’s shaft. No adjustments could be made to it, but that made the resulting barrier much sturdier. Aside from the Three Precept Contradiction, there weren’t many barriers that could exceed it in strength.
Next, Fanon swung the shaft down with a snap, and with a tremor, the giant mass rapidly fell.
A dozen seconds later...a cloud of dirt and smoke still lingered in the air.
“Hello, you two sewer rats. How does it feel to be crushed?” Suppressing her racing heart, Fanon triumphantly announced in a voice one octave higher than usual.
She thought her spell might have been too hearty for an hors d’oeuvre, but...
As the wind blew, the two targets appeared from the smoke. Both gave Fanon a detestable look. They had just barely dodged the spell.
Gordon must have used his AWR to secure their escape. Barbaros was a frightening tool. Its massive palm had held up the cube to allow Suzar to escape before he pushed it back enough to jump away himself.
But they weren’t completely unscathed. Gordon fell to one knee, a portion of his face burned by the heat. Suzar was crouching down and holding his military cap to keep it on his head.
Having escaped first, Suzar had focused his fire on a corner of the falling cube to tilt it. By doing that, he’d created a small gap to help the larger man.
As a result, they had retreated slightly from their original position...just as Fanon had planned. By the time they spotted the hidden Lander the Box, their path of retreat was restricted. They couldn’t escape to the sides or straight ahead, so they had no choice but to jump backward.
Fanon had adjusted the falling speed and angle to force them into making the rational move one might expect from former military personnel.
There were no private residences or bases around them now. It was a truly favorable location. With that, the first stage of Fanon’s preparations was complete.
“I was planning on killing you if we met again,” Gordon brazenly spat out as he slowly stood up. “But to think you’d come to get killed of your own accord, it must have been very humiliating for you.”
With a creaking sound, he opened and closed the fist on Barbaros, the AWR integrated with his spine. It hadn’t been long since he first put the AWR on, but he handled it exceptionally well.
Fanon was unfazed by the taunt, maintaining an eerily calm smile.
“Humiliating? Ah, I suppose it might have been. But from now on it’s a simple pest extermination. There’s nothing I’d rather crush than a bug scurrying in front of me.”
Suzar let out a snicker at that. His cold eyes looked as if he pitied a child putting on a brave front.
“So a Magicmaster who hit the bottom is coming back with friends in tow for revenge? It seems you’ve forgotten to appreciate the life you were given.”
As he said this, Suzar’s hand moved at lightning speed and he fired a magic bullet from Caligula so fast it was hard to tell when he had shot it.
The shot was focused on utmost speed and precision to pierce its target without them even realizing. It was a compressed air bullet, an Invisible Bullet.
There wasn’t even the sound of gunfire, just the sound of whipping wind.
Faced with that invisible threat, Fanon simply took a step forward. Though she made no noticeable movement of the umbrella, a translucent barrier deployed in front of her and blocked the attack.
She took one more step and another, continuing to walk as if to say nobody could halt her advance.
The squad members chose to stay behind. They had been strictly ordered not to intervene so that the captain could get her revenge personally.
“Oh, that stick... So you had your own AWR too. You were nothing but a letdown last time. But I assumed you would lock yourself in your room to cry, so why are you showing your face now?” There was still plenty of confidence in Gordon’s deep voice along with the ridicule. “I don’t particularly enjoy bullying the weak...but I suppose I will kill you. But in consideration of your foolhardiness, I’ll snuff you out quickly.”
Fanon showed no anger at his words. She just continued to walk...until she finally stopped.
“Bring it, small fry.”
Fanon beckoned Gordon over with her index finger, and he seemed to disappear.
Barbaros’s massive muscles scratched the ground, giving Gordon a burst of speed, which was further increased by him kicking off the ground. He pressed in on Fanon in the blink of an eye.
Midair, Barbaros’s black wrist began to bend, gathering power like a drawn bowstring. At the same time, the magic stone in the center of its massive palm clad its claws in a bluish-purple light.
‹‹Vercival››
Massive mana gathered in the black iron claws, and Barbaros transformed it into a different aspect of power.
The eight shields of the Aegis System formed in front of Fanon, creating a series of barriers to protect their master. When Barbaros’s claws touched the barrier, the mana spread into it like an electric discharge.
It was a mighty blow.
However, Fanon didn’t bat an eye despite Gordon being right in front of her. At some point, she had stabbed the umbrella shaft into the ground. Trusting in her absolute defense, she took it all in stride and looked for opportunities to counterattack.
“Ugh?!” Gordon’s expression finally showed a tinge of panic as the result he’d expected didn’t pan out. He’d been confident a single blow from Barbaros could destroy any barrier, physical or magical. The magic stone in its palm, once activated and glowing, was supposed to crush magic itself regardless of how it was formed. It was supposed to be an unstoppable spear...nothing was supposed to be able to block it.
After all, it was a miraculous AWR, the product of Clevideet’s knowledge. It had been sealed away for a long time because they hadn’t been able to find a user, but Gordon hadn’t only been a candidate for the position of Single but also a candidate to become its user.
It had been impossible for man to use because of the strain it put on the user’s body, but Gordon alone, with his strong body, was the exception. To overcome that, he’d taken the extreme measure of implanting the base of the AWR directly into his body. A tool beyond human knowledge could only be handled by a Magicmaster beyond human knowledge.
But now Barbaros was making strange noises, not as the result of two equal powers clashing. Instead it sounded like the monstrous AWR was letting out some sort of scream. Then the giant arm was repelled, and the pressure of the barrier blew Gordon’s large frame sideways.
He immediately used Barbaros to grab the ground and stop himself, but not before a considerable distance between him and Fanon had opened. He stood up and shouted with a quiver in his throat, “Impossible! Barbaros was made to be an unstoppable spear!”
