2-5 The Magic King

The thing chasing from the rear made a squelching sound and trembled slightly. After a breath, it popped and spread like a string, grazing the soles of Chris’s shoes as she flew through the air.

“Haa!”

She flashed her dagger, twisting and turning letting the magic of  wind carry her. With a vain response, something scattered like confetti and melted away.

Speaking of effect, although it looked a little scared off, there was no other noticeable reaction. Chris, who was tempted to sigh, did so after a few futile attempts.

“…………”

Lefilia’s concern for Chris’s feelings, which anyone who knew her well would have felt, was unfounded at this moment. In other words, this battle was not a meaningful one for Chris.

Attacking with a sword was probably almost ineffective. Now it had grown to a volume that made it hard to believe it was born from a pond. Even if she cut off a part of its body that was still growing and swelling, it would probably only do enough damage to peel off its thin skin.

The fact that it was born from a part of the boundary made magic even less effective than slashing. When she threw wind magic at it with the intention of shattering it, the edges of its huge body swayed coolly, and she stopped pursuing it further.

So, there was nothing she could do. As a result, all Chris could do was to keep fluttering around in her field of vision, repeating the minimum necessary – and probably ineffective – checks and balances and there was no way she could enjoy that. Seen from the edge, it may look like a butterfly running away from a cat chasing its prey.

Suddenly, Chris felt a hint of magic behind her and tightened her slightly loose hand.

“Chris! We’re done here!”

“Yes!”

Chris gave a short reply and slashed back diagonally. As if to avoid Leon, who was flying in the wind, a part of the monster’s arm that was chasing after Chris melted silently and fell down without power. The next attacks were felled by Leon’s sword, and fell sideways failing to reach Chris.

“I’m going to destroy that pond! This thing might react, but until then, please keep it in check!”

“I know…. I’m on it! Nii-sama….. be careful!”

The monster’s attacks of various sizes were hurled at Chris without paying attention to Leon, who had stepped through the gap and kept his distance. She dodged them while flying up and down, left and right and glanced down to see that the two on the ground were about to raise their swords to destroy the pond.

“O …… o~o…… oo~ooo! ”

A muffled sound echoed high in the sky and the magic stone surrounding the pond shattered. Almost as soon as the golden fluid overflowed, the monster stopped moving and roared. As soon as it shouted, it turned its back on Chris, who it had been inexplicably obsessed with and kicked the ground with its thick legs. Numerous white strips flew out from it’s body and danced in the air toward the pond.

“A chance!!”

Chris wasn’t calm or idle enough to silently overlook the changing situation.

She went straight to the back of the monster like an arrow and flashed her twin swords in time with the monster’s footsteps.

The flashes of light that ran through the threads created a number of trajectories. Immediately after the soundless slash, the monster stopped moving with a roar. The relentless slash half severed the monster’s ankle.

Seeing it bending its knees and still attacking from its back, Chris grabbed her swords again and flew into the air.

Apparently, the monster couldn’t attack and repair at the same time. Even so, it was still attached to the pond, so it seemed that their reading was generally on target.

—-If that’s the case, then we’ll have to kill it here.

The wind that carried Chris became even more fierce. She aimed at one point, its left ankle, where the effect of the slash could be seen and cut it off with the next blow. Then—

The shock that suddenly ran through cut off Chris’s thoughts. The scenery that had been flowing at high speed on both sides suddenly stopped and Chris turned around reflexively.

Something string-like was gripping Chris’s ankles tightly. Of the strings that extended from the monster’s back to the pond, only one had crawled  on the ground, bypassing it and came at her from behind.

Her brief thought was forcibly interrupted. Chris’s bound legs were pulled towards the monster.

“Wind…..!”

The spell that she used immediately did not have a steady flow of power and it made her hair flutter in vain. The swords that she swung around were also entwined with her body and she couldn’t make the slightest movement.

Chris’s body was drained of energy and magic and her thoughts blurred. In the midst of this fatigue which resembled drowsiness, the touch of the sword on her fingertips made Chris’ eyes widen.

“I lost …… no…..riaaaah!”

Through the roar of the monster, which sounded like a victory cry, Chris shook her throat with all the strength she had. She twisted around with the force of her shout and thrust the sword she held in her still-bound hand into the jaw of the monster, which opened its mouth to swallow its prey.

“… Ka… Ooo…”

For the first time the monster’s restraints were loosened, showing a glimpse of agony. As soon as she was swung away, Chris struck with a slash, but immediately after she collapsed in midair as if she had lost her balance. Leon ducked under the arm that was swung down at him and picked up Chris’s body just in time.

