'Kirill!　They're coming in from the left!

I got it!

　Returning briefly to Eleanor's warning, Kirill immediately held up his staff towards the new enemy coming from the left.

'The crush that pierces is the unshakable pike of a brave knight ---- rock (Dessel)!

　Instead of hitting them directly, they gouged the ground to stop the enemy's feet.
　As the enemy soldier in the lead fell off his feet, the soldiers following behind him also fell with him.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of how to use it.

''Kirill is so good at using it like that.

　Eleanor, who was watching, murmured in admiration.

'I'll have to practice being more creative with my magic. ...... that is, if I get out of there alive.

　The situation of the Royal Army's left wing troops in Kirill's presence was difficult.
　It seems that the Tria Army, which made up half of the troops, has left to rescue the main force, and the originally inferior battlefield has become even more disadvantageous.

　Kirill is also trying to stop the advance of the imperial soldiers by unleashing magic in rapid succession, but the kingdom's army is clearly being pushed back.
　There aren't enough vanguards to hold off the enemy soldiers, and there aren't enough defensive personnel to prevent the enemy's magic and arrows.
　Kirill and the other students of the sorcerer's course were also beginning to fall down after being pierced by arrows.

''Eleanor!　As soon as I unleash my magic, I'll move out of the way!　If we're standing in the same spot, we're going to be targeted!

　Even if you are the rear guard, you have to constantly change your position so that you don't become a target.
　This is natural for Kirill, who was immersed in real battles in the Causus Forest, but it's a difficult demand for the students of the school, who have only practiced releasing magic while standing on a stick.

''I know, but!　Oh no, I'm not as handy as Kirill--!

　Eleanor, who was about to argue back, looked at him.
　Exactly as Kirill had feared, several arrows came at Eleanor, who was out of breath from chanting magic, and attacked her.

　Kirill quickly weaved a physical barrier spell.

''The blessing that resides in Mumei's shield is the blue tranquility ---- physical barrier (fel galos)!

　With a high-pitched sound, the arrow was flicked off.
　The barrier that was activated in the nick of time became a thin blue membrane to protect Eleanor.

''Kirill!　Back!

　I was relieved, but only for a moment.
　Kirill, who followed Eleanor's gaze and turned around, caught the arrow flying in a straight line towards him with his eyes and instantly realized his error of judgment.
　The enemy wasn't only aiming at Eleanor.

　There were three flying arrows.
　As expected of Kirill, there is not enough time to re-establish a physical barrier.

　His body moved faster than he could think.
　If he ignored one of the trajectories that would probably miss, he would force his body to twist and escape from the course that a potentially fatal one would pass in the future.

　But that's as far as it goes.
　The last one was not going to be avoided.

　Just when I was trying to protect myself with my arms, a mysterious phenomenon occurred.

　Light like grains of sand spilled out from the surface of the white gloves that wrapped Kirill's hands.
　The grains of light gather in front of Kirill's body to protect it, and it changes its shape to look like a combination of regular hexagons.
　It was shaped like a magical or physical barrier, but on the other hand, its color was not the purple or blue of a magical barrier, but pure white, like clouds floating in a clear sky.

　An arrow shot towards Kirill collided with that pure white.
　In the next moment, the arrow suddenly disappeared with a sound like a drop of water falling into a burning iron pot.

''Eh?''

'Kirill!　Safe!

　When Kirill is taken aback, a worried Eleanor comes running up to him.

'What was that?　It was a color I'd never seen before, but it was barrier magic, right?

'Eh, oh, ......, no, .......'

　Kirill looks at his own hand wrapped in the glove, looking for words to return to Eleanor.

　A pair of white gloves is the item he received from Aldis as a parting gift.
　Ardis said that these gloves are filled with protective magic.
　Perhaps the pure white barrier that appeared earlier is the effect.

　Whether it is a one-time thing or something that can be used over and over again, how strong is the barrier that was created? We don't know anything.
　But what is clear is that these gloves have saved me.
　While thanking Ardis from the bottom of his heart for giving him a valuable gift, Kirill quickly changes his mind.