Gordon poured enough strength into his sturdy body that blood vessels showed, then unleashed a storm of mana. Exceles, who was calmly watching the scene from behind Fanon, analyzed the information with a thoughtful expression.
Gordon’s remark: an unstoppable spear. That was probably the truth. In the past, Clevideet had focused its efforts on creating a peerless AWR using meteor metal. Exceles had heard rumors of the nation starting a project to produce an unstoppable spear and an unbreakable shield.
Even someone as well informed as Exceles hadn’t heard that the project had been successful, but surely Fanon’s Aegis System was a product of that research, which meant that a spear must exist as well. And Exceles was now convinced that Barbaros was what Clevideet had imagined as their unstoppable spear.
Which means...
Exceles furrowed her brow and began to think. Immediately, a bluish-black bruise stretched from her throat to chin. This greatly expanded her senses as a Spotter, allowing her to analyze and understand targets with unparalleled precision. It was a power unique to her, and she had no choice but to use that trump card to perceive a realm of magic that normal Magicmasters couldn’t recognize.
The project to create a pair of the strongest AWRs, an unstoppable spear and an unbreakable shield, the Paradox Project, must have finished Fanon’s shield first. As for the spear, it was unclear when it had been made, but based on the pre-mission details sent by the top brass as well as what Exceles’s detection was picking up on Barbaros...
The spear, Barbaros, was probably created later. Which means...!
When she realized that, a chill ran down Exceles’s spine. During development, experiments must have used detailed data from each other, which meant that the order of their creation was the key to everything.
If the shield had been completed first and they had used the data from it to finish creating the spear...Barbaros might be able to break through the Aegis System.
In that case, it might have a mechanism to destroy the barrier!
Exceles dashed to get in front of Fanon. The rest of the squad sensed something as well and started moving to protect Fanon.
“Exceles and the rest of you, you don’t have to do anything,” said Fanon. And with a whoosh, she swung the umbrella shaft sideways and stopped her squad.
“But Barbaros might have been made specifically to pierce through the Aegis System! It must have some sort of trick!” said Exceles.
“Well, I will accept that possibility,” Fanon casually replied, leaving Exceles aghast.
“Y-You realized?”
“It’s the kind of thing you could expect from the top, or rather, the kind of people who prioritize crisis management,” said Fanon. “And considering our ruler’s personality, they would keep a guarantee in store. If the Three Precept Contradiction was the nation’s only trump card, it wouldn’t make sense for that old bastard to relinquish it to me so easily. I’m the only one who can use the Three Precept Contradiction, so it’s easy to imagine that he would hide a means to break the shield, just in case. That old bastard doesn’t fully trust anyone.”
“But to think that he would conceal an AWR with so much power... Fusing the base of an AWR into the body like that is forbidden by international law. And I bet it’s too insane of a thing for anyone but that lump muscle to handle anyways. Pfft, well, just watch. Our ruler will ultimately have failed to do anything of national importance.”
Fanon gave Exceles an amused smile before turning back to Gordon with a surly look. To the onlookers she looked like a reliable captain.
“I understand. Then we will watch your fight until the end, Lady Fanon.” Exceles bowed and stepped back.
She was ready to protect Fanon at any cost if something were to happen, but now she felt that her fear had been groundless. That said, she was still the squad’s second-in-command. Unlike the other squad members, her pride wouldn’t allow her to sit by and do nothing.
The bruise once again spread to Exceles’s right cheek. It covered half her beautiful face, excluding only her right eye.
Fanon glanced over her shoulder with a worried gaze, but Exceles wouldn’t relent on this. Analyzing and conveying useful information was the reason she was here. As she tried to focus, a magic bullet trailing a tail of mana light cut through the air and approached.
Suzar wasn’t about to miss an opening. But he hadn’t aimed at Fanon or Exceles; he’d aimed at another squad member, who also easily blocked it. However, this time a violent impact roared when the bullet struck the barrier. While the force of destruction didn’t make its way into the barrier, the vibrations shook the air and made the squad members instinctively cover their ears.
“An amplification of the impact. That must be the antiphysical barrier bullet Soldora! Lady Fanon, cover your ears!” said Exceles.
Exceles avoided the danger by focusing her mana to her ears. She shouted to Fanon and received a fearless reply.
“Barrier manipulation is my specialty. Blocking the sound from reaching my ears is simple, don’t worry. Still, what an annoying interruption.”
A short distance away, right before firing his next bullet, Suzar clicked his tongue and stopped, looking up at the sky.
A huge shadow suddenly covered his face. A giant cube, created by Fanon with a wave of her hand, was rapidly closing in. Even as it fell, it continued to expand, increasing in mass. As the shadow grew darker, Suzar leaped to the side to retreat out of range of the attack.
The cube crashed into the ground, causing a tremor and kicking up more dirt. Having managed to get out of the way in the nick of time, Suzar was gasping for breath as he stood up.
Realizing he wouldn’t be able to dodge in time if he continued as he’d been doing, he used the explosive bullet, Biamma, to further propel himself away—it only cost the burned edges of his clothes.
While the move injured him, his quick-wittedness showed he should not be taken lightly. His gun-type AWR, Caligula, and its magic bullets were designed specifically for combat against Magicmasters.
Naturally, as a Spotter, Exceles would be no match for him. If she used distraction tactics, she’d have a bigger chance of winning against Gordon than Suzar. The only one who might be able to fight him one-on-one aside from Fanon was Lurier.
Exceles stared vigilantly at Suzar, who only gave her a doubtful glance in return.
