Abel, who was fighting in the center of the balcony, noticed that Rihya had been knocked down.
âI only knocked her unconscious.â
Calvinâs voice was not loud, but Abel could hear it clearly.
It also reached San, who was engaged in a swordfight with Abel.
âOkay, now youâre just being naive.â
San spat out.
âSheâs going to become much stronger than this. The strength she displayed was worthy of letting her live. Besides, only King Abelâs head is worth its weight in gold*.â (TLN: No pun intended ^ ^;)(ED: Thatâs a heavy head lol)
Calvinâs unusually long sentence startled not only San but also Connor, the spear-wielder fighting Warren, who muttered in surprise.
âThis is the first time Iâve heard Calvin utter such a long sentence in five years.â
Calvin, while heeding the voices in the background, laid Rihya down in a corner of the balcony and decided not to join in the battle, but to watch the other battles while leaning against the railing.
âCalvin, are you willing to assist me in defeating this shield-bearer?â
âNope.â
Calvin replied curtly to Connor the spear-wielder.
âThatâs what I thought.â
While saying this, Connor the spear-wielder launched dozens of spear attacks, thrusting, cleaving, or smashingâŠbut Warrenâs shield remained unshaken.
The battle of brawns, that is, the battle between the swordsmen and the battle between the spear-wielder and shield-bearer was in a state where the outcome could go either way.
However, the battle between the magicians was gradually coming to a close.
Due to their âresidual magic powerâ, a factor unique to magicians.
The battle between the swordsmen, and one between the spear-wielder and shield-bearer became more intense, perhaps because of this.
To prevent any kind of intervention in the battle between the magicians.
The amount of magic power originally possessed by Bruno of the âFive Dragonsâ and Rin of the âCrimson Swordâ was probably not that different.
Let alone C-rank adventurers, even the few B-rank adventurers, thereâs a world of difference between them and these twoâŠthatâs how advanced they are as magicians.
However, the difference in the slightest loss, complexity, or degree of optimization when performing each magic spell ultimately decided the showdown between the two.
âUgh.â
Finally, Rin dropped to one knee.
Her residual magic power was almost gone.
She was barely able to stay conscious.
Her eyes were blurry and she could barely see.
âI have to admit, your reputation as one of the best wind-attribute magicians in the Kingdom is well deserved. That saidâŠâ
Then Bruno grinned.
âYouâre no match for me.â
Then he pointed his staff at Rin.
âSurrender. Do that, and Iâll spare your life. If you donât, I will kill you. Make no mistake about it, Iâm not Calvin.â
Hearing Brunoâs ultimatum, Rin looked up.
Then she glared back at Bruno and said.
âIn your dreams! For what itâs worth, I am still a disciple of Ilarion Baraha. Iâd rather die than bend over to those who have strayed from the path and trying to kill their King!â
âWhoa, you sure know how to run your mouth. I will kill you, and then Iâll kill Ilarion. Then I will become the best magician in the Kingdom, both in name and in reality. Iâll also kill the man who pretends to be King while at it.â
When Rin refused to surrender, Bruno smiled ominously and declared that he would eventually kill Ilarion as well.
But the moment she heard those words, Rin burst out laughing.
A laugh so out of the ordinary that the word âshrillâ would better describe it.
âWhatâs so funny?â
Thatâs right, there could be no better question to ask this female magician laughing so wildly.
But even her answer was incomprehensible to Bruno.
âThe best in the Kingdom? Did you just say youâll be the best magician in the Kingdom? HahahahahahaâŠ. Thatâs very funnyâŠnah, more like crazyâŠIâd say, I guess ignorance truly is bliss. Let me educate you, you pitiful, ignorant fire-attribute magician, the best magician in the Kingdom is not Master Ilarion. Nor is it me, obviously. The best magician in the Kingdom is a water-attribute magician in Rune.â
After saying that, Rin laughed again.
She truly found it comical from the bottom of her heart, deep in her gutâŠand her laughter showed it.
âA water-attribute magician? What are you even talking about? Have you gone insane from staring death in the face? No, I bet youâre just trying to cheat your way out of this situation, right? Dumb bitch, itâs over.â
âYouâre the fool. If you kill us, you will be hunted for the rest of your pitiful lives. Hunted till you die. Youâll be hunted even if you flee to the ends of the earth. Iâm sure youâre thinking, by who? Well, by that very water-attribute magician, of course.â
Rin glared back at Bruno one last time.
âInteresting! Let him come after us then. This water-attribute magician fellow. I sure would love to meet him.â
Bruno said with a wicked smile on his face.
In that moment, the air changed.
San and Abel, who were engaged in a fierce sword fight, also felt the change.
They both jumped backward at the same time and looked around to see what had happened.
âAfter getting drenched while conducting drills under that bone-chilling rainâŠI finally return to the mansion only to find that thereâs no hot meal?â
The seven people felt as if the air around them had frozen over.
âThen, at least, I thought Iâd take a bath and get a good nightâs sleepâŠlo and behold, I find deadly battles being carried out on top of the balcony of the office?â
Instinctive fearâŠsome of them experienced it for the first time right at that moment.
