A pillar of black flames erupted from beneath the cabin, shattering it into fragments.

I gazed at the flaming remains.

Emerging from the flames was a figure in a robe, a girl wearing a pointed hat resembling those worn by witches.

She appeared quite young.

In her hand, she held a staff adorned with a large gemstone.

"What is this?"

Shielding herself with a barrier, the girl, with a furrowed brow, stepped out from between the flames.

"Hmm..."

She had clearly been hit with dark magic, yet she walked out from the flames without a single scratch.

"Who are you people?"

The girl asked, narrowing her eyes at us.

Instead of answering, I asked back,

"Who are you?"

The girl looked at me incredulously.

"Really?... You attacked without even knowing who I am? Is this how youngsters behave these days?"

I was taken aback by her words.

She looked younger than us, but she referred to us as 'youngsters,' which was quite absurd.

First, I gathered my thoughts to grasp the situation.

She had been ambushed and directly hit by dark magic, but the girl emerged unscathed.

Either she was overwhelmingly powerful, or she specialized in defensive magic.

As I pondered the situation, the girl alternated her gaze between Luna and me, then spoke.

"If you attacked out of the blue, I assume you're enemies?"

With a swift motion, she swung the staff in her hand.

Mana began to swirl.

From her, figures emerged as if she was made of smoke.

"...What's this?"

The smoke-like entities transformed to look exactly like the girl.

The smoke-clones then emitted more smoke from their bodies, replicating themselves in what seemed like a cloning technique.

Luna urgently shouted,

"Rudy! It's illusion magic!"

The scene was now filled with dozens of figures resembling the girl.

They all reached out their hands.

"Fireball."

Dozens of fire orbs hurtled towards us.

"Barrier."

I uttered the word calmly.

The fire balls collided with my barrier.

Yet, only two impacts were felt on the barrier.

This meant that not only the girl but also the fire balls were illusions.

"Hmm..."

The only offensive spell she used freely amidst the illusions was fireball.

It seemed more likely now that she primarily focused on defensive magic.

But I couldnt be sure just yet.

For now, I needed to deal with these illusory duplicates.

"Priscilla."

Behind me, blue droplets started to gather.

These tiny droplets combined, growing larger, and began to take on the shape of a wolf.

That wolf was Priscilla.

Surveying the surroundings, Priscilla spoke,

"What should I do?"

I responded firmly.

"Eliminate them all."

"As the contractor wishes."

Priscilla spoke with an unusual sense of authority.

Immediately after, a chilling wind began to blow.

Despite it clearly being a time when spring transitioned into summer.

Countless ice spikes formed around Priscilla.

These spikes soared towards all the girls in the vicinity.

Crack!

All the girls except one were impaled by the ice spikes.

One of them erected a barrier to repel the ice, while the others looked like mirages, their forms wavering where the ice had struck them.

That one girl, seemingly intrigued, rubbed her chin and remarked,

"Oh? An elemental?"

Her tone was oddly reminiscent of an old person's.

"For a young one, you seem to possess quite a formidable elemental, don't you?"

Though she had the appearance of a young girl, her speech was that of a wise old sage.

Her demeanor also showcased her experienced nature.

"Shall we have a proper battle then?"

The girl let out a sly grin.

"Let me show you the power of the great sorcerer Jefrin."

...Jefrin?

"Huh?"

Luna, standing next to Rudy, looked perplexed.

However, there was no time to ask further.

"Let's see whose ice magic is superior."

The girl who introduced herself as Jefrin raised her hand skyward.

"Spear of Severe Cold."

Just as when Priscilla cast her spell earlier, blue orbs began to gather above the girl's head.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, even colder than when Priscilla had used her magic.

"Rudy, that magic is..."

"Yeah, I know."

It was one of the most potent ice spells.

I had studied about ice magic before, particularly to understand the abilities Priscilla could harness.

And that spell, the Spear of Severe Cold, was among the trickier ones in the domain of ice magic.