“Handling Biamma so well, as well as understanding the effect of Soldora. How the hell did you and Fanon Trooper know?” he asked.
“Did you forget where you stole that from? We have all the prior data on the magic Caligula can fire,” Exceles said.
“I see. Naturally you would,” the villain responded. “But it seems you are a little too conceited. Knowledge you’ve gotten from reading documents and from seeing it for yourself are two completely different things. In the Trojan Prison, a guard who only judges prisoners by their outward appearance won’t live long.”
Fanon laughed mockingly at Suzar’s haughty attitude. “It doesn’t matter if I knew ahead of time or not. No matter how many little tricks you have, a weakling is a weakling. You underestimate Singles too much, former vice-warden. It seems being a prison guard is an easy job where all you have to do is bark all the time.”
Fanon redeployed her barrier. Yet another white cube fell toward the men: Gordon, who’d finally managed to get back up, and Suzar, who was vigilantly wielding his gun.
Exceles looked around with a furrowed brow. She’d have preferred to avoid duking it out within Alpha’s borders, especially seeing the aftermath of the attacks. The ground was deformed, the forest’s trees snapped in half, with smoke coming from some of them.
Exceles could only pray that there wouldn’t be any more damage. She hoped this would end the battle as she watched over her captain’s battle with the rest of the squad. Her face showed melancholy for some time.
As for the three facing off on the battlefield...
While the cube fell toward Gordon and Suzar, Fanon immediately set up for her next move. She raised one of her hands and Aegis moved in response. Three of its plates deployed to the left and generated a barrier using a different formula.
Gordon’s huge armor, which was intercepting them, moved eerily. Stretching out a giant finger, its tip transformed into a shape reminiscent of the tip of a spear.
As expected of a spear, he was planning to break through a single point.
The tip of the finger had just changed shape, but it seemed oddly fitting.
It seemed to be the embodiment of Barbaros’s true power.
Seeing that transformation, Exceles analyzed what Gordon was after and shouted out, “That spear shape... If it penetrates, it will cancel the spell entirely! Lady Fanon!”
Hearing her panicked voice, Gordon fearlessly bellowed, “You’re too late! This is where the true fun begins. Now, show me the power of a Single!!!”
The overly dense mana twisted space, making the air shimmer like a heat haze. All Magicmasters present got goose bumps, and their hair stood on end.
Gordon had once been a candidate for the Single position, and his power hadn’t declined in the slightest. He still had the strength to be worthy of the position. At the very least, his amount of mana rivaled any first-rate Magicmaster.
But while Fanon heard Exceles’s warning, she didn’t take any special measures.
Barbaros, now with all of its fingers turned into clawlike spears, clashed with Aegis. Just after Fanon had set up her defense with three of the plates, an air-ripping sound came from Gordon’s side.
Suzar had fired an Invisible Bullet through the slight gap in the Aegis, and it was flying toward Fanon’s face.
Fanon used her umbrella shaft to block the Invisible Bullet.
Kuh! What force! Fanon thought.
The force blew back Fanon’s guard and arm. At the same time, the compressed air burst, numbing her right hand.
Gordon mercilessly followed up with an attack of his own using Barbaros. However, Aegis had already finished the construction of its barrier and lay ready.
The sound of their clash rang out. Sparks of mana flashed and the mana particles dispersed as if evaporating. They held their breath because the clash between spear and shield, while only lasting a few seconds, felt like an eternity.
Fanon let the barrier take the onslaught as she leisurely stood there. She looked at the spear tips through the barrier and poured more mana into that barrier.
As Aegis’s radiance increased, Barbaros’s spears heated up, glowing red.
“Ugh! Not yet! I still have more! I can’t—I won’t acknowledge a snotty little brat like you is a Single!” yelled Gordon.
Barrier versus claws. The points of contact shone with an abnormal brilliance, as if all color had been blown away and only white remained.
Gordon let out another roar and the air shook with a shrill sound as he poured all his power into the unstoppable spear. Even so, Barbaros didn’t so much as bite into the barrier.
Gordon had secretly calculated that this would become a battle of endurance. As long as he didn’t run out of mana first, he would be able to break through eventually, but now he feared his calculation had been incorrect. Aegis remained so sturdy that he began to doubt himself.
Meanwhile, Fanon had overwhelming confidence in Aegis, which she continued to pour mana into while also fending off Suzar. She used three of the remaining five plates to cut off his line of fire.
Suzar clicked his tongue and tried to get around them, but Aegis stuck to him like glue, blocking him from shooting. Running out of patience, Suzar forcibly fired off a shot.
His Biamma created a violent firestorm bouncing off of the barrier.
Fanon furrowed her brow and raised a single finger from the umbrella shaft and bent it. Two shadows ran past her at high speed: Lurier and a male Magicmaster.
The Aegis System and its plates naturally had substance, but the barriers they created could allow magic from the inside to pass through without interference to a certain degree.
By utilizing that characteristic, they could launch one-sided attacks from behind the barrier.
The male Magicmaster moved ahead, with Lurier backing him up. He swung his AWR, a large sword, at Suzar, but the tip stopped two meters away from him. At the exact same time, the three plates split and created a gap in the middle, like a pathway. Just moments before his sword touched the ground, the squad members had poured ninety percent of their mana into it to produce a wind slash.
Although it was a quick move, Suzar dodged it with amazing reflexes and protected his face with his arms. The Wind Thrust hit the Lander the Box that Fanon had set up past him, causing the blast to scatter in all directions.
Even as the blast washed over him and he lost his balance, Suzar pointed the barrel of Caligula at the male Magicmaster and poured strength into the trigger. His eyes narrowed as he gazed into the gap in Aegis.
He’d poured more than enough mana in; all he needed to do was pull the trigger.
