“Master! Why?” (Wendelin)

“Wend, you are saying something strange there, aren"t you? I think you"d understand if you consider my current situation.” (Alfred)

Although I had a reunion with master after roughly ten years, I was forced to fight against him.
The magician Talrand, who showed up at the dinner meeting, can apparently employ a unique spell called 『Hero Summoning』 which enables him to summon masters and great men who have already pa.s.sed away.
In the beginning Talrand summoned the first generation Earl Armstrong, Dous.h.i.+"s ancestor, but with his compatibility with the spellcaster being bad, he was soon switched for another person.
Next he summoned my master Alfred Reinford and unleashed merciless magic attacks against me.

“(Is that really master himself?)”

Seeing that I don"t know the structure of 『Hero Summoning』, I couldn"t come to an answer.
Maybe Talrand has only transformed into master.

“Well then, I will have you show me how much you have improved.” (Alfred)

Master makes dozens of dodgeball-sized 『Ice Spheres』 float above his head and throws those one after the other at me.

“s.h.i.+t!”

I blocked them with my 『Magic Barrier』 in a hurry, but a trap was hidden within one of those spheres.
Deliberately strengthening the penetration power of one『Ice Sphere』, only that one got through my 『Magic Barrier』 and flew towards my face.
I evade at once, but the 『Ice Sphere』 grazes my cheek causing a gash.
It was a minor injury, but it shocked me.

“(He charged his mana into just one ice sphere while the others were dummies!? While saving on mana, he broke my strengthened 『Magic Barrier』 with a little amount of mana. For such thing to be possible…)”

The skill to set up such a way of using magic and offensive methods was impossible for anyone but master.
I guess only Burkhart-san might also be capable of such feat.
No matter how much mana we have, for the young Katharina and me it"s a stunt we can"t possibly perform yet.

“Wend, did you think that it"s nothing more than a simple disguise?” (Alfred)

Next he created dozens of rock bullets and burst them against my 『Magic Barrier』.
Just like before, only one pierced the 『Magic Barrier』 and this time I felt a pain travelling through my right shoulder after getting hit there.
I have been saved because of my robe and the drop in power when the rock bullet penetrated the 『Magic Barrier』 .
The attack by master was abated by the robe which is a legacy of master.
Ironic, isn"t it?

“Leaving that aside…”

Even though master repeated the same attack pattern twice, I wasn"t able to evade it.
The spells themselves aren"t that complicated and in terms of master"s mana, they don"t use up that much either.
And yet I have been already wounded in two places.

“Magic is all about imagining. You have increased your mana overwhelmingly in comparison to the time when we met, but your control is still lacking. Though you might say that it"s inevitable since you are still young, such an excuse doesn"t work on the battlefield. How regrettable. It makes me want to teach you once more.” (Alfred)

The possibility that it"s really master increased.
That"s because he declared that bluntly while showing a smile, which makes one feel a freshness to the extent of being sarcastic, towards Burkhart-san who is intently looking this way due to the return of his pupil that should have died.

“It"s been a while, teach.” (Alfred)

“That way of calling me…” (Burkhart)

“Until I turned twenty I always called you like that, didn"t I?” (Alfred)

“No way… The guy called Talrand or whatever shouldn"t know how Al called me…” (Burkhart)

Realizing that it"s really Alfred, Burkhart-san"s face became pale.

“Teacher…” (Katharina)

“Katharinjou-chan, excuse me for a bit.” (Burkhart)

“No, I understand your feelings. But, that person is…” (Katharina)

“Katharinjou-chan, Though I understand your feelings, don"t come to rescue me. Even that will be used by that man, got it? Rather than that…” (Burkhart)

“Yes. Please leave the defense of the headquarters to me.” (Katharina)

“Sorry.” (Burkhart)

“In reality I want to support Wendelin-san, but…” (Katharina)

“I"m really sorry. But I can"t have you get involved with Talrand who took Al"s shape.” (Burkhart)

The effect of Talrand transforming into master was tremendous.
After all he pulled me, Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ away from the battlefield.
If even Katharina leaves at this point, it will become dangerous for the headquarters of the liberation army.

“But, if something happens to Wendelin-san, no matter what you told me, teacher, I will…” (Katharina)

“Even if I have to sacrifice myself in worst case, I won"t allow for Earl-sama to die.” (Burkhart)

“Understood.” (Katharina)

Katharina agrees and begins to devote herself to the protection of our headquarters.

