Volume 7 Chapter 134, Magic Sword ~ 42
The pillar of light that had appeared at the Ares exit of the valley of Horwood for a mile in diameter suddenly disappeared, just as it did when it appeared. The grass and trees within the area where the pillar of light had stood had completely withered away, and the difference between the area and the surrounding area was clear. The color of the soil has changed as if the small amount of magic power contained in the soil has sublimated. The area where this pillar of light used to be will probably become a barren space where no grass or trees will grow for several hundred years to come.
「The circle has disappeared!?」
Rico, who had been running along the pillar of light, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks at the sudden change. There were only two practitioners who had been eliminated so far. Perhaps Solor, who had escaped from her predicament, had taken out the other practitioners, and as a result, the circle had vanished?
There is a subtle sense of disappointment that Rico could not save Satoru and the others with her own hands, but in any case, if the magic circle has been lifted, then it is a very significant event. Now Leia, Minerva, and Liz would be safe. Rico took a sigh of relief, saw someone flying toward her, braced herself, and immediately released her tension.
「Solor!」
The figure was a fellow who had taken on four swordsmen to get Rico out of the circle. Her appearance was unchanged from the moment they parted. That wound must have been fine, too, because no blood was spurting from the wound he had sustained on her shoulder.
Solor also recognized Rico's appearance, stopped her 【Flight】, and landed beside her. Although her voice and expression did not show it, she seemed to be relieved that Rico was safe.
「Are you safe, Rico-sama?」
「Sort of. This circle was it, is it Solor who crushed those practitioners?」
Solor shook her head from side to side. "Eh?" Rico shouted unexpectedly.
「I just took care of those four who got in the way. Isn't it, Rico-sama?」
「I took out two of them, but the circle didn't disappear right after I took them out.」
Rico and Solor looked at each other. Both of them thought that their fellow had finished off the practitioners. But they were wrong. Something happened that was not in their control ― that's all they can think of.
「This type of circle is controlled by the main practitioner after it is activated. Probably, something must have happened to the main practitioner. What shall we do, Rico-sama?」
Rico thought quickly in response to Solor's question. In whatever form, the circle is ritual sorcery. It would take a lot of magic power to cover such a large area. Since she had already killed two of the practitioners who seemed to have participated in the ritual, it was highly unlikely that they would be able to set up the circle again. If so.
「...... Let's hurry back to Satoru. If the circle has indeed disappeared, then I don't think there's a problem.」
Rico and Solor are not the only ones who have confirmed the disappearance of the circle. Sheryl and the others, who were watching from a distance outside, of course, saw the scene as well.
「The circle has ...... disappeared!?」
Sheryl was surprised and confused.
No signal had yet come from Isolde, who was supposed to be fighting inside the circle. The fact that the circle had been activated once and then disappeared meant that something had happened to my grandfather who had been controlling it.
On the other hand, it is questionable whether Isolde can win against Satoru without the influence of the circle. Even with the holy sword and its power to absorb magic power.
The High Mentor and Isolde. Which one should I go for?
「...... Kughh!」
「Team leader!」
Sheryl, sword in hand, turned her feet in the direction where the pillar of light had stood. Derek, the deputy leader who was accompanying her, shouted out. The secretary of the High Mentor who was with her was also looking upset and seemed to be on the verge of losing himself―Sheryl raised her voice.
「Deputy leader you go to where High Mentor is! The disappearance of the circle is unusual, the signal hasn't come yet!」
「Kuhh.....U-Understood!」
「Secretary-dono! You are to check on the lecturers who were participated in the ritual!」
「U-Understood!」
At Sheryl's reprimand, the secretary nodded to himself and started to run. Derek's worried look was passed over, and Sheryl also headed for the center of the circle and into the battlefield.
I know that my going there will be of no use to Isolde. But I still had to go there. I had a feeling that I had to go there.
And of course, the change was felt in the center of the battlefield, where the pillar of light was, where everything was decided. Two people were fighting each other, swinging their swords at a speed that ordinary people would not be able to follow. The change in their surroundings made both of them move away from each other unintentionally.
「......The circle, disappeared!?」
The head of the Holy Sword Clan raised a surprised voice, and Leia, who had been protecting Minerva and Liz with high-level warding arts for as long as the circle had been maintained, finally lowered her arm.
「Rico, Solor ...... They did it.」
A look of exhaustion crossed her face. Even Leia, who possesses one of the high soul in this world, had a lot of trouble maintaining that warding. Still, Leia gave a gruesome smile to Isolde, who was facing Satoru. She forgot for a moment what Satoru had said and looked at her face. The color of hatred clearly appeared on Leia's neat face.
She has more than she can handle with Satoru alone, and to be honest, she can't even take on Leia Löwenstadt―Isolde realizes a cold sweat runs down her spine.
It is true that the sword sucks magic power. It returns that magic power to the user, so the user can continue to maintain a high level of skill without worrying about the decrease in magic power.
But the secondary effects are different.
For example, in the 【Scorching Sun (Flame Road)】 that Leia unleashed against the army, that sword can absorb the flames generated by the magic power, but it does not absorb the tremendous heat together with it. Although the magic power provided by the Holy Sword increased her recovery power, she would probably suffer enough damage to be burned badly. And Leia Löwenstadt is aware of this.
Gritting her teeth, Isolde looks out for both Leia and Satoru. Her left shoulder is still dislocated and useless. The pain is being treated with art, but it's too much for her...
And.
「Leia. Don't interfere. And don't look at her. Protect Minerva and Liz.」
Satoru's voice rang out. Leia regained her composure at the sound of that voice and turned her head in the wrong direction.
「......Understood」
「Minerva, Liz, you do the same. Don't look at her, don't interferer with us.」
Both Liz and Minerva nodded and looked in the same direction as Leia. The occasional glances in this direction would be unavoidable, but if they were not interrupted, that would be appreciated ― but Isolde was burning herself with rage.
「Gughh......You've really underestimated me!」
It's true that she's been pushed this far.
But Satoru brushed off Isolde's gnashing of teeth with a single snort.
「That's not right. I'm just paying my respects to you for not messing with them.」
To be honest, if the attack had been directed at Leia, Minerva, or Liz even a little, Satoru would not have been able to fight so comfortably. If the attack had been directed at Leia and the ward had been broken, Minerva and Liz would have had their magic power sucked out of them, and there is no doubt that they would not have survived. Leia was concentrating on her art, and thus looking away from the battlefield. Even Satoru could not have been able to overcome all the attacks directed at Leia and the others. Although he could have afforded to do so, he still suffered minor wounds.
However, as she had promised in her name, Isolde did not touch Satoru's magical slaves.
Her own sense of beauty may be there, but it also helped.
If she is also a samurai, Satoru is also a descendant of samurai.
「I don't want to be the only one who is a coward. Now, come on! Let's get this over with!」
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