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“What an ambush!! Lesvahl just destroyed Altered’s weaponry!!”
“Nyaha! Without that, you can’t use Blitzraid, can you?”
“Kh…!”
“Nice one, Farah! Let’s finish this in one go, Hom!!”

Letting Hom fight two-on-one now that her Blitzraid has been sealed would be a huge mistake.

“I’ll help Hom! Alfe, you take Numelin!”
“Got it! O wind, gather in layered torrents and strike like a crashing hammer—Aero Blast!”

Alfe immediately responded to my call, casting wind magic with a Multi-Vision spell formation.

“And here comes Lemures! Aero Blast is unleashed!! A mass of highly compressed air slams into the Cataphract!!”
“Wahhhhhh~!”

Numelin was forced into retreat, barely managing to block the blow with her greatsword.

“Nume! Stay calm! Don’t back off too much!”

Vannabelle barked out a command, but Numelin couldn’t hide her panic. And for good reason—

“OH NOOO! Behind the Cataphract—a barrage of Water Lances is coming!! Lemures is casting without an incantation!! The pressure is only ramping up!!”

The chantless, Multi Vision spells were overwhelming the Cataphract from both front and rear.

“Nume! Get through this somehow!”

Vannabelle couldn’t go help her, fearing a counterattack from Hom. This might be our only shot at saving Hom.

“Nyaha! I knew you’d come for me!”

Farah charged straight at me, unfazed by Numelin’s struggle.

With Farah’s attention off Hom, this was the perfect opportunity. All we needed was to buy time until Hom could defeat Vannabelle.

The pages of Ars Magna turned, as if reading my thoughts, unfolding a simplified formula before my eyes.

“Take wing and dance, O flames! Soar through the sky by my will—Flame Bird!”

I conjured three fireballs shaped like blazing birds with my flame magic.

“Whoa, here it is! Birds of searing fire have been summoned!! The heat they give off is just like Ignis’ flame attacks!!”
“Oh my, looks like we need to reinforce the defensive barrier!”

Johnny kept the commentary going, practically shouting, while I faintly heard Ms. Matilda’s voice behind him—but I didn’t have the luxury to look away.

“Nyahaha! Something real nasty’s coming my way!”

Farah grinned with glee, skillfully dodging the Flame Birds’ attacks as she brandished her twin blades.

“They’ll explode on contact. What’s your move?”

I warned her—partly to keep her in check—since I’d already anticipated she’d use her Magic Eyes of Delay to intercept.

“Nyaha! So they disappear if they blow up, huh?”

Farah smirked like she’d just had a great idea, then spun Lesvahl around and readied an attack.

“Wh-what’s this?! Is Lesvahl going for a suicidal charge?!”
“Nope! I don’t need to go that far—I can dodge just fine!”

I couldn’t even track her next move with my eyes.

Farah’s Lesvahl had intercepted all three Flame Birds, slicing them apart with her twin blades. I thought for a moment she’d been caught in the blast—but the very next instant, she stood calmly outside the smoke, unscathed.

“She’s fast!! Lesvahl took down all the Flame Birds in a blur, faster than the eye can see!!”

I had expected her to rely on her Magic Eyes of Delay—but to match that with a mecha’s physical speed was astonishing. Unless I could cast a spell fast enough to outpace even her eye perception, nothing would land on the current Farah.

“Lightning, surge forth—Spark Shot!”

Arkecius released a burst of lightning from its left hand, aiming at Farah—but even at lightning speed, it couldn’t catch her.

“Hmm… That’s a little faster than before.”

Using her thrusters, Farah evaded the blast and closed the distance between us in a flash.

“Thunder, dance—Éclair!”

I cloaked the right-hand drill in lightning magic and lashed out, trying to keep her at bay. But Farah charged in undeterred, easily deflecting the sparking drill with one of her twin blades.

“Leafa, that grimoire of yours is way too slow for me.”
“Ah—ahhhhh!!”

The moment Lesvahl’s left arm moved, I felt a sharp jolt through the drill on the right. I cried out, finally realizing that Arkecius’ right arm had been severed completely from its body.

“Nyaha! No more of those nasty attacks now, huh?”
“…Kh…”

I’d completely misjudged her. How could I have failed to understand Farah’s true strength—and her nature?

She’d been with us this whole time, ever since we enrolled. Even during that class battle, she was right there beside us.

When Farah uses her Magic Eyes of Delay, the world slows down around her. She had more than enough time to observe. I should have studied her more closely. Just as she had learned to read Hom’s emotional shifts within only a few months of enrollment, Farah had been watching all of us.

I shouldn’t have been flattered—I should have prepared. Prepared for the possibility that she might become an enemy one day.

Her powers of observation were more than enough to identify the weaknesses in my weaponry. No matter the spell, as long as I rely on search and incantation, there’s always that brief delay before activation.

That’s precisely why Alfe trained so hard in chantless magic and multi-vision—to shrink that delay as close to zero as possible.

I never should have taken the front line. I never should have fought Farah.

“In a serious match, there’s no room for mercy. But hey—I’ll at least make sure I break it clean, so forgive me, alright?”
“Master!!”

As Farah raised her twin blades, I heard Hom scream.

For Hom, responding to any threat against me, her master, takes absolute priority. That’s how I built her. But not now. Now was not the time for that.

“Stay back, Hom!!”

I activated my thrusters, trying to put some distance between myself and Farah—just enough to buy a few seconds.

Hom should be watching Vannabelle right now. And yet, in this moment, I was all she could see.

“Sorry, Leafa.”
“Stop—please, Vannabelle!”

My cry was drowned out by the roar of Flago’s thrusters. Vannabelle’s Flago thrust its left hand forward, her rapier in the right hand held low like a predator stalking the ground.

“I’ll be taking this—!”

All four of Flago’s boosters flared at once, launching her forward with explosive acceleration. She tore past Altered and Lesvahl, charging straight at me.

“Wha—?!”

Vannabelle wasn’t aiming for Hom’s back.

Her target was—

“Vorpal Pierce!!”

I tried to dodge, but against Flago’s full-throttle charge, Arkecius was helpless.

“Masteeeeer!!”

Hom’s scream echoed as Vannabelle’s attack ripped through Arkecius’ left arm, sending it flying through the air in pieces.

“Two clean hits confirmed!! Arkecius is down! Down and outtttt!!”

Johnny’s voice boomed across the arena. All I could do was stare blankly at Arkecius’ severed arm lying on the ground.