Kissing, the Purebred of Thorns

In the middle of Mudor Canyon, toward the northeast.

They were at the Mother Point—a majestic rocky mountain where one could get an

almost complete view of the vast canyon. They watched as the sun set over the horizon.

"Iska, how do things look?"

It was five in the afternoon.

From behind, Jhin had asked Iska, who was checking out the distance with a highmagnification scope.

"I saw the vortex erupt once. Seems like it's settled down. What about you?"

"No movements. The location of the transmitter overlaps the vortex. Their hideout is

over there, and the captured Imperial soldiers are gathered there in all likelihood."

"Iska, Jhin." Opening the door, Nene beckoned them over.

She was in an armored Imperial car, but this one wasn't a convertible but a camouflaged

vehicle that blended into the rock surface of the canyon.

"We have two hours till the missile bombing."

"…Let's go." Iska stood up from his stooped position.

The camp of Nebulis would be hypervigilant of them attempting to rescue Captain

Mismis, which meant this team was sneaking into the stronghold with this knowledge.

…It'll take twenty minutes by car to get to the vortex from here.

…If we can, we need to save Captain Mismis within the hour.

They couldn't use the whole two hours to save the prisoners, because they would need

to retreat to a safe zone before the bomb detonated.

"Iska?"

"I know…" He assented to Jhin, who lugged the sniper rifle over his shoulder. Iska

pulled the astral swords strapped to his back into his hands. "…that we're going to

need to beat a purebred at that hideout."

"Within forty-five minutes. Then we'll have a purebred as our prisoner, and they'll

have our soldiers. We might be able to negotiate to trade hostages. Defeat them in

forty-five minutes and trade in fifteen. That'll be an hour."

Right.

A blood relative of Nebulis was just that valuable. If he could capture a purebred witch,

they might be able to trade for nearly a dozen captured Empire soldiers. In order to

take back the prisoners within the time they had, this was their best hand.

"The purebreds are bona fide monsters. They're unbelievable to say the least." Jhin

climbed into the disguised car. "Even a Saint Disciple has their hands full trying to fend

one off. If we can take one prisoner, that accomplishment will be the first of its kind in

Empire history. If I say it outright, trading one for just a handful of Empire soldier

prisoners is cheap. We should be using them to negotiate for peace between the two

countries like Iska's always saying."

"…Well…"

They would have to apprehend this brutal opponent within an hour.

It was the most reckless gamble they had taken since the inception of Unit 907.

They had thrown in their coin.

Northeast area of Mudor Canyon.

In the terribly twisted cliff of the dimly lit canyon, the rift was illuminated by a faint

green light. The diameter of the vortex spanned around ten yards. The bedrock of the

valley had broken up in the shape of a gigantic hole, where the glow of the astral

energy pooled.

It was like a pond of light.

Imagine a hot water spring and swap out the gurgling water with a glow of light. That's

the sight that greeted any who drew near.

"Alice, careful where you step," he warned Alice, who was narrowly at the edge of the

vortex hole. It was a man concealed in black clothes and a mask—one of the purebreds

in the House of Zoa, Lord Mask. "We don't know its depth. If you go for a tumble, you

might fall right into the bowels of the planet."

"Oh? Are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am," he proclaimed, as though he were a gentleman. "If you—the daughter

of the current queen—were injured at a Zoa base, I imagine the populace wouldn't

look at us very kindly."

"..." Just as she'd thought he was being unusually kind, he showed his true colors.

This man might be the most patronizing person in the Sovereignty. "If you're so blunt

about the way you say that, I can't even be angry with you."

"Nobility and Honesty are my middle names. Oh, and I've got one more thing to tell

you, because I'm an honest man. There's a reason why it'll be a problem if you fall into

this vortex."

"That's—" She thought for a while. "Because you think I'll become stronger if I fall into

this vortex? It would mean the daughter of the queen would have more power and

increase the House of Lou's influence."

"The color of the light doesn't match yours. I may not know what astral energy fills

this pit, but I'm positive it's not yours—not ice. I'm sure you know that, too."

"Then, what's the reason?"

"It seems that the vortex is smaller than anticipated," he explained. His voice was

mixed with a rare annoyance. "Look at this light."

"…I don't think it's reached full tide."

They observed the astral light that filled the hole in the ground. At high tide, the astral

energy would erupt and gush out like a volcano.

"No. It already has."

"With this much?"

"It seems this astral energy is fickle. For the most part, it's already flowed onto another

location underground, which means this vortex will remain immature." Lord Mask

shrugged.

"I see. With a vortex this small, only a handful of mages will be able to receive its

blessing. If I fell into the hole—"

"It would just be a waste of resources. According to the expert opinion of our

researchers, it will only strengthen one or two people before we use it up completely."

"This vortex really is a precious resource."

"But it's also good news. It means we can expend it quickly."

Which made sense, since the Empire was after the vortex, too. If mages could consume

its energy for all it was worth, the Empire wouldn't be able to do anything about it,

while Nebulis reaped all its benefits.

