* * *

It was a spell designed solely to take Ergo’s life. The entire village could have been wiped out, so he concentrated all his mana into a single point. It was a spell that required a great deal of concentration, but it would be highly effective.

However.

“You! You! You can never kill this body. You can’t kill it……!”

Ergo showed unbelievable potential and it was hard to believe that he wasn’t in top form.

‘What the hell is that monster?’

The fire tornado intercepted all the mucus flying in from the outside, so Ergo’s magic couldn’t penetrate Cadel’s mana.

The problem was Ergo himself.

Ergo raised his explosive mana to the point where it was unbelievable that he was shackled by electric currents and engulfed in a fire tornado. The mucus that gushed from his mana filled the interior of the tornado, which Cadel had painstakingly reduced in scope, shaking his balance.

‘If I fail to defeat Ergo’s mana, the tornado’s trajectory will be twisted. That’s as far as…….’

He couldn’t retrieve the mana that had left his hand. This fire tornado, in particular, was a spell that Cadel had worked hard to create, and it was not going to go away anytime soon.

If this tornado, whose trajectory couldn’t be corrected, struck the temporary garrison of villagers and holy knights.

‘Should I stop now?’

Now that he was controlling the tornado, he could dispel enough mana. However, if he did that, he would miss the golden opportunity to kill Ergo.

‘The destruction of the swamp is yet to come, and the blow would be too great if we retreated.’

Was there no choice but to endure somehow?

As Cadel struggled, the tornado whipped around his waist. He could feel a vast amount of mana threatening the tornado.

‘I must choose…….’

One choice could come back to haunt him. This was a situation in which careful and quick decisions were required. Cadel bit his lip, which was wet from his dripping nosebleed. At that moment.

“Knight Order! Deploy the Second Form of Holy Swordsmanship!”

The Twilight Knight Order led by Garuel appeared.

Schwing!

At Garuel’s command, the knights drew their swords in unison and came to a halt in a line, their swords pointed at the same angle to the sky. Blinding flashes of light converging on the tips of their swords.

With the ensuing chant, the flash, which had been a tiny dot, gradually took on a clearer shape, accompanied by a sharp resonant sound.

Piing—

The tropically aligned flashes soon became a long border that traversed the space horizontally. As it continued, it grew in width and length, creating a side of something.

Eventually, a huge wall was completed. A huge wall engraved with a white magic circle perfectly separated the space between Cadel and them.

Cadel realized that what lay beyond the wall was a makeshift garrison. His gaze shifted involuntarily to Garuel, who locked eyes with Cadel as if he’d been waiting, smiling slightly.

“Now you can fight to your heart’s content.”

“……Thank you so much for that.”

It was a bit spiteful seeing Garuel standing there idly, but having a wall to block the tornado gave him some breathing room. Anyway, even if the reinforcements joined now, the control of the tornado would only become more difficult.

‘Now all that remains is for Sir Modeleine to destroy the swamp safely. The swamp is the essence of Ergo’s mana. The blow will be hard. If the barrier that protected Sir Modeleine was removed and all the scattered mana was poured into the tornado.’

Ergo wouldn’t be able to survive on his own.

Gently squeezing his trembling arms, Cadel refocused his attention.

「Time remaining 08 : 10 : 06」

He had no intention of dragging this battle out until the time limit ran out.

* * *

Rumble—

Ignoring the vibrations of the ground and the mana of the subordinates he could feel, he concentrated all his attention on the destruction of the spell. Looking up at the rising pillar of light that filled the swamp, Modeleine slowly drew out his sword.

“Success…….”

The dark circles under his eyes hinted at the fatigue he was feeling. Having successfully destroyed the swamp, Modeleine shifted his heavy body and slid out of the hole.

“Sir Cadel! The swamp is destroyed―”

But before he could take a full breath of the crisp earthly air, a thick line of fire sailed over his head.

Frightened, Modeleine reflexively ducked low, and a familiar voice came from nearby.

“Oh no, Modeleine. You’d better be careful. Unless you’re as handsome as I am, the presence of hair on a man’s head is very important.”

“Com, Commander Garuel?”

Garuel and the holy knights were gathered in one place. Modeleine let out a sigh of relief when he found the [Judgment Seat], the Second Form of Holy Swordsmanship that perfectly separated the space.

The newly-appropriated knights and Commander Garuel had joined them. Knowing Garuel’s ability, he could not have been more relieved.

Swallowing hard, Modeleine turned back to Cadel. He had been keeping the demon at bay and maintaining the barrier all by himself, and it must have been too much. Modeleine tried to convince him that he could step aside now that Garuel was here.

However.

“You have succeeded, Sir Modeleine. I will retrieve the barrier, and you will take care of the rest!”

The wind that had surrounded him the entire time vanished, and at the same time, a brilliant feast of fire filled his eyes. Modeleine was speechless.

“That…….”

The fire tornado he’d seen the first time was still there, and while it was a great spell on its own, it now had something more.

Another flame, wrapped around the tornado. It was fire magic in the form of a giant dragon.

The fire dragon wrapped around the tornado, opening its jaws irregularly to dive into the vortex, plowing through it and out of it. The fire dragon seemed to be supporting the precariously swaying vortex, or merely toying with what was inside. Modeleine let out a low whimper at the fire’s greedy behavior as if it had a mind of its own.

‘I thought he was a great magician, but…….’

The fire elemental archmage, Mamil Kipa, whom he had only heard about through rumors. If he watched the fight of such a legendary person who defeated hundreds of monsters with a single spell, would it be like this?

The magic was overwhelming to behold. As he exited the hole, Modeleine realized in hindsight that the flames that had threatened him were the tail of a dragon.

“Kkuargh! Kkuaaargh!”

And the presence of the demon trapped within the flames, constantly shouting.

The blazing flames did not illuminate anything within, but Modeleine could see it dimly.

‘He’s dying.’

Further defiance was futile. The demon died here. No living thing could emerge unscathed from these merciless flames.