[153] The Second Encounter (2)
"We've definitely gotten close. If we go another kilometer—"
Just as Amy was about to explain, a blazing ball erupted from the forest with a thunderous roar.
"Ambush! Evade!"
Shirone's party scattered in different directions. Flames slammed into the ground, tearing the air as they grew, then dissipated into heat.
"Fireball?"
"Amy! Watch out!"
A second and third attack came at once.
But Amy didn't dodge. She took a fighting stance, fixed her gaze on the fire, and pierced the fireballs with an equal number of Flame Strikes.
"Come out! Cowardly ambushes like that!"
"Impressive skill. Getting this far wasn't just luck."
Shirone's party turned to look down the path. A man walked out of the trees. He was roughly Rian's height, with a slim, agile frame.
Though he had no visible eyebrows, he wore his hair slicked back with confidence; his pale features made him look almost serpentine.
"Who are you?" Shirone asked.
"Deputy captain of the Parrot Mercenaries. Agado Freeman."
The title of deputy put tension on Shirone's companions' faces. But it also meant their destination couldn't be far.
"Shirone, I'll handle this. When I give the signal, take Rian and Tess to the cliff."
"You can't do that. It's too dangerous."
"What about you? Did you forget you ran headfirst into a trap alone? Are you going to keep underestimating me?"
"I'm not underestimating you. That man isn't alone. About twenty people are hiding in the forest."
Amy had already confirmed that through the Spirit Zone. Precisely because of that, she wanted Shirone to go first.
If they got stuck here, they'd only buy time for the reinforcements at the first gate.
Amy raised her hand to persuade Shirone and pointed at Freeman.
"Shirone, look at that man's weapon. It's a gun."
Shirone turned and looked closely. The weapon in the man's hand matched exactly what he'd read about in books.
Mana bullets used in bows required replacing the tips, but guns were specially made to use mana rounds exclusively.
They were devices that loaded a small number of mana rounds and fired them forward—by the looks of it a revolver-style design with a rotating cylinder for rapid fire.
"See? You know what a gun is. You can change rounds faster than arrows, and it's a direct-fire weapon. Unlike arrows that detonate on impact, these rounds are already activated when fired, so they're specialized for mid-to-long-range combat. I'd bet everyone hiding in the forest is using those guns."
Shirone understood what Amy meant.
"All right. Then I'll leave this to you."
Rian and Tess exchanged puzzled looks. The more they thought about guns, the more dangerous it seemed. Why did Shirone decide to leave Amy alone?
"I'll buy you time with a Fire Wall so they can't pursue. Break through in that gap."
"Okay. Rian, Tess, get ready."
If it was Shirone's decision, Rian followed without question. It felt wrong to leave a comrade, but there was no time for debate. Tess swallowed hard and prepared to bolt.
"Now! Go!"
Amy finished gathering her concentration and shouted, eyes blazing. Shirone set a direction and ran, Rian and Tess flanking him.
As expected, flames launched from the forest on all sides from the gunners.
Amy cast a Fire Wall in the shape of a massive circle.
The ground began to bubble like porridge, and flames that rose from beneath their feet surged forward with terrifying speed, eating into the trees.
She amplified her mental power and the wall of fire blazed fiercely, blocking the enemies' line of sight.
At the same moment Shirone grabbed Rian and Tess and initiated teleportation. The range was shorter than a high-level mage's, but it was enough to make them vanish from the attackers' view.
Hearing the teleportation, Amy finally let the Fire Wall fall and panted.
The Fire Wall—nicknamed a mana-sapping parasite—required continuous mental power to maintain.
Despite its tremendous power, it wasn't overpowered because the cost to cast and sustain it was so high.
Freeman, however, could only admire. The girl standing before him was no more than a teenager.
As far as he knew, mages that young who could summon a Fire Wall of that scale were exceedingly rare.
"How admirable. Sacrificing yourself for your comrades."
"Hah! Don't call it sacrifice. I sent him because I can handle it alone."
"Is that so? You look pretty tired. Sorry, but we're on a tight schedule. We can't wait."
As Freeman finished, his men appeared.
No one among them bothered to extinguish the burning forest, proof they had no mages. But all were Schema users and, like Freeman, held guns.
A fighting style that blended Schema and magic—on the battlefield, such fighters were called gunners.
Amy had never faced a gunner unit up close, but she could predict their tactics. She herself could handle both long-range magic and Schema.
Freeman's men opened their cylinders and loaded mana rounds. Each cylinder held at least six rounds. With two cylinders per gun that meant twelve rounds per shooter; with twenty shooters, that added up to 240 mana rounds in a full firing cycle before reloading.
"Sorry, but your reckless adventure ends here."
At Freeman's command, his men raised their guns.
They were a far cry from Falcoa's ragtag followers—disciplined, focused on one thing only: eliminate the enemy.
Amy snorted. Of course Shirone had taken most of the action earlier, but she hadn't expected such a low estimation of her.
