'There's only one thing left, isn't there?'

　Marise says, holding my hand.
　I guess she really doesn't want to let go of my hand. She was holding my hand tightly.
　It's always a good idea to be on the lookout for ...... Marise.

　Since then, we've passed through six of the seven checkpoints.
　In addition to that, Marlies seemed to have gotten used to the darkness and her voice seemed to have more energy.

That's right. They didn't harass me after the first one, did they?
I think they realized after the first one that they were no match for Kurt. ......
They realized it too late.

　Now, we're almost at the auditorium where the seventh checkpoint is located.
　This is also the place where the joint class with Disalia Magic Academy was held today.


"Shut up.


　The moment I stepped into the auditorium, I heard a voice from the podium.

There's someone here.
That was a man named ...... Erik, wasn't it?

　He was wearing a silk hat and a cloak, and his eyes were vacant as he looked at us.
　He was probably dressed as some kind of ghost.

　But this is .......

"......, what the hell is this?

　I ask Eryk.

"It's part of the liver problem. I hope you enjoyed it.
The only thing I sense from you is hostility.

　I keep my guard up and keep asking Eryk, but he doesn't give me any more answers.

"Kurt?　What's wrong with you?　I'm not sure if it's really a ghost or not.　...... I can't move. ......?　I'm scared of ghosts.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm afraid of ghosts. It's not a non-magical thing, even for a ghost. There's some kind of binding spell going on.

　Apparently, the moment Eryk entered this auditorium, he triggered the binding spell.

　But ...... apparently the magic doesn't seem to belong to Eryk, does it?
　Eryk's face is looking at me, but his eyes are not focused.
　This means someone is controlling him.

　That makes sense.
　I'm sure he's realized the power difference between us.
　She won't fight me on her own.

Did you really think you'd be able to stop me with all this restraining magic?
Click, click. I tried to use it on you, but I didn't think it would work. I'm going after your daughter.

　He's right, I had a restraining spell on me, but I broke it the moment it went off.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to fight with you, no matter how strong you are.　Kaka Kaka!
"...... I don't know what you think you're doing.

　I'm not sure what you're getting at.


The Marlies are just as strong as you are.


"Yeah.

　Marise called out.
　Then the restraining spell was lifted and Marise twirled her arms around her as if she was doing gymnastics.

I'm sure you'll agree.　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.　I'm not sure what to do.
I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to use it.
......!　I'm not sure what to do.　We've got the numbers!

　Eryk's voice was the signal.
　Underneath ...... the desks in the auditorium, in the shadows ...... and in the narrow shelves ...... people came out of everywhere and attacked us.

　They were all wearing Disalia uniforms.
　It looks like they're being controlled by someone too.
　There are about ten of them in total.

「「「「 Gather into my hands, flame. Become a spear and pierce and burn your enemies! 」」」」

　The voices overlapped, and they began to form a magic formula at once.

I'm not sure what to make of this. Marries.
Yes!

　Fire spears fired in all directions.
　Marise stepped forward and deployed her warding magic to block them.

As long as you're using chanting magic, you're no match for us.

　I'm not sure if you're surprised that Marise, who you initially thought would be a liability, completely blocked your magic.
　I'm not sure if she was surprised that Marise, who she initially thought was a liability, had completely blocked her magic.

But ...... I'll tell you what you think your poor chanting magic is all about. The real chanting magic.

　He's making a mess of things, but I don't care and raise my hand.

"Go through.



　That's all I said.
　Then ...... dozens of fire spears appeared and headed towards the attackers.

"Aaahhhh!
I'm not sure what to do.　It's a chanting spell, but it can unleash this much power in such a short time!

　The Disarrayers were running for cover.
　But the fire spears I unleashed pierced their backs one after another.
　The students who were directly hit by the magic were blown away, hitting their bodies hard against the walls and floor, and fainting.

I'm not sure what to say.　I'm not sure what to make of that.

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

It's chanting magic.
It's not possible to cast a spell that fast with chanting magic!
What are you talking about? It's slow enough.

　With no chanting, you could cast the same spell with a tenth of the speed and power you have now.

Chanting magic is inefficient. But that doesn't mean I can't use chanting magic.

　Because a thousand years ago, before I started the magic revolution, chanting magic was the main thing.
　Before I mastered no-chant magic, I also mastered chant magic.
　That's why I realized how inefficient and inferior chanting magic is.

　What is bad is bad.
　But it's not my principle to argue that something is bad without actually using it.

"A, A, A, ......

　Seeing the students of Disalia defeated in an instant, Erik couldn't string two words together.

"What's the matter?　Are you trying to escape?
Either way, this body is trash!　Either way, this body is trash, and if it's trash, it's trash, and it's trash, and it's trash!

　You'll be able to find a lot more information on this topic in the following article.
　I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.
　Eryk's body can't withstand the magic, and it will break as soon as it is activated.

　But...

I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with that.
"No. ......!

　Eerik's eyes widen.
　Before Eriq could unleash his fire spear, he used a backfire spell to neutralize it.

"Hmm.

　I closed the distance to Eriq in an instant, drew my sword at close range, and swung it out.

"Aaahhhh!

　Eriq collapsed in a pool of fresh blood.

　I thought it was unwise to go this far when I was only being manipulated, so I immediately used healing magic to stop the bloodshed.
　Eriq survived, but his consciousness was completely lost, and he was lying on the floor in a limp state.
　I put my right hand on him and searched for magic power.

"......?　This is a complete disconnection of the magic power.

　I'm pretty sure there's someone who's been controlling Eriq.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. Because of this, his magic formula was messed up, and he was able to quickly counteract it with counter magic.
　So I thought that tracing the magic power would reveal the main culprit, but ...... no. The magic used on Eryk is completely independent of the magician.

"Then.

　This time he grabbed Eryk's head in his hands.
　I tried to read his memories, but ...... they seemed to be sealed in an abyss, so my approach was no good.
　However, from the surface of his memories, something came to mind that might be a clue.

　--The Great Library.

　Apparently, there's something in there.

It looks like this isn't just a problem at Disalia Academy anymore.

　He quickly removes his hand from Eerik's head.
　It's hard to imagine that the students and teachers of Disalia can't do something of this magnitude on their own.

"Kurt!　What the hell is this ......?
"Marlies. It seems that the exchange camp is not going to be a simple one. Marise, go back to your room immediately, and Avril, go tell the other students about this.
What the hell is ...... Kurt?　Where are you going?　You're not going to do anything dangerous. ......
What?

　I turned my back on Marlies and left her to answer her question.

It's like a continuation of the test of courage.