It was truly a white sun that took the purpose of killing as its magic (form).
　It wasn't magic directed at me, but I almost burned to death just by being near it. I can't think of a way to defend myself in this small space.

　That vicious and murderous blow rushed straight at Ragne-san.

　To be honest, it's not that fast of a magic.
　Compared to the earlier Flame Arrow, it's too slow. It's only as fast as a woman lightly throwing a pebble at it. Even a child would be able to avoid it.

　However, there is no point in avoiding that sphere, the surrounding pool of dead blood tells me. This isn't magic that penetrates a point, it's magic that burns through space.

　Above all, if it was released by a wizard with superior magic control, it could be remotely controlled.
　Hence, again Lagne-san doesn't move, calmly choosing defense instead of evasion.

''-- Resonant Magic 《Field》. Each of you, your favorite defensive magic.

　Just like the crystal's defense earlier, Ragne-san also began to deploy magic of an attribute that was supposed to be unusable.

　At the same time, the crystal sword that Ragne-san is holding at her waist shines as it leaks dark magic power.
　That's not all. The two pendants on her chest do the same. Here I am convinced that she is drawing the power of the 'Stealers of Reason'.

　I'm not sure if I'll be able to find out what's going on, but I'm pretty sure it's the "Treasured Sword of the House of Alais" that Ragne is wearing, as well as the magic stones of the "Stealers of Reason" of darkness, wind and wood.

　-- magic is drawn from the four magic stones.

　However, that's not the way I and Christ drew it out when we had it.
　In our case, we had to pass our own magic power through the magic stone and borrow the magic formula of the 'Stealers of Reason' to activate it.
　Lagune-san in front of me was clearly not using his own magic power. The magic stone itself created magic power and shared it with her. If I had to ask who that usage was similar to, it would be Maria who was confronting her.

　I understand the cause of the difference, though it's faintly obvious.
　What is not in me or Christ, but in Ragne and Mary - perhaps it is something called 'affinity'.
　I've been told by Tiara that "affinity" is the most important factor when drawing power from a magical stone.

　In other words, Lagune-san is now in "affinity" with all four of the "logic thieves" at the same time. Even I, who don't know much about "affinity", can understand that this is abnormal. I don't know much about affinity, but I can understand that it is abnormal.

　And it is because of this skill of "bad feeling" that I finally understand the meaning of the chill I once (...) felt.

　That once (...) was a year ago. It was at the end of the final match of the Allied Nations "Dance Tournament".
　That was when I snatched the Sword of the House of Ares from a wounded Christ, and then snatched it from Ragnet.

　That was the first time Lagune held the Sword of the House of Ares in the audience, and I couldn't help but admire him.

　Seeing her, I felt a chill.
　I was struck with a feeling of excitement in my chest that I should never let her have it like this.

　Why did I think that?
　It was probably because Ragne-san was trying to 'relate' to me by some unusual means. So both Christ and I instinctively turned blue in the face and tried to get it back at once.
　Fortunately, it didn't turn out to be a big deal at that time, thanks to Elmirad Siddharth, who took advantage of the momentary gap. But in truth, after the 'Dancing Tournament', it might not have been surprising to have a fight with Ragne-san, who had gained the power of the 'One Who Steals the Reason of the Earth'.

　The reason for the former chill is unraveled thanks to this worst situation and the newly acquired skill 'Evil Sense'. In the midst of this, four-colored magic spread out from Ragne's body.

　As she herself had just spoken and asked for it earlier, it was the magic of each of the four people's strongest attributes.
　All of them were just basic magic that only stretched a film of magic power, but the source was that foul 'thing that steals reason'. Moreover, all of the attributes lived together, resonated and overlapped each other without conflict.
　If it was a school textbook, it would be introduced on the first page of the school's textbook, the basics of the 'field'. It turned into a completely different, high-level defensive magic.

　The magic power of darkness, earth, wind and wood. The colors of black, white, green and green.
　It overlaps, melts, blends, increases in thickness, and finally settles into one.

