The drawing-room was protected by magic detection interference, but it wasn’t designed to withstand someone blasting through the wall with a magical attack.
Iris Lune’s magic easily blew a large hole through it.
Inside the drawing room, which was so lavishly decorated that one had to question the necessity of such extravagance, were several people.
First, there was an elderly gentleman in an ostentatious suit. This was likely the lord of the castle, the Duke.
And sitting across from the Duke was a sinister-looking old wizard, like some kind of evil sorcerer out of a story. This was most likely the leader of Night Python, the one Iris Lune had been pursuing with magic just moments before.
Both old men had their subordinates standing behind them. The Duke was presumed to have knights in armor and officials who looked like they were definitely on the take. The presumed leader had suspicious individuals in hooded cloaks, each of whom looked like they had killed at least two or three people.
“Hah…? Jackpot. That saved me some trouble.”
Iris Lune couldn’t help but smile with glee.
She had finally found the boss of Night Python, her immediate target. Not only that, but she had also captured the Duke, who was said to be the center of the Royal Rebel Faction, all at once. She was in the best of moods.
The pile of gold coins on the table made it as clear as day that this was a secret meeting and bribery in progress. It seemed the rumors of them being in cahoots were true.
Everyone present was stunned by Iris Lune’s extremely rough entrance.
The first to react was one of the leader’s presumed subordinates standing behind him.
“Who goes there!”
He threw off the hooded cloak, which seemed to exist solely to obscure his face and body and make him look like a generic background character.
Beneath it, muscles were revealed.
Despite the cold season, the man wore nothing under his cloak except for a pair of short pants. However, wrapped around his waist like armor protecting his lower body were several gold plates… magical protective amulets used for magic defense.
He was shorter than an adult human, but his bulging muscles made him seem anything but small. His physique was the epitome of ideal musculature, like a model for an art class drawing. His large hands looked like they could easily grasp Iris Lune’s waist with just one. He had a stern face, a completely shaved head, and a beard like a thick rope.
-One of Night Python’s top fighters, a ‘Bodyguard’. Godo the “Tiger Killer,” a dwarven martial artist.
With a speed that belied his massive muscles, Godo closed the distance. He seemed to be the type to sort things out after beating someone down first.
Well, it might also have been because Iris Lune was holding a staff. Giving a magician time to cast was suicidal.
There are two main ways to deal with a magician head-on.
The first is to counter with a magician of your own.
The second is to beat them down while their magic is blocked by protective amulets.
A few amulets would buy enough time.
And Godo could likely kill ‘Iris’ in a single blow.
She wouldn’t even have time to chant.
With a stomp that crushed the floor, he unleashed a massive punch, putting his weight into it!
“Nuuun!”
His rock-like fist made contact with Iris Lune’s body.
But the next moment, Godo’s massive arm spouted blood and exploded from the inside out, becoming a mangled mess.
“Aaaaaaaaah!?”
Godo let out a deep, guttural scream. His arm was reduced to scraps of flesh and skin hanging from his shoulder.
“Gyaaaaaaaah! M-my! My aaaaaarm!!”
“Ouch… I thought I reflected most of it, but it still did some damage. Impressive, I must say.”
In contrast, Iris Lune, who should have taken a clean hit, only staggered. It was plenty painful, though.
Level 7 Mental Power Magic: <<Reflect Extend>>.
It was a defensive buff magic that reflected the impact of physical attacks, especially blows.
Furthermore, like other spells with the name ‘Extend,’ it had a weaker effect than regular magic, but once cast, it would continue to be effective for a certain period of time.
Because there was no need to maintain the magic, one could use other spells while receiving the benefits of the buff.
Iris Lune had used this spell beforehand. She knew that there were no high-level magicians among the ‘Bodyguards,’ but she had prepared for the possibility that they would have a large number of amulets.
Iris Lune was a little worried inside if it would work, but the result was a success.
“G-guards! Guards!” “Calling for help won’t do you any good. While you all were leisurely chatting, I had this room sealed off with a barrier that blocks sound and presence.”
“Grrr…!”
The Duke glared at Iris Lune with hatred.
Magic items that generated a barrier were placed to surround the drawing-room three-dimensionally. Incidentally, the items were borrowed from Night Python’s headquarters.
-The first strike had been parried. Next, to strip away their overall defenses.
“…<<Death Cloud>>.”
A reddish-black wind blew from Iris Lune’s staff.
And it spread like a swirling mist, filling the drawing-room.
“This is…!”
“<<Counter Magic Field>>!”
Finally, defensive magic was deployed. The subordinates behind the Duke and the leader had each cast a spell.
A wave of magical power enveloped the Duke and the others, dispelling the deadly crimson mist.
<<Counter Magic Field>> was a spell that defended against magic by emitting the caster’s magical power directly. It was a simple, effective, and versatile defensive spell, but the caster consumed magical power with each attack received, making it extremely inefficient.
