The beastkin, who had been subdued in an instant, rose to their feet again.
It wasn’t that Tronius Ether and Lobelia’s suppression had been light. It was that their opponents’ power had been far beyond expectations.
“Your Highness, the Third Princess, could you take everyone and evacuate?”
“…Very well.”
Lobelia agreed readily to Tronius Ether’s request.
Normally, she would have tried to join the fight herself, but with someone of Tronius Ether’s caliber, not getting in his way was the best she could do.
And more than anything…
“Father.”
“Ariel, you should leave too.”
“But…!”
“Rascal, take her with you.”
“…Yes, Brother.”
He probably didn’t want Ariel to witness a fight between family.
From what I observed, the one leading those beastkin appeared to be Ariel’s grandfather.
To be in a situation where you must kill such a person…it was only natural he wouldn’t want her to see it.
And so, we left the villa, taking one last look at Tronius Ether’s calm demeanor.
At that very moment—
“Waaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The war cries of other barbarians surrounding the villa rang out.
Although this place was a bit removed from the city center, it was still only thirty minutes from the capital.
“They really brought quite a crowd. Where on earth are they all swarming from?”
“Indeed.”
Lobelia clicked her tongue.
Even the already distressed Ariel agreed with her.
“Seriously, where do they always come swarming from like insects?”
That’s what made the Speartip of Snow Blossoms so terrifying. It was their sudden appearances in places like this.
How could they move in their wild, primal state without being detected?
That part still hadn’t been figured out.
Though I knew the reason…
I probably wouldn’t end up telling Lobelia.
It might be better if she didn’t know.
“But it seems this time, they’ve really come prepared…”
Lobelia twisted her lips as she glared at one direction. Standing there was a huge warrior, a full head taller than the other barbarians.
A bear beastkin with black hair and gray eyes, appearing to be in his late forties.
So he showed up after all. I was wondering when he’d make his move. Opportunistic bastard.
“First time seeing you. But are you who I think you are?”
“Probably. Imperial blood.”
“I see… Then that would make you the ‘Great Warrior’. right?”
“That’s right. I am Vidar.”
The Great Warrior who leads the barbarian group, Speartip of Snow Blossoms.
He should’ve been in the northern snowfields, yet he came all the way down to the capital?
Just like that, and so suddenly?
Even if this looked like a golden opportunity, was it really worth making a personal appearance?
“…Should we go back inside? Duke Ether might be able to take him on.”
“Not so fast. Asking Duke Ether for help now doesn’t seem like the best option.
In a chaotic battle, the side with more people to protect is always at a huge disadvantage.”
“Isn’t this already a chaotic battle?”
“No. At least, it doesn’t seem like the enemy wants that. Unless we make the first move.”
It was only after hearing Lobelia’s words that I looked around again.
The barbarians had surrounded the villa.
But none of them were attacking us. They were simply watching, waiting for us to act.
They were the ones who set this whole situation in motion. There might be room for conversation.
But we couldn’t step outside the framework they created.
If we were to retreat into the villa now, they would probably rush in all at once.
For now, buying even a little more time would be ideal.
“Bwahahaha! Good, good! You catch on quick, imperial blood!”
That overwhelming presence—
Even though he was laughing as if in a good mood, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
My already delicate mother fainted on the spot, and my father’s face turned pale.
As for Chris…
Chris was fine.
Apparently, it wasn’t just his body that had gotten stronger.
Chris reacted to the Great Warrior’s roar with nothing more than a slight frown, as if he were a battle-hardened veteran.
“I am Vidar, the Great Warrior who leads the Speartip of Snow Blossoms! I offer you a chance! Who among you dares to challenge me?”
“What happens if no one wants to challenge you?”
“Then the one-sided hunt begins.”
Vidar answered Lobelia’s question with a chilling smile.
The killing intent boiling beneath the surface was suffocating.
I swallowed dryly and glanced behind me at my father, who stood pale, nervously fiddling with the sword at his waist.
“Father, these are the kinds of things your son deals with on a regular basis.”
“Johan… just what kind of battles have you been involved in…?”
“Now you understand, don’t you?”
“Even so, dropping out of school is not an option.”
“I never even brought that up… But fine. Since your resolve is that strong, I’ll say no more.”
Even in a situation like this, he was still thinking about what’s best for the territory.
I respected that.
And also resented it.
“The Great Warrior, huh…”
“Johan, how do you rate our chances?”
“Winning is out of the question.”
“Not just difficult, but impossible?”
“Even with the Duke’s help, all we can do is buy some time.”
If we were to rank power levels, the Great Warrior would be second strongest right now.
The emperor was, of course, number one.
