The sky above Trisen Castle
“Gagyaoーー!”
A blinding light, akin to a dragon’s roar, illuminated the vast sky, replacing the sun. Eight Fire Dragons simultaneously attacked Tristan and his subordinate monsters. Efil’s cast Wall of Flames deployed in a wide area behind Tristan, cutting off not only retreat but also any path to descend. The wall of flames burning in mid-air held a lethality unimaginable for C-rank magic, a fact that was quite alarming even for Tristan.
(This power from only C-rank… Even though their abilities are hidden by the concealment effect, their magic alone surpasses Clive’s. Coupled with that archery, honestly, it’s too much for a regular person like myself to face such monsters.)
The only path forward was straight ahead. However, that sole remaining path was being approached by a swarm of dragons with gaping maws. Their speed exceeded that of Tristan’s mount, the purple monstrosity Hound Grimoire, making it difficult to even evade by circling. Yet, Tristan showed no particular signs of distress and quietly opened his mouth, issuing an order to the Golem before him.
“Tyrant Mira, do it.”
A metallic chime echoed from Tristan’s Golem, Tyrant Mira. The tip of its pyramidal body opened, and its face rotated at high speed, facing Efil. Tyrant Mira stood as a mirror shield protecting Tristan, blocking the Multi-headed Fire Dragons. Soon, the two clashed.
“…Did it deflect? No, it reflected?”
The mirror shield sustained no damage from the raging inferno and pushed back against its direction of travel. The Multi-headed Fire Dragons took no damage, nor did their charge momentum diminish. Just as Efil had suspected, it seemed to have truly reflected. Efil had secretly fired an Extreme Flame Arrow, aiming to pass through the dragons’ shadows, but even that arrow, designed for penetration, was sent back towards her. She succeeded in nullifying it by firing another one instantly, but without prior information, it could have been dangerous. Efil maneuvered to bypass each head to the outside.
“Oh my, how scary. A mere graze would turn me into charcoal. And yet—”
Tristan’s deliberately exaggerated gestures and words were meant to irritate and provoke the opponent, but Efil paid them no mind. Rather, she no longer considered him a conversational partner.
“According to Master, that Golem possesses a Unique Skill called ‘Mirror Reflection’… It truly does reflect magic, doesn’t it?”
“Whoa, that’s unfair!”
“It’s not unfair. Master’s policy is to use anything we can utilize.”
“That’s right! It’s a splendid tactic!”
Efil and her other allies had received information about Tristan from Kelvin. Firstly, although it was still in the speculative stage, they were informed that Tristan’s peculiar Summoning Magic might be utilizing Tyrant Mira’s ‘Mirror Reflection’.
“Originally, it’s a Summoning Magic that targets subordinates. He first targets the Golem, reflects it, then summons himself to a specific location. It seems to appear as if he teleported. Since the Golem also disappeared with him, he can likely receive magical attacks at will.”
“Then we’ll just have to hit it physically. It’s hard for me to use my full strength from this high up, though.”
“Be mindful of surprise attacks through Summoning Magic as well. Judging from his MP and magic power, he can’t use it too frequently, and his magic range isn’t that wide…”
Tristan’s Status was generally considered excellent, but it didn’t quite measure up to Efil’s party. In essence, he was on the level of a gifted student. His Summoning Magic rank was C. The enhancement value of his subordinates through magic power supply and the number of subordinates he could control were limited. However, Tristan had managed to evade Kelvin’s Detection Skill in the Forest of Emblems and escape with Clive. This was unthinkable given his magic range. Suspicious, Kelvin investigated the location where Tristan had appeared when returning from the Elf Village to Pars, and he discovered it. Stakes driven into the ground, hidden as if by fallen leaves. They were found all over the forest.
Upon Kelvin’s appraisal with Appraisal Eye, these stakes turned out to be Magic Items. Their effect was to create a magic range around the stake for the possessor. They were of a charging type that lost their effect over time or when the stake was removed, but Tristan had pre-emptively set these stakes in the forest to create a pseudo-magic range, thus succeeding in outmaneuvering Kelvin. Since Sera had discovered a similar stake in front of the main gate, they predicted that a considerable number of them had been installed within the castle as well.
