NOVPUBOutside, Casey Selmore, who was suppressing the fire, felt a growing unease at the strange fluctuation of the flames.
‘What if something’s about to blow up?’
Casey's instincts warned her that something big was coming.
As if to confirm her premonition, a dazzling light burst forth from the warehouse.
“What the...!”
The water barrier that had been wrapped around the warehouse like a protective curtain was suddenly, and partially, blown away.
It was only the aftermath, yet it severely shook her magic.
Casey frowned but sensed a familiar property in the disturbance.
‘Is that... the smell of water?’
That meant the magic that had just been cast inside was water-element magic.
With this level of destructive force, it had to be at least 6th-circle magic.
‘But I’ve never heard of a spell like that before.’
What flustered Casey Selmore the most was that she couldn’t identify the spell at all.
A water-element mage with the <Azure of Water> title, not recognizing water magic?
She even questioned whether it was a normal spell to begin with.
‘Ludger Cherish. Just who is that man...?’
At that very moment.
As the mana shockwave half-destroyed the water curtain, Joanna Lovett arrived at the logistics warehouse.
“Unni...!”
Joanna dashed toward the burning warehouse.
“Wait! Stop right there!”
Aidan’s group tried to chase after her, but the now-restored water barrier blocked their way.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Water? No, is this even magic? How could someone block an entire warehouse with water...?”
Just then, Casey approached the four startled students.
“What are you kids doing here?”
“And you are...?”
Facing the four pairs of eyes staring at her, Casey waved her hand.
“You're students, aren’t you? This area is dangerous—back off. Go fetch a teacher or something.”
“Are you the one who cast this water barrier?”
Aidan asked boldly.
Casey nodded.
“Yes, and? Don’t tell me... you don’t know who I am?”
“Huh? Who are you supposed to be...?”
“Gasp!”
The scream came from Taishy Friad.
Only after taking a closer look at Casey’s face, illuminated by the glow from the warehouse, did she recognize her.
“A-Aidan! That’s her! It’s her!”
“Taishy, her who? Who are you talking about?”
“Wh-what do you mean who?! Are you seriously asking me that?! You’ve lost it!”
Taishy shouted in an excited voice.
“A mage granted a color title by the Mage Tower! A user of single-elemental magic! A genius detective who’s solved countless dangerous cases! You’ve never heard of Casey Selmore?!”
“R-really?”
Casey, who had been quietly listening, nodded.
“So there was a student who knew me. That’s unexpected.”
“H-how could I not know you? Y-you’re my role model! Truly!”
“Thank you, cute young lady. Under different circumstances, I’d at least give you an autograph for being so sweet, but unfortunately, this isn’t the time.”
Casey stared back at the warehouse, where flames still lingered.
“That fire is dangerous. Everyone, step back.”
“W-wait! Someone just went in there! If we leave them, they could die!”
“Someone? No... Did they go in while the barrier was weakened?”
She muttered quietly and shook her head.
“Still, there’s nothing to be done. You’ll have to wait here. That’s not the priority right now.”
“But—!”
“It's not a bad thing to be eager, but if you don’t have the skills to match, that’s just recklessness. And besides, you don’t need to worry.”
“Huh?”
“There’s someone rather trustworthy in there right now.”
“Someone trustworthy?”
Aidan asked again, but Casey didn’t respond.
* * *
As the light subsided, silence returned to the warehouse.
Esmeralda still couldn’t believe what had happened.
The searing flames had almost entirely vanished.
The faint glow from what remained still gently lit the interior, but compared to before, it was merely lingering flame.
Like the last embers of a dying flower, the remaining fire gradually quieted down.
The drifting sparks resembled flower petals swept away by the wind.
A flower of lingering flame.
And at the center of that world stood a man, gazing up at the sky.
Light poured in through the shattered ceiling like a cascade of fireworks.
Bathed in that brilliant spotlight of multicolored hues, he stood alone, his back to her—
She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Stagger.
Then, Ludger’s body tilted unsteadily, losing balance.
Barely regaining his posture, Ludger pressed his hand to his forehead and shook his head.
“No matter what, this is... tough.”
Even after using up nearly all the mana recovery potions he had prepared just in case, this was the result.