But in that moment, Suzar’s eyes drifted away from the gap and he unhesitatingly pointed the barrel in a different direction—toward Lurier, who was approaching from another direction.
Lurier stamped her foot down to dash in when she found the barrel pointed directly at her. Even with the male Magicmaster’s cooperation, she had been unable to take Suzar by surprise. However, there was no fear on her face. She gathered what mana she had left into her right hand.
Using her expert-level spell Flame Cradle, she planned to do everything in her power to complete her mission.
The scent of death lay thick between the two. The instant was stretched out, feeling like an eternity.
Suzar had his finger on the trigger about to fire a magic bullet, so with no time to think, Lurier acted on reflex and raised her right hand high as if scooping the ground. Her lack of hesitation made Suzar’s eyes grow even colder, any and all emotions disappearing.
The next moment, Lurier’s flaming red mana covered her arm as if exploding.
“‹‹Hiyaus Donoa››”
Next, she opened her palm and unleashed the flames of hell all at once. The ground turned to lava; everything else burned to ash.
Before the Flame Cradle could reach him, Suzar fired a magic bullet that stopped it. Mana clashed with mana as the magic bullet Soldora spun and emitted a shock wave strong enough to rattle your brain. Faced with the heat of Lurier’s spell, the bullet neither melted or collapsed. Instead it continued to rotate and emit unbearable vibrations.
“You little!” Lurier desperately tried to hold on as her arm was pushed back, but her shoulders couldn’t take the enormous amount of mana required to maintain her balance. The magic bullet seemed to sense she’d reached her limit and burst.
The impact knocked out the flames around her arm and blew Lurier’s body back. Fortunately, the male Magicmaster from before managed to catch her, but it didn’t look like she would be able to fight anymore. She had only a paltry amount of mana left, so any further fighting would be suicide.
Her temporary partner had put his all into the previous Wind Thrust. After catching Lurier, he was breathing heavily as they looked at Suzar. Through the smoke and ash, they could see he’d fallen to one knee, but only because of the kickback from firing the magic bullet. He didn’t seem badly damaged from the blast and stood up quickly.
Seeing that, Lurier bit her lip.
“You did well, considering your remaining mana,” said Exceles.
At some point, Exceles had come to console them, but it only made Lurier feel their difference in ability more clearly. She’d done everything she could, but it seemed her chance encounter with Loki before had made a significant impact, because she didn’t have enough mana. So her Hiyaus Donoa only had about half as much power as usual.
Suzar must have read as much and fired a magic bullet that was neither too strong nor too weak. It would do the least amount of damage, but he could take advantage of the blast to get away.
Lurier gritted her teeth, but Exceles tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, “Like I said, all you had to do was keep him from interfering. Thanks to you we’re about done here.”
Exceles looked over at Fanon and Gordon. While they looked evenly matched, the battle was about to enter a new stage.
In the end, it was Fanon, not Gordon, who broke the balance. She fearlessly smiled as she emitted an enormous amount of mana, making Aegis shine even brighter. Gordon was stunned by what he saw. Aegis had answered Fanon’s mana, and two more plates joined the three existing ones.
“I don’t even need to use all eight of them. You are fundamentally and hopelessly wrong. There was never any way you’d stand a chance against me with that amount of mana.”
Once she finished speaking, the barrier created by the five plates let out a small groan. The geometrical patterns of mana drawn in the air were expanding further, and it was clear from just a glance that the barrier had become even stronger.
“Guh?! D-Don’t mess with me... This is the unstoppable spear! There’s nothing that it can’t pierce! What I desired can do even better than this!!!” Gordon exclaimed.
But eventually Aegis’s barrier finished optimizing. Barbaros was repelled and Gordon’s body was blown away. He rolled across the ground, gouging out pieces as he went.
Suzar ran up to him. “It looks like you’re having a hard time.”
“Ugh.” Gordon ignored Suzar and finally pushed himself back up. He was bleeding quite a bit. His forehead was covered in blood, and scars covered his sturdy body.
“Unforgivable. Unforgivable!!!” Gordon howled, his veins popping as he coldly stared at Fanon.
“This is what happens if I get just a little serious? It’s so one-sided, it’s boring. Also, don’t start screaming because you got sent flying. It’s annoying,” taunted the Hardest Magicmaster.
“Shut up, I will evaluate you! I will be the one to decide whether to recognize your power! It’s the same here as in the Trojan Prison. I am the all-powerful arbiter!” Gordon yelled, still willing to fight, his face distorted in anger. “It seems I’m going to have to kill you after all. Yes, I will have to kill you, no matter what,” Gordon muttered as if to convince himself.
In order to affirm himself, or rather all of his values, the arrogant giant of a man was finally acknowledging Fanon as his mortal enemy. In the past, he had been Clevideet’s pride, a Magicmaster of great ability and a potential future Single.
But that had all changed once this woman appeared. He fell from his position and was given the questionable post as warden of a secret prison. He had been forced to give up his rank and was not even allowed to call himself a Magicmaster when his days of watching over dirty prisoners began.
“I have worked so hard for my country for all of my life! Why do I have to be overtaken by a little girl like you?! I will kill you and prove that I was right! And I will deal with the top brass afterward too!”
Even as Gordon was cursing and grumbling, the mana around him was growing denser. Finally, a determined Gordon spoke up. “...Suzar, give me a hand. We’re going to do that.”
And Suzar emotionlessly answered, “Understood. Frankly, I’m relieved it didn’t end up being left unused. Against such a formidable foe as this, it is certainly worth it.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will be much more useful than firing at the trash that is the top brass! Ha ha, I wasn’t wrong! This is far more enjoyable than following Dante’s plot!” said Gordon.