"Meaning we must find compatible mages as soon as possible—"

"We've finished choosing the candidates. Based on our analysis of the vortex, we've

found five mages with a compatibility rating of over forty percent. All that's left is to

rank them in order to test it out."

"…How efficient."

By opening this can of worms, Alice could see the clear outline of Lord Mask's scheme.

Out of all the soldiers in the astral corps who swore their allegiance to the House of

Zoa, he was attempting to make a mage with enough power to compete with a

purebred.

Nonetheless, Alice had no way to object in this situation.

"Lord."

"What's wrong, Commander?" He turned around to find an officer of the base. The

woman was not in the uniform of the astral corps—though neither was Alice in her

royal dress and Lord Mask in formal wear—but a coat.

…Is this mage from the palace royal guards?

…Which means he went out of his way to dispatch these special soldiers from our home

country to the front lines.

"Our kindred Shanorotte has returned. She has a new one in her possession—an

Imperial army captain."

"Just as I would expect."

"And the report?"

"Of course, immediately. She's done a splendid job. Alice, what would you like to do?"

"…I'll accompany you."

Taking along the guard, Lord Mask started to walk with a spring in his gait.

"Lord Mask, is Shanorotte the one who captured the Imperial units yesterday…?"

"Yes. A native-born spy, trained in the assassin unit from a young age." He told her that

they had sent mages to infiltrate the Imperial military school, where they trained to

rise into the ranks of captains.

From what Alice had heard, the woman was a captain of a team of three Nebulis

soldiers.

"To think you'd opt for the slow-and-steady plan."

"The trick to beautiful flowers starts from sowing the seed. You need to be patient."

They arrived at the base headquarters in a flat area that lay deep in the bottom of the

canyon. Though it was a prefabricated building, it was sturdier than a wooden

structure, resistant to fire, and surprisingly spacious. It was even equipped with an

individual room for an unexpected visitor like Alice.

"Please wait here, Lord Mask and Lady Alice. I will bring Shanorotte."

The area was covered in rugs. And though they were simple, the living room was

outfitted with tables, chairs, and a sofa. The staff and Rin, who had been waiting at

headquarters, sat there in a row.

"Lady Alice, you've returned. Would you like some water?"

"Thank you, Rin. I just had some tea. I'll have to pass."

As Rin came to accompany her, Lord Mask surveyed the scene, looking around at the

waiting subordinates.

"Now then, all of you. We've done better than expected. In addition to finding the

vortex, we're restrained several Imperial units. If we can return to the Sovereignty,

that would be ideal. But—" Lord Mask turned his eyes to the wall.

The map of the canyon marked the position of the Imperial base.

"The Empire won't just let us do that. We can anticipate that they'll bombard the

vortex. That would clean up the vortex and us. Two birds with one stone."

"…What did you say?" Alice accidentally let out. "Wait, Lord Mask. Why would the

Empire bomb this place? What about their imprisoned soldiers here?"

"That's the Empire for you."

"..."

I see. She'd had her own thoughts on the matter, but it seemed that Lord Mask was the

one who was right. This was different from the limited number of mages from Nebulis.

The Empire could gather more forces by scouring their vast lands for human capital.

"They'll bombard the vortex. This would be incredibly efficient for them. We may even

call it their ideal solution. But since we know this is their best option, we can be one

step ahead of them— Kissing."

The black-haired girl snapped up her head.

She was wearing her blindfold that could be described as her symbol. The darling child

slowly stood from her position curled on a sofa in a corner of the room.

"It's about the short-range ballistic missiles of the Empire. This is just as we prepared

for several weeks ago. You think you can stop them?"

"…Yes."

"An excellent reply. No need to worry. You just need to do it as we practiced." The

masked man folded his arms, looking satisfied with her response. "But how

unfortunate. If they plan to bomb us all at once, that Saint Disciple Nameless is unlikely

to move out from his base over there. I thought this would be a great opportunity for

you to flex your powers, Kissing."

"The Saint Disciple Nameless… He was the ninth seat, right?"

Eleven people made up the personal guard of the Lord. They had the potential of

putting a purebred in a tough situation if taken off guard. It was of the utmost

importance to commit their characteristics to memory as one of the royal family.

"He is the eighth seat, Lady Alice," Rin corrected her stealthily from behind. "It's said

he originated from the Fourth Division of the Empire—in other words, the assassin

unit. He wears photochemical clothes developed by the Imperial capital, which makes

identifying him simple enough. When he appeared in the past—"

"I—I know that much!" She'd just gotten his seat wrong.

Alice knew the other critical information about his appearance and fighting style.

…Speaking of Saint Disciples…

…Iska was one, too. Though he immediately was demoted.

"The Youngest Saint Disciple in History."

"Imprisoned for treason against the nation and aiding the escape of a witch. Given a life

sentence."

If she'd learned this information only recently, why did she feel it had happened in the

distant past?

"..."

"Lady Alice?"

The door of the headquarters opened, and a girl with dull blond hair stepped inside.

She was taller than Alice with a chiseled physique, still wearing on her full chest the

Imperial battle uniform and decorations indicating she was a captain.

"There you are. Our comrade Shanorotte. You did well."

