Her kick closes in on my neck like a sickle wielded by the Grim Reaper.

　I quickly relax from my knees and drop my upper body under my own weight.
　A sharp sound passes over my head.
　I was able to avoid it. But in this position, the second blow is--.

''You, you're a [Black Mage], yet you have some knowledge of martial arts?''

　It's because I was the disciple of the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings.

''But with this--''

　We're not going to make it. No more...
　The moment I tried to free the horn...

Mr. Remegaton, we have it.

What?

　At the voice, Ellie makes a dumbfounded face.

　She reacted as if she heard a voice that wasn't supposed to be heard (,,,,,,,,,).

　Then she looked at the other person, saw what the person did, looked at me, and her expression twisted.

'When (...)... no, how on earth...'

　His face is tinged with astonishment.

'That's when you approached us,'

　The one who just reported to me was Meadow-san, a.k.a. - [Devil's Eye Assassin] Botis.
　The plan is as follows.
　As soon as the battle begins, I cast black magic on all five of them.

　What I cast is 'confusion'. It's an enhanced version of what I usually do.
　It's a reinforced version of what I usually do, which is to prevent them from recognizing Botis. In other words, I make them unconscious of her.
　Since I'm a [assassin] who is originally good at cutting off any sign of her presence, she won't be found out in case she's not.

''This can't be!　I'm going to resist... no, you can't be... that's not possible.

　The armor of magic power was not very fuel efficient.
　She moved around while wearing it at all times, using wind magic for movement, attack and support. It's a marvelous skill.

　I, too, take pride in my black magic.
　The reason why I can play black magic with my magic armor is because I can deploy my own magic power to prevent the enemy's magic power from entering.

　It would be like covering a bucket of water, but if the opponent is wearing a raincoat, it's impossible to get them soaked.
　Then, how about aiming at the gaps with a water gun to pinpoint the gaps?

　I formed the black magic into a string shape instead of a bucket of water. Instead of showering it with magic, I imagined passing a thread of magic through it. It was more nerve-wracking than usual, but the first blow that Fallus prevented confirmed the magical state of the armor.
　The second blow, which I wielded the large shield, succeeded in threading the thread.

　As for the other four, I hung up on them in an instant right after the battle began.
　Then, while drawing Ellie-san with me and Follas, the two of us simultaneously - deployed black magic against the four of them.

　With the purpose of interfering with their last-minute evasion, I chose 'slowing down'.
　The effect is outstanding. The two [White Mages] were distracted by the disarming, and the two [Black Mages] were no longer able to slow down Amducias.

　The four of them who were struggling against Alraune were in a tight spot due to Amducias' rush.

　That's why Ellie rushed to win the game.
　She defeated me and Foras and tried to help the four of us in an imposing manner.

　The reason I didn't cast Foras's black magic on Ellie-san was because of course the magic armor.
　Rather than having a lot of magic power played, it would be more beneficial to choose another target.

　In order to distract her from her consciousness and have her continue to put out the armor of magic power, I was releasing black magic that was based on the premise of being played apart from the 'confusion'.

''........Can you do it?　........black magic, that much.......but.......

"What do you think, [brave] Ellie? Do you want to continue?

　Both of Botis' eyes, with their bandages lowered, seemed to glow red and pale.
　Gazed at by them, Jean-san has turned into a stone statue.

　What she has is the petrification ability.
　Due to the scope of the effect and the time it takes to activate it, it was necessary to hide her presence.

　Anticipating Ellie's support, I thought that Botis would be the most useful in this fight.
　Folus was able to move well due to the fact that he was standing as my guard, but he was not a combatant.
　Like Amducias, she has an aptitude for melee combat. However, just like Alraune, her attacks would be avoided with Ellie's support.
　The power to make her leave without a fight was what made her effective.

　Petrification also seems to have magical properties and can be resisted (resisted). I can't defeat a 【Brave man】 who is deploying his magic power at full force from the beginning like this time.

'Wait. Why did you think I would surrender if I defeated the servant (canine)?''

I'll know it when I see you in action. "Winning with all five of us" is your victory.

　There is nothing I can say about the bond between the five of us.
　But I knew it was there, and I knew it was solid, just by looking at it.
　The remaining three of us looked apologetic.

'-- What if that's off the mark and you say you're going to continue fighting?

　That's a possibility, of course. I don't want it to happen, though.
　I won't release my horns and stop hiding my magic power.
　The magical power created by the magical organ will be felt by those around me as it is.

