“This level of magic… No, impossible! How!?”
Ernesta’s body, which had tried to defend against the countless falling arrows, was mercilessly wounded by the wind-tipped arrowheads that had pierced through her barrier.
They tore through her barrier as if it were mere paper.
Sharp pain shot through Ernesta’s arms, legs, and shoulders as she froze in shock.
“Ever since I was defeated by Jared, I’ve been constantly thinking about how to defeat him. This is the result. While its lethality is low, it possesses the penetration power to reliably break through barriers. I’m not aiming for vital points, but with these wounds, you won’t be able to move properly.”
“You’re so kind to go easy on me.”
“You don’t have to say things you don’t mean. The attack will continue.”
More wind arrows were unleashed. Invisible arrows, impossible to see and silent, grazed Ernesta’s legs.
“Guh, AHHH!”
Clutching her leg, she crumpled to the ground, but defeat had not yet settled in her eyes.
“If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me!”
Ernesta unleashed a wind blade from her without incantation. It was an invisible blade, silent and impossible to see. This was an attack in response to the invisible arrow she had just received from Pfeil.
She thought that no matter how much of an inheritor of an assassination organization she was, she wouldn’t be able to deal with something invisible.
However…
“Did you think I wouldn’t have a countermeasure against invisible attacks?”
With a dry *pang*, all of her invisible blades were canceled out by invisible arrows.
Ernesta felt through her magic power that all the blades she had unleashed had vanished. She couldn’t comprehend it.
How could one deal with invisible attacks? No matter how quickly she thought, there was no answer.
“I am genuinely trying to kill you.”
“I know. Your attack was imbued with sufficient killing intent. But killing intent alone cannot kill me.”
Ernesta bit her lip in frustration at Pfeil’s calm words.
Until now, she had thought her attacks were effective. Even as an assassin from Waalthe, she believed she, as a member of the Royal Mage Corps, had the upper hand with magic.
But she was wrong. She wasn’t even a match. She realized that all her past successful attacks were only because he had been holding back.
Fresh blood spilled from her deeply bitten lip, trickling down her throat. The taste of hot blood grated at her throat.
Her vision turned red with anger. Her older brother, Pfeil, they were both doing as they pleased. Was it because she was a woman that he went easy on her, or was there another reason?
“Are you mocking me? Are you all looking down on me like that? Do you all pity me so much?! Am I that pathetic to you all!?”
Her vision was red with rage. Her chest ached, making it difficult to breathe.
They were all arrogant. None of them considered her feelings even slightly. Even if she was being controlled by a curse technique right now, this was the first time she was acting with her own free will.
“Don’t get in my wayyyyyyyy!”
Her magic power surged in response to her anger. The magic power rising towards the sky swirled, transforming into a gale. A vortex of magic-infused wind formed around Ernesta.
The vortex gained momentum. It expanded, threatening to engulf everything.
The ground was torn up and churned. The mansion’s windows shattered, and the building crumbled with a roar.
“Magnificent. Is this Ernesta Kaif’s true power? I hadn’t imagined it would be this much, even with the curse technique.”
To Pfeil, the collapsing mansion and the roaring wind vortex felt like Ernesta’s inner landscape.
The sound of destruction was her scream, and the wind vortex was her desperate attempt to protect herself.
“I cannot fully comprehend human emotions. However, I know you have been through hardship, Ernesta. And now, I understand I am causing you pain. Nevertheless, I will say this: I will defeat you and break the curse.”
He aimed his left hand at Ernesta, who was at the center of the wind vortex.
“I don’t care if you hate me. I’m used to being hated. There is only one thing I wish for: your safety, Ernesta.”
He channeled all his concentrated magic power into his right hand, then overlaid it with his left, slowly drawing it back.
“I will likely hurt you again. The thought pains my heart.”
He took a step back with his right foot and twisted his body. As his left and right hands separated, an arrow composed of magic power materialized.
“I do not ask for your forgiveness.”
It was not imbued with wind. It was simple magic power condensed into an arrow.
“I am the one who will save you. Not Jared Murphy, not Luzer Fischer, not Laurentz Herring. It is I, Pfeil.”
As the arrow, imbued with divine light, was completed, the fingernails of his right hand, which had been supporting it, burst. Fresh blood splattered, but he paid it no mind.
“I want you to smile at me again. I want to have trivial conversations again. I want to be by your side.”
He knew there would be no reply. He doubted his voice would even reach her, but Pfeil continued regardless.
“Ah, I see… This must be the feeling of falling in love. This is what it means to love someone.”
Pfeil, having named his own emotions, smiled unconsciously.
“The arrow I will now unleash is one passed down in the East. It is an incomplete technique, but if anything were to happen to Ernesta because of me, I will atone with my own death. However, I am not worried. This may be unlike me, but I believe I can definitely save you.”
He pulled back the arrow, charged with all his amplified magic power, even tighter.
“Secret Art to Pierce Curses—Demonic Arrow.”
