“Ha—”

“Ah, huh—?”

Understanding couldn't keep up.

After all, there hadn’t been a magical beast in this place just moments ago. It wasn’t that the constant rain had hidden it or that poor visibility had led to an oversight. A magical beast of this size was simply impossible to miss.

Something this enormous.

The very thought that a creature tall enough to reach the second or third floors of a building could have gone unnoticed was absolutely—

“Dodge!!”

“—!!”

If it weren’t for Icca’s voice, she would have been crushed then and there.

Klaha leapt—putting as much strength as possible into jumping in the opposite direction from where Icca was. It was a reckless leap with no thought for the consequences, sending her headfirst into the ground, rolling, mud seeping into her mouth and eyes, making her gag.

And then—

A deep, earth-shaking sound.

With only her right eye barely retaining visibility, Klaha looked—at the destruction left in the place where they had just been standing.

The very ground had been torn away, leaving not even the roots of the bamboo that had once stood there.

That place, now a barren patch of land.

If they had been just a second slower—

They would have been crushed, their bodies flattened along with their insides, reduced to nothing more than part of that ruined space.

And now, that magical beast—

Its massive body turning, snapping the bamboo in its path—

It was coming to kill them once more.

“Icca-san!!”

This time, Klaha was the one who called out first.

Wiping the mud off her face in one quick motion with her sleeve, not caring if it scraped her skin—then signaling Icca to dodge left with her fingers while she herself moved right.

Another deep, reverberating sound.

The ground trembled under the charge of the massive bull-like beast.

Even as she dodged, the sheer force of the wind shook her, making her skin tingle painfully. The exposed surface of her cheek was torn open, a bead of blood mixing with the mud. Klaha quickly washed it away with a handful of rainwater.

A wound and pain of this degree—right now, she didn’t even feel it.

But still.

If she took a direct hit—

The mouse-like Gate Beasts were nothing compared to this.

A shiver—like boiling water being poured down her spine—ran through her.

“I—I will—”

“I’ll buy time!!”

Cutting her off, Icca roared.

“Klaha-san, contact the town! Without the seniors here—”

They couldn’t win.

Even without saying it, the meaning was clear. And yet, there wasn’t even enough time to voice it.

Another charge.

Icca had to dodge it.

And even after dodging—

“Damn—”

The magical beast wasn’t going to use the same trick three times. Realizing that they were focused solely on evading, it swiftly changed tactics.

That is—

Seeing Icca roll to evade, it suddenly halted its massive body.

Without relying on momentum, purely through its raw leg strength and weight—

It prepared to stomp him into the ground.

“〈Leap, High〉!!”

Klaha’s chant made it in time only because she had encountered situations like this before.

A spell she had used back when she was a supporter at The Next Summit—a magic that violently raised the ground beneath an immobilized or injured person, launching them into the air to move them out of danger.

The only flaw—

With a single incantation, Klaha couldn’t provide a cushion for the person being launched.

But—

“—Hah!”

For Icca, that wasn’t a problem.

If he could be thrown by Ziel and still land with a somersault, this kind of evasive maneuver was nothing to him. He flipped in midair, adjusted his posture, and landed safely, putting distance between himself and the magical beast.

But still.

That wasn’t equilibrium—it was merely ‘narrowly escaping by luck.’

“Guuuuuuu…”

In the darkness, a massive, muscular form loomed.

Its body was built beyond anything a human could hope to contend with. Even after those enormous charges, not a single wound could be seen on its hide.

The Gate Beast let out a low growl.

And then, from its head—

A pair of massive horns, positioned low to the ground, aimed forward.

Blocking off any escape route.

Klaha instantly understood.

No matter how skilled Icca was, in this position, there was no way he could dodge the charge at that speed. Even if he leapt into the air, the Gate Beast could simply swing its head upward, leaving him defenseless mid-air—skewering him, tearing his slender torso in two.

A perfect killing range.

Klaha recognized it.

“—Go.”

And Icca—

His trembling voice, his arms—

Surely.

Surely, he understood it as well.

“Wait! If you go, then—Icca-san, you’ll—!”

Klaha desperately tried to think of a way out. She racked her brain. What could she do? How could she possibly save him from this fatal situation?

“I know.”

Icca’s arms—his magic sigils crackled faintly.

Could he use that? No, he couldn’t—his recovery was too recent, his output was clearly lacking. Besides, Gate Beasts weren’t something he could handle just because Ziel had done it. There were reports of some being stronger than Insto. Not to mention, there was also the issue of ‘phasing’—even if he attacked recklessly, it wouldn’t help.

