The incident occurred without warning, cutting into her everyday life.
As always, Leticiel was engrossed in her afternoon research when she heard a roar, a sound that one wouldn’t normally hear at the academy.
“What’s going on?” Quickly putting down her pen, Leticiel opened the window of her research lab to look outside. She could see dust rising from the forest around the museum, which also happened to be close to her research lab.
Realizing that something must have happened, Leticiel immediately put her hands on the window frame and jumped out the open window without hesitation.
It was much faster than having to leave her room and go down the stairs. Using a wind spell to soften the impact of her fall, Leticiel floated to the ground before running in the direction of the dust.
As she entered the forest, she could hear the faint sounds of explosions and blasting wind. The sounds got closer as she hurried ahead, accompanied by men’s screams as she carefully searched for the direction they were coming from.
“Hey! Use magic to stop it! Anyone who’s free should be lending a hand!”
“Be careful! Don’t cause unnecessary damage! Hey, how is treatment for the injured coming along?”
Leticiel arrived at a small open space deep in the forest. Peeking out from between the trees, she saw Lucas and other teachers gathered there. All of them looked uneasy as they unleashed magic on the creature rampaging in front of them.
It was an enormous monster that resembled a saber-toothed tiger shrouded in an ominous, dark aura. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the monster was twice the size of Lucas, who was built large to begin with. It flashed its long, sharp fangs, and there was no white in its eyes, only deep red irises.
Lucas and the others fired off spells to hold the monster back, but it ignored their weak attacks and continued to rampage.
When she looked even closer, Leticiel saw someone lying at the monster’s feet. It was Rocheford, lying face down on the ground and clutching what appeared to be a sword. The monster continued to rampage above him, showing no signs of moving.
A makeshift treatment area had been set up in one corner of the battlefield for the injured. Several teachers were being treated there, and one male student in a school uniform was lying down. Thinking that the boy looked familiar, Leticiel realized that he was one of Rocheford’s followers, the boy who had been with him the other day.
Knowing that her sudden appearance on the battlefield might confuse the teachers, Leticiel decided to go to the treatment area and ask about the situation there. “Excuse me, may I ask what’s going on here?” she said.
“Huh? M-Miss Drossell? Why are you here? It’s dangerous, so p-please leave imme—”
“No, then there would be no point in my having come here. Can you please tell me what happened here and what that monster is?”
The teacher who was treating the injured was surprised to see Leticiel and tried to convince her to leave, but Leticiel shook her head. She had come to be of assistance, so she couldn’t abandon the teachers and run away without doing anything to help. The teacher was reluctant at first, but he eventually gave in and explained things to Leticiel after she pleaded strongly multiple times.
“We don’t know any details, but someone from the museum contacted us saying that they’d heard strange sounds coming from the forest. When the headmaster searched the area, he found His Highness unconscious…”
The teacher went on to say that the monster had suddenly appeared when the teachers had tried to help Rocheford. They’d been thrust into battle without understanding anything. “We’re trying to save His Highness because we can’t allow anything to happen to him, but the monster won’t leave his side.”
“I see…”
Leticiel glanced back toward the battlefield after hearing the teacher’s explanation. Perhaps it was because they didn’t want to hurt the prince at the monster’s feet or simply because the monster was much stronger than them, but the spells they were casting didn’t seem to have any effect on the monster.
The teachers had an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers, but their magical power was being wasted on spells that had no visible effects. One by one, they were beginning to lose their strength.
“I’ll fight, so please look after the wounded,” Leticiel said.
“Huh? Hey! Miss Drossel!” Leticiel jumped into the battle, ignoring the teacher’s voice at her back. The teachers’ eyes widened when they noticed the silver-haired girl’s appearance.
Careful not to get any of the teachers caught in her spell, Leticiel created a small whirlwind in her hand. Stretching it vertically, she transformed it into a giant spear-like shape. Raising her hand above her hand, she swung it straight down toward the monster. As if it had been linked to her arm, the spear of wind roared as it flew toward the monster. It struck the monster just as the creature turned to respond to the sharp sound of the spear cutting through the air.
The monster roared as the spear pierced its left eye, writhing and letting out a horrendous cry that sounded like metal scraping against metal. It continued to shriek even after the wind spear dispersed, searching for the person who had taken its eyesight.
Leticiel, who was already formulating her next spell, reflected in its other eye. Seeming to single her out from that alone, the monster ignored the teachers it had been fighting before and came charging toward her. Its eyes were dyed crimson, target set firmly on Leticiel.
She used a teleportation spell to avoid the sharp claws that swung down on her. Teleportation wasn’t just a shortcut for traveling, it could also be used as an emergency evasion tactic in battle. Normally, it required a great deal of concentration, but Leticiel was skilled enough to perform it without thinking.
The monster let out a frustrated cry and immediately pursued Leticiel. Though it hadn’t moved from Rocheford before, it didn’t seem to care about him at all now. The teachers tried to take advantage of the opportunity to get Rocheford out of there, but the monster’s rampage had gotten so much worse that they couldn’t get closer even if they tried.
Leticiel had no choice but to fight the monster right then and there. Even if she tried to lead the monster away, the forest had a museum that stored important items and documents. If she tried to leave the forest, she might put the other students in danger.
For starters, she needed to stop the monster’s movements to save Rocheford. Having decided that, Leticiel cast a spell on the ground, borrowing the power of the trees. In response to Leticiel’s spell technique, the surrounding trees rustled in unison, even though there was no wind. The sound of the leaves rustling gradually grew louder until it engulfed the entire forest and made the air tremble.
The monster seemed unable to withstand the whirlwind of trees and leaves that attacked it from all sides. It tried to break the trees at first, but it became unable to move after a mere minute.
“Sir, please get His Highness while you can,” Leticiel said to a nearby teacher after confirming that the monster was trapped in a cage formed by the trees. The teacher had been staring in astonishment at the cage of branches but came to his senses and ran toward Rocheford, followed by several other teachers. Leticiel assumed they would be able to get the prince to safety.
Just as they reached Rocheford, the monster roared once more, its scream ringing out from inside the cage of branches. The sound was more grating and eerie than anything else they had heard before. The unpleasant cry echoed throughout the forest, making the ground quake.
“Wh-What?”
“L-L-Let’s just hurry and get His Highness somewhere safe!”
The teachers, who had been covering their ears, straightened up and tried to lift Rocheford. But in the next moment, they saw red flowers bloom on their own bodies. The teachers collapsed on the spot, unable to comprehend the sight of the red droplets spurting from their bodies.
Rocheford was on his feet, silently clutching a silver sword that was dripping with a vibrant vermillion liquid.
Leticiel clenched her fists, immediately realizing what had happened. She should have noticed that something was off. The monster had been moving as if to protect Rocheford. There was no guarantee that something hadn’t already happened to him.
“You…” The boy murmured quietly, slowly approaching Leticiel with the blood-stained sword. “Because… Because of you, I…!”
The moment Rocheford caught sight of Leticiel, he attacked her with unconcealed hostility, as if he hadn’t just been unconscious.