The Birthday Celebration of the Duke of Fritillaria 8
I felt truly miserable as I reflected on how I became breathless after only one shot of beginner magic.
In the magic exercises at the school, I could use several shots of magic, and even then I wasn’t this exhausted.
The tension in an actual battle was incomparable to that of the exercises, so it seemed that it was due to my unnecessary tension.
Glancing at me as I huffed and puffed, Lakash called out coldly, “Stand back, Miss Dianthus. That level of magic is not even useful for distraction. At the very least, stay out of my way.”
I could barely speak, so I nodded faintly and tried to step backwards.
Therefore, I checked my feet for a moment.
But in that split second, one of the demon’s heads pounced on me.
“Dianthus!”
Before I knew it, Lakash pushed me away.
“Wha-?”
Basically, when a mage deployed a magic circle, he never left it.
This was because the moment the mage leaves the circle, the magic circle would disappear, and if he wanted to draw it again, he has to wait for a certain amount of time.
It was for this reason that no mage would ever abandon a magic circle that could enhance his magic just by being in it…And yet.
And yet, Lakash jumped off his magic circle to push me away.
The demon nearly crushed me with its powerful jaws, and I was at death’s door.
“… Huh, huh, huh.”
I was lying on the floor, breathing uncontrollably, staring at Lakash standing in front of me, stunned.
“Why…?”
The question slipped out of my mouth.
Why did he risk his own life to save me?
My stalking must have been a nuisance to Lakash.
What was important to Lakash was supposed to be protecting his life and his sister.
Knowing that the demon in front of him was extremely powerful, Lakash shouldn’t have time to worry about me.
So, why…
“It’s a nobleman’s duty, Noblesse Oblige.”
Lakash dismissed it as if it were nothing and glanced at me.
“Back off. And when you see an opening, run with Celia.”
At that moment, I had no clue what right decision to make.
I have no idea of the demon’s level or how strong Lakash was.
So I obeyed Lakash, who seemed to understand everything the best.
I stood up on shaky legs, ran over to the cowering Celia, and took her arm to help her stand.
Then, pushing Celia’s back, I led her to the door.
I scolded my wobbly legs and hurried to the door as fast as I could.
However, as if to obstruct our path, something fell in front of us.
Crunch.
Lakash with his legs twisted unnaturally.
“Lakash!”
“Oh-oh, Brother!!”
“Don’t make a fuss. I’m alive.”
Lakash replied briefly, then quickly stood up and pointed one hand at the demon.
“Fire Magic <Shu 5> Flame Powder Shield!”
In response to Lakash’s spell, a semi-circular shield of flame appeared, sprinkling flaming powder as if to protect his entire body.
“Ha…It’s a bad move to be on the defensive. Celia, Dianthus, get through that door while I defend…”
Lakash spoke while staring at the Siamese Serpent. But then, his eyes widened in surprise, and his words trailed off oddly.
This was because the two-headed demon had split in two right in front of him.
It was as if it had been a single snake from the beginning – split in half.
One of them quickly slithered in front of the door and positioned itself in a way that blocked it.
“Huh…”
Lakash bit his lip in frustration.
He couldn’t exercise two spells at one time.
In a nutshell, with two demons appearing in two different directions, a shield that could only protect one direction couldn’t handle the situation.
Forced to make a decision, Lakash easily discarded his magic shield and held up one hand towards the demon positioned in front of the door.
“Look, I’ll create an opening. In the meantime, get out the door. You will never be harmed. So even if you’re scared, don’t stop even if the demon is chasing you.”
Lakash spoke to Celia and me while glaring at both of the demons.
Then, without waiting for a response, he wielded his magic.
“Fire Magic <Ii 2> Pointed Blue Spear!!”
With his command, a spear of blue flame appeared from each of Lakash’s hands.
I choked back a gasp.
It was a spear of fire with such power and intensity that just looking at it made it hard to breathe.
I could tell even with my eyes closed that the energy level was completely different from the magic I had just seen.
When Lakash swung his hands down, with a resounding and disturbing noise, the flaming spear aimed at each demon in a straight line, with blue flames wrapped around it.
And before they had time to avoid it, it pierced the throats of the two demons.
Seeing this, I grabbed Celia’s hand and sprinted off at once.
I wondered how Lakash was able to use advanced magic, or how tremendously accurate he was, any any number of other things, but I put all thoughts out of my mind and just moved my feet.
Whether the spears were not thick enough, or whether they were off the mark, the two demons did not die. Instead, with agony on their faces, they lifted their heads high as only their tails touched the ground.
One of the two-headed green serpents that used to be Siamese Serpent, waiting for us at the door, opened its mouth wide.
I thought I might be bitten, but I knew it was now or never if I was going to escape.
In the hope that I could at least get Celia out of there, I changed my grip on her hand and switched places so that I was on the demon’s side.
“Fire Magic <Shu 2> Flaming Spear!”
I heard Lakash’s voice as he activated his magic again.
The power of advanced magic was different by an order of magnitude, and so was the amount of magic power consumed.
From the fact that he switched to intermediate magic, I guessed that Lakash probably only had one advanced magic that he could activate.
With as much precision as ever, the magic spear pierced the demon’s forehead, but unfortunately, it was not powerful enough.
The single-headed green serpent cocked its head slightly, but it didn’t seem to care as it opened its mouth wide and came at me as if it wanted to swallow me whole.
Peek-Aboo 
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