"Thank you. But it wasn't all me. If my subordinates hadn't risked their lives, I wouldn't

be here." Shanorotte lowered her head deeply.

When she raised her face, her expression had sunk.

"Hmm? How about you tell your story?"

"It seems the Saint Disciple found us out. Only I was able to make a break for it,

carrying with me one of our enemies, but my three subordinates… I believe they are

in the hands of the Empire."

"I see. That must have been difficult." Lord Mask patted Shanorotte's shoulder as she

bit her lip. He shook his head faintly. "Our precious kindred. I promise we will get them

back."

"No… Along with me, they were prepared to never step foot on the land of our home

country again. Our only desire was to carry out your plan, sir."

Oh, and— Her gloomy expression was crossed with a mad grin.

"I captured a prisoner as a distraction. As I was undercover with the detestable

Imperial soldiers for a decade, I lived under the same roof as her. Though I seethed

with anger on the inside… she never even noticed me, and the fool became an Imperial

captain." Shanorotte opened the door behind her.

The Imperial soldier in question stumbled forward, as though she'd been kicked in the

back, with her arms bound.

"Serves you right. Oh, what's the matter? How about you show us that smile you've

always got on your face?"

"..."

"She may look this way, but she's still a captain. Hilarious, isn't it?" Shanorotte peered

down on the soldier, who could have easily been mistaken for a teen.

She was smaller than the sixteen-year-old Rin with a full-on baby face. Coupled with

her untidy blue hair, she wouldn't have passed as a captain if Shanorotte hadn't said

so.

That captain raised her face in fear.

"—Huh?"

"—Excuse me?"

When Alice met the woman's eyes, she couldn't believe it.

"Pleasure to meet you, Imperial Captain. I am Alice."

It was Captain Mismis.

Out of all people, it was the captain who led Iska's unit. It hadn't even been a month

since she had introduced herself when they'd met in the neutral city of Ain.

"H-hmm? I feel like I've seen you before…" The captain looked dubiously up at Alice.

The woman had to remember Alice and Rin. The issue was this place.

…This is bad. This is really bad!

…I've never even told anyone in the Sovereignty that I met Iska at the neutral city.

If it came to light that the daughter of the queen of Nebulis was acquainted with an

Imperial captain, it would be a national scandal. If she was careless, she could even

think of the situation leading to her mother, the queen, being dethroned.

And most importantly, why was she here of all places?

"Um… You were…"

"A-are you sure you're not mistaking me for someone else?!" In a fluster, Alice turned

her face away, but it was bad that she'd revealed her voice in a panic.

"Ohhh! I know! I remember!"

"What did you say?" Lord Mask and the staff collected at the headquarters grew

suspicious.

They gulped and gazed intently at Captain Mismis, and her eyes opened wide.

"You're Ali—"

"Go to sleep." From her back, Rin had snuck up silently, karate-chopping the back of

the captain's head. "Speak no further."

"..." With her consciousness robbed from her with the single strike, she collapsed

right where she was.

"Rin?"

"Pardon me, Lord Mask. But it doesn't matter if you restrain her. Bringing an Imperial

captain into the headquarters is just too imprudent. Don't you agree, Shanorotte?"

"…Y-yes, you're right." The blond mage seemed crestfallen. "Please excuse my actions.

Um, I thought it would be a distraction and brought her here, but I was acting

thoughtlessly."

"No need for you to be concerned. Now, Shanorotte, please take this soldier into the

cages in the back. I will arrange a guard for her."

As she listened in on Shanorotte and Lord Mask's back-and-forth, Alice calmed her

heart, relieved by her attendant's wit.

"Rin, you made a great call."

"It wasn't as though I could allow her to talk about you, Lady Alice… However, it went

beyond our expectations to meet her here. That Imperial captain and her swordsman.

Why do these people stand in our way wherever we go?"

"…The Imperial swordsman." Alice didn't let that one get past her.

Yes, that's right. Though she'd lost her composure at the unexpected situation, the fact

that this captain had been caught had to mean that her subordinates had come to this

canyon as well. Iska was also—

"It's here! We've got the jackpot, Rin!"

"Y-yes…?"

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! This is it! This is the time for another battle!"

"Whaaat?! You can't actually be serious, Lady Alice. Please wait! You're losing your

senses!"

"I do have my senses!" She closed her hand into a firm fist, abandoning Rin, who yelled

next to her, and turned around. She looked back at the blond captain, who looked back

at her in surprise. "Shanorotte, the position of the Imperial camp has not changed,

right?"

"…Yes?"

"Your work (in finding Iska) has been superb. As the daughter of the queen, I must

respond appropriately to your bravery." She acted the part of the sweet and moral

Nebulis princess.

Alice declared gallantly, not allowing anyone in that place to deny her: "Leave it to me.

(In order to battle Iska) I will bring back the subordinates captured by the Empire!"

"W-will you really, Lady Alice? How wonderful!" Shanorotte exclaimed in a voice thick

with emotion, on the verge of tears.

In the back of the room, Lord Mask folded his arms as he seemed to think something

over. "Alice, are you saying you and Rin are going to the Imperial base alone?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"It still contains over one hundred people… Hmm. I guess that's a foolish question."

