Boom! The explosive sounds died down, and what Rudell saw in front of him was a massive Magic Stone covered in large cracks.
“What the heck!? What happened!?”
In a confusing situation, Iandel shouted as he looked at Rudell and Leje, who also seemed puzzled about what was going on.
However, even saying that, the truth was that the two didn’t understand what was happening either. They only knew that Silphier had taken some kind of action.
“How dare you… mess with me like this!?”
As Iandel watched the scene, he ground his teeth with a grinding sound and tightened his grip on his sword. His veins started to pulse with purple Magic Power, radiating a sinister aura as he glared at the two.
But then, at that moment—
Vroom…!!
“Could it be…”
A rumbling sound started to come from the cracked Magic Stone, which began to emit a bright light once more.
“Looks like our luck is finally on our side.”
“Cheet!!”
Seeing the scene, Iandel grinned and spoke. Rudell, observing this, clicked his tongue in annoyance. Maybe the power wasn’t enough after all.
[S-sorry…!! It was a hastily made explosive…!!]
“Don’t worry about it… Buying time is enough.”
Responding to Silphier’s voice ringing in his ears, Rudell raised his Magic Power. However, after the continuous battle, his Magic Power was nearly depleted.
Of course, he had a plan.
“Leje.”
“I know. You want me to buy you time, right?”
As if reading his thoughts, Leje tightened her grip on her sword with a tense expression. Rudell nodded silently at her response.
“Are you really going to continue? You won’t have any more chances. Besides, you already exhausted your Magic Power.”
“Even so, I don’t want to just sit here and die.”
If that thing activated, everyone, including them, would be dead. If he was going to die one way or another, Rudell chose to struggle until the very last moment.
Hahaha! Alright! This is fun!! Watching the bugs squirm is really entertaining!
Iandel seemed pleased with Rudell’s response, bursting into laughter. Then, signaling this, Leje charged at Iandel.
As the sword strikes imbued with both of their Magic clashed, sparks flew in every direction, and Rudell focused his mind, leaving them behind. His remaining Magic Power was nearly exhausted, but he had one last card up his sleeve.
“I didn’t plan to use this here, but…”
It was the bracelet that Kahlan had given him. This magical item contained an enormous amount of Magic Power. Using it would replenish his nearly drained Magic.
“There’s no helping it.”
Muttering that, Rudell yanked at the bracelet, and as it tore away, a tremendous amount of Magic Power began to flow into his body.
The power flooding his previously empty body awakened his senses, and he felt vitality returning as he raised his Magic Power.
“What…!?”
Simultaneously, Iandel turned his head in disbelief. The emotion reflecting on his face was one of shock.
“So you have time to look elsewhere?”
“Ugh!?”
Meanwhile, Leje swung her Magic-infused sword with a faint smile. With a metallic clang, a low groan escaped from Iandel as Leje pushed him harder.
Even as that happened, the ominous resonating sound from the Magic Stone grew louder, and Rudell raised his Magic Power even higher.
Then, at that moment—
“Get out of the way!!”
Gyaah!
With a loud clash of swords between Iandel and Leje, a thunderous noise erupted, and Leje screamed as she was blasted away, rolling on the ground.
Like she had fainted, Leje’s body slumped, and Rudell swallowed hard at the sight.
“…!!”
However, there was no stopping now. The brief moment Leje had created couldn’t be wasted.
“Can’t you stop right now!?”
Iandel charged at him without hesitation. The sword in his hand emitted a terrifying light, and Rudell found himself clenching his eyes shut instinctively.
Just a few seconds. If he could hold on a few more seconds…!!
Thinking that, Rudell was continuously raising his Magic Power when suddenly—
“Rudell!!”
Thud!!
A massive two-handed axe, familiar to him, flew through the air, parrying Iandel’s sword and causing a low moan as his stance was broken.
In that moment, a tiny gap appeared. It was merely a brief instant, but just that was enough.
In the next moment—
“We won.”
Rudell declared as he released the Magic Power he had gathered.
*
Ugh…
Rudell woke up on the morning of the following day, a full day later. Feeling dizzy, as if his head was spinning, and a nausea that made him feel he’d have to vomit immediately were evident.
It was understandable since he had raised his Magic Power beyond its limits…
“You’re awake?”
“Ah…”
Turning to the familiar voice beside him, he saw Leje lying in the bed next to him.
“Wait, why is your arm like that?”
“This? They said it was just a small crack. The priest healed it, so it should be fine soon.”
Leje showed off her bandaged arm as she answered Rudell’s question. Since her movements didn’t seem impaired, it seemed she wasn’t seriously injured.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“And how are you? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m a bit dizzy, but I’ll be fine soon.”
Slowly inhaling, Rudell regulated his breathing. Not long after, the spinning in his head began to settle, and he looked at her, asking,
“By the way, what happened? Where is this, and what went down?”
“One question at a time. First, this is the Gaia Church’s temple.”
“Temple? How long was I out for?”
“Not long, about a day?”
“Hmm…”
Had he been unconscious for a whole day, and it wasn’t considered a long time?
With a slightly skeptical expression, Rudell let out a low groan.
“You were lucky. When you smashed the Magic Stone, and that guy tried to kill us, the church’s support arrived just in time. The Holy Knight Order.”
“The Holy Knight Order?”
The unique armed force possessed by each church. At the same time, it was the base for maintaining the balance of power between the continent’s various countries.
“Even that guy couldn’t take on the Holy Knight Order. He took off right away.”
“I see…”
It was understandable that after fighting Leje, he wouldn’t take any risks against the Holy Knight Order.
“By the way, always telling me to stay low-key while making a huge mess yourself…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Rudell tilted his head at Leje’s follow-up statement. Meanwhile, Leje let out a short sigh and walked over to the window. Pulling the curtains aside, she said,
“See that? You made it.”
“Ah…”
What Rudell saw was a massive black crystal rising in the center of the city.
Magic Power that had exceeded its limit had solidified, crystallizing into Shadows. He had created something like that before in the kingdom…
“There were quite a number of people who tried to come see you after saying they wanted to meet you. Thankfully, the Archbishop sent them all away.”
“I, I guess I need to send a gift later…”
The only reason he was able to be at peace like this rested on the Archbishop’s goodwill. If it weren’t for him, things would likely have turned very complicated…
Just then, while Rudell was conversing with Leje—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door of the room where the two were. Turning his head, the door opened to reveal Eleor and Meles, the Archbishop of the Gaia Church’s Empire branch.
“Lady Eleor. And Archbishop?”
“I’m glad you woke up.”
“How are you feeling?”
Why on earth were they here?
As Rudell contemplated this while looking at the two, they greeted him with a bow.
“I’m a bit dizzy, but I think I’m okay.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“By the way, about the church…”
“Don’t worry. Whatever their plans were, it has all fallen through now.”
Though he had already heard this from Leje, hearing it confirmed by both of them allowed Rudell to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Eleor and Meles gazed at him for a moment, then—
“Is there something you want to say?”
“Actually, we have a guest who has come to see you.”
As Rudell noticed their attentiveness, Meles replied to his question.
“A guest? Who is it…?”
Who on earth could be important enough that Meles would personally come to talk about it?
Thinking of possible candidates in his mind, he stared at Meles.
Then the next moment—
“Minister of the Empire, Wilhelm Franz.”
“Huh…?”
At Meles’s answer, an incredulous voice escaped from Rudell’s lips.
