--and the time goes back a bit.

　It was shortly after the rooks in the White Wolf Forest had run off to escape that Noir began to try to find his way to Bran.

　The defensive technique applied to the balcony is robust.

　It is completely disposable, ignoring the cost of setting it up and the effort required to maintain it, and is designed to maximize instantaneous performance as completely disposable.

'(But in this state of deployment, I'm sure ......)

　He fires several magic bullets in succession, making them change their trajectory in the air and have them land on the bulwark from different angles.

　Then, he observes the ripples floating on the surface of the magic barrier and analyzes how far the barrier covers from where it is.

''(...... after all. I'm protecting the entire balcony with a defensive technique, but I haven't blocked it off to the passageway to get in and out. (......) That's the only place to attack it.

　Even if the dragon soldiers were to be dispatched, Bran would surely run away instantly and disappear.

　As for the Knights, they should still be fine with that.
　If the only objective is to escape safely, it is an undeniable victory.

　But Noir had a different objective than escape.
　You could call it a sense of mission.

　The twin sister (Bran) who betrayed humanity and descended to the Demon King's military gates -- to settle the score with her by himself.

　That's the only thing I can't give up to anyone else.
　The weakly assertive Noir has a strong determination in her heart.

　Stopping Bran would also stop the healing magic against the dragon soldier, so it should never end with personal selfishness.

''(Anyway, I have to find a way to get to the balcony!)''

　The first means that came to mind was Falcon's 【Mapping】 skill, but the crucial Falcon was occupied with an aerial battle with Julia, and although it wasn't very likely that he would be able to ask for her cooperation.

　The next thing that came to mind was to rely on Nagi, who had infiltrated the Demon King's Castle to investigate the internal structure.

　To that end, Noir first ran up to Melissa, who was covering the battle with attribute magic.

...... "...... Uh, um, Melissa ......, well, could you call Nagi, would you please ......?
'What?　Oh, what's the plan!　Nagi!　Can you get over here now?

　Right after Melissa called out that, Nagi appears in front of you with a speed that could be mistaken for instantaneous movement.

''What. If it's nothing important, I'll make it quick--
"I want to stop Bran. ...... Find me a way to get to .......

　Nagi looked surprised that Noir, not Melissa, had opened her mouth, but she immediately nodded back, understanding her intentions.

　-- and the two of them ran into the corridor directly below the balcony and began to look for a pathway leading up.

　A task that couldn't take too long.
　They had to finish it before Bran realized their intentions.

　Eventually, Nagi crouched down in a corner of the corridor and muttered softly.

'Look closely at this area of the wall. If you're a wizard, do you see anything?
'Uh ...... oh ......!　On the wall, a heavy ...... is an illusion ......

　It was a cleverly concealed illusion.
　If I hadn't stared at it suspiciously from the beginning, I wouldn't have been able to distinguish it from an ordinary wall at first.

'I knew it. Look, there's one thin footprint here.

　Nagi pointed to a mark near the toe of his shoe on a thin layer of sand in the corner of the hallway.

　Moreover, it was the mark of a foot perpendicularly close to the wall.

　The center of the corridor is always busy and the dust and sand is difficult to leave behind, but it would inevitably pile up in the corners.

''Can you disarm the illusion? I can do it too, but my day job would be faster.''
"...... let me handle it. ......

　Noir reached out to the wall, projecting magic power to inhibit the magic that made the illusion stick.

　The illusion disappears as if it were melting into the air, revealing a doorway without a door.

　A hidden passage to the balcony - Noir was convinced of that and was about to run in, but Nagi stopped him just in time.

'Wait. There's a trap at your feet. See, there's a spell print on the floor.
Oh ...... true, that's ......
'Even if you see through the illusion, if you ignore it and step in carelessly, you'll fall prey to us. It's a classic double trap.