âAre you trying to piss me off? Is that it? Do you understand the consequences of doing that? Or maybe you do, yet still chose to test my patience? Yeah, okay, then I suppose I better make you understand the gravity of your sins as avidly as possible so that you wonât consider doing something so dumb ever again.â
âRyo⊠has snappedâŠâ
That little mutter of Abelâs, fortunately, did not reach someoneâs ears.
As if to put a face to the voice, the office window opened and the angry water-attribute magician stepped out onto the balcony.
â<Floating Magic Circle>â
Responding to Ryoâs words, sixteen magic circles floated up around him.
Completely overwhelmed, no one could move, but there was only one person who movedâŠno, tried to move.
It was Calvin the scout, the person to whom the magic circle was directed.
But Calvin could not move.
His legs were already frozen in place.
â<Icicle Lance Shower>â
With those words, chanted slowly and deliberately against an opponent who could not escape, tens or even hundreds of extremely thin ice lances shot out from each of the sixteen magic circles, piercing Calvinâs body.
âOof!â
Despite being unable to move his legs, Calvin was able to dodge a considerable number of ice spears with just the dagger in his hand and the movement of his body, which kind of portrayed his ability to be indeed an A-rank adventurer.
However, he was unable to dodge all of them, and his figure, pierced by dozens of ice spears, wasâŠhorrible.
Moreover, all the spears deliberately missed his vital pointsâŠ.
â<Ice Coffin>â
The scout, skewered by dozens of ice spears, was then encased in ice.
Ryo turned to Bruno next, who had frozen up, unable to grasp the situation, with his staff still pointed at Rin.
He must have discerned that Bruno was a fire-attribute magician from the scorched marks in the area.
âFor a pathetic fire-attribute magician, this should be enough. <Laminated Ice Wall 10-Layer Package>â
At that moment, walls of ice surrounded BrunoâŠin all directions.
The thickness of the ice walls started increasing from the walls toward the center.
The same magic that Ryo once used against the Akuma Leonor.
At that time, Leonor brute forced it from the inside and cracked it with <Flame Tornado>âŠ.
âWhat the hell, is thisâŠâ
With those last words, Bruno was frozen.
Good grief, he could at least attempt to resistâŠ.
The third person Ryo turned to was Connor the Spear-wielder.
â<Avatar>â
Ryo chanted, and clones appeared on his left and right. Ryo then held up Murasame.
âWhat the hell is that âŠâ
Connerâs mutterings was heard by no one.
â<Icicle Lance Shower>, <Water Jet Thruster>â
Countless ice lances shot out from three Ryo, including his main body, toward the spear-wielder Connor, and at the same time, water which could be described as minute spurted out from the backs of the three Ryo, rushing in at the same speed as the ice lances.
The landing of the ice lances and the slashes from the three Ryo occurred instantly and converged at the same time.
All that remained was Connor the spear-wielder, who had been pierced by countless ice lances and had both arms and legs slashed off.
âHi, hie, gyaaaahh.â
âOh shush. <Ice Coffin>â
Ryo encased Connor, who was screaming, in ice without wasting time.
âWhat theâŠwhat the fuck are youâŠâ
Swordsman Sanâs voice was hoarse and trembling.
âIsnât it polite to identify yourself first.â
Ryo replied seriously, but San did not seem to hear him.
Instead, Abel answered.
âThis is Swordsman San from the A-rank party âFive Dragonsâ.â
âOh, the one you mentioned beforeâŠ. Not bad, for a human, he seems fairly strong.â
Abel was inwardly relieved because Ryoâs manner of speaking had become somewhat more normal.
To be honest, with the way he was snapping when he showed up, Abel was a little afraid that the whole city of Rune might freeze over.
âNow, Abel, what would you like to do? This San dude or whatever heâs called is commiting high treason by aiming for the Kingâs life, right? Want me to take care of him? OrâŠâ
âNo, please leave him to me.â
Abel said, and then he readied his weapon again and turned to San.
âHmmâŠif thatâs what you want, then Iâll leave it to you. The situation is now under control, so you can take your time now, no pressure.â
Ryo then handed Rin, who was on the verge of running out of magic power, a magic potion and walked over to Rihya, who was lying on the edge of the balcony.
âWho the hell isâŠthat guyâŠâ
San, still unable to regain his composure, muttered.
âThatâs Ryo, a C-rank adventurer from Rune.â
Abel told him politely.
âC-rank? Yeah right!â
âI know right~â
San shouted angrily, and Abel nodded in agreement.
âBut itâs true.â
When Abel said this, San opened his eyes wide and looked at Ryo once.
He then quickly turned his gaze back to Abel.
âIt just goes to show that there are some people in this world who canât be measured by their adventurer rankâŠquite a lot actually.â
Abel said.
San closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and readied his sword once again.
The distraught look he had on his face up to now was gone.
Heâs indeed an A-rank adventurer in that regard.
Abel was honestly impressed.
(To suddenly witness someone like Ryo, who destroys all manner of common sense, and yet still able to regain composure with a single deep breath while having all his friends frozenâŠgotta give it to him.)
Then again, he didnât intend to lose either.
âOkay, letâs do this.â
Saying that, Abel took the initiative and attacked first.
Once again, the sword fight between Abel and San began.