“I agree,” said Suzar.
Fanon’s high-pitched laughter interrupted their exchange. “Aha ha ha ha ha ha... I was wondering what your problem was, but that was it? You were just jealous of me? Disgusting!” If that wasn’t funny, what was? Fanon just laughed aloud and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “And what are you convincing yourself of? Are you stupid? It seems you don’t understand why you’re going to die, so let me explain. I don’t care if you stole some AWRs or went on a rampage in Clevideet. Your sin is making a fool of me, putting a scratch on my forehead. That is the only reason I need. Now repent or I will smash you to pieces!”
Fanon stared at the men with a wide-eyed, crazed expression. The squad members were exasperated by what she was saying but agreed in their hearts. After all, the bandits in front of them had ruined their captain’s day off and her enjoyable day of shopping at that.
They knew Fanon well, so they had a clear understanding of her anger and hate. The top brass’s mission frankly didn’t matter. It would be completed simply if the two bandits were slaughtered. It was more important to let Fanon go on a rampage and vent her frustrations.
“The time of judgment has come!” Fanon declared when Suzar fired off Biamma right at her. However, she didn’t so much as flinch. She flippantly moved a hand to block the rain of bullets with her barriers.
But this time the Aegis surrounded the attack so that it reflected and bounced around with the same destruction as before, easily silencing the attack. As the Hardest, the same attack wouldn’t work on her twice. Moreover, their backs were toward a cliff. Lander the Box was piled up without a gap, cutting off their escape.
Yet...in the midst of the flames and smoke left from Biamma, a point of mana light was starting to glow where Gordon was.
“Lady Fanon!” Exceles said cautiously.
Even as she warned Fanon, the eerie light grew more radiant as it gathered even more power. It originated from the magic stone in Barbaros’s palm. The magic beam emitted from that had been what caused such damage to Clevideet when Gordon and Fanon had fought last time.
“Block this!”
As Gordon shouted, a very thick beam fired from Barbaros’s palm. The deadly ray was mostly made up of mana with multiple attributes that erased everything in its surroundings. It was so hot it evaporated trees, air, flesh, and steel all the same.
Exceles used all of her capabilities to analyze its performance. At long last the hidden trump card of the unstoppable spear was revealed. “...I-It’s a three-attribute composite spell!”
It used a stable earth attribute as a base and coupled it with the electricity attribute to raise its range, accuracy, and duration. The fire attribute brought out its full power to create a beam of destruction.
Just being able to use multiple attributes was enough to gain a high ranking among Magicmasters, but most could only use them individually and nothing more. Yet Gordon was using three attributes at all times. Only a handful of Magicmasters could perform such a feat.
So Barbaros really is an anti-Aegis weapon?! This spell exceeds the power of expert-level magic! thought Exceles.
She narrowed her eyes as the light of overwhelming violence turned the area surrounding the squad pure white. The squad was lined up behind Fanon, their hands behind their backs and their feet slightly wider than their shoulders. Not a single one tried to escape, choosing to remain where they stood. They entrusted their lives to their captain and held absolute faith in her barriers.
Seeing their resolution, Exceles let out a small sigh.
If there’s one thing the members of this squad can do, it’s read the room.
Before them, all eight plates gathered, spreading out like the feathers of a peacock while creating a vast number of barriers. A moment later the massive heat ray reached the barrier, causing an explosive impact. It was so bright that it was hard to even keep their eyes open; the trees around them were completely eradicated.
Not even Aegis could calculate how powerful the beam was.
“Exceles! Get ready!” said Fanon, narrowing her eyes.
“Okay!” Before Fanon could finish speaking, Exceles had already braced herself. She immediately removed the clasp of the cylinder she carried, although this one was more angular than the one that carried the Aegis System.
Exceles put on the belt with practiced hands and held out the pillar-shaped part to Fanon, who pushed the umbrella shaft into it. As it fit into place, the pillar made a mechanical sound. In the next moment, several magic formulas engraved in the outer circumference activated and its entire appearance changed.
What ultimately appeared had a similar form to that of a mortar.
“But...Lady Fanon, are you sure it is a good idea to change the shape of the Aegis in this situation?” Exceles whispered just in case.
Fanon spat back, “They’re not that foolish. Besides, Aegis has its own weakness, you know that.”
Aegis System was weak against magic it had never seen before. It had accumulated data from all of the spells that the Fanon squad had encountered, but there were still many spells that it didn’t know, such as the one Alus Reigin had used before.
Taking the attack once would allow the umbrella shaft to accumulate data, but the risk lay in having to take the attack once. Now that Aegis had taken the ultimate beam that Gordon and Barbaros had unleashed, Exceles wondered what there was to worry about.
But just then, another yet unknown spell jolted Exceles’s sense and gave her a wave of displeasure. The rank 1 Spotter’s special ability had certainly picked up on the danger.
Before long, the special bruise spread to cover half of her face.
“Oh no...Lady Fanon!”
“I know. That’s what the second part is for!”
Fanon turned the angular muzzle to the front and supported it with her slender arms.
Exceles’s bruise ached, and she couldn’t accurately read what the enemy was doing.
The new signal was emanating from a massive source of mana next to Gordon. It was at the barrel of Suzar’s Caligula, and Exceles could clearly feel that it was gathering in what was probably a single magic bullet.
It wasn’t as wild as what Barbaros had just fired. In fact, the freezing cold air stimulated Exceles’s bruise. It seemed that Fanon’s decision was correct. It would have been too late to prepare for it after sensing it.
Eventually, Caligula was charged with enough mana and Suzar fired the magic bullet without hesitation. A high-pitched sound shook the air, threatening to rupture eardrums and any magical structure in its way. It was as if mana itself was lamenting—a shock wave that sounded like a scream of resentment filled their surroundings.