''It's okay. I'm not hurt anywhere. Are you the one who's okay, Eleanor?''

Yeah, Kirill helped me a lot.

　After confirming that neither of them were injured, Kirill nodded and stood up.

'If we don't do this, we'll be targeted again. Let's move back a bit and cover the vanguard.

Okay, but you're getting pushed around.

　Wary of their surroundings, the two of them retreated in search of a position where they were less likely to be shot at.
　As Eleanor had mentioned along the way, the Royal Army was clearly being pushed.
　The work of Kirill and some of the other students was holding up better than originally expected, but how much of an impact could that have on a large number of people?



　By the time less than an hour had passed since the students of the academy joined the battle, the collapse of the battle lines was obvious to the untrained eye.

''Won't they be ordered to retreat or something?''

　Rai, who was wielding his sword to protect Kirill and Eleanor, spoke of his desire.

　The vanguard line already built up by the students of the Warrior Course had been torn down, and it was all they could do to barely form a group of a few people to block the enemy soldiers coming towards them.

　Kirill is surrounded by only Rai and Eleanor, who have fallen back from the front lines, and two school students whose faces are barely recognizable.
　Protected on either side by two warriors from the same warrior class as Rai, Kirill and Eleanor used barriers to protect them all from the occasional flying arrows, and intercepted the oncoming enemy soldiers with attack magic.

　The number of allies is decreasing and the enemy's momentum is only increasing.
　At this rate, it would be only a matter of time before they would be pushed out of the way.
　It's not unavoidable that the usually optimistic Rai speaks weakly.

　Even though it hasn't been that long since the battle began in earnest yet, unlike Kirill, the fatigue of the students, who have no real battle experience, cannot be ignored.
　In fact, Eleanor and the two in the warrior course seem to be moving almost entirely on their own energy.
　The only people who had any spare energy were Kirill himself and Rai, who stood at the front of the line to meet the enemy head on.

　There is no signal to retreat.
　If no reinforcements arrive, Kirill and his team will soon be swallowed up by the imperial wave.

"How much longer do we have to hold on--

　Just as Rai was about to speak, a loud, wind instrument-like sound rang out in the direction of the Imperial Army.
　The next thing that was launched into the sky was a magical signal shell used as a means of communication on the battlefield. That's three.

　What are those signals emanating from the imperial army, and what are their instructions? Of course Kirill and the others couldn't possibly know that.
　But what were those signals? Kirill and the others soon found out.

'Don't go into it,'

　Rai stared at the enemy's movements with a tongue in his cheek.

　The enemy soldiers who had been holding back to avoid a melee until then suddenly began to move and come towards us.
　At the same time, the enemy soldiers who had been building the front line also increased the pressure of the offensive, letting the momentum carry them.

　The previous signal was probably a signal for an assault.
　When the Royal Army's resistance has weakened, they intend to decide the game at once.

''We're retreating!

Where are you going?

　Eleanor returns a screaming question to Rai, who declares her retreat.

　All around them are enemies. They have to break through the imperial soldiers in order to advance or retreat.
　Although the rear of the country may still be better than the front, but even so, the imperial soldiers will not be so good-natured that they will easily allow you to retreat.

''We have no choice but to break through to the death!　The right rear is the thinnest of all!

　The words that emanated from Rai's mouth could almost be described as spiritual.
　But that was the current situation Kirill and the others were all in.

''Eleanor, can you run?''

I'm going to run. We've got to run, right?

　To Kirill, who calls out to her in concern, Eleanor forces a smile on her mouth alone.

　Even as she does so, a group of Imperial soldiers are coming towards them.
　A cloud of earth smoke is already rising, and the sound of continuous footsteps can be heard like an earth tremor.

'The crush that pierces is the unshakable contraption of a brave knight ---- rock!

　Kirill uses the rock (dessel) technique to dig into the ground and break the foothold of the approaching soldiers.

Kirill!　It's too late for that--

That should hold us back a bit!

　Rae tries to get him to stop, but he is interrupted by Kirill, who raises his voice to interrupt him.