She could almost see his wry smile under his mask.

If anyone knew the power of the Ice Calamity Witch Aliceliese, the pride of the Nebulis

Sovereignty and the strongest military force contained in one person, they would

know her words were not mere arrogance.

"If you say you'll liberate my underlings, I have no reason to refuse. I gratefully leave

it in your hands. Shanorotte, please lead her there."

"No, Lord Mask. I am grateful for your consideration, but this is unnecessary. She's just

fulfilled an intense duty. Please let her rest. As for you, Lord Mask, please stay here

with Kissing. If we expect a bombardment from the Empire, we must be perfectly

prepared to strike back."

…Well, actually…

…I just don't want them to get in the way of my battle with Iska.

She didn't let any sign of her heart's desire show on her face. Alice turned her back to

the personnel around her with a dauntless attitude.

"Rin, we will go immediately."

"…Oh, come on. You never listen to anything I have to say after you've made up your

mind."

They left the headquarters behind.

Rin touched the face of the cliffs that towered over the base on both sides.

"Live." The earth-type mage called forth her astral power.

The sturdy rock crumbled before their eyes, and Alice watched it reform into a giant.

As though free will formed in the earth, the golem began to move and kneeled in front

of Alice as though it were an actual soldier.

"Lady Alice, please make your way up here."

Alice was held in the left arm of the golem. As for Rin, she nimbly leaped onto the

giant's shoulder.

"If I have it run, we should be able to reach the base within the hour, though I can't

guarantee it will be a comfortable ride."

"Go as fast as possible. I don't mind if it's a bit rocky."

"Please be careful not to get motion sickness."

The earth golem was very deft. Though it wouldn't be able to obtain the speed of an

Imperial armored vehicle at full speed, its strong suit was that no matter what

wilderness they encountered, it wouldn't slow it down.

"Now, Godspeed, Rin. Iska is… no, our imprisoned mages are waiting for me!"

"…Iska."

"What could you possibly be talking about?" She feigned ignorance of the slip of her

tongue.

No, that didn't matter anymore. She needed to calm her heart in preparation for the

time that would come.

…How should I greet him when I see him? What kind of introduction will I need?

…You haven't forgotten me, right, Iska?

Thump, thump, thump. Her heart pounded against her chest.

The sensation felt pleasant to her. She would soon see the person who allowed her to

forget the strife within the Nebulis bloodline, who allowed her to forget her own

position, who allowed her to forget all of it.

"..." Alice kept her hand on her chest as she continued to look at the canyon's surface.

But because her heart was aroused, Alice had completely overlooked something.

With the Empire's bombardment approaching, there was a possibility Iska might have

been hatching an inconceivable plan to recapture his captain with a three-person

team.

The canyon was dyed crimson. With the sunset at their backs, the camouflaged

Imperial car sped quickly down the mountainous terrain.

"Hmm. Iska, what do you think this is?" Nene, who was gripping the steering wheel,

peeked her head out from the driver's seat. "There are weird tracks here."

"…They're footprints."

It looked like bipedal prints from something dragging its feet. The feet were wider

than the camouflaged car. A colossal beast must have gone through the area.

"A species of dragon? Or the golem of a mage?"

The footprints were coming from the Nebulis Sovereignty base at the bottom of the

valley, heading toward the Imperial base that Iska and the others had just come from.

…Ex-Captain Shanorotte's subordinates are being held at the first base.

…Are these from the unit trying to bring them back?

Their car had probably just missed the owner of the footprints. If they would have

been a few minutes off, they might have run into each other in that exact spot.

"Nene, stop the car. We're getting off here."

The car grazed the cliff. From the back seat, Jhin held his sniper rifle in a tight grip and

stared intently down its edge.

"There are three guards acting as gatekeepers in front of the base. We can't get any

closer than this. If we go by car, we can't do anything about the engine noise. They'd

spot us before we're even able to get down the slope."

"Right. Then, we'll go as planned."

The car skidded to a halt.

Nene jumped out of the driver's seat, carrying an 84-mm recoilless gun over her

shoulder. It could fire artillery of the largest shell size possible for the physical

strength of a girl like Nene.

They had smoke bombs, flares, and anti–astral power grenades.

"Nene, can you see it?"

"Wait, Jhin. I'm still adjusting the scope… Yeah, we're good. I can look down and see

about half the Nebulis base. There's a large establishment in the back. I think it's their

headquarters."

"Don't fire yet."

"Not until you and Iska have found her, right?" Nene lowered the recoilless rifle to the

ground and winked.

Her role was to be on standby on top of the cliff.

Iska and Jhin would infiltrate the enemy base. Nene would watch them. When push

came to shove, she would cover them with fire from above. As another last resort, they

would aim for the car, which was equipped with a function to self-detonate, toward the

bottom of the canyon and turn it into a car bomb. That was Nene's mission while she

waited on top of the cliff.

"Guess it's time to go. The missiles will come down in about an hour. They'll probably

blow away everything from the vortex to here, easy. We can't get caught up in that."