Veliklagen...to think he could actually use it! Exceles marveled.
Exceles knew the name of that magic bullet. Legend had it that when the magic structure for it was completed and its power became reality on the testing ground, none of the top brass wanted to open their mouths.
The power literally touched on the taboo. It couldn’t be imbued in a normal or magical bullet, so it required special munitions...which meant that it must have been stolen alongside Caligula. That fact hadn’t reached Fanon’s squad, perhaps from the top brass’s desire to save face, so they would be made to pay for that afterward.
Exceles bit her lip, looking indignant.
Suzar was a first-rate sniper who exceeded the data on him. She realized he must have been aiming for the Aegis System’s only opening.
Veliklagen was without a doubt a new spell for Aegis. It also most likely had some sort of special property that would neutralize any normal defenses, such as being caught or repelled...
Exceles turned to Fanon with panic, but in the next moment, the tension in her jaw loosened ever so slightly.
As one might expect, Fanon’s expression was unchanged, with preparations already complete to face the spell. She’d poured mana into her AWR and the structure for her spell was complete.
This was Thousand Roar.
The unique mortar-shaped AWR roared. Countless walls of light, similar to mirrors, deployed while rotating.
In principle, up to a thousand ultrathin barriers were lined up inside of the barrel and explosively compressed mana pushed them forward. Like a domino effect, the pressure applied to one barrier was conveyed to the next, and through the barrel’s mechanism that process rapidly accelerated.
The continuous sound of barriers colliding came from within the barrel, combining into a single explosive sound. The barriers accelerated due to the aforementioned mechanism, and before reaching two hundred collisions it had already exceeded the speed of sound.
Fanon had set up a total of three hundred barriers this time. Considering the time they had, that should get the job done.
Since the AWR fired a magical barrier rather than a physical shell, air resistance was dramatically decreased, and by the time it was fired, the barriers had overwhelming destructive and piercing power.
Thousand Roar intercepted the magic bullet approaching Fanon and her squad in the nick of time. And so the unstoppable spear and unbreakable shield clashed once more.
As Exceles had predicted, Veliklagen’s property allowed it to nullify the concept of hardness. It likely annihilated the bonding of mana particles. The cruel bullet shattered the supersonic barriers like they were nothing, and it showed no sign of slowing down.
But after going through ten, then twenty of them, it seemed to start slowing down, although this was the first time anything had even come that far against Thousand Roar.
At the thirty-barrier mark, the offense and defense were reversed. The magic bullet was swallowed up by the swarm of barriers, and then the continuous wave of barriers instantly assaulted Gordon and Suzar.
They didn’t even have time to dodge. The pistonlike impacts tortured Gordon and Suzar. They were pushed into the Lander the Box behind them, cutting off their retreat.
Thousand Roar’s attack continued as well. Their bodies were smashed into the cube, and finally, they were smashed through the cubes and sent flying hundreds of meters.
After letting out a final roar, which seemed to be a condensation of various things, it finally came to a stop. The barrel had fired barriers like bullets without pause, but it was now smoking red-hot.
Once she saw that everything was over, Fanon threw the barrel to the ground and pulled the umbrella shaft out of it.
“But...I don’t think they’re dead yet. Good, it would be boring if this ended too soon,” Fanon muttered, wearing the smile of a predator.
The fact that the men were not dead was partly because Fanon had adjusted the speed and power, but also thanks to Gordon’s final use of Barbaros. It reduced the damage. But it only managed to do so because Veliklagen had succeeded in destroying dozens of barriers.
That said, they were on their last legs.
Gordon lay bleeding all over, the armor stripped from his Barbaros. The fitting inside of him must have been coming loose. In that case, he would no longer be able to control it, let alone use it as an AWR.
Suzar’s left arm, which had been holding Caligula, had been ripped off at the shoulder and lay in an unrecognizable lump. Blood poured from the wound, forming a pool on the ground. Pieces of the AWR were scattered around him.
“Does it hurt? It hurts, doesn’t it? Maybe I should have been a little gentler,” Fanon said with a twisted grin, allowing her mana to overflow from her body to demonstrate their difference in ability.
Glancing at Gordon and Suzar staggering to get up, Fanon laughed in a low voice. “A former Single candidate? What a joke. I’m in a different dimension from you, you third-rater.”
She wasn’t trying to tear away at their will to fight. She just wanted to push her injured prey further and watch them run around in vain.
And one more thing...
As expected, Gordon, his face twisted with humiliation, was still moving.
“Lady Fanon, I believe this is over. As for the AWR...it looks like it is about to run out of mana,” Exceles said in dismay as she watched Gordon and Suzar attempt to limp away.
Fanon smiled and narrowed her eyes at the dazzling ray that was Barbaros’s last gasp. She calmly said, “I see you’ve forgotten your pride as a soldier.”
If Gordon had honestly acknowledged defeat, she might have felt a tiny inkling of desire to show him sympathy. She might have even considered the option of capturing him without killing him.
Exceles would have stopped her, of course.
Regardless, now that last chance had passed. Seeing the two criminals brazenly run away, Fanon decided to proceed with the final stage of her plan.
“Well...it’s not tag, but why not wait a little longer. The ending is a given already. Exceles, don’t forget to track and follow their current location,” Fanon said.
“I don’t mind...but it would be bad to continue going any farther within Alpha. Our surroundings have already been destroyed this much,” argued Exceles.
“It’s okay. I have a plan. Besides, even if something happened we can just have the ruler or governor-general cover for us.”
“Very well,” said Exceles with a sigh. “By the way, you noticed that Barbaros wasn’t the real unstoppable spear, didn’t you?”
