“Ugh...” a whimper escaped her lips.
“I’m not letting yooou!” Alan charged forward. He wasn’t one to just sit back and give the enemy time to attack. He unleashed a slashing martial art while Maximum chanted a curse.
“Slow Lock!”
This spell had the effect of slowing down the enemy’s actions. The spell and the martial arts’ effects intersected, and cracks formed in the floor and walls around them. Unlike Emperor Gelmed and his armor, their side didn’t have some legendary defense. Even though they collected the best gear they could possibly find in the Kingdom of Lyferia...
—We have to keep going!
“We’ll just keep attacking until you’re destroyed! 《Millions Rusher》!” This time, Noah chanted a powerful air element spell. Alan also continued unleashing martial arts.
“Ooooooh! Goooooo!”
Noah unleashed a second spell, then a third. All of them were spells approaching level 300, powerful magic she’d never had a chance to use before. She was now very nearly bottomed out on her MP reserves, which left her dizzy and her mind muddled.
“Haa... Haa... Haa...”
The smoke cleared, revealing a pair of pearly white wings flapping open elegantly. Cross Reverie was still unharmed.
“Have you realized the futility of your efforts?” Emperor Gelmed asked.
“I never quiiit!” Alan charged forward, his sword in hand.
“Fool.” The Magimatic Garment brandished an arm. The next moment, an invisible slash cut into Alan’s flesh.
“Aaaaaaaaagh?!”
“Alan!” Maximum called out. Normally, he’d rush over to help him, but this time he remained still. He didn’t know what the enemy’s attack range was, he still needed to defend Noah, and to top it all off... It was questionable if there was any point to healing Alan at this point. He’d been thoroughly cut up, and he sank to the floor, where he lay completely still.
“...Alan?” Noah whispered his name.
No response. She began breathing heavily, for reasons completely unrelated to fatigue. The strongest of the Palace Knights was downed with a single strike. They had no more buffs... No time to heal... Wild abandon could only carry them so far. They’d used all of their most powerful attacks to no effect.
—We’re...powerless.
Emperor Gelmed’s tentacles crept closer. Several of them swarmed over Alan’s body, blocking it from sight. Noah turned around, only to find that Aira wasn’t there. Maybe she ran, or perhaps the tentacles devoured her.
Something hot built up in the corners of Noah’s eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks unrestrained. She was afraid. She had failed, majorly, in a way she’d never be able to recover from. Her strategy was completely wrong, and she’d picked a fight with the wrong enemy.
And now she’d die. She was next.
†
Maximum stepped up in front of Noah.
“Use the magical tool to escape,” he told her.
“Huh?”
“I’ll attack and create a chance. Use it to escape.”
—I can’t leave my allies behind and run! If that’s my only option, I’d rather die in an honorable defeat!
...But of course, she was in no situation to cling to that kind of honor.
“Ri...Right... Understood.”
Noah shamefully clung to her one chance at survival. She was afraid. Afraid of death now approaching her... Of her own mortality... Of losing the life she had now... And Maximum remained loyal to her until the very end.
“Please stay safe, Lady Noah!”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...”
Just how pathetic and despicable of a person was she? Noah’s thoughts were in a state of complete chaos. Maximum filled his broadsword with magical energy.
“Emperor Gelmed, I put my life into this fatal blow. Take it if you can!” he bellowed.
“Your life? How foolish,” Emperor Gelmed replied. “The lives of the mortal races amount to little... You’re nothing more than fuel to operate a Magimatic Sol for a moment, at best.”
“Then try it! Nnnnnnnnnng! Dark Meteor Sword!”
Maximum’s broadsword lit up with black flames. He leapt up, holding the blade over his head, and swung it down on the Magimatic Garment. Cross Reverie remained still. But just as the slash was about to land, an invisible barrier blocked Maximum’s blade. The attack dug into the barrier, creating sparks.
“Take thiiiiiis!”
A loud cracking sound could be heard. It was awfully clear despite the loudness of the place. Cracks formed in the translucent wall, and Maximum’s blade finally forced its way through, connecting with Cross Reverie’s head.
“Aaaaaaaaah!” Maximum roared.
“Oh?” Emperor Gelmed exclaimed, surprised that the sword had actually made contact with him. The tone of his voice changed.
“...It is a pity,” he whispered, looking at Maximum. “I would have liked to have seen if you were compatible with a Magimatic Sol...”
Gelmed sighed.
“But you’ve already expired.”
Maximum stood motionless, his body still fixed in the position he was in when he swung down the sword, no longer breathing. Noah froze up, an item in her hand. She wasn’t just sitting back and watching this play out; she was trying to use the magical tools she’d prepared for an emergency, but they all proved useless and refused to activate just when she needed them most.
Noah began to hyperventilate. It felt like the air was thinner than it should have been. Cross Reverie turned to face her.
“None are allowed to cross my barrier... You may neither enter nor leave.”
He’d set up some kind of barrier to prevent intruders, which also stopped her from teleporting away. And the Cloth Gate she’d used to infiltrate the Magimatic Castle Viovix could only be used to cross into places she could see. No matter where she tried to move in this closed space, it wouldn’t mean much.
“I-I’m... I’m a sorcerer of the highest possible level in Cross Reverie...” Noah stammered.
Cross Reverie said nothing.
“I could beat any raid boss by myself...”
Again, silence.
“Kuh... Wh-Who are you?!” Noah shouted, her nerves finally giving way.
“Hm... I see... Those abilities, that knowledge... You’re an outsider...” Cross Reverie eventually said.
Someone who was either reincarnated or summoned into this world — an outsider. That’s also what the few scholars she had investigating the matter called it. Did Emperor Gelmed know about her old world too? The sheer power he wielded made Noah believe he likely knew anything and everything.
“...There shouldn’t be any enemy in this world my magic doesn’t work on,” Noah said, her voice shivering. “Be it an emperor or a Demon Lord, I should be able to fight you. Wh-Who are you...? Did you come from another world...?”
“I did not come this far through unearned talent or mindless ploys,” Emperor Gelmed said maliciously. “Through discipline and effort did I become a transcendent who would eradicate God... Do not waste my time.”
The wind roared in Noah’s ears. Her fingertips began to freeze. Everything suddenly turned cold, her face aching from the drop in temperature, but she was quickly losing sensation. Her body stiffened as the wind continued to howl.
†
Suddenly, Noah’s field of vision was turned upside down and the ground under her gave way.
“What...?!”
An animalistic cry pierced her ears. A large, tubular monster burst out from the hole that had just opened beneath her, its fanged mouth wide open.
—Another tentacle?
But just as Noah was about to unleash another spell, she realized that wasn’t the case.
—It’s a 《Trap Worm》!
A summon beast. An armored figure appeared in the giant, gaping mouth of the worm, reaching his arm out to her.
“Snap out of it, you ugly woman!” he chided her.
“You?!”
The former paladin Gewalt. He grabbed Noah by the collar and yanked her into the Trap Worm, which burrowed back down into the floor immediately.
“Agh?!”
“Don’t let go of me!” Gewalt shouted. “And don’t throw up either! No amount of washing would get your vomit off my clothes!”
“You come here now, after all this time...?!”
Gewalt gazed at Noah’s face with a dubious expression.
“You really are loved, aren’t you?” he said. “These were the orders Captain Maximum gave me. To get you out of here and run if all else fails.”
“M-Max told you to...?!”
“Let me tell you, my heart skipped a beat when he said that. I can’t just turn down a good man’s request.”