[V5C15] The Man Who Arrived

About five years ago, Melissa was dismissed as the shortest serving Sage in history, and her younger brother Raul become the Fifth Thorn Witch. His rise became a topic of conversation throughout the country.

Raul was the prodigious heir of the prestigious House Roseberg, who possessed a beauty resembling the First Thorn Witch and immense mana. He became one of the Seven Sages at the unprecedented age of 16.

The “shortest serving” sister and the “youngest ever” brother were often discussed together in magical circles.

However, one year later, there was a genius who rewrote the record for the youngest Sage at the age of 15. That girl’s name was Monica Everett, and she was the Silent Witch.

As the only practitioner of chantless magic in the world, this girl repelled the two great evil dragons, the Black Dragon of Worgan and the Curse Dragon of Reinberg. She also cleared the suspicion surrounding the cursed second prince, becoming one of Ridill’s heroes.

To think that this hero was the little Moni-Moni who bit her tongue in front of Melissa. Who could believe that?

“…A human that does not chant? How?”

Veronica muttered in puzzlement, as Throth clicked his tongue.

“Dammit, she brought the Sages with her… Veronica, take them out immediately!”

In response to Throth’s angry shout, Veronica nodded once and pointed her slender fingers at Monica and the others. Pale blue particles of light scattered around in an instant.

Each tiny particle was a cluster of ice. They swelled up immediately, turning into dozens of slender daggers. All of them rained down simultaneously.

Without any change in expression, Monica extended one hand forward. A defensive barrier was activated around her, just like that.

(So, this is chantless magic…!)

Melissa had heard the rumors, but witnessing it in person was still surprising.

Barrier magic had a unique formula different from attribute magic, and it took a considerable amount of time to master. Despite that, the Silent Witch handled it without chanting.

There were few mages capable of one-on-one combat with greater spirits.

As far as Melissa knew, the Artillery Mage was the strongest combat-wise among the current Seven Sages. However, even he required time for incantation, trading it for high single-strike power. While adept at fighting large dragons, he’d likely lose in a one-on-one battle with an agile spirit.

To properly fight against a spirit, one might think of former Sages. For example, the Thunder Mage in his prime, or the Starspear Witch, who was capable of controlling seven magics simultaneously——both legendary figures in Ridill’s history.

And now, standing before her, was a small girl who rivaled such exceptional individuals.

While maintaining the defensive barrier, Monica manipulated her fiery serpent to target Veronica. Melissa secretly marveled at the precision of her magic.

If these flames had been under the control of an inexperienced mage, all of the furniture would be burnt to a crisp. However, Monica’s flame serpent devoured only Veronica’s attacks, leaving nothing wasted. It was an extremely refined and calculated spell.

(…The current situation appears to be evenly matched.)

The Silent Witch against a greater spirit——both individuals who didn’t require chanting.

Monica had a more varied repertoire of magic, but Veronica had an overwhelming advantage in mana capacity. A prolonged battle would eventually wear Monica out.

Melissa wanted to support Monica, but her own mana was running dangerously low. As she got frustrated by her inability to intervene, Raul placed his hands on the vines and began chanting.

“Sis, I’ll borrow your roses!”

“Hey, don’t use them without permission, you idiot!”

“But it’s an emergency!”

Once Raul finished chanting, the rose vines surrounding Melissa begin to grow at a terrifying speed.

He had done the same exact thing as Melissa, but the amount of mana infused was on a completely different level.

Raul Roseberg, the Fifth Thorn Witch, was a monster boasting the highest mana capacity among all living mages.

The roses infused with his immense mana had already grown to cover half the room.

Even with Veronica being targeted by both Monica’s fiery serpent and Raul’s vines, she calmly parried the simultaneous assault with her flurry of ice daggers.

Every time Veronica waved her slender fingers, her daggers danced through the air.

Veronica’s frostcrafts were delicate and beautiful, each one resembling a work of art. They clashed into the vines and the fiery serpent, ice shards sparkling as they scattered. Veronica remained unfazed throughout the entire exchange.

As Raul controlled the vines, Melissa drew close and whispered to him.

“Stupid brother, use your head a little.”

“Huh? Like a headbutt?”

Melissa flicked Raul’s head, wondering how her scatterbrained brother ever managed to join the Seven Sages in the first place. Then, she put on a wicked smile.

“If that woman is a contracted spirit… your target should be over there, right?”

＊　＊　＊

Thanks to Raul’s assistance with the vines, Monica gained a bit of breathing room.

Monica dispelled the defensive barrier, instead targeting Veronica with the fiery serpent and wind blades.

