Flurrying snowstorm.
Magical circles of every color blooming from all directions.
Mana exploding together as they gather.
The youthful form, familiar to the students, was fighting against a strange man in an unfamiliar way.
A dazzling display of strange magical circles, never encountered in any lecture.
Whenever one side attacked the other, new mana surged from the corners.
Attacks and defenses happened almost simultaneously, creating a chilling tension.
“What’s that…”
A barrier expanded from a black pillar.
And the ominous energy coming from beyond the barrier made the students realize that this was a real situation.
The soldiers, each gripping their weapons tightly, were just as tense.
Even after rolling and tumbling through the harsh northern battlefields, they had never encountered such a brutal and bloody battle as the one unfolding beyond.
Boom.
In an instant, dark clouds gathered above Letter, soaring into the sky.
And, in the blink of an eye, a blue electric shock was created, striking the unknown man.
A massive lightning bolt struck the ground, creating a burst of dust and a follow-up series of strikes.
『Gigant Hand』
The grand flow of mana, completed in an instant, whipped through the sky, forming a magical circle.
Soon, the enormous form of a giant slowly revealed itself from the completed magical circle.
-Boom!!
The giant’s palm, majestic in size, easily crushed the earth beneath it, making any stronghold seem laughable.
Simultaneously, purple smoke began to spill out.
The purple energy that bloomed then enveloped the giant’s body summoned by Letter.
It rapidly corroded and destroyed it completely.
[I thought it was a coincidence, but was it inevitable? The destiny called by fate.]
“Tch, that guy’s monologue is just…”
The dreamer, covered in dust from head to toe.
And Letter, slightly out of breath.
A brief moment of confrontation hung thick with tension.
Not even the smallest sound, like a rustling of clothes, could be heard in the eerie stillness.
The only voices breaking the silence were those of the two of them.
Cold, sharp voices, full of animosity toward each other.
[The scale of probability cannot show falsehoods, Asher. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can hide forever.]
“Yeah, I thought so. Damn sophist.”
In truth, the dreamer hadn’t been thinking much until recently.
The only thing that had given any significance to his pointless movements was the fact that the girl the old dragon cherished appeared in the north.
But even that wasn’t anything special.
Crush the flesh, take the life—end of story.
Or perhaps, he could have subjugated her as his servant, angering the old dragon.
The real reason the dreamer revealed himself was just up to this point.
To abduct the girl, Letter Yurt.
The rumors from all over the continent about Letter proved she was worth making into the dreamer’s puppet.
However, despite that.
He was now certain of something from the familiar mana flowing from Letter.
Ah, it was you.
You were the one, the observer who called yourself an extra.
The one who should never be part of the “world” play.
[I wonder what the Reaper would say if he saw that foolish sight…]
“Ah, don’t worry. Your leader will be hunted down in a few years. I’m sure of it.”
[Oh, a provocation, is it?]
“It’s a prophecy. Damn sophist.”
The two gazes met in midair.
The white-haired and black-haired individuals, facing each other in the cold winter wind, stood facing one another.
However, just as the duel was about to begin again.
-Tch tch.
[But, are you really okay? It seems you’re carrying quite a bit of baggage.]
The lingering specter of the past reached out toward the students beyond.
The distorted voice of the masked man, which had once lingered in the ears like a faint ringing.
Recognizing that the dreamer knew his weaknesses, Letter furrowed her brow.
The fight between those trying to drive away and those attempting to speak to each other had ultimately transformed into a battle of those trying to protect and those attempting to steal.
It was a fight in which one side had to lose.
“Of course, who else could be the villain? Only choosing cowardly acts.”
Letter was irritated. Especially considering there had been no other choice but to stand against him.
Fighting with the girl’s body, against an opponent that wouldn’t have been easy even in her original state, left plenty of discomfort.
More than that, there were still 12 students remaining who had no experience in front-line scouting.
The thought that the dreamer was interfering with Letter’s field training made him furious.
‘Someone who won’t even take responsibility, just throwing obstacles in the way…!’
-Swoosh.
Once again, countless threads of mana began to spring from the empty air.
These long threads, announcing the resumption of the duel, quickly bound the dreamer’s body and threw him high into the air.
This was solely intended to separate the dreamer from the students.
As long as the students were in view, Letter would inevitably be forced to defend against the dreamer’s attacks.
Letter, who had to protect the students, would be in a passive position, receiving the dreamer’s blows.
Thus, Letter pursued the dreamer, who was soaring high in the air.
There was no room for that foul-mouthed mask to take the students hostage.
The dreamer immediately tore apart the threads that tangled around him and prepared to counterattack with his scarred hands, all while letting out a sinister laugh.
[Even now, your weak temperament hasn’t changed at all. Are you really that afraid of losing?]
‘…Shut up.’
Letter frowned at the dreamer’s continuous provocations but didn’t lose her composure.
She didn’t make the foolish mistake of wasting mana all at once, caught up in the atmosphere.
