Rei and Rhodos stood facing each other within the grove.
Rei held the Death Scythe, his signature crimson weapon, while Rhodos gripped a magic sword. They confronted one another head-on.
Seto was rampaging nearby, and though the sounds of screams echoed from all around, neither man showed any sign of being shaken. They held their weapons at the ready, gauging each other's state, until the sound of another soldier's scream acted as a signal for them to move at once.
"Haaaaah!"
"..."
Rei let out a roar, but Rhodos remained utterly silent.
Rei swung the Death Scythe with the intent to disable rather than kill, but Rhodos thrust his magic sword forward to intercept the strike before the blade could reach him. A sharp, high-pitched metallic clang rang out.
Rhodos managed to avoid being incapacitated in a single blow, but the force of the Death Scythe's strike was immense. He was blown sideways along with the magic sword he had used to block.
"..."
Still, Rhodos said nothing. Without his expression flickering, he adjusted his posture in mid-air. He slammed both feet against a tree trunk that he would have otherwise been smashed into, killing his momentum. Simultaneously, he utilized that contact to kick off the trunk with all his might.
It was a superhuman display of agility—blown sideways, hitting a tree, and then launching himself back into the fray an instant later. However, Rei considered such a feat expected. He used the Death Scythe to parry the longsword's thrust directed at him.
Metallic clangs rang out once more through the trees.
Under normal circumstances, a polearm like the Death Scythe would be extremely difficult to wield in a dense grove. Of course, a magic sword was also cumbersome in the woods, but a longsword offered the option of thrusting in addition to slashing. Since thrusting was Rhodos's specialty, the environment was not particularly troublesome for him.
Ordinarily, Rei would have been at a unilateral disadvantage against such attacks. Yes, ordinarily.
"Naive! Even more naive than Riot!"
If Rhodos's weapon was a magic sword, then Rei's Death Scythe was a magic item of an entirely different caliber. It was more than a mere tool; it was the crystallization of Rei's magic power, born of Beast Magic and possessing immense magic power.
Because of this, the Death Scythe's blade, swung with magic power flowing through it, sliced through the surrounding trees with ease. It wasn't just thin saplings; even trees several decades old were severed effortlessly.
"Flying Slash!"
Rei unleashed a flying slash next. However, Rhodos swung his magic sword down at the approaching blade of light. A grating screech echoed as the Flying Slash was extinguished by the magic sword.
"Then...!"
Utilizing the distance created after being blown back, Rei began an incantation. He wanted to confirm whether Rhodos's earlier negation of his magic had been a stroke of luck, a coincidence, or a deliberate act of full understanding.
"Flame, burn my enemies according to my will."
As he spoke the words, a lump of flame manifested atop the Death Scythe's blade. Only a single orb appeared, and the magic power infused into it was considerably lower than the magic he had cast from above the grove earlier. In exchange, the incantation was extremely short. By the time Rhodos leveled his magic sword and prepared to step toward Rei, the spell was ready.
"Fireball."
The fireball shot straight toward Rhodos. Normally, Rei would never use flame magic inside a forest for fear of causing a wildfire, especially in the dry air of autumn. Although the trees here were evergreens, they would still burn like dry wood if touched by his magical flames.
(Now, if that earlier one wasn't a fluke... show me the trick behind it.)
The fireball sped toward Rhodos. Recognizing the approaching danger, Rhodos silently thrust his right hand forward. In the next instant, the fireball vanished as if it had never existed.
The heat of the fireball as it drew close had left burns on Rhodos's face and hands, proving the encounter hadn't been a dream. However, those burns recovered instantly, as if time were being wound back.
"...I see. It's the right arm."
Rhodos had thrust his right arm toward the fireball. Rei's eyes caught the sight of a bracelet fastened around Rhodos's wrist.
"It seems you can deal with my flame magic with that... but the price looks quite high."
The fact that he suffered burns at all meant the bracelet did not nullify the magic entirely; it could only negate what it touched. To touch the flames, he had to endure the heat first. Rei understood this, yet he furrowed his brows.
In this situation, defeating Rhodos wouldn't be hard. Rei could use wide-range magic that Rhodos couldn't possibly touch, or he could simply stop using magic altogether since it was being absorbed. However, that meant he would have to inflict physical wounds on Rhodos. Given that abnormal recovery speed, Rei realized that half-hearted damage would never stop him.
(Besides... a magic item that exerts that much restorative power must be dangerous. It wouldn't be surprising if it's shortening his life. Is that why he seems to have no will of his own?)
Even Estha Nor, the alchemist of the Zephyle Clan who created the Misty Ring and the Dragon Robe, would find it difficult to create a magic item with such high recovery without any risk.
(In that case, rather than dealing damage, I need to find a way to restrain him completely.)
He thought about locking Rhodos's joints and binding him with rope. Just as he considered this...
"..."
Rhodos suddenly stopped. He backed away and then vanished from Rei's sight, making a clean break for it. The retreat was so sudden and decisive that Rei was momentarily taken aback.
