A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

Right. In all the time of musing about Kanaki, Xenia had totally forgotten about it. By now, it was about time for Matthias to phase into the final stage of the operation.

Under the plan that had preliminarily been formulated, Matthias would disguise himself as a wounded man, and Lloyd Amalfi (a young man from the Garrison Corps who was patrolling the suburban area with a senior corpsman), whom Xenia was controlling, would enter the hospital under the guise of bringing in the wounded but…

Well, the outcome would be revealed soon enough.

Despite the strategy they had devised for themselves, Xenia did not reckon that this would be adequate to reach the Princess’ room with ease. Even if that Matthias was the one fighting, will there be any hope of prevailing while surrounded by such a huge number of magicians during the time the combat was likely taking place around the time he walked through the hospital gate?

“―Uah.”

An inadvertantly peculiar voice issued out.

All five of Lloyd’s senses were accurately transmitted to Xenia by her superior magic, as if she were savoring the sensations herself. On top of the sweltering air in her nostrils and the incessant yells and screeches emanating from Lloyd’s surroundings, red and white flickered in her range of vision.

The main gate of Lilith Central Hospital was a veritable inferno of pandemonium.

“Damn!”

In the midst of the purgatory, one of the magicians in the group drew up his cane. Was a “Flame Blade” set to be released by him? The magician’s head abruptly burst off as the cane’s tip shifted to an arresting fiery hue.

“Hieaaahhh!”

The female magician next to the guy fired a magic bullet without even aiming, letting out a shriek, but Matthias was already out of sight.

By the time the female magician caught on to this, Matthias had already beaten the two magicians on the other side to death.

No, perhaps “beat them to death” was not the accurate word. The fist that struck them sank effortlessly into the victim’s body, crushing the hearts of the two magicians. It was as if the expression “penetrating” was more apt than “beating”―

“That’s enough, you brute!!”

“Oh.”

The spot where Matthias stood was struck by a huge partisan[i] that resulted in a wide crack in the ground.

Retreating back, Matthias focused his gaze on a torrent of pale light.

The man holding the partisan was a massive bald-headed man.

“You are the ‘Soundless Ogre’ from the wanted list huh!? You have murdered many of my men!”

Multiple blue-white electric current sparks were erupting from the partisan in reaction as the man was speaking.

The partisan was not the only thing the electric current passed through; it also transmitted through the ground and the guy’s body. Despite this, the man did not even appear to be affected by the electric current and instead glared at Matthias’ ogre countenance.

There can be no doubt of it. Only one spearman in this city can manipulate such lightning.

He was Shiva Ramerick, a second-class magician and commander of the Garrison Corps in this city.

“You may have Her Royal Highness Princess Ortesia as your target, but I won’t allow you to pass while upholding the reputation of the Garrison Corps!”

The electric current surged even greater as the partisan ascended to the higher level, and a roar broke out.

The Thundering Spear, a magic spear making use of lightning, was said to have slaughtered a wanted person with a rate S- in the past.

He was the second-most problematic foe in this city, just behind Kanaki, and even Xenia didn’t want to get too engaged with him.

“Nuuuun!!”

When the partisan that Shiva had poised in the upper position swung down at high momentum, the lightning that was clad in it imitated the shape of a bird and struck Matthias at the very same speed as a bird. It was an advanced-class magic “Li Thunderbird,” but the magic was activated too swiftly. Perhaps the time to generate lightning from scratch was omitted by employing the electricity that was clad in the Thundering Spear, but Matthias, whose body was powerless to fortify itself with magic, and the means of defending himself against this―

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

Shiva’s head made about three turns.

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

“…Eh?”

No sooner had a dumbfounded voice been raised than Shiva’s “Li Thunderbird” detonated, exploding into the ground. A roar similar to that of a lightning strike was emitted, scorching the spot where it fell.

But that was all. Matthias, who was supposed to be the target, was not present, and he had already seized the practitioner’s head with a single blow. Xenia’s dynamic vision was inferior to her usual state due to manipulating Lloyd’s body, yet even so, the mere shadow of Matthias was not even within her reach.

About two and a half spins later, Shiva’s head was back in its original position. Shiva’s own life, however, was inevitably extinguished, and he collapsed to the ground with a plop. The ensuing silence evoked the impression as if the hubbub that had just transpired was a falsehood.

And then, Matthias’ figure faded away again.

Within that moment, the Garrison Corps plunged into a full-blown frenzy, and this time, Xenia could see him. Matthias leaped upward at once, taking a shortcut to the floor where Karen was.

Matthias flew to the fourth floor in a flash, where Karen was supposed to be, kicked down the windowpane, and then vanished into the building. After a few moments, one of the soldiers who was looking up raised an agitated voice.

“Sigh, I can’t tell anymore from this angle.”

Xenia shut out the sensory information from Lloyd’s five senses, returning him to his original form―a mere corpse.

Back in Xenia’s vision, she checked toward the church and just in time witnessed Fina being propelled away. Although Fina suffered fairly grave wounds, Kanaki too showed no mercy. Was he a sadist, after all?

“―Well, I suppose that doesn’t really have anything to do with me.”

Xenia murmured to herself before jumping down the roof.

The ultimate obstacle, Rain Aldar, will likely be met by Matthias in a short period. Matthias will be slightly at a disadvantage the longer the other side can wait, but he won’t be vanquished, and particularly not by a student. After all, he had just dispatched Shiva in an instant. The gap in ability between Shiva and Rain, who was a second-class magician, was evident. And when Matthias killed Karen, that was when “I” would truly step up to the plate.

Xenia set out for the hospital in a positive frame of mind that almost made her feel like skipping.

——————

T/N:

[i] In case someone mistook it, this is not referring to the partisan with the political meaning. It is the name of a weapon. Here’s the image of the weapon