If that ice spear struck the ground, everything around would freeze instantly, turning even a summer day to feel like the depths of winter.

"But, there's no way that's real, right?"

We had just confirmed that she uses illusion magic.

If she was truly proficient in ice magic, she would've begun with that instead.

It's common to lead with one's primary magic.

"But still..."

Luna's concerns were understandable.

The cold we were feeling felt very real.

Even if the rest was an illusion, her mastery over illusionary magic was undeniable.

I had once heard a story: A person felt cold and even froze to death in a warm place simply because the thermometer indicated below freezing.

It was a matter of perception.

However, we were aware that this was an illusion.

Yet, the cold was palpable.

If that spear descends, we might feel an even more intense cold.

"Hehe..."

Jefrin let out a chuckle.

And with that, she swung her arm downward.

The blue spear floating in the sky began to fall.

I must stop it.

"Priscil..."

"I'll handle it!"

Just as I was about to block the spear with Priscilla, Luna shouted.

A spellbook was already open in Luna's hands, emitting a radiant glow.

Bang!

The surrounding air seemed to explode with a resounding echo.

Sonic Boom.

A technique that emits a powerful soundwave.

Though usually, it doesn't inflict major damage unless it hits directly.

However, Lunas magic was enhanced with a magic circle.

It was potent enough to strike everything around.

The weakness of illusion magic:

If the core of the illusion magic is struck in any manner, the illusion disappears.

For illusion magic typically employed via a magical tool, one simply needs to strike that tool.

If the wizard themselves conjures the illusion, they become the core.

In other words, if the wizard is hit, the illusion vanishes.

Perhaps that's why Jefrin was adept at using defensive magic.

But this time, Jefrin couldn't defend against Luna's spell.

Sonic Boom is a spell that strikes with the speed of sound.

Furthermore, Luna's spell isn't one where she has to chant an incantation.

She merely infuses mana into the spellbook to activate it.

Jefrin had no time to react.

She was directly hit by Luna's spell.

Ugh!

Huh?

Though the attack landed successfully, something seemed off about where the sound came from.

Jefrin's voice came from right behind us.

The girl's figure that was before us and the spear hovering in the sky shimmered and disappeared.

I quickly channeled mana into my feet, attempting to spin and counterattack.

"It's already too late."

Jefrin's staff struck my head faster than I could complete my kick.

No, it wasnt so much a strike as it was a gentle tap.

"Eternal Sleep."

Before I could fully execute my move, my consciousness began to blur.

It felt as if a switch was flipped off in my head.

Before my eyes, I saw Jefrin smiling.

"Sweet dreams~."

I lost consciousness.

Astina quickly made her way towards Rudy.

Their strategy was for Rudy to ambush the rebels first, and then for Astina to join in and finish them off.

They had originally planned for Astina to join the initial assault, but they decided on a surprise attack led by Rudy, thinking that Cedric and the rebels with him might have a means of communication.

However, this turned out to be a mistake.

"Rudy?"

From a distance, she saw Rudy falling, struck down by a staff wielded by a young wizard.

Fury welled up inside Astina.

How dare they hurt...?

Astina began to harness a vast amount of mana.

Even while she had been receiving her heir lessons, Astina never neglected her magic training.

During her second year, she was already as strong as, if not stronger than, the third years.

Now, she had grown even more formidable.

"What the..."

Jefrin felt the overpowering surge of mana and turned to see its source.

Her eyes landed on a woman.

A woman with fiery red hair.

She was hovering in the sky, glaring down at him.

She looked extremely... extremely angry.

With Astina moving such a vast amount of mana, even the rebels, who had been previously oblivious due to the silencing spell, began to emerge one by one.

Even ordinary soldiers, typically insensitive to magic, could feel the magnitude of this mana.

In a calm voice, Astina uttered,

"Gravity Field."

Ah...

Jefrin let out a sigh of resignation.

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