　It is a strange black color with many impurities.
　It was a black that seemed to have been painted over for thousands of years with paintings of the land of fertility and forgot how many colors of paint had been used. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the glow of crystal naturally deep within the blackness.

　Such a strange black membrane spread out to encompass the entire underground cavity and made contact with Maria's white sun.
　In an instant, the world flickers strongly and vividly.
　The two magics fought each other while scattering black and white magic particles.

　The two were in equilibrium.
　Black, which is a mixture of multiple colors, and white, which has been purified by pushing only one color through.
　The opposing magic pushed together, producing a monstrous high-pitched sound as if the underground cavity were a musical instrument, violently shaking the entire underground cavity.

　Upon closer observation, it appeared that the black membrane in contact with the white sun, which was moving straight ahead to burn Lagne-san to death, was trying to drop him to the ground (・・・・).

　The white sun trying to move forward as the black film pulls downward and forward.
　Combined with the unique sparks and pleasing sounds, it's a terrifying fantasy.
　Most of all, Ragne murmurs as he analyzes the situation.

...... Gosh, if you forcefully mix them together, the magic power will be closer to black. And what's more, it's kind of heavy ......!　It's supposed to be defensive, but it's weird magic. ......!

　The person who released it was surprised that it was only meant to prevent and play, but before he knew it, it had become a drop (...) magic. Maria, who was confronting him, was equally surprised and muttered.

'The source of this power, the same ...... as mine!　If so, it's more of our years: ......!

　Like me, she was shocked when she realized that Ragne-san had an 'affinity' with the magic stone of 'The One Who Stole the Reason'. However, she quickly rethought her killing intent and braved the fact that their bond was better than ours.

''Even though I'm more used to that one, this one is four ......!　I was just asking for a power contest from you!　I'll take it!

　They chose to bludgeon each other's magic with no tricks.

　The dense magic of both of them poured additional magic power into the two magic that is being maintained now.
　Finally, the two of them roar as they compete to say that I am the one who is the most 'friendly' with the 'reason stealer' in the world.

'Burn it all out--!
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh--!

　The white sun swells even more.
　Instead of swallowing a person, it increases in volume to the point of swallowing even the "World Tree" behind it.

　The black membrane grows even thicker.
　It turns into a robust, massive magic, so robust that it has to change its expression from a membrane to a wall.

　Without a doubt, they are both probably the highest level of magic in the world.
　The competition is so powerful, so pure, and so full of killing intent that I may never see it again, and I'm absentmindedly blinded by it.
　As a knight, I have a certain admiration for strength. And you could say that what we are witnessing now is the ultimate in one.

　The pool of blood beneath my feet has evaporated and turned reddish-black, the color inside the underground cavity is dyed black and white in half, and the surrounding walls are pierced with countless particles of aftermath magic power, drawing patterns like stardust.

　However, we are made to understand early on that it's impossible to keep an eye on that equilibrium.
　One of the aftermaths, the hot wind, has begun to outstrip my wind defenses.　
　If this continues, I'll be killed before Ragne-san and Maria, who are clashing magic with each other, who are just watching.

　I checked Fafner-san behind Ragne-san and he is generating a wall of flowing blood and holding on. As expected of one of the 'Stealers of Reason', there's still plenty of room for more.

　I just want to avoid being the first one to give up roots.
　I don't want to just get in the way of my friends fighting.

　However, reality is not easy. The scattered magic particles erode and try to break my wind magic. The hot wind that blows in the air tries to melt the skin all over my body.

　I can't even stay here anymore without using the back of my hand.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　-- but before that, fortunately or unfortunately, it happened.

''I mean, what?''
What--?

　Ragnet-san made a barefaced noise and Maria voiced her doubts.
　Then the magical tussle came to an end.

　It was a momentary thing.
　Just when I thought the white sun had surpassed the black wall's magical power, the next moment, the power relationship had 'flipped'.

