Kanami-san!　Hurry up and slash that smirk on your face!　What you don't know, you can figure out later!

　The scorching flames warmed my cold body.

　It was Maria's flame.
　While manipulating the flames to keep the Sith from escaping, she was simultaneously directing another flame towards us.

　Clearly, the momentum of the flames was increasing rapidly.
　Of course, it wasn't like he was holding back until now. I know the cause of this, having heard the earlier chant.

　Just as she did the other day, Maria burned "something" within herself and intensified the flames.
　I know that the chanting was to pay the price. I'm not sure if that's why, but the flames reminded me of my old Arti magic.

''The past doesn't matter now!　You're going to help Dear first!　Kanami!

　Maria screams, showing me what I must do now.
　She scolds me as I'm about to lose with her sword, which is her specialty. When I think about it, she has been scolding me for my disappointment ever since my memory returned.

　With that voice, Maria's flame burns.
　From the flames at her feet, a "flaming snake (Midgall's Blaze)" grows.
　Unlike before, there are not just one or two of them. An eight-necked flame snake had been spawned into the world.

''No matter what you know, no matter what you've lost, Kanami-san will still be there!　No matter what anyone says, I am the only one who will admit it!　If you're no longer Kanami, I'm fine with that!　They changed my name once, they can change it at least once more!　So please, fight!

　The feverish words bring together the thoughts that had become unstable because of the Palinkron. It's easy to see how the reasons and emotions for fighting are slowly being reconstructed.

　It's a simple consequence. That I can't just let Maria continue to make me pay the 'price'.

　But in order to fight, I need to minimize my emotional turmoil.
　The skills of "Parallelism" and "? ?
　If either of these two is activated, that's it for me.

　So, you can be mindless now. Don't think about anything.
　I'm sure you're used to this, right?
　Because this much. Long before I talked to Heili - a long time ago.
　When you came into this mess, you were ready for it.

　--that I was prepared for.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

　With a rash roar, my sword regains a little bit of power.
　Of course, I'm still unable to use 'sensitivity'. It's not the same clean 'swordsmanship' as when I fought Rowen. Rough and sketchy swordsmanship. However, it was enough to overwhelm Palinclone.

　Seeing that, Maria was relieved and weakened the flames that she had strengthened with 'The Price' a little. Then, she returns the flaming snake that sent it over here to her hand and lets it attack the Sith.

It's a good idea to have a good look at it!　Don't get hung up on the name of Christ, just look at that guy over there!　For that man's sake, we'll both keep the Sith at bay!

　The flames of the eight necks tangle around the Sith's light barrier as it grips the barrier of light.
　The face of the Sith inside distorted as it surveyed the current situation around it.
　Its eyes were looking only at Maria. It no longer has me in its sights. She laughs, changing her distorted mouth into a half-moon shape.

'Ha, ha, ha. I see, I see!　...... The greatest enemy of this age is not the other 'apostles' or the 'founders' ......!　You must be Maria!　--Palinkulon!

　Finally, he shouted Palinkron's name hard.
　Hearing the Sith's call, Palinkron shouted back from a distance as he went ballistic.

'I can't do that!　Add a rule that harms the same 'half guardian', little girl, and it will apply to me!
'Oh, it's no use!　It can't be helped: ....... Then--

　Sith's face tightened again when Palinclone refused his request for help.

　I've heard good things. There's a good chance that the interference by the "World Service Team" won't be able to be done only against Maria. Then we just need me to attack the Palinkron and Maria to attack the Sith. Then the battle will be over.

　Palinclone must also have a premonition of that outcome.
　He has a look of anguish on his face and is unable to hide his impatience.

''d*mn, I'm visibly weakened, but not as much as before ....... I'm surprised you can't push through this far. No, if you keep going (・・・・), I'm the one who's going to be pushed out of the way. ......!　d*mn it, I told you there's only one more girl to go!

　Palinkulon can no longer handle the increased momentum of my sword, and he begins to think of another move.
　I don't give him time to think, so I increase the momentum of my sword even more.

"--Palinkulon!
I don't have one more move, one more move to go. I couldn't do it on the edge, after all. I'll have to go to the center of the camp as we had planned: ......!


　Palinkron's defensive sword is dispelled, deflected, and played - finally, he manages to launch it straight up and up.
　Despite the hopeless status difference, how could Palinclone endure to this point? I admire his experience and 'observational skills'. But this is the end.

