Only one blow, just one magic. Tesfia, who received it on her back, couldn't prevent or avoid it, but simply took the destruction to a violent degree on her body.
　The throbbing and pulsing head is always the same. This time, the pain was incomparable to the past, plus a burning pain that burned all over her body.

　I wondered if I had scraped something, Tesfia looked down at her knee. There was a blood-soaked wound there. It was something that couldn't have happened within this training ground.
　Ars didn't really take it easy, his body shuddered as he felt the significance of it on his skin.

　Afraid, afraid, yet Tesfia stood up on trembling legs and readied her sword, perhaps out of pride as a nobleman, or perhaps out of pride in her strength. Yes, after all the hardships, I have indeed grown stronger. I should have been able to move forward at least one step, okay, even half a step, from those days.
　The color in Tesfia's eyes is too straight.

''Well, I can still do it.......... This much........

　It is only because of Ars's exquisite additions and subtractions that the two of them are still able to stand. Of course, only Ars would know that.
　However, Ars only poured out a cold gaze on Tesfia's falseness.

　She still doesn't understand.
　She can't dismiss this as training, and she can't see the reality of it. She has no doubt that she will never be killed. Maybe she assumes that this wound was an accident or something. But it is also a sign of trust in Ars. But right now, that trust is unnecessary.
　Especially since this fight, which is the first, will resonate in the future, Arus set his sights on Tesfia with his heart on fire.

　As if he was expecting it, when Ars closed that distance that could be reached if he touched it in an instant, Tesfia pulled out her small sword [Snow Princess] and modified the events around her in the [Permanent Freezing Realm 《Nibbleheim》] and defined it firmly.
　A small area was colored with the freezing world as if it was his own territory.

　However, when Ars took a step on the ground with a dangling step, the Tesfia manifested, the "Permanent Freezing World Nibbleheim" made cracks radiate out from under Ars's feet.
　The modification in the composition, its strength was too fragile for her now. The composition easily collapsed with the extent of a localized [vibratory wave of vibrations 《railpine》], as well as intentions.

　The cracks that ran filled the frozen ground, leaving only cold air to dissipate.

''--!

　From Tesfia's point of view, he couldn't understand what was done to him. Still, the ice world under his influence was easily invaded.
　The only thing that was in Tesfia's vision now was that even the highest level magic was not working.
　She also realized that she too was truly protected. Her pride and the power she had finally obtained after accumulating, all of it crumbled as if it had been denied.

　Not even a grunt escaped his throat.
　Tesfia was unable to react to the stance of attack Ars took next. In a fluid motion, Ars raised his dagger above his head. The chain he drew was clad in a bright magical light.

　There was no threat to that dagger, no, something more noteworthy had appeared above Tesfia's head. A huge block of ice that could even be heard with a thud and a heavy bass sound - its rough-hewn sharp edge was stagnating right in front of his own eyes and nose.
　When I looked up just a little, a deep blue covered the entire surface.

　The huge block of ice was as unstable and terrifying as if it were being fished from the ceiling with a thin thread, as if it were about to fall at any moment. With just a breath, it could crush the Tesfia.

　《Death》 Those two words filled the back of his brain with intensity.
　Instantly, Tesfia escaped from everything.
　She sat up heftily as if collapsing from her waist, holding her head in her arms and squatting down small. Naturally, its eyes were still straining to close tightly even as it meditated.

　He was afraid of dying, and he was afraid that he was the one who would bring about that death.
　It was the result of turning away from such a reality.

　But a few seconds later -.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

''Hey, can you stand?''

　A labored voice, as if all this time had been a dream. Ars saw it as a tidal wave early on and released his consciousness that had switched to combat mode.
　Now that he had been exposed to this much hostility and killing intent at the beginning, he decided that it was too much to do any more.
　I had expected this to happen. Still, I'm a human, even if I'm a mage. Fear will always exist, and this training is meaningful because we are aware of it and get over it. Right now, he needed to know a clear death would be a gut feeling.

　Of course, it was conceivable that giving in to fear would spoil their talents as mages themselves, but once they got over it, they were the girls. Because they had overcome the extracurricular lessons that they had to face with the demons, they decided that they should be able to endure it well.
　No, maybe they believed that they should be able to endure it.

　Yes, Ars wasn't going to take this training method until he heard the answer to the determination the girls drew from him. He thought it was too soon. It was no longer a harm to be a mage who projected only ideals in a spiritual sense, not abilities.
　Having cut that off, the girls still wanted to become mages. They chose to fight together and sought the strength to do so.

　Hence, it was also true that Ars seemed to be wondering if they should decide to go through with this training and had not prepared any other options. The growth of the girls spoke for itself.
　That's why Ars had also called one of them to this academy - just in case.

　The sword was struck down beside Tesfia, who held her head in her arms and squatted down. Seeing this, Ars feels his chest creak. This kind of thing would be called guilt.
　Even though he knew it was necessary, his heart boggled when he saw her trembling.

　--I'm not sure if this is what teaching is all about. I'm really not cut out for it.

　You buy the role of the neglected with a smile and teach and guide with great care even though it's only for a short time. It's like a bird nurturing its chicks, equipping them with the strength to live for those few moments before it departs.
　When you get to that point, it's a kind of state of affairs. But Ars still feels that he is not suited for it.