　The heat of the white sun cooled off - it was scraped off.
　It wasn't that the black wall had eroded or swallowed him. By itself, the white sun weakened and disappeared as if it had stopped building magic.　

　Both sides were puzzled as to whether it was an unexpected resolution or not.
　It was Ragne who analyzed the phenomenon and spoke to herself.

''I, what was that just now, the power of the "Star's Reason" ......?　Could it be that it doesn't just work on people, but on magic as well?　And, without permission: ......
"d*mn, 'counter-magic'. ......!　It sounds like a disarming system: ...... No!　Even so, this time, I'm going to shoot multiple spells in all directions--and ......--

　Ragne-san was standing there, maintaining the black wall.
　In contrast, Maria tried to take a step forward while kneading her magic power, trying to prepare a chase - she fell forward.

　She fell to the ground and lay down, unable to move with a twitch.

''Eh?''

　Ragnet-san, who was standing relative to me, opened her mouth with a plop.
　I was watching from afar, and Fafner-san felt the same way.

　Maria, who was clothed with more than ten thousand people's magic and life force, suddenly lost all her power and collapsed.
　The heat source that had made me feel that if it was bad, it would burn down not only the castle, but the country as well, had cooled to zero in an instant.

　I was saved thanks to the disappearance of the hot air inside the underground cavity, but the battle between the two of us--

Could it be that ....... Did your ability transfer from the flames to the main body and ...... die?

　Ragné-san was right, Maria didn't move as if she was dead.
　Seeing her fallen form, a chill runs down my spine. I immediately run over to check her condition, but before I can do so, a girl crawls out of the hem of Maria's clothes and cries out.

'Ma, Maria sis!　What's going on, sis!

　Instead of the black color drained from her clothes, the Reaper raised Maria's fallen body and checked her breath. From her expression, it could be seen that Maria was not dead. However, it could also be seen that she would not wake up immediately.

　The Reaper stood in front of the fallen Maria and generated a scythe by condensing the dark magic power.

''When it comes to this, I'm ......!

　He glared at Ragne, showing his wariness.
　The enemy in front of him coolly passed it off and resumed his monologue.

''It looks like you're going to faint this time ....... This power ....... This is the same as being interrupted then. It's as if you're being used ......--, not using your power.

　In the process, the substandard foundation magic 《Field》 that had been deployed was lifted.

　All the magic that had dyed the inside of the underground cavity was lifted, and all that was left was the wasteland and the 'World Tree'. From the look of it, I can see that Ragne-san has decided that there is no need for an exaggerated magic against the Reaper and me.

　So.
　It's probably because he simply decided that they are not enemies.
　The relative Reaper must have felt the same way. She contorts her face as if her pride has been injured, and she is filled with the will to fight for revenge.

　I do my best to stop her.

''Reaper, don't!　The witch there fought with all her might from the front and lost so easily!　No one else can fight it!

　It wasn't just a loss either.
　It looked like Mr. Ragne had lost in a test of his newfound power (...).

'That may be true ....... But I'll have to check on my brother over there .......

　The Reaper stops and answers me backwards in frustration.

'I can't even be sure!　There are four of those magic stones, and they're all drawn out!　There's Mr. Fafner behind you, too!

　Originally, Maria's power was essential for Fafner-san alone. Then the unidentified Ragnet-san joined the enemy. There is no longer any chance of victory even if the Reaper and I were to fight alone.

　In the face of a Christ-like corpse, Mary, the strongest of my friends, was defeated - and to my own surprise, I was able to think calmly.

　It's not that I anticipated the situation and was prepared for it.
　But that doesn't mean I didn't have a sense of reality about the situation.

　It's simply because this is the second time.

　Once I have experienced a similar situation.
　It was the experience of the death of my brother Hein Helvirshine, whom I can say I admired and adored.