-So they did have magicians on standby after all.
As Iris Lune calmly observed, those who had been taken aback finally began to move.
“What are you?”
“Just wait a moment. You’re just an extra.”
“Wha…!”
The Duke, who had been treated as an ‘extra’ by Iris Lune, looked just as surprised as when Iris Lune had blasted through the wall. He might have been surprised that he was being treated as an ‘extra’ after such a flashy entrance, or perhaps he simply had never been someone’s ‘extra’ in his life.
In any case, leaving the Duke aside, she first needed to deal with the more important matter.
“Hello, Boss of Night Python… I presume? I stopped by your headquarters, but you were unfortunately out, so I came here instead.”
A look of questioning appeared in the leader’s eyes.
He seemed to have no idea what she was talking about. He probably had no idea that Iris Lune had destroyed Night Python’s headquarters, used magic to track his location from his belongings there, and followed him here.
“Ah. This person guided me here. Be sure to praise him.”
Iris Lune tossed the severed head of Derick, which she had been holding in one hand.
No one screamed at the sight of the severed head. However, those who seemed to be guards moved forward, wary of Iris Lune.
They were in a situation where the magicians using <<Counter Magic Field>> and the time limit of their amulets were their lifelines. They had to defeat Iris Lune before that time ran out, or they would die. But Godo, who looked like a one-man-army to any amateur, had just had his arm ripped off by some mysterious magic. The guards were wary of making a move.
“Little girl. You dare target me? The price for that will be steep.”
The leader tried to intimidate her from behind his guards. It wasn’t a threat or anything like that; he spoke with a tone of certainty about what would likely happen in the near future.
“The price, you say… Is it…”
As she spoke, Iris Lune temporarily deactivated <<Death Cloud>> and cast <<Ray>> at a diagonal angle to her left rear without even chanting the name of the spell, a completely silent cast.
The magical energy shot out in a laser-like beam, and after a sound like something soft being crushed, it hit the wall and scorched it.
“Is this what you mean?”
“Whaaat!?”
The old wizard’s jaw dropped in surprise.
It must have been incredibly rare for the boss of a criminal organization to make such a face, but Iris Lune didn’t feel like she had gained anything from seeing it.
There was a thud from behind, and Iris Lune turned around.
The remains of a woman who had tried to attack Iris Lune while hiding her presence, either with magic or a magic item, lay on the floor. Beside her was a magic item that looked like a stun gun or something similar.
One of Night Python’s top fighters, the ‘Bodyguard’, female assassin Est.
She was a voluptuous woman clad in a form-fitting jet-black outfit… Iris Lune didn’t know anything more than that. Iris Lune would never know what her face looked like. Her head and everything above it had already been blasted away by magic, leaving no trace.
The drawback of amulets was that they activated indiscriminately. They also affected auxiliary magic, so if one wanted to hide their presence with magic, they needed to turn them off. In other words, Est, who had been hiding her presence, was faced with a dilemma: either finish off Iris Lune before her health was depleted by <<Death Cloud>> without the benefit of the amulets, or discard the advantage of stealth and activate the amulets. The result was as you can see.
Unfortunately, against Iris Lune, who could sense the emotions of those around her, strategies like hiding or launching surprise attacks were ineffective. Iris Lune had known from the beginning that someone was hiding in the room. And she had countered just as that person was sneaking up behind her.
-That’s two ‘Bodyguards’ down… but I don’t see anyone else who looks like one. I guess they’re not so free as to bring all of them along as guards. In that case, the remaining threat is…
“I-Impossible…! Not only Godo, but Est as well!?”
“Hahaha, you should have prepared more skilled individuals as Bodyguards. …Go, Brian.”
“Yes, sir.”
In contrast to the leader, whose withered hands were trembling, the Duke still seemed composed.
At the Duke’s command, the knight-like man who had been watching the proceedings with his arms folded drew his sword.
-Of course, the Duke would have at least one powerful guard with him.
The man who stepped forward was a picturesque figure.
He was already middle-aged, but his body was still well-built, and he moved lightly despite wearing heavy full-body armor. It was unlikely that the armor was just for show. His stance was dignified, and above all, he showed no fear in this situation.
The man called Brian observed Iris Lune, sizing her up.
“Though you disguise yourself as such a young girl, I perceive you to be a renowned magician… No. I believe you to be a legendary witch. Who are you?”
Brian was being completely serious, and Iris Lune almost burst out laughing.
She wondered what he would say, and he came out with ‘legendary witch’.
“Unfortunately, I have no recollection of leaving my name in legend. …Renée ‘Rosy as a Rose’ Luvia Ciel-Terra. The name of an insignificant little girl who was killed for a trivial reason, and the one who will destroy everything.”