The power of [Slaanesh] had just annihilated the great wall intended to block the warriors of Britannia.
The sky began to burn as if in response—
For a moment, a blood-red scene covered everything in sight.
Those chariots, charging forward bravely, were also forced to a halt.
"Morgan."
"Master, it's flames with a high purity of magical energy."
"Even I..."
A hint of worry appeared in Morgan's eyes.
"I'm afraid it won't be so easy to break through."
"Master, is that..."
"A Beast."
As if knowing what Morgan wanted to ask, Ian quickly gave his answer.
"Last time it was an Angel, this time it's a Beast?"
"Saving a single person is no simple matter—"
"..."
Seeing Ian's somewhat lost expression, Morgan didn't know what to say for a moment.
However, the man quickly pulled himself together.
"Morgan, you just said you had a way to break through those flames, right—"
"Yes."
"Master." Morgan raised her magic staff. "Shall we act now?"
"Yes."
Ian looked at the land that had been completely engulfed by flames, a hint of worry in his eyes.
"Ritsuka isn't here."
"I must find her immediately."
At the same moment, in the city of Rome.
"What is going on?"
Looking at the golden theater standing proudly amidst the flames, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
"But..."
"It was supposed to be the coronation of the next emperor!"
She and Mash, who were about to set off to meet Ian at the Roman border, had heard the news that the coronation ceremony for the next Roman emperor was ready.
"Just for a little while."
After begging Mash for quite some time, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally managed to pull her along to stay.
However—
The two did not see the emperor appear as they had wished. Instead, they witnessed the golden theater rise in an instant, and along with it, these flames that stained the entire area red.
"Senpai, be careful!"
Holding her large shield, Mash leaped forward and then accurately blocked a glob of venom shot towards Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
The light brown liquid made strange sounds on the shield, as if it were corroding it.
However, it didn't seem to have any effect.
"Who is it?!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted angrily.
She was already confused, and now this sudden attack made her feel even more baffled—how could someone still be thinking of causing trouble at a time like this?
"Hehehe~"
Amidst the chaos, a petite figure appeared before Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
"I didn't expect anyone to still be alive."
"In the presence of our great Lord Nero, this is truly incredible—"
"Hehehe~"
The one making such a sound was a girl dressed as a priestess.
She had short blue hair and deep, grape-like purple eyes.
At the scene full of flames, she just looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, an indescribable sinister look in her eyes.
"It's her, Senpai—"
"That attack just now came from her—"
"Hehehe, delicious, wasn't it? That was a concoction I made from fifteen kinds of mushrooms..."
Before the blue-haired girl could finish, she heard Fujimaru Ritsuka speak cleanly and crisply.
"Command Spell: Enhance Body."
"Mash, take care of her!"
"Yes!"
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Before the blue-haired girl could finish, she saw Mash, who was glowing all over, hold that huge shield with both hands and charge over like a cavalryman.
The sight was as shocking as could be.
Thud.
She was directly sent flying several meters by Mash's charge, then rolled on the ground a few times before hitting a burning pillar and finally stopping.
"So hot, so hot, so hot!"
The blue-haired girl scrambled up, rolling and crawling to extinguish the flames that had caught on her.
"Damn it!"
"This isn't how the script goes! You're supposed to ask my name, find out what I do, then we fight, and you lose immediately!"
"Who would accept that kind of script!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka crossed her hands, releasing a small Magecraft spell without hesitation.
"I don't care about your name, I just want to find Ian quickly!"
"Every second I don't see him, my whole body feels terrible!"
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Several magic projectiles converged where Fujimaru Ritsuka's hands were crossed, then shot directly towards the opponent.
"Damn it!"
The blue-haired girl dodged several times in a row, barely evading Fujimaru Ritsuka's wave of attacks.
"When have I, Locusta, ever been treated with such contempt?!"
"So your name is Locusta!"
"Now that I know your name, I have even more reason to take you out of the picture directly—"
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in Fujimaru Ritsuka's tone, only anger born from this person who had suddenly blocked her way.
"Mash, I want to go meet up with Ian right away. You know what I mean, right?"
"I understand completely—"
"I also really want to..."
Halfway through her sentence, Mash suddenly felt Fujimaru Ritsuka's strange gaze and quickly retracted the rest of her words.
"I mean, I will absolutely support Senpai with all my strength!"
And so—
The situation on the battlefield quickly turned into a righteous two-on-one.
Mash, with her body enhanced by Ian, was an absolutely imbalanced existence in front of the frail Locusta.
"No, you!"
Locusta had just spoken a word when she was sent flying by Mash's shield bash.
And after she scrambled up, another follow-up attack came from the other side.
At the same time, Fujimaru Ritsuka would very appropriately supplement with a few magic missiles—yes, it wasn't just Mash who had secretly sworn allegiance to Ian who had been enhanced.
On the surface, Fujimaru Ritsuka had also been constantly practicing those simple and effective offensive Magecraft spells!
After being double-teamed like this for a while, Locusta's appearance was as wretched as could be.
