“We d—”

Klaha could tell that Icca was about to say, “We did it.”

But he never got to finish the words—he simply collapsed where he stood, swaying unsteadily.

She understood why.

So she rushed over.

She was about to say, “We did it, are you okay?”—but—

“Wait! It’s not over yet!!”

Valdfried’s loud voice rang out.

That shout got Klaha’s thoughts moving again—It’s not over yet. But what?

The Gate Beast had been defeated. The Thirteen Gate Oni—Ziel and Chikano were dealing with them. They would be fine. In that case, all that remained was what had been planned...

“The mirror! The Apocryphal Magic Mirror—it hasn’t been shattered yet!”

That’s right.

Klaha remembered. The destruction of the Apocryphal Magic Mirror. It had already been severed from the ley lines, so Valdfried’s secret sword was supposed to break it, bringing everything to a close.

But before that could happen, the ground trembled.

“Whoa!”

“Wait, what—”

“Get back, all of you!! The ones up top, evacuate now! It’s waking up!!”

No one needed to ask what was causing it.

It was obvious to everyone.

“The magic mirror—!”

Below the watchtower, it had begun to radiate a sinister aura.

Realizing the danger instantly, Klaha sprang into action.

“Blow strong!—Any mages available, help me! We’re evacuating the people from the watchtower!!”

The emergency evacuation using magic was over in moments.

Thanks to that, there were no casualties.

“Wha—”

“Damn!!”

A blinding flash burst from the mirror.

Watching its surface begin to crack, Klaha suddenly understood the reason behind the tremors.

It was the same as the tiger magic beast. When it realized it was going to be defeated, it would rampage to the bitter end. The magic mirror was no different—if it just sat there waiting to be shattered by Ziel and the others, it was game over.

So it unleashed its magic power.

Its final rampage.

And that meant—

“…Oh, come on.”

“…No way.”

Valdfried and Icca muttered.

But Klaha was too stunned to speak.

“WOOOOOOAAAAHHHHH!!”

A beast’s roar.

Not just one.

There they were—the remaining Gate Beasts, those that had yet to be defeated. A rabbit, a horse, a goat, a monkey, a rooster, a dog, and a boar—seven magic beasts in total. None of them matched the tiger they had just slain, but as Apocryphal Magic Beasts, each was formidable in its own right. Most likely, the Apocryphal Magic Mirror had forcibly lifted the seal on their existence. Now, they had all appeared at once.

And that wasn’t all.

“Wh—”

“They’re huge!!”

Valdfried shouted.

They were several times larger than what Ziel had previously reported.

To put it simply—

No matter where you stood in the town, you could see their heads looming over the rooftops.

And—

“They’re headed toward the center!”

“They’ll crush everything!!”

If they surrounded the disciples gathered in the town center...

Their massive bodies would easily flatten them all.

“Master!” “What do we do!!”

“Don’t panic—no, actually, panic! Everyone get behind me! We’re meeting them head-on!”

“Behind you? Where even is that!?”

As Valdfried issued orders and Icca scrambled to direct the disciples, Klaha took in the situation.

“They only appeared from one direction—the mirror’s effect is gone! If we defeat the ones we see, that’s the end of it!”

“Easy for you to say, grand-disciple! Which way do we take our stand?!”

There was no need to hesitate.

She had memorized all the previous beast emergence points during their strategy meetings. The ones already defeated were the rat, ox, tiger, snake, and dragon. They had appeared in the north, north-northeast, east-northeast, east-southeast, and south-southeast respectively—

“If we put our backs to the east—”

“No!!”

The one who shouted was Icca.

Because he, too—having helped with the strategy meetings—had thought the same thing and reached the same conclusion.

But he saw it.

And so, he was able to shout immediately.

“Master, from the east—”

The rabbit, which should have still been at a distance.

But now, it was stomping down with such force that the ground seemed to sink beneath it.

And in a single leap, it was hurtling straight for them.

“—This is bad.”

The rabbit’s massive form eclipsed the moon.

Only a handful of people managed to react.

Klaha and Icca—neither had the firepower left to take down a beast of this scale.

Valdfried—though his secret sword could easily cut it down—let out a pained grunt, bending at the waist for a brief moment, just enough to slow his response.

And so, the beast—the magic beast—

In midair—

“—Oni-Breaking Azure Flash.”

With unparalleled smoothness,

A blade of deep blue bisected the creature.

The rabbit’s corpse crashed to the ground.

Its sheer size made the impact tremendous—so much so that it should have caused shock and fear, especially with the remaining Gate Beasts still advancing from the west.

And yet—

“Still before dawn, huh? Did we wake up an old man early?”

Valdfried smirked.

“Don’t be ridiculous. My early rising has decades more refinement than your average old man.”

“It’s custom-made,” the owner of the blue blade responded, chuckling.

“…Whoa.”

