Students and professors flung magic spells to their utmost limit.

It was such a splendid view, a plethora of magic spells spanning all of the attributes melding together and washing over their target. The most eye-catching spells invoked were ceaseless bolts of lightning and flames that raged like an inferno; ground zero almost looked like the crater of a volcano.

What was left of the dormitory area had been obliterated in mere seconds and the air was soon stank of char and smoke.

“Huff, huff… ”

Ronde wiped the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. In just this short bout, he had consumed mana beyond his limit, causing a stiff sense of pain in his mana circles.

*BOOOM*

The shelling of spells continued even while he took a moment to catch his breath. Although the forces gathered by the Hebrion Academy were merely students, they were the best and the brightest across the continent, capable of matching the Imperial army in firepower.

‘… Is it over?’

There was no way any human could survive unscathed from this bombardment. Satisfied they had won, his face suddenly hardened as his eyes darted towards something.

“… !”

His stare was fixed on a group of black shadows that maintained its shape amid the endless bombardment. The Paladins with golden badges, Priscilla’s personal levy formed by the church’s cardinals, were protecting their Saint with their shields.

The magic had not broken through their defenses at all; they had not even burnt Priscilla’s collar. Their impromptu defenses rivaled the preemptively prepared arrays that guarded high-level fortresses.

At the same time, some translucent golden wings had sprouted from behind her back, intermittently covering her forces. They seemed to be frequently getting healed and restored by the second.

“It’s so pathetic.”

Priscilla mumbled to herself with a subdued tone. Ronde felt a sense of dread and fear after making eye contact with her by accident.

“Obstruct their path!”

Hersaint-Blanc bit his lower lip and shouted while looking at Priscillia’s entourage. Immediately, walls made of soil and ice encaged the Artemis Church members, but it was not enough to even slow them down. As one of the cardinals shook his hand there was a blast that demolished the walls in an instant. They started moving out of the dormitory area, striding through the constant magical shelling.

They soon took their first steps in the business district. *BAAAM*

Several magic traps had been activated, placed in advance on the off-chance the Artemis Church managed to escape the Shadow World and attempt to maneuver around the Academy. Unfortunately, they proved to be useless: even when the traps pierced their defenses, injuries inflicted were rapidly recovered.

As they maintained the situation with a belt and braces, the Hebrion Academy non-stop spell shelling began to weaken and slow. Their mana had run low.

Finally, Priscilla, who had been staying rather passive until then, made a move. She flicked her hand in front of her. One of her cardinals, Ninahart, stepped forward. He thrust out his hand and moved it as if he was grasping something. “… ?”

Ronde seemed to question this action. It was only to be expected though, as they expected some kind of flashy display of supernatural power, but nothing happened.

Then they noticed. “What’s that?!” “Giant hands… ?”

There was rumbling from behind. Ronde turned around to check and soon realized the cause of the commotion.

*THUMP*

There were giant hands made out of unknown translucent material. The hands gripped and tore at the barrier that encompassed the main campus of the academy.

*Shatter*

A large crack had appeared on the defensive magic that Professor Bridgette had made with her heart and soul. It looked ready to shatter at any moment.

“My goal is not you people but this land.” Oddly, everyone could hear Priscilla’s whisper. “Leave. We won’t chase you if you step back now.”

It was not a bad offer for the students and staff of the Hebrion Academy. All of their meticulous planning had come to naught and they had no other means to resist.

Perhaps it would be best to step back now. “… ”

Professor Bridgette clenched her fist.

Seemingly, it was a generous offer, but the reality of this was different. If they backed off, they could sustain their lives for a brief moment, but the consequences were likely worse than death itself.

They had to resist until the end. ‘But how?’

Most of them were absolutely terrified due to the overwhelming power of Priscilla and her cardinals. Heading them off was already beyond their capacity, facing them in these circumstances was suicidal. They needed a turning point that they could use to reverse this situation. A very powerful ploy.

‘What should I… ’

She shut her eyes tight, unable to think of a way. *Bzzt*

A unique wave passed through her. ‘Detection magic?’

But there was something strange about the spell. The way the mana behaved was obscure; though it definitely spread out as detection magic would, a Fifth-Circle magician like Bridgette was able to discern that the mana was not there to detect them.

She turned her head towards the source to see a massive blinding light had appeared on the other side of the auditorium, eliminating the darkness while dispersing waves of mana.

