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“Huh…!? Mylir is a mana user just like me…?”

Tatsumi asked in surprise. Calcedonia silently nodded in response to his words.

Eru, listening to the spirit’s voice, led the group toward the fiend, with Juddock and Myril walking side by side right behind her.

A short distance behind them, Tatsumi and Calcedonia brought up the rear.

“Yes. A moment ago, she said her magic was self-taught. Spells for incantation magic are all fully established—they’re not the kind of thing you’d use in a self-taught style.”
“So, if she’s self-taught, that means she doesn’t use incantation… which makes her a mana user just like me. But could it be that Myril’s magic is actually spirit magic?”
“If Mylir’s magic were spirit magic, there’s no way the hostess wouldn’t have noticed.”

Eru is the founder of spirit magic. As Calcedonia said, if Mylir were using spirit magic, there’s no way Eru wouldn’t have noticed.

“Besides, Mylir also said her magic doesn’t last very long. I think this is further proof that she’s a mana user.”

“I see. That’s because mana users constantly emit mana.”

Tatsumi, having heard Calcedonia’s explanation, also believes her theory is likely correct.

It’s a form of magic—so to speak, the traditional kind—that uses mana directly without casting spells. To maintain its effect, the caster must constantly consume mana. That’s why they run out of it so quickly.

The exception is an External Element User like Tatsumi, but Myril isn’t an External Element User, is she?

“So… the reason Myril hasn’t said anything about her own magic is… because she’s a Mana User?”
“I don’t know for sure… and besides…”

Caledonia tilted her head. As usual, the ahoge on the top of her head wiggled slightly.

When she focused her attention on her vision, she saw the magical light emanating from Myril’s body as she walked a short distance ahead.

The color was a pale blue with a faint reddish tint. Calcedonia had never seen magical light of that color before.

“…Judging by the blue magical light, I think Myril’s lineage is one of the derivatives of the Water lineage…”

Presumably, Myril’s magical lineage is an extremely rare one.

When it comes to rare magical lineages, just like Tatsumi’s Heaven, there’s no one researching or developing spells for them. For that reason, mages with rare magical lineages generally end up becoming mana users.

“……Well, I don’t know the specifics of Myril’s magic, but our plan remains the same.”
“Yes.”

Caledonia smiled as she replied.

No matter how formidable the enemy might be, as long as Tatsumi was there… as long as he—who could be called the natural enemy of the Specters—was there, defeat was impossible. Caledonia was absolutely certain of that at that moment.

—That’s right.

At that moment, she still thought so—

.

BAAAAM—A deafening roar.

At the same moment, flashes of light erupted all around them.

The source of that roar and those flashes was Calcedonia’s “Thunderstorm” spell, which unleashed a rain of lightning over a wide area.

And just as the roar and flashes subsided, a storm of ice and snow began to rage.

It was Eru who unleashed the ice and snow storm. Borrowing the power of the ice spirit she had bound to her, she whipped up a storm of ice and snow.

However, neither Calcedonia’s nor Eru’s magic managed to hit their target.

Their target—the Great Snow Lizard possessed by a specter—flew freely across the snow, effortlessly evading the magic’s aim.

“You… You damn nimble lizard!!”

Eru spat out the words, her language growing slightly coarse.

No matter how many times Calcedonia and Eru cast their spells, the Great Snow Lizard evaded every single one.

The outline of the strategy Tatsumi and the others had devised was for Calcedonia and Eru—two exceptional mages—to weaken the Great Snow Lizard with their magic, after which Juddock and Myril would deliver the finishing blow. Then, Tatsumi would eliminate the specter that had separated from the Snow Lizard.

However, the plan fell apart as early as the first stage.

The target Great Snow Lizard possessed agility far beyond what Calcedonia and Eru had imagined.

Both Calcedonia and Eru had previously faced and defeated Great Snow Lizards.

Based on that experience, they had factored in the boost from the specter possessing it and predicted the Great Snow Lizard’s general capabilities.

However, when they actually faced it, this Great Snow Lizard’s abilities far exceeded their predictions.

As a result, their long-range magical attacks failed to hit the target, resulting in nothing but a waste of mana.

Furthermore, the close-combat duo of Juddock and Myril were also unable to even get close to the Great Snow Lizard due to its extraordinary speed.

Even now, as Juddock charges forward brandishing a two-handed battleaxe and two warhammers, the Great Snow Lizard—leaping nimbly across the snow—escapes out of the battleaxe’s range, as if mocking him.

Myril, too, was unable to land a hit on the enemy and couldn’t find an opening to cast the spell she had originally planned.

