Under the full moon, though it may not be as grand a description as “like the sun,” the fireball’s light distinctly illuminates the backyard where the witch, the girl, and the iron-masked four-man group are facing each other.
It was the red girl who made the first move.
“There’s no way I’m letting you chant!”
Considering the distance between them, even a beastman with good hearing wouldn’t be able to clearly hear Fiona’s murmured incantation.
However, it’s obvious to anyone with human vision that her mouth is moving. If the opponent is a mage, anyone who doesn’t pay attention to their mouth is quite the amateur.
“Fire Arrow!”
The girl swings her short staff, embedded with a ruby-like red gem at the tip.
There is no sign that she has chanted. In other words, the “Fire Arrow” activates without incantation, as the name suggests.
A silent casting of a low-level spell is one of the skills that an intermediate magician should possess, but considering the girl’s age, it’s reasonable to judge she has magical talent just from that alone.
However, what’s more astonishing is that she has created three blazing fireballs in her hands.
Even one of them is undoubtedly larger than an average “Fire Arrow.”
Simultaneously casting three without incantation, producing large fireballs—was this purely her talent, or was it the performance of the short staff she wields?
In either case, the three fireballs rush toward Fiona, who is still leisurely chanting her spell.
The activated “Fire Arrow” flies through the air, trailing a bright red tail as it seeks to scorch the enemy.
The triple volley of fireballs impacts perfectly, exploding with a roar and illuminating the dark backyard for just a moment.
“Kyahaha! It’s so dumb for a mage to come alone without any front line!”
Without dodging or blocking, Fiona remains completely defenseless as she disappears behind the smoke, receiving the girl’s high-pitched mockery.
“بحزم لمنع الصخور جدار لحماية كبيرة واسعة”
But the next moment, a flowing melody of incantation reaches the girl’s ears.
Parting the curtain of rising black smoke, the pitch-black witch appears.
Her white skin shows no signs of burns, and her black, lustrous hair doesn’t sway even a strand. In other words, she is unharmed.
The blue eyes shining behind her glasses are ever so sleepy, and she doesn’t even seem aware that she’s been attacked.
“Guardian!”
Instead of panic over the flame magic not working, the girl seems more annoyed by the witch’s lack of response.
With a deeply furrowed brow, she commands the two large warrior guardians to charge, a simple yet effective strategy against a mage.
With their dirty white surcoats billowing, the two silent guardian warriors begin to sprint with a speed that belies their massive frames.
Despite wielding the same simple iron longswords, they have more than enough weaponry to kill a single witch. After all, just one of their rock-like fists could easily kill a human.
Their quiet charge, reminiscent of warriors, only increases the eeriness, but in contrast, Fiona does not even register the approaching sturdy warrior in her sight.
She simply steps forward, piercing the girl with her languid gaze as she moves through the black smoke.
This was because her strategy against the warriors had already been set in motion; at this very moment, her incantation had concluded.
“—Rock Barrier”
The activated intermediate defensive magic of the earth attribute would produce a wall of rock, boasting solidity equivalent to an advanced spell due to Fiona’s over-specification.
The point of emergence was the very ground of the backyard that the guardian warriors had trampled with their hard boots.
From there, dual towers of rock over two meters tall shot up to pierce the heavens, completely covering their giant forms.
“What, what is this?!”
Only the girl voiced her surprise; the two warriors trapped within the rock prison remained silent.
Only the sound of their limbs striking the hard rock walls could be heard as they attempted to break through the sudden obstruction ordered by the girl.
Of course, even a powerful minotaur zombie would take some time to escape this prison, so a mere human warrior has no chance of breaking out faster than a monster.
Thus, having successfully bound the frontline warriors, Fiona slowly approaches without taking her gaze off the girl.
“Ugh, fire—”
Deprived of her reliable front line, the girl had no choice but to rely on her dubious attack magic once more.
The previous incantation had been a defensive spell to bind the guardian warriors, thus, the witch would need to chant anew to launch her next attack.
As the girl raises her short staff, the witch raises her long staff at the same moment—yet it is Fiona’s “Ainz Bloom” that erupts in flames first.
“No way!?”
She hadn’t even chanted the name of the spell.
No, what is even more astonishing is the size of the overwhelming fireball.
Though her own might be above average, the one approaching her from the witch is easily fifty centimeters in diameter.
They shouldn’t even be compared; her attack magic belongs to the low-level, whereas this is undoubtedly intermediate or higher attack magic—thinking this, the girl’s body is sent flying as she is tossed about by the blast wave and heat.
“Not even able to defend against a non-chanting Fire Arrow, and you call yourself a fire magician?”
As a fellow fire magic user, Fiona couldn’t help but voice her disappointment at the girl’s pitiful state.
However, what deserves praise is the girl who, despite enduring Fiona’s Super Ignis Sagitta, did not become a charred corpse thanks to her high affinity for fire, merely suffering slight burns.
She did not have coloring reflecting the elemental powers of fire in both her hair and eyes for nothing; her physique granted her resistance to heat.
Yet now, such things were not to be boasted about—this was not the situation for that kind of talent.
Settling back down to the ground after a few meters of aerial flight, the girl’s face painted with thick makeup was further smeared by dirt and grime as well as burnt marks, vividly illustrating how her pride had been crushed.