In “Promotion Tale”, you only encounter the Great Warrior in the late game.
The first encounter was a guaranteed defeat, and several more loss events follow before the final confrontation as the last boss.
There’s only one route where the Great Warrior becomes the final boss:
—Just keep getting involved.
He was the type of boss who was nearly unbeatable in the early game, but gradually weakens as the story progresses.
That’s right.
He was weakening.
So the more one steered things to avoid running into him, the better the outcome.
By the end, you could fall out of the final boss candidate list just by doing nothing.
That was why, now that this wasn’t a game but reality, he was someone I absolutely shouldn’t have met. Especially this early on.
Damn it…
This was all because Andvaranaut had started compressing the stage.
I was getting screwed over again because it had dragged in enemies who should’ve been established in the northern snowfields.
I couldn’t even guess where this snowball had started rolling from.
Was it when Faust destroyed the Cradle and the surrounding area early on?
Or was it from the moment I met Yuna?
Maybe it had all started rolling the moment I pulled that idiotic stunt during the placement test to avoid Class F.
“…If you plan to fight, you’ll need to aim for stalling tactics.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Right after that, Lobelia tossed off her outerwear and stepped forward.
“I’ll go first.”
“Ho! As expected of imperial blood! State your name, imperial blood!”
“Lobelia Vicious von Miltonia.”
“Needlessly long name. Can’t remember that. So just come at me, Lia!”
“Suddenly I’ve got a cute nickname.”
Fzzzzt!
Red lightning thundered across the earth.
The wider the plain, the more erratic the movements of Lobelia’s Red Lightning ability rang in all directions.
Rumble!
The moment that lightning struck the Great Warrior Vidar, it lit up the world in a dazzling flash.
“Hrgh…!”
“Kh!”
Vidar reached out and blocked Lobelia’s secret strike.
In fact, it was Lobelia who had thrown the punch who now had a grimace on her face.
“The little lion’s got some courage!”
Crack!
The Great Warrior grabbed Lobelia’s arm and launched a counterattack at her with his fist clenched.
“Ghh!”
Boom!
The space shook from what looked like a casual swing by Vidar.
I couldn’t even follow the sequence.
One moment he had formed a fist, then his arm extended, and it had pierced Lobelia’s side.
The only thing I could confirm was that Lobelia had successfully evaded the attack of the great warrior Vidar.
“Gahk!”
But even so, the impact must have been severe. Lobelia coughed up blood.
“Ghh!”
Still, Lobelia who had grown stronger through a year of harsh struggle launched a counterattack straight at Vidar.
Even with her arm still held, she lifted her leg and kicked him in the stomach.
Fzzzzzt!
The lightning-infused kick struck Vidar’s body hard, but he didn’t even change his expression. He simply let out a hearty laugh.
“Impressive. Give it a few more years, and you might be able to beat me.”
“What nonsense…!”
Rumble!
Did she take that as mockery? Lobelia frowned at Vidar’s words, then raised her other leg and launched a kick straight into his chin.
Red lightning shot up from the ground and burst toward the sky.
“Ghh!”
Maybe from the shock, Vidar released the hand holding Lobelia’s fist.
Not missing the opportunity, Lobelia quickly threw herself back, putting as much distance between them as she could.
“Hah… I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
Only then did Lobelia seem to fully understand what I had meant earlier and broke into a nervous chuckle as cold sweat formed on her brow.
No wonder she’d been hesitant to charge in recklessly.
She must’ve insisted on a head-on fight just to test the truth of my warning.
“Bwehehe! I was about to say something, but I bit my tongue instead. That hurts!”
Where the lightning had faded stood Vidar, now clutching his tongue.
Lobelia’s final blow had been fierce, but it was clear the result had come down to sheer luck.
To be struck by that kind of attack and still only complain about a bitten tongue—
Anyone else would’ve had their tongue sliced clean off.
“Hrgh…! Well then, I suppose it’s my turn now!”
Boom!
The moment Vidar finished speaking—
Lobelia who had been standing right in front of him vanished. A split second later, the wall behind him collapsed with a deafening crash.
“It’s over.”
An exchange so fast it couldn’t be seen.
Only the result told the story of the horror.
Lobelia was lodged into the wall by a mysterious attack and was left unconscious, bleeding from head to toe.
The fight was decided.
She hadn’t even managed to buy time.
“Well then…”
“I’ll go this time. Or do you insist on taking lives?”
Just as Vidar was about to say something, Ariel stepped forward in a hurry.
She was Lobelia’s subordinate.
That must mean she couldn’t bear to let her die.
But still…
“If you go, you might die.”
“Oh? Are you worried about me?”
“Of course I am.”
Ariel gave a bashful smile.