“It was fortunate we could fight in the sky. We don’t have to worry about the magic stakes.”
Magic stakes only exert their effect when driven into the ground. In other words, they posed no threat in this location. Efil relayed the content of this quickly exchanged conversation to Mudoph, instructing him to fall back. Then, she leaped onto one of the heads of the Multi-headed Fire Dragons.
“Hmph, I wish I’d get even a single reply. …Are you having Mudoph retreat?”
Among Efil and her allies, Mudoph possessed the lowest abilities. Even so, he retained the power of an Ancient Dragon, but the difference compared to Efil and Dahak was evident. As a countermeasure against Tristan’s surprise attacks using Summoning Magic, Efil had positioned Mudoph far enough away to be outside his anticipated magic range. —Furthermore, to avoid being caught in the magical backlash that Efil was about to unleash.
“Multi-flame Birds.”
“…They’re treating us with utter disregard.”
Though her voice was calm, a single bead of sweat trickled down Tristan’s forehead.
“Haku-chan, be careful not to touch them.”
“Ugh…”
A swirling, burning wall emerged around Tristan and his companions. The wall that surrounded them was composed of countless flame birds. While their size was only about that of a crow, their number, seemingly in the thousands, was vicious. It was a brute-force attack through sheer numbers.
“Let’s take them down from the head. Even if it doesn’t work on the Golem, it’ll be fine if it’s effective against the enemy commander. Come on, Haku-chan and Mudo-chan.”
“A straight-up assault! I don’t hate it!”
The Multi-flame Birds circled, gradually closing the distance to Tristan. To an observer, it would look like a shrinking red tornado. For the one in the center, it was despair itself. Tyrant Mira acted as a shield, repelling the approaching birds, only for them to return from reflection and attack from all directions. It was a scale of magic that couldn’t possibly be handled. Furthermore, from outside the red tornado, a storm of multi-colored breaths unleashed, seemingly designed for wide-area scattering with reduced power. Layers of birds and breaths, overcoming the mirror shield’s protection, assaulted Tristan, turning into a vortex of destruction.
“His figure disappeared. …Found him. I’ll display him on the map.”
Amidst the raging chaos, Efil saw Tristan disappear along with Hound Grimoire and immediately had the eight Multi-headed Fire Dragons search the surroundings. One of them indicated a reaction, which was written into the subordinate network. Dahak, Mudoph, the Multi-headed Fire Dragons, all the dragons present turned their gazes simultaneously to that location, spotting Tristan. As he moved, preparing to unleash his breath, Tristan couldn’t help but offer a wry smile.
(This is difficult. It feels like playing a game with my hand revealed. Perhaps it’s time to buy some time. However—)
Efil and Tristan’s gazes met.
“—Did you anticipate this?”
From behind Efil, a faint light appeared. Glancing sideways, she saw a monster. It was a balloon-like insect, about the size of her palm.
(A summoned monster!)
“Detonation Insect, explode.”
Before Efil could even fully register the monster, it had swollen considerably and then burst in a flash of light. The resulting explosion engulfed the Fire Dragon Efil was riding. The scattered fragments of the Fire Dragon were a clear indication of its power.
“See, Nee-san!”
Tristan grinned, a smirk creeping onto his lips.
“Just as I thought. You have me at a disadvantage.”
Blood trickled from Tristan’s lips. A small hole had appeared on his left chest, precisely where his heart would be. Similar holes were present on Hound Grimoire’s forehead and neck. The monstrous bird was already dead.
“Gaff… In this fleeting moment, evasion, and three shots simultaneously… Impressive…”
Tristan and the monstrous bird plummeted to the ground, eventually becoming a mangled, gruesome sight.
“Phew, it’s good the target was me.”
“Whoa, E-Efil-Nee-san! When did you get here!?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Dahak felt Efil on his back. The hem of her Maid Outfit was partially scorched. The sweat-drenched hand held the Hidden Bow Merciless.
“Don’t let your guard down. The Golem is still… Huh?”
