She Who Became Immortal

Maya Grimoire pondered to herself, “When did that happen?” It was the day the forces of the “Anti-Lion Alliance” arrived at the orc village. Euphemia, who had become intrigued by the concept of dust explosions, decided to test it by blowing up the food storage. She was sent soaring, propelled high above the roof, and fell back to the ground.

“Anyone who can keep their balance after being blown away like that must be insane. Spinning around without knowing up from down, left from right, and inevitably crashing into the ground,” Maya recalled with a laugh. Euphemia, the girl who never seemed to die, was indeed quite fragile in direct combat. She probably couldn’t even defeat a kobold. Yet, Euphemia never let it get her down. She always faced challenges with her head held high and a joyful smile.

It was Euphemia who had strengthened Junos. It wasn’t through rigorous training or anything like that. Euphemia had simply shared a few insights on how to harness the magic of the demon species. From there, Junos had continuously honed his skills day in and day out.

From a very young age, Maya had never been able to beat Junos. He was the chieftain’s child, and Maya was a girl—she could have rationalized it that way, but she didn’t. In her days of wielding a stick, which had turned into a wooden sword, she managed to defeat Junos a few times by switching to a spear, though she was always at a disadvantage.

And now, he was beyond her reach.

Maya felt her body reach the apex of its ascent. For a brief moment, she experienced the sensation of being liberated from the world. A moment later, she would begin to fall. That was a certainty.

What was unclear was her own relentless drive to improve despite being out of reach.

The same could be said for that young swordsman. To be blown upwards by him in a split second? A swordsman unleashing a powerful “sword strike” instead of a magician? It was absurd. What did he think of people's efforts? Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves while advancing ahead.

She opened her eyes. She still gripped her spear. Her sense of balance remained intact.

She saw Junos, who had been lurking, revealing himself and slicing through the young swordsman’s great sword. Junos’s sword did not scatter flashy lights like the young swordsman’s. He was focused, channeling all his magic into his body and sword. Such concentration was beyond Maya’s capabilities.

Even so—she had no intention of giving up.

Maya tightened her grip on the spear, twisting her body mid-air and using a directional “explosion” magic aimed at her back. It was a spell taught by Regalo, though she could not use it as skillfully as he could. She couldn’t instantly deploy it in a desired space within her line of sight, but she could activate it at a considerable speed close to her body.

With a thud, she was propelled back to the ground.

At the same time, she infused all her remaining magic into the spear—throwing it with all her might!

Unlike Junos, Maya could not delicately manipulate magic in every action. There would inevitably be excess. She would tense up. So, she made an effort to channel as much magic as possible into the spear alone.

—Silence.

Without even the sound of air being sliced, as if teleporting to the spot, the spear’s tip pierced through.

Her target was the young swordsman’s midsection. However, the spear struck the ground instead.

The young swordsman, who had just had his great sword severed, did not even take a moment to savor his surprise. With incredible reflexes, he retreated in a single leap, moving approximately fifteen paces back.

A moment later, Maya landed near her spear. She glared at the young swordsman while gripping the spear embedded in the ground. His gaze barely registered her presence. Although he seemed to see her, his focus was on Junos.

Maya couldn’t help but smile.

But the fact remained that the young swordsman had indeed dodged her spear. He had judged it dangerous enough to evade. It wasn’t a waste, nor meaningless, nor powerless.

“…I see, so you were cooperating with the beastmen. You mentioned something about avenging your father. Are you a survivor from Escard?”

The young swordsman muttered irritably, drawing a backup straight sword from his waist.

Maya withdrew her spear from the ground, spinning it around, and aimed the tip at the young swordsman with a smile. She had never smiled in such situations before. Now, it was different.

“A coward who fled the battlefield, scheming secretly with beastmen behind the scenes. I see, that’s why you’re not that scary. Building such a grand fortress is impressive, but with you lot inside, it’s not worth talking about.”

It was probably a provocation. Maya did not respond to the young swordsman’s mocking grin. This was not a time for idle chatter.

The approach was too fast.

The sword strikes were too powerful.

The magical defense was too strong.

Indeed, with such a hand of cards, it might not be a lie that they killed Janus Yunofeliza, Junos’s father. Although Junos had severed the great sword, the backup sword was more than enough to kill Maya. It might even be more troublesome due to its smaller size.

“Not whining, I’ll give you that.”

Junos spoke. Unlike Maya, he probably had the confidence to handle the situation even while talking. Without showing any hint of mockery or disdain, Junos continued, his black magic sword remaining still.

“We know a bit about your internal affairs. That’s why we came to capture the ‘Healing Saint.’ Don’t try to claim it’s unrelated to this invasion. Just being here makes you one of them. An invader without pride or justice has no right to complain about what happens to them at the hands of filthy beastmen and fleeing demons.”

“Damn… If I had known, I would have ignored Victor and Blitz and just left this place.”

—!!!

Before Maya’s eyes, the young swordsman appeared in the blink of an eye. The difference in range between sword and spear was irrelevant at such speed.

A horizontal slash with the speed and strength that could almost be admired was deflected by Junos’s magic sword, which had slipped in unnoticed. The metallic clang and the magical energy contained in the “sword strike” scattered with a burst of light.

