Then, a Skull Face ranked higher than before appeared in front of her. Possibly, it was a Queen or King class in front of her; as the one earlier was a Jack class Skull Face. It was supposed to be impossible to defeat, as encountering one would be hopeless. The calamity caused by a single King class that appeared once still remained strongly in people’s memory. As such multiple enemies appeared and filled up the plains. It might become an unprecedented disaster.
They actually felt death surrounding them, as they sensed the *Shinigami’s breath on their skin. (TL note: god of death) They reprimanded their bodies that trembled, and when they grasped their swords again, a red cannonball came flying from the sky. As the sphere hit the Skull Faces, it caused their whole bodies to be riddled with holes. No matter if it was the shield, sword, armor, arms, legs, or even their cores. Its appearance was similar to the flame system magic skill 【Fire Ball】. But 【Fire Ball】 had no such destructive power and homing nature like that flame ball in front of them. To begin with, a flame arts that didn’t explode was unusual and the light it emitted upon impact eliminated its target as if it scraped off only that part.
Even though they were wondering why it didn’t hit them, they understood that they were being protected. As they felt gratitude to whoever released the fireballs, they prepared their swords again to fight the Skull Faces that surrounded them.
This time, blue lightning passed through in front of them. This was the specialty of the person who helped out numerous countries, the lightning system magic skill. It was the skill that crossed the line from the art, as it had superior power and boasted of being the strongest skill ever.
The person they expected, appeared at the same time that the lighting had disappeared. With silver fluttering hair, it was the acting manager of Tsuki no Hokora, Schnee Raizar. Her appearance seemed unchanged since the last time Rionne had seen her, with her calm voice, Rionne felt death becoming distant. As if the Shinigami was blown away by the blue lightning.
“I will take over from here on out. Please escape through the forest.”
Her words were returned with unhesitating nods. The Skull Faces that were scattered like wood chips were visible to their eyes.
And then, as they defeated the Skull Faces that were found here and there in the forest, the surroundings suddenly became as bright as if it was daytime, and the Skull Faces became ashes instantly without them doing anything.
Thereafter, the Skull Faces they encountered had sluggish movements and were smashed into pieces by a single blow of their swords. Though the opponent was supposed to have equal skills to Rionne, they were weakened to the point that even the ordinary knights could defeat them. It seemed like it was caused by the light that shone onto the plains. A gentle and graceful light. It became clear that the damage they had received was recovering.
They couldn’t help but think: ‘If it’s Schnee-dono, such a thing is possible’. After a while, the wriggling Skull Faces dissolved and became demon essence all at once. From watching that, they could comprehend that the situation was resolved.
Now, Rionne was looking at the traces of the battle that might be left from Schnee. There were deep fissures remaining in the earth and he ground was ripped apart. Something that continued for hundreds of mels; there was even a place where the earth was totally molten.
At the location where they apparently clashed, there were bizarre traces of high voltage burns and deep slashing attacks. How much power was released when they clashed? They couldn’t even imagine anymore. The first princess, who was the elder sister, might be able to do something similar with magic, but it was impossible for her to do close combat if she plunged into a crowd of Skull Faces.
“This… is this the power of a person who was recognized by the High Humans?”
Once again, that power was recognized. Even though Rionne’s battle capability alone was said to be equal to 100 people or more, she felt like a dull, ordinary knight when compared to Schnee.
“Although it’s still dusk, can you see here a little?”
The one who started talking was the subordinate that went to survey the surroundings. The man wore red armor that wrapped around his big body and his name was Gadras Jarre. He was the leader of the knights in Bayreuth Kingdom, and was the commander of the strongest knight squadron,【Red Wolf】, in the kingdom. The reason why he became a mere battle assistant and accompanied Rionne was to prevent her from going on a rampage, but he hardly ever accomplished his role, not even this time.
Gadras too, had to directly face against the Skull Faces. He was the only chosen one in the knights squadron who could handle a close range battle with Rionne, and although he usually had the role of a watchdog, this was the only time that he had to fight as hard as he could. There were numerous cuts on his armor as proof.
In Gadras’s hand, a katana was held. Its handle was worn-out and darkened, the blade was cracked, and its edge was chipped here and there, too.
“This is?”