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「Uh... wasn't that jerk around here, Thonvir? You know... the one that slammed your head against the wall? His asthmatic breathing was pretty recognizable.」

「Ya mean th' guy bleedin' out over there?」

「Yikes... looks like our plan to box him in fell a little short...」

Back to the present, and Zalgrough had passed out in a puddle of his blood. His double amputation was an unintended outcome caused by a limitation of magic.

The thief girl looked over my shoulder and playfully chuckled.

「Ehehe... I told you didn't I Zozo? The farther away an object is, the harder it is to accurately manipulate it...」

「And you make fun of me for my aim... Ina crapster...」

「H-hey! Those are two separate things! One requires geometric knowledge and the other—」

「Save your excuses and cauterize his wounds, will you?」

「Fiiiine~」

Melyn pouted as she molded a stone rod from the walls and infused the tip with a flame enchantment. The subsequent smell of burnt flesh was quite unpleasant.

I was somewhat thankful he was out for the count, otherwise we'd be subjected to his bloodcurdling screams.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Suddenly, loud noises came booming from the blocked-off entrances.

「Sounds like they're here. Melyn! Prepare to go up!」

「Ah! Right! This will take a while!」

The thief girl scuttled to the center of the room, placed her hands on the ground, and closed her eyes. Thonvir was even more puzzled than before.

「Lorenzo, what's goin' on?!」

「We're heading to the surface. All of us.」

「Ya can't mean—」

Brack!

A foot busted through the eastern barricaded entrance. As expected, the magically constructed wooden walls couldn't hold against a horde of hired arms.

As Melyn was preoccupied with casting her grand-scale spell, it was up to me to take out our pursuers.

So, with a replacement cudgel in hand and my trusty ballistette on my side, I stood ready to face the incoming flock of crooked thugs.

I glanced at the boy.

「Thonvir!」

「Y-yeah..?」

「I know you detest any kid who isn't your sister but... can I leave these rugrats to you? Keep them out of harm's way while I wallop these fools.」

「S-sure... might as well make it up t' ya while I can...」

I winked at the boy and charged forward.

First thug who broke through was greeted with the end of my solid club.

Thwack!

A well-placed hit to the noggin was all I needed to knock him out. Same with the rest of the crooks.

The horde was no match for my months of intensive training.

Thwack! Twack! Thwuck!

「Someone take out th' kid! He's wipin' us out! Ack!」

Each successive blow only stoked my zeal. Strikes connected, forming devastating combos. The crux of my ardor was none other than frustration.

Before me, spilling into the room were walking, talking outlets for my suppressed exasperation. An exasperation I had kept inside me for so long.

A longing for domination. Deep-seated. Ugly. Pronounced. It finally burst forth in the form of unadulterated savagery.

The children bore witness not to a hero, but a villain. One who reveled in the "justice" he was dishing out.

Fwoop!

An arrow went whizzing by the thief girl and into the breached western entrance, now swarming with hostiles. Two shots remained in my pouch.

「There's th' runts! Let's get 'em!」

Their first priority was capturing the orphans, so I opted to zip away from the few men that remained in the eastern door and assume a defensive position in front of the children.

Thonvir had cleverly instructed them to hide behind the long assembly table, an obstacle that separated them from the invading forces.

As the main bulk of the guards arrived though, things were looking hairy.

Will I even make it in time? Damn, the prisoners are also out in the open... I can't protect everybody here...

My worries were assuaged by what followed.

Bvvv! Bvvv!

Melyn had enclosed herself and the freed prisoners with sturdy wooden walls. With them covered, I could focus on the kids in peril.

「Melyn, how's that spell going?! You better have not wasted the last of your energy on that move! This whole operation rides on you!」

「Just give me a minute! It's hard to concentrate on mental calculations and pay attention to what's going on!」

「When you're done with your algebra test, give us a holler aight?!」

I slid under the assembly table and kicked a thug off his feet. About twenty men had us surrounded.

Some tried to break through to Melyn, but as I had faith in the structural soundness of her magical architecture, I focused on the guys in the vanguard.

Thwack! Twack! Thwuck!

One by one they dropped like flies.

The children, who'd previously teetered on the brink of hopelessness, began cheering for me.

Hearing the scattered whoops of encouragement so close to my ears pushed me on. Stamina was not an issue—the adrenaline was near-overwhelming.

Then, one remained. A single armed thug quaking in his boots amongst his fallen comrades.

I pointed my ballistette at him. Sweaty and breathless, I attempted to look cool in front of my audience of young boys and girls.

「Who is... your... leader..?」

The delivery was a bit off, but I'm pretty sure it wowed them.

By the time I mustered the words though, the man was long gone. I probably should've dispatched him then and there...

「Zozo I'm ready!」

「You're just in time. I took care of the last of them. Can't guarantee there aren't more on the way though...」

「That's fine! Just stay as close to the center as possible! I don't know how well I've calculated this! Wouldn't want anyone to fall off!」

「Gotcha! Hear that Thonvir? We're practically home-free.」

Thonvir had Ysolva tucked in his arms throughout the ordeal. Once I gave the all-clear, the two siblings happily rejoiced—the orphans followed suit. This nightmare was about to end.

We did as Melyn said and stayed by the wall in the middle of the chamber. The area rumbled as her spell took effect.

「Hang on!」

BVVVVVVVV!!!

And like that, we were off.

The ceiling opened up to the surface. Moonlight had graced us with its presence. Using all of her mental strength, Melyn had ripped the city streets asunder.

We had burst through a small intersection.

Some of the empty buildings collapsed, but the oncoming rubble was largely negated by the thief girl's powers. It was a miraculous feat only a seasoned magic caster could accomplish.

If there was an army of these magic casters... couldn't they ravage any nation in their way..?

As I rethought the balance in this realm, our ascent had abruptly ceased. We were left in an awkward position—precariously situated between two devastated houses.

Thankfully no one was injured, save for the unconscious hoodlums littered about the floor. Melyn must've made sure no one was above us while calculating the spell.

Her mastery of Ina was not to be understated.

The walls that encased Melyn and the prisoners had slowly crumbled. Everyone was safe.

Melyn looked as though she was in a lot of pain. Most probably a throbbing headache. She was the MVP of this whole thing.

「Is everyone alright? Help should come soon. There's no way the Sentinels didn't catch all that.」

「Aye Lorenzo... we made it... Ya really saved us... Thanks...」

Thonvir smiled at me as Ysolva hid behind him. She too tried to gesture her appreciation.

A satisfying conclusion if I do say so myself...

But as I lowered my guard, the universe had one more trial for me to undergo.

「Z-Zozo..!」

Shnk!

A sharp twinge. Something had impaled my arm.

What is this..? An ice pick..?

I glanced at my limb and did a double-take

Wait, an... ice pick..?

Out of all the people to run into... why now..?

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