Looking at the body of the demon called the [Forest Sea Fish 《redo Fish》, the fish of the earth, so called, Ars gasped.
　The black body color characteristic of demons is pale, and from the gaps in the scales that are densely lined up, magic power that is like tiny particles is being released. It would use that as propulsion to swim in the residue of magic power mixed in with the atmosphere, enabling it to float.

　The enumerated fangs even seemed to emit white light, clothed in an enormous amount of magical power.
　The [Forest Sea Fish, Redo Fish] that was caught between the fangs caused the Humpty's body to disintegrate and a large amount of blood to be scattered, as if it was trying to tear off its upper body parts, as if it were trying to tear off its upper body parts.

　Finally, with a buzzing and shredding of fibers, Humpty's bitten off lower half of his body flew through the air. It shook the giant tree, and as the piece of flesh fell to the ground, it returned to the magical residue like shattered glass.

　Swallowing the Humpty in his mouth, followed by the bright reddish eyesight of the [Forest Sea Fish 《Red Fish》] swimming low in the sky, he catches the red-haired girl directly below.
　However--.

''Alice!　Blood from the head!

　Tesfia just throws a single voice of concern at her best friend, who goes limp in Ars's arms.

'Tsk!　Don't turn your back on the demon!
"--!　Eh.

　Tesfia's shoulders shook with a jolt at the angry voice that Ars emitted. Turning around, a demon with a mouth large enough to lightly drink was approaching. Its mouth cavity greeted him like an endless stream of shadows peeking out from behind its pale, glowing fangs.


　It resembled the gloom of an eerie cave, where nothing, not even digestion, seemed to be going on. The gloom filled his vision, as if Tesfia herself wanted to enter it of her own accord.

　Tesfia let out a small scream from the back of her throat and instinctively understood that there was no way to do it. No, there were plenty of ways to do it. At least there was a pause for recognition. And yet my body, my legs cowered, probably because Alice was injured in front of me.
　I'm sure I could have rushed to Alice's side, but I didn't have the sanity to stand up to the demon in front of me.

　I felt like I was standing there dumbfounded, objectifying the threat that had befallen me as if it were someone else's business.

''Fool!''

　Even Ars's tirade, which was spat out like a small talk, did not reach the current Tesfia.
　But the time was imminent, far too short for life to dissipate with every second. A fierce voice was emitted to break up the dry air as if to cut off such a gap in time.

''【Foolish Thunderchild Chains (Sirimvein)

　This is a captive magic of the upper class. Thin lightning strikes the Redo Fish from all directions and runs through its body. Then, as if discharging from within, the lightning stops the nearby objects and objects from connecting with each other.

　The electric shock stretched out in all directions as if spreading its hand to the surface of the earth and tree trunks. A chain of lightning created from within blocked the demon's progress.

　Loki's magic, released at the perfect time, was appropriate to the situation, but --.

　-- but that's not enough.

　As a result of the function of the scales on the surface of the demon's body, perhaps not only magic, but also a good conductor of magic power, there is naturally an outlet, or an escape route, prepared for it.
　Sure enough, Loki's magic was forcibly torn off in less than a second. A substitution system is constructed for spewing magic power within the body. It means that there is a mechanism to release the magic received as it is.

　-- It is supposed to be a demon that has been let loose so far, but it has been highly adaptable to mages for awhile.

　Ars shakes off a momentary feeling of discomfort. With Alice in his arms, he had already pulled out his AWR and extended his chains to stagnate.

'But nice, Loki!

　Even the slightest bit of time was still gained, and a blink of an eye was enough for Ars.
　With an eye contact, Loki broke away from the scene. Instantly using the Force, he took a distance to jump away with Tesfia in his arms.

　Immediately after the Forest Sea Fish 《Redo Fish》 broke free from the chains of the Blitz, it flapped its scales at Ars, who was on its progress. The magic power that flooded from the scales as evidence of magic foreshadowing filled the entire area and had a weight that clung to the skin.

''You're late, [Three Black Horns (Memelliant Olga)]

　Grabbing the floating chains that were floating around Ars, who was holding Alice in his arms, Ars had already finished the process of composing and manifesting the magic from composition to manifestation.
　Black horns growing out of the ground at the same time as the magic name was uttered. The characteristic of the assembled magic is its hardness. Defined more solidly than the existing ones, the horns held a black, dull light, as if they were compressed from all minerals.

