Even I had to admit, that entrance just now was kinda cool.
Alright then.
Now what…?
Everything was off script.
I had hoped to find Charybdis before Yuna did, but that plan failed.
And now Yuna was already a mess.
Damn it, could we even hold out against a monster like that?
“Yuna.”
“Johan…”
I stood between Charybdis and Yuna as I spoke. Cold sweat was probably running down my face by now, but Yuna wouldn’t notice.
There’s one thing I have to check first. Depending on Yuna’s answer, my next move will change.
“What do you want to do about Charybdis Sallos?”
“This is…”
“Just so you know, I’ll only let you pull the ‘we’re strangers’ card once.”
It was too late to ask what she was thinking.
Yuna already made her move.
And she didn’t even stick to her own words about doing nothing.
That’s why I have to confirm this one thing.
“If what you want is to send Charybdis back to death, no matter what…”
I pull another magic engineering battery from my pocket and run it along my blade.
The aura, which had been drained during the journey here, returned to full strength.
“I’ll help you.”
With that, I was ready for battle.
I didn’t know how well someone like me could do, no matter how hard I tried.
Still, by the time I decided to come here, I was already prepared for it.
“Why…? Why would you go that far for me?”
Her voice was wet with emotion.
It was the first time I had ever heard Yuna cry.
She was always smiling like a fool, acting all carefree, so seeing her on the verge of tears like that… it didn’t feel good.
“What about you, then? What were you thinking when you helped me all this time?”
“That’s… that was just something easy for me to do…”
“Then that’s enough for me, too.”
I muttered as I looked at the wave coming straight at me.
“For me, stepping up like this was just easier than pretending not to know you and turning away.”
And all of it was because Yuna was no longer a stranger to me.
I had always feared parting more than death, so this choice felt natural to me.
“Dietrich, I’m sorry for dragging you into something dangerous, but I need your help a little longer.”
“Yes! Of course, senior!”
Alright, time to go over the plan.
There was no time to explain the plan I had made on my own at this point.
So I chose to believe that Yuna would understand my intentions, just like she always had.
If it was her, she’d be able to grasp the meaning behind everything I did.
It hadn’t even been half a year since we met, but we knew each other well enough to be called close friends.
Still, if I were to say just one thing—
“Yuna.”
“Hmm…?”
“In the end, it all comes down to you. We’re just the ones giving you the chance.”
There was no doubt that Yuna was the true main character of this stage. I stood beside Dietrich with my sword in hand.
I might have been a pathetic person to be standing here, but the things that made me who I was were anything but worthless.
That’s right.
“There’s no way this is going to balance out.”
The things I had on me were over-technology items, specially crafted by Ex Machina. This was stuff you couldn’t buy even with money.
Ugh, how could I not be reluctant to use them?
“Wow, even someone like you worries about cost efficiency, senior?”
“…You’re not being sarcastic, are you?”
“Huh?”
“No, well… forget it.”
I pulled another magic engineering battery from my pocket and ran it along my blade.
The blade’s aura which was already sharp surged once more with renewed force.
I couldn’t compress it into a lightsaber like Dietrich could, but it wasn’t like I could be the one to cut down Charybdis anyway. So this was good enough.
No, actually, this might be easier to handle.
“Hoo…”
I began cutting down the more threatening spells flying at us, carried in on the waves.
The rest didn’t matter.
The high-output magic protection cloak Emily made would block the minor spells just fine.
For the record, this cloak also used rechargeable batteries.
I had twelve in total that were charged little by little over the past week. I had to be prepared to use them all today.
“How insolent…”
Charybdis, who had been unleashing waves at us, swung his staff.
Some of the magic riding the wave diverted away from us.
That was the scary part of her wave ability. It made the spells flow like water, moving to exploit any gaps in our defense.
Truly an aggravating and troublesome power.
Was he planning to kill Yuna where she lay on the ground, right up to the end?
“Senior!”
“Don’t worry about this side.”
Bang!
I pulled the trigger.
