The battle began.
Boom!!
Deline was the first to charge in with explosive momentum.
Was he trying to end the fight quickly?
Unlike before, he showed no hint of leisure, unleashing his full force in every direction.
[Ugh!]
Even the mage, who controlled this entire space, flinched for a moment.
But—
[How dare you!]
This place was clearly designed for the mage’s advantage.
We had walked straight into the jaws of the beast.
If we wanted to survive, we had to break those jaws with overwhelming force.
Kwaaang—!!
Yeah, just like Deline over there.
“I’ll provide support.”
Seeing Deline effortlessly cut through the thorns, the viscount drew his sword and rushed in.
“Sienna, provide cover.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Let’s go too, rookie.”
Vern and I immediately followed, spreading out to encircle the mage.
[You think you can?!]
The mage shrieked as if in a fit, and the ground flipped over. Roots and thorns erupted into the sky.
…Are all of those from that single tree?
So that’s why there’s only one tree here.
There were more and thicker roots here than in an entire forest.
Swish—!
I twisted my body to dodge a thorn flying toward me.
Boom!
Then I rolled across the ground to avoid a root crashing down from above.
[You’re fast!]
Even with four knights surrounding her, the witch attacked us as if she had eyes on all sides, hurling roots and thorns relentlessly.
And yet—
Boom!! Bang!
At the forefront, Deline bore the brunt of it all.
No, more accurately, the witch was focusing that level of attack to stop Deline.
Even so, he was slowly pushing forward.
Sizzle! Sizzle!!
Before long, acidic liquid from the roots filled the air around Deline.
His armor and cloak sizzled as they were corroded, sending up fumes—but he didn’t seem to care.
Well, as long as it didn’t seep through his helmet, he’d be fine.
At first, we had been extremely cautious against the acid.
But by now, we were getting used to it.
I, too, swung my sword without hesitation, cutting through an incoming thorn and letting the splattering acid hit my armor.
Sizzle—Sizzle!!
Each thorn I cut released a ridiculous amount of acid.
I only dodged the ones that could seep through my helmet and ignored the rest.
And when I couldn’t dodge, I blocked with my sword.
Swish—
A quick flick removed the acid before I swung again.
So far, so good.
But then—
Sssssszzzz!!
…At some point, something changed.
The acid dripping from the severed roots had taken on a darker hue.
What had been a deep red was now nearing black, and the sound it made when hitting my armor was unsettling.
This wasn’t something I could ignore anymore.
Even this alloy might not hold up.
“Damn it!”
“What is this?!”
The viscount and Vern must have noticed the change as well, their voices filled with alarm.
“The acid’s getting stronger!”
“Rookie, be careful!”
It seemed the same was happening to them.
I quickly checked my armor.
Normally, it could withstand a fair amount of acid, but the parts that had just been hit were emitting ominous fumes.
And then—
[How dare you challenge me in my own domain!]
As if she wouldn’t even give us the time to assess our limits, the sharp voice of the witch rang out again.
Rumble—!!
Countless roots surged from the hilltop, as if there was no end to them.
She wasn’t going to give us a single moment to breathe.
She was far stronger than expected.
So this is the power of a mage fighting in their own domain?
Of course, she wasn’t supposed to be this strong.
She was a devil worshipper to begin with.
She must have borrowed power from a demon.
Swish—Thunk!!
I redirected an incoming thorn with the flat of my blade and quickly pulled my body back.
“Hoo…”
Looking around, I could see that everyone was struggling since the acid had changed.
The viscount, Vern, Sienna—
And Deline…
Boom—!! Crash!!!
…He was the only one pushing forward.
His tempo had increased—he was clearly trying to end this quickly.
Then we had to match his pace.
“Let’s break through in one spot!”
I wasn’t the only one who had that thought.
The viscount, after clearing the roots around him, shot forward toward Deline.
I moved quickly to follow, but—
[Not so fast!]
Roots sprang up in front of me, blocking the path.
Thorns rained down from all directions.
So she wouldn’t let the two of us through?
I quickly considered how to evade the attack when—
Kwaaaang—!!!
With a deafening roar.
The roots and thorns blocking my way were obliterated.
The acid not even having a chance to scatter.
“Rookie! Move now!”
“…Thank you.”
Was that Vern’s Rush just now?
It wasn’t the Boyd family’s Vision Rush, so what—
No, no time for analysis.
I dashed forward through the opening Vern had cleared, heading toward the ancient tree.