The silver-haired sniper turned his feet toward the valley.

He had a handgun used for close combat on the holder at his hip and carried his

favorite sniper rifle over his right shoulder.

…Once Jhin puts the three lookouts to sleep from long distance…

…that's when our time limit of one hour starts.

It would be ideal if they could infiltrate the base up to where the prisoners were held

in just a few battles. If they failed and were surrounded, Nene would cover for them,

and they would switch to overcoming the purebred.

They would restrain the purebred and then trade them for the Imperial prisoners.

That was the hostage recovery plan Iska had thought up.

"Let's go."

Holding his astral swords, he first headed to the bottom of the canyon as he ran down

the slope—when…

The cliff in front of him vanished.

"…What?!"

A torrent of wind mixed with small particles of fire raged at him. In order to keep his

eyes from burning, Iska covered his face with both his hands and leaped back.

Had the cliff that sandwiched the canyon from the other side exploded?

In that second, that was all Iska could understand. When he realized it, the cliff had

thoroughly broken to pieces, and giant amounts of rock had broken off and pitched

down to the abyss below.

…Is this an astral attack?

…Did the astral corps see us?!

No, that wasn't it. If the chunks of rock were crumbling downward, the Nebulis base

would be sustaining the most damage. If this was an astral attack, the mages would

have aimed at them more directly.

"Is it the missiles?! Just now… that was the short-range missile from the base!" Nene

screamed in a raspy voice as she lay close to the ground where the shock wave had

expanded.

"This is a lot earlier than planned!"

"…Nameless. Is this how you do things?"

Nene had gathered information about the start time of the bombing from the missile

engineers. But this was an hour earlier than expected. They probably hadn't even

allowed time for maintenance of the missiles or alignment. They had just prioritized

making the launch happen as quickly as possible.

"Nene, when's the second going to be?!"

"...In thirty—no, twenty minutes from now." Nene looked up at the scud clouds in the

sky above. "They got trajectory data from that attack just now, so I think they'll

recalibrate to be more accurate. Next time, I'm sure they'll make a direct hit on the

vortex. What are we going to do…?"

In twenty minutes, the canyon spread below their eyes would be reduced to ash—

without a hint of its original shape.

And the vortex would be blown to smithereens, too.

The army base of the Nebulis Sovereignty and everything would undoubtedly burn

down without so much as leaving behind any rubble.

"Nene, drive! Jhin, get in!" Iska shouted, climbing into the back seat himself.

Jhin and Nene had figured out what he intended, sliding into the car two seconds after

Iska.

"Nene, sorry, but can you…?"

"You want me to drive right into the enemy encampment, right?!"

As the cloud of dust continued to rise and envelop them, the car kicked up even more

debris as it rushed out on a pathless road. They slipped through a gigantic hole in a

huge boulder bigger than the car, racing along the sudden downward slope.

"Iska." Jhin had been staring intently forward from the back seat the whole time and

pointed at the ceiling right above his head. "I'll go up. This thing's in my way."

"Got it."

The black blade glittered.

With a flick of his wrist, the astral blade in his hand went right back into his scabbard.

Accompanied by the loud sound of the sword ringing out, the roof of the car was

severed and flew off. The wind rushed at them from the opposite side.

"I expected the wind. The sunlight is a little bright, but… well, it's within permissible

limits." Getting hit by the setting sun from the side, the silver-haired sniper stood from

his seat.

He aimed the sniper rifle's scope forward.

"Jhin, you want me to go slower?"

"Don't worry about it."

The car rushed down the cliff at high speed. In front of it, Iska could vaguely make out

the Nebulis base with his naked eyes.

There were two mages at the entrance.

"What—?"

"The Empire?! They couldn't have sent assassins at this point…!"

They were the lookout unit, readying themselves. As the falling rocks and sparks

poured over their heads from the impact of the missile, they worked to respond to the

unprompted surprise attack from the Imperial army. Of course, they had to be the

cream of the crop.

However, Jhin worked faster than those mages.

"You're a move behind." He shot them in succession.

First the bullets destroyed the communications devices; then they went through the

battle uniforms of the astral corps.

He had aimed for the seams.

The Nebulis battle uniforms had been made terrifically sturdily so they could stand up

to the Imperial guns. The white-silver robes that had been woven with threads of

metal could even withstand simultaneous fire from a machine gun. Because of that,

Jhin aimed for the seams where the protection was at its weakest.

He did it as they moved.

On top of that, because the setting sun was backlighting them, he did it mostly with

his eyes closed.

"Go, Iska."

At the sniper's voice, Iska wordlessly answered by leaping, jumping out from the back

seat to close in on the two soldiers who were still trying to stand in front of the gate.

With his astral swords, he completely pummeled them to the ground.

"Nene, do a zigzag. Drive like you're drunk."

"Got it, Jhin."

"If you want, you can have a drink to drive."

"But I'm still a minor!"

The Imperial car with the two of them rushed into the enemy base. She turned on the

lights and honked the horn as though trying to gain the attention of the astral corps.

…A change of plans.

…We need to finish this before the next missile is launched.