"Do as you please.

''Well I see. This is going to be a lot more fun when it comes out to the corners.

　Ellie smiled bewitchingly.

'I surrender. I'm not going to dance at the expense of my servants (fans). It's not that beautiful, is it?

　Some want to fight tenaciously and muddily, like Nicola, while others stick to their own aesthetics.
　There are many ways to do things, and it's okay. That's the adventurer.

Oh my God, I'm shocked. I feel like I've been stripped naked. It's like they've seen through everything.

　She descends to the ground and disengages her battle stance.
　She approaches me.

"I recognize you, Ren. Let's just do it. You're strong and smart. But one thing--

　Then she whispered an earful to me.

''You'll have to deal with your magic before the show. That won't be enough at all.''

　--sharp.

　Not only did he sniff out the magic organ, but also the magic power of the built-in horns?
　As such, the newborn tenth layer was victorious against a rank ninety-fifth party.

　◇

　As a side note, after this fight, Reiner and Ryan in the black suit came to me and Follas and bowed to me and asked me to put on some training.

　Ellie thought she was the one who was going to be able to get the magic eye on her, but that didn't happen, so she said to Botis for a while, "Hang it up, atta me. Make it into a beautiful stone statue," she tangled with him.

　The suits were slightly traumatized by Amducias, who was lashing out at Alraune and rushing forward with overwhelming aggression himself, and his shoulders momentarily shook as he spoke to her.

'Ellie,'

What, Ren?

If you don't want to tell me, I don't mind telling you, but what made you decide to put together a party like this?

You know what I mean. I don't like asking the obvious.

... "Oh yeah, I guess. I'm sorry.

　When you understand even the secrets of this party, you have to wonder.
　After all, Ellie is the best in the group, and she's just protecting the four of us, right?

　Wrong.
　Her enhanced speed is astounding, and on top of that, it's very troublesome to be able to pinpoint and weaken her with even more black magic.
　That's not all.

　Ellie's support isn't just based on her excellence.
　It's because the four of them are standing behind Ellie. That's not the case with the other adventurers.
　One of them sticks out and the rest of them are in one piece. It's hard to do this thoroughly. And if a battle were to break out in the rear, they would fall apart to evade or defend themselves.

　But the four of us didn't move much. They trust Ellie and survive on the spot. They will trust her support and stand around to make the most of it.
　Not to mention which is easier to support, having your companions scattered back and forth or in a lump at the back.
　This is the best way to utilize her special talents. This is the best way to utilize her special talents, and she needs a supportive group of people to help her in this way.

I like to be on stage where I can shine.

　The four people who give her the best support to move in the way she wants to be herself.
　It's because those four are important to her, and she recognizes their value more than anyone else.
　She thinks about how the four of them are valued for their abilities, and she protects them from being discovered.

　No jewel can shine in the dark.
　The idol-like brave Ellie voluntarily chose the best illumination to show the world her beauty.

　That's two [Black Mages] and two [White Mages].
　No, I should say Ryner, Ryan, Kent, and Jean.
　They were indispensable to her, and that's why she surrendered on that spot.

　But--.

　What happens when you're missing your friends on the field?
　The reason I expected to surrender this time is of course because I thought I had the aforementioned ideas, but at the same time I had the assumption that this was a battle to test my strength.

　We were allies this time, but we might become enemies sooner or later.
　That's why we haven't given each other the full extent of our abilities while testing our powers.
　It's the new technique that has popped up, but it won't be that one thing.

　Also, the other four. I don't know if it was Ellie's instructions, but the rate of increase/decrease was lower than the information I got beforehand.
　How could I reveal my hand in a place like that?

　At the end, I think Ellie-san was worried about continuing the battle.
　She's a 【Brave Person】 too. There's no way she wants to lose. If you've lost your friends, it's more natural to think about avenging them.
　This time, they just admitted their defeat as the style they had been following was shattered.

'Are you listening to me?'

Oh...

Totally. So, Ren. I'm counting on you. With your leadership, make me the best [brave] person you can be.

　...........
　I didn't expect to be asked to do such a thing by a 【Brave Man】 after becoming a Demon King's Army Counselor.
　I smiled behind my mask and replied.

''Yes, I understand. We will repel the strongest 【Brave Men】s by ourselves.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

　She smiled happily, like an innocent child.