"Lightning Bolt!"
Suddenly, a bright blue flash illuminates the area, and even the depths of the ground are filled with the rumbling of thunder.
After briefly responding to Marika, I dive back into the fight. I would've liked to check on her condition more, but I need to reduce the number of enemies before they regain their composure.
Zap!
"Arghhh!"
A heretic hit directly by the spell screams, parts of their body turning black and ceasing to move.
The number of enemies decreases quickly; initially, there were five heretics, but now only three remain. Still, I was outnumbered.
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
A figure, difficult to discern due to the robe obscuring their face but presumably female judging by their physique and voice, extends a hand threateningly towards .
"O shadow, gather in my hand, corrupt the pure soul before and obliterate it..."
A female heretic begins to chant and slowly draws a magic circle.
But in most battles, the first strike determines the outco, and I wasn't about to wait for their attack.
"Wind Cutter!"
I capitalize on the advantage of instant-cast spells, and my magic is cast before hers, flying towards her.
"Ah?!"
Her magic circle shatters due to the interference.
"Shock Bullet!"
I cast another spell that compresses the surrounding air and sends it towards the heretic.
Caught off guard and still dazed by the disrupted magic, she's hit directly. After being slamd against the wall, she falls unconscious.
Now, only two remain...
"Urrrrgh!!!"
A fully alert heretic, with bulging muscles, charges at .
"?!?"
An enormous figure, easily over 2 ters tall. Is this really the size a human can achieve, or is there an orc hidden beneath that robe?
"Gale Force!"
I counter by conjuring a strong wind, pushing him back.
"Oog...!!"
The massive heretic groans in pain as he stumbles backward, struggling against the force.
"O shadows, gather in my hand, corrupt the pure soul before , obliterate it completely, Shadow Burst!"
The last standing heretic, perhaps unwilling to stand idly by, conjures the sa spell that the female heretic failed to complete earlier, supporting the giant.
A dark sphere, emanating shadowy tendrils, flies towards .
It looks all too familiar... where have I seen this spell before?
But now wasn't the ti to ponder.
"Wind's Boor!"
I combine it with the wind spell I had cast earlier. Gathering the surrounding wind and air, I create an explosion at a single point.
Boom!
The ensuing explosion not only counters the incoming shadow magic but also sends the massive man flying into the air.
From the outside, it may not seem like much had happened...
"Argh?!"
But the giant, who once boasted of his size, now finds his robe torn to shreds and is sent flying.
Considering a bomb just detonated right in front of him, it's a wonder he's not pulverized.
Thump!
He lands heavily, the impact creating a shockwave, and remains motionless.
"What are you..!!"
In the blink of an eye, the situation turned. Though I had taken them by surprise, out of the five formidable adversaries, all but one were incapacitated.
"How did you know where we were and attack us?!"
Seeing four of his comrades overpowered so quickly, the last one shouts at in a panicked voice.
"Mind Wind."
A spell to calm an unstable mind. Perfect for soone clearly losing their wits.
The mont I cast the spell, he collapses powerlessly to the ground, and silence descends upon the area.
"Sigh... Situation resolved, Princess."
I approach Marika, who is still bound in chains, having neutralized all the heretics. "Harold?"
Suddenly, Marika gazes at with eyes full of questions.
"Yes?"
What's wrong? This was a first.
Soone with such a combat sense and talent to match...
Efficiently utilizing their abilities according to the situation, they seamlessly and cleanly led the battle.
Taking control of the fight with quick situational analysis and understanding of magic, they unilaterally took the lead...
It seed they truly understood what genuine struggle ant, not just having brute strength.
From the mont I witnessed his powerful magic, I sensed sothing extraordinary, but this was beyond my expectations.
And my surprise wasn't just about that.
Now, after defeating all the enemies, he kindly smiles at .
It's as if he has no grudges against ...
How can he smile so purely at ?
I've done terrible things to him...
I started the quarrel with him, slapped him in front of others, and inflicted irreparable damage...
How can he smile so brightly at ?
All the smiles I've received so far were re masks, forced because of my royal status.
However, he was different from everyone I've t so far.
Those I've t pretended to forgive , acted like they were in the wrong, and while appearing kind in front, they badmouthed and despised behind my back.
