Saito shouted anxiously. Kirche, who was about to say that, nodded as if she were expressing her disappointment.
“Really, the Princess can cast a wall of water on us with this. My flame is worthless now. Tabitha’s wind and even your sword cannot damage them… Well, it is over. Defeat!”
Louise muttered in a constrained voice.
“Though I do not want this, let’s run away. We cannot die here.”
“But how can we run away? We are surrounded, aren’t we?”
Everyone became silent.
Then Derflinger thoughtfully voiced out.
“Aah.”
“What?”
“I recalled. They use a very nostalgic magic…”
“Yes?”
“When I saw the water spirit, it tickled something in the back of my mind… No, partner, sorry – I forgot. I recalled it!”
“What?!”
“Their and our source is the same type of magic. Anyway, it is different from the base of your four great element system - magic of 'Life’”
“What?! Legendary sword! Say something only if you have something useful to say! Good-for-nothing!”
“The good-for-nothing is you. Though being a ‘Void’ user, firing ‘Explosion’ in rapid succession is foolish, I saw and remembered. Though that person might be very strong, the amount of willpower consumed is immense. Like today, launching huge ones like that may require a year to shoot again. We need different fireworks today.”
“Well?!”
“Turn the pages of the prayer book. Dear Brimir, great guy. He sure has some perfect counter.”
Louise looked through pages, like she was told.
However, besides the ‘Explosion’ it was blank as usual.
“There isn’t even written anything! White-on-white!”
“Turn further. If in need, you will be able to read.”
Louise saw the page on which the letters were written.
It was written down in runes of an ancient language.
“…Dispel Magic?”
“That’s right. ‘Release’. The potion that you took a while ago is the reason why you can read it.”
Henrietta sadly shook her head. Though she told Louise to run away, because of the rain, she didn’t run away. Moreso, Louise stepped closer into the center of the tight circle.
Looking up, Henrietta began to utter an incantation. I do not want to kill if possible. However, if you keep on blocking my way…
With Henrietta’s cantrip aria, the raindrops began to harden.
One by one the ally mages had an armor of water hanging on them. The enemy's 'Flame' was sealed off with this.
In addition, Henrietta uttered another incantation.
Wales’ spell joined with hers. Wales watched Henrietta, smiling coldly. Though she noticed the lack of warmth, Henrietta’s heart still felt moistly hot.
They both were surrounded by the tornado of water.
'Water', 'Water', 'Water', and, 'Wind.', 'Wind', 'Wind'
The sixth power – water and wind
Triangle mages usually cannot make such strong spells as this. To say almost never, would not be an exaggeration. However, the chosen blood of the royal family enables it.
Only the royal family were able to do a hexagon spell.
Their combined spell increased to an impossible size.
Two triangles intertwined, creating a huge tornado of six.
The tornado was like a tsunami. If hit, it could even blow away a castle.
The sound of Louise’s chanting mixed with the sound of rainfall.
Behind Saito's back, Louise's spell could be cast comfortably.
To Louise nothing was impossible today. She kept on concentrating her willpower while uttering sounds of ancient runes one after another with her mouth.
“What’s wrong with this girl?”
Kirche asked with a smile.
“Aah, she's just acting like a legend for now.” Saito grasped the sword and answered in a joking voice. Hearing Louise casting a ‘Void’ spell gave him courage. Courage that allowed him to smile. Courage that can turn death into a joke.
“So. It is good and all. Yet if that ‘Legend’ doesn’t leak something at least, we won’t be able to win against that tornado.”
The huge tornado of water whirling around Wales and Henrietta's grew rapidly.
Louise's silent chant continued still. As expected from ‘Void’. It was as lengthy as one could be.
“This is bad. The other side is faster after all.”
Derflinger muttered.
“What to do?”
“You should know what to do. It is your work to stop that tornado, Gandálfr.”
“My wha-?”
Saito’s face twitched. Yet, he was not scared. The hard-handed courage shook his whole body.
“No, I wonder.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you scared of such a huge tornado?”
“It may be so. You misunderstood, Gandálfr. Your work is not to attack the enemy but to defend your master while the spell is chanted. This is your only work.”
“But it’s not easy.”
“You gain the courage while hearing your master’s spell. Your face reddens, you want to laugh out loudly, your pulse quickens. This all has a reason.”
“I leave it to you,” Kirche muttered.
Tabitha watched Saito's face.
“Easy victory.”
Saito muttered, “I am the familiar of Void.”
Wales and Henrietta’s spell was completed. The huge tornado of undulating water flew towards Saito and the others. Though it was huge, it was also surprisingly fast.
It was like a castle of water. A castle of water that was swirling around viciously and trying to swallow them.
Grasping Derflinger, Saito dashed towards the tornado using dancer’s steps and pushed Derflinger into the core of the rotating tornado of water.
Though he was almost swallowed, he stood firmly on his feet.
Pain assaulted his body. He could not breathe. The water viciously hit him, tearing his skin off.
However, Saito endured.
His fingernails ripped off.
His eardrums tore.
His eyelids were cut, raging pain ran through his eyeballs.
He could not breathe.
The right arm released the sword as joints broke.
Derflinger was swallowed by the water.
The moment when everything seemed to tumble down, Louise finished her spell.
Even though he could not hear a sound or see anything, Saito could feel it.
“At last, idiot.” Saito muttered and lost consciousness.
Before Louise’s eyes, who completed her spell, a huge tornado raged. However, it didn’t reach her. Saito stood in the middle of the tornado, and she could see him desperately enduring the pain.
Eventually Saito lost to the raging force of nature and crumbled to the ground before the massive waterfall leaving a small gap in it.
Louise bit her lip. Through the gap she aimed her ‘Dispel Magic’ at the enemy.
Henrietta’s surroundings turned into dazzling shining light.
With a thump the body of Wales, who stood next to her, crumbled to the ground. Though Henrietta tried to run up to him, she lost consciousness as completion of the spell took all of her willpower and she toppled to the ground.
All at once, she was wrapped in silence.
Epilogue
Henrietta lost consciousness for a while, but she woke up to a voice calling her name.
Louise was peering at her worriedly.
The rain had stopped. The grass nearby was wet and enveloped by a cool atmosphere.
It was as if the violent battle just now was a lie, Henrietta thought.
However, it wasn't a lie. Wales' cold corpse was laying beside her. The other cold corpses were scattered around her. It was the end of the ones who were given fake life by Ring of Andvari. By Louise's “Dispel Magic”, the fake life disappeared and they returned to their original forms, though Henrietta did not know the reason. It was just that, she felt that the things that needed to be had returned to where they should be. And, that was enough for now.