　Of course, he doesn't stop his feet.
　While running behind Eleanor, she keeps a foothold with the 'rocks' while occasionally turning around and running behind her.
　The experience of stalling while running away from a beast opponent in the Caucasus Forest came in unexpectedly useful.

'How, if you do, run, while, magic is ......'

　Seeing Kirill's trick, Eleanor mumbles in disbelief while out of breath.

　While eliminating the enemy soldiers who are blocking your path, you're running away from the enemy soldiers who are chasing you. It's not as easy as it sounds.
　And Kirill and the others were not skilled mercenaries with a lot of experience in actual warfare, but students who were new to the war.
　No matter how much Rai's fighting skills at the front of the pack are far from that of a student, or Kirill's magic to distract the rear, they are still no match for violence in numbers.

'Pursued and Grabbed ......'

　The student of the warrior course who was guarding Kirill's back conveyed his despair in plain language.

　Of course, even without being told, Kirill could understand the situation.
　The swarm of enemy soldiers getting closer every time he released a 'rock' to stop them.
　The distance between them had already been reduced to the point where they could distinguish each other's faces.

　There's no way to escape.

　Just when I thought this was it, countless flowers suddenly bloomed on the battlefield.

　The flowers emitted a tremendous heat and light reminiscent of a scorching hell, and with a roar that destroyed everything, they burned away the dense area of the Imperial soldiers.
　The red flower blooming on the battlefield people wielding overwhelming power brought painful death to the end soldiers who had no means of defense against magic.

　The swelling flames engulfed the soldiers within a ten-meter radius and set them ablaze.
　A soldier whose body had been burned to a crisp fell to the ground, and those following him, seeing this, stopped in their tracks in a horrified manner.

　The battlefield, which until then had been tainted by the overwhelming offensive of the imperial army, instantly changes its atmosphere completely.
　The soldiers and students on both sides were in a state of turmoil at the sudden appearance of this unprecedented violence.

　While both sides were enveloped in bewilderment and buzzing, Eleanor expressed the true identity of the flower in her language.

''Purgatory Flame 《Ferno Resta Ganov》'' ......?　But so many at once: ......

　A quick glance at the Purgatory Flame, Ferno Resta Ganov, released in an instant, and there were more than twenty of them.
　That was equivalent to more than twenty first-rate sorcerers appearing in this place.

''Have reinforcements arrived?''

　One of the warriors spoke up expectantly.

　Indeed, one would normally think so.
　Since the "Purgatory Flame, Ferno Resta Ganov" targeted only Imperial soldiers, it was undoubtedly an ally. It's natural to think of them as reinforcements.
　And if there are more than twenty sorcerers who can use advanced magic, the scale of the reinforcements is also expected to be quite large.

　But Kirill had a different answer in his mind.

　There weren't many magicians in the current kingdom army that could use advanced magic.
　The entire army together could be as many as fifty.

　Half of them would be in the territorial army, and the remaining half wouldn't all be serving in the army.
　Even if they were serving, most of them would be assigned to the main or main force.
　It's unlikely that they would bring out such a valuable fighting force, the magicians, to rescue the left-wing troops, which were mainly made up of militia and student soldiers.

　If it wasn't the sorcerers of the Royal Army, then who was the one who unleashed the magic just now?
　Are you telling me there were that many people outside the regular army?

　No, we don't need more people.

　Kirill knows.

　It's a good thing that the skilled masters of magic are able to use more than one magic at the same time.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it.

　The existence and name of the person who can easily do it.

　As Eleanor and her friends rejoiced at the arrival of reinforcements, Kirill, who was thinking of different possibilities, suddenly noticed a human presence.
　A figure appeared out of nowhere and landed right next to Kirill with a light sound.

　The reassuring atmosphere gave Kirill a feeling of relief for the first time since he came to the battlefield, and he knew that his prediction was correct.

'You're still alive, right?　Good job.

　The words that were announced with a hand on Kirill's shoulder were filled with the warmth of a teacher rejoicing in the growth of his apprentice.

　Kirill's lungs burst open at the sight of this figure, trying to stifle his unspoken emotions.
　When the air that had lost its way was let out, Kirill could only utter the name of the person in front of him.

''--Ardis-san!