*Interlude*

In a certain part of the forest, Stephanie, the Orc Guild Master hands over a volleyball-size azure crystal ball to Pepprica, the Halfling old man.

The azure crystal ball is the Topology Mana Denser that was supposed to be used against Fiend Kraken in the previous raid battle.

"I filled it with mana already. But what are you trying to do with this?"

Stephanie says that right after handing over the azure crystal ball.

"This crystal ball has a function of building a connection with the leyline. So, I will use that function to apply my own magic formula."

Pepprica says that while inspecting the azure crystal ball.

"I heard about the possibility of a monster absorbing mana from leyline. Do you think you can stop it?"

Stephanie says that while looking at Pepprica.

"Who knows. Anyone who can actually mess with leyline is never someone who can be taken lightly."

Pepprica says that while putting the Topology Mana Denser to the ground. He then starts talking again.

"I'll draw a magic circle on the ground, so make sure no one else comes near here."

Pepprica then starts drawing on the soft ground with his small finger. Stephanie nods in response to his request.

.....

....

...

"If His Majesty does not order you to fight with the resident of this town, then please retreat! Graize Els Victorious!"

Shion shouts hard to make sure that Victorious can hear her while still riding the winged horse in the night sky.

Victorious just silently looks at Shion while remembering the time he found Shion's hidden alchemy equipment inside her room after the mansion raid incident.

He also remembers the King's words while they are talking inside one of the Kingdom's chamber. The white-haired old man is sitting on an expensive looking red sofa while Victorious is standing up straight hearing his words.

"I never doubt your loyalty. Not even for a single moment. However, it is still a fact that your daughter has been hiding something like that from you all these years."

The moment the King finishes saying that, he stands up, goes beside the sofa, and continues talking with his back facing Victorious.

"Short lifespan, accelerated aging, level 0 Astral Body... I didn't expect such a frail existence to hide its dangerous nature for years."

"..."

Victorious does not have anything to say back. Even if he does, he won't say it in front of the King. The King then continues talking.

"If you find her, capture her for interrogation. If she shows any slight resistance... kill her."

Victorious continues to stare at Shion while remembering that. The large ball of fire is still above him, ready to be thrown at any moment.

Meanwhile, Veylene Reverangel, the black-haired elf, still has both of her hands buried in the ground while trying to break free from golden particles emitted from Victorious' Crest Force.

(This sensation... it's as if I am being stepped on by a giant monster that has much more weight than me. I can't break free because the ground is too weak...!)

Then she looks at Victorious above while ignoring Shion in front of her.

(However, this weird magic is definitely coming from that guy. In that case, I just have to break his concentration!)

Veylene starts inhaling the air around her. The inhale is so strong that Shion can feel the wind blowing behind her.

Victorious eyes twitch slightly, knowing that Veylene is trying to do something. His grip on his sword doesn't loosen at all.

Right after Veylene finishes inhaling, she screams at the top of her lung, sending shockwaves around her.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"!?"

Veylene's scream is so loud that Shion, who is standing near her, falls to the front. Her shocked eyes show that her ears cannot withstand the sounds, and her body is completely paralysed on the ground.

"!?"

Just like Shion, who does not have the time to cover her ears, Victorious also gets caught off guard, resulting in him losing his concentration over the Crimson Flame Blackout magic and his Crest Force power.

The Crimson Flame Blackout's large fireball and magic circle disperses into nothingness together with golden particles surrounding Veylene.

"!?"

Unlike Shion, Midora who is sitting on a tree immediately covers both of his ears out of reflex upon hearing the deafening scream.

Gazelott the winged horse is also shocked by Veylene's scream that it stops flying and starts falling to the ground. Victorious jumps out of Gazelott before it crashes to the ground. Victorious still manages to land perfectly.

Gazelott becomes paralysed on the ground just like Shion.

The scream is so loud that it reaches Stephanie's place. It does not sound that loud due to the distance.

"A monster's roar...?"

Pepprica's says that while drawing magic circle on the soft ground.

"No, this sound is..."

Stephanie says that while recognising the owner of that scream.

(Veylene...?)

Rimikia the elf receptionist suddenly thinks that when she hears the scream while resting near a tree.

The scream also reaches the part of the forest where Nelsia and her allies are. But they ignore the scream as they are more focused on preparing something.

The scream also reaches the part of forest where the three human bandits are sleeping. The sleeping bandits consist of the short man, fat man, and the thin man.