Icca.

And not just him—all the disciples—

The wielder of that blue blade—

The long-haired swordsman who had just awoken from his slumber after the defeat of the Thirteen Gate Oni and had arrived at this very moment.

Everyone was looking at him now.

“Saminato-sensei!!”

“Mm. …Everyone, I made you worry. And you all fought well! I thank you—thanks to you, I’m here like this!”

In an instant, the battlefield was set ablaze with excitement.

Just the return of a single swordsman—

That alone made everyone certain that defeat was no longer an option on this path forward.

And sure enough—

What was about to happen next was nothing less than what that certainty foretold.

“Well now, I suppose I’ll join in for this final stretch—anyone still able to move, follow me! We’ll finish this without a scratch from here on out!!”

“Yes!!” “Form up!” “Let’s go, stay sharp!”

“You bastard… sneaking in to take the best part at the very end.”

“If you’re that bitter, come along, Vald. It’s been a while since we last matched blades. And with that back of yours, you’ve got the perfect excuse if you lose.”

“Big words coming from the guy who got knocked out cold by a damn beast. I’ll beat you down so hard you’ll be out for round two.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

The two veterans traded sharp words, smirks on their faces.

Then, with the still-able disciples in tow, they charged forward.

Klaha stood there, watching them go in a daze.

Somehow, the situation that had seemed utterly hopeless just moments ago—

Had been completely overturned in an instant.

“Klaha-san! I’m going with Sensei!!”

“Ah, yes—ah, Icca-san! Don’t do anything reckless!!”

“Got it!!”

But whether he actually heard her or not was questionable.

Without even turning back, Icca ran to catch up with Saminato.

Something was said to him, and he nearly burst into tears from laughing so hard.

Only after he disappeared from sight did the tension drain from Klaha’s shoulders.

“—Klaha. What just happened here?”

“Wah—”

A sudden voice from behind made her jump.

She turned around—and standing there, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—

“Ziel-san! You’re safe!!”

“Yeah. And I’m glad to see you’re in one piece too. …I was making my way back when Chikano started moving, but somewhere along the way, things got confusing. So I just followed the straight path of the magic circle, and it led me right here.”

“Ah.”

Klaha nodded in understanding.

The route from this place to the mountain—

The mountain that had been used as the Resonating Mountain—

Was marked with magic circles as a guide. Even Ziel, by following them, could find his way back here.

She explained to him, step by step, what had just transpired.

And when he mentioned how things got confusing, she deduced that Chikano must have encountered and engaged a Gate Beast on her way back from the southwest.

Ziel nodded in understanding, then stretched his arms with a small grunt.

“Alright, then. I guess I’ll help out over here just in case. The wounded and the exhausted need to be evacuated, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s the plan.”

“Got it. Looks like they’ve got things handled on that side, so no need to worry. Over here, we can take it easy—”

“……?”

Ziel suddenly stopped mid-sentence and stared at her.

It was a sharp gaze, as if he had noticed something.

Klaha blinked in confusion.

Did she have something on her face?

She reached up with her hand to check.

A faint sensation brushed against her fingertips.

She plucked it off and looked at it.

“……A petal?”

Right at that moment, a collective murmur of awe rose around them.

Klaha and Ziel, startled by the reaction, turned their gazes in the same direction as everyone else.

And there—

“—Mountain sakura.”

“—In full bloom…”

It was a small town in the eastern lands.

A town surrounded by mountains.

Not just any mountains, but mountains that had been waiting to breathe.

Suppressed by the influence of the Apocryphal Magic Mirror, they had remained dormant, their buds never blooming, their life force stifled.

But now—

Spring had arrived, almost comically late, but in a way that made one want to laugh out loud.

And as if the mountains themselves were laughing,

A vibrant spectacle of blossoms illuminated the night.

For a while, the two stood in silence, entranced, along with everyone else.

Then, suddenly, Ziel spoke.

“…I was thinking of waiting until everything was over, but…”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your moment.”

“No! It’s completely fine! What is it?”

Klaha straightened her back.

Ziel gave her a slightly troubled smile.

And then, as if deciding on a whim—

“Hey,”

He raised his right hand in front of his shoulder.

Klaha, of course, understood what that gesture meant.

But she hadn’t expected it in this moment, in this way—

So, flustered, she—

“—…P-please take care of me!”

—Held out both hands in front of her face.

Then, realizing her mistake before Ziel even had a chance to say anything—

“Ah, wait—! I was supposed to—ah, sorry! Why both hands!?”

“No, no, it’s fine. Really.”

With a small chuckle, he said—

“You know what? Let’s just go with both. We both worked hard, so let’s make it double.”

“Y-yes!”

“Alright then… here we go.”

With a playful Ready, set—

A small, awkward, yet warm sound echoed.

And with it, two voices.

Pech.

Yay.