　I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it.
　--I'm not going to be the only one who's been in a position to do this.

　It was an iron arrow.
　Thanks to the "Dimension", I was able to dodge it. However, the full-length kesa slash becomes shallow.
　The sword didn't go deep into Palinclone's body, but only tore into the surface of his flesh.

　With a wound of this magnitude, he might still be able to build up some magic.
　I forcefully thrust my second sword at the Palinclone, who is trying to retreat backwards. My thrust pierces Palinkron's side.

　But that's as far as it goes.
　A further hindrance interrupts from the side, causing Palinclone to escape from the pause.

''--Mr. Palinclone!

　He was a young man for a military man. I'm sure you'll be able to see that he is an adult compared to me, but compared to the others, he's still a young man.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''--!

　The spirit was brilliant, but it was deadly slow moving.
　It's not even a battle. I try to break the man's consciousness with a counterattack. However, it is interrupted again by flying iron arrows.

'Go, Lord Chief of Staff, go!　You are the man we need on the battlefield!

　There was a man holding a bowgun-like object on his arm. The bowgun is elaborately designed with the design of a 'magic stone', so you can tell that it is a magical tool. The aim of the bowgun was aimed at my vital point.

''Oh, hey, hey ....... You guys are going to help me?

　I wasn't the only one who was surprised; Palinclone was too.
　He was stunned by the fact that he didn't fit in, holding his stabbed side.
　And the soldiers around me started to move as well, caught by the young men who had run off.

''--General-dono!　You're a sarcastic, disgusting, outcast person, though!　Still, he's the one we need! 'The battle is near!　You're not the right person to die here! "To the front line main force, now!　We'll hold these men at bay...

　His appearance reminded me of The Epic Seeker.
　Just as I had related to a lot of people in Lauravia, Palinkron had related to a lot of people on the mainland of the Valt. It was an understandable situation.

　I am touched by that bond. In normal times, he would have applauded them.
　But now it was just annoying. --A faint, black emotion arose.

　Abandoned soldiers were attacking from all sides. A total of about a dozen or so elite men.
　Of course, all of them had to be described as lacking in strength.
　Their swords are flicked, their magic is dispersed by "Dimensional Winter," and their attacks never reach me. I used the hilt of my sword to strike the soldiers hard, neutralizing them one by one.
　However, they are also well-trained soldiers. They are more advanced than ordinary searchers. And the fact that they have the spirit to risk their lives is troubling.

　Palinkulon is moving away. The chance for a surprise attack is slipping away. It was intensely frustrating for me.

　--oh, I've seen it (・・・・・・・).

　My body went rigid.
　For me, who was not used to exchanging lives, it was not a difficult opponent to fight - but my confusion was elsewhere.

　If it was me before, killing them still wouldn't have been an option. I'm sure I would have started thinking of ways to achieve my goal without killing them.
　But the current me is different. The first thing I thought was that if the soldiers who were in my way were my opponents, killing them would be inevitable. After being frustrated, I naturally felt the urge to kill.

　The change in his thoughts and emotions puzzled him, and he felt lost in his movements.

'Over here, General!'

　In the meantime, the Palinclones move farther and farther away. A wall of soldiers formed between them to keep them from pursuing him.
　There were no longer any soldiers in the yard to watch over them.
　All the soldiers in the garden were trying to escape Palinkulon.

　At that moment, a shout came from behind.

''--Ok, ugh, ugh!　Haha, you caught me off guard, Maria!
You're in Dia's body!　Terrible things!

　There was a Sith with a big smile on his face.
　It was floating into the sky with its white wings flapping while turning the tip of its left foot into extinguishing coals.

　From the look of it, it was clear that the Sith had also abandoned themselves and tried to escape.
　And it's also clear that Maria, out of concern for Dia's body, had cut corners--

'Hmmm, thank goodness Maria was so nice to Dear!　But I wonder if I don't want to fight Maria again!　See you later!

　With one last disgusted smile, the Sith shows his back.

'This, wait!

　Maria screams abominably and turns the flaming snake toward the fleeing Sith.
　However, she cannot reach it mercilessly.
　The Sith soared high into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

''Kook!''

　Maria steps on the ground hard enough to make a crack in the ground.　
　Then she quickly joins me and apologizes.