From here, Iska would be working alone incognito. He stifled his breathing and drew

near to the shadow of the carport.

"Where would Captain Mismis be?… Whoa, I guess I'm in danger here, too." He stooped

and withdrew.

From the top of the cliff, a rock had toppled over, pummeling down to Iska's head. It

was about as large as a fist, but since it had fallen from several hundred yards up, it

would have been lethal even if it were a tiny pebble.

Embers showered him. The ignition equipped in the rocket was burning furiously on

top of the cliff, and the spray of fire poured down onto the bottom of the canyon like

rain.

"We will retreat to the second designated area!" From the structure that seemed to be

the headquarters, a witch who was apparently in charge revealed herself.

She wore a slender coat open wide down her chest and a large astral crest appeared

on her left cheek like a tattoo.

"Just as Lord Mask anticipated, the Empire has started a bombardment. Lady Kissing

is responding, but she will need a few minutes for her attack. Everyone except the

firefighting and communications parties should prioritize taking refuge."

"Captain! What about the Imperial vehicle that just invaded…?!"

"You can ignore it," she told the subordinate in a cold tone, turning her eyes to glare at

the carport where Iska was hiding. "Once Lady Kissing attacks, we will take care of

them. It would be more dangerous if another assassin had snuck in using that car as a

diversion. They may be using the bombardment in order to recover the prisoners or

assassinate someone important. In either case, do not be off your guard. That was

Shanorotte's advice."

She was talking about the lightning witch Shanorotte Gregory.

When Iska heard the name of the mastermind responsible for taking his unit captain,

he internally clucked his tongue.

…As expected from the former captain.

…She might as well have been listening in on our improvised plan.

The military car carrying Jhin and Nene was a decoy. They had even realized that Iska

was the shoo-in for heading over to rescue the prisoners.

"I'll say it again. My fellow kindred, retreat to the appointed secondary location. Lady

Kissing will respond to the bombardment. We will use the vortex after that. There is

no need to panic."

"Commander, what will we do about the prisoners?"

"Shanorotte will take them to our homeland… That is all. I will go back to aid Lord

Mask." The mage who appeared to be in charge turned on her heel.

At the same time, the astral corps who had lined up turned to the carport that

concealed Iska one after another and ran toward it to use cars to evacuate from the

bombardment.

"…Guess they'll find me here." He slipped out of the shadows around to the back side

of the building adjacent.

Over twenty mages were rushing toward him. Which wasn't impossible for him to take

on, especially with a surprise attack. But ten minutes had already passed leading up

to the second missile's launch. He didn't have the time or energy to do this.

"They're taking the prisoners? No way…"

There had never been an Imperial soldier who had been taken into the Nebulis

Sovereignty's possession and come back. He had to stop them, no matter what.

"Okay, stand up, Captain Mismis."

"…No… ro…"

"The same old phrase. I'm so disappointed. I'm telling you to stand up!"

He heard an angered voice, followed closely by a small shriek.

"Captain Mismis?!"

To hear her hoarse voice among the footsteps and orders of the astral corps? The best

worst-case scenario. He peeked half his body out from the building. What came into

view right in front of Iska's eyes wasn't Mismis.

It was the unnaturally strong barricade.

The back was covered with a tarp. He saw two more soldiers posted there as lookouts.

They appeared obstinate, as though they were practically saying they would allow no

one to pass through.

…What is that?

…That strange place. It's guarded more than the headquarters.

Iska was distracted for a moment.

"Ugh, that's bright…?!"

A light gushed up. The sheet that had been covering the barricade blew up, and a

brilliant green light glittered and surged into the setting sky.

Astral light?

The exposed ground caved in like the opening of a volcano. The bottom of the crater

was cracked, and from those fissures, energy overflowed out.

"…The vortex?!"

"That's right. Aren't you a smarty, Captain Mismis?"

The captain, whose hands were restrained, looked up as she was pulled along.

"Ahhh, we just covered it with a sheet, but it's blown it away again. I didn't think that

astral energy would start becoming active again right now." With a wry smile,

Shanorotte looked up at the particles of light that erupted like a geyser.

"It's as though it's getting all worked up to welcome you, Mis."

"Huh?"

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha, there's no way it would, of course. There's no way astral energy

would welcome someone from the Empire. The only ones able to receive its grace are

mages who live in harmony with it." Shanorotte forcibly tugged at the rope that was

connected to the collar on Mismis's neck. "Now, hurry up and get moving."

"…Ugh… cough… ah… ugh… uh…"

Iska could hear the sounds of Mismis's anguished voice as she was strangled. As she

looked down at her former colleague who cried and sobbed, the lightning witch's

smile turned dangerous.

"Or do you want me to pull harder?"

"…No… Please… stop…"

"Don't look at me like that. I just end up wanting to yank it even harder. Well, then,

guess I'll give it a good tug right now." The witch started to jerk the rope.

Snap. The rope connected to Mismis's collar tore and went flying.

"…Huh?!"

"Guess I got too carried away." Shanorotte seemed to not have noticed.

She hadn't noticed that Iska had already closed in on her from the front.