The spell flying toward Yuna in a graceful arc was shot down mid-air.
That was another magic engineering pistol I asked Emily to make.
Honestly, in terms of power, there wasn’t much difference between a regular gun and a magic engineering gun.
The only problem was that, under imperial law, firearms were strictly regulated, so making separate ammunition wasn’t allowed. That’s why this one also used a magic engineering battery.
“Senior…?”
“Dietrich, our family is a count’s house. You know what that means, right?”
“Aha! I understand perfectly!”
The fool Dietrich nodded just at the sight of the count family name, even when I blatantly fired a gun. Some high-ranking nobles did own firearms, so he probably assumed it made sense.
Of course, in reality, our family didn’t own anything that valuable.
So this was simply illegal.
“Dietrich, do you think you can break through?”
“It’ll be hard, but I’ll give it a try! You’ve got to try something, right?!”
“Good. That’s the kind of answer I like.”
As expected of a future swordmaster.
With that kind of strength, skill, and character, it made sense that Lobelia had taken an interest in him, even though he was just a first-year student.
“When I give the signal, start.”
“Yes!”
Facing Charybdis seemed more manageable than I had expected.
He wasn’t as powerful as I’d initially thought.
I racked my brain, desperately trying to figure it out.
I sifted through the information I had, trying to guess what I might be missing.
Charybdis was a character who hadn’t appeared in the game.
Unless his identity had simply never been revealed just like Yuna, he had left no trace at all.
Could someone of that magnitude really have no public record whatsoever?
Even a brief skirmish near the Cradle recently had been enough to spark widespread rumors. So how could someone like him leave nothing?
There were two possible explanations.
One, in the game’s storyline, Yuna might have assassinated him before Charybdis ever had the chance to act.
Or…
“Yuna.”
Or, perhaps, there was a reason. Like he simply couldn’t exist for long.
If it was the latter, then it would make sense that I was able to stand against Charybdis now.
At the very least, based on my calculations, he should’ve been far stronger than this.
So then…
“Are you sure that’s really the Charybdis Salos you know?”
I asked Yuna again.
There was a high chance she’d been too overwhelmed by emotion to make a proper judgment.
So I pointed it out.
“The Charybdis you know….is that all he amounts to?”
Was he the kind of person who would do something as crazy as attacking the Cradle out of blind revenge?
Someone so weak he could be held off by just a handful of students?
Charybdis was undoubtedly strong, but if Yuna had been fighting alongside us from the start, maybe we could’ve defeated him more easily than expected.
That’s how weak he is.
“I don’t think that’s the case. But unfortunately, I don’t really know what kind of person Charybdis is.”
“.……”
I asked Yuna, who was still lying on the ground. This was something only she could answer.
“Are you crying and regretting everything over someone like that? Someone you felt pity for?”
I’d heard from Olga Hermod about what Yuna had done.
And I only knew about Charybdis indirectly.
But there was one thing—
Something I realized after sneaking a look at the letter he sent.
“Is that all your second father was worth?”
“…No.”
Yuna trembled.
“No, he wasn’t!”
With her head bowed, I couldn’t tell what kind of expression she was making.
Was it frustration? Was it sadness? Either way, it didn’t matter.
“Then get ready.”
As long as she was ready to move forward, that was enough.
“Let’s drag out the real Charybdis hiding beneath that skull of his.”
People were incredibly complex. Far too much to be summed up in just a few words.
We don’t even fully understand our own feelings, so how could we possibly express our emotions to one another with mere words?
Words aren’t everything.
I believe that.
“Dietrich!”
“Haaaaaaaah!!”
At my signal, Dietrich stepped forward without hesitation.
As the pressure directed at me lightened considerably, the wave crashing down on Dietrich who had moved ahead inevitably grew even more intense.
Dietrich swung his sword like a madman. But fighting against the wave with just a single blade was no easy feat.
Dietrich was being covered in blood in real time.
Even so, he was clearly pushing through the waves.
Then what about Charybdis?
