Elphin and the rest of the faculty were hard-pressed against the newly emerged magic beast's onslaught.
Their opponent was a massive, scorpion-like monster.
Just as they had mostly cleared the surface and prepared to head underground to provide backup, an enemy appeared that couldn't be handled without a coordinated battle line.
It had been played like a card specifically timed to catch them with their stamina running low.
Vice Principal Gertrude was still fighting on the other side of the teleportation gate. That meant the defenders remaining here had to deal with the stray that had slipped through.
"P-Professor~! It's t-too hard! Our attacks a-aren't doing a thing~!"
Niko's whimpering echoed Elphin's own frustrations.
They had unleashed full-power attacks time and time again, but the carapace was so thick that none of their blows proved decisive.
"Where the hell did he drag this damn thing from...?"
It was probably contraband from the black market, but if so, Wilhelm had enlisted the aid of the very criminal syndicates he so openly despised. As usual, the man remained entirely oblivious to his own hypocrisy.
"Alright, Niko. The two of us are gonna slide underneath and bash it in the belly."
"I-I don't wanna do something so dangerous~! I-I have such a b-bright future ahead of me, you know~!"
Just as tears welled in the corners of Niko's eyes, something plummeted straight down from directly above the scorpion.
It was a girl wearing a witch's hat, astride a broom.
Even before seeing her face, Elphin recognized the silhouette.
Targeting the single point where the scorpion's carapace creaked...
Luluck swung her fist straight down.
"Explosive Heat Fist—First Layer Release!"
Light erupted.
As a searing heatwave expanded in an instant, Niko let out a startled shriek.
The iron strike drove the scorpion's entire body into the earth, and the surrounding spectator stands, crumbling under the aftershock, spoke volumes of the blow's destructive power.
"Professor Elphin~!"
Beaming with a friendly smile, Luluck flipped off the beast's back and landed squarely in front of Elphin.
"The evacuation was completed just moments ago! Thanks to all the professors, every single civilian on the premises is safe and sound!"
As Luluck spoke with absolute confidence, white steam poured steadily from her body.
This heatwave meant Heartbeat of Mist was active.
Luluck was dead serious.
That ridiculous strike that had wrecked the venue on the day of the entrance exam felt immensely reassuring right now.
"Well done, Luluck. What about the folks underground?"
"Lord Bren went to back them up just a moment ago!"
"I see. So Bren went..."
Seeing Elphin narrow one eye thoughtfully, Niko looked puzzled.
Brendan Walker.
Judging by Luluck's tone, he was likely a first-year in the Imperial Archmage Faculty.
"Alright, Luluck! We're gonna finish off this oversized bastard in one go!"
"Of course! Leave it to me, the Witch of Mist, Luluck!"
"G-Good luck~!"
"You're coming too, dammit! Niko!!"
◇
The number of magic bullets Wilhelm had inflicted on Mercedes in this brief span had already surpassed ten.
Gasping for breath, yet still holding her sword with noble poise, Mercedes looked as fierce and beautiful as a heroine from an opera.
The only reason she could manage such a reckless feat was the Temcha brat who had arrived earlier. Reluctant though he was to admit it, the remote healing of the Temcha style allowed Mercedes to throw herself into battle without regard for her own life.
Though she had no other means of resisting, it was cruel in its own way.
That Temcha descendant was practically commanding her classmate to "fight until you die."
"Meltzelia-san... you're already at your limit. Any more than this is..."
"Just keep going."
Mercedes gave a clipped order to the trembling Filiestra.
Having chosen to fight to the bitter end, Mercedes was desperately scouring the area for an escape route.
Even with the time she was buying, the situation wasn't improving in the slightest.
Had Gerald succeeded in reclaiming the barrier?
Was no one else coming to reinforce them?
What was happening up above?
Worrying about it got her nowhere.
Even if it cost her life, she had to ensure that Filie—the only one still capable of moving—escaped.
"Phew."
Wilhelm let out a deep exhale and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"The anesthetic is finally wearing off. Good grief, the mindset of Temcha is truly dreadful. To use medical magic, meant for healing people, to harm others instead."
Mercedes couldn't help but despise him in silence.
Temcha this, Temcha that—what a petty, whining man.
Just how many generations ago did he think that country had merged with Gleefia?
"You look as though you don't understand, Meltzelia. You will in time. In fact, I wouldn't mind giving you a thorough lecture once this battle is over...!"
Wearing a radiant smile, Wilhelm lunged forward.
His sudden burst of speed caused Mercedes's reaction to lag for a split second.
"Dissect."
A pure white flash carved an arc through the air.
It was an intercepting strike unleashed for her comrades by Filie, who had remained strictly in the rear until now.
"—Ah?"
Before astonishment could set in, sheer rage boiled up inside Wilhelm. The flank of his multi-layered barrier had been cleaved wide open by the blade Filie wielded.
(That's from back then—)
Mercedes's eyes went wide.
It was the magic sword Brendan had forged.
No, none of that mattered right now.
Wilhelm was completely unguarded.
A once-in-a-lifetime opening.
Move!
"—Haaah!!"
Stepping in with a fierce war cry, she gripped the hilt hard enough to splinter the wood.
Crack.
The sensation of the sword vanished from Mercedes's hands.
"—"
The sword broke.
It broke?
The instant his barrier was sliced apart, Wilhelm had reflexively deployed a thick, rod-like barrier vertically across the path of Mercedes's slash.
Having struck an unseen, solid obstruction along an improper edge alignment, the blade had met a swift and tragic end.
There was every chance that Filiestra might follow up with an attack, yet Wilhelm kept all his attention fixed solely on Mercedes, dedicating every nerve to predicting her next move.