"You think you can have a shootout with me with only twenty people?"
Amy tightened her stance as if bracing her abdomen and began to cast.
A gust of wind swirled; fist-sized stones levitated around her, crackling as they ignited.
"This time you picked the wrong opponent."
Amy's eyes flared crimson.
* * *
Even while running, Tess kept glancing back. She'd followed Shirone because she trusted him, but the plan still felt reckless.
Even if gunners lacked raw magical power, they had physical abilities on par with swordsmen.
Thinking of Amy fighting among those men made her stomach knot.
"Shirone, why don't we turn back now? I'm worried about Amy."
"It'll be fine. If we stall, it'll work against us. Reinforcements that survived the first gate might pursue. Getting to the hideout quickly is the priority."
"I know that, but what about Amy? Wouldn't it be better if you cleared them out yourself?"
Shirone smiled wryly, as if he'd read Tess's thoughts.
"That's not it. You can't judge a mage's skill only by raw power. It depends on the situation and their specialty. Against gunners, Amy will be several times stronger than I am."
Tess looked incredulous.
She knew Shirone was in his final year, but the feats she'd seen since arriving were astounding.
How could anyone be several times stronger than Shirone?
"Is that possible? No matter how skilled someone is, numbers still matter."
As a swordswoman, Tess thought in terms of physical force.
Indeed, the arithmetic sum of physical strength mattered in battle.
But with magic, things were different.
To a mage who manipulated countless phenomena, enemy numbers weren't the chief concern.
What mattered was the ability to shape the situation so their honed powers produced maximum efficiency.
"The properties of photons and flames differ. Their area effects differ, too. Amy specializes in long-range magic. That amplifies the advantage of her crimson eyes. No matter how many enemies there are, if Amy fights them in her domain…"
Shirone said with certainty, "They can't possibly beat her."
Tess swallowed. Around Shirone and Amy she usually felt like an older sister dealing with a stubborn kid, but in battle they became icy and precise.
"You two are incredible. How can you be so certain?"
"That's because you misunderstand, Tess. I think you're amazing, too."
"Tch. As if. You were the one who broke my pride, and I didn't even help."
Shirone didn't agree. Mastery between a swordsman and a mage simply develops differently.
Those who excel in mental disciplines often achieve results that defy age, while swordsmen—whose growth depends on physical development—tend to show their prowess later.
Tess and Rian would grow stronger. They would sharpen a single blade with conviction and walk their own path.
"Shirone, we've arrived."
They left the forest and saw the blue sea rolling beyond a sheer cliff.
To the east of the cliff stood a brick house—the hideout. But to reach it they had to pass the final gate.
Falcoa, the action leader, waited for Shirone's group.
Tess frowned. By the personality she'd judged, he should have drawn his sword and charged already.
"What the— that bastard's still here?"
"Kukuku. Blowing him up at the start would've been more fun, but we have our reasons."
Marsha had given the order. It wasn't Falcoa's preferred plan, but he obeyed—the person who'd turned him from a societal villain into a frontline hero had told him to.
"Anyway, you made it this far. The captain was right. The woman you want is in that building. Go in and take her out, or bring her out—whatever."
Falcoa turned as if to open the way. But Shirone's party didn't move. A different kind of killing intent blocked the path—an atmosphere unlike anything they'd seen in the palace.
Tess understood Amy's feeling. To fight an opponent of that caliber, they had to accept risk.
"We'll draw them off. Rian and I will handle this. Shirone, you go in and bring Yuna out."
Shirone nodded without hesitation. At his obvious assent, Tess realized why Amy had been smiling. Instead of feeling slighted, she felt warmed.
'It's not such a cold world after all. So this is what being trusted feels like.'
With Shirone's skill, slipping in alone would be no problem. After a brief pause he cast teleportation and vanished in a flash.
Falcoa didn't even look away.
From that, Tess realized he'd intended to let Shirone go all along.
"Why is that?"
"Well, the captain ordered it, and besides—I prefer the company of women."
Falcoa drew his sword and pointed it at Tess. He was coarse, but the drunken stagger was gone.
Keeping her eyes on Falcoa, Tess explained the plan to Rian.
"He's a Schema user. You attack while I hold him."
From what they'd seen, Falcoa's skill could be guessed. That meant Tess, also a Schema user, defending would increase their chance of survival.
"No. I'll hold him. You attack."
"You idiot. How are you going to hold him? As much as I hate to say it, you alone can't stop him."
"If it's impossible, then I'll just die."
"What?"
Tess widened her eyes in disbelief. Rian was serious. It wasn't that he'd given up—he was resolved to fight on his terms.
"We're staying here to beat him. We're not fighting to preserve our lives."
Tess couldn't object.
"If you hold him, you might buy time. But you know as well as I do—that won't win it. We'd both end up dead. So I'll hold him; you focus on attacking while I do. No matter what."
Rian was right. It was useless to dull a sword or thicken a shield—true strategy was sharpening the blade even if it cost a life.