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From the vantage point of Jenis overlooking the sky, it was nothing short of a stunning spectacle. With a single spell, an entire territory could transform into a colossal ice slab. If one didn’t neutralize the actions of the wolves and the goblins riding atop them, it would be meaningless; thus, the Grand Mage’s spell froze even his own feet as it worked towards the tactical objective, a spell of self-sacrifice.

As Jeongjae risked the dangers of the statue and set such an example, Jenis couldn’t just sit back and admire. The Great Sage began to leverage the overwhelming mana output from his staff to gather precise location data on the bandit group that was indefinitely frozen in various corners of the territory.

Mana represents informational volume, and informational volume is equivalent to mana. Collecting and storing the coordinates of over three thousand goblins is something no ordinary master of mana could do. Moreover, this was without even the help of a scroll.

From Gemini’s perspective, what Jeongjae and Jenis were attempting to do seemed undeniably ‘impossible’. However, witnessing the two people executing that impossibility without hesitation made Countess Koesernis acutely aware of her own skill gap compared to these two great heroes.

“Do wizards need to be this capable alongside the Hero…?”

Gemini herself was no weak witch. At least compared to the other battle wizards taken along by Walter for the Northern Expedition, her skills were undoubtedly superior. Jenis trusted in her abilities, which is why she urgently called for her to support them in this situation.

However, when Jenis started delivering the coordinates of the goblins numbering in the thousands via magic, Gemini felt an impending headache, as if her head were about to explode from the overwhelming flood of mana.

“Wait, wait, let’s take a break…”

The Countess, groaning under the deluge of goblin data, weakly requested a brief pause. But Jenis, sympathizing with her plight, couldn’t grant that request.

“I’m sorry. But the duration of this ice spell is not infinite, and the coordinates I’ve collected won’t be preserved permanently. Time is of the essence, my lady.”

At Jenis’ words, Gemini frowned intensely but nodded. Here were two young people, one approaching thirty and the other just past their twenties. Regardless of the inherent differences in talent, she had her pride as a veteran over fifty. She couldn’t just keep groaning.

“It’s alright. I’ll try to hold on. Please, Great Sage.”

“Yes, then I’ll proceed. 1.3940.2990…. 1.4930.7793….”

Then came the swift surge of bandit coordinate information. Jeongjae, quietly observing the communication between Jenis and Gemini, signaled that it was finally time to act.

“Lady, let’s use the Chains of Hellfire. We will start pruning from the closest goblin. Hurry! Let’s tie up the memorized ones in advance.”

“Indeed, that sounds good. Flames of Hell, bind our enemies with the same tenacity as our bond.”

Usually, Gemini would not bother chanting when using the Chains of Hellfire spell, but the magic she aimed to cast today was on an entirely different level than her usual binding spells. It was not a spell that could be executed without incantation.

As Gemini’s incantation was spoken, sparks of fire erupted and spiraled into five tendrils of rope, tightly binding the closest goblin and wolf.

Gemini erased the coordinates of the enemies from her mind in order of proximity to her current position, extending the binding ropes in that direction. Jeongjae had instructed her to cast the spell while information was still being transmitted, as the locations of the already bound enemies didn’t need to be recalled, thus allowing her to fill her memory with new information.

However, timing must be approached with caution. The mana capacity in Gemini’s body was far less than Jeongjae’s, and compared to Jenis, who could use magic freely, it was utterly inadequate. The Chains of Hellfire were cursed spells that continuously drained mana merely by being maintained for long periods.

If she were to cast this spell too early and prolong the process, Gemini could end up depleting her mana and rendering all their efforts futile. At the moment when Jenis was absorbed in delivering enemy coordinates, Jeongjae was sweating profusely, tense and concerned.

Though he felt like he might freeze from the ice magic, sweat dripped down his forehead. His body shook not only from the cold.

Would Gemini be able to endure? Though she was known for her remarkable skills, she could never be considered among the ‘great heroes’. Could she contribute to executing this massive magical attack?

“AAAhhhhhHHHHH!”

Gemini screamed with fire ropes in both hands, unleashing a piercing cry reminiscent of a person suffering under severe torture, causing Jenis and Jeongjae to exchange concerned glances.

Jeongjae was the first to speak.

“No, I don’t think we should continue with this. Maybe we should fall back a bit and manage them one by one…”

“Y-Yeah, that sounds right? The ice magic and the coordinates we’ve gathered can still be utilized in other ways…”

“No! No! I can still… still hold on!”

Sweat poured from the mature woman’s forehead like rain. While her ankles remained frozen, her upper body felt like it was in a different realm entirely, blushing red and sweating enough to soak through her robe. Even someone who would take their time to sweat in a sauna would likely start sweating slower than she was at that moment.

“If I retreat here… If I drop the spell now, even if it’s a dire situation, I couldn’t face my husband when I return!”

With her arms trembling violently and her eyes barely open due to the pain, it would be reasonable to respect the Countess’s will, especially as she mentioned Count Koesernis’s name; however, paying attention to the current situation was not an option.

Maintaining the ice magic alone was tough enough. Furthermore, freezing the entire territory was a much more mana-consuming spell than binding thousands of goblins.

Nevertheless, Jeongjae wasn’t yet at the point of screaming in desperation, even though his body dripped with sweat. The Grand Mage raised the green magic circle in one hand and aimed it at Gemini.

“I’ll support you. Just endure as long as you can.”

Gemini slightly nodded but appeared to be too fatigued to respond. When Jeongjae shot a beam of mana towards Gemini, a minuscule portion of the mana that remained in his body was transmitted in her direction.

Transmitting mana through the air without direct contact was tremendously inefficient. It was regrettable that mana dissipated into the atmosphere, yet the Countess’s expression, which succeeded in receiving even a tiny spark of mana, grew markedly more relaxed.

