[V12C37] Extermination Labyrinth

“It’s quite chilly here, even in early summer,” Louis muttered.

After placing a barrier above the Richawood Monastery, Louis turned to Casey Grove, who was observing from monastery’s doorway.

“Excuse me, could I trouble you for some warm tea? And jam if possible.”

The Richawood Monastery was built on the mountainside of Mt. Verange in northern Ridill, making it a very remote location.

Louis had arrived a few hours ago, warning them of a dragon disaster so large that it could affect the entire country.

…Apparently, it was so bad that they needed to deploy the Seven Sages.

(To be honest, my feelings are mixed.)

Casey thought to herself as she brought over an old tea table, glancing suspiciously at Louis.

Her hometown suffered from frequent dragon disasters, and they requested help every time. But the Dragon Knights only came on rare occasions.

She understood that asking for the Seven Sages would be too much, but even an advanced mage would have saved so many lives… Yet their prayers kept going unanswered.

Even setting aside such sentiments, Casey’s feelings about the Barrier Mage were complicated.

Both she and Louis were supporters of the First Prince Faction. However, she tried to assassinate the Second Prince, and Louis prevented that.

Afterwards, Louis wanted to dispose of Casey in secret, but due to the earnest plea of a certain girl, Casey was granted sanctuary at this monastery.

(…It’s really been over two years since then.)

Casey placed a cup of tea and a jar of jam on the table. Immediately, Louis poured a heavy dose of jam into his cup and started drinking it with glee.

Louis’s long hair had been neatly braided the last time Casey saw him, but now his hair looked as though it was cut off haphazardly. It appeared so uneven that Casey felt a slight urge to trim it with scissors.

“…Is it certain that the dragons will pass through here?” Casey asked.

“Well, I certainly won’t complain if they don’t show up… Oh, it seems one has reached my barrier already.”

Louis pulled back the hand reaching out for the jam jar and looked up at the sky. Then, he chanted a spell, which was apparently for reconnaissance.

The next instant, a stern expression overtook his monocled face.

“Three flocks of about a dozen wyverns each,” Louis muttered. “One of them is a higher-ranking species… probably a green dragon.”

“…T-Three flocks!? A-And a green dragon!?”

Casey could not help but stutter in disbelief.

She prayed for this to be some sort of misunderstanding, but Louis showed no signs of correcting himself.

Casey understood the threat posed by dragons. Even a handful of lesser dragons was a life-threatening disaster.

Compare that to three flocks of wyverns led by a green dragon. This was on a scale surpassing the record-breaking dragon attack on the capital a few weeks ago.

Casey glanced back at the monastery.

The older nuns were still in the building. Due to their age, they lacked the physical ability to evacuate down the mountain.

“Three flocks…? There’s no way anyone can—”

Casey’s words were interrupted by the feral roar from the western sky. The roar of a green dragon.

Greater dragons were intelligent, so they would not attack humans without reason. However, some dragons found enjoyment in hunting humans, mages in particular.

This green dragon seemed to be one of those. It had sensed Louis’s barrier and recognized him as a prime target among mages.

Louis turned to Casey and said, “Excuse me, may I ask you to cover your ears for a moment?”

“…?”

After the puzzled Casey covered her ears, Louis performed a brief chant and shouted back at western sky.

“——Luvolgo Diff Gennaf!”

His voice was loud enough to reverberate throughout the entire mountain. Apparently, he had invoked voice amplification magic. The unfamiliar words were likely in the spirit language used by dragons.

Casey uncovered her ears and voiced her doubt.

“…What did you say to the dragon?”

In response, Louis simply shrugged and put on a smile.

“Oh, nothing significant. Thank you for the tea. You should go take shelter inside now.”

“…Will you really be okay by yourself?”

Casey did not particularly care about Louis’s well-being.

However, his failure meant that this monastery, and all the nuns inside, would fall prey to the wyverns.

In contrast to Casey’s visible anxiety, Louis maintained his calm demeanor.

“Who do you think you are talking to? In case you forgot, I am the Barrier Mage, one of the Seven Sages.”

He maintained perfect composure, even when up against countless wyverns and a greater dragon, all by himself. There was even a hint of enjoyment on his face.

“The Silent Witch took care of the Black Dragon of Worgan for me, so I should at least put in the same amount of work.”

Casey wondered what Monica was thinking when she confronted the Black Dragon of Worgan. She had heard that Monica thought the Dragon Knights were scarier than dragons, but what about now?

Since Monica was one of the Seven Sages, she was probably fighting dragons at this very moment.

(…Please be safe.)

Casey voiced a silent prayer as she grabbed the teacup and jar of jam, then quickly retreated into the monastery.

＊　＊　＊

A certain member of the Library Society proposed that mana contamination would result in regional fluctuations of mana concentration, leading to dragon migration.

Carla Maxwell added onto this by predicting what would happen when Sazandol was the origin of the contamination.

As a result, the possibility of dragons crossing the border became a big concern.

According to Carla…

“If Sazandol is contaminated with mana, we could see dragons migrating to the Empire. Especially the flying ones that can cross over Mt. Verange. Those will definitely make the trip.”

Few dragons lived near Mt. Verange due to the cold climate, but Carla predicted a high chance of wyverns trying to fly over it.

It was not particularly rare for dragons to cross national borders due to changes in climate. But what if the cause was an ancient artifact owned by Ridill? That complicated matters.

If Gluttonous Zoe causes a dragon disaster in other countries, then they would naturally hold Ridill accountable.

Ridill may be pressured to forfeit their artifacts to another country, or it might even become the trigger for war.