“Don’t do anything rash. It’s bad for my heart.”

“I’m sorry. I was overconfident.”

“No, I underestimated it too. I thought it was nothing more than a mindless monster.”

This monster’s goal was always Chris, from the beginning. It used the destruction of the pond as an excuse to deceive us, pretending that it’s target was not Chris.

Come to think of it, this monster was born from magic, the incarnation of wisdom. It’s more unnatural for it to be a muscle-bound imbecile.

“I can move now ……”

Chris, who had gulped down the magic power supplement with one hand, left Leon without hesitation. Speaking of the monster, it was trying to repair it’s torn legs while keeping its  neck and above at an angle that glared at them.

“What should we do, Nii-sama?”

“Well, It seems that even if we destroy the pond, this thing can still operate, so I guess we’ll have to take it down directly.”

“But how?”

Despite Chris’s despondent voice, Leon looked up at the sky and ruffled his hair.

“If sword attacks are effective, physical magic should also be effective. Let’s see what happens.”

Following Leon’s lead, Chris looked up at the sky quizzically and a transparent drop fell on her forehead. It was a complete change from the thirsty weather and the rain that began to fall from the dark gray clouds became a torrential downpour that clouded her vision in the blink of an eye.

“Yes, here it comes.”

Next to Chris, who deployed wind magic above her head to avoid the rain, Leon raised his sword to the sky with drops dripping from his bangs. A pure white film covered the silver sword blade, which was wet from the rain. As if to follow it, a thin layer of ice began to cover Leon’s body, making a crackling sound.

“Kenzoku yo~ (My family)! The magic that freezes! Transform the soft blue drops into white fangs that pierce all things!』\

The blue-white pale light that shot out from the tip of the sword circled above the monster’s head. Perhaps it felt something. The monster moved its arm, but it was all too late.

The rain that was falling towards the monster turned into a solid block of sharp ice from the tip and pierced the monster’s arm. The arm it had been holding up lost its original form in a single breath and its huge body was, as the saying goes, pierced through like a beehive.

There were no screams or roars as countless free-falling icicles filled the gaping holes and continued to fall, trapping the monster like an ice statue.

“………… huuh”

“Nii-sama!”

When the resisting monster stopped moving, the ice on Leon’s body burst and disappeared as if it was chasing it. As Chris, who was supporting Leon, softly landed on the ground, the grass and trees shattered with a glassy sound. A freezing wind was still blowing near the surface, speaking silently about the scale of Leon’s magic.

“Sorry. I hadn’t done it in a while, so I went all out and used up every last bit of magic I had left.”

“You’re reckless too, you know.”

“Well, it was really dangerous after all.”

“What are you guys, really……?”

The voice that sounded from the exhausted Lefilia was also weak and crisp. Leon laughed bitterly, saying that it was the cost of calming the situation. Lefilia, who laughed back as if she was amazed, glanced at the monster.

“Well, what should we do with this thing ……?”

A disturbing sound interrupted her hesitation and reply. A deafening scream followed and the monster’s arms shot out of the icy zenith.

“—-!”

As if to protect the two of them, who were still not at full strength, Lefilia leapt forward. She raked up her long wet hair violently and stood up to press the fine sword that she had pulled out in front of her chest.

“Raging black cloud! Let the silver hammer fall and make it bow to me!』\

A black cloud began to gather unnaturally over the head of the monster, which had reemerged after having its legs severed, its body punctured and iced over. The moment the monster tried to climb over the half-broken ice cage, a blinding lightning bolt struck from the heavens to the earth.

“Giaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

There was a clear scream that didn’t require translation. Indescribable colored smoke slowly rises from the red cracks carved throughout the white epidermis of the monster.

“……………………”

With a furrowed brow, Lefilia lowered the sword she had been holding up. At that moment, the unconscious body of the monster twitched, and its thick arms extended like snakes.

Lefilia, the brunt of it, eye’s flashed a glimmer of light.While redressing the hat she picked up, she thrust his sword forward.

“There is no trick, monster.”

Thunder pierced the body of the monster that was leaning forward again. The roaring sound, which was repeated twice and thrice was, was mercilessly struck. The whole body smoldering, like a pile of incinerated books, seemed to be quietly waiting to be turned to ashes, barely leaving the impression of the original.

“Lefilia….”

Lefilia stopped and looked back with a bitter smile.

“Well, this is the end, everyone.”

Both of them lost their words to the refreshing remark. After a short pause, Lefilia changed her expression.

“If it gets up, leave me behind. It’s a strategy I originally planned, I’m not going to involve you till the end.”

She turned her barely remaining energy into words and just stood there weakly. Lefilia’s voice though powerful gave such an impression.