Jenis continued to mumble the coordinates of their enemies as she checked for the spread of the Chains of Hellfire. Emergency branches of fire spread thickly like spider silk, filling an entire city.

A network of flames resting upon the frozen ice slab. Jenis thought it was a beautifully captivating scene that she would love to soak in, were it not for the dire situation. While the spectacle was undoubtedly grand, considering it ‘beautiful’ was largely due to Jenis’s unique aesthetic sense.

“It’s done! It’s all bound! Now let’s detonate it! Just activate the final spell!”

“Uuuuhhhh…. AAAAAAHHHHH!”

The moment Jenis signaled okay, Gemini seemingly waited for that, and with all her strength, opened her arms wide.

Three thousand flames erupted towards the sky. Though her feet remained anchored to the ground, her torso was tied with flames, squeezing the goblins writhing in agony. They were bound tighter and tighter until their inner organs were punctured.

Thus, the goblins were shredded by flames, experiencing the most intense pain a living creature could feel, and exploded into ashes. From the beginning, they were discarded pawns, mere sacrifices to buy time, and they received a fittingly horrific end.

Jenis looked down at the scene that was horrifying from one angle but, from another, beautifully mesmerizing and briefly fell into admiration.

“So, this is one way to kill…”

The Great Sage stroked the orb at the top of his staff. If this magic had been directed towards humans, she would have likely felt a wave of nausea along with deep sympathy. However, for races that could not coexist, ironic empathy was not something a sane person harbored.

If such folks existed, they would have all died at the hands of those races. Beings with whom dialogue was impossible. Entities unworthy of coexistence; that was the essence of beings like orcs and goblins.

And Jeongjae, who understood well just how much slaughter and destruction had been wrought by the war puppets driven by the Demon King’s desire to conquer, felt no sentiment beyond admiration as he observed the dying goblins.

“Lady! You did it! The magical barrier is lifting! Now we can save the southern territories!”

“That… that’s really… wonderful…”

Gemini uttered as she barely managed to stay conscious and dropped heavily to the ground. The dignified noblewoman in her fifties, who engaged in an immense labor for the first time in her life, gasped for breath, having forgotten all her poise and status, while repeatedly retching. Jenis hurried over to support Countess Koesernis.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… but I’ll need to rest here for a while…”

The state of Countess Koesernis was evidently far from ‘fine’. Eventually, Jenis gave up lifting her and let her sit down on the ground instead.

As Jeongjae’s magic was lifted, the icy remnants on the ground vanished completely. What remained in the territory were empty buildings and ash piles of goblins and kobolds that could barely retain their shapes. Confident that there were no more threats around, Jeongjae turned to Jenis.

“Jenis. We need to hurry.”

“I know, Professor. Is she… um… going to be alright?”

Gemini, having stopped retching, looked up at the two. Although she had executed a magic of much higher difficulty than them, the Countess couldn’t help but smile self-deprecatingly upon seeing the two of them already prepared for the next battle.

“You both are truly remarkable. It’s impressive… using magic of such scale and already planning to sprint to the next battlefield…”

“Well, to truly understand someone’s capabilities, the depth of their resolve matters the most.”

Jenis said as she leaned on her staff.

“I was genuinely moved by the resolve you showed, my lady. As such, I too plan to push myself until I drop, inspired by you.”

Gemini shook her head at Jenis’ words. It seemed she had regained enough strength to hold a conversation, but her legs still didn’t look like they would support her weight.

“There are people in this world who can afford to exhaust themselves and those who cannot. You, Great Sage, must never show such a sight to others. Think about it. The spirits of the soldiers who fall in battle are noble, but if the Hero were to fall to an enemy on the battlefield, how dreadful that would be.”

At the Countess’s words, Jenis nodded with a smile on her face.

“I understand. Then I must have the resolve to not fall while still bearing the readiness to drop.”

“Interesting perspective. But I do believe that’s the right way to think.”

Thus, their conversation roughly came to a close. Jenis cast furtive glances at Jeongjae as she slowly folded her wings stretched across her back. Jeongjae, with a slight smile, patted Jenis on the shoulder.

“Why are you trying to hide that now?”

“But… don’t you dislike them? The vampires…”

“What I hate are the vampires who suck human blood. Rather, the stronger our allies are, the better.”

“Trustworthy… trustworthy…”

Jenis repeated Jeongjae’s words with her head slightly lowered.

“Maybe not everyone feels that way.”

“Jenis, I may not be the brightest, but I’m not that foolish. Regardless of what Rose says, what the Emperor says, or even what Walter may say, it doesn’t matter. If your intent is to stand against the demon kin and protect humanity, you are on my side. No need for me to intervene in the other matters.”

Jeongjae, keenly sensing the flowing current of political tension among people, knew that Jenis’s recent actions were creating a subtle political tension within the hero party.

Probably the only one who wasn’t directly involved in the issues at hand would be Margaret from Eramenia. Even Bernard, the one who seemed the most free-spirited, had started keeping an eye on Walter the moment he sensed the Crown Princess’s discomfort with the current situation.

Margaret could maintain the most detached stance on these matters because her view of the issues was very straightforward and clear, just like Jeongjae’s. Regardless of how the Empire’s political matters are resolved, it was their concern. The Elf Lord was wise enough not to meddle in imperial assembly decisions or the Hero’s choices.

In fact, Jeongjae had learned this mindset from observing Margaret. As an outsider who was not born in the Empire, Jeongjae’s perspective was already sufficient and beyond.

“As long as I stand against the demon kin and fight for humanity, I can trust that you’ll always be on my side, Professor. Right?”

“That’s enough. Let’s get moving. As you said, I tend to be a bit sleepier, so I want to catch up to the enemy before sunset.”

 

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