　In an instant, the twisted horns pierced the Forest Sea Fish, Redo Fish, from directly below and skewered it in midair.

　High in the air, its huge body was crucified in the air. A thin liquid erupted and flowed down the surface of the towering horn.
　At the same time, three pillars spiraled out and trapped the body of the Redo Fish, the Forest Sea Fish. Then the three pillars twisted together to tightly grip the giant body of the Redfish.
　I'm going to be able to have a look at it and I'm going to be able to see if it's a good idea.

　And unable to endure for a second, the demon's huge body was twisted by the pillar.

　It's a good idea to use magic that contains a lot of physical elements to make the demons resistant to magic. In particular, the magic that the Redd Fish had been trying to unleash was probably of the water system. If that's the case, then its body must also have magical tendencies specific to its lineage.

　It's a good thing that you're able to have a great deal of fun with it. The physical body that sheds it, so to speak, to overcome its weaknesses, is something that hasn't been done much so far.

　Even if those were taken into account, there were probably many ways to defeat the Forest Sea Fish 《Redo Fish》 considering the amount of magic power of Ars and the density of the magic composition.
　In short, the magic that lacked certainty and made blood flow carelessly, called 【Meliant Olga】, was probably not reasonable.

　In other words, this choice might have been a reflection of Ars's state of mind.

　Looking at the piece of demon flesh that fell to the ground emotionlessly, Ars breaks his gaze. It seems that he had captured the demon nucleus as far as the disintegration could be seen.

''I'm.......sorry.''

　Tesfia was the first to utter an apology as she staggered alone from Loki's borrowed shoulder.
　An apology for her own fault, for her realization of her inadequacy.

　And while her gaze was downcast, she looked at Alice and was relieved.

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

　Without even a second glance, Ars sharpens his nerves. He grasps the general situation and changes the priorities within himself that need to be organized and done.

'Al, how is Alice's condition?　From the looks of it, it looks like a minor injury.
''........Ah, Alice's wounds are shallow, so she should be fine. She has had her magic power temporarily disturbed, but she only suffered a concussion from the shock of the magic power explosion that erupted halfway through. Directly, I'll wake up.

　As he speaks, Ars turns his gaze to the direction he has traced to this point.

'This has become somewhat troublesome, hasn't it?
Let's get out of here. You'd think they'd notice after all that magic they've been throwing around. I'll give Alice a ride. Loki, you're going to stay in front with him. You're in charge of your own route.

　Ars put Alice's arms around her own neck and piggybacked on her.
　Meanwhile, Tesfia looked pale and clenched her fists. I couldn't look at her or say anything back. I could only bite my lip and bear it.

　The words were so cold and callous that I wasn't even interested in them anymore, or even interested in them.
　Tesfia blamed herself severely for betraying her expectations. Self-blame is surely a different kind of loneliness than the loneliness Tesfia feels right now. Even he felt as if he had been betrayed by himself.

　He thought he could do the same thing with Loki.
　At least in the outside world, he thought he was at least minimally equipped to operate as a mage.

　That was why Tesfia had high expectations of herself. She expected herself to be able to live up to Ars's expectations.
　And yet.........


　Terrified of knowing that he couldn't do it any more, Tesfia's feet refused to move without thinking about where they were. It was no longer possible to move them from the top of the ground.
　Even if she commanded him to move inwardly, her legs were frightened, as if she could see through the depths of her mind.

　Right after the eyes gradually moistened--.

''Fia-san, take a deep breath once.......Alice-san needs to be treated as well. For now, just focus on changing the location. I'll be fine.

　Loki's hand slowly pushed Tesfia's back from behind, and his hand was filled with a warm magic power that was only faintly perceptible.
　As usual, he remembered his training and accurately recognized the magic power within him. It was also calming.

　This place was not like the inner world Tesfia had grown up in, and it was not a good place for her to spoil it like a child.
　As she was pushed, Tesfia's legs moved and she was pinned down in front of her.
　Then wiping forcefully at her eyes with her sleeve, Tesfia didn't look back, only opened her mouth.

'Yeah. Thanks, Loki.'