Chapter 96 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 28: Return (1)

Saiel remembers.

She remembers the crazy man who handed her a bow and arrows and told her to shoot at him.

She remembers the man who, as if he knew her better than she knew herself, pushed her forward, trusting in her destiny.

“I still don’t know much about him.”

Saiel clenched her teeth. Her green eyes shone brightly, literally sparkling with magic.

Aten's eyes widened at the sight.

‘…a spell…’

Basic Magic 1

High Speed

Mana Infusion

With a roar, Saiel's mana surged, quickly repairing the ice wall Aten had created.

“Phew, phew, I can take a breather now.”

After filling the gaps in the barrier, Saiel panted heavily.

Aten, unable to believe the scene, looked again.

‘…She cast a spell she hadn’t learned, and she did it while using mana.’

Although it was just one additional spell, Aten, as a mage, knew how unbelievable this was.

“Right, where were we? Oh yeah! I still don’t know much about him!”

Saiel forced herself to regain her composure and placed her hands on her hips.

“I’m not running away because I value my life!”

Saiel's voice was resolute.

Aten, with his white eyes, looked at Saiel and then beyond the barrier.

“…Right, right.”

Aten nodded. Having witnessed Frondier's near-death, he could only empathize deeply.

“Well, even if Frondier is coming back, we can’t see him from here. We can only hear from the knights on top of the barrier.”

Saiel snorted, and Aten gave a bitter laugh.

“Ri… right…?”

As Aten agreed, his eyes slowly turned to the distance.

As Saiel said, Frondier can't be seen from here. Frondier had gone somewhere beyond the barrier, and this is inside the barrier.

Frondier, riding Kassian, would be blocked by the barrier and wouldn’t be visible.

But then, what is that?

“What is it, Aten? What are you looking at—”

Following Aten's gaze, Saiel stopped speaking.

Their first impression of what they saw was that their necks hurt a bit. Their gaze was directed upwards.

Something was rapidly approaching from the distant sky, higher than the barrier.

It looked very much like Frondier, but they couldn’t call out his name.

If that really is Frondier.

He’s flying in the sky.

“Oh, that…”

Some soldiers also noticed it. Their expressions were similar to Aten's and Saiel's.

Clearly, it looked like Frondier, flying in the sky, holding some kind of hammer in one hand.

They didn’t show joy or happiness but rather looked at it with faces contorted as if they had seen a monstrous creature.

It held something like a sword in its empty hand, the one not holding the hammer.

“…What is that?”

The last voice was Lidwe.

Frondier, holding a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other,

flew down from the sky.

* * *

After emerging from the forest, I spoke when the barrier came into view.

“Selena.”

“Yes.”

“I know you wanted to ride. Kassian.”

“Oh, yes?”

“From now on, you hold the reins. Head straight for Teyvan.”

After saying that, I gauged the distance and slowly spoke.

“…Menosorpo.”

I scanned the area with my eyes. This should reach the front of the barrier.

Weaving (織造), Black River (黑川)

Rank - Main Deity

Mjolnir

I gripped Mjolnir and extended it forward.

“Wait, just a moment, ah—!”

Selena said something from behind, but it was too late.

I manipulated Mjolnir, soaring straight into the sky.

The flight using Menosorpo and Mjolnir. I was worried it might only work in water, but fortunately, Mjolnir supported my weight even above the ground.

I flew straight toward the barrier. The wind brushed past my ears, and the weight of the wind passed over my face and shoulders. The first flight was a rather strange sensation.

‘…Good. The barrier hasn’t collapsed yet.’

I was momentarily dazed by the overwhelming number of monsters but felt relieved to see the barrier still standing.

Aten and Saiel must have been doing their best. The knights, soldiers, and prisoners too.

A ‘general offensive’ means that most of the monsters in the area are concentrated at the barrier. Especially, powerful monsters would be at the front, trying to break through.

Lidwe von Urpa would probably handle most of them, but the numbers are overwhelming.

If I can wipe out the densely packed powerful monsters now, we can protect the barrier. We don’t need to kill all of them.

‘Then, where.’

What if I infuse all of this ‘handkerchief’-sized piece of Penelope’s cloth into Excalibur.

I gripped Excalibur and poured all my mana into it. The piece of Penelope’s cloth in my mouth disappeared, and I confirmed it was completely gone. Then, I threw Excalibur toward the ground.

─And at the moment I threw it, I felt it.

This was not like a ‘firework,’ but something delicate and precise. It was a pure force of destruction and annihilation that swept over me like a wave.

Even though it had shrunk to the size of a palm, Excalibur, having consumed Penelope’s cloth,

didn’t just slice through the air but tore it apart as it plunged to the ground.

