[V6C8] The Roseberg Siblings

Stepping across the snow-covered ground with soft crunches, Veronica ascended the mountain.

While she could effortlessly traverse a snowy plain on her own, it was not as simple with a person in tow.

“A little more, just a little more… Wait for me, Thule.”

Veronica walked across the snowy expanse carrying a young man. The otherwise dark landscape was dimly lit by snowlights. Lesser spirits had started gathering around her.

A pale blue light illuminated Veronica and the young man in her arms with an ethereal glow.

Eventually, Veronica reached a small temple. It was merely a simple building, made by stacking bricks of stones. She opened the door, finding nothing but a single stone altar inside.

Upon seeing the empty altar, Veronica widened her violet eyes slightly.

“…Thule?”

Her voice echoed through the dark temple… There was no reply.

Veronica quickened her pace towards the altar.

It was a rudimentary altar carved out of stone. He should have been lying on it, yet there was no sign of anyone.

Biting her lip, Veronica gently laid the young man she carried onto the altar.

It was then that she noticed the brooch fastening above the young man’s ribbon necktie. This was some kind of magical tool created by humans.

This young man had a condition called mana hyperabsorption, and this brooch had the effect of absorbing and releasing his excess mana.

“…This is in the way.”

Veronica tore off the brooch and tossed it outside the temple. At the same time, she scanned the surroundings.

There was no sign of any living creatures nearby. As she suspected, he had probably wandered off somewhere.

She had to hurry. Time was running out.

Spring was coming for them.

“…I don’t want a spring without Thule.”

Leaving the young man lying on the altar, Veronica departed the temple.

As long as she didn’t have any baggage slowing her down, Veronica could glide across the snow-covered landscape. Right now, she needed to find him as quickly as possible.

Veronica leaned forward, flying across the snowfield as if skating on ice.

Snow swirled at her feet, and lesser spirits gathered in the swirling snow, emitting a pale blue light.

Accompanied by the snowlights, Veronica raced through the snowy mountain.

All for the sake of finding him, the one most precious to her, more than anything or anyone else.

＊　＊　＊

“Stop right there, candy thief!”

In contrast to the sluggish and clumsy Monica, Melissa was extremely agile.

Flipping the hem of her skirt, she leapt at the silver-haired youth like a cat pouncing on its prey, hissing menacingly. The young man let out a small “wah” and sank into the snow.

Mounted on top of him, Melissa, with disheveled hair, laughed triumphantly.

“Onee-san, wait… huff.”

“Sis, you’re still pretty energetic.”

Monica, already exhausted from climbing the mountain, had a pitifully weak gait.

Meanwhile, Raul caught up to Melissa with a slight jog, not even breaking a sweat.

Once Melissa moved off the silver-haired man, he slowly got up, staring at Melissa with a vacant expression.

“I want to show her the candy.”

“Show who?”

“……Who was it again?”

Melissa contorted her face in anger and prepared to shout, as Monica pulled on her sleeve to stop her.

“Um, Onee-san… he isn’t human.”

“Hmm? So he’s a greater ice spirit then?”

“I’m not quite sure about that… but he seems terribly weak…”

Monica had examined him with detection magic, and the young man appeared to be in a severely weakened state. His mana levels had fallen so low that he was comparable to a human.

(This mountain has a high mana density, so he should recover quickly if he’s a spirit… Could it be that he lost the ability to absorb mana into his body?)

The young man seemed to regain a bit of vitality when he ate Raul’s mana-infused carrot. This proved he was a creature that fed on magic.

But right now, he was failing to absorb mana for some reason, resulting in a lack of recovery.

Monica faced the silver-haired young man directly. Seeing the golden eyes shining under droopy eyelids, she felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Are you, by any chance…”

“Thule!!”

Before Monica could finish her question, a sharp voice interrupted her.

Turning towards the source, she saw a mass of pale blue lights approaching.

