As we walked for a while, the intervals between encounters with magical beasts gradually grew shorter. Looking around, I could tell that everyone’s expressions had changed from earlier, and the tension in the air was noticeably rising. We were heading toward the deepest part of the western forest. It seemed the other squads, though taking different routes, shared the same destination. And the closer we got to the deepest part, the stronger the magical beasts became. That’s what we’d been told during the briefing beforehand. It was true. But that wasn’t all there was to it.
As we pressed forward, battles that had once ended quickly began to drag on longer. What started as encounters with lone beasts turned into clashes with packs, and even worse, new magical beasts would approach while we were still dealing with one group. More people were getting injured, and even I, who’d been idle up to this point, started chanting “Heal” more often to provide support. The fact that I could manage decently during my first subjugation mission might be thanks to the division commander’s rigorous training. The knights and the knight commander were protecting us, keeping the damage from reaching the rear where I was supporting, which allowed me to stay calm without panicking. Though, to be honest, it was still a little scary.
“Suddenly, there are a lot more of them, huh? Was it like this during the last subjugation too?”
During a break between battles, the division commander spoke up, her eyes gleaming as if she’d found something intriguing. The knight commander, preparing for the next fight, answered her question.
“Yeah. The deeper you go, the worse it gets.”
“Hmm.”
The division commander narrowed her eyes, licking her lips with an amused smile. It felt like a switch had been flipped, one that probably shouldn’t have been. The moment that thought crossed my mind, a barrage of magic erupted in rapid succession, wiping out a group of magical beasts charging toward us. The culprit was the division commander. I’d never seen her cast spells this quickly or in such a continuous stream before. Was this the speed of someone who’d mastered mana control? I was a bit stunned.
“It seems like something’s happening deeper in,” she said.
“Yeah. The knight order came to the same conclusion, which is why we’re heading all the way to the deepest part this time,” the knight commander replied.
“I see. I wonder what’s going on?”
Watching the division commander, who looked like she was enjoying herself, the mages’ expressions shifted to something like resignation. Oh, that switch that shouldn’t have been flipped? It’s definitely on now. It was the same look they had when she’d talked about my mana. According to the mages, once the division commander got like this, there was no stopping her. I understood that too, so I quietly followed behind the knights.
“‘Reflection’”
As we advanced, cutting down magical beasts, I cast “Reflection” during one of the countless battles. A beast was closing in on a knight, and I put up a barrier with a reflective effect to protect him. The beast’s attack was blocked by the barrier, and the damage reflected back. The knight landed a clean hit while the beast recoiled. I’d managed to cast it at just the right moment. Feeling a little pleased with myself, I heard the division commander’s voice.
“That was great timing just now.”
“Thank you!”
Being praised made me a little happy. But the joy lasted only a moment before we had to move again. Lingering in one spot drew more beasts toward us. Perhaps because we were already near the deepest part, the time between the end of one battle and the start of the next had grown incredibly short. The air around us felt heavier, almost stagnant, and an unpleasant sweat trickled down my back, sticking my clothes to my skin. According to the cinnabder, this oppressive feeling was due to the miasma thickening. So this is what miasma feels like.
It seemed the deeper we went into the forest, the denser the miasma became. When we finally reached the deepest part, I heard the knight leading the group mutter, “What’s that?” His voice must have carried to others besides me, because the knights commander and division commander headed toward the front. I followed a step behind them.
The area known as the deepest part was a depression in the ground. We stood at the edge, looking down into it. There, in the deepest part, was something like a black marsh. The problem, perhaps, was that magical beasts were continuously emerging from that marsh.
“What is that?”
“Well, what could it be?”
The knight commander and division commander gazed at the marsh with grim expressions. We were at a distance, so the beasts emerging from it hadn’t noticed us yet. But if we raised our voices, they’d spot us, so the two of them kept their tones low. I held my breath and cautiously peered at the area around the marsh from behind them. The beasts that emerged didn’t seem to move away immediately; they lingered around the marsh for a while. A dense crowd of magical beasts was packed tightly around it. If even one noticed us, it might trigger a chain reaction, and all the beasts there would come rushing at us. I’d really rather that didn’t happen. No matter how strong the knight commander and division commander were, facing this many would be tough. Imagining that scenario, my body trembled involuntarily. Yeah, we’d definitely die, right?
The more I looked, the creepier it felt. Staring at the murky black marsh, an uneasy, foggy sensation settled in my chest. Between its color and the fact that beasts were spawning from it, there was no way this was a normal marsh. It seemed the knight commander and division commander were seeing it for the first time too, and they didn’t know what it was either. Hmm. The miasma had been getting thicker as we approached the deepest part, but surely they wouldn’t say that marsh was made of miasma, right?
As I pondered the marsh, the two in front of me turned around. The knight commander and division commander had been discussing something while looking at it, but it seemed they’d finished. They signaled with their hands for us to fall back. The silent order came because some of the beasts around the marsh had started moving toward us. I retreated as quietly as possible, trying not to make a sound.