In that gap—she struck!

Maya had already accepted that Junos would deflect any attack with ease. No matter what she did, she couldn’t withstand the young swordsman’s strikes. So, whether Junos or Maya was targeted, there was only one thing to do:

Junos would handle the deflections.

Therefore, Maya would strike.

She had missed her chance earlier. This time, she aimed to exploit the opening created when the swordsman swung his blade—though it wasn’t that simple.

The young swordsman swung his sword horizontally, and Junos intervened, his magic sword deflecting the horizontal strike upwards. Maya’s spear aimed to pierce through that gap. Despite the flawless coordination of their unplanned attack, the swordsman, using the momentum from the deflected strike, spun around and channeled magic into his left hand, forcefully redirecting the spear’s tip with a side strike.

Junos made the next move.

As Junos deflected the swordsman’s horizontal swing, Maya thrust her spear. The swordsman dodged, naturally creating an opening. With his blade held in the right hand, he could not immediately retaliate. Junos’s magic sword aimed a diagonal cut at the swordsman.

But he didn’t.

Instead, the swordsman twisted and spun, using the scabbard of his left-side sword to parry Junos’s strike. He spun further, propelled by the force of the impact, avoiding the fatal cut thanks to the magic-enforced iron scabbard. He had quickly adapted his experience from losing his prized great sword moments ago.

With a forceful landing that seemed to shake the ground, the distance between them had increased to twelve paces.

The young swordsman’s gaze was now filled with lethal intent. Maya braced herself for a serious attack, expecting a sword strike powerful enough to crack the fortress walls. She needed to divert it with all her might or face a deadly outcome.

“That's enough. I’ve taken a hostage,” a voice announced.

The nine-tailed fox, who had appeared behind them at some point, proudly displayed a human woman cradled in its arms. It was the “Healing Saint.”

“Be quiet. If it’s Miss Mizetta, she can heal herself as long as the injury isn’t fatal. If you want her as a hostage, it means you don’t want to kill her. If she’s dead, she’s no use as a hostage. She’s not suited for torture,” the young swordsman retorted.

“That may be true if she could heal herself,” Kairine said with a leering smile. “But, dear boy, you don’t want to see her harmed, do you?”

The young swordsman’s expression turned scornful.

“Didn’t you hear? She can heal herself. Even if she’s injured, she’ll heal right away. She might even survive a beheading.”

“Even if she’s asleep?” Kairine laughed again. It made sense now why the “Saint” showed no reaction—she was likely put to sleep by the fox’s enchantments. Much like Serena, it seemed the fox’s magic often interfered with the mind.

“It’s not my hobby, but I could slice her from fingertip to shoulder. As long as my spell is active, she won’t wake up.”

“...Try it... Nine-Tails... Are you a bandit?”

“How naive. Do you still believe in such nonsense? It’s a fabrication concocted by the Second Prince and Foresight. Although it’s true I had dealings with the Golt Armed Trading Company, are you not aware of that fact?”

“...I don’t care.”

“Well then, people are starting to gather. The ‘Explosive Pressure’ spell creates quite a noise, so this area is about to reach its limit. Young man, though I would love to watch you sulk for a while, we can’t afford to let you gamble. Let me give you some good news.”

“...Oh?”

“You don’t want the ‘Healing Saint’ to be killed, right? Whether for professional or personal reasons, it’s far more sane than wishing for her death. We have no intention of losing, but if we were to, we’d rather kill the hostage. That’s not good news for you.”

Kairine’s narrowed eyes suggested this was the real point. Listening to this fox’s words meant the young swordsman had already lost. It was not just a matter of magical prowess; Kairine had achieved this through sheer manipulative skill, something the human boy had no way of knowing.

A quick glance behind Kairine revealed Regalo had retreated to a safe distance. Given the circumstances, it was likely a futile effort, but at least it was a wise decision to stay out of reach.

“What’s so great about that news? I could kill you right here, you damn fox—”

“We will win,” Kairine said calmly.

The ordinary tone of the statement extinguished the young swordsman’s murderous intent.

“If we win, we won’t need to take this charming girl’s life. For that reason, we’ll be taking her with us.”

“...Are you kidding? No matter how impressive your fortress is, you can’t possibly outnumber us. Even a group of demons can be wiped out without trying too hard.”

“Is it the Kingdom of Louisse? If a unified nation attacks us, the chances of winning are very slim. However—this time, it’s just the Second Prince.”

Kairine winked with a nonchalant air.

Despite the obvious insincerity, there was an undeniable weight to her words that Maya couldn’t ignore. Maya didn’t even know what to do with the “Saint of Healing” as a hostage, but Kairine knew—or at least had considered.

It was unclear how much this aligned with Euphemia’s plans, but this fox saw the strategic value in capturing the “Saint.”

“Well then, troops are gathering, so time is truly running short. So, young man, please escort us part of the way to ensure we don’t get killed. Your goals differ from the Second Prince’s. He would prefer to kill the ‘Saint’ rather than have her as a hostage.”

Kairine’s expression was genuinely amused, almost to the point of pitying the young swordsman.