The swordsman may drag out time, but what use is it for a mage to do so? There weren’t many things a swordsman could achieve in a short amount of time.
However, Mr. Raymond’s will seemed resolute.
“While you do that, try to do something to attract attention. Then, no matter how much you want to keep an eye on me, you’ll have no choice but to divert your gaze.”
“But, how…?”
“I trust you. I believe you’re a man who can at least save your fiancée.”
Wasn’t that just a simple passing of responsibility?
I wanted to protest in confusion, but before I could, the girl’s mouth opened.
“Ah, it’s such sweet and joyful music no matter when I hear it… The screams of the foolish, how sweet they are.”
With a quavering voice of ecstasy, the blood-red curtain closed once more.
Threads danced along the chaotic, blood-red sun.
And the blood-red threads, heated to their limit, aimed straight for the faceless monsters that screamed.
The sound of hundreds of threads piercing flesh resonated.
While I slightly frowned at the unpleasant sound, the volume of screams multiplied even further, erupting from all directions.
Monsters stained red were breaking through the threads.
It was then that Mr. Raymond clapped my back once.
“Then, let’s start!”
Immediately after, the storm of lightning once again warmed the ground.
Bang, bang, bang!
Explosions erupted, but the blood-drenched monsters didn’t easily back down. Instead, they charged towards us without slowing down even amidst the bombardment of electricity.
I clenched my teeth and drew my sword sideways once more.
The Milky Way poured down, leaving a trajectory.
The color of the monsters, touched by the silver aura, gradually faded. Monsters that had once held a vivid red hue collapsed, losing their saturation as they passed through the silver mist.
There was no time to hesitate anyway.
My legs instinctively dashed towards the back of the girl. To where Senior Elsi, Celin, and my sister Liya were situated.
Then, a blood-red whip tore through the air, smashing the ground right in front of me.
Golden eyes were looking at me, a thick smile at their corners.
“Where do you think you’re going, big brother? You should play with your little sister, whom you haven’t seen in a while… just like you did with that fake!”
At the end, it was a scream released in desperation.
Two lines of whips struck the ground alternately like a guillotine. I had to roll my body this way and that to avoid the assault of the blood-red force.
Forward, backward.
If that didn’t work, I’d use my sword.
With a dull shockwave, my lungs compressed. My body, unable to fully withstand that momentum, dug slightly into the ground.
It was only thanks to using “Bind” that I managed to endure.
Had I tried to disperse the whips with “Release,” I would have already been incapacitated, rolling on the ground.
Fortunately, the girl didn’t intend to kill me.
If she had, I would have already been turned into a handful of blood and water.
Seeing my thrashing, the girl hummed a cheerful tune.
“Good, good! What a wonderful dance? In response to that…!”
With a snap, a vertical line was drawn from the sky.
The girl’s eyes were blankly fixed on that golden line. The direction the line aimed at was clearly where she stood.
A golden explosion erupted.
A pillar of lightning struck the girl directly. Even the aftermath made my muscles tremble. Riding the wave of the explosion, I seized the voice that soared through.
“Son-in-law! Hurry!”
It was a rather strained tone.
In order not to miss the opportunity Mr. Raymond had created, I slammed my foot into the ground once more. At first glance, it was a terrifyingly powerful spell, but the opening it created was merely a split second.
With a snap, the lightning splintered and scattered.
Within it stood the girl, her face a picture of anger. Just looking at her rising voice made it clear.
“This old hag, really… do you want to go at it now…!”
At that moment, her golden eyes unconsciously turned to chase me.
Though it was a short time, it was enough to achieve my goal. I was kicking the ground with all my strength.
The end was clear. I had no intention of hiding it.
The place where the hostages were bound.
And from the sword in my hand, the silver aura was scattering again.
Various thoughts flickered across the girl’s retinas.
Yes, think about it.
How did I manage to release the restraining device?
It wouldn’t take long for the scattered clues to return to their places. The girl’s mouth slightly opened, then quickly shut tight.
The golden eyes burned like a blazing fire.
“What a pointless act…!”
The blood-red whip flew in, but it was already too late.
With a snap, the hand axe I drew shattered the nearest restraining device.
It was Liya. Seeing Liya’s pale complexion, I hurriedly asked about her well-being.
“Liya, Liya… were you very scared? It’s okay now… cough!”
“Big brother!”