Seeing someone break through his wave, would he feel shaken?
“Hmph.”
No, of course not.
He was a war hero. He must’ve seen warriors of Dietrich’s caliber many times before.
And he survived by forcing all of them to their knees.
“Remarkable talent. Without a doubt, you’ll stand among the superhumans one day.”
Charybdis swung his staff again. And within the magical bombardment crashing down like waves, the form of a big shark began to take shape.
“But standing before you now is one on the verge of becoming an Archmage!”
The shark swam through the waves as if it were alive.
It dodged Dietrich’s swinging sword and sank its teeth into his waist.
“Ghh…!”
Dietrich responded by reversing his grip and stabbing his sword into the shark biting his waist.
But that shark wasn’t alone.
The wave Charybdis had conjured was huge, and within it swam what looked like dozens more.
At this rate, Dietrich would die.
Which is why…
“Now!”
I deliberately shouted loudly to draw Charybdis’s attention.
No matter how wise a mage may be, they don’t know everything.
And I have things they absolutely wouldn’t recognize.
I pulled out all the remaining magic-powered batteries from my pocket.
These devices, which stored my mana, could be used as high-powered bombs on their own.
Of course, they were consumable.
Considering these batteries could be recharged and used again, the cost was nothing short of massive.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!!
But I used them anyway.
Because I wasn’t some bastard who puts a price tag on people’s lives.
The batteries I threw into the waves erupted instantly, spewing blue flames as they exploded with a deafening roar.
“Hmm…? Strange gadgets. Are they Ex Machina’s work?”
“So you recognize them?”
“Impressive, but they must’ve been intended for another purpose, yes? They’re far too weak for combat.”
He’s right. Honestly, given the mana stored in them, the output wasn’t exactly amazing.
It couldn’t be helped.
The mana I carry wasn’t particularly high quality, and the bombs themselves were made of raw mana. They weren’t refined through spells or sword techniques.
They were just flashy.
But that’s all I needed.
Because for at least a moment, they managed to draw the gaze of Charybdis, who had been calmly raining down magic while claiming he’d kill us.
“Still, not a bad little circus trick, right?”
“Hardly more than light entertainment. Well, you’re still nowhere near my level.”
“I think so too. But that’s enough.”
This was the best I could do. It was the condition my plan needed.
And I can say with confidence that I played my part well.
Because…
“Thanks, Johan.”
The main character of this stage wasn’t us. It was Yuna.
A flashy, loud attack?
Even better. Drawing attention means setting the perfect stage for an assassin.
“A fine circus act. You’ve got talent.”
From the start, the only one who could stand a chance against Charybdis was her. She alone had the skill and the right to do it.
Yuna’s surprise attack struck precisely at his spine. No matter how immortal the body was, taking a hit to its central axis was deadly.
“You dare…!”
But even as he fell, Charybdis raised his staff.
Another wave came crashing in.
Even facing death, he was a war hero. You couldn’t underestimate someone like Charybdis, who had survived countless battlefields.
“Did you really think this would be enough to bring me down!!”
Even with half his body broken, Charybdis’s will remained unshaken.
“I’ll take you down with me…!”
The wave he summoned this time wrapped around his body, swept through the surroundings, and engulfed Yuna, who had driven her dagger into him.
In that fierce surge, it looked like Yuna might be swept away at any moment.
But she stood firm.
“How…?”
If anything, the wave seemed to avoid her. Charybdis trembled at the bizarre sight.
As Charybdis struggled to hide his confusion,
I looked at Yuna and thought,
Yeah. So what was written in that letter wasn’t just a simple request, after all.
Ever since I heard from Olga Hermod about Yuna and Charybdis, something had felt off.
So I asked Olga if I could see the letter Charybdis had supposedly sent. She smiled and readily showed it to me.
The letter was filled with words brimming with love for his daughter.
But there was something else. Something I couldn’t quite make out at the time.
And now, that blue radiance shining from Yuna’s hands—
That must be the magic called [Wave].
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