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"Ow, ow... What the hell just happened?"
"It seems we have been transported to a different space."
Noah and Gazel looked around. A spiral staircase wound around them, making it appear as though they were within the academy’s central tower.
"Tch. This place is creepy."
"Is this the barrier of the 'Hidden Side'? The precision is incredible. Our opponent must be an extremely high-ranking Demon."
House William had sealed Majin and Demons for generations, and their family lore contained a wealth of knowledge on such entities. Among their teachings, it was said that Demons capable of manifesting barriers that blended into reality were of the highest danger level; they were told never to engage such foes under any circumstances.
"I saw Lloyd go in and chased after him without thinking. That was a mistake."
"It cannot be helped. To lose a boy with such a bright future here would bring shame to the name of House William. I would like to regroup with him, but..."
"...Yeah, looks like we’ve been spotted."
At the end of their gaze stood a red-haired man sitting on a black, unidentifiable object—Vilfrey. He glanced at the two of them before snorting with boredom.
"...Hmph. Those dogs called me in such a panic that I wondered what I’d find. It’s just the pathetic descendants of that rotter William. Your mana is so measly I thought you were insects or something."
Vilfrey stood up. Looking at the arrogant Demon before them, the brothers thought the same thing: a man who underestimated his foes would eventually leave an opening. They wondered if they could exploit a momentary lapse to make their escape.
As if seeing through their intentions, Vilfrey sneered.
"Hmph. Looking for an opening? Sorry, but I learned the hard way hundreds of years ago not to underestimate humans. I won't be letting my guard down, you shitty descendants!"
"Kuh...! You won't let us pass...!"
"It cannot be helped. Let's do this, my foolish younger brother!"
Noah held out his palm. While firing ice magic, he generated a Bow of Light in his other hand. Even as countless shards of ice flew toward him, Vilfrey remained motionless, standing exactly where he was.
A direct hit—countless ice blocks of various sizes collided with him, yet Vilfrey did not even blink, let alone move. Noah had intended to fire the Demon Sealing Bow the instant an opening appeared, but he found he couldn't even move a finger.
"Get out of the way, brother!"
Gazel, who had circled to the rear, snapped his fingers, triggering a massive explosion of flame over a wide area. It was the Fire System Supreme Magic 'Scorching Flame Fang', thoroughly refined with mana. He knew magic wouldn't work on high-ranking Demons, but he hoped a Supreme Magic of that caliber would at least serve as a distraction.
"Heh! If I burn everything to hell like this, there’s no way he can avoid it. At the very least he’ll have to guard, and when he tries to get away—"
"—You'll snipe me?"
A voice spoke right next to Gazel as he readied his Demon Sealing Bow.
Certainly, it might have distracted a lesser Demon, but that only worked if they took the hit. Just before the flames could touch him, Vilfrey had evaded them and closed the distance to Gazel’s side.
"Guh!"
Gazel’s expression twisted in agony. He reacted instantly, trying to aim his arrow, but a blow had already landed—Vilfrey’s fist was buried in his gut.
"Ka... ha...!"
"Hoh. You managed to activate a Magic Barrier at the very last second. Not that it matters."
The point-concentration Magic Barrier Gazel had deployed was easily shattered by Vilfrey’s fist, which drove deep enough to cause serious damage.
"Gazel!"
Noah fired his Demon Sealing Bow at Vilfrey to stop a follow-up attack. Vilfrey stared the incoming arrow down, narrowed his eyes slightly, and thrust his index finger forward.
With a sharp flick of his finger, the Arrow of Light snapped. The arrow spun through the air, quickly dispersing into mist until it vanished completely.
"Wh... what...? He deflected the Demon Sealing Bow...?"
"Why are you so surprised? Your sealing magic is certainly a pain, but if I concentrate my mana, it’s perfectly possible to defend against it. You should know that much, right?"
"Kuh! Even if it failed once...!"
Noah readied and fired another Arrow of Light, but that too was flicked away with a single finger.
"I told you it’s useless. If you want to damage me, you'll need the Annihilating Demon Sealing Bow, or at least the Heavy Demon Sealing Bow. You should know at least that much, you pieces of trash."
"What... is that...?"
No such knowledge had been passed down to them. While William had developed many sealing magics, only the relatively low-difficulty Demon Sealing Bow had survived to the present day. The other variants were lost over the centuries because they were too difficult to master and there were no enemies left who required them.
"God... dammit...!"
Gazel fired an Arrow of Light while stumbling, but it vanished when Vilfrey simply blew a breath at it. The version of the Demon Sealing Bow they used was more than enough for ordinary Demons, but high-ranking ones were a different story. Powerful Demons were naturally cloaked in mana; even their casual movements or a simple defensive posture created a high-density mana wall. The mental image of 'defense' alone was enough to disperse the mana powering the spell formula, causing it to lose effect. The only way to stop this was to attack with a higher-level magic that could shave away the opponent's mana, but—
"...Don't tell me you guys can really only use that one?" Vilfrey muttered, looking down at the two as they gasped for breath.
"Ha... ha... It's... impossible...!"
"Tch... damn it...!"
Both were coated in sweat, their faces pale with despair. Watching their expressions, Vilfrey’s mouth twisted into a wide grin.
