Chapter 66
Lucid swallowed dryly in the taut tension. His instincts were screaming. He needed to run away right now.
“Excuse me.”
“Why?”
For a moment, he was flustered by her unexpectedly meek response.
Lucid desperately racked his brain.
“Could you let me off just this once?”
“Why would I?”
“Because I’m in a bad condition right now, wouldn’t it be more fun to fight properly later?”
Even if he was in perfect shape, he doubted he could stand against her.
He wasn’t planning to flee, but at the very least, he wanted to buy some time.
Lucid tensed his body, glaring at his opponent, but she merely stared back at him with an indifferent expression.
After ten seconds of standoff, Stella slowly opened her mouth.
“Hand over half of the bell.”
“…What?”
The casual words that slipped from her lips were unexpectedly peaceful, prompting Lucid to ask back without realizing it.
“If you hand over half, I’ll just let you go, you know?”
Her unexpectedly gentle attitude.
No matter how much she belonged to the Three Great Clans, the opponent was an Archmage.
Moreover, he knew very well that, given the state he was in, the gap between him and her was glaringly clear.
For such a strong person to let him off with just half was a significant concession.
Just as he was about to hand over the bell, a spear of blood flew toward Stella.
With a slight tilt of her head, Stella dodged the attack and flashed a chilling smile.
“You’ve got good instincts, huh?”
“You never intended to let me go in the first place, right? Who would be fooled by your menacing aura?”
“Hmm… Indeed, it looks like the Three Great Clans got their reputation for a reason. You’re sharp.”
With that, Stella casually relaxed her body and suddenly vanished from Lucid’s sight.
-Crash!
“…!!”
In an instant, Stella, holding a knife, infiltrated Lucid’s blind spot.
If not for his acute sensory abilities, he wouldn’t have even been able to counterattack.
Barely deflecting the knife with a blood scythe, he could still see that her expression was devoid of emotion.
The knife swung mercilessly,
-Creeeek!!
“Ugh!!”
The incredible sound was enough to shake the ground around them.
It was like a natural disaster, the kind of phenomenon not even humans could unleash.
‘Is this the might of a Mage?’
On the surface, she looked like nothing more than a cute little girl.
“What the… a monster…!”
In just one exchange, Lucid painfully recognized the vast difference between himself and his opponent.
It wasn’t even fast. She hadn’t used any special techniques.
She hadn’t even used much magic power.
Just a single downward slash drawn in a straight line.
That one slash broke Lucid’s arm in an instant.
Even as it broke, it made a sizzling sound as it healed, but it was still far too burdensome to withstand.
It felt like an enormous weight, as if somone was trying to push a mountain down on him.
“How can I handle this?”
“What is this…”
His tone expressed genuine surprise at having taken the blow, but it didn’t come off as arrogant.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been split in half from that one strike alone.
Just as he was about to be crushed to the ground, a shadow leaped out from behind.
“Whoa!”
-Bang!
The sound was like a cannon being fired.
A vicious strike aimed at the back of his neck, but the punch was intercepted by another knife.
“I thought you’d come, but to the neck? You’re not trying to kill me, are you?”
“Sorry… I figured you would stop it anyway.”
“Anubis…?”
“Lucid-san, please take cover for a moment.”
With that, Anubis, gripping Stella’s arm, created an opportunity for Lucid to escape.
“Thank you… but we’re on the other side…”
Anubis smiled as he replied.
“While the exam is important, protecting my lord is the duty of a subordinate.”
“Oh—what a wonderful master-servant relationship… but who sent you?”
As Stella dropped her knife, she surged toward the capital from behind.
“Ugh!”
Having taken a hit to the neck, Anubis froze for a moment.
In that instant when he dropped his guard, a wave-like barrage of water magic struck his body. So fast it appeared as if there were multiple blades.
“Ugh… as expected, you’re strong, Stella…”
“Can you endure this? I guess being in a growth period has made you more resilient.”
Picking up the knife that had fallen on the ground, Stella infused it with magic power.
“So, what else are you going to show me?”
As Stella walked toward him slowly, Anubis took a deep breath.
Realizing her intent, she leaped high to evade.
“That won’t work on me.”
“Hah!”
His chest swelled like a balloon.
He expelled the compressed air toward the front as if firing a cannon.
-Wooooosh!
The explosive sound shook the ground all around.
The trees caught in the blast, having held firm for a hundred years, were uprooted and destroyed, instantly collapsing into dozens of shapeless pieces.
“…Is this for real?”
‘What sort of range is that…?’
It wasn’t magic manipulation but sheer brute strength causing this level of destruction.
If he took the full brunt of that, he had serious doubts he’d emerge unscathed.
“Seriously, you’re too dangerous! You can’t be allowed to roam free.”
While soaring through the air, Stella approached Anubis, aiming her hand toward his head, just as a rainbow of flames split between them.