‘Ah, this.’

It was bigger than I thought—

With a whoosh, Excalibur consumed all the air the moment it touched the ground.

And then.

KAAAAAA-!!!

A storm surged. There was no grand principle behind it. The mana contained in Excalibur simply overturned the surrounding area.

My body, which was falling from the high altitude, floated up. It exploded so massively that the flash of light reached beyond the ground.

“Ugh…! C, cough…!”

I couldn’t regain my composure from the gale caused by the sword I threw. I was tossed around in the air.

And then, after that.

Looking down at the ground after the storm swept through the area.

“…Huh.”

I could only describe it as a scene of devastation.

A crater, as if a dragon had bitten it, was etched at the center where I had thrown the sword, and there was not a single monster corpse or drop of blood visible around it.

Far, far away, I had to turn my head a bit from this height to see some parts of monster bodies. Further out, there were limbs torn off and monsters split in half.

‘The, barrier!’

I suddenly realized and turned my gaze to the barrier.

──The barrier was intact. Well, it had some damage. The outer surface of the wall, touched by the storm, had scratches as if it had been clawed.

Even though I had thrown Excalibur from a considerable distance, it still caused this much damage. But it wasn’t a major hit.

‘Good, as long as I land safely now.’

Falling from a high altitude, I spread my hands. I intended to create a shield to land, just like before. If I made several and used them like stairs, I could minimize the impact of the fall,

…But why isn’t weaving working?

I watched as nothing appeared in my hands.

…Hmm.

I had used up all my mana.

‘Excalibur not only consumed Penelope’s cloth but also all the mana inside me.’

I hadn’t expected that. It was my first time using it.

What should I do? If I push myself, I can probably weave a few, but then I’ll just faint from mana exhaustion.

It’s impossible to reach the ground with just one or two weavings…

‘…Oh.’

This is really a big problem.

I inadvertently looked around.

I confirmed the people on the barrier. My gaze fell on Lidwe, who was the highest up.

He was looking at me too, as if he were seeing a monstrous creature, but that wasn’t the important part.

I smiled at Lidwe, a sign of familiarity, and mouthed the words.

-Save me.

Lidwe’s mouth moved in response.

-You idiot?

* * *

Frondier was caught by Lidwe’s magic in mid-air. He floated over like a towel hanging on a clothesline.

“Ah, thank you. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

The first words Frondier said after his feet touched the barrier and he stood properly were those.

Lidwe had many things to say but held back for now. There was a question he needed to ask first.

“So, what now?”

“Huh?”

“It’s good that you came back, but what are you going to do now? That thing you just did, that bombing, was good for getting rid of the monsters, but it almost made the barrier here collapse. Now it’s not a matter of left or right. What will you do when the monsters come again? Will you bomb them again?”

Bombing, bombing.

Frondier quite liked the sound of it. After fireworks, bombing. He should call it that from now on.

“Of course not. There’s a reason I went beyond the barrier and came back.”

“A reason… didn’t you bring back that bombing?”

“Oh, that was just a side effect.”

A side effect?

Not only did he wipe out the general offensive of the monsters, but he also devastated the surrounding terrain, and he calls that a side effect?

“The real thing is this.”

Saying that, Frondier touched the barrier. Mana began to emanate from his body.

…Mana?

“No, wait. Just a moment.”

Lidwe, realizing something, tried to stop Frondier, but Frondier was already ahead.

Starting from the part where his hand touched, the barrier gradually changed.

Scratches disappeared, cracks were filled, and the color of the weathered and eroded wall surface brightened.

“…This, this is…”

The changes spread from the point where Frondier touched, gradually expanding. The range continued to spread, and it gradually became visible to others.

Scattered stones gathered, and fallen pillars stood up again.

The barrier was returning to its grandeur when it was first built. The spectacle was truly a form of ‘restoration.’

“Wow…”

Someone spoke, and the words spread like a wave.

Some people, amazed by the sight that was more like a miracle than magic, sat down on the spot and stared blankly.

“You, you really are, what are you—”

Lidwe, unable to contain his amazement at the scene, was about to speak when

“…Ah.”

Frondier muttered.

“Am I a fool?”

Thud.

And Frondier collapsed. The restoration stopped.

What, what is this, Lidwe rushed over to check Frondier’s condition.

“…Mana exhaustion? That’s why I tried to stop you.”

Frondier, who couldn’t handle falling from the sky, had been caught by Lidwe’s magic and brought here.

A major magic like ‘restoration’ would be impossible right now.

“Are you really a fool?”

Lidwe’s admiration was completely gone.