“Luzer?”
Mia, whose magic power suddenly started to surge, called out to him worriedly. However, it seemed as if her voice didn’t reach Luzer, as he ignored her, stood up, and unleashed his magic power, scattering purple lightning.
“—!”
He couldn’t help but be surprised by how he still had so much magic power left.
Although the battle was short, they had both exerted their full strength, leaving them greatly depleted of stamina and magic power. Just as Jared was reaching his physical limit, Luzer had reached his limit in both stamina and magic power.
Yet, the sight of him once again cloaked in purple lightning was not that of a human whose magic power had been depleted.
“Luzer!”
“Jared, kill, you, I won’t forgive, mother, me, betray, take, killed, return, ahhh, alive, good, thank you, kill.”
Luzer was spewing out words nonsensically, and it was impossible to believe he had any reason left.
Mia made eye contact with Jared. Without needing words, Jared’s feelings were conveyed to her.
And hers as well.
“Defeat Luzer! Please! Defeat him to save him!”
“Leave it to me.”
Accepting Mia’s heartfelt plea, Jared nodded and clenched his fist.
They kicked off the ground at the same time.
Jared, whose physical prowess was enhanced beyond its limits by magic power, and Luzer, roaring while scattering purple lightning, moved at nearly the same speed.
Fist met fist, and intense pain and impact shot through them. The power of each blow was also equal.
“Is this all you’ve got, Luzer Fischer!”
Jared laughed. He laughed defiantly. Just as Luzer had taught him, he continued to laugh because it was painful.
Pulling up his bleeding lips, Jared smiled with his swollen face and continued to punch Luzer.
Luzer, on the other hand, had no such余裕 (Yoyuu – composure). He couldn’t possibly smile. He didn’t even have the spirit to retort to Jared’s words.
The brainwashing performed by Dolf Ein — the implantation of false hatred — had completely erased Luzer’s true nature by this point.
Like a puppet thrashing before it breaks, Luzer’s limit was near. His attacks, swung without any thought, were certainly powerful, but that was all.
An attack that contained no emotion or thought — was nothing to fear.
“Luzer, do you remember? This is the way you taught me to fight!”
They continued to attack brute force with brute force.
It wasn’t a fight with enough technique to be called combat. It was just a brawl where pure violence clashed. Jared swung his fists and unleashed kicks.
He was returning everything that Luzer had taught him, to the weak, crying boy who couldn’t use magic at all back then.
Putting all his feelings into each blow, with the thought that he would definitely save him, Jared relentlessly continued his attacks.
“Uooooooooooooooooooo!”
The exchange, which had been considered nearly even, began to shift.
Jared’s strength increased further, while Luzer’s strength began to wane. This was because Jared had not been able to fully utilize even fifty percent of his original magic power, but through continued use of magic power, it had finally begun to harmonize with his body.
Conversely, Luzer was drawing out even more magic power from a body that was already at its limit. However, that magic power was also running out. Eventually, his magic power would completely deplete, and if he tried to fight then, it would be life-threatening.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Jared’s fist crushed Luzer’s fist, breaking his arm. A kick caught his body, bending him into a U-shape.
He had no intention of killing him, but he needed to injure him enough so that Luzer couldn’t stand up and fight again. He hoped that Luzer would lose consciousness.
The more he punched Luzer, the more his chest ached. Biting his lip to endure the pain, Jared swung his fist with all his might.
“I will definitely take you home!”
The magic-infused blow struck Luzer’s cheek, and as it swung through, it sent his body flying backward.
Unable to brace himself, Luzer hit the ground on his back and didn’t move a muscle.
“Luzer!”
Mia rushed over and hugged him. She confirmed he was breathing and then nodded with tears in her eyes at the panting Jared.
“He’s unconscious. Thank you for defeating him.”
“It was for my sake too, so don’t worry about it. Now then…”
Although he accepted her thanks, he hadn’t fought solely for Mia. He had fought for Luzer, and for his mother, Rosina. More than anything, he had fought for himself.
Luzer was defeated. Now, he just needed to defeat Dolf Ein and break the brainwashing. However, his stamina, depleted by the battle with the formidable Luzer, was near its limit, and he sank to one knee.
He felt that if he fell to both knees, he wouldn’t be able to stand up again, so he desperately held on.
“Here, let me lend you a hand.”
“…Tres Brauer?”
“I’m here too.”
“…And Adelina Bischof, too.”
The two who had come to offer support were suddenly by his side. Jared leaned on Tres’s shoulder to stand up and asked them a question.
“The enemies?”
“Of course, we defeated them.”
“Even if they were former heirs of Waalthe, they were too overconfident. We took them down quickly.”
“As expected of Court Mages.”
As expected, they were respected senior magicians, Court Mages recognized for their talent. Not only was their skill exceptional, but their accumulated experience was undeniable. The heirs of Waalthe should have been on the same level as Pfeil and Rosa. While astonished that they defeated them without any significant injuries, he was truly grateful that they had come to support him.
“We’ll lose to you. Still, I never expected you to defeat him with just your fists.”
“I felt magic in every single one of your blows. What kind of technique is that? Or is it even magic?”
“I don’t know, I was just acting on instinct.”
“What do you mean, ‘acting on instinct’! Teach me properly!”
“Well, well, why don’t we just sort everything out and then have a peaceful exchange of techniques later? Jared will be our junior, after all. We’ll have plenty of time from now on.”
This time, he was aware that he had incorporated magic power and converted it into strength, but he had mostly acted on impulse and momentum, so explaining it would be difficult. Once this battle was over, he wanted to research it further, but he had other things to do first.
At Tres’s request, he headed towards where Mia was holding Luzer.
He looked peaceful with his eyes closed. If he didn’t wake up, he wouldn’t suffer from the brainwashing. If so, before he wakes up again — he had to deal with Dolf Ein.
He had heard snippets from Almeida, but the only ways to break brainwashing were for the caster to release it, or to forcibly sever the magic by killing the caster.
He had no hesitation in killing Dolf Ein, who was the root cause of Cornelia continuing to assist Hannelore. Even if he were to release Luzer from the brainwashing of his own will, the hostility he once harbored would not disappear. No matter what process occurred, the only thing Dolf Ein deserved was death.
“It seems to be over, Jared Murphy.”
“Rosa… You’re unharmed too.”
“Who are you talking to? Of course.”
Rosa Roen, clad in red, appeared before him with a light demeanor. She too had defeated her opponent.
“It’s not just me.”
“…It seems I was the last one. But now, only Dolf Ein remains.”
“Yo, Pfeil.”
He casually raised his hand to the boy with light blue hair, who, despite his burns, appeared unfazed. The boy responded with a faint smile and a nod.
Now, there was only one enemy left to defeat. And one person left to apprehend.
“Jared!”
Just as he thought everything was about to end—
The Duke and Laurentz, who were supposed to be apprehending Cornelia, rushed out of the mansion with desperate looks on their faces.
“Something’s gone wrong. We had them surrounded, but Cornelia disappeared!”
Jared was stunned by the Duke’s words.
How could she have escaped from the mansion surrounded by Waalthe without anyone noticing?
“…Jared, the mansion!”
Pfeil guessed Cornelia’s whereabouts. Jared thought the same thing.
“You can leave the rest to us. We’ll take care of the remaining soldiers. We still can’t repay the debt we owe you.”
“You should focus on protecting the people you want to protect. That’s Jared Murphy, isn’t it?”
“Thank you!”
With Pfeil, Jared rushed towards the mansion where Olivier and Hannelore were waiting for their return.