“Ugh, ah…”
As the girl raises her face, groaning in pain—
“ثلاثاء نار متقدة عصا الشعلة سبيرز بيرس”
The witch, standing right beside her, begins to chant a new spell.
The girl can already recognize part of Fiona’s magical prowess, understanding that she is on a level far beyond her own.
With a single non-chanting low-level attack magic having left her in such a state, it hardly bears thinking what would happen if she faced a fully-incanted attack.
“W-wait, please—”
Still looking down at the girl rolling at her feet, Fiona casually swings her long staff and intones.
“—‘Flame Spear’”
Suddenly, two tornadoes of flames erupt.
They arise to envelop the rock prison tower built behind Fiona.
In other words, this isn’t an attack on the girl, but rather a finishing blow for the guardian warriors.
There is no need to confirm their deaths. The only human to withstand this fully in the past was an apostle named Ai.
Thus, the identity-unknown warrior is swiftly dismissed without any clarification of the mystery.
Evidently, clarifying secrets was not Fiona’s job, and she had no need to care at all.
“حرق أعدائنا ، سحقت ، ميتز، ضربة قاسية الحارقة”
And now, she weaves an attack magic intended to finish off the pitiful girl—a spell of enhancement would be more accurate.
Turning “Ainz Bloom,” which would merely serve as a simple bludgeoning weapon if swung, into a one-strike explosive weapon, a mid-level enhancement magic of fire.
“Flame Hammer”
“—Wait! There’s a baby!!”
The long staff, crowned by a fireball, came to a halt the moment that confession was shouted.
In Fiona’s eyes, she saw the girl’s pitiful form, tightly clutching her abdomen.
“Is that the child of that priest?”
“Yes… It’s mine and his child…”
With her head bowed, Fiona could not discern the expression on the girl’s face.
Moreover, given her slender waist, it wouldn’t be early on in her pregnancy; she might very well be spouting nonsense.
But surprisingly, Fiona could trust her words.
Moreover, it wasn’t hard to pick up on her feelings. After all, she too was one of those girls in love.
“Isn’t it a bit much to be pregnant at that age?”
“It doesn’t matter since I love him!”
“You’re in love, are you? I thought you were just seeking comfort.”
“Don’t make fun of me! My love is real!!”
Though she still couldn’t see the girl’s face, she understood from her voice, mixed with tears, that this was a heartfelt confession of love.
A nuanced feeling surfaced, smile forming on Fiona’s face upon realizing the unexpectedly pure love between the boy priest and the fire mage girl.
Receiving her passionate feelings, even through their brief exchange, Fiona spoke with satisfaction.
“That is worthy of being a sacrifice.”
Thus, the lethal Flame Hammer erupted toward the girl.
If Chrono were watching, he would undoubtedly have said, “Nice shot,” as Fiona swung the ignited “Ainz Bloom” with a perfect golf swing form.
Aiming for her side, where the girl cradled the fruit of love.
Scattering charred meat, once again the girl’s body soared through the air.
Her eyes widened in shock, Fiona’s cold gaze met the expression of surprise.
Perhaps she harbored sweet expectations, thinking, “Maybe I’ll be let off.”
The reality was that the force of her body, connected by only a thin layer of skin at her abdomen, was blasted off and crashed into the orphanage wall.
On the dirty white wall that became a canvas, a red flower is drawn with paint mixing blood, entrails, and an unborn child yet to take shape.
However, no one was there to witness that art. Fiona herself, now the only living person in this place, had closed her eyes.
“…What is it, Lily? I’m a bit busy right now.”
Though it may appear she suddenly began speaking to herself, the fact that she addressed someone named Lily meant a telepathic message had reached her mind.
Within the grounds of the orphanage, there was no need to use a crystal disposable communicator; direct telepathy with Lily can be sent and received.
“Eh, is it okay to start the fire now? The test subject… is unnecessary? Ah, I see, then I won’t hold back.”
After finishing her communication, Fiona calmly shifts to her next action.
Though they were not worthy of being called enemies, she had disposed of the nuisance for now. The purpose of her weapon, the “Ainz Bloom,” was finished.
What she took out, in exchange for the pointed hat, was, of course, the forbidden book “Guidance to the Demonic Abyss,” borrowed from the great library of the School of the Gods.
By merely reciting a passage written within it, the prepared sacrifices—namely, the believers who narrowly avoided death due to Lily’s gentle hand—could all be sent to the malevolent god whose location remains unknown.
The preparations had been made to that extent.
In short, Fiona had not merely been lying in wait in the backyard. She had been drawing a magic circle for a wide-area deployment to envelop the orphanage’s buildings, including the chapel, in the flames of sacrifice.
You could say it was like dousing the building in tons of alchemy oil. Once ignited, the flames would swiftly ravage this shabby place with the scorching grip of magic.
“God of Evil, please grant your blessing tonight. I want to return to Chrono’s side soon.”
After voicing such a self-centered request that could hardly be termed a prayer, Fiona, as soon as she received a signal from Lily, promptly lit the fire.
“To all the evil gods—”
December 24, 2012
I apologize, but I will also be taking a break from this week’s Wednesday update. I needed to make significant corrections to the story I was going to post, but I was unable to complete the revisions in time.
I truly apologize for this, following last week’s break.