Amidst the swirling snow and light particles was a young woman with delicate golden hair——Veronica, the greater ice spirit, was coming right at them.

Veronica gave Monica and the others a sharp glare.

“Give back Thule.”

This was the lowest, heaviest, and angriest tone that Veronica had ever used. Apparently, this silver-haired young man was very precious to her.

However, despite being called by name, Thule wore the same absent-minded expression as before. He tilted his head slightly and looked back at Veronica.

“…Who are you?”

His reply was innocent and childlike. However, this turned Veronica’s statue-like face into a twisted grimace, the same face a human would make when hurt.

Nevertheless, Veronica shook her head to dispel such thoughts, then returned to staring at Monica and the others.

“Give back Thule.”

“Silence, you stupid spirit! You need to give back Cyril-sama first!”

Melissa shouted in return, and Veronica blinked a few times in confusion.

“Cyril-sama? You mean that human?”

This spirit had taken Cyril away, despite not knowing his name. In other words, her goal was unrelated to his status as a member of House Highown.

If Monica’s hypothesis was correct, this spirit had likely targeted Cyril because of his condition.

“No, I won’t return that human. If you value your lives, leave. Fragile humans.”

Upon hearing this, Melissa’s cheeks began to twitch. A sinister “Kukuku…” chuckle was leaking from her throat.

“Um, Onee-san…?”

Monica timidly looked up at her, and Melissa spoke softly, in a voice that only Monica and Raul could hear.

“Little One, find an opportunity to leave and search for Cyril-sama. He must be nearby.”

“B-But what are you going to…?”

Melissa turned to Monica and grinned. Even though she was smiling, her green eyes gleamed as bright as an unsheathed blade.

“Now that I’ve been humiliated so much, what other choice do I have besides beating this spirit to a pulp?”

“B-But, your vines are a disadvantage in the cold… Ow!”

Melissa flicked Monica’s forehead with her finger.

“You don’t think I’m just a witch with a knack for making potions, do you?”

Indeed, Monica did not know what talents allowed Melissa to join the Seven Sages.

However, from what Monica had seen so far, Melissa’s specialty lay in imbuement magic. Her main abilities involved manipulating vines and enchanting rose flowers with effects such as sleep or paralysis.

Since such effects had little effect on spirits, Melissa’s only viable weapon was her vines.

Even so, Melissa lifted her red lips, baring her fangs in a ferocious smile.

“I fell behind in Throth’s place since it was indoors… but I am the Thorn Witch, you know. This spirit will regret challenging me to a fight outdoors.”

“Sis, you’re gonna do that?”

“Damn right I will. Buy me some time.”

Melissa tore the last rose ornament from her hair and passed it to Raul, who promptly infused magic into the rose. As the rose grew, its vines extended rapidly.

Due to the cold climate, the growth rate was somewhat slower, but he had created enough vines to spread them like a wall. In this condition, Monica could escape while concealed behind the vines.

“Melissa-oneesan, Raul-sama…”

Monica looked up at the red-haired siblings, clutching the front of her coat. They smiled fearlessly in return.

“Come on, hurry up and go. I told you that’s what the white coat is for.”

“Don’t worry, Monica. I feel invincible when I’m fighting for my friends.”

“…Got it!”

Monica nodded and began running at full speed, or at least as fast as her clumsy legs would carry her.

＊　＊　＊

Veronica’s ice daggers rained down on Melissa and Raul like a storm.

Raul spread his rose vines as a shield to defend against the barrage, while simultaneously extending another set of vines to target Veronica.

The vines entwined around Veronica’s limbs with the agility of a winged serpent.

“…You think you can stop me with this? Futile.”

Veronica cut the vines entangling her with a frozen sword, then created multiple axes from ice.

With a sweep of her hand, the ice axes cut through the thick vines one after another.

Both the power and the amount of mana infused into her frostcrafts were overwhelmingly superior to when they faced her in Sazandol.

