Chapter 63: The Raven Squad and the Revolutionary Army
It has been four months since Shu and the Raven Squad crossed paths.
Wary of traps, Shu suspended his activities as the "Grim Reaper" and continued working part-time with Iris. It's unlikely anyone would suspect that the young man working at a certain store in the capital city Aldaal is actually the assassin known as the "Grim Reaper." As a result, he was leading peaceful days.
On the other hand, the Raven Squad had a different experience.
Originally tasked with eliminating the "Grim Reaper" by Emperor Gias, they had been unsuccessful since the Reaper never appeared. They attempted to lure him out several times under the guise of requests, but Shu never took the bait. As a result, the Raven Squad continued to come up empty-handed.
After three months without results, the Raven Squad's approach began to change.
"We're going, Raven Squad."
Commander Lut Ravean announced.
Before them was a massive army bearing the flag of the Revolutionary Army, Rebellion. With the assistance of the Revolutionary Army, the vassal state Tourheim Empire had risen in rebellion against the Subarokia Grand Empire. Formally, they were the forces of the Tourheim Empire under the banner of the Revolutionary Army, Rebellion.
The Raven Squad's mission was to eradicate the traitorous enemy forces as magical armored soldiers of the Grand Empire.
"Then I'll take care of it."
Misla, the "Magic Eye," stepped forward. Her petrification magic eye activated, turning enemy soldiers she looked at into stone statues. The ability to instantly kill enemies within her line of sight made her magical armor an extremely unfair advantage in warfare. The only ways to counter it were to avoid her gaze or resist with magic power surpassing Misla's.
The appearance of the petrified soldiers caused turmoil among the ranks of the Revolutionary Army.
The Grand Empire's forces advanced toward the petrified Revolutionary Army soldiers, smashing them to pieces. Since petrification couldn't be reversed, this action was futile. However, it effectively lowered the morale of the Revolutionary Army.
"Magical armored soldiers with the 'Magic Eye'! Create barriers and attack with magic!"
"We must hurry, or the casualties will keep increasing!"
Voices from the Revolutionary Army side could be heard.
Successive deployments of the "Earth Wall" were activated. For Misla, this served as a barrier, preventing the reach of her magic eye. Even if they petrified the earth walls, it would only make them more solid. Since the Raven Squad had already annihilated the Revolutionary Army several times, they had established countermeasures.
"Hmm..."
"Misla, step back for a moment!"
Placing a hand on the dissatisfied Misla's shoulder, Ike stepped forward. Known as the "Flame Dragon," Ike was the newest S-ranked magical armored soldier of the Grand Empire. His magical power and magical armor were fitting of his S-rank status.
"I'll handle this."
Crimson flames engulfed Ike, revealing a gigantic dragon. Ike released his magical power at the chest of the fire dragon, causing it to surge in response.
He also activated magic simultaneously.
The fourth-tier wind magic "Sky Soar." This allowed Ike to levitate. Unfortunately, the fire dragon itself couldn't fly, so Ike had to take to the skies.
"Raaaah!"
Ike, enveloped in the fiery dragon, charged the earth wall. The intense heat melted the wall, triggering a massive explosion that sent Revolutionary Army soldiers flying.
The fire dragon rampaged according to Ike's will, causing destruction everywhere.
Even the water-based magical armored soldiers and magicians who attempted to attack were thwarted by the scorching heat unleashed by Ike's tremendous magical power.
"Oh my? Ike is causing such a commotion."
"Captain Lut. What should we do?"
"These kinds of annihilation battles aren't our role, are they?"
"Erina and Yuri, right? What shall we do?"
Erina of "Infinity" and Yuri of "Counter Mirror" were powerful magical armored soldiers, but they weren't suited for annihilation battles.
As a result, the two of them had nothing to do and watched the battlefield from a high ground created by earth magic. Thanks to Sadeena of "Sky" erecting a barrier of sun-elemental magic, this was a safe place where long-range attacks had no effect.
The Raven Squad's role was to play the role of a guerrilla force in the war between the Grand Empire and the Revolutionary Army, disrupting the Revolutionary Army's formation using powerful magical armor and magic. Lut agonized over how to deploy the two.
At that moment, they noticed a magical power reaction in one corner of the Revolutionary Army unexpectedly.
"Could it be...? Incredible magical power."
"Captain Lut, could that possibly be a ritual-based magic spell?"
"Yes, Yuri is correct."
The massive magical power and the floating magic circles were easy to identify. It was immediately apparent that this was a ritual-based magic spell. Ritual magic involved multiple people cooperating to cast a single powerful spell. It could even activate tactical or strategic-level magic like the Ninth or Tenth Tier.
The sky turned red, and a multitude of fireballs appeared around the magic circles.
"There's no mistake. That's the Ninth Tier magic spell 'Crimson Flame Incineration Vermilion Nova.'"
Yuri's deduction was spot-on.
And Lut saw this as a chance for her to shine.
"Deploy."
Yuri of "Counter Mirror" created a mirror that reflected radiation-based attacks using her magical power. She was a magical armored user of the creation type who could generate such mirrors. For spells like "Crimson Flame Incineration Vermilion Nova," which rained numerous fireballs over a wide area, she was the perfect target.
A massive mirror appeared in the sky above the Grand Empire's forces.
It deflected the "Crimson Flame Incineration Vermilion Nova," causing the fireballs to head towards the Revolutionary Army. This tactical-level magic was said to kill over a hundred people with a single use. The damage to the Revolutionary Army was immense, not only in terms of casualties but also injuries. Additionally, if a magic spell activated through a ritual was reflected, the psychological impact was substantial.