[Stay away!!]
Deline was already near the tree.
Expressionless, he shredded through the roots and thorns, crushing them to dust as he advanced.
With each step he took forward,
dozens of roots and branches were severed.
A skill bordering on the supernatural.
He looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel—a true Sword Master.
…And yet, he wasn’t an Aura Master.
He was just another aura user like me.
The gap between aura users was staggering.
I kept that thought brief as I launched myself forward.
Even one more sword at his side would be useful.
Reaching Deline’s side.
I wasted no time slashing through the roots around him.
“I’ll assist you!”
The viscount also joined in, clearing the path for Deline.
Seeing this, the mage glared at us with bloodshot eyes.
[You just keep pushing your luck…!!]
Grinding her teeth, she reached out toward us.
The garden trembled.
Roots and thorns twisted together, forming a massive barricade in front of us.
But—
From my perspective, that was a terrible move.
She did this in front of Deline?
All she did was gather the scattered pieces for him.
Boom!!
A towering wooden wall, far taller than us, blocked our way.
Deline didn’t hesitate.
He charged straight into it.
And then—
A blinding flash filled my vision.
KWAGAGAGAGAGAK—!!!!
It was like a bomb had gone off.
Before my eyes, the massive tree’s roots were obliterated in an instant.
[W-What is this…?!]
The mage’s eyes went wide at the sheer destructive force of that Rush.
‘Fleet.’
I seized the moment, activating Fleet to propel myself into the opening.
However—
As the world slowed and my body surged forward.
I caught sight of the mage’s hands forming a magic circle.
And what followed was a movement born purely of instinct.
I had stood beside a mage of the Boyd family, one hailed as their greatest talent, for years.
I had seen their magic countless times.
I knew the quality of my talent was nothing compared to theirs.
But at that moment, without thinking.
I poured Aura into my sword and swung.
‘Rush.’
Immediately after—
Boom—!!
A crimson mass hurtled toward me, only to be blasted away in the opposite direction by my Rush.
Sizzle—!!
[Kyaaah!!]
“Well done!!”
For the first time, Deline’s voice carried emotion as he shouted. The mage’s barrier, struck by the counterattack, wavered violently.
And then—
Even without exchanging a single word,
both the viscount and Deline rushed past me from either side.
In a realm of speed where the mage could never hope to keep up, the two knights charged her at the same time.
[Aaaaah—!]
Deline slashed with full force, ripping through the barrier.
At the same time, the viscount’s sword gleamed with a deep crimson aura—
…Vision Rush?
It wasn’t an ordinary Rush.
As I observed the viscount’s movement closely—
“…!”
His sword—
Wasn’t aimed at the mage.
It was heading straight for Deline.
“Dodge—!”
Before I could even finish my shout,
The viscount’s sword, soaked in ominous aura, struck Deline’s exposed flank.
BOOOOOM—!!!!
An explosion erupted, sending me flying backward as well.
Thud! Crash! Thud!
I tumbled across the ground in my armor, rolling several times.
“Kuh—!”
The sheer impact left my entire body reeling, my mind blank.
“Rookie!”
But—
Hearing Vern’s voice from nearby,
I forced myself to snap back to reality.
Lying on the ground, I lifted my head to look toward the mage and the viscount.
…And what I saw was—
[Hah… Haha… I thought I was going to die, Lord Viscount.]
The female mage, still speaking calmly, despite losing an entire arm in the blast.
And beside her—
“Phew, that went smoothly.”
The viscount, wiping his sword clean.
“…Betrayal?”
I blinked in disbelief.
The viscount was a traitor?
Why?
Nobles were the ruling class in this era.
What reason would he have to side with devil worshippers?
And if he was with them—
Why did he go through all that trouble?
Why did he request reinforcements in the first place?
No—
There’s no time to sort out this mess now.
“Vern.”
Deline’s condition was unknown.
Taking that kind of point-blank Rush—
Even as an armored, skilled aura user, he wouldn’t have walked away unscathed.
Which meant—
“Take care of the captain.”
“What?”
Without waiting for Vern’s response, I pushed myself up and charged at the viscount and the mage.
“Rookie!”
“I’ll create an opening!”
I had to buy time for Vern to check on Deline.
[Not so fast!]
Swish—!
A thorn streaked toward me.
I dodged, leaping out of the way—
Boom!
Then, I kicked off the ground and swung my sword at the viscount.