There was only one living magician that had such a bizarre relationship with mana. ‘Desir.’

He had arrived. Anyone who saw the strange phenomenon and enormous mana waves in the sky realized it without further prompt. Their falling resolve began to harden again.

Bridgette took a step forward.

“We will not give up until the very end.”

A magic array unfolded in front of her, unleashing a storm that ripped the giant hands into pieces.

That was the sign. *BAAAAM*

Another blast and explosion occurred.

The Hebrion Academy, which had just been about to crumble, continued their all-out offensive.

* * *

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A southerly wind washed over the area, carrying the ripe scent of blood. Guiltian watched the battle closely with his stern eyes.

It was a cruel war. The air felt heavy. The smell of blood and screams pressured his whole body, as if he had been plunged into deep water.

They had been able to block the Artemis Church for this long, mainly due to the efforts of two people.

Raphaello Cheriger and Jean Euremrin.

Without these two Royal Guards, the defensive line would have been destroyed already.

But this would not last long. They indeed had superhuman powers compared to others, but they were also only humans with limits. It was impossible for two people to hold off an entire military on their own.

‘Perhaps my judgment is wrong.’ Guiltian looked around.

There were people who escaped after being taken hostage by the Artemis Church. Though their war situation had significantly worsened, thousands of lives were able to make it here safely thanks to Raphaello and Jean.

As the worried citizens and soldiers gazed at him, Guiltian figured out something. ‘I was not wrong.’

I'm going to protect everyone.

That was the greater cause he decided to take. He was simply following the principle someone taught him long ago but had, until this moment, long forgotten.

This Empire was no exception. *Shing*

Guiltian agonized about it for a while and pulled out his sword, shouting. “Get ready to open the gate!”

His decision was very bold. He was effectively saying that his side would give up the single advantage they held in this war.

“Join the Royal Guards and support them!”

However, that was the most reasonable strategy he could employ at the moment. The most powerful force they had was the Royal Guards. Losing those two people would likely mean losing the chance to win entirely. In other words, as long as those two survived, victory was still possible.

“We’re ready to sortie.”

Swan Katarina reported with her head down.

Guiltian gently looked at what she held in her hand. It was a bow. Feeling her king’s gaze, Swan chuckled.

“I’d like to try my best for my last duty.” Last.

In a way, she was not wrong.

Guiltian turned his head away without saying anything, and Swan stood next to him after taking his implicit approval.

The time for action having arrived, the gate to the fortress spread wide open.

With his enemies ahead of him and his faithful allies beside him, Guiltian felt a small smile sneak its way onto his lips. He raised his sword in declaration.

“The Empire is… ”

The sword engraved with the lion symbol glowed with mana and emitted light. “Undying.”

*Swoosh*

A wave of mana scanned them at an outrageous speed. Before the combatants could question it, they got their answer.

*Whoosh* “What… ?”

It suddenly brightened, the light emanating from a nearby source.

Their surroundings had been pitch black since it was the middle of the night. Until now, there had only been glimpses of light from the glow of magical shelling. The phenomenon occurring now was beyond any such trifle.

[Earth Nourishing the Sun]

One single dot that rose from the darkness grew in size and emitted heat that seemed commensurate with its incredible size.

Someone had created a star. *BOOOM*

The blast resounded far and wide. The huge cross, which had not trembled in the slightest against the constant shelling so far, began to thrash around wildly.

As though mirroring the sun, it too began to give off a bright light. Perhaps this was it ramping up to full speed.

The plains were swept by the shock caused by the clash between the star and the cross. The moment the light disappeared and the darkness was about to consume everything once again, the Glance of the Father was revealed. It had unsightly cracks all over it like a glass that was at risk of breaking at any moment.

The spell that had been released was the same draconic magic used to kill Dadenewt in Prillecha. Originally, this Glance of the Father had been made to counter spells of the magnitude witnessed during that event.

If there was another attack of this caliber, it was obvious that the Glance of the Father would completely shatter; but due to the nature of draconic magic, being able to resist a single spell meant that the effort spent creating it had been worth it. They would not be able to break the cross: the Artemis Church had won.

But then.

Some sharp-sighted people realized that the residual sunlight was not scattering; rather, it was gathering somewhere else.

Something immediately streaked towards them.

[Arrow of Ruin]

The sky was divided and the cross split in half.

Everything in the path of the flash of light was incinerated.

The Glance of the Father and airships included.

Even sound itself.