Chapter 219

“Urgh…!”

Though admittedly, the price for this was a bit steep…

Timani let out a muffled groan, arms crossed over her ample chest as she scanned her surroundings.

On the snowy ground a few meters behind, several two-winged demons lay unconscious, having collapsed after being struck at the nape of the neck.

And when she turned her head back toward the front, there were no more guards in sight.

There was only that massive, oddly-shaped oval golden glow—its scale so exaggerated it covered nearly half a town.

Looking up, the source of the golden light high above was a vast, intricate magic array, suspended midair and rotating slowly.

Judging by the still-transparent edges of the light, debris and buildings within its bounds remained intact, indicating that the magic itself wasn’t destructive.

But deeper in toward the center, the core of the array was opaque and impossible to peer into.

Ailellek was likely sealed inside.

“There are surprisingly few guards here.” Timani had come brimming with the desire to raise hell, but now looked slightly disappointed.

She turned to glance at the pathetically sprawled-out two-winged demons behind her, then shut her eyes and extended her sensing abilities across the entire town. Apart from a few local residents cowering indoors, she couldn’t detect any remnants of the Third Army Corps.

“They only stationed a few people here? Did they really not expect anyone would come to rescue the First Princess?”

“Maybe… there’s an ambush we haven’t discovered yet?” Xiarette tightened her grip on the sword hilt at her waist, scanning her surroundings warily.

“That’s impossible. Detection magic doesn’t make mistakes. And even if it did—what would be the point of an ambush? If they detected someone coming to rescue her, shouldn’t they have jumped out immediately to stop us?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“They really underestimated us, huh…”

Xiarette and Timani were still speculating about the current situation—

When suddenly, a weak voice came from behind.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

It was Livra.

She had finally recovered a little—at the very least, she’d stopped dry heaving. Now she raised a trembling hand, clearly wanting to say something.

“Princess Livra, what is it?”

“Well, um… I was thinking—maybe the enemy’s weak defense here isn’t because they underestimated us or failed to predict a rescue attempt.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I think it’s possible the enemy commander did expect someone would try to rescue the First Princess. But he’s very confident in this sealing magic, and doesn’t believe anyone could break it and save her. So… there was no point in posting a large number of guards here. Uh… did I say something wrong? Aah…! I was just guessing!”

Uuuugh, what’s going on—why are they both staring at me with such wide, shocked eyes?

The shock, naturally, came from sudden clarity.

It was actually a fairly simple line of reasoning—but if it were two idiots guessing together, they’d never arrive at the truth.

Xiarette and Timani looked at each other—and quickly came to the same realization.

“Miss Timani, I think I finally understand why Sheffy wanted Princess Livra to come along with us.”

“Indeed. I know my own limits. If I had come alone, I probably wouldn’t have even found the path into the city. Seems like a frail human isn’t completely useless after all.”

Just moments ago, Princess Livra had been dismissed as having no value—but now, she was greeted with two big, enthusiastic thumbs up.

Huh…? Did I just… get recognized out of nowhere?

They accepted Livra’s reasoning.

Timani placed one hand on her hip, staring ahead at the massive golden sealing magic array. A surge of battle intent stirred within her.

“In the end, we really were underestimated, huh~? So long as we break this thing, the mission’s considered complete, right?”

“In theory, yes,” Livra speculated, “but if the enemy’s this confident, and they managed to seal the First Princess Ailellek, then this barrier that can trap a six-winged demon likely isn’t something that can be broken so easily.”

“Heh.”

—“Heh.”

You could tell from that scoffing sound Timani made that she wasn’t taking it too seriously—but the truth was, she actually did agree.

There’s always someone stronger out there—Sheffy had made her grasp that reality all too clearly lately.

If a six-winged demon, feared even by the higher races, could be trapped by this kind of magic barrier, then whatever sealed it certainly wasn’t something ordinary.

But still, they wouldn’t know if it was possible unless they tried.

—Whoosh!

With a sharp flick of her sleeve, Timani raised a palm toward the golden barrier.

In an instant, a blazing fireball the size of two people condensed several meters in front of her, its intense heat casting a red hue over the morning sunlight. Livra shrieked and immediately ducked behind Xiarette to shield herself.

Hot and cold, hot and cold—this was worse than a fever!

【Advanced Fireball Spell】

It surged forward like a second sun crashing down from the sky. Wherever the fireball rolled, snow and ice evaporated instantly, and the ground itself was scorched black from the heat.

The fireball passed through the semi-transparent edges of the golden light without resistance—

—But the moment it made contact with the solid core of the golden light, it burst apart in a fiery explosion.

That outcome had been fully within Timani’s expectations. She hadn’t gone all out just now—it was merely a test.

“Yeah, no good… This thing doesn’t respond well to my magic. Flame-type spells… they’re at a disadvantage if they’re not concentrated at a single point. Xiarette, why don’t you give it a try?”

“Alright. The Holy Sword’s strikes can concentrate force. Worth testing.”

“W-Wait, you two!! Shouldn’t we first try to see if the First Princess can respond to us? Someone said back at the Demon King’s Castle they heard her laugh—so if she can hear us, maybe we can try attacking from both inside and out at the same time?”