"Give back my captain."

"Tch. I was wondering who it was, and it turned out to be Mismis's subordinate!"

Lightning surged up, birthed from her astral crest, traveling through Shanorotte's

fingertips and assaulting Iska. Enough lightning to obliterate a person welled up from

her.

"Too late."

In that moment, it was cut by the black sword Iska swung and disappeared without a

trace.

"My lightning…?"

There was no way of evading the lightning that approached with speed that far

surpassed that of a cannonball. Even if he aimed and cut at it, that wouldn't have been

a skill that a human could possibly possess. It would have been nothing more than the

product of coincidence.

"You Imperial soldier!" The witch once again released lightning from her fingertips.

But Iska used his astral sword to cut the lightning with speed as though he were

divinely possessed.

"—Impossible?!"

"I can't cut through lightning in time with a sword." He aimed at Shanorotte's chest.

"But seeing when you invoke it is easy."

"…You couldn't have."

"That's right. It's your astral crest."

It was at the base of the witch's neck—the yellow crest that illuminated each time she

would invoke her astral attack. After that, he just had to cut through the trajectory

between the woman's fingertips and his position.

Though even that had come from his training long ago.

"You got too carried away and showed your astral crest to us. That was a mistake."

"What an annoying trick… We're being raided by an enemy. What are the soldiers at

the gate doing? Get over—"

"You haven't noticed?"

The vortex that had started forming was in front of them.

Only Iska and Shanorotte were standing there. The two guards had collapsed to the

ground after being hit by Iska's surprise attack before they could even make a sound.

"...You Imperial soldier…" The former captain swayed and leaned against the barricade.

"You… What are you…?"

Iska silently closed the distance between them. In another step, he would probably be

within range for his astral sword to reach her.

But something happened at his back—where incredibly quiet steps approached him.

"Th… Th-there... There it is… There..."

It was a girl's voice.

She was at the back of the vortex where Iska and Shanorotte were turned to. She had

probably come from around the back side of the round barricade.

"—"

It was a black-haired girl with a blindfold over her eyes.

She appeared around thirteen or fourteen. She was petite and thin, lacking in curves,

but in contrast, her dress was gorgeous and dazzling, as though it might have been

worn to a ball. She looked almost exactly like a doll. The girl stared intently at Iska.

…Is she looking at me?

…But a blindfold hides her eyes.

She seemed too eerie.

In the first place, it was already so unnatural for someone within a sea of Nebulis battle

uniforms to be wearing such an eye-catching dress by herself.

In Iska's memory, the only time he had seen anything close to it was… with the Ice

Calamity Witch Alice.

Alice had appeared in formal Nebulis attire, dressed most closely to the person in front

of him. Which meant…

"It couldn't be…"

"Lady Kissing!" Shanorotte's voice called out in joy. "You came to our aid!"

"—"

The girl called Kissing was silent.

Had she not heard? No. As though to show that she had no interest in the subordinate

behind her, the black-haired girl seemed to turn in the opposite direction.

"The… The… The thorn… h-hurts... It hurts…"

She looked above her head, up above, into the sky opposite of where the sun set, and

raised her right hand.

"The thorn."

He suddenly felt a mysterious presence approaching. In front of where the blindfolded

girl pointed up her hand, countless black needles manifested themselves and

blanketed the crimson-dyed sky.

"Disappear."

Thorns soared through the sky like a horde of bees, condensing into a point and

enveloping something in the air. The sky split.

"Is it a short-range missile from the Empire?!"

It was the second launch from the southwest part of Mudor Canyon where the base

was positioned. The missiles, which flew toward the vortex in that moment, were

stopped in the sky above just as they were about to come down.

…No, she's not so innocent if she could stop that.

…That's…

The missiles unleashed a massive explosion in the sky, enveloped in those thorns and

shrinking down smaller and smaller. The fire and the blast, all the small pieces and

fragments of the missile that had been blown up, were pierced by the thorns and

disappeared as though they'd been erased.

"...You've got to be kidding me." He could feel his face breaking out into a cold sweat.

Mismis and the mage Shanorotte were speechless at the incredibly eerie, indescribable

scene they had collectively witnessed. She had nullified the threat—a large,

oppressive weapon from the Empire. No, she had just made it disappear.

If this girl could attack a midsize neutral city on a whim, she could have made the

entire town disappear from the face of the planet in less than an hour.

"Erasure complete… For my uncle… I've completed… one of your… commands." She

spoke as though she had finished going on a shopping errand for her uncle at a nearby

store. That was the extent of the emotions in her voice.

"…This is Lady Kissing. She is the secret weapon of the House of Zoa," Shanorotte said

in a hoarse voice.

However, the blond witch immediately spread out her hands with an exalted look, as

though she could not hold back her excitement.

"Spectacular!" she raved. "That is the bloodline of the Revered Founder. Now, Lady

Kissing, use your astral power to punish these foolish soldiers!"

"—"

It was the purebred Kissing. She once again turned to Iska and Mismis with the

blindfold over her eyes. She had an expression that was the same as when she had

disappeared the missiles.

"You think you can do it?"

