Ivan watched the purple blast of destruction approach.
His senses didn't have enough bandwidth to react to the assault on time.
He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He could only see.
As he neared his end, regret lingered in his heart.
Despite his pursuit of strength, he still couldn't reach it. Why did he always lose no matter how hard he tried?
The life of a loser and failure.
That was all that flashed before his eyes at the end.
… At least that was what he thought.
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<
The explosion came.
It was so deafening that Ivan felt rattled to his bones.
The vibrations shook him at his very core, and his heart raced with the rhythm.
However… he wasn't hurt.
He had thought death was painful. Yet, not only did he not feel pain or heat or pressure… he didn't feel anything at all!
He heard the sound, felt the vibrations, but that was it!
'W—wha—?!' His mind failed to comprehend what had happened, so he opened his eyes.
The sight he saw was born out of a miracle that he didn't know could happen.
>SHIIIINNNNGGGG!!!<
Bright, golden light shone. It encircled a particular area—like a dome.
This brilliant field of light was not used on them—rather, it was the enemy that dwelled within the barrier—as well as the detonated blast of destruction.
"GUAAAAAARRRRRKKKKK!!!" The monster bellowed as it was assailed by its own attack.
Stuck in a space it could not escape from, it was forced to bear the mutilation of its flesh.
Screams filled the air for a moment, and then the explosion stopped.
The monster also ceased crying—most likely realizing the futility of that action.
Instead, it glared into the air—focusing its gaze on an apparition that floated there. The growl it gave displayed hate, and the Demon trembled in fury and fear.
Ivan, who had taken in this sight in such a short period, was dazed.
He looked at the injured creature within the golden barrier. It was scared and angry, staring at something in the sky.
The Demon no longer paid any attention to him nor Cephas, who was doing his best to stand tall.
Ivan followed the Demon's gaze, wondering what the Demon's new target was—or, rather, who.
It was a figure that levitated in midair.
Ivan couldn't make the apparition well, since it was so far up in the sky, but… the figure slowly descended.
Ivan's eyes began widening as the being—a person—came into view.
He had elegant blond hair that fluttered with the wind, shining brightly like the sun above them.
The person didn't seem any older than Ivan—no, he was probably younger.
He wore a white coat that flapped as he descended, and his shirt and trousers were black. The shoes he wore were a mix of white and gold.
The boy had both hands in the pocket of his coat, comfortably gliding in the air as he now hovered about a hundred feet in the air.
"T—that is….!!!" Cephas' eyes widened as he stared at the figure before him.
He had a faint memory play in his mind, but so much doubt banished it from becoming a conviction.
There was no way!
Ivan, on the other hand, smiled as he witnessed someone he hadn't seen in 3 years appear before him now.
'You've not changed…' His thoughts trailed.
The figure in white, black, and a tiny bit of gold, turned his face and smiled at the people on the ground.
"You've done well… Ivan."
The young man felt a surge of pride, yet frustration swelled up from within him. Still, he comforted himself that he had indeed tried his hardest.
The Demon was simply too strong—as was the boy before him now.
"Jared Leonard… you're back…" He said with a weak voice.
But, even though they were mere whispers, the boy a hundred feet above heard him perfectly well.
"… You better… kick that guy's ass!"
The blond boy—fifteen years of age, with mature eyes and a charming smile—nodded.
"Yeah."
"GRRROOOOAAAAAAA!!!!" The Demon roared from within the barrier.
It pounded the golden field that imprisoned it—to no avail.
Ivan wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the barrier didn't even seem to budge despite the powerful strikes of the enemy.
"… To think one of you escaped." He heard the boy above him say.
What did that mean?
Ivan wasn't certain, but he decided to focus more on the Demon and witness his last moment. Ivan was curious.
Just how much had his longtime rival grown? What sort of Spell would he use to defeat this monstrosity?
As he contemplated, Jared Leonard sighed above.
A tiny fragment of golden light appeared.
It looked like one of the stars that decorated the night sky.
If not for its golden color, and the way it danced before Jared, Ivan would not have been able to tell the difference between the two.
"You should die too…"
>WHUSH!<
The 'star' instantly vanished from Ivan's sight, and the next thing he knew, it had appeared in front of the trapped Demon.
'W—wha—?!'
Ivan had not even been able to follow the attack's movements, so it only seemed like it vanished. Still… was the little light what Jared intended to use against the Demon?
'It has thick scales, and that aura of Miasma also fortifies it greatly… not to mention that troublesome regeneration.'
Unless one was to hit it in a fatal spot—with an attack strong enough—this thing wouldn't die.
'Should I tell him?!'
They had been fighting the Demon before Jared showed up.
It was highly possible—no, it was probably the case—that Jared didn't know about the Demon's nature.
Ivan made up his mind.
'I have to tell him! I have to warn him! He shouldn't expend his Mana for nothing!'
Taking a deep breath—even know Ivan knew that the boy above could hear even his whispers—he made to scream.
"Ja—!!!"
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<
In a moment—no, probably less—everything shone goldenly.
And the bellows of the Demon ceased.
At that moment, Ivan ceased speaking, but his mouth remained wide open.
Why?
"I—It's… gone…?"
The young man's eyes looked at the golden barrier that still stood erect. It was perfectly alright. However…
"The Demon…"
… There was nothing within it.
"… is gone?!"
Just like that, the threat that plagued the Western Borders of the Empire was extinguished—COMPLETELY!
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[Welcome To The Fourth Arc Of SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar]
[The Demonic Incursion Arc Begins!]