''I'm sorry, Kanami-san!''
No, I'm the one who owes you an apology. The original reason was that I was off the hook!

　We both thought we had prepared ourselves strongly for this.
　However, the reality was still grim. Perhaps because we are both inexperienced, having never even dyed our hands in blood yet, our laxity in filling in the vital areas was exposed.
　In that case, we must be even more ruthless--

Not yet, Maria!　I can still manage the Palinkron!

　According to the Dimension, Palinclone was heading out of the fort with a soldier on his shoulder. Unlike the Sith who fled into the sky out of reach, it was still possible.

'I understand!　But--!

　The soldiers surrounded us as we tried to pursue them.
　There were more than twenty of them. Not a single weak soldier was left out.

Bandits!　I won't let you go!

　The enemy has many throwing weapons.
　If we show our backs to them, we are sure that they will hang us out to dry.

　Before we can move, the soldiers attack us without hesitation.
　Without thinking about what's to come, they drop their weapons. A soldier builds great magic with the intention of fainting. A soldier who is prepared to dedicate his life to Palinkulon. We flinch at their effortless movements and their desperate spirit.

　We are pushed even though they are overwhelmingly superior in ability. Most of all, it hurts that Maria and I are close to empty MPs because we went head-to-head with the Sith and their magic power.
　I can't force my way through with magic.

''d*mn, I can't believe you can't even burn out an enemy of this magnitude!

　Maria, who has emptied her magic power against the Sith opponent, says things while making small flames dance. I'm also no longer able to 'magic offset' (counter magic) my opponent's magic, and it's getting harder and harder to protect Maria, who has low physical ability.

　The all-out assault of the soldiers, without a single thread, continues incessantly.
　Every second passes without the soldiers being able to break through the walls.

　If you look at The Dimension, Palinclone is on the verge of reaching the outside of the fort. There is a carriage waiting outside. Once they were on it, it would be nearly impossible to pursue them.
　In the meantime, the soldiers' suicide attack continues. My frustration is only growing.

　So I think.

　It would be better to kill the soldiers than to let Palinkulon escape, he thought.
　They are soldiers. They are soldiers, and they are prepared to be killed. In fact, I'm the one who's slacking off.

　My emotions are running ahead of me, and my hand is tightening as I hold the sword.　
　My body moves on its own to tell me that if they are soldiers trying to protect Palinclone Legacy - no, if they are people trying to protect the apostles (...), kill them.
　They should take a reasonable 'revenge' on their adversaries, he thought.
　Impatience amplified the killing intent, the crystal sword extended with 'magic freezing', and then--

-You can't do that, boy. Zeer Weird.

　Their killing intent was drowned out by the new intruder.
　Before the ice magic sword could be constructed, the soldiers were blown away by wind magic from the side.

　Hailey appeared from the top of the ramparts surrounding the courtyard.
　Somehow, she pulled Snow's hand away.

''Ka, Kanami, I'm sorry ......''

　At the opening, Snow uttered an apology.
　All the while, Heili unleashed wind magic on the soldiers. They slammed into the walls of the building, causing them to faint one by one.

''Please calm down. You have held yourself together so well. Don't relax until the end. Be calm here.

　For a moment I brace myself.
　But there is no hostility in Heili's eyes. The way he spoke, I knew he had come to rescue me, so I relaxed.
　The blood on my head cooled as I looked at the soldiers being blown away.
　Haili sees me regaining my composure and leaps over the yard with a smile.

''I know where the Palinklons are running to. It doesn't matter if we miss them here. Let's calm down first and take control of this fort.''

　She landed behind me and drew the twin swords from her waist.
　As it was, Heili tried to protect my back.

　Strangely enough, I felt more secure than when I had anyone else on my back. It was similar to the reassurance I felt from Hein, who had protected my back on the day of the Nativity.
　I nodded back without arguing with him.
　I don't know why, but right now Hailey was very convincing.

　It was as if she was a different person - I felt as if she was a different person.

　And with the addition of Haili and Snow, the shape of the situation tilts.
　Soldiers from all over the fort gather in the yard. But it didn't take more than a few minutes to neutralize them all.
　We are the last four people standing. We could call it an overwhelming victory.

　But there was no denying that our surprise mission had failed.
　Palinkulon and the Sith. We had missed our two targets.