The simultaneous attack of the visible threat, the fiery serpent, and the invisible wind blades proved somewhat effective. The wind blades began slicing through Veronica’s clothes and skin.

However, there was no blood flowing from her cut white skin; instead, particles of light gently spilled out. Spirits were condensed masses of mana, so they bled mana when injured.

(How much damage did that do…?)

Monica lacked experience in combat with spirits. In fact, battles with spirits were extremely rare to begin with.

She had met greater spirits like Louis’s contracted spirit Rynzbelfied and Isaac’s contracted spirit Wildianu. However, they were quite different in their specialties, even though they were both greater spirits.

Furthermore, the strength of a greater spirit varies based on the years it has lived.

…In simple terms, the older the spirit, the stronger it becomes.

(This spirit is strong… or rather, her manipulation of mana is incredibly skillful.)

The ice daggers raining down on Monica were intricately crafted. Applying such detail to magically made ice was nearly impossible with the mana manipulation techniques available to humans.

Of course, the excellence wasn’t limited to craftsmanship alone. Veronica’s techniques included varying the trajectory and speed of the ice daggers. Her fighting style was extremely skillful.

Monica speculated that Veronica might be quite old, even among other greater spirits.

“I’ve never seen a human who doesn’t need incantations. How unusual.”

Veronica muttered under her breath and raised her right hand into the air. Oodles of aqua-colored light gathered in her hand, causing Monica to gasp in the face of the magical pressure.

The spirit had been relying on technique up until now. However, she just shifted her focus to sheer power.

“Unusual, yes… but with this, it’s over.”

“Hold it right there!” interrupted Melissa.

Veronica and Monica turned their attention to the source of the voice, and they saw Throth entangled in thorny vines.

Throth grimaced as thorns pressed against his face, spewing curses.

“Dammit, it hurts! Let go! Let go, you damn witch!”

“Oh my, such foul language… If you don’t want thorns shoved into that mouth of yours, shut your trap.”

Saying so, Melissa thrust her crimson nails toward Throth’s eyeball. At this point, it was unclear who the real villain was.

Melissa ruffled her tousled red hair and twisted her crimson lips into a smile.

“Now, you annoying spirit! If you value your master’s life, you had better surrender!”

“Wow, Sis, you sound like the boss of a band of thieves.”

“…Shall I turn you into a bloodbath too?”

Melissa scowled at Raul before turning her gaze back to Veronica.

Without a change in expression, Veronica stared at Melissa and Throth and…

“Whatever.”

Saying just a single word, she thrust her palm forward.

A surge of intense frost accompanied by ice blades swept through the room. Monica instantly abandoned her attack and erected a double-layered defensive barrier. Still, the spine-chilling cold brushed against her forehead and cheeks, making her hair flutter.

Throth screamed with wide-open eyes, still entangled by the vines.

“Oi, Veronica! This is an order! Save me!”

“…Throth, you’ve served your purpose,” muttered the merciless spirit.

Neither scornful nor sympathetic, Veronica simply looked at Throth as if he was worthless. The powerful wave of frost continued unabated. What’s more, Veronica created about ten more ice swords.

Once those ice swords rained down, not even Monica’s double-layered defensive barrier would be unable to remain standing.

Raul’s vines could intercept the blades, but they couldn’t block the frost.

“Disappear here, along with all the humans who know my identity.”

Ice swords rained down along with the blast of cold.

Monica tried to neutralize the momentum of the ice swords by repeatedly alternating the creation of barriers.

Like layering thin sheets of paper, she immediately replaced one barrier with another. Barrier after barrier was created right as the previous was destroyed.

It was a daring move only possible for Monica, a mage who did not need to chant. However, it required intense mana consumption and a great deal of concentration.

While maintaining her intense focus on continuously reinforcing her barriers, Monica simultaneously calculated her next move.

How many more barriers would she need to completely block Veronica’s attacks…?

——A hundred and eighty-two.

If she put up a hundred and eighty-two more barriers, she could avoid all damage… However, Monica’s mana would undoubtedly be depleted before reaching that point.

(…No, at this rate, it won’t hold…)

Monica’s face paled at the despair, but then, a ringing sound echoed throughout the room.

A wall of ice rose from the floor of the room, protecting Monica and the others from Veronica’s assault.

Monica could only think of one wielder of such powerful ice magic. With wide eyes, she turned her gaze toward the door.

The one who saved Monica and the others with high-powered ice magic was…

“Are you safe, milady? Rest assured! With me here, everything’s going to be just fine!”

In front of the door, with an ice magic sword plunged into the floor, stood a black-haired giant… Anthony. He was waving his hand.

Melissa muttered with squinted eyes, “What’s with that overbearing guy?”

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