In this mana dense land, especially the snow-capped mountains preferred by ice spirits, Veronica’s ice blades would easily break through the defense barriers of ordinary mages.

“Fragile humans. Next, I will shred your bodies.”

“Hey, you know…”

In response to Veronica’s murderous intent, Raul spoke in a slightly lower tone than usual.

His beautiful face that was said to resemble the first Thorn Witch took on a harsh impression when devoid of all emotion.

Meanwhile, the severed vines wriggled violently. Under his rose-colored curls, Raul’s verdant eyes gleamed with an ominous glint.

“I’m quite angry because you treated my friend so badly. Pretty pissed, even.”

The vines that Veronica had shredded suddenly grew back and entangled her.

Raul hated being feared by others. He couldn’t unleash his full power in front of people──especially not his friends.

He had been consciously holding back about 20% of his power, and unconsciously holding back another 10%. With that power unleashed, Raul’s roses gained a terrifying vitality and ferocity. They were more than capable of pinning Veronica down.

Once she was restrained, Veronica realized these vines were not the same as the ones she had severed.

“What? These roses… they’re eating my mana…?”

The First Thorn Witch was the most powerful and wicked witch in all of history, who once ruled the Kingdom of Ridill from the shadows. Entire armies fell to her fortress of roses, turning them into blood sacrifices for her plants.

The roses she commanded were evil, man-eating flowers that feasted on human blood and mana.

Among all who have held the Thorn Witch title, only the fifth, Raul Roseberg, could reproduce the man-eating roses handled by the First Thorn Witch.

Raul never learned normal offensive magic. Why? Because casting an offensive spell with his vast mana would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who saw him.

His only means of attack was plant manipulation. But with this ability alone, Raul Roseberg was already a monster who towered above the rest.

Raul began muttering to himself.

“…A flower that blooms by sucking the lives of others isn’t something you can brag about to your friends.”

What will become of roses infused with Raul Roseberg’s massive stores of mana? They turn into man-eating plants that starve for human blood and mana.

If Veronica was a human, the roses would have absorbed her blood, dying them red. However, spirits didn’t have blood. Therefore, the roses absorbed only Veronica’s mana.

Veronica clicked her tongue, then invoked her magic while still entangled in the vines. A flurry of mana particles was followed by a strong gust whipping up the snow, sending ice blades at Raul and Melissa.

Raul blocked the attack with the wall of vines. Beside him, Thule gazed up at the vines and mumbled, “Such ominous flowers.”

Flowers bloomed one after another as the vines continued absorbing the spirit’s mana. The white flowers normally turned red after sucking human blood. But now, they turned a faint violet by absorbing Veronica’s mana.

These short-lived flowers, which would wither once the magical supply was cut off, bloomed and scattered in the blizzard gales.

“Sis, ready yet?” Raul muttered, as he turned to the sister behind him.

There was no response. Melissa had closed her eyes, deeply immersed in a lengthy incantation. Her face displayed how serious she was, with sweat trickling down her cheeks despite the cold.

The sound of the blizzard stirred by Veronica overlapped with Melissa’s chanting.

“…O King of Radiance. He who slumbers within the hills of Vezelda. Heed my call, and reveal a glimpse of your power.”

While spinning a long and elaborate incantation, Melissa weaved an enormous magical formula. Orange particles of light floated around her, eventually forming a massive gate overhead.

Still entwined in the vines, Veronica widened her violet eyes, staring up at the gate that had appeared above her.

“No, it can’t be…”

“You bet your ass it is, spirit.”

Melissa smirked and uttered the final verse.

“In the name of the Fourth Thorn Witch, Melissa Roseberg… Open the gate!”

Orange particles of light spilled forth from the gate. They cascaded onto the ground, permeating it and shaking the land.

“Rise from the ruptured depths, Spirit King of Earth, Arclayd!”

Of the current Seven Sages, the only ones capable of Spirit King Summoning are the Artillery Mage, the Barrier Mage, and the Silent Witch. Raul cannot perform this feat.

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