Chapter 56

"Go! Capture the women! You can kill the men!"

At the Guild Master's command, the soldiers and adventurers drew their swords.

Among the adventurers, there were some I had seen in the guild hall before.

Probably, there are some I know as well... I wish they hadn't come out.

"...All three of you, if possible, I don't want to kill the adventurers. But—soldiers of the Generate Kingdom are different. Go all out."

The three of them nodded and got ready.

I kept my two-handed sword on my shoulder.

Shal held her staff, preparing to cast a spell.

Al stood in front, holding his shield and sword in a defensive stance.

Natalie held her staff, ready to cast a spell.

I raised my left hand, and about twenty fireballs, each the size of a head, floated up from it.

The fireballs burned with a bluish-white flame, a high-temperature fire.

I had tried an application of chemistry when I was alone, and it worked immediately.

The soldiers, who had never seen such a color, gasped and took a step back.

Although the size of a fist is generally common, it's not something I, a sage, can't do.

The adventurers also seemed to become more cautious when they saw the size of the fire.

"If you're going to fight... you understand, right? I'll take you seriously."

I released a full blast of killing intent.

"Ugh... It's just four of them! Go!"

The Guild Master, who had been intimidated by the killing intent, shouted, and the soldiers came forward with their swords and shields.

I felt regret but still launched the fireballs at the soldiers.

The fireballs, rotating in a spiral, shot straight at the soldiers' shields and destroyed everything in their path.

The shields that received my magic shattered, and the armor burned with a power that rendered it meaningless.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

In one spell, more than ten soldiers fell to the ground. Even after the fire disappeared, the smell of burnt flesh dominated the area.

The soldiers who avoided direct hits swallowed hard, thinking it could be their turn next.

Then, Shal and Natalie cast their spells.

"O Spirit of the Wind, lend me your power and tear apart the enemy before me! Vacuum Blade"

"O Flame, rage as I command. Consume everything before me! Flame Tsunami"

Multiple blades of wind appeared and tore through the soldiers. A wall of flame, three meters high, formed and swept through the soldiers like a tsunami.

When the magic disappeared, fewer than half of the soldiers were still standing.

Thanks to their concentrated targeting of the Generate Kingdom soldiers, most of the soldiers were on the ground.

Originally, Natalie was the highest level in the Lunette Empire, and Shal has also become high-level through training with me.

There's no way they would lose to ordinary soldiers.

The remaining soldiers took a step back, probably intimidated by the power of the magic.

"Could you be... that hateful witch who appeared in our country's battles and caused great damage...?"

A man from the Generate Kingdom shouted. I couldn't help but look at Natalie and ask.

"Natalie, are you called a witch? The man shouting said so."

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, I remember being called that. I was casting spells on the battlefield back then."

I couldn't help but chuckle at Natalie's words and turned back to face the front.

"Do you still intend to come after us...? If you do, be prepared. The next time will be for real."

As I said this, I floated more fireballs around me, and this time there were over fifty.

Natalie couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, that's amazing," but I ignored her.

At that moment, one person stepped forward from the adventurers waiting behind.

A female warrior with a provocative figure, wearing only essential armor—Lumina.

"—Lumina..."

I couldn't help but say her name aloud.

"What is it... Do you know her? Toya, do you... like that kind of busty woman?"

I couldn't help but laugh at Natalie's words.

"We just worked together on a guard request before..."

Natalie came over to me.

"Toya, it's been a while. I was forcibly summoned as a high-ranking adventurer in the city, but I didn't expect it to be you..."

"Lumina, it's been a while. Are you going to try to capture us? ...If so, we'll have to fight."

"If possible... I don't want to fight. But, in front of the other adventurers, I can't just stand by and do nothing. You saw the battle just now. We can't win..."

"In that case—"

"Still, someone has to fight."

With those words, Lumina raised her sword and pointed it at me.

"Alright... I'll take you on."

I stabbed the sword I was holding into the ground and took out another two-handed sword from my dimensional storage.

The sword I had been holding until now and the new one were clearly different in their brilliance and beauty.

This was a two-handed sword I had used around level 300, made of adamantite, capable of easily slicing through dragons.

I lightly swung the sword with one hand and pointed it at Lumina.

"To think you have a sword that could be mistaken for a national treasure..."

"Yeah, I have a lot of secrets... But I can't tell you."

Lumina's cheeks relaxed for a moment, but she quickly tightened her expression.

We stood facing each other, swords pointed, and the tension grew.

As the tension continued, a man from the Generate Kingdom shouted.

"How long do you plan to play around!"

At the same time, a fist-sized fireball came at me.

I easily deflected it with my sword.

—That was the signal.

Lumina swung her sword and charged at me.

However, even Lumina, in the end, was just a slightly stronger adventurer.

I instantly swung my sword horizontally, meeting her sword and cutting it in half.

The severed blade flew through the air and landed a short distance away.

"Sorry. I broke it."

"It can't be helped. It was fate. The food that time—was delicious."

I nodded at Lumina's words and then swept my sword horizontally.

If I had cut, her upper and lower body would have separated, but I used the flat of the blade to knock her back ten meters, and she lost consciousness.

Then, I picked up the other two-handed sword from the ground and looked at the soldiers.

"Who's next..."

No one moved in response to my words.

Thank you as always.