Yet, the man before smiled with a pure and genuine smile, devoid of any resentnt.
Initially, I thought he forgave just because of the respect my status demanded, but...
I was wrong.
Sohow, he knew I was in danger and rushed to help .
A man who truly forgave and smiled genuinely, despite my previous animosity towards him.
The sweat on his forehead indicated the ordeal he had gone through.
"Phew... The situation is resolved, Princess."
Although his appearance wasn't as noble as mine and he looked rather worn-out,
To my eyes, he appeared as radiant as the White Horse Prince.
Why...
I ask him an unreachable question internally.
Did you rush here for , who has been terrible to you...
Why on earth...
Holding my rapidly beating heart, I question myself but can't find the answer.
Strangely, my heart flutters... I feel good just looking at him...
What is this feeling...?
"What's the matter?"
I respond to her sudden call, but she quickly regains her composure and relies on my support.
"Thank you..."
Breaking the chains and supporting her, she thanks in a weak voice.
Is it just gratitude for this event?
"No worries, I'm just glad I wasn't late."
Brushing it off lightly, she responds with a more earnest tone.
"Thank you, really..."
"....?"
The repetitive words felt odd, but...
"Let's go outside and report to the guards. I'm already late for class; how will I explain this to the professor..."
Jokingly trying to divert the situation, we exit the place.
"Yeah, that's right..."
The Princess, whose mood shifted strangely,
Seed to be deeply pondering sothing, her focus not clear.
What is she thinking right now?
I couldn't tell. After rescuing Marika, we were finally greeted by the outside world's light.
"The report has been filed. Based on the information you provided, we'll send personnel imdiately."
Whether it's because the Princess is with or the guards of this country are just efficient, they promptly handle the situation, putting at ease.
I imdiately reported to the guards as planned. Since the class hasn't ended, I consider returning to the classroom.
I'd probably get scolded by the professor for being absent on the first day, but I hope that with the Princess by my side, the situation will be sowhat mitigated. "Harold, I'd like to have a mont with you."
It seed the Princess had sothing to discuss with .
"What is it?"
"This weekend... Can you spare so ti? As a token of gratitude for this incident, I thought we could dine at a luxurious restaurant."
She now seed much friendlier than when we first t, when she was cold and sharp. However, her face still appeared lost in thought... What has she been pondering since earlier?
"Well... I don't have any plans, so if you'd like, we can do that."
At that, she nods with a delighted smile.
"That sounds exciting."
Co to think of it, I think this is the first ti I've seen her smile. Though we've known each other for only a short ti, this is the first ti she's shown such a friendly attitude towards since our initial encounter. Her smiling face, despite my previous biases against her...
"You have a beautiful smile."
Before I realized it, I had voiced my genuine feelings.
"What...what?!"
Then Marika, with an expression I hadn't seen before, sharply looked at . The friendly gaze I had just gotten used to turned sharp again.
"Oops... I might've spoken too much. Just rember, even though you helped , it doesn't an I've given you that much leeway."
But I was just speaking my true feelings.
"I just voiced my genuine feelings."
I tried to express my true emotions, but for so reason, the atmosphere seed unconvinced.
In the underground passageway known only to heretics, amidst an atmosphere of silence, stood a man cloaked in a robe. This place was where Harold had previously searched for Marika and where he encountered heretics and engaged in a skirmish. Naturally, after Harold had defeated them and moved on, everyone was unconscious, except for one person.
"How pathetic. A slight hiccup in the plan just because of this one failure."
The mysterious man rummaged through one of his colleague's possessions, mocking them.
"But at least this was secured, right?"
What he retrieved from his colleague was a luminescent, violet-hued ore.
"Well... Even with my intervention, if they can't handle things, they're no better than beasts."
He casually took the ore, leaving behind his fallen comrades and leisurely walked away.
"As long as this ore remains intact, missing the sacrifice is just a temporary setback... There's no problem yet."
The crystal he held was a vessel containing the soul of an ancient god, sealed during the Night of Ruin a few days ago.
"After all, if they're alive, they might be interrogated and potentially betray us."
Having achieved his goal and anticipating the guards' imminent arrival...
"Burn everything to ashes, leave nothing behind, Hellfire."
He bestows a twisted rcy upon them and calmly departs from the scene.
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