"Young miss... Where on earth did you find such a skilled person?"
After the ice storm swept through.
There was no one left alive in that place.
Only Beskov remained, barely clinging to his sword, which was all that was left.
But even that was in a state where more than half of his body was covered in frost, and it wouldn't be strange if he stopped breathing at any moment.
Beskov saw Elric through his fading field of vision.
Thump.
Thump.
Elric was approaching.
With each step he took, the sound of the ice breaking grew louder.
As the sound grew louder.
Beskov felt like he was gradually sinking into the swamp of death.
'Sure. It was never a team.'
Squad 6 was known for being skilled in pursuit even within the Blue Wolf Squads, composed of the most ruthless individuals.
The problem was that they decided from the beginning that it was a group of people who defeated squad 6.
'He was a solo player.'
He thought that Elric might have been a close associate of Isabelle or a double agent of the Blue Wolf Squad, but it was not the case.
That wasn't it.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence that that magician joined Isabelle and her group.
It may be that the Magic Tower dispatched a powerful person for the purpose of imposing a debt on the Weyl family.
Considering the recent relationship between the Blue Lion and the Magic Tower, the proud Magic Tower would not have done such a thing.
Beskov even had a thought that the magician might not have had a good relationship with the Magic Tower.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have even considered helping Isabelle in the first place.
The problem is.
'It's not just about being strong.'
He had eyes that could read the situation and knew how to devise strategies that fit the circumstances. And at times, he was also adept at improvisation, a true 'fighter.'
Although he looked young on the outside, he definitely had a lot of combat experience befitting his age.
Could this be the "Battle Magician" he only heard about?
If.
If he wasn't a natural-born fighter but instead had dominated the battlefield solely through meticulous 'calculation.'
In that case.
There was only one word that could describe him.
'Genius.'
Beskov let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
"For the first time... Squad 1 leader... made a mistake...."
Perhaps the Lord had unintentionally encountered an annoying obstacle.
At that moment.
Stop!
For the first time, Elric's steps halted.
His head tilted slightly.
"Squad 1 leader?"
Beskov forced himself to speak while looking at his pathetic appearance reflected in Elric's pupils.
"He... is. Our... leader. Read people's psychology... And, the prediction using that is like a fortune teller... kind of guy."
"It's him? The bastard who caused all this mess."
Beskov smiled without saying a word.
Elric accepted that as a silent affirmation.
"You won't be lonely on your way. He'll soon join you."
"It... won't be... easy!"
Thwack!
Beskov's words were cut short.
Elric, growing tired of listening further, extended his hand and blew his head away.
Thud!
Passing by the fallen body of Beskov, Elric resumed his steps toward where Squad 3 and Simonan were.
***
"…!"
"…!"
"T-This is unbelievable…!"
Having watched Squad 2 being wiped out in shock, Squad 3 was struck dumb with horror.
Especially Simonan's shock was beyond words.
While Beskov had seemed to dislike him, in truth, Simonan had never harbored any ill feelings towards him. In fact, he quite enjoyed teasing the gruff man.
He even secretly admired his skills.
But for him to go down so easily?
Among magicians, there were only a few with such prowess.
'A-A magus…?'
That thought briefly crossed his mind, but.
"No. Not even a magus."
Simonan shook his head vigorously.
While the power of the spells unleashed and the range of the mana field hinted at a magus's level, there was one thing missing.
"If he were, we would all have been killed instantly."
Magus operated differently from regular magicians.
Did the term 'magus' imply walking their own path of 'magic' for no reason?
Normally, there would be no need for such elaborate tricks.
'But it's certain he's close to that level of skill.'
Moreover, he was somehow uncovering and hunting down the hidden members of Squad 3 one by one, demonstrating a level of skill beyond comprehension.
Unable to break through the blizzard raging alongside Elric, there seemed to be no escape from imminent death.
They had to come up with a new plan somehow.
Simonan regained his composure and turned to his subordinate beside him.
"Hey."
"Yes, squad leader."
"The plan has already gone awry. It doesn't seem like he's going to spare us. In that case, even if we die, shouldn't we fulfill our mission?"
Simonan laughed cruelly.
It was a rare sight for someone facing death.
"Yes, you're right."
His squad members chuckled in agreement.
Squad 3 was a place where everyone had abnormal ways of thinking, just like their leader.
"Our mission is to eliminate everyone except the young miss. So."
His smile deepened.
"We have to kill as many as possible."
Simonan handed out the three remaining scrolls in his possession to his most agile subordinates.
"Run. Sweat until your feet bleed. If we run out of fire, then set yourselves ablaze and spread it. Let's turn this city into ashes."
In this way, they could kill as many as possible, including the young miss and her companions, and even witnesses to this fight.
Sure, the young miss might die in the process.
Well, that would just be a minor mistake during the mission.
Anyway, there would be no punishment if he died.
"Now, go!"
Paff! Pabat!
The three squad members started running in different directions.
"Let's go too. So the flames can rage even higher!"
Elric was approaching, capturing hidden Blue Wolf Squad members as if he were a ghost.
Simonan pulled out the last remaining scroll from his pocket, one that he hadn't shown Beskov.
A scroll containing the 6-circle magic, 'Bridle of Inferno.'
With this, they should be able to kill him too.
***
'Luck was on my side.'
Elric thought to himself as he systematically took down the members of Squad 3 who were hiding with his Mind's eye.