Her  cheerful voice that slipped comfortably into the ears was followed by a rumbling sound and the monster’s body shook behind Lefilia. Leon, who walked up to her weakly, supported Lefilia’s shoulder, who was still trying to open her mouth. Chris passed by silently.

“… Yes, I understand, did you think I would say that? Huh?”

Leon snorted displeased beside Lefilia’s head that was being hugged.

“Lefilia, I never give up, not for good reasons such as belief or pride.”

Beyond the quiet conversation, the monster was dragging itself to get up. Against the backdrop of a desperate sight, Chris smiled thinly as if she was slightly troubled.

“If you turn your back on the hardship in front of you, you’ll run away when you really shouldn’t. I’m scared of that.”

“………..”

“Let’s finish it off properly and go home together, okay?”

“Don’t we have different places to call home.”

“That’s right…”

“….Fufufu, I can’t beat you at all.”

Lefilia who was now separated from Leon, pulled out her sword. Leon followed suit, shrugging.

“Do whatever you want. I promise to support you.”

“Yes. I leave my back to you.” (Chris)

The discolored torso lifted and the monster woke up. When it saw Chris standing with her sword in her hands, it roared and went straight for her. Chris, covered by her magic, kicked the ground to respond head on.

—— she could no longer waste magic power. Relying on the magic of the wind she took a step and ran forward, she was stronger and faster than usual.

The monster sticks its arm out. She doesn’t swing her sword yet. Until just before, attract and observe the opponent’s attack—–

“Now!!!”

Chris’s left foot kicked the ground in a strong and exceptional manner.

Immediately afterwards, a terrible storm struck from the side and Chris’s bangs bangs were fanned to the left. Immediately after understanding that it was the work of the wind, the monster’s arm appeared  in the center of her clear amber eyes.

It was at that moment. Chris’s vision, which was as still as if it had been cut off, caught the shadow of something in the wind. In the condensed time of less than a second, the shadow seemed to have looked at her and then turned away in a hurry.

Time began to move with the roaring sound. The figure that appeared with the wind, jumped and kicked at the monster’s arm near the tip of Chris’s nose.

In front of Chris, who suddenly stopped her body with the magic of wind. The monster’s body leaned in a distorted manner, rose and flew in the sky in a parabola. The impact scraped the surface of the earth and the frozen flowers and white dew scattered with dazzling light.

“Well said, human child!”

The sound of heavy footsteps, accompanied by a metallic clang, drew the attention of the three to a part of the murky landscape. The earthy smoke soon turned into a thick purple color and from the other side of the smoke, an awkwardly shaped blade appeared.

The wind on Chris’s body must have been something akin to a reflection. The soaring whirlwind blew away the lingering dust, exposing the creature’s appearance to the darkening sky.

The first thing that caught my eye were the two twisted horns. They sprouted from the helmet that completely covered his head, thick and rough as if they were piercing the heavens. The full-body armor covering his body was rugged, but its jet black color, as unmixed as a starless night, was even beautiful.

Blackish-purple smoke that seemed to be bubbling up at every moment is pouring out of the narrow crosshairs that connect his eyes to his nose.

The bare, fang-like blade of the sword in his hand had a shine and blackness similar to that of armor and it shone mysteriously in front of Chris. Around the blade, smoke spilling from the gaps in the helmet was entwined, and the black sword was poisonously colored. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew that if she touched it, she wouldn’t be unscathed.

The swordsman who appeared walked slowly and lined up with a smaller figure who kicked the monster.

“… I don’t know… in this world…?”

Chris coldly listened to the swordsman’s words, which were hard to interpret. Her spirit that had been directed at the monster seemed to have been transferred to the swordsman in front of her.

“Yes, it’s not murderous.”

“Don’t move!”

Chris no longer cared about the monster. It was the first time Leon had ever seen such a determined expression, as if she was forcing herself to cover up the fear and tension that had built up.

“Chaos ……!!”

The monster, which had been ignored, suddenly changed its target. While crawling on the ground with its body on the verge of being scattered, it approached the swordsman.

Chris took a step back to keep both the monster and the swordsman in sight, but the swordsman’s movements were terribly slow.

“Shall I take care of it?”

“ No.”

Controlling the smaller figure, the swordsman slowly lifted his arm and held his palm straight up towards the monster.

A flash of lightning stabbed into the ground, enveloping the monster’s entire body. She could tell it was lightning magic only because of the heavy bass sound that came down late. It was like a white explosion, many times brighter than the lightning that Lefilia had wielded, turning the world on Chris’s retina into an all-white color.