“Having said that, Al as an opponent, huh…? But even then, he"s the most troublesome type of magician, isn"t he…?” (Burkhart)

Besides our duel, the battle progress moves forward as well.
Given that a large quant.i.ty of arrows and spells are pouring down on the headquarters with Therese in it, Katharina decided to deal with the situation by herself for a while.
She simply focuses on sequentially deploying 『Magic Barriers』 and defends against the attacks by the rebel army.
Therese"s group, Philip and the others seemed to be worried about us, but they continue battling at the various locations.
It looks like they are earnestly giving out orders without calling out to us.

“Now that it has come to this, I feel lucky that I received special training from teacher.” (Katharina)

With her previous way of using magic she might have been overwhelmed sooner or later by the large amount of spells and arrows.
The rest she won"t mention since she"s in front of Therese, but I"m pretty sure that she believes it to be great that her mana has also increased after the marriage.
Even after Burkhart-san left, Katharina protected Therese and the headquarters with an impregnable defense.

“Al.” (Burkhart)

“You have never heard of the spell called 『Hero Summoning』? Oh right, the only one who can use this kind of magic is Talrand.” (Alfred)

Even while talking with Burkhart-san, master doesn"t cease his attacks against me.
He attacks my surroundings with fire magic and just as I defend against that with my 『Magic Barrier』, a large amount of sharp rocks suddenly protrudes out of the ground.
While dodging those in a hurry, I cut them with small 『Wind Cutters』, but missing to deal with one of them, my right thigh got cut up.
My skin and flesh alongside the trousers is torn and the wound bleeds vehemently.
By all rights it was a wound that had to be st.i.tched, but I quickly healed it with healing magic together with the two previous wounds.
I was at an overwhelming disadvantage in the battle against master.
The me at the time when I was taught magic by him and the current me are completely different as for the mana and spells I can use.
Therefore I prided myself to be capable of winning even if it was really master himself.
And yet, once I look at the situation, it has resulted in something like this.
The current amount of mana of master is far lower than mine, but even so it"s beyond advanced level if you use a normal magician as standard.
Since he has mana beyond the standard, he uses it freely and efficiently to skillfully exploit my weaknesses and deliver damage to me.
Although they feel shaken as well, Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ seem to believe that they will cause a fatal opening that will be used by master if they cut into our match in a bad way.
While casting range attacks at the enemies in the surroundings, they continued observing in order to try finding a gap for thrusting themselves into our battle.

“The presence of this man called Talrand was extremely weak since the time he was born.” (Alfred)

I don"t know whether it"s master or Talrand, but he continues his monologue.

“He couldn"t even get his parents to notice him easily. Ordinary parents will be happy if they learn that their child has mana. But with even that not happening, he left his home and became an adventurer.” (Alfred)

It seems that even after becoming an adventurer, Talrand"s presence continued to be thin.

“No matter how much he earned, no one took notice of him for some reason. That was something strange, but it was also the condition to acquire 『Hero Summoning』.” (Alfred)

That means he can easily accept the souls of people that died in the past in his body since he himself is close to non-existent.

“The conditions are: his target has to have pa.s.sed away already and he has to at least know their name. It"s not necessary to have extended knowledge about the target. That"s why he was able to wear the first generation Earl Armstrong. In reverse, he can"t use living people no matter how much he knows about them. Though I guess that"s only natural since they are alive.” (Alfred)

“So that"s why he was able to use you, Al, who wasn"t that famous either…?” (Burkhart)

“In the end 『Hero Summoning』 is nothing more than the spell name. It allows him to wear dead people and freely use their abilities. The reason why Talrand chose me is not because a difference in power or because I was a great magician who carved his name into history, but to disturb you, Wend, teach and Klimt.” (Alfred)

“Hmph! What nasty character!” (Armstrong)

“That"s the best possible praise.” (Talrand)

Master continues to attack while explaining.
As standard he adds unpleasant attacks and feints after blinding my eyes.
Even though I understood that, I kept getting injured as I was unable to stop those attacks.
Since the robe is st.u.r.dy, it doesn"t get cut, but the s.h.i.+rt and trousers below were torn up and stained with blood.
I can heal the wounds with healing magic, but since I"m only getting injured, the mental weariness is intense.
The amount of bleeding increased gradually as well, and as healing magic doesn"t recover lost blood, my body became slightly sluggish.