Still, he was immensely relieved that he had managed to maintain control over the seal.
He was thankful the disaster hadn’t escalated further.
“Ludger Cherish.”
Ludger turned at the voice calling his name—it was Esmeralda.
Her face was streaked with soot and tears, a complete mess.
And yet, her pale beauty hadn’t faded.
“Why... did you save me?”
“......”
“You know we’re not exactly on good terms, right?”
Not on good terms.
Ludger was well aware of that.
The First Orders of the Black Dawn weren’t allies.
They clashed, they competed, and while they occasionally joined hands, it was purely transactional.
Given that, Ludger fighting Quasimodo was something that simply should not have happened.
“You didn’t have to fight. You didn’t even have to be here in the first place. So why—?”
“I told you. I didn’t like that thing.”
He gave a feeble excuse, but Esmeralda didn’t believe it.
“Don’t lie. You mean to tell me you fought like that just because you didn’t like it? You... no way...”
Sensing something off, Esmeralda trailed off.
Ludger’s eyes narrowed sharply, his gaze turning cold.
At that moment—
[Gr-ghghhkkk. Y-you human.]
A hand of fire shot up from the ground and grabbed Esmeralda’s body.
“Ahhh!”
It was Quasimodo—presumed completely destroyed.
The creature reappeared in its original grotesque giant form.
“You’re still not dead after all that? Unbelievable resilience.”
Perhaps because it didn’t exist on the same plane as normal living beings.
Ludger grimaced inwardly.
‘This isn’t good.’
He’d already used up almost all his mana.
Though he maintained a facade of composure, if Quasimodo revived again here...
There would be no choice but to retreat.
And now Esmeralda had been captured by him.
[Power! Give me power!]
“Aaagh!”
Esmeralda screamed as Quasimodo’s hand gripped her.
Ludger saw it.
A thread—an invisible one—connecting the two.
Quasimodo was forcibly draining Esmeralda’s strength through it.
The power sucked out of her was transferring to him.
[Kuhuhu. Yes. Offer your power to me. Give me your life.]
Quasimodo laughed, uncaring of what happened to Esmeralda.
Her body and mind already in tatters, Esmeralda couldn’t resist.
[Esmeralda. Don’t resist. You’re a good girl, right? You have to take revenge for us.]
“Kyaaaaah!”
Esmeralda shrieked in agony as her strength was stolen.
Ludger launched a spell at Quasimodo—but it failed to inflict any serious damage.
[You’re weak. You’re out of power too, aren’t you?]
Quasimodo grinned at Ludger.
In his eyes was the ecstasy of certain victory.
[Just wait a little longer. Once I regain my strength, I’ll kill you in the most painful way possible.]
“......”
Ludger’s face hardened.
He seriously considered unleashing divine power.
‘I can’t. If I release the seal with the mana I have left... there’ll be no turning back.’
He turned to look at Esmeralda.
Esmeralda barely managed to lift her head and fix her gaze on Ludger.
Even in agony, she mouthed something to him.
“Run...”
Not “help me,” but “run.”
Even in this state, she was still thinking about others?
“...Haa.”
Ludger let out a sigh and brushed back the bangs that had fallen over his forehead.
He raised his staff and pointed it at Quasimodo.
The upper body of Quasimodo, now almost fully regenerated, twisted into a grotesque grin as his mouth tore wide open.
[You intend to fight to the very end? I’ll give you credit for your courage, standing your ground instead of fleeing.]
Quasimodo sneered and conjured a blazing sword in his left hand, swinging it down.
Clang!
The flaming sword clashed with Ludger’s staff, sending sparks flying through the air.
Ludger was pushed back five full steps.
Even with most of the force deflected, his hand stung.
The protective magic covering his body had nearly worn off.
His clothes were scorched, and his skin felt like it was being baked.
Yet despite the pain, Ludger maintained his composure and adjusted his stance.
Gripping the blade concealed in his staff—
He stared straight at Quasimodo.
Quasimodo felt a strange irritation at the sight.
[What’s with that look in your eyes?!]
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With each swing of the flaming sword, Ludger either blocked or diverted the blow.
Staggering, about to collapse at any moment—yet still refusing to fall.