It was as if he already knew that Filiestra was incapable of actually cutting down a human being.
"Get lost."
First, he fired a single magic bullet at Filie.
He was sick of watching Mercedes get healed, and looking at pseudo-magic developed by a former enemy nation offended his senses.
As Filie was blown back, the pure white magic sword slipped from her grasp.
Tossing aside the broken hilt, Mercedes snatched the white blade as it tumbled through the air.
There was still a chance to win.
She didn't know what enchantment it carried, but this white magic sword had cleaved through a magic barrier with effortless ease.
With Mercedes's skill, perhaps—
Clink.
Swung in a horizontal slash, the white blade struck the magic barrier, producing a dull, anticlimactic sound.
Her mind went blank.
Nothing happened.
She felt nothing.
Why wasn't the magic imbued in the sword activating the way it had for Filie?
'Walker-kun's magic swords can't be used by anyone other than Walker-kun.'
'I was the only exception.'
Recalling Filiestra's face and those words, Mercedes let go of the sword herself.
Clatter.
The pure white weapon bounced lightly against the stone pavement.
Wilhelm's staff began to emit a faint glow.
At this range, there was no escaping.
It was over.
"Hey."
A low, hard voice cut through the corridor.
Before anyone had noticed, something resembling a metallic whip had wrapped itself tightly around Wilhelm's barrier.
"Mm—?"
Upon closer inspection, the silver cord was actually a sword.
An extending blade.
It ground into Wilhelm's barrier as it retracted, dragging him backward and pulling him away from Mercedes.
Though caught off guard, Wilhelm showed no panic this time. More reinforcements from Magias had arrived. That was all.
Expanding his magic barrier, he broke free the moment the sword went slack.
Only a single figure had appeared.
An unassuming, quiet-looking young man with dark brown hair.
It took Mercedes several seconds to realize it was Brendan Walker.
"Mercedes. Get back and run."
She heard him, but her legs refused to budge.
She had pushed past her limit long ago.
And she wasn't the only one who couldn't move.
Filie, Garry, Amae—not a single one of them was standing on their own feet. Given the situation, they couldn't afford to waste time.
Brendan contracted the Allongé back down to knife size and drew the weapon resting at his waist.
He took a stance with a black greatsword as tall as a man.
Its heavy, blunt tip scraped against the stone floor.
Only then did Wilhelm register an anomaly.
(...Where did this brat come from?)
Ever since Filiestra arrived, all the entrances should have been sealed off with bulkheads to prevent any outside interference.
The only logical possibility was that this boy was the operative reclaiming the barrier.
If so, opening the bulkheads was plausible, but something about that didn't fit.
Could he have smashed through the bulkhead instead?
No, that was completely impossible.
Well, whatever.
Either way, it was just one more greenhorn student.
Judging by Mercedes's skill, she was clearly the strongest among the first-years.
At best, this newcomer was on par with the trash rolling on the floor like Amae and Garry. Wilhelm had already wasted far too much time here. The boy wasn't worth the effort.
"I shall give you a single chance. You there—vanish from my sight this instant."
"Huh?"
"Did you not hear me? I am offering to spare your life. Now scurry back and tell that incompetent faculty, 'We of the Imperial Archmage Faculty have suffered defeat at the hands of the great Lord Wilhelm.'"
"What the hell are you babbling about?"
Brendan took a casual step forward.
Wilhelm sighed.
Apparently, this student wasn't blessed with much intellect.
"I am telling you that I do not have time to entertain you. I, Wilhelm Braham, have a grand mission. This raid on Magias is merely its prologue."
Brendan glanced once more at Mercedes, who remained slumped on both knees, urging her with his eyes to flee.
With a pained grimace, Mercedes weakly shook her head.
That was her answer.
It seemed that, reluctant though he was, he had no choice but to handle this right here.
"Today, the people of the royal capital have finally witnessed the true Magias. The barrier seized, the faculty brought down, the vaunted Imperial Archmage Faculty driven to its knees, and soon its very symbol, the Central Tower, will crumble to dust! The true nature of this so-called inviolable sanctuary amounted to nothing more than this!"
Watching Wilhelm launch into his sudden soliloquy, Brendan could tell the man wasn't putting on an act.
"Which is precisely why this is not a mere attack, but a demonstration! An open lecture to prove to the entire kingdom just how wrong Magias was to expel me—!"
"You attacked a school over something that petty?"
"I am speaking right now, you insolent brat!!"
Wilhelm roared, spraying spit with his fury.
His emotional state was completely unhinged.
Brendan had already known that reasoning with the man was out of the question, but even he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
"The next target is the Royal Ministry of Justice! Those robed fools who dared pass judgment on me! Those who swallowed Magias's lies whole and branded me—a man truly devoted to this nation—a criminal! I will make them thoroughly understand the gravity of their mistake!"
Thud.
Wilhelm brought his heel down hard, the sound echoing through the underground corridor.
"The royal army poses no threat either! In time, we shall assimilate the royal family, and eventually, Braham blood will rule this land!
First will be the restructuring of the class system! I shall rebuild Magias from the ground up! Lineage, talent, ideology—I shall curate it all properly! I will not allow a single drop of filthy Temcha blood to remain!"
Wilhelm's gaze swept over Filiestra as she crawled along the floor, treating her like vermin.
"I will take in those with obedient talent. That Meltzelia over there still has value if polished. The others are intriguing enough if treated as raw material. Only chosen blood shall study, and only chosen blood shall rule over others! By bringing Magias to its knees today, I take my first step toward utopia!"
Faced with a diatribe that bordered on complete incoherence, Brendan simply gave his neck a light roll and offered a dry reply.
"That's assuming you can even beat me."