There was a flash of silver. The beautiful timbre of metal rang out as he broke through

the handcuffs that restrained Mismis.

"—gh…" Kissing's mouth tensed.

She hadn't been able to respond.

The Imperial soldier had drawn his sword and cut through the handcuffs of the

prisoner next to him with a single stroke of his sword. That extremely simple act had

probably registered as a momentary magic trick.

"Please keep back, Captain."

"Iska?!"

"I'll be fine. If anything, I feel more motivated than ever."

He faced a terrifically powerful purebred, motivated because he faced a mage who the

Empire loathed and called a witch.

"You're definitely part of Nebulis's bloodline, right?"

"..."

"It's fine. I'll battle you."

She was part of the founder Nebulis's direct line.

If she was one of the purebreds who the Nebulis Sovereignty had retained, that was

exactly what he wanted. He had come in order to have this fight.

"Imperial soldier." The black-haired girl spread out both her arms. "I'll erase you.

Those were my orders."

"Too bad! I'm going to defeat you and take you to the Empire!"

Black thorns floated over the witch's head.

Glaring at those barbs, which continued to increase until there were hundreds,

thousands of them, Iska launched himself off the ground.

The southwest section of Mudor Canyon.

The Imperial base that had been set up in a corner was illuminated, floating into view

behind the sunset. The military tents and armored vehicles and the launch platforms

that had probably been prepared for the short-range missiles had been left as is.

"Guess it's deserted."

The Imperial campground was completely devoid of people.

Alice looked down as the dry wind pushed forward pumice stones that tumbled, and

she spoke in the entrance of the Imperial base. She knew there was a slight amount of

annoyance mixed into her own voice.

…I thought Iska would be here.

…What is the meaning of this? Did Captain Mismis come to the canyon by herself?

She brought Rin with her as she started to walk through the base grounds.

"Lady Alice, please take a look at that device for launching missiles."

"Yes. I also just saw it turn to the sky and launch."

It was as Lord Mask had surmised. There was no mistaking that it had targeted the

vortex. If it had directly hit the bottom of the canyon, the Nebulis base would have

been decimated at around that time.

"My fellow mages…"

"Lord Mask expected the missiles. We do not need to worry ourselves about them."

The purebred Kissing.

Even Alice didn't know what kind of astral energy dwelled in that girl with black hair.

At any rate, she was the favorite of the House of Zoa. The only person in the House of

Lou who could have known of her powers was Sisbell, who had the power of burning

light.

…It does bother me.

…What kind of power could protect against the Empire's large-scale weapons?

She earnestly progressed directly into the empty base. "What do you think, Rin?"

"This is going to be tough." Rin, who had scouted one of the back tents, continued with

a timid look on her face. "That tent was used by the Empire's communication unit. The

machinery has been left behind, but I did not see any unit members."

"In that case, I suppose we can bring back the equipment as a gift to the Sovereignty."

"It was all destroyed. I believe they must have transported it with the intent of

disposing of it from the start."

"…I see."

The Empire's technique of creating machines was years beyond the Nebulis Sovereignty.

She had thought she would have been able to take them home as reference for the

Sovereignty's engineers.

"In other words, you're saying that the Empire abandoned the base as soon as they

discharged the missile? Why would they do that?"

"There's a chance it could be a trap. For example… I think it's possible there might be

large-scale bombs buried under the ground, and they might be triggered by us passing

through here," Rin said, but there was no hesitation in her footfalls.

Those with the astral power of earth could feel whether there was something

underground. Just as she had prepared the transport golem, the merit of her power

was that it had a wide range of uses.

"If it's not a trap, then that means they must have simply run."

"Yes, in which case…"

The wind tickled the top of her hair.

While Alice felt the uncomfortably warm zephyr pass by her back, Rin had been

walking next to Alice, suspiciously pouncing at Alice like a wild animal.

"Rin?!"

"Pardon me!"

She was pushed aside by Rin's outstretched arms.

Alice saw Rin's hands were suddenly sliced through. Blood flew out of them.

"Ugh… why, you!"

"Good intuition for a witch. You're no mere servant. Well, it does not matter. One witch is

about the same as two."

In front of their gazes, the air quavered like a heat wave, moving in a place where

nothing should have been present. A creepy person wearing a dark-gray suit from

head to toe gradually appeared.

"…Nameless."

"A witch with brains." He was the personal guard of the Lord—a Saint Disciple, a person

of the strongest battle force in the Empire to which Iska once belonged. He spoke in a

monotonous voice.

…Right, witches.

…He really is an Imperial soldier to use that derogatory word.

"Nice to meet you. Well, this is sudden, but I'm very irritated right now."

"About what?"

"My bout of bad luck that's caused me to miss him by a hair. I thought the person I

wanted to finally settle things with would be here."

She really shouldn't have gone to that casino. It seemed she'd used up all the luck that

should have guided her to a meeting with Iska when she won that jackpot.

"So—" She ordered Rin and the peerlessly powerful astral energy that dwelled inside

her.

Alice had a dauntless smile on her face. "I don't suppose you'll let me take my anger

out on you?"