Maintaining her pace from start to finish, she steadily pushed the dreamer into a corner.
The change began when the lightning magic that had been cast in midair, anticipating two moves ahead, missed its mark.
At first, it seemed like just a coincidence.
-Shriek.
‘…Again??’
After that, every crucial attack magic was either dodged or blocked.
As if the dreamer refused to let Letter’s decisive blow land.
As though he could clearly read Letter’s moves.
The first time, it was dismissed as a coincidence, the second time as luck.
But, as more and more of his attacks missed or were blocked, Letter became certain.
He was playing with her.
At the same time, something was being prepared.
Then, a distortion in the air was felt.
The atmosphere around the dreamer twisted, briefly creating a passage beyond.
As expected, at the end of that passage was Letter’s barrier.
And beyond the barrier, the soldiers and students, protected.
[(Just a heads up, for the next 5 seconds, I am completely defenseless. Do as you please.)]
At last, in the face of the forced choice, even the steady breath that had always been calm began to falter.
‘Should I protect the soldiers and students from that sticky mana?’
‘Or should I deal a more certain blow to the dreamer right in front of me?’
Of course, the choice had already been made long ago.
After all, once a person is dead, they cannot come back.
***
In an instant, Letter teleported in front of the students and began preparing a spell.
A high-level magic that Letter, long ago, had shown in Primus’s vast auditorium, which she herself called a strengthening spell.
Then countless spears began to rain down.
Like a massive wave, black spears flew toward Letter’s barrier.
At almost the same time, a grand magic circle was deployed.
The circles and polyhedra arranged without a single error, connecting into a hexagon, significantly amplifying the flow of mana.
“Professor!”
A desperate voice came from the students behind.
Despite this, without looking back, Letter began to block the wave of spears on her own, using the dramatically enhanced protection spell.
***
…Ha…
Only after blocking all the spears thrown by the dreamer did Letter let out a sigh.
She immediately used levitation magic to chase after the dreamer again.
[(I’m here.)]
“!!”
The mask, which had been floating in the distance until just moments ago, appeared on the opposite side of the barrier.
The dreamer’s step forward into the barrier was inevitable.
Naturally, Letter quickly turned her body to protect the students inside the barrier and descended back to the ground.
Still, the ominous feeling of it being too late couldn’t be shaken.
-Whirr!
-Boom!
[(…Hmm?)]
A familiar axe flew in and blocked the dreamer’s path.
Then a cheerful voice followed.
“It’s been a while, miss!”
“…Atar?”
Atar, who had appeared with a punch aimed at the dreamer, quickly turned his back on the students inside the barrier.
The massive axe that had been stuck in the ground began swinging with crazed force.
“Cooperate, Dreamer. I need to score some points with someone important!”
[(…What kind of farce is this?)]
The sharp axe swung viciously, pushing the dreamer back.
For a brief moment, both Letter and the dreamer were left dumbfounded.
However, in the briefest of moments, both of them came to different conclusions.
‘Should they join forces with Atar to corner that unsettling mask?’
Or…
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Letter felt a sharp pain in her chest as the dreamer’s piercing gaze locked onto her.
The sound of skin tearing echoed as Letter’s chest began to ache.
(Familiar face, perhaps? It’s no wonder your concentration slipped. Unfortunately.)
Coughing, Letter spat out a mouthful of red blood.
…Trickery…
Looking down at the dreamer’s hand that had pierced her body, Letter gritted her teeth.
Then, using mana to enhance her strength, she gripped the dreamer’s hand and twisted it, pulling it off with a sickening crack.
As the dreamer’s body instantly turned into violet smoke, Letter’s body was freed.
Her white robe, now tinged with red due to the blood loss, began to turn crimson.
Letter clenched her eyes shut and quickly used healing magic to seal the wounds.
Breathing heavily, she faced the dreamer again.
Luckily, she had reflexively twisted her body to avoid a fatal strike, so the fight could continue.
Now, it wasn’t just Letter, but Atar as well, so their side would surely have the advantage.
Because of that, Letter turned her slightly blurred gaze toward Atar and was about to suggest a joint attack when…
“Uh…?”
Atar’s index finger lightly pushed against Letter’s forehead, causing her to stumble.
The cheerful voice that had been heard earlier was now gone, replaced by a cold tone.
“They’ll be here soon. Hold on.”
“Wait, what…?”
-Crunch.
“…How dare you…”
The rough voice was something Letter had never heard before.
It was like anger had taken physical form.
After raising his axe toward the dreamer, Atar’s face no longer carried a smile.
It was a face Letter had never seen before.
“…Don’t even think about running away in one piece, Dreamer.”
(Well, it seems like I’ve just poked a hornet’s nest.)
“I’ll tear that mouth of yours open.”
Letter’s gaze, still shaky, met the familiar face of his student, whose expression had completely changed.
He looked like a different person entirely.