Stop smiling like that. You’re going to make me hesitate.
“Since Her Highness has lost, I’m the only one left who can fight. Unless, of course, the knights of House Damus are stronger than I expected?”
“What do you say, Sir Humpty?”
“With all due respect, Young Master Johan… I didn’t even see what just happened.”
“Nor did I.”
As expected of our house, even the knights seem to share my perspective.
“If we had known it would come to this, we would’ve brought our own knights. It’s a shame.”
“Please don’t talk like you’re about to die, Lady Ariel.”
“Ah, sorry. I should’ve stayed positive, especially now. Um… Sir Johan, if I come back alive, will you give me a reward?”
“…If you come back alive, let’s have a meal together. At the cradle.”
“Not just once…. make it several times. I’ll need the motivation.”
“Alright, let’s do that. Though, somehow, this kind of talk makes it feel even more ominous.”
“Ah!”
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise. But soon after, she smiled again and stepped forward.
“What’s your name?”
“Ariel Ether.”
“That’s long. Riel! Come forth!”
“Can you not remember anything longer than two syllables? I wonder how you even remember your own name.”
Ariel let out a short laugh at the consistency of the great warrior Vidar, then casually swung her staff.
In that instant, her entire demeanor settled into a calm focus.
It was a sight I’d seen before, the dissonance between body and soul.
And that meant she was now drawing out the full extent of her power.
Craack!
Ariel’s telekinesis split the earth.
Vidar, who had been standing firmly on the ground, suddenly lost his footing and fell into the widening fissure.
“Guh!”
Ruuumble!!
Soon after, the cracks began to seal again with a thunderous quake.
No—beyond that, the earth surged upward like a mountain, pushing against itself.
Overwhelming firepower.
As expected of Ariel. At this point in time, she was even stronger than Lobelia, so in a sense, it was only natural.
But still…
Boooom!!
Given the kind of performances Vidar had shown so far, even this felt like child’s play.
“Khahahaha! Impressive! To move the very earth! But surely, this isn’t all you’ve got!!”
Vidar emerged, having shattered the mountain, without a single scratch on him.
And there was no way Ariel wouldn’t know something even I could figure out.
All the telekinesis so far had merely been a stalling tactic to buy time for casting her spell.
“Die.”
Kwaaaahhh!
A huge pillar of flame shot into the sky.
The fire that engulfed Vidar seemed unsatisfied with just that; it coiled tightly around his body.
The flames clung to him like sticky tar, and it looked as though they wouldn’t let go until he was completely burned to ash.
“Hmph!”
Having realized that early on, Vidar didn’t even try to shake off the flames and strode forward boldly.
As if flames like that couldn’t possibly harm him. The sight of Vidar, looking more like the incarnation of fire itself, was nothing short of shocking.
“Hmph!”
At that, Ariel began pouring out every spell she could muster without pause.
Boom!
A dazzling barrage of multicolored magic.
Magic of such destructive force that it didn’t just break the ground; it overturned and ground it into nothing.
Boom!
Yet Vidar moved through that torrent as if it were nothing.
Boom!
A moving fortress.
Seeing Vidar approaching with heavy strides, Ariel furrowed her brows.
“Kh…!”
She tried to step back, desperate to create some distance, but the gap closed by the second.
Even so, she couldn’t stop the barrage of magic. If she did, Vidar would reach her even faster.
In the end, the best she could do was continue unleashing her spells.
“Hahaha! Got you.”
At last, Vidar, having broken through all the magical bombardment, stood before Ariel.
A huge fist swung toward her, and in that moment, Ariel shut her eyes tightly, as if bracing for the inevitable end.
And so, Vidar’s fist came crashing down.
Kwaaaaaaaaaah!!
A deafening roar.
A force so powerful it seemed it would leave nothing behind, not even bones.
But the fist missed Ariel and tore through empty air.
Had Vidar pulled his punch? Or had he been shaken by the damage from Ariel’s magical barrage?
In truth, it was neither.
“Who dares! Who dares to interfere in a sacred duel!!”
Advanced illusion magic:
[Sensory Disruption]
“…Let’s settle this with words.”
That was me.
No, I didn’t expect it to actually work…
I hadn’t even fully mastered advanced magic to begin with. That’s why I’d been racking my brain to find a teacher.
But somehow, it suddenly worked. Is this what they call the curse of knowledge?
Anyway, the deed was done.
Well, forget it. Things had already gone this far. I might as well try to change the situation.
“Let’s drop the farce, great warrior. You’re not really a barbarian, are you?”
So stop pretending to be one and sit down at the negotiating table.
Let’s resolve this like civilized people. Through dialogue.
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