It was infuriating.
Why was that man still standing so firmly?
Why was he looking down on Quasimodo even in this state?
[You’re just a dying man...!]
Quasimodo’s face twisted with rage.
Even weakened as he was, the fact that he couldn’t overpower a similarly exhausted Ludger enraged him.
[I’m tired of toying with you. Just die already.]
Quasimodo opened his mouth wide toward Ludger.
A blast of compressed, high-temperature fire shot out at him.
The flame spread in a fan-shaped wave.
With only a sword in hand, Ludger had no space to dodge.
“It’s about time you started moving, don’t you think?”
Just as Ludger muttered those words—
A thick stone wall surged up from the ground, blocking Quasimodo’s flame.
At the same time, a sharp wind sliced into Quasimodo’s body, and a downpour of water crashed over his head.
Three mid-tier spirits materialized around Ludger.
Each one possessed the attributes of wind, water, and earth.
Esmeralda instantly recognized whose spirits they were.
“Selina?”
Unlike her, who had struggled to hold down just one Quasimodo, Selina had contracts with three mid-tier spirits.
And those very spirits had just come to Ludger’s aid.
[What is this?!]
Caught off guard, Quasimodo glared at the spirits.
The three spirits stood guard around Ludger, returning the glare with no sign of backing down.
“Would’ve been nice if you helped from the start.”
At Ludger’s remark, the spirits reacted with obvious displeasure.
Ludger was not beloved by spirits.
It went beyond ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) simple dislike—his very presence repelled or frightened them.
And yet, Selina’s contracted spirits had shown up to help him.
They were still Selina’s, but for now, they had formed a temporary alliance with Ludger.
[You think just three mid-tier spirits are enough to stop me?]
“For a guy as weakened as you, they’re more than enough.”
Whinny!
The wind spirit in the form of a horse scooped up Ludger onto its back.
The moment it kicked off the ground, it turned into a rushing gust that skimmed past Quasimodo.
And with that single dash—
Quasimodo’s left arm, sword and all, was severed.
Ludger, atop the wind spirit, pointed his blade back at him.
[You cursed bastards!]
Quasimodo tried to strike at Ludger, but he had already retreated with the wind spirit.
At the same time, a high-pressure jet of water slammed into the back of his head.
The water spirit, shaped like a butterfly, soared above and continued attacking from the air.
Quasimodo targeted the water spirit first—his most incompatible elemental match.
But before he could act, the ground rumbled and rose up, blocking his path.
[Krrraaaagh! You damn insects!]
Quasimodo regenerated his severed left arm.
Curling his body inward, he unleashed fireballs in every direction.
They were each only the size of a fist, but even grazing one would be deadly.
Ludger, still riding the wind spirit, ordered evasive maneuvers while carefully analyzing Quasimodo’s condition.
‘Not good. The spirits won’t last much longer.’
At first glance, the situation looked favorable.
But the reality was the opposite.
These three spirits had manifested outside the bounds of their original contract.
They were fighting with fierce effort now, but it was like watching flickering candles about to go out.
‘Quasimodo is getting stronger.’ 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
He was forcibly extracting power from Esmeralda, gradually restoring himself to peak condition.
‘Meanwhile, the number of spells I can cast... is limited.’
He had only enough mana left for two real spells.
Any more than that, and the seal would inevitably break.
Two spells.
That’s all he had to finish Quasimodo.
‘Hm?’
As Ludger weaved through the fireballs atop the wind spirit, something entered his field of vision.
“Wh-what’s going on...”
A blonde man, covered in soot, was staggering to his feet.
It was Krolro—waking up in the corner of the warehouse.
Ludger let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh even in the middle of this chaos.
‘He survived all this? What ridiculous luck. Must be the expensive gear he’s wearing.’
Krolro Febius was no longer someone Ludger needed to concern himself with.
If anything, the way Krolro’s foolish interference had nearly ruined everything was infuriating.
If it weren’t for the witnesses...
‘Wait.’
Ludger’s murderous intent vanished, replaced by a glint in his eye.
A good idea had just come to him.
With this—he could kill Quasimodo.
“Hyah!”
He spurred the wind spirit forward with renewed momentum.
