Lyla swiped her hands down the restriction device once.
Elena waddled behind Lyla’s back and asked, “Do you need any help?”
“No, it’s fine. You must be tired too. You should go rest,” Lyla said and lifted Windur. Among the many blades that stretched out of the sword’s body like twigs off a tree branch, one had a crack on the edge. Lyla took the Key That Distorts Destiny from Elena’s hands and placed it on the crack.
Sssssssh! As if it had never been apart in the first place, the Key That Distorts Destiny joined with Windur.
“Ah...”
“That was part of Windur.”
Everyone looked at what Lyla was doing with interest. Then, Lyla clutched Windur tightly with one hand and poured mana into the restriction device with the other hand.
‘As I thought, the mana is moving wildly on its own, so the device isn’t working properly,’ Lyla thought. It was a truly impressive feat that Elena and the others had managed to wake her up. There was no use for this device now, and Lyla took her hand off the device without hesitation. She turned around and headed toward the World Tree. As it always did, the World Tree stood formidably at the center of the pool of lava with its roots spread out over the island.
Although the sight of its mass and magnificence evoked a sense of awe in most viewers, Lyla looked at the World Tree coldly. She rose into the air and flew down toward the island at the center of the lava pool.
“What are we going to do now? Are we going to follow Ms. Lyla?” Snoc asked. Elena pondered about this for a moment, but she knew what the right answer was.
“No, we can’t interfere with her work. Let’s just watch from here.”
“All right.”
All the party members gathered and watched from above. Lyla soon landed on the island. The heat of the lava pool rushed toward her. If she were an ordinary person, the heat would’ve burned her skin, flesh, and inner organs and eventually killed her. Lyla cloaked her body with a thin barrier of magic, and after getting close to the World Tree, she used Windur to draw a magic circle with the World Tree at the center. She placed great care and effort into drawing each and every line inside the circle. When engraving the magic symbols, she controlled even the tilt of her strokes. Sweat dripped down from her forehead. Since she hadn’t used her physical body for a while now, her body was in a weakened state. Yet, Lyla pressed on and continued to move.
“Should we help her?” Hans murmured.
“This is a magic circle where the tilt of every stroke matters. Nobody other than Ms. Lyla can draw it.”
“Do you recognize that magic circle?”
“Not at all. I can’t see well because she’s far away, but I can normally deduce the type of a magic circle even by its outline. And I’ve never seen a shape like this one. She’s probably drawing it based on quick improvisations and combinations of thoughts.”
“...That’s what she’s doing?” Unlike Elena, Hans could clearly see the magic circle Lyla was doing by focusing mana into his eyes. It was both complex and sophisticated. Hans was sure that even if he studied the magic circle for many days and nights, he wouldn’t be able to write one symbol in the circle properly. Thus, it seemed more astonishing that Lyla could draw something like this by improvising.
‘There’s a reason why Sir Zich always said Ms. Lyla was a genius on par with him,’ Hans thought.
Lyla engraved the last symbol onto the ground, and the magic circle was complete. She thoroughly checked the circle again for mistakes, and after wiping the sweat trickling down her chin, she headed to the World Tree. The World Tree’s massive body blocked her vision. Lyla placed her hand on the World Tree and felt a great wave of mana pulsing through it. The mana she felt was suffocatingly overwhelming and powerful.
Wing! Windur responded to it. Perhaps it was happy to be reunited with its main body, and it made a clear ring. The World Tree also vibrated back weakly. Lyla poured out Windur’s mana, and the World Tree poured out its mana simultaneously. Although Windur smoothly accepted Lyla’s mana, the World Tree harshly rejected it. Lyla tried putting her mana in again, but the World Tree resisted once more. Thus, Lyla spoke.
“You want freedom, right?” She raised Windur and brought it closer to the World Tree. Her eyes stared intently at Windur.
“I know you can’t move on your own yet because of the Brushel System. Although the device is in complete shambles, it still isn’t letting go of you.” This was because the Brushel System was built in a way that prioritized containing the World Tree.
“Your mana is also one-sidedly getting taken away by Glen because of the side effects of regressing.”
Ting! The mana she poured inside the World Tree bounced off again, and blood flowed down her hands. Yet, she placed her hands on the World Tree again.
“However, if you really wish for freedom and want to escape from this long cycle of imprisonment, lend me your power. We don’t wish for much. Glen can’t hold all your mana anyways. He can only hold onto a very minuscule amount of mana you have and is expelling most of it wastefully.” Was it her imagination? Although her mana was rejected again, it felt as if they held on for a moment longer.
“I’ll help you.” Lyla turned Windur upside down and stuck it to the ground. There was an empty circle in that area that was part of the magic circle. It appeared to be a space made to place Windur.
Wiiing! Lyla’s mana traveled through Windur and poured into the magic circle.
“You just need to hand over a part of that already-released mana to Zich. Then, he will handle the rest.”
The mana she poured in after that wasn’t hindered this time.
Wing! The World Tree vibrated slightly as if it was asking, ‘Do you really think that?’
Lyla smiled brightly and nodded. “Of course. You’ve also seen him. He might grimace if he hears this, but that guy is our hero.”
Thud! As if it was clutching her hand, the World Tree’s mana connected with hers. Simultaneously, Windur and the magic circle created a great resonance.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
“Ugh!”
***
Glen attacked the fighters on the front lines, Zich and Til, first. The two acted as walls to block Glen’s attacks through their skills and experience. However, it didn’t appear that their defenses would last for long.