“If you know that—!”

The Gate Beast bent its knees slightly, preparing to charge.

Could she attack from here? Fortunately, the Gate Beast had its back turned—no, that wouldn’t even be a consolation. Even if Icca’s magic sigils couldn’t reach it, she had no firepower strong enough to break through. Then at least a distraction—was there something she could do? A gust of wind, some way to make it shift its focus, even for a second—

"Even so, please... Please..."

There was nothing.

Nothing at all.

"Run away——I don’t want anyone else to die because of me."

"GROOOOAAAHHH!!!"

The beast roared.

To unleash its fatal strike.

The large, sharp horns, spread wide, were now cloaked in black magic. A destructive power far greater than before was imbued within them. There was no way to take this head-on and expect to survive.

And yet—

"Ooooohhhhhhh!!"

Icca stepped forward, grabbed hold, and pushed back.

It was, in a way, a rational and ideal move.

He fully ignited his magic crest but did not release it as lightning. Instead, he likely converted all the magic within him into physical strength. With that power, he intercepted the minotaur before its charge could fully manifest—before acceleration and destruction could merge—stopping it at the outset.

If the goal was to grapple the opponent and overpower it with sheer force—

Icca's movement was undoubtedly the optimal solution.

"Ghh... ughhh!"

"Gahh... UUUUHH!!"

And yet, unfortunately—

Even the optimal solution was not enough to overpower this beast.

On the muddy ground, neither of them could firmly plant their feet.

That fact worked in Icca’s favor, but even so, the cruel reality was beginning to show. His arms, unable to withstand the immense pressure, were starting to buckle, his knees trembling under the weight of the beast pressing down from above.

Watching this—

Klaha was faced with a simple equation.

One versus two.

Which was greater? Which number was smaller? Which loss was the lesser burden? Which was—

Which was the correct choice?

Klaha understood.

"To the powerless, grant arms of steel!"

And knowing that—

She chose the wrong answer.

"What are you—!"

"GRUAAAAHHHH!!"

Just for a moment—

For just the briefest moment, the magic embedded in Klaha’s incantation pushed Icca forward against the Gate Beast.

The sheer force of their contest—too immense to endure—caused Icca’s arms to start bleeding. But even seeing that, even as she watched it happen, Klaha continued casting both healing and reinforcement spells at once, scooping up every last scrap of magic she had, scraping the very bottom of the well—

"...My request is this, too."

She knew exactly what she was doing. She understood that stubbornness here had no meaning. It had no strategic significance. Reporting this battle to the town would be far more useful to others. There was no reason for her to be here. Nothing. She was expending the last of her magic, blood dripping from her nose, her head burning hot like a fever, clouded, useless, trash, pathetic, a fool who might as well be dead, someone who had finally, after all this time, made the obvious wrong choice, with no face left to show anyone—

But still.

No matter how miserable she was—

"I don’t want to run away anymore!!"

She screamed.

And at the moment when Icca’s magic crest flared its brightest, when Klaha’s strengthening spell reached its peak—

"Uoooooohhhhhh!!"

"Gah—!"

The giant bull—

Floated in the air.

"UAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Icca screamed as well.

He screamed—and, gripping only its horns, lifted the beast’s entire body—

And with sheer brute force, hurled it towards the mountain.

"GRUAAAAHHH—!!"

The massive bull roared as it crashed into the ground, toppling trees, skidding across the muddy earth, rolling far away.

It was the perfect moment to follow up with another attack.

But—

"Ugh... ah..."

Having watched it go, Icca collapsed onto his knees, then slumped forward.

There was no strength left in him.

"Icca... san..."

Klaha once again tried to reach him.

She wiped her face with the rainwater running down, stumbled twice, and finally made her way to him.

She slipped her arm under his shoulder, trying to help him up.

"Ah—"

But the same thing happened to her.

She had no strength left, either. She crumpled into the mud.

Even trying to get up was futile—she hadn’t exhausted her muscles, no. She had simply overused her magic. Casting spells beyond her own capabilities—her brain burned with heat, refusing to let her body move as it should.

Even her breathing was becoming unsteady.

She forced her fingers to clench, but all they could grasp was the mud.

"...Why,"

A voice beside her muttered.

"Why did you protect me?"

It wasn’t an accusatory tone. Or was that just an illusion?

Was it only the faint, desperate hope that someone might acknowledge her choice?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know anymore, so she could only say what was on her mind.

"Because... I didn’t want to abandon you."

"...What is that supposed to mean?"

There was the soft sound of something hitting the mud.

Before long, Icca seemed to have barely managed to straighten himself—his voice came from slightly above her.