Amaterasu (天照大神)
“This is…”
“Phew… looks like I’m not too late.”
Goei appeared brandishing Cia, her yellow eyes glistening as she took her stance.
“Honestly, don’t go off on your own, Anubis.”
“Cia… thank you!”
“Wasn’t that attack a bit much? I almost got taken out…”
“I thought you would dodge.”
“Seriously, what do you think I am? I managed to dodge, but still…”
At that moment, a sound like clashing steel filled the forest.
“Is this all you got? Gruwein, you’re still lacking!”
“This is so annoying…”
Ciel and Scarlet emerged, breaking trees in their path.
It was the moment when most of the game’s protagonists gathered in one place.
“You are… that Mage!”
“…”
Recognizing Stella, the two gathered their energy.
They exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
“Let’s cooperate here.”
“Just this once.”
Stella looked at the weapons aimed at her and hung her head low.
“Look at this…”
She whispered, covering her face with her hands as she continued to look skyward.
“This is fun, huh?”
With those words, a cold smile crept onto her lips.
“It’s coming!”
Suddenly, Stella vanished from their view.
The spot she reappeared was directly in front of Ciel.
She swung her knife lightly, but the force behind that blow was not light at all; if taken head-on, her sword would not survive.
Ciel immediately bent down, instinctively believing her life depended on it.
And as she confirmed her judgment was right…
“Tch… she’s fast, as expected.”
She witnessed the tree right behind her being shattered like lightning.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“No? It’s nothing like that.”
Despite her words, there was a genuine intensity behind them.
The blatant hostility, far more evident than others, made Ciel question.
“You… there have been rumors that you and Nova have been practicing swordsmanship together a lot recently…”
“…Huh?”
“Is that true?”
Not grasping the intent behind the question unrelated to the exam, Ciel replied.
“Yeah, we practiced together.”
“…”
Upon hearing that, Stella’s expression turned cold.
“Is that so?”
“Idiot! Why’d you put it that way?”
“Ah, come on! That’s a trigger for outbursts!”
As Cia and Scarlet shouted and charged in, Anubis hugged Lucid with beast-like instincts.
“W-Wait, Anubis!”
‘It’s coming!’
Anubis felt it.
Much more refined, sharper magic power was being released, enough to discern the opponent’s level by just sensing that fleeting power.
Now, he could distinctly sense that Stella was emanating a magical energy that far surpassed the Magic Power density of the forest.
“It’s endless, huh…”
With all his nerves on edge before him, Stella mumbled something and lifted her knife.
“I never liked you from the start…”
What did she mean?
Before Ciel could decipher the true meaning of her words…
Imperial Sword Form (帝王劍形)
A white flash split the Grandis Forest into upper and lower halves.
The sound of the attack was delayed enough that Ciel could not react.
The cut was so clean it left no trace behind.
In that miraculous moment when the Mage wielded a knife, Ciel felt no pain for several seconds.
As the world around distorted before returning to normal,
-KABOOM!!!!!
The trees, soil, air, and forest obliterated without a trace.
In the midst of it all, Ciel was sent soaring through the air, rolling across the ground.
“Cough!”
The sheer force was enough to send Cia and Scarlet flying far away.
Only Anubis, who hunched down to protect Lucid, remained at that spot.
“Lucid-san.”
“Uh… uh! What’s going on?”
“I’ll hold them off. Please take cover first.”
Seeing Stella approaching leisurely, Lucid shouted.
“Don’t be ridiculous! How can you face that insane woman alone…”
“I left a blood pack near the rock by the waterfall to the northeast.”
“What?”
“Use that to regain your strength. Then team up with your companions.”
“You…”
Noticing the smile he directed toward her, Lucid steeled his resolve.
He dashed northeast while shouting.
“I’ll definitely come back to save you! You have to wait!”
As Lucid left, Stella sighed.
“Hey… not a single one of you is dead? Anyone watching would think I’m the villain.”
“But you’re going to take the bell, right?”
“Well, yeah, so hand over the bell… ugh!”
“Is… are you alright, Stella?”
As platinum symbols enveloped Stella, Anubis approached in surprise.
“I’m f-fine… the side effects are hitting me right away…”
“Side effects?”
“No, it’s nothing. Shall we begin?”
*
“It should be around here somewhere…”
Arriving at the waterfall, Lucid searched thoroughly under the rocks.
“Where on earth is it?!”
No matter how much he searched, the blood pack wouldn’t show up, and Lucid was growing increasingly haggard.
“I’m starting to get into real danger…”
Unable to even move, his body became weak, and Lucid stumbled.
Just as he was about to fall forward, a figure caught him.
“…Where the hell have you been, you useless peasant…?”
“…I’ll give you my blood.”
“What? Who would want your blood…?”
With his blood-red pupils glistening, Nova spoke.
“I have a condition.”
