Let's go, Kanami-san.

　As soon as the sunrise rose, Maria rushed to leave.
　Using her recovered MP, she grasped the movement of both armies and found that the battle situation had changed dramatically in just one night. When Maria heard the movement, she immediately decided to take the attack by surprise.

　Both the North and the South had moved their armies in a big way. In line with that, she saw that Palinkulon was also moving. He had come out of his tent, shaking off the restraints of the surroundings. The soldiers who were accompanying him were in a panic as he was forcing his body, which had just recovered from a serious injury, to move.

　Reveling in the fulfillment of his duties as a general, Palinclone is about to go to the front lines.
　In a few moments, the war will begin and he will be caught in the crossfire. If Palinkulon is to attack, it's now or never. This was the situation.

　As I thought yesterday, the situation is too good to be true. The Palinkulon is risking their lives to come at us from the center.
　But we can't stand still. Even if I was right, I had to go.

　We abandon our wagons in an abandoned village and start walking toward Palinkulon.
　From here on out, the soldiers are densely packed. It's not so much how fast we move as how well we can hide.

　The rest has kept me and Maria in good shape, and we have plenty of MP. I checked my body's strength by opening and closing my palms many times, but it didn't seem to hinder my ability to fight.

　But if there's one flaw, it's skill.
　Right now, I'm in a state where I'm forcibly crushing most of my thoughts and sealing off the skill 'Parallel Thinking'. In that state of unity of mind and body, I didn't seem to meet the conditions for activating "Kansei".

　However, even though I can't use "Sensitivity," I still have the "Dimension Decisive Operation" (Graduation). Just going back to the previous fighting techniques a little bit, it wouldn't be a disadvantage in close combat.
　Unless Palinclone is using a sword technique on par with Rowen's, but that's not the case.

　I unfolded my "Dimension" so that no one would see me and proceeded through the plains as if I were lurking. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about the entire battle from the thinly spread Dimension.

　The scattered troops that had been scattered around have been consolidated, and both the north and south have become an army of over 10,000.
　As we move, the distance between the two armies grows closer and closer.

　Maria next to me said again, "Try not to look too much. The numbers are enough to keep track of," she warned. I obeyed and followed the numbers.

　Then, as if watching a game screen, ten thousand and ten thousand troops move closer - making sure they make contact.
　I watched the war begin, very much as if it were someone else's business.
　Strangely, I didn't feel any emotions. Is it because I have become a 'monster'? Or is it because I have the experience of war from a thousand years ago at the bottom of my memory? Or is it because of both? I don't know.

　First of all, the arrows and magic before contact will cause countless deaths - due to the nature of dimensional magic, if I wanted to count those deaths, I would be able to count them. So I try to concentrate only on the crowdedness of the battle and the position of the palinclone and not be aware of the deaths of people.

　The war between the North and the South began as planned.
　There is no doubt that General Palinclone is in command of the troops in it.
　The only thing left to do was to get the timing right. If we aimed to attack Palinkulon at a time when the Confederate army was least able to afford it, then our war would begin.
　Neither this world nor the labyrinth, nor the North nor the South, will matter. It's our own war.

　Whenever we are ready to jump out, we move carefully into the shadows where our two armies won't see us.
　We are far enough away that we can see the war with our eyesight without using dimensional magic anymore. There, we duck down, hide our breath, and continue to watch.

　As I wait, a wide variety of sounds enter my ears.
　It starts with the shouting of the soldiers like a rumble in the ground and countless screams mixed with the smell of blood.
　I couldn't help but hate myself for being able to tell that people were dying at a frightening rate, even if it was just the sounds.

　Since we had entered a mixed battle, there were few more sounds of arrows and magic.
　Instead, I could hear the sound of the frontline soldiers' spears piercing flesh a lot. You could also hear the sound of soldiers in a struggle, their heads being split open by stones. Every once in a while, the magic of skilled knights would pass through the battlefield. The soldiers, who were crowded together, are dying all at once. It was unpleasant to hear the sounds of people dying over and over again.

　Oh, it's really sickening.

　I almost sit up.
　But it's stopped by Maria.

'Let's wait a little longer, Kanami. We're not at the peak of the fight yet.

　His calm words cause me to sit up, almost floating.