　He reflects on his own hands as he tries to put them on top of his red hair, which is still trembling. He wonders if his outstretched hand is the right one to touch an innocent girl.
　I wonder what I can do with these dirty hands.

　You can kill people, but you can't wrap them up, can you?
　When I thought that and tried to withdraw my hand - Ars's vision, at the back of it, I saw Loki's figure smiling towards me.　
　It's really not a contrived thing to read that expression. It's as if he pushes back as if he could see through Ars's self-deprecating and self-deprecating heart.

　Don't be afraid, it even sounds like that.

　--What am I doing........

　It's not like that, I pull my hand back and rub it hard around the section as it is. The hand was ruffling the back of the hair as it was, as if to shake off the backward feelings.

　This time, without thinking, Ars put his hand on Tesfia's head with a natural face.

''For starters, are you okay?　We just need to remember that fear now. And then you can get over it one by one. I'll stay with you until you get over it....

　Gently stroking his hair, Ars touched Tesfia's hand, which kept both ears covered, as if to reject him. He slowly grasped her hand on top of it. He wrapped it tightly around her so that her heart wouldn't give in.


　Coming to herself, Tesfia slowly looked up at Ars with damp eyes. She didn't say any words, she just stared at him.
　It was really scary, it was terrifying. When he realized that he was helpless to do anything and couldn't resist, the little spark of life was so weak that it could easily be extinguished.
　No matter how much strength I gained, it was still a weak light. The only way to gain strength is to protect that feeble light. It is nothing more than a barrier to protect it from any threat.

　It is only a weak thing to begin with - such as human life.
　That's why we refine ourselves so that we don't allow ourselves to be defenselessly extinguished. Skills, knowledge and experience will naturally transform into the power to protect the light.
　That's only part of the skill in fighting demons. Even so, the threats the girls face are clear, and the way they deal with them must also be clear.

　Now, at last, the two of them must have realized how vulnerable humans are to this kind of creature. But it was the same for him equally as he sat back and turned his caring eyes to Tesfia.
　It turned out to be that simple. Death, which he saw and heard on a daily basis, was still a distant place, and he probably thought it was somehow unrelated to him.

　People tend to underestimate the value of the unchanging present until they are faced with death. There may be no point in preaching that proposition. Still, it's something we can't ignore, given where these women are headed.
　By the time they know the meaning of it, it has largely become meaningless. Everything will return to meaninglessness.

　Ars's words, I don't know which of them he returned, but Tesfia nodded one. She took her hand and stood up, gaining momentum, but she didn't seem to be able to get to the ground firmly.
　The instinctive premonition of death was not in her head, but her body's honest reaction.

　Now Tesfia was so frustrated that she felt as if she would soon be crouched down again. Still, she rubbed her eyes and tried to erase the evidence of her succumbing to fear.

''Idiot...''

　The meaning of the words spun like a false note was clear. Yes, this was training, after all.
　Tesfia, who could barely even stand, was still moistening her long eyelashes. And she was grabbing Ars's sleeve as if to say it was punishment - support her instead, as if to say so.

　The next thing you know, the underclassmen who were supposed to be in the audience of the training ground seemed to have run away from the fight, or rather the uncanny battle, which was so one-sided. Perhaps they had gone to report to the faculty.
　If I had to guess, I would say that the first rank was in disarray.

　At any rate, the compartmentalized training grounds, both inside and outside, were watertight and silent.
　It seems that even the students who were training were unable to continue their training before they saw the current uncanny battle, and they left as if to escape.

　Seeing that Ars, who was leaned on by Tesfia, would not be released for the time being, he lightly picked up the red-haired girl. ''Hey! This is until I decided that I should ignore the voice that said, "I don't want to be a part of this," and move the place first of all. Even though it is divided into sections, the distance between you and Alice is so great that you can't accurately hear it unless you raise your voice.

''Al~Me too~''

　Alice, on the other hand, although she wasn't in as serious a state as Tesfia, they were in agreement that she couldn't walk satisfactorily.
　Maybe it was a request to carry her in her arms as well, though.

　Tesfia in her arms didn't show the same resistance as before, hiding her eyes with her arms as if she didn't want to be seen too much. However, it certainly wouldn't want to be seen as too senior. If you were to care about your dignity, even a little bit, you would have rejected it, no matter what.
　Nevertheless, the face that could be seen through the gaps in his arms like this had a faint blush to it.

''Hold on a minute.

　I return to Alice sloppily. The training will not be able to continue any longer. The bottom of the giant screen, which was silent in the center, told me that the training time was short this time.
　It's still less than an hour after school.

　In order to save him the trouble of holding Alice, Ars headed with Tesfia in his arms. Reading his intentions, Loki followed behind, feigning calmness.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of your time with the help of a good friend.

　However, from Loki's point of view, he didn't expect to be held up. It's not because of that, but the gaze poured out was not at Ars, but rather jealousy at Tesfia wrapped in her arms.

　In order to make the best use of the training ground he had secured to the fullest extent of time, Ars was contemplating whether to devote the rest of his schedule to training with Loki.
　However, it was interrupted from an unexpected place.

'Hey!

　Such a noisy voice suddenly echoed through the compartment.