Leon, Natalia, and Eve.

The three stepped outside the barrier for their mission, while those remaining behind launched a full-scale assault with all their might.

“Either they succeed, or we all die…! Don’t think about what comes next, just pour everything you’ve got into this!!”

“Clear away the lesser demonic beasts!!! Help the three of them get closer to the witch comfortably!!”

Countless heroes gathered their remaining strength, mixed with tears, and unleashed a torrent of fire.

This was the utmost respect they could offer to the noble heroes who willingly sacrificed themselves for them.

Like a salute for their farewell, the attacks shot toward the sky, crashing down with thunderous noise upon the hordes of lesser demonic beasts swelling beyond the heads of the three.

The wall of beasts standing like a fortress crumbled, clearing a path for the trio to advance.

However, even though it was an all-out attack, the sustained battles had already drained a significant portion of the heroes’ strength, leaving only about two-thirds of the path cleared.

The remaining foes still formed a thick wall to protect the witch.

Yet there was someone who decided to lay down her life to break through that still-standing barrier.

“Captain of Astra’s 3rd Squad, Natalia Eloise. I will go ahead and clear a path. Follow me.”

At the moment the heroes’ barrage rained upon the beasts, Natalia was already charging forward.

She knew that if she delayed even a little, the path opened by the heroes would soon be blocked again by the re-emerging beasts, so her movements were unencumbered.

Moreover, she was certain that her daughter, Marin, was also among those firing that barrage.

There was no way she would let their efforts go to waste.

Muttering to herself, Natalia stepped into the territory of magical energy emitted by the witch.

Fssssss—

At that moment, fiery bursts of light erupted around her body, crackling like fireworks.

“I won’t last long… But this is all I can do…”

The protective spells cast by Sylvia, even at the cost of her own blood, were keeping the witch’s magic at bay.

However, like potassium hitting water, the starlight flared up in a fierce reaction.

Fzzzzz—

As Sylvia had mentioned, it wouldn’t last long before it began to be consumed by the witch’s darkness.

“…It’s really happening.”

Seeing this, Natalia let out a wry smile, but it was not merely disappointment at the spell failing to last longer.

She understood how much Sylvia had struggled today and how sincerely she had done her best for them.

The wry smile was simply a realization that once the magic touched her, she thought, “Ah, I really am going to die soon.”

“I can’t last much longer…”

The magical energy emitted by the gluttonous witch was relentless.

Even Natalia, an elite hero, instinctively knew she could not hold out for long.

The blackness creeping over her body confirmed it.

It was warning her to fear and despair at the imminent approach of death.

Yet

“Still—”

Even the darkness that swallowed the starlight could not steal away Natalia’s light.

Her light, more precious than her own life, was behind her.

She stepped forward to protect that light.

Fear, she had long since discarded, along with the tears beside her daughter.

“To think you could stop me with this…”

As determination gleamed in Natalia’s eyes, droplets began to gather around her.

The amount of water collected was roughly enough to fill a large tank.

Had she been at full capacity, she could have created a tidal wave in an empty field, but she too had long used up her strength in battle, so this was the limit of what she could gather now.

But it didn’t matter.

The abilities of a water-manipulating psychic were not determined by the total amount of water they could handle.

With a cold expression, Natalia murmured.

“To dare make my daughter shed tears.”

With her words, the gathered water slowly divided, taking on a specific shape.

What emerged resembled thin blades of water, at a glance.

While there were many, they were merely blades made of water.

Given the material, it was hard to expect cutting power, but—

“I will never forgive you.”

Whhiiing—

With Natalia’s murmur, a sound like a furious swarm of bees began to resonate around her.

The source of the suddenly echoing sound was the water blades created by Natalia.

The reason that sound originated was vibrations.

At that moment, a sharp sound rang out.

It was the sound of the beasts being ripped apart by the vibrating blades.

Like a water jet that cuts through diamonds with ultra-high pressure.

Natalia imbued the fixed forms of water blades with ultra-vibrations, giving them cutting power that surpassed any great sword.

Countless blades had been created.

Of course, using such a level of ability put tremendous strain on Natalia, but—

“Cough, heh heh… I’d never have been able to attempt this unless I was about to die, but here we are…”

To someone already facing death from corrosion, the strain on her body was unimportant.

On the contrary, she fully released the limiter she had previously imposed on herself to protect her body.

Even if her brain screamed in agony and her blood vessels threatened to burst from excessive strain.

She focused only on creating blades to clear away the enemies in front of her.

Having created the highest quality result of her life, Natalia smiled broadly.

‘With this, magic won’t intimidate me, right?’ she thought, showing off to her rival watching from behind.

At that moment,

“In battle, I won’t lose either.”

The blades Natalia had forged shot forth toward her enemies.

-■■■!!!

-■■■■■!!

It was a storm of blades that tore apart everything in their path.

The blade storm advanced.

The lesser demonic beasts that had been blocking the long road to the witch were simply crushed to shreds amid their horrified screams.

The fierce storm that ground down all the beasts stopped only when it touched the body of the gluttonous witch.

Despite its will to land a hit on the witch, the water blades flew around haphazardly.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!

As the witch let out a sound of annoyance, they suddenly lost their form in midair and collapsed.

It was due to Natalia, the caster, reaching her limit.

“Cough…”

No longer able to maintain her power, Natalia fell to the ground, checking her body.

A quick glance revealed that her entire body was almost completely darkened.

It was only natural since she had exhausted her strength attacking and hadn’t resisted the magic.

In her vision, where the red light covering her eyes was gradually darkening, she captured the last moment of what she had achieved.

Regardless, it seemed she had indeed cleared a path directly to the witch.

Had she accomplished the task assigned to her?

That was fortunate, but—

Still, she had hoped to at least leave a scratch on the witch before going.

But that turned out to be impossible.

The witch remained unscathed and intact.

Despite the desperate blow she had unleashed at the cost of her life, Natalia had dealt no injury at all.

This realization left her feeling somewhat hollow.

All the training, the efforts she had made.

The countless blood and sweat she had poured out felt utterly meaningless in the face of the witch’s overwhelming strength.

Yet, as she closed her eyes thinking she had fulfilled her mission of clearing a path to the witch, she found—

“…Ah.”

She involuntarily sighed at the sight that entered her field of vision.

Surrounding the gluttonous witch.

In the air above that area, Natalia could already see the magic coalescing.

It was a harbinger of the demonic beasts’ emergence.

Why? They had just dispatched them, so why were they coming back so quickly?

Was it because the concentration of magic was higher near the witch, making the beasts appear more quickly?

At this rate, within the next 10 seconds—or rather 5 seconds—more beasts would emerge and block the path again.

If that happens, everything she had done, everything she had sacrificed her life for…

Would become utterly meaningless…

In that moment, Natalia was on the verge of despair at the end of her life.

She tried to ultimately give in to the despair that everything she had sacrificed might have no meaning.

But at that moment,

“Well done. You did well.”

A voice rang out.

Natalia turned her head toward the source of the voice.

In her darkening vision, a glimpse of golden light seemed to flicker like a mirage.

Though there was no one visible where the voice had come from, Natalia found herself able to smile.

Indeed, there was no need for despair.

Her sacrifice was not in vain.

For the owner of the voice that had just spoken would need a mere 5 seconds.

With that reassurance, Natalia closed her eyes.

The hero she entrusted her back to was the fastest hero in this world.

The one who follows sound.

Leon Lionel.

As the storm passed through, a golden flash charged forward.