　Hence I know that when I lose, I lose, and when I die, I die.
　Sometimes you can believe someone is invincible, but in reality, the opposite is true. Someone you love dies easily and unexpectedly, for a very inexplicable reason. There are times in life when you can't even relate to it, you don't have time to grieve, but you still have to accept it.

　The lesson that my brother gave me gave me a small amount of leeway. Even though there was a lot of sludge swirling around in the pit of my stomach, it led me to the words and actions I needed to say and do right now.

'You already know that, don't you!

　This black girl named Reaper has one of the best brains among her peers, despite her young appearance. In keeping with her intelligence, she screams very briefly.

''Ugh--''

　The Reaper snorted and backed away.
　She seems to understand reasonably well.
　If that's really the corpse of Christ, then we should protect the living Mary in preference to the dead man. If it's not the corpse of Christ, then it's just a trap and we should ignore the enemy and join the real Christ.

'If we move according to our emotions, we will have more dead men for nothing!　Don't be stupid enough to lay down your life for revenge!　All you have to do is inform the dragon man above you of the situation, get as many people together as you can, and regain your footing!　I'll buy you some time here, and you can take the unconscious witch first!

　I'm going to tell them to beat it.
　These two are not the right opponents to fight right now.
　At the very least, if we don't fight them at the timing and circumstances of our choice and not the timing and circumstances of their choice - they will be easily killed.

"Okay, okay!

　The Reaper nodded sooner than I expected.
　Come to think of it, she must have lost her beloved, too. Learning the same precepts as I did, very quickly, she slipped into Maria's clothes again. Then Maria's body, which had fainted, began to move as if she were awake.
　By moving the black clothes with its magical power, she may be forcing it to control her.

　Furthermore, the Reaper made the black fog erupt as if it was going to explode.
　It's the magic for escape 《Dark》 that he always uses in the labyrinth.
　Dispersing the darkness, clothed in darkness, the Reaper moved towards the wall with Maria.

　Fafner was the first to react to that escape.

'...... lagne. How long are you going to be asking yourself?　Is that okay?

　He pointed to a mass of darkness that crawled up the wall and asked a nearby Ragne-san.
　So Ragne-san interrupted her monologue and her face hardened back into a ruthless expression.

''No, no ....... Fafner, I give you, primarily a knight, the first order. Go after it and kill it. After you have retrieved the magic stone of the "Fire Stealer", kill everything you see. Use all your strength to turn the people of this world into a blood stain.

　After the battle with Maria, he looked as if he had inherited all the killing intent of the flames from earlier.
　Fafner frowned at that command filled with killing intent.

'Hey, wait ....... You're ordering me to 'kill with all your might' instead of 'catch them'?　You know what that means now, don't you?
Yes, I know. Unlike Mr. Nosfi, I'm going to treat you well. I won't allow you to cut corners. Kill, kill, kill. I'm sure that's what I'll need to do to remain the best and get to the next realm, and that's important to ...... your salvation.

　No matter how difficult the knight might be, he assured her that he had no intention of reversing his previous statement.
　Fafner listened to this with a surprised look, and finally nodded with a look of contemplation.

'...... haha, even for me, huh? You're really good at that sort of thing, aren't you? ...... All right. If that answer is what you want, I'll help you. It's just that my body works on its own. --Bradwears.

　Fafner gathers all the blood, except for the 'World Tree' that remains in the underground cavity, into his body. Then, just like the Reaper, he wears a large amount of red blood and contains the corpse of what appears to be Christ in it - and moves to track it down.

　The sticky clots of blood stick to the walls at high speed and begin to try to run up after the dark mass, as if to say that there are no more chains to hold him underground.

''--[Tauschus Wied]!

　On its back, I unleashed all the magic I could muster.
　I built up a huge wind stake and threw one, two or three in sequence, but the blood clot dodged it neatly as if it had eyes on its back.
　When the stakes of wind I was throwing at them were over ten, I gave up on the interference.

　Then, as the walls shatter under my magic and pieces of stone rain down to the bottom of the basement, Ragne-san speaks to me in a friendly manner.