　I remain silent and continue to grasp the sound of this battle.
　It's not just because people are dying that I'm in pain.
　It's about the emotions that consume me, emotions that are impossible for a human being to feel.
　I can't stop the incomprehensible paranoia, as if people are dying because I'm watching them. Perhaps it's because I might have the power to stop this fight, but I'm not doing anything about it. I'm tempted to chastise myself, wondering if I'm trying to be a god. But I'm sure I'm also thinking that I can handle a few tens of thousands of them. That's why I can't stop feeling a strange sense of guilt. It also doesn't stop my spinning thoughts.
　Even if I suppressed the 'parallel thoughts', the discomfort wouldn't go away because of my uselessly high status.

　Reason and emotion intertwine and intertwine.
　Eventually, you won't even know who you are.
　No, I couldn't possibly know in the first place. Not only am I neither human nor divine, but I am "someone" whose name is unknown to me. ......
　And that 'someone' doesn't even know who to help anymore: .......

　Oh, I feel really bad.
　I feel sick. I don't feel good. I don't feel good.

　After all, I guess I didn't want to sit down because I didn't want to take a moment to think.
　Right now, the last thing I want to do is stand around and do nothing.

　So come on.
　Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.

　I can't stand it, I wish.

　Hurry up and let me fight the Palinkron.

　That's when I screamed in my mind.

　As if in response to my wish, something cold fell on my cheek.
　More and more stains were popping up on the ground.

　I looked at the sky as quickly as I could.
　The rain was about to come out of the black cloudy sky.

'Oh, rain ......?'

　The sudden change in weather surprises me.
　While you are wondering, the rain increases in momentum. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a torrential downpour and enveloped the entire battlefield.

'...... You're in luck. Just the right amount of rain.

　Maria's face lights up as she sees the rainfall so heavy that her vision is compromised.

　We're trying to intervene in a crowded war.
　So this heavy rain was a tailwind for us. Of course, Maria's flame is not extinguished by this much rain.

　Suddenly, the killing of the battlefield is intensified by the heavy rain.
　It's almost scary how smoothly the conditions are getting better.
　I can see that the peak of the crowded battle that Maria had hoped for is quickening.
　There's no need to wait any longer. Rather, we have to jump in before the army tells us to retreat.

'It's now (・・・・). Let's go, Kanami-san.
Yeah, let's go to .......

　Maria stood up.
　As per the plan we decided on last night, I take Maria in my arms and hold her in my arms. Together, we begin to build magic as well.
　Then I galloped off into the blood-spattered battlefield faster than a warhorse can run.

　No need to avoid the soldiers.
　All that's left is to aim in a straight line to the neck of Palinclone.

　We passed many soldiers on our way. When they saw us, they shouted in astonishment, as if they had seen something terrible. Some of them even sank to their knees as if they were hit by a strong wind.
　They weren't afraid of me running like the wind, carrying each person. They must have understood in a momentary encounter that the magic power spun by me and Maria was abnormal. It was as if they reacted as if they had encountered a high-ranking monster.

　However, it may be unavoidable. My status of 'muscle strength' and 'speed' is beginning to exceed the limits of humans, and my magic power is on the verge of becoming a 'monster'.

　As we approach Palinkulon, the density of troops is increasing rapidly. Everywhere you look, there are only blood-soaked soldiers with deadly weapons.
　Some of these soldiers had noticed our approach beforehand. These are high-level soldiers who look like they belong to the generalship. Those who were unlucky enough to stand in front of us were seriously injured by magic as they passed us by.

　If we stopped for even a second, we would be surrounded by soldiers from the south, so we couldn't show any mercy. I was bathed in blood on the battlefield, breaking through the Confederate encirclement like a cone to make a hole.

　Then, I made it to the front of the war zone where Palinkulon was located. For the South, this was the frontline area, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was the 'center' of the war.

　Without stopping to take a step, we will make one last check in 'Dimension'.
　About two kilometers to the northwest, a Palinclone on a warhorse was leading a large number of soldiers. He was hurriedly giving orders to the soldiers to change their formation.
　This sudden and heavy rain was on top of the all-out battle with the north. There were multiple messages that came and went.

　In the middle of it all, a message was intermingled.
　It was a report that an unidentified man with a girl in his arms is coming into their camp from the east. Hearing the message, Palinkulon laughed, even though it was during the war.
　With a thin smile pasted on his face, Palinclone turns his gaze to the east.

　All the while, the distance is closing in.
　The soldiers are unable to stop the unidentified man from cutting deep into their own camp. A few hundred meters in front of me, I choose a suitable big man and jump and kick him.
　As it is, I use the big man as a stepping stone, and I jump.

　Struck by raindrops falling from the sky, we shout in the air the magic we had finished building.

"-- Magic 'Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradient)'!
'Flame'!　"Impulse!