"Hyaha! For real? That’s unbelievable! To think the descendants of that rotter William have become such weaklings! The sealing magic of the William who once bound us was terrifying—it could bind us even if it just grazed us. Since you were his blood, I stayed hidden in the darkness out of caution until my preparations were complete, but... kukuku, this is a total disappointment."
His twisted smirk turned into raucous laughter.
"Hyah hyah hyah! Man, what a masterpiece! I guess even if the ancestor was a genius, the descendants are just average Joes. The flow of time is a scary thing. —Well, you’re both going to die now, but I’ll at least let you choose how you want your corpses done. Medium? Rare? Or charred Well-done?"
The flames born at Vilfrey’s fingertips were small, but the sheer magnitude of the mana contained within them was more than enough to plunge the brothers into absolute despair.
Noah, appearing to have made up his mind, spoke to Gazel.
"...I will buy us some time. Find an opening and run."
"Wha—? What the hell are you saying, you Scumbag Older Brother! There's no way you can handle a monster like that alone!"
"Even so. As your older brother, it is my duty to protect you."
"Don't be stupid! It's more important to keep you alive since you're the heir to the house! If anyone's staying, it's me!"
Watching the two argue, Vilfrey grinned.
"Kuku, such brotherly love it gives me the chills. Since you showed me something interesting, I'll give you a happy option." Vilfrey held up one finger. "—I'll let only one of you live. Whichever one is chosen can go through that hole I opened in the barrier over there."
A hole large enough for one person to pass through had appeared in space next to Vilfrey. It truly seemed to lead outside, and the brothers' eyes were fixed upon it.
"Of course, I won't lay a finger on you once you've escaped. In exchange, I'm going to kill the one who stays behind in a truly gruesome way. I'll roast you, torment you, and shave you away bit by bit... hihi, the person I killed like that before kept begging me to just kill him. Of course, I didn't do it."
Seeing Vilfrey’s gleeful smile, Noah and Gazel broke out in a cold sweat. They slowly turned their gazes toward each other. After staring for a moment, they gulped.
"...Is it true that one of us will be saved?"
"Of course, I keep my promises. So go ahead and say it. Tell me to let you live instead of that failure." Vilfrey wore a wicked grin.
"Wait a minute! Don't just listen to this Scumbag Older Brother, listen to me too!" Gazel stepped in.
"Be quiet, my foolish younger brother! I am the one speaking!"
"What was that!?"
Watching the two bicker, Vilfrey’s smile widened even further.
"Good, good, keep it up! Kuhahaha!"
Vilfrey laughed loudly. The brothers, who were grappling as if fighting, stumbled and lost their balance. The moment his attention was caught by their struggle, they both fired the Demon Sealing Bows they had been hiding in their blind spots.
"Whoa!?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected counter, Vilfrey jumped back and fell over. Taking advantage of the distraction, the two bolted toward the hole in space.
"Heh, you knew exactly what I was thinking, Scumbag Older Brother."
"Hmph. Do not underestimate me. I can figure out your thoughts easily enough."
It was a surprise attack performed under the guise of a quarrel. The two bumped fists and laughed.
"Uoooooh! Remember this, Demon! I'm gonna kill you later!"
"Try to have some elegance in your parting words, Gazel. For example—a strategic retreat."
They were almost to the hole. One more step and they would be through.
—BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed, and a wall of flames roared up directly in front of them. The brothers were blown back, and the Magic Barriers they had deployed were annihilated by the mere aftershocks.
"...You sure are playing some cheeky tricks. Hey, you."
A quiet, calm voice came from behind them. When they turned, they saw eyes filled with pure, cold murderous intent. The mana swirling around Vilfrey had ballooned to an even greater size than before.
"That was close, that was close. Honestly, I was underestimating you. Even if you're weaklings, I guess you really are the descendants of that rotter William. My bad. I underestimated you too much."
It was no longer an attitude of condescension, but a sincere, heavy bloodlust. The two realized that Vilfrey was finally getting serious—and that they were definitely not going home.
"...Good grief, to think our Progenitor sealed a monster like this. He was truly incredible. I feel honored."
"Heh. It’s a bit intimidating for a failure like me, though."
"I do not think so," Noah muttered.
Even as they spoke, flames were condensing at Vilfrey’s fingertips. It was a fire so intense that a Magic Barrier would be meaningless. It was about to be released.
"Your mana capacity and your sense for handling magic exceed my own, Gazel. And the reason you gathered delinquents and called yourselves a gang was to manage the evil that the Student Council could not reach, wasn't it? I am proud to have a brother like you."
"Wh— That goes for me too! Because you learned every spell formula and are a great person respected by everyone, I at least tried to make sure people wouldn't look down on our family..."
"Hmph. To think we couldn't even say our true feelings unless we were backed into a corner."
The flames surged forward, ready to incinerate them. Their profiles, illuminated by the fire, looked strangely refreshed.
And then—
"...?"
Noah and Gazel’s eyes went wide as the flames vanished. At the moment of impact, the fire had been blown away by 'something' possessing immense mana.
Vilfrey was equally stunned. "Heavy Demon Sealing Bow... no, Annihilating...?"
The high-level sealing magic that had once tormented him—he felt a similar presence in that light. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the source. In a massive hole opened in the sky, they could see a figure carrying a bow of light.
"Could that be..."
"Lloyd...?"
Just as they said, standing there was the black-haired boy, Lloyd.