With a single blow, break through the explosion and cut the witch’s throat. That was Lumen’s plan. The barrier that blocked the attacks was like a shield from the witch’s point of view, so it was better to deal with it perfectly. Therefore, Lumen suggested a strategy whereby Van would deal with all the explosions while preparing his own attack.

It was a plan premised on one side’s unilateral sacrifice, but Van accepted it immediately. It wasn’t because he trusted Lumen. By removing the barrier that protected them, Cadel would be able to defend himself. It was for such a simple reason.

Of course, it was an absurd and fiery sight for Cadel, who was watching it.

‘No, these crazy bastards! If you survive the explosion, she’ll openly give you a chance to hit her, but why can’t you wait for that to happen?’

When Cadel did not listen to the request to remove the barrier, the two of them ran out of the barrier altogether. They ignored his cry of ‘Let’s endure a little bit because if we hold this out, we will find a gap’, and if he moved the position of the barrier several times to protect them, it would be such a mess. Cadel had no choice but to remove the barrier.

It feels like he had witnessed a scene where he turned the auto feature and self-destructed while doing nothing. Cadel stared at his precious knights with fear that they might die in vain.

‘Free deal time is given after that wide deal phase. I usually hold on until then and then finish it……. Damn, what happened if I attacked before that?’

He couldn’t remember well because it had happened in the early stage. He still had a clear feeling that he had been very annoyed and angry.

He looked at Van, who swung his sword energy to slash the entire explosion, and behind him was Lumen, who was starting the sword drawing technique with his hand on the handle of the sword.

‘Something, something bad happened…….’

The blood drained from Cadel’s face as he searched for memories of the past.

‘Damage reflection!’

He hurriedly ran toward the two, leaving the fallen believer behind.

“Stop!”

* * *

Lumen blinked blankly at the light weight that hit him. After preparing for the [Moonlight Swift Sword], he was almost at the beginning of the technique.

[Moonlight Swift Sword] was a sword drawing technique in which momentum was the starting point of the attack. Although it was still unfinished, it was also the strongest attack he could boast of at the moment. However, the attack was stopped by this insignificant magician, not the enemy in front of him.

“What the hell ar……!”

He tried to curse at the magician who had crushed him on the back of his belated reason, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain as if his internal organs were being squeezed.

“Kkeuheok……!”

“Phew, you almost screwed up.”

……What did I almost do?

He wanted to ask, but what came out of Lumen’s throat was a handful of blood. He hurriedly covered his mouth and bent his upper body, and Cadel clicked his tongue annoyedly and got up. Then, he looked down coldly at Lumen, who was puzzled by his inner wounds for no reason.

“I’ve said it over and over again. Don’t let your guard down, there’ll be a gap, so wait. Both you and that guy…… You guys have a knack for ignoring me.”

The moment he heard that sarcastic voice, Lumen realized he was about to die. He didn’t know what the threat was, but it was thanks to the magician forcibly stopping his attack that he ended up with this level of internal injury.

As he touched the ground enduring the pain of his organs twitching, Cadel reached out. Lumen grabbed the hand and managed to stand up. When he came to his senses, Van who cut through the explosion was also pushed to the rear.

What stood in their way was Cadel, who once again created the barrier. Van hovered around Cadel, fidgeting like a scolded puppy.

“Co, Commander…….”

“Don’t be ferocious, stay back. You don’t sound like you’re asking me to step down, do you? You’re telling me this right in front of my nose.”

“I didn’t mean to ignore Commander……!”

Watching with interest the opposite of the sluggish attitude he showed in front of him, Cadel snorted with a cold expression, like Van’s first snarl-like appearance was nowhere to be found.

“If you had listened to me right from the beginning, you wouldn’t have come this far.”

From the sound of his voice, he could feel that Cadel was quite angry…… Frankly, he couldn’t feel the dignity. That was how Lumen was feeling.

He joined the mercenary corps only for profit and loss. So, it was natural that they didn’t know Cadel’s proper skills, and that he could not even find a reliable part to feel loyal.

Just a magician with a pretty face. There seemed to be quite a bit of brain use, and there seemed to be moderate ambition.

Van Herdos’ skills, unlike his personality, weren’t bad. Which part of the magician had attracted him to claim to be his subordinate? Unlike himself, Van seemed to have great loyalty. He could only feel this kind of sentiment.

In the first place, he didn’t want to have someone weaker than himself as his superior. He left the family to create his own power, not to join someone’s rotten crowd. Was such a pessimistic doubt detected?

“No matter what anyone says, I’m your commander. So make sure you engrave it clearly on those bad eyes.”

Cadel, who shouted as if declaring, closed the barrier. The explosion must still be going on. If you close the veil at such a close distance, you will be attacked with your whole body. Cadel’s flimsy body would collapse without sustaining even a single explosion.

Thinking so, Lumen swallowed the blood soaked in his lips.

Booom―

As soon as the barrier disappeared, a large pillar of fire was shot at the place where the witch was.

The smooth pillar of fire reminiscent of the snake’s head began to swallow the front with its mouth wide open. Lumen was instantly mesmerized by the huge and magnificent figure.

‘Second spell straight away without chanting……? What about the explosion? The explosion, the whole thing, was eaten by that flame? Was he able to use such strong magic?’

Not a single stream of mana could leak out of the flames created by Cadel. Only the red pillar of fire, which blazed fiercely as if swallowing everything, shone brightly through the forest.

The pillar of fire was withdrawn not long after. And in the wreckage that was revealed, the appearance of the witch was only a pile of ashes and sparse bone fragments that had been completely burned.

Lumen’s mouth fell open. No matter how many times they had destroyed the explosion, the mana contained in the explosion was by no means easy. It wasn’t for nothing that he tried to bring out the strongest weapon he had in order to end the witch.

But how did Cadel get rid of it so easily?

He couldn’t believe it, but the immediate result was too clear to not believe it. Lumen clenched his fist without realizing it, facing Cadel’s indifferent gaze that looked back.

‘This is…… definitely unexpected.’

* * *

‘Did I get caught bluffing? I didn’t get caught, did I? I deliberately covered it right away so that the end of the explosion wouldn’t show.’

On the other hand, Cadel, who showed a little bluff to discipline the disobedient knights, was engrossed in managing his expression. After creating a barrier to cover the witch, he cast a magic spell that seemed to be visible, aiming for the point when the explosion stopped. It was a pillar of fire for display that had grown in size using wind magic. Since the body of the witch who entered the free deal time was quite weak, she could easily be killed with just that amount of magic.

「Congratulations! You have cleared the main quest ‘Woman of the Temple’!」

「Attribute points increased by 10.」

「Reputation increased by 15.」

「Acquired the new title [The One Who Blocked the Dark Shadow].」

「Acquired the advanced item [Witch’s Bone Powder].」