　I converged my thinly stretched 'Dimension' and focused it only on the Palinkron. Maria in my arms unleashes her magic at the same time, melding the two together.

　While jumping over the heads of dozens of soldiers, she assessed the landing spot.
　This time, division takes precedence over a surprise attack. My target is right next to Palinkron. There are a lot of soldiers on the periphery, but we don't care.

　In the midst of our confirmation, Palinclone's eyes completely caught ours.
　Our gazes were intertwined.
　We found ourselves smiling thinly at each other.
　Palinclone remembered the surprise attack the other day, and he braced himself with all his strength. However, it wasn't Palinkron's body that I landed on, but the earth a few steps away.

　As soon as I land, the prepared Maria's flames gush out.
　That roaring flame is accompanied by an unattributed impact. It propagated to the surroundings like a ripple created by throwing a stone into a lake.

　That flame is not a flame that burns, but a flame that blows away.
　The guards would have been selected soldiers, but they were useless before the magic by the guardian (guardian) magic stone holder.
　Maria's full-length magic blew the soldiers who were guarding Palinkron away more than ten meters.

　The magic was accompanied by a roaring sound that made it seem as if a meteorite had fallen.
　Frightened by the sound and the flames, the warhorse Palinkulon was riding on tried to escape. Without appeasing it, Palinkulon dismounted and allowed the warhorse to run away.
　At the same time as the warhorse runs away, the flames that remain dancing around it swell and dance.

''-- 'Flame Decisive Flame Region (Gladiate)!

　The swelling flames rushed across the ground in a circle.
　And the circle of flames created a wall as if to isolate the three of us, including Palinkron. In the middle of the battlefield where tens of thousands of soldiers writhed, a 'dueling arena' of flames with no spectator seats was generated.

　The momentum of the flames is wild, and the walls are thick and dark in color. It is of the same nature as the magic that Arti used on me. Of course, it's not just a flame.
　Just as I did when I fought Tida once, Palinkron will be unable to escape. The people around me would not be able to break through the flames to help Palinkron.
　The division was a success. The soldiers were completely out of the mosquito net.

　The series of magic was a fleeting event.
　But Palinkron was not at all upset. It seems that we were not the only ones who wanted this situation, and Palinclone was the same.

　It seems that not only did we want this situation, but so did Palinkron.
　Standing firmly on the ground, he welcomed us with open arms.

It's good to see you, boy. It's been a day.

　The thinly taut smile deepened and Palinclone spread his hands.
　I laughed with room to spare, not to be outdone by it.

'Ah, first time in a day. 'Palinclone.'

　He laughed and let his hostility fly as best he could.
　Palinclone looked around, passing it off as coolly as he could.
　A gaping wall of fire. He could see that the flames were not just flames.

　Then, as the rain fell, Palinclone squinted his eyes and began to speak nostalgically.

'On the wall of fire, heavy rain or ....... And these three. Haha, that's a bit nostalgic. The day of the Nativity was also in this situation. I was the only one left that day. Hey, boy. Who do you think will be left today?

　As if to make small talk, it reminds me of our humiliating defeat.
　Indeed, the situation is similar to the end of the Nativity.

　That day - that day. After Arti disappeared, me and Maria fought the Palinkron and lost.
　It's a memory that makes my heart ache just to recall it.

　I hide my turmoil and ignore the enemy's question.
　I only confront them with our demands.

"Palinkron, give me the Tida Magick Stone now!

　It was an ultimatum and a declaration of war.
　Maria has already agreed to do this. We've decided that the first few minutes of the conversation will be one-on-one between me and Palinkron.

......?　What, that's all you have to do?　After all that you've done to me, are you still hesitant to kill me?

　Palinclone gives me a disgusting look and points out how naive I am.
　I interject the rest of the story.

'Of course, that's not all. I'm going to get an arm for slashing Dia, and both eyes for instigating Arti and Maria.'
'...... hee. That's sweet (・・・・), boy.

　Palinclone accepted the extra money with ease.

'The reason I don't kill you is so you can tell me everything you know. Heidi told me that you have an apostle inside you. You will tell me what that Apostle knows.

　I've now spit out the words I had prepared.
　I really want information about the Sith from the same apostle, Legacy and all that. This is not the end of all my battles. In fact, the battle against the Sith is the real battle for me right now.
　For that reason, I wanted to get some information, even if only a little.

　However, if Palinkron doesn't plan to tell me anything, I won't hesitate.
　At that point, I would have no choice but to kill him.