.

Let’s rewind a little.

Led by Eru, Tatsumi and the others made their way through the forest. Suddenly, Eru stopped in her tracks and scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze.

“…There’s something nearby…! Be careful…!”

There was no need to ask what it was. Tatsumi, Calcedonia, and Juddock, like Eru, began to sense the atmosphere around them.

Amidst all this.

Only Myril took the backpack off her back and tossed it straight into the snow.

“H-hey, Myril…?”

While keeping an eye on their surroundings, Tatsumi asked.

“Don’t worry about it. If I don’t do this… when I cast my spell, everything I’m wearing will get destroyed… I’ll mark the backpack so I don’t lose it in the snow.”

Myril said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Sure enough, the backpack she’d tossed into the snow had a red cloth wrapped around it. That must be the marker she was talking about.

Right now, she’s wearing only her clothes and a winter coat; she isn’t wearing any armor. If what she said is true—and there’s no reason to doubt it—she must not have worn any armor from the start, since she’s planning to use magic.

And in her hand is a spear longer than she is tall. It seems she primarily uses a spear.

Incidentally, Myril—who had lost all her money and belongings during the previous encounter with the Great Snow Lizard—had borrowed money from Calcedonia to purchase equipment for this mission.

Tatsumi and Juddock were dressed in their usual boiled-leather armor and their respective weapons, whilst Eru was wearing soft, white-dyed leather armor with a cold-weather cloak draped over it. She did have a short sword sheathed at her waist, but it was strictly for self-defense.

Caledonia wasn’t wearing anything that looked like armor. However, what she wore beneath her winter coat—which at first glance appeared to be nothing more than a plain, gray, unadorned robe—was actually a magic-sealing artifact, boasting far greater defensive power than any ordinary metal armor.

In her hand, she held a single, weathered, crooked staff. Yet this staff, which seemed merely worn at first glance, was also a magic-sealing artifact, capable of enhancing Calcedonia’s magical power.

“Tatsumi and Myril, that’s enough chatting…”

Just as Eru was about to scold the two of them, she suddenly cut herself off and looked up.

The others followed her gaze upward—toward the treetops—where several snow lizards were falling from the surrounding trees.

“They’re not Great Snow Lizards… they’re just regular snow lizards, right!?”
“I suppose he’s gathered the survivors of his pack…?”

With their weapons in hand, Juddock and Myril swiftly intercepted the falling snow lizards.

The Great Snow Lizard had apparently viewed its packmates merely as food until then, but after Myril wounded it, it must have decided to use them as soldiers to protect itself.

Myril’s spear pierced the snow lizard’s throat with precision, and Juddock’s battle axe shattered its skull.

Even so, they were not able to intercept all the snow lizards. Those that landed safely on the snow glared at Calcedonia and Eru.

To protect the two, who were ill-suited for close combat, Tatsumi stepped between Calcedonia’s group and the snow lizards.

Just as he drew his sword and was about to charge at the snow lizards, bolts of lightning and ice arrows streaked past him on either side, obliterating the approaching snow lizards in a single strike.

When Tatsumi turned around, looking bewildered, the two mages were smiling.

.

Ordinary snow lizards are no match for Tatsumi and his companions.

After fighting the snow lizards for a while, a beast’s roar suddenly echoed through the air. It was the roar of the Great Snow Lizard—a sound Tatsumi and his companions recognized.

Hearing that roar, the snow lizards stopped fighting and began to flee.

“…I guess that means the Great Snow Lizard has ordered its companions to retreat… right?”

Juddock stopped swinging his battle axe, slung it over his shoulder, and watched the fleeing snow lizards with his eyes.

“What do you think, Calcedonia? Should we just let them get away? Or should we give chase?”

“Let’s not pursue them too far. However, thanks to that roar, we’ve got a rough idea of the Great Snow Lizard’s location. Let’s head in that direction while keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings.”

The others nodded in agreement with Calcedonia’s decision.

The group then rearranged their formation and immediately began moving.

Juddock and Myril took the lead this time. Right behind them were Calcedonia and Eru, forming the rear guard. Tatsumi brought up the rear.

Guided by the recent roar and the snow lizards’ tracks, the group made their way through the snow-covered forest.

And after walking for about ten minutes—according to Tatsumi’s sense of time—it happened.

A Great Snow Lizard suddenly emerged from the snow and attacked the group. It seemed it had been lurking in the snow, waiting for Tatsumi and the others to pass by.

The monster targeted Myril. Did it remember being wounded by her, or did it simply judge her to be the easiest target?