“……”

“……”

At her words, both Xiarette and Timani furrowed their brows.

They’d just embarrassed themselves—acted without thinking. But so long as no one responded to point it out, no one could say who exactly had been foolish.

Both quietly backed down from their attack stances.

These two were the kind who had combat strength but no wisdom. They walked up to the edge of the golden glow and called out Ailellek’s name into it. Though, to be fair, their calls sounded half-hearted and reluctant.

Ahaha…

Livra gave a bitter smile. She suddenly had a strange feeling—

—Could I be the most important person in this entire operation?!

—

49. So You Were in There All Along!

“Ailellek Auntie! Are you in there?!”

“That’s right, Auntie! Are you inside or not?!”

“Miss Timani?! Why are you calling her Auntie?!”

“Huh? I only said that because you were calling her that first—wait, why are you calling her Auntie?!”

“I…! Tch, I have no obligation to explain that.”

“Then don’t just randomly get angry for no reason, alright?!”

“What would you know.”

“What a bunch of weird tempers… Ugh, so, does this mean the Demon Clan First Princess can’t hear us?”

Hearing that, Livra quickly ran over in hurried little steps to check the situation.

She had just suggested they try calling for the First Princess—so how did the two people shouting end up arguing instead?!

Livra pulled out the schematic Sheffy had given her earlier, rapidly turned her head to think, and tilted her ears to listen intently from both sides.

Apart from the rustling snow carried by the cold wind and the cries of arctic birds in the early morning, there were no other sounds.

“Is she asleep… or was the shouting not loud enough? That can’t be right. According to the intel from Miss Shaya, this is definitely the correct location. There’s no hole in the barrier either, so she should still be inside. Lady Xiarette, I suppose it’s time to break through with brute force after all!”

“Huh? No clever little plans this time?”

“Strategies are ultimately just for show—what wins wars is strength! I often scold myself for having only brains and no muscle!”

“……”

Well… your sense of self-awareness is honestly impressive. That line was so contradictory I don’t even know if you were bragging, putting yourself down, or insulting me for being brainless.

Xiarette gave a helpless smile and shrugged, but the atmosphere around her suddenly shifted.

Timani, seeing this, understood that the Kingdom of Aurus’s trump card was finally about to get serious.

Come to think of it, this was Timani’s first time seeing Xiarette in full combat mode.

“Can you cut through it?”

“Not with wide-range slashes—but if I compress the strike into a single plane… mm, I can try.”

With flowing ease,

she pressed down on the sword hilt and drew the Holy Sword.

The blade spun in a half-circle, brushing past the silver wig Xiarette wore as a disguise, as light as wind-blown leaves untouched by snow—its golden gleam dimly catching the morning light.

“All right, Hero, go ahead and swing already. Enough with the flashy stuff.”

“This is charging, not showboating. Please refrain from belittling the Wright Family’s swordsmanship.”

Xiarette’s deep blue eyes gradually turned golden.

The magic particles in the air were originally scattered, but as the sword sliced through the atmosphere, the Holy Sword Sylatrella’s innate ability to consolidate magical energy began to activate. Supplemented by the abundant natural mana in the surroundings, combined with the sword’s own immense power, it concentrated everything into a single point—delivering the most potent and precise damage.

Livra had already moved a fair distance away.

But when she noticed a small cut had opened on her finger, she realized she’d been caught in the crossfire again.

“Princess Livra, please step back a little more. This technique will emit sword energy in all directions—it’s a bit dangerous.”

“Then couldn’t you have waited until after I stepped back before using it?!”

Grumbling, Livra hugged her head and scampered farther away.

Timani kept one arm crossed in front of her chest and flapped her dragon wings to retreat slightly as well.

The faint sword energy wouldn’t hurt her, but she didn’t want her new outfit getting ruined.

The buildup was complete.

【Radiance Veil】

—Zzrrkk!

It sounded like glass shattering under the impact of a blunt object. As Xiarette swung her sword horizontally, the sound reverberated with a sharp, resonating hum.

The golden magic wrapped around an invisible slash, slicing the air into two clearly distinct layers.

Just moments ago, Timani’s flames had vanished the instant they touched the golden barrier.

But Xiarette’s slash—

—pierced through and appeared on the other side of the barrier.

It cut straight through.

“Whoa, that’s seriously impressive. Wait, Xiarette! Weren’t you afraid you might slice the Demon Clan’s First Princess in half too?!”

“Sheffy said that even if Miss Ailellek got chopped into three pieces, she’d still be able to restore herself. So, it’s fine.”

“You really trust her that much…? Ugh, whatever. So… is that it? We’re done?”

Xiarette sheathed her sword with a flourish, exhaled softly, and closed one eye as she examined the thin, paper-like cross-section of golden light created by the slash.

But Xiarette didn’t believe it would be that simple.

If that was truly all it took, Ailellek shouldn’t have been trapped inside to begin with.

That hunch—

—as usual, was right on the mark.

The severed edge of the barrier was only as wide as the sword’s energy and offered no visibility into what was within. After waiting a few seconds, the golden barrier didn’t dissipate despite being cut through.

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