“Alright! We’ll leave the oni to them and do our part over here! Get fired up!”

A chorus of loud affirmations responded.

Standing beside Valdfried, Klaha felt… just a little nervous.

The strategy had been devised by everyone. But at its core, it was based on her own deductions.

Would it really work as intended? That worry lingered in her mind.

But then—

“Don’t worry.”

As if he had seen right through her, Valdfried murmured in a low voice.

“It’s true that in these twelve days, the Gate Beasts haven’t shown themselves even once… But that doesn’t mean your deductions were off the mark. Not at all.”

“Wait, Klaha, are you nervous?”

Before Valdfried could continue, Icca, standing on Klaha’s other side, jumped into the conversation.

“You’ll be fine!”

With a bright smile—

“I know we can do this! Let’s give it our best!”

He raised his left arm in a cheer—Ei, ei, oh!

Klaha followed suit, raising her arm with an uncertain but determined “Oh!”

“……”

“Huh?”

“Wha—what is it, Master?”

“Nah… Just feels fresh, dealing with kids who aren’t completely jaded.”

Valdfried ruffled their hair roughly, almost grabbing their heads as he did so.

Then he continued—

“They’re scared too, you know. The dragon and bull of the Gate Beasts—they were willing to sacrifice them just to keep the magic mirror talisman hidden.”

“If they were spotted in two places almost simultaneously, unless they had a whole swarm like rats, they’d be easier to expose.”

“Oh, you get it. That’s exactly it. They’ve been holding their breath, hoping we wouldn’t realize their hand had been forced. …But don’t worry, we’re the hunters here. Just focus on making sure there are no slip-ups.”

“…Yes!”

She understood that he was encouraging her.

And so Klaha accepted his words wholeheartedly.

“A Gate Beast has appeared!”

That’s why even the report, though it rattled her, didn’t shake her completely.

“What is it?”

“A tiger! According to Master Ziel, it’s the strongest among existing species—”

“Just as predicted. Which direction?”

“Northeast and southwest! It keeps appearing and disappearing, making it hard to pin down—”

“Bullseye.”

Valdfried grinned.

“I’ll take the southwest. Icca, you’re our main firepower in the northeast.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Listen to those around you and handle it well. Don’t fall. Even if it’s from a distance, pressure them however you can. …And Klaha.”

“Yes!”

“You’ll be on the lookout tower—command post for now.”

Then—

“Move as you see fit. Trust in what you’ve built up and what he’s drawn out of you.”

“—I’ll do my very best!”

“That’s the spirit.”

With that murmured approval, the battle within the town began.

As she climbed the watchtower to take her position, Klaha glanced far into the night-shrouded mountains.

The place where Ziel and Chikano were running toward.

A battlefield, meticulously prepared with countless magic circles thanks to the cooperation of the Magic Federation.

Its name—

An Apocryphal magic mirror and Thirteen Gate Oni extermination zone.

A specialized resonance-based combat field—

Resonating Mountain.

“It’s functioning perfectly—!”

Ziel was sure of it.

As unbelievable as it was, even while sprinting alone, he could still precisely navigate toward his destination.

Relying on Eunice had been the right call.

In his letter, Ziel had shared the mechanics of the Apocryphal mirror with Eunice.

He’d gotten this far. But from here on—

The problem was the necessity of simultaneous extermination.

To defeat a magic beast under the magic mirror’s influence, unless the battle took place in the town center, two powerful fighters had to be positioned at two separate locations.

And they had to land the killing blow at the exact same moment—to block any escape route.

Gate Beasts were still manageable.

As long as he, Chikano, and Valdfried unleashed lethal attacks continuously, they could handle it.

But the real challenge was the Thirteen Gate Oni.

Even for seasoned fighters, repeatedly landing lethal strikes on a mid-tier Apocryphal beast was no simple task.

It would mean fighting with an inherent disadvantage.

That’s why he had begged Eunice for a solution.

And the answer that came back—

This bizarrely massive plan.