"Icca... san... the town..."

"Sorry. I can’t. My inner reserves are completely drained."

Footsteps.

They were approaching again.

Heavy, unmistakable footsteps—those of the very beast they had just thrown.

Klaha forced her head up and caught sight of it.

For some reason, it was injured.

Since the rats, not even Ziel had been able to wound a Gate Beast after fighting for hours. But now—

This one had been wounded by a simple throw.

For some reason.

Did Icca possess some special power?

Or was it—

A thought she had, one that would never reach anyone, one that would never be answered.

But eventually, even those thoughts came to a halt.

Because Icca spoke.

“You know, Klaha-san.”

He no longer showed any sign of movement.

Was it because he understood that moving would be meaningless... or simply because he no longer had the strength to move? From Klaha’s perspective, she couldn’t tell.

“There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while.”

“………Yes.”

The giant ox lowered its stance.

It was preparing to charge at them once more... taking a stance like that. Though its body was wounded, its massive horns remained unscathed, without so much as a single scratch.

“I’m sorry for saying you weren’t that strong.”

It was still some distance away.

But for a creature with such leg strength, that distance was barely anything at all.

So, knowing that only a moment remained,

perhaps that’s exactly why he said it.

“Thank you. For not abandoning me… I was happy.”

He had no idea.

Just how much those words had been longed for.

And that’s why, even as Klaha tried to rise—

“—Damn, kids these days sure are modest.”

That voice appeared in an instant.

There was no way. That was the reflexive thought.

Because it was a voice she had never heard before.

A human voice.

Turning toward the direction of the sound—toward the noise of something heavy hitting the mud—there was a large bundle placed on the ground.

Still lying down, Klaha tried to twist her neck to see the person’s face, but the hood of their rain gear blocked her view, making it impossible.

“If you’re really in trouble... wouldn’t it be fine to just yell ‘Help me’ or something? Huh?”

He was an incredibly tall man.

Even the boots barely visible at the edge of her vision seemed almost twice the size of her own. His body was thick like a boulder—of all the people she had seen before, even compared to Godach in his armor, this man was enormous.

There was no way she could forget someone this conspicuous.

And yet, she didn’t recognize him. Meaning he wasn’t from the dojo, nor from the town.

“R-run…”

And so, she understood.

This position—northeast—was in the direction of the main road.

Much narrower than the path she and Ziel had taken, but if a confident traveler had chosen to walk here, it was possible they had simply stumbled upon this commotion.

“Run? Me?”

The man did not stop walking.

Klaha thought, This is bad. Just from his physique, it was clear he was strong to some degree… but that alone wouldn’t be enough. Of all the people here, only Ziel and Chikano could truly stand against this kind of beast.

“You can’t… win…”

“You’re joking, right?”

The man drew a small sword from his waist.

It wasn’t that his large frame made it seem small—it was actually small. A dagger. A blade no different in size from that.

He drew it.

And Klaha couldn’t believe that something like that could win.

“Icca, stop him—”

Somehow, she had to stop him.

Hoping Icca still had more strength left than her, she turned to look at him—

But Icca was frozen, as if he had just seen something impossible.

“Huh—?”

Klaha, too, was stunned.

“Guuuuh…!”

“Maybe you kids don’t know, but—”

The man casually flipped the small sword in his hand.

It was probably some kind of magic or enchanted artifact.

That was the only explanation.

“Adults exist to stand at the front when times like these happen. That’s why we’re born earlier.”

Because in that very instant—

Before even a blink—

Somehow, that dagger had transformed into a giant sword.

Something that, for someone like Klaha, would be impossible to even lift.

Yet the man effortlessly rested it on his shoulder.

“Gooooooh—!!”

The giant ox finally charged.

But he didn’t flinch.

Not even slightly.

And he murmured—

“—Secret Sword.”

The sky fell.

Klaha took time to even understand it was an illusion.

The impact of the descending greatsword—it was an experience so overwhelming that her senses had no other way to interpret it.

A roar. A tremor. The mountain at night, split apart.

A force that seemed to flatten the very land, as if the heavens themselves had fallen.

The sheer impact was so great that it stripped every raindrop from every leaf on the mountain.

All of that—

All of that had been accomplished with a single swing of that sword.

As the scattered rain and mud settled, revealing the scene once more—

Only one person was still standing.

The Gate Beast had fallen.

Split clean in two.

“Heavensfall—... Damn it, there goes my back again!”

In stunned silence, Icca murmured a name.

And Klaha heard it.

Valdfried.

Ziel’s master’s name.