Forbidden Forest 4

I can't understand the words the man in front of me is speaking.

"What are you talking about? I don't remember making anything like that."

"What are you saying...? You're the one who published this paper, aren't you? The movement of magical essence within magic stones. Thanks to this, we've even achieved the transformation of humans into magic beings."

My paper... causing all this?

My thoughts won't settle.

"Originally, it was well known that the fusion of humans with magic stones triggers powerful physical phenomena. Anyone can see that from the combat abilities of Japan's nobility. I've examined every single case of humans merging with magic stones in this world... "

"That's enough. We're in a hurry. We'll pass through here."

Alek's words brought me back to reality.

Alek stood poised with his battle axe ready.

That's right. There are many things on my mind, but we must get out of here now...

"Lord Neumann, we must hurry as well."

"I see... I wanted to talk a bit more, but yes. Mr. Taro, how about joining us in the kingdom to conduct research together?"

"Refused!"

What is he saying? This man... The surrounding soldiers look surprised.

But instantly turns back toward us, his eyes sharpening with intensity.

The melee begins as Alex clashes weapons with the front-line soldier.

Clara and Kenny also start fighting, still wearing their masks.

I immediately throw an iron rod at random.

I cast a lightning spell, aiming to knock out the enemy soldiers.

But it fails—my thrown rod is blown away by a sudden gust of wind.

Noiman must have used a wind magic stone.

"This is a magic stone that shouldn't be casually taught to others, even if they're not one's own. Thanks to it, I'm saved."

The wind magic stone Noiman held was one that used a person as a medium, effortlessly producing wind power stronger than the wind magic I had cast.

"Now, how about this?"

As Noiman raised the stone, a massive tornado erupted behind him. The tornado was wrapped in snow and ice, resembling a giant blender.

There's no other way—only by clashing identical forces.

I too, harness the power of wind... focusing even more intensely, summoning a whirlwind.

But it's a whirlwind opposing the direction Noiman created.

"Ah, so this is magic. The ability to manipulate natural phenomena like limbs, reshaping reality without reliance on magical stones. This is the true power of a mage—the very thing we've pursued, the very thing I loathe, Taro!"

With Neumann's shout, the whirlwinds collided.

The fierce winds crashed into each other, rebounded, and canceled one another out.

Snow and ice scattered, raining down upon the surroundings.

Yet despite this, the battle did not cease. My comrades skillfully dodged the obstacles and continued attacking the enemy soldiers.

The royal soldiers, overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, struggled to move effectively.

Armor clashed violently with ice, filling the air with a harsh metallic ring.

Eventually, the wind died down and the surroundings cleared.

As a result, only the enemy soldiers had sustained significant damage.

"Good work, Taro-sama."

Almost as if your attack did it all.

I seethed inwardly.

"Then, next up is this."

As he said, another crooked, large magic stone was pulled out.

"This one's output is unstable, so we must be careful."

As he spoke, the moment the magic stone activated, the surrounding scenery wavered like heat haze.

This is a fire magic stone!

I'll switch to lightning.

If that hits, it'll take everything around it with it. I have to knock him out before that happens this time!

Crackling and sparking, purple lightning surged through the air around us.

"Lightning magic, huh? Looks like you're finally showing your true strength."

Despite feeling uneasy at Neumann's smug grin, I began preparing to aim and fire.

But I didn't shoot. A tension surged through my body, so intense it made the battle before me seem irrelevant.

Alex seemed to feel the same.

I remembered.

This sensation—the same one I'd felt back in the capital, when he appeared!

"Clara, Kenny, fall back! Defensive formation!"

Though confused by my call, the two of them stepped back.

Alek, acting on his own judgment, retreated and readied his weapon.

I stepped back to the front of the magical four-wheeled carriage, raised a cage of lightning, and summoned a barrier of wind.

The royal soldiers, unable to understand why we had retreated, pressed forward as if seizing the perfect opportunity.

At that moment—

As expected, the beast appeared.

A monster resembling a snow leopard from legendary tales.

It appeared just as it had before—unchanged, yet suddenly manifesting right in the midst of battle.

Everyone was stunned, fixated on the snow leopard-like beast. Even the royal soldiers stood transfixed, staring at it.

Except for one person.

"This is incredible! Could this be the legendary monster? I must bring it back with me!"

Noiman's oblivious shout echoed through the silent battlefield.

The snow leopard turned to look at Noiman.

In an instant, a storm erupted.

The defensive field I had set up was struck by scattered dirt, snow, and human blood.

As the dust cleared, between their eyes stood a half-destroyed royal soldier unit and Noiman, missing one arm.

It was perfectly clear who had done it.

A snow leopard monster, immaculate and untouched by dirt, suddenly appeared seated behind the position where the royal soldiers had been deployed.

Eventually, the monster seemed to lose interest and vanished in an instant, disappearing into thin air.

"Retreat! Pull back!"

The haughty royal soldier barked the order and vanished from sight.

Left behind was nothing but the corpses of royal soldiers slain by the monster.

Even if we hate the enemy soldiers, we can't leave them like this.

We began burying the fallen enemy soldiers.

No one spoke during the process.

Once again, we started running.

Our conversation began after we passed through the forbidden forest and veered toward the Enthsi side once more.