Rei judged that capturing Rhodos now was the best course of action and prepared to give chase, but then...
"Guruuuuuuuuu!"
He stopped at the sound of Seto's voice from above. It was a cry signaling an anomaly. Rei considered following Rhodos anyway, but if there was truly a new danger, the Frizion Army might be in trouble. He abandoned the pursuit and waved to Seto from a clearing.
Seto flapped its wings and descended, immediately turning its back and prompting Rei to mount.
"What happened?"
"Guru!"
Seto rumbled in its throat as if saying they would talk later. Rei climbed onto Seto's back without further question. With a few strides of a head start, they took to the sky. From above, Rei saw the retreating ambush unit—or rather, a specific group that had broken away from the retreat and was heading toward the grove.
"Is that... reinforcements for the ambushers? No, they're far too late for that. Then what are they?"
"Guru?"
Seto asked what they should do. Rei thought for a few seconds before making a decision.
"Let's take them down. If they're coming toward us, they're definitely enemies. Since they're staying behind while the rest flee, they might be the rearguard. If we let them through, our side will suffer for it."
"Guruuuuu!"
Seto cried out gallantly and flapped its wings, soaring above the approaching unit.
"Let's start with a little test. Flying Slash!"
The flying slash released from the Death Scythe flew straight at the unit. It cut through several soldiers before vanishing. Because of the distance and the fact that the Flying Slash wasn't strong enough to bisect an armored opponent, it didn't take any lives. It was exactly as Rei expected from a diversionary strike.
However, he was surprised to see that their momentum didn't falter even after the lead soldiers were injured. On the contrary, they leveled their bows and unleashed magic. The attacks directed at Rei felt charged with a strange sense of malice.
(If they're a rearguard, they should be dealing with the White Rose Knight Order, not us.)
Nearby, the fifth and sixth units of the White Rose Knight Order were firing arrows and magic at the retreating ambush unit to whittle down their numbers. A rearguard's job was to minimize damage to their allies, but this unit wasn't doing that. They were acting on personal grudges—they were rampaging.
"Guruuuuu!"
Seto cried out while dodging the arrows and magic, maneuvering through the sky with expertise. Seto asked if it could attack, so Rei stored the Death Scythe in the Misty Ring and took out a spear instead.
"Seto, your skills would be too conspicuous here. Sorry, but just focus on evasion for a bit... Hup!"
Rei threw the spear as soon as he finished speaking. He didn't use a head start; he threw it with pure arm strength. The spear flew straight into the unit, crushing the head of one lead soldier. Its momentum remained unchecked as it pierced through another soldier's torso and leather armor, pinning him to the ground.
Yet, the soldiers continued their attack without fear. Rei didn't know it, but Count Schwindel's unit was almost entirely composed of people who had lost loved ones in the Spring War. To them, the figure in the sky was the enemy who had killed their families, lovers, and friends. That was why they attacked without any regard for their own safety or their allies.
To the unaware Rei, the unit on the ground simply seemed to be in a frenzy. He pondered how to deal with them for a few seconds, but when he saw wind slashes, flame arrows, and stones flying up toward them, he decided that hesitation was a danger he couldn't afford.
"They're clearly out of control... I'll settle this all at once. Seto, keep evading."
"Guruuuuu!"
With a reassuring rumble, Seto flapped its wings to dodge the barrage of wind slashes and other magic. With Seto moving so wildly in the air, the ground troops found it difficult to aim. Many of their arrows flew off into nowhere.
"Flame, dance, oh dance. Illuminate the world with your magnificent choreography, and captivate all who behold your beautiful, scorching dance."
As Rei spoke the incantation, a massive number of flames the size of a man were born. The world, rewritten by Rei's magic power, revealed its new form.
"Dancing Flames."
With the spell's activation, the human-sized flames appeared around Count Schwindel's unit. They danced freely through the air, touching their targets and burning them to nothingness. The movement of the flames truly looked like a dance, just as the spell suggested.
However, this dance brought only death. Those touched by the fire—soldier, knight, or noble—were incinerated without distinction. The scene was a true flame hell, and it had the effect of forcibly calming even those who had been blinded by rage at the sight of Rei. Seeing comrades instantly reduced to ash tended to do that.
Nevertheless, Count Schwindel, who led the unit, did not flinch. He continued to scream for his men to attack Rei. Many of the nobles who shared his resolve stood frozen. Until now, they had only heard stories or seen Rei's strength from a distance in the arena. Now, witnessing a wide-range annihilation magic that was Rei's true specialty, they finally understood his power through firsthand experience.
The one with the deepest expression of despair was likely a noble who had been acting with Count Schwindel but only intended to use him. Having misjudged the moment to withdraw, he let out a final, resentful cry as he was caught in the embrace of flames alongside the count. He shouted in despair, wondering how it had come to this, before being burned to nothing.
A few minutes after the magic was cast, not a single living creature—not even a horse—remained on the ground. When Rei lightly snapped his fingers, the flames vanished as if they had never been there at all.