“He is unexpectedly tenacious, isn"t he? I wonder, did you train him more than I expected? But…” (Alfred)

Even though I was breathing heavily, master had a composed expression while talking to Burkhart-san.

“Teach, Wend has grown, hasn"t he? I suppose my sole regret is that he won"t have any time to grow any further.” (Alfred)

“You. Do you plan to kill your own pupil!?” (Burkhart)

“I will. I can"t help it. Right now Talrand has drawn back, but since he"s the one in control, I can"t go against him. However, it"s truly vexing. Even though he has grown into such a wonderful magician.” (Alfred)

“Alfred!”

Dous.h.i.+, who had stayed silent until now, suddenly raises his voice.
He probably ended up exploding due to the merciless attacks against me and the reunion with his best friend.

“Klimt, did you teach him defensive body movements or such?” (Alfred)

“Are there any shortcomings?” (Armstrong)

“No, Wend is still young. It"s a problem that can be completely fixed with time. However, he won"t have that time anymore.” (Alfred)

“Won"t have that time? I"m sorry to break it to you, but this place is a battlefield and not a place that allows a reunion showdown play between master and pupil. Aren"t you misunderstanding something here, Al?” (Burkhart)

“Indeed, it"s just as Burkhart-dono says. There are various things to consider, but I think that we should send Alfred back to the netherworld again with the three of us.” (Armstrong)

Seeing me struggle hard, Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ apparently decided to partic.i.p.ate in the battle.
However, the liberation army"s magicians are forced to stand-in for their share.
That means that the support of these two in the battle against the rebel army with its huge numbers was that overwhelming.

“(But, isn"t it odd?)”

I felt a doubt while panting.
Even if master challenged me to a one-on-one duel here, he should at least know that Dous.h.i.+ and Burkhart-san will immediately join as helpers since it"s a battlefield.
And yet, what"s with his composure?

“Won"t a 3 vs. 1 be difficult even for you, Al?” (Burkhart)

“Watching over a fair and square 1 vs. 1 battle might be manners, but the circ.u.mstances don"t allow that.” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+ and Burkhart-san close the distance to master. Seeing that, master suddenly starts to laugh loudly.

“Teach and Klimt, you are certainly naive. How is there any reason for me to fight a 3 vs. 1 battle? First of all, there"s no way I can win that.” (Alfred)

“Will you surrender then?” (Burkhart)

“Teach, that"s definitely impossible. I"m under Talrand"s control. And, Talrand has also prepared a solution for this.” (Alfred)

At the same time as he says that, master takes out two objects from his pocket and tosses them in front of the two.
Once I look at these things that dropped on the ground, I saw fist-sized magic gems with a black l.u.s.tre which looked look like ornaments with a silver frame that had geometrical patterns which I have never seen before.

“Magic tools? Though I have never seen them, are they possibly…” (Burkhart)

“As expected of you, Teach. You are right. There are items stocked up from a source Talrand forbid me to speak about.” (Alfred)

In other words, those are probably legacies of the Ancient Magic Civilization which Duke Nürnberg obtained from an underground ruin.

“Though it takes a bit time to set them up…” (Alfred)

Once master mutters some chant while closing his eyes, the shape of the two magic tools begins to transform.
They gradually continued to turn into human shape and in the end completely looked like master.

“With this it"s 3 vs. 3.” (Alfred)

“You think that we will be defeated by such puppets!?”

“Certainly, these are puppets indeed. But, they have an unexpectedly good performance.” (Alfred)

The two puppets respectively stand in front of Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+.
And, without any hesitation, they started to attack the two.

“Besides, it"s not really necessary for them to win.” (Alfred)

“Because it will be fine as long as they hold back those two until you kill me?” (Wendelin)

“Exactly, Wend.” (Alfred)

The puppets appear to be copy weapons that fight by using mana loaded into the magic gems and master"s combat patterns.
The reason for master to currently focus his consciousness on the puppets is probably because it takes time to apply his data to the puppets.

“(Is Talrand the one operating the puppets? Even so, right now he isn"t concentrating on me.)”

