And before the reverberation of the lightning could fade, a brilliant white flash struck Byron.
It was an extreme cold that could freeze everything.
"Damn it all...!"
"Freeze quietly, filthy evil species."
Rudger Schwaben, the master of the cold, muttered with his staff extended in one hand.
"Pathetic fools...!"
But Byron was not to be underestimated.
Kwadrdrdr-
Black scales covered Byron’s body. Dozens of streams of magical energy rose from his back like tentacles.
His body, which had been freezing white, instead began to burn hot.
"It’s useless!"
Byron roared.
The noise filled with magical energy struck the students’ eardrums.
"Urgh...!"
"Kyaah!"
Some groaned and collapsed, but Rudger did not.
"No, it’s working."
Realizing that a light approach wouldn’t work, Rudger poured in all his mana.
The beam of cold became even more intense.
The heat burning from the evil species’ body was extinguished, and frost began to form bit by bit.
"Kugh...!"
Rudger staggered from the rapidly depleting magical power. Using freezing magic in a hot, dry desert was inherently inefficient.
Nevertheless, Rudger instead squeezed his mana heart harder.
Not enough magical power?
Rudger had learned from Gerhard what to do in such cases.
He opened subspace and gulped down a potion. His hands were already full of artifact rings and bracelets made from processed magic stones.
The artifacts began to glow fiercely, supplying mana to their owner.
The beam of cold, which had momentarily diminished, regained its strength.
But even so.
"How dare you be so impudent!"
Rudger’s magic failed to completely freeze the evil species.
Byron finally overcame it and slowly advanced. Ice fragments covered his skin, breaking and reforming repeatedly.
"Such a monster...!"
Rudger’s face contorted, and he let out an involuntary laugh.
His mana heart, squeezed like a wrung cloth, pounded as if about to burst, and his head throbbed as he tried to control the unfamiliar mana from the artifacts.
A stream of blood flowed from his nose.
His hands and feet trembled.
It was his limit.
But the creature still wasn’t freezing.
A true monster.
Rudger clearly understood why demons and evil species were called monsters that confronted humanity.
Though his chest and head ached and overflowing blood stained his clothes red, Rudger smiled.
He hadn’t completely frozen the target as initially aimed, but he had succeeded in slowing down the creature’s movements.
That was enough.
Aint too.
Almon too.
Veriana too.
Allia too.
They were Academy students but already stronger than most knights.
As they all rushed in simultaneously, other wizards activated their magic.
A storm engulfed the evil species, and through it, the knights’ swords penetrated.
───!
Watching the fierce battle, Rudger removed and threw away the ring and bracelet artifacts that had malfunctioned from overload.
"Wouldn’t you say my contribution was the greatest?"
"The evil species’ movements certainly became noticeably slower."
The supervisor, Grad, who had been hiding, appeared beside him.
"Your role was quite significant. The timing wasn’t bad either."
Not far away, the presence of the knight order was felt. Within sight, the Iron Blood Knight Order was there.
They were supervising the students’ side just in case, and had clearly witnessed the large-scale magic Rudger had performed.
"But, it was premature."
────!
Brilliant light pushed back the magical energy.
"Humans ultimately remember the finale."
Aint Armian, wrapped in a massive pure white aura, swung his sword.
It was reminiscent of the first Emperor in legends.
Exclamations of admiration came from all around.
Rudger bit his lip.
"You should have saved it and stepped in at the end."
"I know that wouldn’t have changed anything."
Whether he stepped in first or last, the result would have been the same.
Because he didn’t have the power to defeat the evil species.
His magic wasn’t cold enough or sharp enough to finish off the evil species.
That was the same for others, including Aint. That is, if he didn’t have the power of antithesis.
"Feeling unjust?"
"It would be a lie to say no, but it’s not like I gained nothing, so it’s fine."
Rudger’s eyes captured Aint’s brilliantly shining aura.
’The Armian family’s swordsmanship has been somewhat restored. When did that happen?’
More than the fact that Aint was driving back the evil species, more than the fact that Rudger’s efforts were being overshadowed, that bothered him more.
’Did Gerhard know this first?’
That fox-like bastard.
Rudger let out a hollow laugh.
"...This is absurd! There’s no way I could fall here!"
The evil species struggled desperately.
His transformed body grew even more massive, and his magical energy became more violent.
But it was cut by Ariadne’s wind, and annihilated by Carlo’s lightning.
Aint’s brilliance accelerated this phenomenon even more, and the swords of Almon and Allia didn’t miss any openings.
"And who are you!"
"A professor. For now, these kids’ guardian."
"You monstrous bastard!"
"Should I feel honored to be called that by an evil species?"
Even though there were precarious moments, each time Grad appropriately cut the flow.
Thus, the evil species was hunted one-sidedly.
It was undeniable that Rudger’s sacrificial magic played a big role in this. After all, the evil species’ movements had visibly slowed.
"No, no...! I can’t die here...! Save me, save me! I’ll give you whatever you want!"
Byron screamed, spitting blood. His trembling eyes were full of desire for life.
"You think we’d believe the words of a filthy evil species?"
"I was just following orders! About demons, demons...!"
<Disgusting creature. Kill it. Evil species always lie. Not even worth talking to.>
Aint didn’t answer. There was no need.
His sword would be the answer.
─!
The blade flashed.
"Ah."
A thin line was drawn across the evil species’ chest.
"AAAAARGH!"
The line gradually widened, spewing black blood.
With a scream, the evil species fell backward.
Aint stepped on the creature’s chest and raised his sword high.
Waaaaaaah-
Hurrah for Aint Armian!
He caught the evil species!
The cheers of the Iron Blood Knight Order spread widely across the desert.
"Wait! Don’t kill him! You mustn’t kill him!"
"...Ah, right."
At Gerhard’s belated cry, Aint hastily removed his foot from the evil species.
"...Uh."
Aint scratched his cheek.
’...Is it already too late?’
<Hmph, it’s futile anyway. Evil species won’t reveal anything even under torture. They’re under a prohibition.>
<That upstart doesn’t know that.>
’Still, from my position, that’s not it. I don’t want to be at odds with my senior over something like this.’
Aint took out a potion.
"Would feeding him a potion help?"
<Are you going to torture him?>
<I look forward to seeing that filthy evil species suffer.>
"...I guess not."
Hmm, Aint swallowed his groan.