Lilium, who had been attacked by her own younger brother, Kizaris.
The chieftain smiled wryly as he looked at his now subdued daughter.
“It’s a shame, but there’s no helping it. Well done, my son. You have now become a true warrior. Now you have no more hesitation. Burn everything to ashes, at maximum output.”
Kizaris’s twin horns began to glow with a pale blue light. I signaled Philiana.
“B-but it’s dangerous. We won’t be able to defend against it. Let’s take everyone and retreat.”
The two attendants nodded in agreement. But what would happen if they left here? His attack would probably destroy the entire area. And they would pursue relentlessly even if they ran. Could they escape to a distance where reinforcements could reach them?
“Then I’ll go alone.”
“Eh? Already? I suppose there’s no other way.”
I ran over to the fallen Lilium and shook her.
“Hey, wake up! They’re going to burn everyone to death!”
“…There’s no use saying anything now. Father has changed. Ever since that day. He gained demonic power at the cost of his humanity, and I couldn’t save Kizaris.”
Her vacant eyes had lost the will to fight. No, if I give up now. That’s right, a shield. I looked around and found a shield that had been severely bent by the heat. Fortunately, some Repulsion Stone remained.
“Shimon, wake up! Cecilia!”
“She’s in pretty bad shape. She used too much magic at once.”
His face was pale and bloodless. Magic power is enough, right? Magic power… Ah, that’s it. What if I tried this? I took out a fragment of a Unicorn Horn that Clarissa had given me. I had kept it with me, intending to return it someday. It was something the deep-sea witch, Diepser, had told me to bring.
“Here, is this no good?”
“What is this? A stone? A horn?”
I placed the horn in Shimon’s hand. However, no strength returned to his fingers. Could it be a fake? Or was I using it incorrectly?
“Th-that’s, I gave it to you. You’ve had it all along?”
“Yes, I was going to return it. More importantly, we need to do something about that.”
He couldn’t keep accumulating power forever. That’s right, wasn’t he defenseless now? Just then, the chieftain himself attacked.
“Dangerous!”
Clarissa’s barrier deflected the black beam.
“Hmph, what are you sneakily doing? Hey, it’s okay now, unleash it.”
My whole body trembled. A beam of incomparable thickness to the previous one was heading towards us. I instinctively crouched down and covered my face with my arms. Philiana hugged me, shielding me.
The hot wind fluttered my cloak. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw a white barrier somehow obstructing the beam.
“Hah, ugh… H-hurry and escape.”
Clarissa was using her last strength to block the attack. The energy that swallowed everything was approaching right before my eyes. Once the final defense was broken, we would turn to dust without even our bones remaining.
“Take Shimon! Tell him thank you. You were, you were my pride. You don’t need a horn, even as a Sage.”
I started to ask “You?” but closed my mouth. Stopping his attack comes first. I have to do my best while everyone else is doing their part. I slipped the warped shield onto my arm.
“Philiana, let’s go stop it!”
“Yes, let’s do it.”
The barrier cracked. Darkness began to spread. Just as I was about to mount Philiana, it suddenly lit up as if someone had turned on a light. The darkness receded and faded away.
“Wh-what? E-Jastal, you…”
“I apologize, but I will break orders. Advance!”
The combatants who had been waiting by order of the commander began to move.
“I told you it was dangerous, so no.”
“You are the most dangerous now. Come, settle this.”
Honestly, if you could do it, why not do it from the start? As expected of a High Elf, their power was immense. They were perfectly blocking the beam Kizaris had unleashed.
“Put more power into it! Yes, good! Your power is not this much!”
With a scolding from his father, his power increased. The dome Jastal had created began to be pushed back.
“P-please do it quickly. This magic barrier won’t last long.”
“B-but if I resort to forbidden techniques, I…”
“You’ll cease to be a Sage.” Jastal said with a laugh. But it wasn’t a vulgar smile; it was a smile that seemed to wish for his daughter’s happiness.
“Void is also called the magic of the universe. Thus, it is also infinite energy. Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin.”
The power of a god, the primal ability. It exists neither in heaven nor hell, but only on earth, where both are combined.
“…Let’s do it. Lilium.”
Lilium looked at Clarissa, as if asking if it was okay. Then, the two quietly clashed their horns.
White and black light intersected. Sparks flew as they collided. Their faces drew close, and eventually, the two beams overlapped. Naturally, everyone present held their breath. The only sounds audible were the faint clashes of the beams and their breathing. The desynchronized rhythm gradually aligned.
The white light was covered by black. The sun and moon overlapped; I thought in the back of my mind that it was like a total solar eclipse.
“I’m sorry, Kizaris. Father.”
Both white and black disappeared. The barrier that had protected us, the approaching beam, were gone. In front of us, there was only an open wasteland. And in the distance, two figures stood motionless.