Thus, it was essential to contain the influence of Gluttonous Zoe within Ridill’s borders.

And so, the First Prince assigned the duty of border defense to the Barrier Mage, Louis Miller.

“Louis,” Lionel said grimly. “I apologize for placing such a heavy burden on you…”

Louis had seen this expression on his friend’s face before.

It was ten years ago, when dragons attacked their joint training event with the Empire. Lionel grew disheartened when he realized that his thoughtless actions had exposed Louis to danger.

The current Lionel looked just as pitiful as back then. How could the future ruler of this country act like this?

That said, the solution was simple. Louis simply needed to cheer Lionel up with the same confident grin as a decade ago.

“Your Highness, who do you think you are taking to?”

Who the hell do you think I am, Lionel?

Lionel raised his head with a start. Louis nodded back at him, and Lionel finally fixed his expression.

There was no longer any visible anxiety. Only the determination and resolve of a man fit to bear the future of Ridill.

“I’m counting on you, Barrier Mage Louis Miller.”

“It shall be done.”

Louis placed his hand on his chest, then performed a formal bow, making it look twice as fancy as usual.

＊　＊　＊

Louis chose the Richawood Monastery as his base of operations. Its location high up on the empty mountainside proved convenient, as it provided a clear view of the sky above the border.

The wyverns had collided with his large-scale barrier, and as expected, changed course in his direction.

While maintaining the barrier, Louis began a very long incantation.

Meanwhile, the green dragon let out a condescending sneer overhead.

“Fragile and puny creature. I will crush you.”

The dragon’s arrogance only made Louis smile.

Unlike a certain girl, Louis had a moderate amount of fear for dragons. This was only human nature.

So why could he smile in this situation? Because he felt a greater amount of joy than fear.

(Now then, it’s time to bully the strong.)

After all, Louis Miller was a man who loved bullying the strong.

In hindsight, Louis had been feeling uneasy ever since his confrontation with Theodore Maxwell and Gluttonous Zoe.

He understood that Theodore was a dangerous criminal. But throughout the encounter, he could not shake the feeling that he was bullying the weak.

Of course, Louis would never forget the grudge of losing his hair. He was determined to shave Theodore bald and hang him off a tree if they ever met again.

“O King of Guidance, the Formless One. Heed my call, and reveal a glimpse of your power.”

His ash-purple eyes gleamed behind the monocle, focused on his prey. This was a formidable opponent.

“In the name of the Barrier Mage, Louis Miller… Open the gate!”

Particles of light gathered in the sky, forming the outline of a gate.

The doors of the gate swung open, sending a sparkling wind into the clear blue sky.

“Come forth from the edge of silence, Spirit King of Wind, Shefield!”

This gate allows the caster to borrow a portion of the Spirit King’s power, resulting in a spell with extremely high potency, precision, and range.

The exact form of this spell varies depending on the caster.

For example, the Silent Witch preferred to snipe dragons through the forehead with a spear of wind. She would sacrifice area of effect in exchange for power and precision.

On the contrary, Louis’s current spell prioritized the area of effect. By unleashing a huge storm of wind blades, he hit the entire flock of wyverns and the green dragon at the same time.

Of course, this was not nearly enough to slay a dragon. Thus, he intended to combine it with his barrier.

“Is that all?” The green dragon scoffed.

Louis laughed, “Of course not.”

He switched his focus to the barrier and performed a series of shortened incantations.

This transformed the simple wall into something far more intricate. Portions of the barrier started branching out and running in parallel with the initial wall, creating countless rows.

The end result was an invisible maze of barriers.

“——Extermination Labyrinth, deployed.”

Then, he sent the wind of the Spirit King into the invisible maze.

Resisting the wind in a narrow path was much harder than in an open space. Any wyverns that failed to resist were sent colliding into the invisible walls.

“What an annoyance,” the green dragon snarled.

It promptly launched a magical wind blade of its own to destroy Louis’s barrier. But upon touching the wall, the dragon’s magic reflected back to hit itself and the nearby wyverns.

“That barrier reflects inward, you see.”

The barriers composing the Extermination Labyrinth were resistant to physical force and reflected all magical attacks. In addition, anything trapped inside would be subject to a relentless assault from the Spirit King’s might.

Driven by those winds, the battered and bruised wyverns were forced towards the end of the invisible maze. A high-density spear of wind awaited them there.

“Now fall.”

“Damn you, damn you, damn youuu!”

The green dragon was too large to maneuver in the maze’s narrow corridors, so it could not even attempt to evade.

Louis’s spell landed right on the forehead, sending the green dragon crashing down and singing its death throes.

Enclose your enemies with a barrier, drive them into a corner, then bombard them with your most powerful spells. This was the fighting style that allowed Louis to attain the second-highest dragon subjugation count of all time.

One by one, the wyverns attempting to cross the border found themselves trapped in his maze, and then shot down by the wind.

“Luvolgo Diff Gennaf!”

The man known as the Guardian of Ridill tapped his shoulder with his staff, putting on a wicked grin.

“Don’t underestimate humans, you shitty lizards.”

Lesson on Spirit Language

“Luvolgo Diff Gennaf” = “Cross this line, and I kill you.”

The “ff” part sounds more like a “fyu” and puts heavy emphasis on the “nn”. Also, make sure you flail your tongue a bit to make it sound more accurate.

As a side note, “Populia Rukah” is not actually correct pronunciation of the spirit language, since it was made by humans mimicking the songs of spirits. That said, spirits do seem to understand the intended meaning.

Most will respond with something along the lines of, “Oh you mean that. Well, yeah, I can see how you got there.”

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io