The tide of the battle shifted.
"Wow, Yuri is truly amazing. In that case, let's showcase this magic next... Sadina!"
"Yes, understood!"
Ruto called out to Sadina of the 'Celestial Sky.' Soaring through the sky with her wings, she observed the battle between the Grand Empire's army and the Revolutionary Army Rebellion from a high vantage point.
And what Sadina excelled at was unleashing magic attacks from the open skies.
"Alright, here I go!"
As Sadina began her incantation, four magic circles manifested around her.
This was her specialty, being able to simultaneously activate advanced magic through simultaneous activation.
"It's a grand display of maximum magic!"
Flames, water, wind, and earth—the eighth-tier elemental magic—were activated simultaneously.
First, the enormous fire magic "Arc Flame of Blazing White" incinerated the Revolutionary Army Rebellion's encampment. The intense white flames easily melted even metal armor and scorched the soldiers.
Next, the massive water magic "Vortex of the Great Whirlpool" surged forth. A vast amount of water appeared, swirling around and engulfing the Revolutionary Army Rebellion. Even adept swimmers couldn't escape. Amid the chaos, struggling in vain, they met their end by drowning.
Then came the wind magic "Discharge of the Great Thunderbolt," which Iris had also used. Lightning struck from seemingly empty space, causing explosive thunderbolts. Those wearing metallic armor were instantly electrocuted. The electric shock spread through the armor, causing widespread damage.
The remaining earth magic, "Storm of Heavy Steel Barrage," involved hurling steel spheres at high speeds. While its lethality wasn't as high, it resulted in a large number of casualties due to the wide dispersion of projectiles. In warfare, wounded soldiers who could be saved through healing were more of a burden than expendable casualties, and this magic was designed with that intention.
"What kind of magic is this? Who's the caster?"
"It's over there! Shoot them down!"
"Bring the long-range attack mages!"
"I'll take the shot!"
The Revolutionary Army Rebellion soldiers weren't foolish either. They quickly identified Sadina as the culprit and one of their mages aimed to shoot her down with a bow.
Of course, Sadina was aware.
"How naive!"
Though her magic abilities might not be flashy, she was skilled in the art of magic. Not only did she master the four elemental attributes of fire, water, wind, and earth, but she was also proficient in the not-yet-fully-systematized yang and yin attributes.
She activated a light barrier magic to prevent long-range attacks. Sadina, airborne, made for an easy target for archers. Naturally, she had prepared countermeasures.
"Captain Luto, they seem to have noticed us."
"Yes, indeed."
The Rayvan Unit had the role of a guerilla force in the war between the Grand Empire's army and the Revolutionary Army Rebellion. They possessed enough power to change the course of the war as a single unit.
Ignoring them would result in significant damage to the Revolutionary Army Rebellion, which couldn't be overlooked. The superiors decided to prioritize dismantling the Rayvan Unit using overwhelming numbers.
Melee-focused magic users took the lead, while the mages were cautious of Yuri's magic reflection and focused their attacks on the Grand Empire's army.
"There's around... six hundred, I suppose?"
Having fought the Revolutionary Army Rebellion multiple times, Luto had acquired a subtle skill. She could roughly estimate the number of enemy soldiers at a glance.
However, to the present-day Luto, whether there were six hundred or six thousand didn't matter.
When awakened magic users released their power, ordinary magic users posed no threat.
"I'll take care of this. Get back."
A vast amount of magic power surged from Luto.
Or rather, she revealed the magic power she had concealed using an unsystematic magic concealment technique. The magic users of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion were overwhelmed by the strength of the magic power possessed by awakened magic users, freezing in their tracks. Being able to sense the magic power had allowed them to comprehend Luto's strength.
Magic users' power was the power of magic.
Using that magic power, Luto generated super gravity she had gained after awakening.
"Now, let me show you the finishing move that buried the Celestial Nine-Tailed Fox of the Hermit's Way."
Luto's magic was territory-based.
The main ability of her magic was to generate gravity within a specific area. With some ingenuity, she could also concentrate the force at a single point within that area. And when the force was concentrated at a single point, it reached the limit of a physical phenomenon that even consumed light—an event horizon.
In other words, the creation of a black hole.
Over six hundred soldiers were wiped out in an instant.
"It's incredible..."
"Hey, can I go home now?"
"You can't, Misura."
"Wow... the enemies just died in an instant."
Sadina, Misura, Elina, and Yuri shared their impressions in that order.
The light vanished from the designated area specified by Luto, plunging it into darkness. In an instant, the substances within the area were absorbed into a black hole, leaving behind scars that seemed to have gouged out space itself. The Revolutionary Army Rebellion's magic users were all absorbed into the black hole, leaving behind a void where the land had been scooped out like a bowl.
And then Luto dispelled the black hole, finishing the job.
"These rear mages are quite annoying... hehe."
Awakened magic users could automatically recover their magic power. In other words, expended magic power would gradually regenerate. Even if they consumed magic power to use formidable abilities, they could recover it during battle. This allowed for a continuous string of powerful attacks.
Luto could use her trump card, the black hole, as much as she wanted.
"We need to be careful not to get hit by Ike, right?"
Ike, cloaked in flames, was rampaging as the "Flame Dragon."
And Luto, who unleashed black holes, annihilated the army with an invulnerable and unavoidable force as the "Boundary Extinction."
Within a few hours, the Revolutionary Army Rebellion was obliterated. Naturally, the Tulheim Empire, aligned with the Revolutionary Army Rebellion, fell under the dominion of the Subarokia Grand Empire once again.