“The entire mountain is a communication device—damn, I’m grateful for this!”

The transmission magic that Klaha often used—Eunice fine-tuned it with such precision that even the members of the Magic Federation, who would be executing it, couldn't help but tremble.

Fixing the activation position with magic circles.

Straightening the magic effect path, extending the communication range by limiting transmission and reception points.

Increasing communication speed by severely restricting transmitted information.

And now—

What Ziel saw before him was this:

A vivid path of magic circles, guiding the way through the twilight darkness.

It resonated with the magic circles placed on the symmetric point across the magic mirror—on the mountain in the southwest.

The steps Chikano took over there—

Were now changing light in chronological order, displaying them before him.

All Ziel had to do was follow the exact same path, mirrored, as Chikano had traveled. Just that alone.

"There's no way I can mess this up—!"

Even an insect can move toward the nearest source of light.

In that case, there's no reason why Ziel—who, with his glasses, had more than sufficient vision, and who was, at least supposedly, human—should be unable to do the same.

If Chikano was recklessly dashing through the mountains—Ziel only had to chase after her as if she were right there before his eyes.

And then, from behind—

"Gyaaah!"

"Hmph—!"

Clang! First, they crossed blades.

"Tch, venom spray—!"

The attacking Oni—poison droplets burst forth from its claws, and Ziel swiftly dodged.

One clash, two clashes. Keeping calm, crossing swords as usual, maintaining distance while assessing.

Observing closely, he noticed it more clearly now.

The poison—it seemed to be the same as that of the snake and dragon, which were suspected to be Gate Beasts.

Then, there were the scars left from its battle with Saminato.

On that rainy night, when Chikano and Ziel faced this thing, the scar had been on its left shoulder. But now, it was on the right. Furthermore, even the position of the magic circle—the mark of an Apocryphal Beast—had switched between its left and right eyes.

Klaha’s deduction, and the strategy built upon it—

Seemed to be right on the mark.

"Giii—!"

"Far more fragile than a magic sword... If you’re not going to reveal your trick, I’ll take you down just like this!"

Murmuring Secret Sword, Ziel’s eyes gleamed.

And at that very instant, the Oni vanished. A phenomenon beyond sheer speed—this was Magic Mirror Shift.

That alone—was something Ziel had no way of chasing.

"I'm counting on you over there."

Despite this, he could say it calmly, without hesitation.

Because in the short days leading up to this decisive battle, he had crossed blades and honed his skills against a rival—

So many times, it was almost unbelievable.

"If possible, I would’ve preferred a dragon, you know."

Deep within the southwest mountains, in the dark of night—

At the heart of the battle zone, where the magic circles glowed brightly, known as Resonating Mountain.

A lone woman, sword at her hip, stood.

"Dragons are just more straightforwardly strong, aren’t they? Onis always come with such dreary stories. Plus, it would rid me of that lingering self-consciousness of being a 'failed dragonslayer'."

Before her stood a single Oni.

Just moments ago, it had been battling that very dragonslayer—now bearing an old scar on its left shoulder.

"Gigi!"

With no hesitation, it lunged at her.

But—

"Well, according to the rankings, you’re actually the stronger one, aren’t you?"

Somehow, the woman was no longer in the spot where it had leaped.

Silently, as if she had vanished—before even the blink of an eye, she had already widened the gap.

This was not magic.

But purely the result of martial skill.

"Back when Ziel was still a dragonslayer, he had just barely mastered Secret Sword, so it makes sense... Though, if we include Valdfried-sensei, then maybe—no."

She cut off her own thoughts, deciding it didn’t matter.

With a graceful motion, she drew her blade.

"That night—you should have regretted ever crossing swords with me, even for a moment.

Because—I've seen through you. And I'm going to kill you."

And in the next instant, soundless once more—

Chikano’s blade shot toward the Oni’s neck at terrifying speed.

Two simultaneous battles at separate locations—within Resonating Mountain.

And now, they had begun.