Making the Impossible Possible

Far above in the sky, Eva and Nell were locked in a relentless back-and-forth, neither yielding an inch.

Their expressions, however, couldn't have been more different. Eva looked like she was in agony, while Nell wore a playful, mocking smirk. The weight of her feelings for her former best friend pierced Eva’s heart like a physical blade.

"—Not bad at all. Just how much training have you been doing? You must’ve been pretty lonely after King and I vanished."

Eva didn't offer a word in response. She knew that some answers could only be dragged out through victory.

"So sad. You won’t even talk to an old friend? Well, I suppose this counts as a conversation in its own way. Anyway, it looks like the game is entering the final stage. It’s about time we settled this."

With those words, Nell allowed a truly staggering amount of mana to surge forth. Not to be outdone, Eva forced her own power to double in response.

"—Hehe."

Without saying a word, Eva hurled her mana directly at her opponent.

---

Meanwhile, Milk was busy trading blows with King.

"Hey, for a stinking human, aren't you a little too strong?"

"What’s this? Are the Demon Race prone to whining?" Milk retorted coolly. "Or is it because you used to be human that you still have those pesky emotions?"

King’s expression shifted instantly at her words.

"Struck a nerve, did I? It’s so much easier to work with when members of the Demon Race are simpletons."

"Y-you...! That’s playing dirty!"

"If this is the caliber of the help, I can't imagine the Demon King amounts to much either."

"I’m going to kill you!"

Milk let out a confident, relaxed smile, but her eyes remained sharp and vigilant as she called out to the two girls nearby.

"Eleanor, Sierra. The monsters have settled down. Get moving and get to Weiss."

"A-Are you going to be okay?"

"Even for you, Teacher Milk, facing one of the Demon Race alone is—"

"I’ll be fine," Milk interrupted. "Actually, I’ve been wanting to get serious for the first time in a while."

"I... I understand. Big sister, let's go!"

"...Please, don't overdo it."

With those parting words, Eleanor and Sierra descended toward the ground. King’s face twisted in a mask of pure rage at the sight of them leaving.

Milk raised her sword into a sharp, lethal stance.

"Come and get me, you half-baked former human. I’ll show you exactly what people are capable of."

Flames began to roar from Teacher Milk’s blade. A thin, shimmering film of water coated her skin—every inch of her was enveloped in high-density mana.

"—Don't you dare think a pathetic human can ever beat the Demon Race!"

"You just threw away your humanity because it was the easy path. Don't flatter yourself."

"Shut your mouth!"

---

"—One-Hit Kill."

Near the West Gate, Tura was carving her way through a sea of monsters as she pushed toward my location. She was a whirlwind of steel, protecting the civilians without letting her guard drop for a single second.

Beside her, Olynn was currently subjugating ten High-level Monsters. He even had a few flying types under his thumb. He had linked his consciousness to all of them; every sight and sound perceived by the monsters flowed directly into him. His subjugation abilities had clearly reached an awakening level.

"Tura-san, I’ll leave these monsters here to hold the line. Let’s make a break for Weiss-kun!"

"Can you really pull that off?"

"I can. That’s exactly what I’ve been training for."

Even as he moved, he was manually remote-controlling all ten monsters with pinpoint precision. Tura could only stare in wide-eyed shock as Olynn made his declaration.

---

"Are you okay, Princess Sophia!?"

"Belk, stop trying to score points with her."

"I'm not!"

"You totally are."

"Look, I know you guys are incredibly strong, but please stop bickering!"

"So cool..."

Directly beneath the aerial battlefield where Allen and I were fighting, those reliable little brats—my lowerclassmen—were busy guarding Princess Sophia. Shari looked a bit exasperated by them, but hey, if she has the time to be annoyed, she’s doing fine.

"The Court Soldiers from the Royal Capital are at the West Gate, and the knight mages from our ally, Belfes, are coming in from the east," Shari reported. "Even the adventurers have finished their prep and joined in. Victory is right in front of us!"

"—Alright, you demons. You're cornered. What's the plan? You want to go home and cry to the Demon King—your 'Mama'—or what?"

"Beefa, he’s totally making fun of us~"

"Ugh, you are so noisy."

"Gahaha! This game is tougher than it looks!"

Something about Racom’s response to my taunt felt... off. The intonation reminded me of the world I used to live in. Besides, normally, people only use the word "game" when they're actually playing Battle Universe. To use it as a metaphor for a life-and-death struggle like this...

Suddenly, the Ice Wings on my back let out a sharp, ominous crack.

Crap, they’re at their limit.

Well, I’d done my job. I signaled to everyone and landed on the ground. There was no way these guys were getting through this lineup to kill Princess Sophia. It was impossible.