A scream rang out from the direction we were heading almost immediately after. Straining my eyes forward, I caught a faint orange glow. What could that be? The moment I wondered that, flames roared up, engulfing a knight who’d been ahead of us. Wait, isn’t that really bad!?
“They’re coming!!!”
I froze, unsure what to do, when the knight commander’s shout echoed from behind. Turning around, I saw several beasts from the marsh’s edge heading our way. Did the commotion up ahead tip them off? A chill ran down my spine.
“That’s a salamander up ahead, isn’t it?” the division commander murmured, suddenly beside me.
“A what?”
It seemed a salamander had appeared in front. The flames from earlier must have been its doing.
A white light flashed ahead, and I saw a mage casting a healing spell. Beside me, the division commander was also attacking the beasts approaching from behind with magic. Right, I can’t just stand here dazed.
Looking forward, I saw a mage tending to the person caught in the flames, casting a healing spell. The knight had quickly raised some kind of barrier, so while injured, he was still alive. I focused my mana, just like when I’d healed a severed limb before, and cast “Heal.” Cheers rose, letting me know it had worked properly. I kept going, casting “Heal” on the other knights too.
I didn’t neglect the rear either. Since we’d encountered the salamander after turning back from heading toward the deepest part, the mages were concentrated up front. That left fewer mages at the rear, meaning less healing support there. The division commander was mixing healing spells with attack magic, but for efficiency, it’d be better if I took over the healing.
The stalemate dragged on for a while. They were still struggling with the salamander up front. At the rear, with high-firepower people like the knight commander and division commander, the beasts were being felled one after another. But they kept coming endlessly from the marsh, with more following right behind. As long as we had potions, I didn’t have to worry about running out of MP, but at this rate, we’d be worn down eventually. It wasn’t just me, everyone else felt it too. Even the usually polite division commander let slip a “Damn it” now and then, a sign of her growing frustration. My stomach started to ache with tension.
Then, a shout of “Look out!” came from behind. Turning, I saw a fireball from the salamander hurtling toward me. Wait a second! There was no time to cast a spell, and the division commander, busy with the rear, couldn’t react in time either. I heard the knight commander yell “Sei!” from a distance.
For a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion, like a flashback playing before my eyes. The next instant, a cool breeze washed over me, and a wall of ice taller than me rose up in front of me. I instinctively raised my arms to shield my face, but the fireball was stopped by the ice wall. Steam filled the air around us. My legs nearly gave out from relief, but the division commander grabbed my arm.
“Not yet. Stand firm.”
“Y-Yes.”
“It looks like the magic in your hairpin triggered.”
“My hairpin?”
“That hairpin you’re wearing, it’s enchanted, right?”
His words jogged my memory. The hairpin I had on was a gift from the knight commander. As she said, it was enchanted. So it had an effect like this… Thanks to the knight commander, I’d been saved. A warm feeling spread in my chest, and I quietly clenched my hand over my heart.
I managed to stand on my own and straighten up, and the division commander let go of my arm. He must’ve judged I didn’t need support anymore. He immediately returned to the fight. The situation still wasn’t under control.
But this was endless. The beasts at the rear kept coming without pause. Unless we did something about that marsh, this wouldn’t change. Worse, someone might end up dying. That fireball earlier, if it’d been at the start, one of the knights would’ve blocked it before it reached me. Even with magic restoring stamina, it couldn’t heal mental fatigue. Everyone’s focus was slipping, and injuries were piling up more often.
What should I do? Was casting healing magic all I could contribute? Those thoughts swirled in my mind as I supported the others. I wanted to do something about that marsh. If I didn’t…
“Commander!”
A knight’s shout snapped me out of it. Looking toward the voice, I saw the knight commander stagger under an attack from a black wolf-like beast. He quickly regained his footing, but another black wolf lunged at him. No, stop! The next moment, something surged out of me.
It was the golden mana I’d seen at the institute. That mana raced toward the knight commander in an instant. The black wolf leaping at him turned to black smoke the moment it touched my mana, swallowed up and erased by the golden torrent. The knight commander turned to me, his face a mix of shock and disbelief. It wasn’t just him, everyone else did too. I was stunned myself. What was this? Wasn’t this a bit too incredible?
Even as I stood there dumbfounded, the mana kept flowing from me. The golden mana spread further, its momentum unchecked. It’d sprung up out of nowhere again, but in this state, maybe… Like I’d done at the institute, I clasped my hands in front of my chest and prayed. I wished for the beasts and the marsh to disappear. At that moment, the speed of the mana’s spread increased. The golden mist stretched across the ground, engulfing the salamander, the beasts around the marsh, and the marsh itself. When it covered the entire marsh, the spell activated, and light burst forth. As glittering golden particles rained from the sky, every beast, the marsh, everything vanished, leaving only the forest behind.
“Is it… over?”
“It seems so.”
The knight commander’s murmur was answered by the division commander, and the knights, who’d been standing frozen in shock, finally grasped the situation. A deafening cheer erupted across the area.