"MUOOO—!!"

The roar shook the air.

As if answering that thunderous cry, monsters burst into view—Minotaurs among them—charging forward in a chaotic stampede.

"Don't let them reach the city!!"

"They're too fast!"

"Then get ahead of them—stop them somehow!"

Knights rushed past us, armor battered and stained, clearly having already fought these creatures.

The monsters were covered in shallow wounds, yet none of them showed any sign of slowing down. If anything, they looked even more desperate—driven by panic rather than reason.

Straight toward us.

"Louis! Let's run!"

Lisa, who had finally regained her composure, grabbed my sleeve, panic written all over her face.

But despite the chaos unfolding before my eyes, I felt… calm.

Too calm.

Because there was no need to run.

We already had a monster on our side—one far more terrifying than the ones charging at us.

"Ho ho… so these are the ones," Vermut said quietly.

"The escapees."

"MUOOO—!!"

A Minotaur at the front lowered its massive head, sharp horns aimed directly at us as it barreled forward, the ground trembling beneath its hooves.

Lisa gasped. "L-Louis—!"

But Vermut simply stepped forward.

Calm. Unhurried.

As if he were facing nothing more than an annoying inconvenience.

He raised one hand slowly.

Mana gathered around him—not violently, not explosively, but with a quiet inevitability. The air itself seemed to respond, tiny sparks dancing as if drawn to him.

After a short, almost lazy incantation, something was released from his palm.

"Storm Destruction."

Crackle.

Sparks flared, crawling across the space before him.

Then—

CRACKLE!!

A massive sphere of condensed lightning erupted into existence, humming violently as arcs of electricity snapped and twisted around its surface. The sheer pressure of mana distorted the air, forcing everything nearby to bend toward it.

"MUOOO!!"

The charging monsters tried to stop, hooves digging into the ground, claws scraping uselessly against stone. But it was too late.

Their momentum betrayed them.

One by one, they were dragged forward, their massive bodies lifted as if they weighed nothing, pulled screaming into the raging electric sphere.

The moment they touched it—

BOOM!!

Light exploded outward.

The deafening roar of thunder drowned out their cries as electricity tore through them, reducing their bodies to ash and smoke in an instant. The smell of scorched air burned my lungs.

When the light finally faded, nothing remained.

No monsters.

No blood.

Not even corpses.

Just a blackened patch of ground and faint sparks crackling in the air.

Silence fell.

"Stop!!"

"Ahhh! What now?!"

Just as the pursuing knights were about to be swallowed by the surging magic, the spell vanished—instantly.

The pressure that had filled the street disappeared as if it had never existed.

The massive monsters that had rampaged moments ago were simply… gone.

No corpses.

No lingering mana.

Only piles of black ash scattered across the cobblestone road, as though the creatures had been erased rather than destroyed.

"…So magic can be used like that?"

The words slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it.

I was too stunned to close it again.

That spell—no, calling it a spell almost felt insulting.

Power aside, the structure itself was incomprehensible.

First, the sheer amount of magical energy required was absurd. Enough to overwhelm most high-ranking mages instantly.

And yet, it wasn't wild or unstable.

Each thread of lightning had been compressed to its absolute limit, woven together with terrifying precision. Not a single current was wasted.

Perfect control.

Perfect efficiency.

Top-tier magic.

The kind of magic ordinary mages couldn't even dream of reaching, no matter how many decades they trained.

"W-who… who are you…?"

The knights, who had been charging in moments earlier, now stood frozen in place. Their faces were pale, their hands trembling around their weapons.

After a brief silence, one of them swallowed hard and stepped forward, clearly forcing himself to move.

"E-excuse me, sir… could you show us your identification?"

Using magic of that scale in the middle of the capital was no small matter. Regardless of intent, as soldiers of the Empire, they were obligated to confirm his identity.

"Hm? Identification… will this do?"

The old man—Vermut—casually reached into his coat and produced a small, white object.

The moment the knight saw it—

"G-Gasp…!"

His eyes widened, and the color drained from his face.