Fanon looked like she wanted to play it off for a moment, but she soon grinned, confirming Exceles’s suspicion. “Naturally I noticed. Did you forget the name of my AWR? Ah...it was Clevideet’s pride, the Greatest Paradox, wasn’t it? I see, so the research was already complete...and Barbaros was just one of the prototypes created in the process.”
Fanon cast a glance at the AWR she’d thrown away before arrogantly answering, “Yes. Aegis is no doubt the unbreakable shield. And the unstoppable spear is that Thousand Roar smoking over there. It just means that I was already in possession of both the shield and spear. There was never any need to worry. Barbaros was only a spare in case the unstoppable spear broke.”
I never knew. Does that mean that the last part of the Three Precept Contradiction is our ruler’s greatest insurance? Well, I’m sure Lady Fanon must have yielded in that regard.
Exceles thought there was nothing she didn’t know about Fanon, but she was surprised to learn that there had most likely been a secret agreement behind the scenes.
At any rate, that explained why the ruler, Clough, was so lenient with Fanon. She was, indeed, the only one who could negotiate directly with that experienced ruler. Normally it would be left up to the governor-general, but Clough must have wanted to keep the trigger for the ultimate weapon at his side. That was why he always tried to stay in Fanon’s good graces.
I wonder which was superior between the spear and shield, thought Exceles.
Noticing her curiosity, Fanon spoke with a surprisingly earnest countenance. “Does it interest you? You may not be a combatant, but I can see how it would.”
“Yes. With both the spear and shield in your possession, they’ve never directly clashed, have they? Well, you do specialize in barrier magic so I suppose that Aegis would come out on top,” said Exceles.
“I think so too. Attack magic sees progress every year, but once spells get too strong, they touch on taboo. So there’s a limit to human reason. Meanwhile, Aegis will continue to evolve together with me. So it should be able to reach the top of the world eventually,” Fanon said before turning around and looking into the distance.
Ahead of her lay Alpha’s vast lands. It also held the rank 1...standing at the top of all Magicmasters. Fanon fell silent for a moment before changing gears. “Okay, it’s about time. Let’s clean things up.”
Exceles nodded. Gordon and Suzar had put up a struggle, but now they were heavily injured. There was no longer any way for them to escape Exceles’s special sense, Eilvenifus.
Conveniently, the criminals hadn’t been heading for Alpha but the Outer World. Exceles realized that Fanon had pushed them in that direction from the start, as that was the only gap left in her encirclement. Now that she understood that, they would just need to do what was necessary for their country.
The strict second-in-command gave orders to the squad: “I want you to recover Caligula. Well, considering the shape it’s in, collect as many parts as you can.”
“Ah, uhm. What were we supposed to recover again?” Lurier asked with a blank face after saluting.
“Now’s not the time to be playing around...”
“I’m sorry. I think one of my eardrums ruptured in the previous battle,” said Lurier, pointing at one of her ears, which had blood coming out of it. Despite that she was acting as usual.
Exceles was exasperated by how unfazed Lurier was. “You skimped on the mana to protect yourself, didn’t you? Not that I think it would help.” Exceles sighed. “I understand. Lurier, you can help as much as you can.”
Lurier was certainly an excellent subordinate, but Exceles needed to deal with the girl’s bad habit of letting her guard down at odd moments. It probably had to do with Fanon being lax with the female squad members too.
But, Lurier has the most firepower in this squad aside from Lady Fanon.
Exceles was furrowing her brow at the quandary when Fanon rushed her along. “Exceles, just the gun barrel should be enough. That’s most important.”
As she could see on Veliklagen, Caligula’s barrel also had taboo magic formulas engraved in it. Fanon would be satisfied as long as that was recovered.
“I understand. Then let me tell you Gordon and Suzar’s coordinates,” said Exceles.
“All right, then let the hunt begin.” Fanon decided that just she and Exceles would give chase, leaving the rest to recover Caligula and restore the area to some degree. “Take that, and that, and that!”
With matters settled, Fanon brought out her usual fancy umbrella and swung it around in high spirits. With each swing, Lander the Box rained down from the sky. It was a far cry from the girlish and fancy view of the world that she preferred, but it seemed the slender and petite captain was getting carried away by the excitement of the hunt reaching its climax.
So Exceles decided to overlook the more trivial things. “Lady Fanon. They’re passing Clevideet’s border and exiting to the Outer World.”
“Finally.” The prey entering the hunt grounds proper caused the edges of Fanon’s lip to curl up.
A short while later, Fanon and Exceles were within Clevideet...more specifically near a military facility near the edge of Babel’s protection.
“Gordon and Suzar are moving slowly. Their injuries are slowing them, and they are still well within range,” Exceles noted.
Clevideet’s outer wall had been built two years ago, and it was outside of Babel’s barrier, slightly outside of Clevideet’s borders. In other words, it was a bridgehead for humanity. The weather in the Outer World today was cloudy. The air was humid and small dust storms occasionally blew in.
Fanon and Exceles stood on top of an outer wall that easily exceeded thirty meters. There was a vast forest below as far as the eye could see. Gordon and Suzar were hiding in it and were, of course, invisible. They were likely trying to hide until night, when Fiends would grow more active.
There were currently five Magicmasters positioned on top of the wall. Once they noticed Fanon and Exceles they greeted the two with flawless salutes.
The female leader spoke with utmost respect to Fanon. “Lady Fanon, how do you do? I am the platoon leader of the third defense force—”
Before the woman could continue with the usual military routine, Exceles interrupted her. “We know of you, Embique. You can skip your introduction.”