The Great Snow Lizard suddenly pounced on Myril from the side. The attack was so sudden that Myril was completely unable to react.

Its sharp, saliva-drenched fangs lunged at Myril, who was unarmored.

The fangs sank into her body, and crimson blood seemed to spatter all around—or so it appeared—but the Snow Lizard’s jaws snapped shut in vain, failing to grasp anything.

Suddenly, when Calcedonia glanced behind the Snow Lizard, she saw Tatsumi holding Myril in his arms.

The moment Tatsumi sensed the Snow Lizard’s surprise attack, he teleported to Myril’s side, and from there, he and Myril teleported once more behind the Snow Lizard.

“Husband!! Myril!!”
“Myril and I are fine!! More importantly, let’s proceed according to plan!!”

Tatsumi responded to Calcedonia’s worried voice, and they proceeded exactly as planned.

Calcedonia chanted a spell, and Eru summoned the spirit bound to her.

Meanwhile, Juddock and Myril took charge of guarding the mages, who would be defenseless until they cast their spells.

First to be unleashed was Eru’s spirit magic.

“Roulan-kun!! Please!!”

A sphere of light about the size of a child’s head appeared at the tip of Eru’s finger. This was “Roulan,” the light spirit with whom Eru had formed a contract.

As Roulan’s body trembled, countless orbs of light smaller than itself appeared around it. Then, when Roulan shook its body with particular force, the tiny orbs were released all at once and charged toward the Great Snow Lizard.

The tiny orbs of light—light projectiles—rushed toward the Great Snow Lizard, tracing various trajectories.

Just as it seemed the light projectiles were about to strike the Great Snow Lizard’s body, it leaped high into the air at the very last moment, narrowly evading the rain of light.

The light projectiles, having lost their target, collided with one another, exploded, and vanished.

The Great Snow Lizard soared into the air. However, it was unable to move while in midair. Taking advantage of this, a purple bolt of lightning was unleashed from Calcedonia’s palm.

The purple lightning sliced through the air, lunging at the Great Snow Lizard. But the Great Snow Lizard skillfully maneuvered its long, supple tail, shifted its posture mid-air, kicked off a nearby tree to leap once more, and even managed to dodge the approaching purple lightning.

“I-I can’t believe it—”
“In midair… making such absurd movements in midair—”

It was the mages who had cast the spells who were left dumbfounded. Every single spell they had cast with the determination to hit its mark had been completely dodged.

These were magical attacks that even a Great Snow Lizard—let alone an ordinary one—would have been unable to dodge.

Seeing them evaded so effortlessly, Calcedonia and Eru instinctively froze in their tracks.

The cunning monster wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip by; the Great Snow Lizard kicked off the tree once more and lunged down at the two from above.

The Great Snow Lizard’s hind claws glinted menacingly. If this continued, Calcedonia and Eru would surely be torn apart by its sharp claws.

However, just before the Snow Lizard’s claws could seize them, the two vanished. Of course, Tatsumi had once again picked them both up and teleported them away.

Having put some distance between them and the Snow Lizard, Tatsumi reappeared, holding Calcedonia and Eru in both arms.

“…Calcie. It looks like the fiend has set us up…”

Without taking his eyes off the Great Snow Lizard, Tatsumi said.

And when Calcedonia set her feet down on the snow, she realized what Tatsumi was getting at.

“…………Around here… the snow feels much softer than elsewhere…?”

It seemed this area was a snowdrift, and all the accumulated snow remained soft. Moreover, the snow appeared fresh and hadn’t frozen yet, making it what is known as powder snow.

Tatsumi and the others found their feet sinking into the soft snow, further restricting their movement. In particular, Juddock and Myril, who relied heavily on close-quarters combat, would likely see their mobility significantly reduced.

In contrast, the Great Snow Lizard, which has adapted to snowy plains, can move without getting bogged down in the soft snow. Moreover, as it had shown, this fiend appears to be far more agile than a typical Great Snow Lizard, making the difference in footing even more pronounced.

Anticipating this, the fiend must have been lurking here, luring Tatsumi and his party to this spot.

Before they knew it, several Snow Lizards had gathered around the Giant Snow Lizard, baring their fangs to threaten Tatsumi and his party.

There were Calcedonia and Eru, two exceptional mages, and Juddock and Myril, warriors who specialized in close combat. And then there was Tatsumi, a mage of the “Heaven” lineage—arguably the natural enemy of specters

Although they had initially sensed this would be an easy victory, they were now forced to realize they had fallen into an unexpected predicament.