With a clang, the blood-red whip struck my side.
I barely managed to block it with the hand axe, but I couldn’t completely nullify the impact. It seemed to carry a fair amount of intent; the aftermath alone left my side sore.
The heightened sensitivity relayed a staggering pain to my brain.
Yet, I grit my teeth and suppressed my groans. Deliberately putting on a warm expression, my hand gently stroked Liya’s cheek.
Of course, the hand axe didn’t stop.
Clang, clang!
Like a blacksmith striking with a hammer, I swung the hand axe with force. With each swing, a restraining device around Liya would fall away.
The sound of soothing Liya continued endlessly.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Liya… I’ll save you.”
Then, a sound of crushed teeth echoed from the clenched jaws.
The girl’s eyes, holding back anger to the limit, burned with hatred and jealousy. In fact, this was just the way I intended it.
She wouldn’t be able to look away.
She was born that way.
Though I felt somewhat sorry for that, the sight of me finding a way to use it was disgusting.
Just as much, I wanted to save my comrades.
In the end, wasn’t I similar in nature?
A sneer for myself formed faintly at the corners of my mouth. Until now, I had prided myself on being different, but when a dire situation arises, everyone tends to make compromises.
If I were to go back to the past.
Could I truly tell myself not to use bloodlines?
If I had, I would have ended up a half cripple, while the retinue of the dark god roamed the earth.
The answer was unclear. Something perhaps I didn’t know.
As the girl said, maybe the gods didn’t exist.
Pathetically, I chose to compromise with reality.
“How dare you, how dare you… how! In front of me!!”
Exceeding anger delayed her actions instead.
In that gap, I released all of Liya’s restrictions and gave her back a pat.
“Hurry and escape, Liya. I won’t kill you.”
“What about you, big brother?”
Rather than answering, I gave her a smile.
Then, with a bang, my body was pushed back. It wasn’t just the blood-red whip. Threads of blood were surrounding me like a spider web, closing in on me.
“That fake!!!”
Regardless of her cries, I dashed towards Senior Elsi, thrusting the sword deep into the ground.
It was when the blood-red threads were closing in on me.
With a bang, the explosion erupted, and the silver aura spread, tearing through the blood-red threads.
It was already at its limit. Perhaps due to squeezing all my magic dry, my blood vessels were screaming.
But this much was sufficient.
Just before Liya swung the blood-red whip again.
A low rumble began.
The previously silent atmosphere started to cry out.
The girl had planned to ignore this, but in front of the high-density magical energy that dyed the world blue, there was nothing she could do.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the origin of the tempest.
There stood the Archmage, maintaining silence.
The wheels of thunder that rose behind him began to spin fiercely, vomiting power. The stronger the rotation became, the more potent the aura emitted from the Archmage grew.
Before long, there were no intact monsters standing nearby.
A gasp akin to a moan escaped from the girl’s mouth.
“Before long…!”
With a whoosh, splat.
Covered in sweat, blood, and dust, the middle-aged man’s face was exhausted. Yet, the obsidian staff he held did not cease being thrown and caught.
A faint smile flickered across the Archmage’s lips.
“What will you do now?”
At those words, the girl’s eyebrows narrowed angrily.
If she decided to keep Mr. Raymond in check, she would have to abandon the hostages. In that case, the choices for both Mr. Raymond and I would become simple.
We could escape.
There would be no reason to face the girl head-on.
Conversely, if she chose to protect the hostages?
She would have to withstand the full-force magic of the Archmage. That was a choice that seemed to burden even the girl greatly, as she hesitated, unsure.
In that moment, I also freed Senior Elsi.
The girl’s head drooped.
“Hah, hahah…”
Had she given up?
The girl’s blood-red whip began to spin like a chariot. Its target was the Archmage.
I quickly rushed to Celin and swung the hand axe.
Clang, clang!
Even as the restraining device was being removed, Celin remained in a daze, only offering soft groans.
A desperate plea escaped my lips.
“Wake up, wake up. Celin!”
Bang, bang!
The sounds of the whip clashing with lightning echoed. Mr. Raymond didn’t seem to have any intentions of easily canceling his spell.
We won.
Just as I was beginning to feel that certainty.
“Puhah, ahahahahahahaha!”
The girl’s crazy laughter rang out.
With a sudden kick, Celin, who had just been freed, struck me in the solar plexus.