Embique was a female Magicmaster in her thirties. She was in the first half of Triple Digit Magicmasters and in charge of the defense here.
“Understood. Excuse me, Lady Exceles,” said Embique. “You are indeed a well-informed person.”
“Of course, I also know that you are in charge here.”
“Thank you very much. It is an honor to have Lady Fanon use our Organ. While I might be in charge, I could never hope to use that thing...”
“I can imagine.” Exceles nodded.
Fanon picked up where she left off. “Well, it’d be a serious problem if we had to use it all the time.”
“Lady Fanon is right. Of course, we are evacuating all Magicmasters within a three-kilometer perimeter. Maintenance is flawless, and it’s ready to fire at any time. And since this will serve as a live fire test as well, the technical department has requested to analyze the information afterward,” said Embique.
“Even the technical department wants in on it? I imagine there aren’t many chances for them to get live fire data. How passionate they must be.” Exceles shrugged before turning back to the small captain at her side. “Well, do as you please. Now, Lady Fanon, it’s time for the final preparations. How is your mana?”
“I’ve used up quite a bit, but I plan on using up most of what I have left here,” said Fanon.
“I understand. Like I said before, leave the cleanup to me,” responded Exceles.
Finally, at long last, Fanon and Exceles headed to an area with a magic circle drawn in the middle of the wall. Around it cables for transporting mana were buried in the wall.
“Be careful not to trip, Lady Fanon,” Embique said as Fanon took her extended hand and stepped inside of the operation box within the magic circle.
After that, the steel entry gate slammed shut with a heavy sound. In front of Fanon were impressive devices and a control board with various symbols. It only took an instant to identify her, then various data was displayed and a lamp-like magic light lit up the board.
“Exceles, what of our targets’ coordinates?” asked Fanon.
“I am tracking them now.”
“Then we’re all set. Fixed Defensive Battery, Organ, activating. Deploying all cannons and beginning charging mana.”
As Fanon spoke, the cannons within the walls extended and pointed outside. There were close to a hundred. All of them were linked via data and controllable via the control board. The other nations had likely picked up on the existence of the connected fixed battery AWR, Organ...its imposing appearance built into the strategically placed wall was the pride of Clevideet.
A massive amount of mana flowed from Fanon’s body, causing the magic circle to glow an unusual greenish blue light. The mana was absorbed into the magic circle and condensed. The formula shone intensely and flowed into the interior through the cables stretched around it.
“W-Wonderful! What a miraculous amount of mana! I am truly moved. To think you could supply the mana of a hundred people all by yourself! As expected of Clevideet’s very own Single!” Embique jumped from simple amazement to sincere admiration, bending her knees in a grand gesture of respect.
Before the last bit of mana was poured in, Exceles reached out to touch the tips of Fanon’s fingers. When Gordon and Suzar had attacked the capital city, Fanon had only been able to protect all the citizens thanks to Exceles telling Fanon their location.
As long as Exceles was by her side, Fanon could perceive her target with her entire body. Through her Spotter, Fanon was able to see an overhead view of another world, the magic domain.
When Fanon put her hand on the control board, it instantly read the coordinates and performed the necessary arithmetic operations. The fine-tuning of the cannon’s firing angles happened all at once, and the heavy moving sound slowly shook the wall.
“Get pulverized,” Fanon said as she thrust out her arm. With that, Organ fired the mana they had stored and played a song of destruction.
Black spots filled the Outer World’s sky. The target area was covered in flames, but the barrage continued, changing the very terrain and burning down anything that had existed there.
Organ had a specific magic formula, like Claymore, incorporated into it. As long as mana was charged, it didn’t matter what attribute the user had. A bombardment equivalent to an advanced-level fire spell would fire.
After firing around a thousand shots, the bombardment ceased and the view from the top of the wall had completely changed. Whatever the level of magic, with these numbers the level of destruction would exceed an expert-level spell.
Embique’s jaw had dropped as she blankly stared at the Outer World, which was covered in flames and smoke. Organ hadn’t seen much use since being installed, but even when it had, there had never been a bombardment like this before. Just a glance made it easy to understand the monstrous amount of mana a Single had and why soldiers and even rulers would cling to that power.
Embique’s ears were ringing, but when she heard a distant voice she hurriedly looked that way.
“Lady Fanon!”
Embique saw Exceles wrap her arms around a collapsed Fanon. Fanon was pale, her body exhausted, and her legs unmoving. “Wh-Wh-What happened?!” she asked.
“Lady Fanon ran out of mana. However, we must leave her here and depart for the Outer World right away. We are in the middle of a mission,” said Exceles.
Exceles’s tense expression gave Embique goose bumps. The only instructions she had received before they had arrived was that if Organ was used, they were to maintain it.
Embique couldn’t believe that not only had it been used, something like this had happened. “Then please leave it to my platoon,” she said.
“No, that won’t be necessary. Lady Fanon’s squad will take care of the rest. This concerns a top secret mission from the top brass. We ask that you, instead, do a complete checkup of Organ.”
“Understood. We will take care of it, Lady Exceles.” With a respectful salute, Embique headed back inside the protective wall.
After watching Embique and her soldiers walk away, Exceles hurriedly carried Fanon into the emergency room. Having picked up on what happened, members of the squad were waiting.
Exceles instructed them to immediately head for the target location. Even with that level of firepower, the base of Barbaros should still be at the site. After all, unlike Caligula, Barbaros’s base was made out of superhard meteor metal.
“Lady Fanon will require some rest, so I will take charge of the squad. Now let’s hurry and complete the retrieval mission!”
At the beautiful second-in-command’s call, the outer wall buzzed with activity again. Having prepared the bare minimum of equipment, the elites of the Fanon squad leaped into the Outer World.
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