"T-that emblem…! H-how do you possess something like this…?!"

The surrounding knights stiffened, their expressions shifting from fear to outright shock.

Vermut glanced at their reactions, then sighed lightly, as though genuinely puzzled by the fuss.

"I told you already," he said calmly. "I'm just an old man who retired and now runs a general store."

"…A retired mage," I muttered under my breath.

No—calling him a mage felt inadequate.

Someone who could cast magic like that and then erase it without leaving even residual mana behind…

That wasn't just scary.

That was terrifying.

The knights hurriedly straightened their posture, lowering their weapons and bowing deeply.

"P-Please forgive our rudeness! We didn't realize we were in the presence of someone of such standing!"

By the way… that thing he showed just now.

That was definitely a platinum badge, wasn't it?

An identification issued only to the very top tier of mercenaries—people whose skills had been acknowledged by multiple nations. Not something you could fake. Not something you could borrow.

I had no idea why Vermut possessed something like that.

No—scratch that.

The real question was what kind of past did he have to earn it?

"P-please forgive our rudeness…!"

The knights bowed hurriedly, their earlier arrogance nowhere to be seen. They didn't even bother to maintain appearances as they retreated—almost running as they cleared the street.

Just like that, everything was over.

The general store, unfortunately, was another matter. Half of it had been reduced to rubble, and the two owners stood there staring blankly at the destruction, as if their minds hadn't caught up to reality yet.

And their lodging for the night was gone as well.

"…Well," I muttered quietly, averting my gaze, "they'll manage somehow."

It sounded heartless, even to my own ears, but there was nothing more we could do here. Compensation, rebuilding—that would all be handled later by the city or the guild.

Today had already taken far more out of me than expected.

My body felt heavy, and the lingering tension refused to leave my shoulders. When I looked up, I realized just how late it had become—the lanterns along the street were already glowing softly, and the once-lively crowd had thinned to almost nothing.

It had been a truly exhausting day.

"We should head back," I said. "At this hour, it's safer not to linger."

"Are you returning to the academy?" Vermut asked, adjusting his cloak.

I nodded. "Yes. It seems the festival's already been called off."

Because of the monster outbreak, the celebration had ended prematurely. The colorful stalls, the music, the laughter—everything had vanished as if it were nothing more than a fleeting dream.

There probably wouldn't be another festival like this for quite some time.

As we started walking, the quiet felt strangely heavy.

All that excitement. All that chaos.

And in the end, everything returned to silence.

"…Let's just get back safely," I said after a moment.

Vermut gave a short nod. "Agreed."

Now, all that was left was to return to the academy.

And deal with whatever consequences today had quietly planted for tomorrow.

I was just about to head back, rubbing my tired eyes, when—

"Hm… it might be better not to return."

"What? Why not?"

"I saw something on my way here. It looks like there's a fire at the Academy."

Vermut, who had flown ahead and viewed the area from above, spoke calmly. Apparently, from the sky, he'd seen black smoke rising from the Academy grounds.

Come to think of it, the flames I'd sensed earlier were coming from that direction.

"…So something really did happen."

If there was a fire at the Academy, going back blindly wouldn't be wise. At best, the place would be in chaos. At worst, I'd get dragged into something troublesome again.

Vermut glanced at me and added casually, "If that's the case, I know somewhere we can go for now. If you'd like."

I didn't even hesitate.

"I'd appreciate that."

We walked for quite a while, leaving the main streets behind. The lively noise of the capital gradually faded, replaced by the quiet hum of narrow backstreets. Eventually, we stopped in front of a secluded alley.

"This is the place."

I followed Vermut's gaze and looked up.

The building was… unimpressive, to put it mildly.

A shabby structure with darkened stone walls, a crooked roof, and not even a signboard. The design was rough and utilitarian, the kind of place most people would mistake for a warehouse—or worse, an abandoned home.

Someone unfamiliar with the area would never think to step inside.

But I knew better.

"…So this is it."

This place was—

A blacksmith shop run by a dwarf.

----

Author Note:

Thanks for reading the chapter

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.