　To prove it, I thrust the slice of my crystal sword at Palinclone.
　I'm only a breath away from closing in on it. I'm ready for battle.
　If I wanted to, I could take apart a Palinclone right now.

　I'm not sure if Palinclone knows that, or if he's just dripping cold sweat.
　The sharpened Dimension Decisive Arithmetic (Gradiate) has grasped the increased heart rate of the enemy who is pretending to have plenty of time.
　There will be as much fear as an ordinary person being held at gunpoint. No, it may correctly be the fear in front of the 'monster' agitator.

That's a no-no.

　Still, Palinkron shook his head.

'Then I'll listen to you forcefully. There's nowhere to run in this situation. You may have gained the magic stone and become stronger, but me and Maria have become stronger.
'Yeah, he's definitely gotten stronger. You used to be half as good as me, and now you're as good as me. It's really the same (・・・・・・).
'They may be about the same level, but there is a difference in stats and skills. Don't think it's going to be a ...... match, Palinclone.

--status
　　　Name Palinclone Legacy HP456/512 MP390/392 Class None
　　　Level 22.
　　　Strength 15.21 Strength 19.45 Skill 12.12 Speed 18.22 Smarts 10.11 Magic 14.01 Potency 4.89--
--Inherent skill: observational eye 1.47
　　　Acquired skills: swordsmanship 1.89 sacred magic 1.23 spirit magic 3.90
　　　　　　　　　　　Physical Arts 1.87 Spellcraft 2.55 ----

--status
　　　Name Aikawa Uzumi HP369/370 MP520/920-400 Class Searcher.
　　　Level 20.
　　　Strength 11.55 Strength 13.12 Skill 17.11 Speed 20.86 Wisdom 17.12 Magic 46.44 Talent 7.00--
---- skill status
　　　Inherent skill: swordsmanship 4.89 Ice magic 2.58+1.10
　　　Acquired skills: body arts 1.56 dimensional magic 5.25+0.10 sensory perception 3.56 parallel thinking 1.48
　　　　　　　　　　　Knitting 1.07 Deception 1.34 Magical combat 0.73 Blacksmithing 0.69
　　　?　???
　　　???　?????? -- ?


　Palinclone's status has hardly changed since I last checked.
　On the other hand, my stats and skills have both grown rapidly. The current me would be able to keep up with the speed of the once beastly Tida. I'm confident that I can avoid all of them, even if they make me splatter black liquid to cast a mental spell.
　You may lose in a battle of wits, but you are greatly superior in skill.
　If you swing your swords at each other, you are confident that you will win in a single match.

"Don't think it's a match, huh? Haha, that's certainly true if you fight with a sword. ...... But it's the first time I've ever heard someone say that. This is still called 'child prodigy' when I was little, you know?　Those were the good days. No one was stronger than me in a duel. But lately, they're terrible. The Snow guy almost killed me yesterday.

　He appears to have given up on close combat. The inferiority of his swordsmanship must be keenly felt by Palinkron himself. But his frightening magic remains full of wariness.
　Other than that (・・・・), he seems confident that he can't be beaten.

''Unlike yesterday, the place is better this time. I'm not going to lose so easily, okay?

　Palinclone steps on the ground to show that this is also on the 'magic stone line'. It claims to be the 'center' of the 'World Devotional Formation'.
　Then, with a slow motion, Palinclone pulled out the sword that was lowered to his waist.
　I 'gaze' at it and check the details of the sword.

　It's not a taut sword like before.
　Although it is inferior to the Aleiss family's treasure sword, Lowen, it is definitely one of the best on the continent.

　Looking at Palinclone holding the sword, I sense a clear battle cry.
　As a parting shot, I announce the signal for battle.

Palinkulon, you have done something that you shouldn't have done as a human being. I can never forgive you for that. So now I'm going to fight you. If you don't say anything, I'll kill you and then it's all over.
Yeah, of course. That's fine.

　Easily, Palinclone nodded.
　My plea was mixed in with his parting words. If I could, I wanted Palinclone to make an excuse. I wanted him to say something else. But he just nodded without nodding.
　Perhaps Palinclone had noticed my pleas. He noticed, but refused. Somehow, I could see it.

'............'
............

　I can't talk to you anymore.
　We have to fight. It can only be stopped by fighting.
　That was the defining moment.

"Let's go, boy--

　And then the battle begins.
　This is the battle against a fated enemy that I've been waiting for - but in front of an enemy that I resented so much, I'm late to the party.

　It was Palinkron who moved first.