Wiing! Lubella emitted holy energy from the back. The wounds on Zich and Til’s bodies rapidly healed.
Baaaam! Walwiss cast his Inferno that even Zich acknowledged as powerful, and Glen got into a defensive stance to prepare for the attack. However, Leona’s arrows kept hindering Glen.
Whoosh! Glen turned his mana into a sharp spear; his target was clearly Leona. However, Leona wasn’t fazed and continued to quietly shoot her arrows.
Baaam! Zich blocked and destroyed the spear of mana with his sword. “He talked about comrades and whatever, but he just calmly let out an attack strong enough to kill you.”
“I’m not his comrade!” Leona yelled. In the meantime, Walwiss’ Inferno hit Glen.
Baaaam!
“Got him!” Walwiss clenched his fist. “Zich, you were able to escape by using the gap between my magic, but it’ll be different this time!”
Walwiss winked at Zich, and his voice was full of confidence. It seemed as if the shock of losing to Zich with his magic inspired Walwiss to complete his Inferno to a level almost the same as the one before Zich’s regression.
‘I still crushed it with my strength even before my regression.’ It was doubtful that the Inferno would work on Glen, whose mana was now even superior to Zich’s, and Zich’s concern was right on the mark.
Baaaam!
“...What?!” Walwiss was astounded; he made the same expression as when Zich had shattered Inferno before his regression. Even though his face was very different from when he was the Demon Lord of Magic, Zich realized again that they really were the same person.
Leona was behind Walwiss, and she calmly said, “It got destroyed.”
“...Hah, what an amazing guy. I thought it would at least injure him a bit.” Even while lamenting, Walwiss began preparing for his next spell. He recovered extremely fast. Even before Zich’s regression, Walwiss had been shocked to see Zich destroy his Inferno, but he had prepared quickly for his next attack as well.
‘You can’t look down on experience.’ In matters of quick judgment and fighting experience, Zich thought that Walwiss was probably the best in the group, excluding himself. Glen’s attacks continued, and Zich’s party was slowly pushed to their limits.
<Die...! Di...e...!> They could hear Glen’s shouts as he floated in the sky.
<Z-z-zi...ch...if I just...kill...you...I can...be...a hero...again...!>
Walwiss made a huge ice wall to stop Glen’s mana and said, “That’s what he says. Why don’t we just throw Zich at him?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? If we’re going to throw someone, it’s got to be you,” Leona replied.
“Has your long, keen ears gone deaf? Didn’t you hear him specifically point out Zich?”
<D-Demon Lord...of Magic too...Demon Lord...of Di...saster too ...>
“Did you just hear that? You’re included among his targets.”
“Of course, we have to protect Zich. How can we throw away our precious comrades to the enemy? If anyone tries to do that, I’ll instantly burn them to a crisp.”
“Is there no limit to your shamelessness?”
“Tsk, tsk. You’re way too calm because that brat thinks of you as his comrade.”
“I told you, I’m not his comrade!”
Walwiss and Leona were relaxed enough to converse like this, but it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to last long.
“Zich, I’m saying this seriously, but we won’t last long if we go on like this. We’re going to meet our end when the Saintess depletes her holy energy.”
The party members had already fought nonstop against Ultel and his subordinates for days. Their mana and holy energy had significantly decreased since they arrived at the island.
“When will that ‘backup’ you mentioned arrive?” Walwiss asked.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know either.” Zich had already passed on the Key That Distorts Destiny, which allowed him to communicate with Lyla, to Hans.
“You’re sure that it’s coming?”
“I’m sure of it,” Zich replied without a moment of hesitation. Thanks to his confident reply, Walwiss as well as the other party members began to regain their strength and fought back. However, the difference in power between them and Glen was too great.
Bam! Glen’s mana pierced through Lubella’s worn-down barrier. Til tried to stop the mana in a hurry, but it was too late.
“Ack!” A huge hole appeared in Leona’s arm, and blood flowed out of it. Her wound quickly recovered thanks to Lubella’s holy energy, and Leona raised her bow again as if nothing had happened. However, events like this happened more frequently as time passed.
Crasssh! Another lump of mana pierced through their defense, and it headed toward Lubella this time. Protecting the healer was top priority, so Zich intercepted the mana with Estellade.
Crunch! Fortunately, Zich blocked it just in time, and the mana dispersed in the air. However, this compromised Zich’s defense.
Bam!
“Ugh!” Glen’s mana squeezed through the gap and made a hole in Zich’s side. Yet, he was fine; he could easily endure this amount of injury, and Lubella would soon heal him. As Zich thought, Lubella treated him, and his wounds rapidly healed. He destroyed another mana attack right after he healed. His sword was starting to feel heavier. Anyone who was mentally weak would have given up by now and cried in despair. However, Zich did not lose his trust.
‘There’s a possibility that a problem might have occurred on the island, but I’m sure they’ll get the job done.’ Zich had complete faith that Hans’ party would successfully resurrect Lyla and that Lyla would surely find a way to help him out—even though he had no idea what the method would be.
‘I just need to hold out until then.’ Zich swung Estellade again with a burning will when—
Kiiing! A sharp sound shook his mind. It didn’t come from his ears; instead, it was a type of mana vibration.
Suddenly, a huge presence appeared in the air; it tore up Glen’s magic and hit the ground. All eyes, including Zich’s, moved towards it. The object that suddenly appeared in front of him was an all-too-familiar sword.
“Windur.”
Wiing! Windur vibrated as if it was answering Zich’s call.