The Great Full Moon was beginning to fade. Strangely enough, the timing was almost exactly what Cecil had predicted when she said it was "imminent." I guess that’s just how the Noblesse Oblige system works.

"Weiss-senpai! Those wings were so cool! I want to try that too!"

"Maybe next time, Belk. What are you guys even doing here?"

Meryl was the one who answered my question. "I knew you and the other upperclassmen were training in the city after school. I tried to tail you on our days off too, but I lost track of you halfway. It was Meryl’s greatest blunder to arrive so late... Ah, Cynthia-senpai, you are as radiant as ever today!"

"O-Oh, thank you, Meryl-san."

So she’s just a straight-up stalker. Great. I felt a powerful urge to smack her on the head, but I decided to let it slide for today.

Just then, Tura, Olynn, and Duke arrived, with Eleanor and Sierra right behind them. Every single one of them was absolutely drenched in monster blood. Talk about a reliable bunch.

But I couldn't let my guard down yet.

"Sulus, do it."

"The game is entering the final boss battle~"

"Gahaha! Should I add some sound effects? KA-BOOM!"

The next instant, a black circle of teleportation magic erupted beneath Princess Sophia’s feet. She started to sink into it like it was a pitfall. I lunged forward and grabbed her hand, but the suction was incredible. It started dragging me in too.

Before I knew it, we were falling into a rift of pure Darkness.

How... how can they do this?! Where the hell are we going?!

"Weiss!"

Just as the hole was about to snap shut, Allen dived in after us.

My vision went pitch black. It felt like being tossed into a void of nothingness.

"W-What is this...?"

"It’s okay," I said, trying to steady my voice. "We are here. Allen, stay sharp."

"Right."

Suddenly, my vision cleared. We were standing inside a massive cube. All four sides were sealed off in black. Thanks to my Time Lapse skill, I could tell immediately that we were inside a Barrier. Unfortunately, I also knew it wasn't the kind of thing we could just break out of.

However, I could still feel mana signatures nearby. It was Cynthia and the others. Wait, so we didn't actually move? They must have just enclosed us to keep everyone else from interfering.

Then, Sulus, Beefa, and Racom stepped out from the black walls.

"Whew, I’m wiped... Mana’s at zero. I can’t keep this up for more than five minutes, so I’m counting on you guys."

"Assassinating a princess inside a High-level Barrier. It’s simple, but it feels a bit like cheating, doesn't it?"

"Gahaha! But look, we got two bonus prizes along with her!"

I had to protect Sophia inside this cube. But Sulus had made a mistake by telling us his time limit. If he was out of mana, only two of them could actually fight. And with Allen and me at full power, we could definitely hold out for five minutes. Once the barrier dropped, we’d regroup with Cynthia and the others.

Allen reached the same conclusion I did.

"Allen, we just need five minutes. I don’t care if we burn every drop of mana we have. We just have to endure."

"Got it—"

But then, something happened that caught both of us completely off guard. Now I understood why they were so confident about that five-minute window.

"—My, that was quite the struggle. King, you smell like you’ve been singed. You’re a total mess."

"Shut up, Nell! Tsk, I didn't get to finish my fight. Seriously, we’re winning by cheating? Whatever—a win’s a win."

Suddenly, a woman who looked exactly like Eva—the same one who had been fighting in the sky—and a man stepped through the black wall.

Nell? Wait, she’s that girl from back then!

Then I saw the state of the man called King. He was in tatters. That had to be the result of Teacher Milk’s full-power attack. And yet, even after taking a hit like that, he was still standing.

And now, people like that were trapped in this tiny space with us.

"Ah... ah..."

Princess Sophia had clearly realized the sheer gap in mana. She wasn't just a figurehead; she was a mage who had trained hard. She knew exactly how much trouble we were in.

But I was remembering something else. That battle with the dragon. On that day, at that time, we had done it. We had made the impossible possible.

I looked at Allen. He was staring straight ahead, his sword already in a perfect stance. He wasn't trembling. He wasn't afraid. He was simply glaring at the demons.

Nell looked at us and laughed. Up close, she was the spitting image of Eva. Not just in face, either—multiple hands erupted from her back like wings, just like Eva’s. Every single hand was imbued with mana and elemental attributes.

But... as long as I was with him...

"Weiss, we can do this."

"Yeah, you're damn right. Sophia, believe in me—believe in us. I will protect you no matter what. I promised you that, didn't I?"

Sophia fought back her terror and hid behind my back. She wanted to live. And I had an obligation to make that happen.

Making the impossible possible.

That’s the real beauty of Noblesse Oblige.