When the lightning subsided, a whirlwind erupted without a moment’s delay, slicing through the remaining pieces of the monster and concentrating them into the center of the vortex. The wind gradually covered itself with flames and spewed out orange sparks of fire from the whirlpool.

Gradually, the wind rose higher and higher, like a tornado, until it slowly disappeared, leaving only a circular blackness.

The sound of the swordsman’s armor creaking echoed through the eerily silent space.

“…… Now that the disturber is gone, let’s get down to business.”

“Please put away your sword. Until then, I won’t comply with your request.”

The swordsman’s neck shook slightly and his armor creaked.

“…… I have no scabbard. Don’t overdo it.”

The person behind the swordsman stepped forward quickly. In contrast to the impression of the swordsman, the smaller, hooded figure was not unnatural in the midst of the crowd.

He placed his small body on the swordsman’s shoulder and silently held out his palm. The arm that was exposed was that of a human. He took the sword with his thin, snow-white arms, flipped his wrist and thrust the blade into the ground.

It wasn’t the action itself that left everyone speechless. It was the physical strength with which he was able to push the sword which was as tall as he was, so far into the ground that it covered the hilt with a single push.

“Is this okay?”

“You…….”

The swordsman’s disappointment, which could be seen even through his armor, made Chris feel sorry for him. As someone who uses a sword, she may have thought similar thoughts.

“……what do you want?”

“Nothing much. We’re looking for someone who has crossed that shiny borderline and entered our territory from this side.”

Leon and Lefilia quivered with a sickened spirit.

“…That’s me.”

Feeling their gazes on her back, Chris hesitated, but she answered honestly and correctly.

“Our territory” That means that this swordsman came from “his land”. It proved that the perception that only humans could cross the border was just based on human knowledge.

“I see. It’s you. Hmm……”

“Well, what about it……?”

Instead of answering, the swordsman carelessly walked over to Chris.

“You humans know this is the border right? I wanted to see with my own eyes what kind of people would dare trample with it.”

And even more so if it is someone who would do wrong. Lefilia tied her lips and looked down, reflecting on the swordsman words, which were added as mockery.

“And what do you want me to do?”

“No, that’s enough. Sorry to disturb you.”

“Huh ……?”

Chris superimposed a question mark. Next to the swordsman, the smaller figure in the hood pulled out the buried sword and knocked off the mud and soil on the blade.

“I would say nothing. I’ve not sensed an evil spirit in you that you’d plunder or murder at will.”

The swordsman took the sword casually and turned on his heel. Lefilia, who had been anxiously looking at Chris’s profile from behind, looked up to the sky, accepting what she’d been afraid of as Chris chased after the departing swordsman.

“I’m afraid I haven’t asked your name yet!”

Even through his helmet, she could see that the swordsman was as stunned as Lefilia. As for Leon, he has a frozen and resigned  expression as if he had been blown away.

If you were to cut out the scene, it would look like a departing swordsman and the princess of a country calling him to the stage at the end of a play. If only the sword were not in her hand.

“I hate to say it but I don’t have a name like humans do…….”

“So, what should I call you?”

“The people call me Madoou-sama(Magic King) because I founded my domain with magic…….”

“I understand. Then Madoou-sama. Have a good day.”

The swordsman silently turned his back on Chris, who had done a courtesy and soared into the sky. It didn’t occur to Chris, who had her head down, that the hooded figure following him was giving a small wave.

As the two shadows disappeared into the thin clouds, the inexplicable tension in the place also disappeared. Leon and Lefilia, who had rushed to Chris, suddenly flinched when they saw Chris’s strange smile, her eyes stuck to the clouds and not moving. Lefilia called out fearfully, even though Leon stopped her.

“…… Chris?”

“…….Fu, fufufu, Ufufufufufufu…..”

“Huh?”

“Oh …… I can’t get over how excited I get when I meet a strong person …….”

The eyes that stare at him are moist and the cheeks that have been dyed light red are stroked with an expression of ecstasy. The two of them looked at each other falteringly, feeling as if they had seen the depths of the bad rumors surrounding Chris.

“Who was it that was holding the sword?”

“I thought he was an enemy of course, but I was mistaken…….”

As if relieved by something, Chris blushed happily again.

He knew she was a warrior at heart, but he hadn’t expected his sister to be such a mutant. As expected, Leon couldn’t say anything about it and he chided Chris, who was still in a daze, expressing her intention to return triumphantly.

As if to bring the battle to a close, the sunlight of the setting sun poured down through the clouds that Lefilia had brought in.

Thus, a large-scale war between nations, which had not happened in a long time in the history of mankind, came to an end in a strange way without being inscribed in history.

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