　Noir deciphered the contents of the spellprint at a glance, gasping at the awkwardness of the spellprint, and instantly falsified and neutralized the spellprint with magical power.

'...... already, it's okay ...... let's go ......'
It's too soon to disarm: "It's too soon to disarm: ...... It's not your day job.

　He ran up the stairs at the end of the hidden passage and reached the straight hallway around the corner.

　At the far end of it, there was the back of an all-white woman standing on a balcony.

'............!'

　I bring my feet to an abrupt halt as I try to run to them.

　A sensing ward has been developed in the middle of the corridor.
　It's not a matter of whether it's an object or magic, it's something that will instantly become known to Bran as soon as it passes through there.

"I'll go. It won't matter if you're faster than your reaction.
"There's ...... no good. It's more like there's ...... another ward ...... back there. I don't know what the effect is, but it's ...... well hidden, and it's ...... well hidden.

　But even if you try to disarm the sensing wards, they will notice you anyway, so you should take a safe, hard-line approach here.

　Noir made that decision and shot the fireball of black flame generated in hand over Bran's eyes.

　With this, even if the second ward is a dangerous substitute, the damage can be minimized.

　A black fireball flying at high speed.
　The moment it approached the concealed ward, it decelerated rapidly as if it was entangled in a web of magic power.

''Who?!''

　The fireball is shot down by the white flame that Bran released as he turned around.

　To the other side, it would have been impossible to distinguish whether the fireball was ejected after being caught in the sensing wards, or whether the fireball had activated the sensing wards.

　It was a surprise attack that worked that well, but the two-stage wards prevented it from happening successfully.

　Noir stepped over the sensing wards and confronted Bran with a certain amount of pause.

''Oh, it's not my sister. It's been a while. I'm sure I carefully hid the entrance to the passageway, but how could you find me with your slow-witted sister?
Unfortunately, I'm pretty good at finding them.

　Bran recognized Nagi's figure behind Noir and narrowed his eyes in displeasure.

'I don't like it. It's a reunion of sisters who have been separated, and you are a terrible interloper. Could you not hold water, please?''
Don't worry. It's not my job to bring you down. I'm not reckless enough to break into a magic match in such a small space.

　The second ward was erased in the aftermath of the offsetting earlier.
　From here on out, it would be a head-on magical shootout.

　If I challenged Bran to a white war under such circumstances, there is no guarantee that I would be able to avoid collateral damage.

''...... Bran, you are ...... I am .......''

　Noir stepped forward, black magic power flowing in both hands.

　Then, with a lecherous smile on his face, Bran flooded the white magic power like a mirror image.

''Your sister?　Me?　I don't know if I can really do it, even though it looked like it was so hard to just crush the fake 'me'.
If you don't, you can't go to ....... ......!

　A few magic bullets unleashed with the swing of his right arm are shot down by the magic bullets released by Bran.

　Immediately afterwards, he releases a greatly inflated black flame, but it is offset by a white flame, and the burst of flame blocks the narrow passage.

''Haha!　This is what you get for talking so big?　Maybe the peace and quiet of life has dulled you.　Unlike me, you know!

　While the aftermath of the flames was not extinguished, Bran began to activate his powerful magic.

　Almost at the same time, the muddy magic that crawled across the floor reached Bran's feet, extending what appeared to be both ivy and tentacles and entangling itself around Bran's right arm.

''Nah......!''

　The white flames instantly burned off the mud tentacles, but the newly stretched tentacles tightened as they entwined around his left arm.

''Just like this!　You're going to be able to do something about it!　It's so sweet!

　Fierce white flames burned away the muddy magic that spread across the floor.

　Bran then exposed his left arm, which was engraved with a spell print, and tried to activate the dragon soldier's summoning technique.

''What have I suffered!　I'll take my time teaching you!

　The next moment when it seemed that a three-dimensional magic circle was unfolding in the air - the next moment.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can get your hands on it.

The actuality of this is that it's not a good thing.