There were occasional attempts from some to ambush him, but none were successful enough to evade his senses entirely.
However, what he consistently noticed was that the dynamics of combat were definitely different from those in the Yeti Highlands.
Back then, the harsh environment made the use of the Seal of Cruelty very effective.
But now, in the city, it wasn't as easy to employ the seal.
The consumption of mana was considerable, and the range of the mana field was also limited.
It felt like hitting a wall.
Elric felt he needed to find a way to increase the efficiency of the Mana Stone or improve the achievement level of the Seal of Cruelty.
But
There was a bigger problem.
'Other attributes of magic spells or arts aren't manifesting well. And even if they do, the effects are too weak.'
Though he tried not to show it as much as possible, Elric couldn't help but feel somewhat flustered when he clashed with Beskov for the first time.
He had attempted to dull the blades of Beskov's dual swords using the Rust Curse, a iron-attribute magic, but it didn't work as effectively as he had hoped.
Similarly, when he attempted to lighten his opponent's movements using Resounding Storm, a wind-attribute magic, the effect was less than half of what it should have been.
As a result, Elric had to abandon the two magics that were only draining his mana and solely rely on ice attribute magic to fight Beskov.
Fortunately, the strategy worked and he gained the upper hand, but it was a situation that Elric had never anticipated.
'The power of the seal remains the same. Is it because the ice-attribute has increased while the others have relatively decreased?'
Elric tilted his head sideways.
'No, the absolute values have definitely decreased. Why?'
A brief moment of contemplation.
'Could it be... because of the seal?'
If that were the case, it made sense.
Elric had already obtained the Seal of Cruelty and had felt his constitution gradually changing according to its achievement level. Therefore, it wouldn't be strange at all if his mana attributes changed in accordance with that.
'Perhaps in the future, if I want to properly use magic of different attributes, I might need seals that correspond to them.'
Elric narrowed his eyes.
'I'll have to investigate more accurately later.'
But for now, he needed to focus on the fight and pour more mana into the Seal of Cruelty.
『Pffft!』
".....?"
Suddenly, Mephisto, who had been observing the fight, burst into laughter.
『It seems they're about to commit a crazy act.』
Elric was about to question what he meant but then scowled deeply.
Three twisted bundles were fleeing in all directions.
It was obvious what that meant.
They were going to set fire to the city!
"These bastards, to the bitter end!"
『Sometimes humans are crazier than demons! Ah! No matter how noble you pretend to be, this is the true face of your race!』
Whether Mephisto laughed or not, as far as Elric was concerned, it was urgent to prevent them from doing anything strange.
But Elric hadn't thought of a way to stop them.
"Hahaha!"
Simonan, who had been hiding like a rat until now, suddenly jumped out, looking spirited as he glared in his direction.
The problem was what he held in his hand.
A scroll with concentrated mana, more than any other.
'At least 6th-circle!'
And it seemed to be filled with firepower.
If that had been activated, this area, no, the entire city could have been engulfed in flames!
"If you can stop even this, I'll give you credit. How about it? Hehehe!"
Simonan laughed eerily as he attempted to tear the scroll apart.
No, he intended to tear it apart.
If it weren't for the sudden gust of wind.
Squeak-
"Ah, my arm...? My arm! Aaaah!"
Simonan's right hand, still holding the scroll, was suddenly propelled into the air.
"You're not the only one who has scrolls."
Tsutsutsu-
Beside the agonizing Simonan, Isabelle appeared with a cold smile.
In her right hand was a sword dripping with blood, and in her left hand was the torn scroll.
A scroll inscribed with the 'stealth' spell.
It was a temporary measure created by Elric in case of emergencies, just before he briefly left his position.
Elric, who had always excelled in other areas even if he couldn't use magic, naturally had some skill in scroll-making.
"You...!"
Simonan's eyes bulged with rage as he attempted to swing the sword in his left hand at Isabelle.
But...
"Nowhere."
Suddenly, Elric came closer using speed magic.
Although the effectiveness of other attributes was diminished, they weren't completely unusable.
"[Freeze]."
Elric activated the 'Frozen Touch' and struck Simonan's chest fiercely.
Crackling-
The frost penetrated straight to his heart, freezing his entire body solid.
And then.
"[Bust],[Shut up]."
Elric engraved a magic field into the bundles of grains he had sensed in advance and activated a double spell.
The ones holding the scroll inscribed with 'Advent of Headwave' were turned into solid ice hives by the onslaught of ice arrows, collapsing before long. One of them managed to tear the scroll apart before dying, but the spark barely ignited before being extinguished by the blizzard.
"Wow..."
Isabelle, who was witnessing Elric's fight up close for the first time, widened her eyes in astonishment. To her, everything seemed incredibly fascinating.
It was her first real taste of a fight.
Elric chuckled as he watched Isabelle's reaction.
Perhaps because it was her first time holding a sword, she showed great skill in cutting off Simonan's arm, but her hands trembled and she immediately sat down in place.
'But how did she manage that?'
Elric wondered. Despite Simonan being distracted by him and Isabelle being under the stealth spell, how could she deceive his senses and approach so closely?
Considering the sharpness of the martial artists he had encountered so far, it was hard to believe that someone like Isabelle, known to lack talent in swordsmanship, could pull off such a feat.
'Well, I'll deal with the remaining ones first and then ask her about it.'
Elric activated the seal of cruelty even more intensely.