'This one too, but you missed that one pretty easily too: ......

　It's no surprise that my magic didn't hit him.
　While my magic was firing, the whole time I was focusing my attention on Ragne-san. If it was her nature, I thought she would take me by surprise as soon as I took my eyes off her, but she seemed to have seen through my thoughts.
　I'm convinced that countering her with an imaginary counter is not going to work.

　After all, she's dangerous.
　Even though she is just a troublesome fighter, she has now acquired the same magical power as the 'Stealers of Reason'.

　I will definitely hold Lagune-san back here.
　That's something only I can do, knowing her fighting style and personality, and being compatible with her abilities. If I let her loose on the ground, no one will be able to stop her.

　Perhaps reading my thoughts, Ragne-san laughs.

''Hahaha. It seems that you have admitted that I am the most troublesome. I'm more dangerous than that 'thing that steals the reason for blood'," he said. ...... Oh no, being the best is a hard thing to do!　It's not getting any easier, like before!　We can't sneak up on them. They're too wary of us!　Ha ha ha.

　This one can't read any of the thoughts on her face.
　What is she laughing about for fun?
　Is she really feeling the pain?
　How did she fall so far down in this form?
　I have no idea what's going on inside her mind, which not so long ago I felt a slight bond with her as a colleague, but now I have no idea what's going on inside her mind.

''That's a good decision, Reiner ....... But instead, you're going to die here.

　It was a cold voice without any decorations. As if to show that this was my true intentions, that poorly spoken honorific was gone as well.

　I decide to fight without thinking about anything else.
　I won't ask or check anything else. Ragne-san - no, I'll kill the enemy Ragne at any opportunity.

　Lagne's body is distorted like a mirage, and little by little it becomes transparent.
　It assimilates with the background and disappears.

　I feel the magic kick in.
　If he is using the wind to become invisible, I, the wind knight, can see through it. I can tell by the movement of the air that I'm there. But I was certain that was impossible.

　It couldn't just be wind magic.
　More a combination of other skills. What's more, it's an invisibility with the help of 'the one who steals reason' as well.
　It assimilates with its surroundings, reduces its own magic power to zero, and does not even block the movement of air. He hides his existence from the world and becomes 'that which does not exist' in the true sense of the word.
　I knew with a 'bad feeling' that it was that much of a disappearance (tinkering).

　And even though I'm finally facing the face, I completely lose sight of Mr. Lagune.

　At the same time, an explosion sounded in the sky above me that seemed to break my eardrums.

''--!

　From the ground far above, far above the ground, a shock that numbed my entire body underground.
　Perhaps it was the serious magic of Fafner-san who went after me now. A beat after the sound of the explosion, an uncommon amount of blood rained down into the underground cavity.

　It was tempting to turn my gaze upward to see what in the world was happening and who Fafner was fighting with.

　I managed to stomp it out.
　If I distracted myself, I would die, my 'bad feeling' told me.
　If I showed a moment's notice and suffered a single scratch, it would kill me just as Ragne had said.
　That's how strongly my skills threaten me, and my whole body is wet with cold sweat after only a few seconds.

　Without moving slightly, I continue to stay alert.
　I don't close my eyelids even as blood runs down my forehead and both eyes turn red. I look forward even if the blood that has poured down on me turns the ground and walls red and I begin to wriggle like a living thing. No matter what happens, stay calm and not in a hurry. I continue to think only of killing back the lagnet who will surprise me one day, in reverse.

　As long as this 'bad feeling' makes a lot of noise, there will always be an enemy aiming for your life in the immediate vicinity.
　The distance is probably ...... closer than you think (...).

　So I--.
　Alone, alone, in the middle of the too-quiet bowels of the earth, you stand exposed.

　This is not the beginning of a labyrinthine battle, a monster hunt, a knight's duel, a tournament match, or a roadside brawl. However, this bizarre aspect was the beginning of the killing match between Ryner Helvirshain and Ragne Kaikwola.