If I stay idle while observing master"s actions like this, it will turn into a disadvantage for our side.
Abandoning the lip service of an one-on-one duel, I secretly released 『Wind Cutters』 towards master.
The one who said that there"s no cowardice or such bulls.h.i.+t on the battlefield is master himself.

“A good judgement, Wend. But, it won"t work on me.” (Alfred)

Even while operating the puppets, master offset my 『Wind Cutters』 with his own 『Wind Cutters』.
Moreover, in an instant he offsets only those that would apparently damage himself.
Even in this situation he doesn"t stop on saving his mana.
It"s a terribly calm way of handling the situation.

“After all I have less mana than you, Wend. So saving mana is nothing more than the basics.” (Alfred)

While understanding the difference in mana between me and himself, he corners me by freely using very efficient spells.
He has absolutely no weak points. Gradually I"m running out of ideas how I can hit him.

“Wend, have a look.” (Alfred)

It seems that he completely finished setting up the puppets.
One is fighting Burkhart-san.

“Tsk! The current me can"t win even against a fake Al!” (Burkhart)

Master"s puppet forced Burkhart-san into an one-sided defensive battle.
Losing out in the department of mana, even the techniques, which Burkhart-san believed to be better, mostly don"t make any difference anymore.
The two counterbalanced each other by firing various spells, but the current state is Burkhart-san being overpowered.

“I can keep fighting it somehow since it"s a puppet. If this was the real Al, I would be already dead, wouldn"t I?” (Burkhart)

Exactly because it is a puppet that lacks the ability to come up with instantaneous decisions and measurements, Burkhart-san can manage somehow by making use of his experience.
Burkhart-san said so before, but it seems his statement that he had already been overtaken in ability as a magician by master was true.

“Teach, if you don"t defeat the puppet, you won"t be able to help Wend.” (Alfred)

“I guess you are right there.” (Burkhart)

Getting enraged here and losing sight of himself might be as expected of Burkhart-san.
However, it was also a fact that his breathing is gradually getting heavier and that he"s getting cornered.

“It would be our loss if you used a large number of these things, right?”

“I guess. Talrand"s employer evaluates this highly for ma.s.s production, meaning an army corps of me"s will sweep over the continent.” (Alfred)

“I see, I see.” (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san revealed a meaningful smile upon master"s lighthearted chatter.
Master purposely saying something like this as if messing around probably means that there"s only that many magic tools that can be transformed into puppets.

“Well then, I wonder how"s Klimt keeping at it?” (Alfred)

“Tsk! This speedy number of moves, the magic power and bundled strength is just a copy of Alfred"s ability!” (Armstrong)

When I turned my look towards Dous.h.i.+ next, Dous.h.i.+ was in a continuous state of defending due to the large amount of spells successively fired by the puppet.

“Wend, Klimt"s magic is always a raging stream. You deal against such type of magician with a different type of magician, an elusive one. Once you do, what do you think will happen?” (Alfred)

“The battle will fall into a stalemate!” (Wendelin)

“Such story-like development isn"t rare. There are only very few people who can elude Klimt"s attacks. To counter this, you overwhelm him with even more powerful attacks.” (Alfred)

As a matter of fact, the puppet fighting against Dous.h.i.+ released a huge barrage of spells at the same level as master.
Even Dous.h.i.+ has no other option but to cope with a defensive approach.
If he tries to go on the offensive in a bad way, he will be struck by a large quant.i.ty of spells and even Dous.h.i.+ should be torn to shreds by that.

“Well, but…”

Master"s mana shouldn"t be able to win against Dous.h.i.+ who increased his mana.
No matter how much the puppet might overwhelm him at the beginning, I believe only defeat awaits it later once its mana runs out.

“No need to worry about that. After all it will be fine as long as Teach and Klimt can"t make a move for the short time it will take me to kill you, Wend.” (Alfred)

They might have copied master"s abilities, but in the end they are nothing more than puppets.
Therefore it seems that he"s confident in killing me while using the puppets as simple restraints.

“You have quite the high opinion of yourself, don"t you?” (Wendelin)

“I see that you still have the composure to say something like that. Your helpers have to do their utmost to protect themselves. Well then, I wonder what you will do, Wend?” (Alfred)

Having finished the setting of the puppets, master completely concentrates on me once again.