"...?"

The thin man slowly wakes up because of the scream, but the other two are still snoring.

The scream also reaches where Antarea and Miika stand. Miika is wiping his tears off while hearing the scream before talking.

"*sniff* That sound..."

Antarea looks at the night sky while questioning about the scream.

"A monster's roar?"

"Finally found you."

Suddenly, a woman's voice can be heard from the forest.

"!?"

Both Miika and Antarea are surprised, and they immediately look at the source of that sound.

From the source of that sound, Antarea and Miika see Erkimi the dyrad receptionist and Griselda who is wearing a black witch hat.

Back at Midora, he stops covering his ears while looking at the magic screen in front of him.

(I know that scream won't hurt me. But I still ended up covering my ears out of reflex...)

Midora can't hide his surprise while looking at the screen.

While Gazelott and Shion are still paralysed on the ground, Victorious glances a little at Shion before glaring at Veylene.

Veylene smirks and then immediately rushes towards Victorious with a single dash. She passes Shion in an instant.

Victorious brings his right hand forward, and his Crest Force of winged golden sword shines at the back of his right hand.

Countless golden particles appear near Victorious and rush towards Veylene.

Veylene stops and grips her sheathed katana really hard to smash all the golden particles away with only swing.

"!"

Victorious is surprised a bit, but still maintaining his focus towards Veylene.

Unlike the previous two times where Graize Crest Force's power stops Veylene's movement by her weight, Veylene uses her strength to overwhelm the golden particles' weight before the particles can reach her.

"That annoying trick won't work anymore. Therefore..."

Veylene says that while gripping her sheathed katana with both hands. Then she shouts and dashes towards Victorious again.

"IT'S TIME TO END THIS!!!"

Veylene brings down her katana with the intention of smashing Victorious. The impact of the smash causes an explosion of dust on the ground as well as creating shockwaves that destroy three burning houses at once.

The impact is so strong that it creates a crater on the ground in front of Veylene.

However, Veylene is shocked by the fact that Victorious is standing behind her. On top of that, her left metal shoulder was already cut before she even realized it.

"... Damn you!!!"

Veylene quickly swings her sheathed katana behind her. But Victorious evades it by jumping behind a bit, just far enough for the attack to not hit him.

Then Veylene dashes forward and continues her barrage of attacks with her sheathed katana but all her attacks are either parried or evaded by Victorious with minimal movements.

During their fight, Shion manages to recover a bit from the damage caused by Veylene's scream and look at the fight while still lying on the ground. Her ears are still ringing so she can't hear things clearly.

(Urgh... what just happened?)

She thinks that while assessing the situation around her.

The moment Victorious sees an opening, he evades Veylene's thrust by stepping to the left and slashes Veylene's left shoulder.

Veylene's right shoulder guard is immediately cut into two like a butter together with the cloth behind it. But that slash does not leave a single scratch on Veylene's shoulder itself.

Frustrated by battle flow, Veylene jumps back while inhaling. She plans to use her scream again.

"Sharpening."

However, Victorious immediately closes the distance between them while whispering his magic.

A white magic circle appears on his sword and engulfs his sword with white light in an instant. It's the same magic that is engraved in Miika's magic dagger, a magic that can sharpen blades.

When Veylene is about to scream, Victorious slashes her open mouth.

"!?"

Veylene staggers and coughs because of that attack.

The moment Victorious sees that even his sharpened sword can't damage Veylene, he cancels his magic, which is shown by the white light disappearing from his sword.

"*cough* How... In terms of strength and speed, I'm clearly superior. Just how?!"

Veylene shouts angrily at Victorious.

Victorious then replies calmly.

"Self-taught sword techniques will never reach me."

That statement not only shows his absolute confidence in battle prowess but also shows his absolute confidence in understanding his opponent.

In just a few clashes, Victorious already understands Veylene's fighting style. A feat that is possible due to his vast experience in battle.

"You...!"

Veylene says that because she takes Victorious' statement as an insult.

Both Veylene and Victorious ready their weapon again.

However, before they clash again, both of them sense something from the sky and look above.

At the same time, Midora looks at the sky.

"It's finally here..."

He says that with a smile.

Shion gets confused a bit by both Veylene's and Victorious' actions that she decides to look at the sky.

In her eyes, she sees a rain of countless fireballs from the sky.

*End of Interlude*