Her face was covered in blood, and her clothes were tattered. If she hadn't kept insisting she was the number one magus under Nero, one might really mistake her for some miserable beggar.
"Enough!"
"You're really looking down on me!"
With annoyance written all over her face, Locusta raised her arm.
"I originally wanted to play with you properly, but now it seems that's completely impossible!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
"With the power Lord Nero has bestowed upon me!"
As Locusta roared, several huge pythons simultaneously hatched from behind her, from who knows when.
And she herself leaped up, landing on the head of one of the pythons.
"Hehehe, you might not know, but I've killed many people with poison."
"The reason Lord Nero was able to become who she is today is absolutely half my credit!"
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
The giant pythons flicked their tongues, and the liquid that dripped from their tips from time to time corroded a large hole in the ground the moment it touched it.
At the same time, this venom also seemed to have a great attraction to the surrounding flames.
After they landed, they quickly drew the nearby fire over.
"Hehehe, scared now?!"
Locusta laughed deliberately, appearing extremely confident in the strength she had displayed.
"If you surrender now, there's still time."
"As long as you are willing to become sacrifices for my poison, I can promise not to let you die so painfully—of course, if Lord Nero decides to spare you after I introduce you, it's not out of the question to let you live on in a half-dead state."
"So who exactly are you to that emperor of yours?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's sudden question made Locusta freeze for a moment.
But soon, she seemed to realize this was a chance to boast about her emperor.
"Of course, the most valued subject of our Emperor Nero."
"Oh, I see—"
Fujimaru Ritsuka revealed a confident smile.
"In other words, you're that emperor's dog, right?"
"She wanted to destroy Rome, so you followed and set the fire."
"What are you talking about!"
Locusta, who had just regained some of her good mood, immediately became anxious again.
"How dare you insult Lord Nero and me like that!"
"I've decided—"
"Even if you kneel down and beg for mercy later, I will absolutely not give you any chance of being forgiven! I will also report what you've just said to Lord Nero and make sure you die without a burial place!"
As if in response to Locusta's anger, the giant serpents she had summoned began to spew venom.
It was the same brown liquid as before.
"It doesn't matter, nothing you say will affect me!"
"I'm not the me I was before!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes were incomparably determined.
She touched her own arm.
Before setting off with Ian, Fujimaru Ritsuka had made sure to replenish the Command Spells on her arm.
Each Master receives three Command Spells, and she had already used one.
The remaining two—
"Defense Enhancement: Magic Resistance!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka had painstakingly tried to remember every word Ian had said.
Of course.
This naturally included the use of Command Spells.
"Don't be general—"
Because that would disperse the magical energy, making it impossible to achieve a focused effect.
All stats +1 is absolutely inferior to a specific stat +5 in battle!
"Be specific!"
But it wasn't as if any random +5 would do.
Instead, one had to judge how to act based on the opponent's attack!
Fujimaru Ritsuka perfectly executed everything Ian had taught her and put it into action.
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
Sizzle—
The venom from the giant serpents rained down on Mash like a torrential downpour.
An unsettling sound echoed in this city of flames.
"You can actually withstand such poison?"
"Hehehe, I guess you have some skill—"
Locusta sneered.
"But, these giant serpents will never tire, you know—can't be helped, our Lord Nero doesn't feel fatigue either. These serpent-bees she gave me are just too useful~"
"Keep resisting. Your magical energy will run out eventually, hehehe."
Although she really disliked Locusta's laugh and her attitude, Fujimaru Ritsuka had to admit that the other party was right.
The power of the Command Spell was rapidly fading—the venom of these giant pythons was indeed no simple matter.
What should I do?
Fujimaru Ritsuka's brain was working at high speed.
And just at this moment—
Mash, with her back to Fujimaru Ritsuka, suddenly asked without turning her head.
"Senpai, can you use the last Command Spell for an attack?"
"Eh?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka instinctively wanted to refuse Mash's proposal.
After all, even with her limited combat experience, she knew that Mash was a Shielder, a Servant specializing in defense!
Using a Command Spell for offense now would be putting the cart before the horse.
But—
This was Mash's own request.
The first principle of being a Master is to trust your Servant!
"I understand."
Without any further hesitation.
Fujimaru Ritsuka revealed her last Command Spell.
"Enhance: Attack!"
"Hehehe, have you lost your mind—" Locusta laughed loudly. "A defensive Servant is actually going to face me head-on?"
"Are you trying to commit suicide to escape punishment?"
"It's not certain who will win yet."
Mash said this seriously, then leaped a large step backward, temporarily evading the venom.
"Haaah—"
The young girl charged forward.
"..."
Realizing something seemed wrong, Locusta immediately panicked.
"Giant serpents, spray this ignorant fool to death!"
A sky full of venom surged out like a tidal wave, almost completely covering Mash within it.
"Hehehe, so it was just for show."
"I thought—"
Before Locusta could finish, she saw a human-sized hole punched through the brown venom.
Mash, covered in venom, leaped into the air.
"How can this be..."
"How can you..."
"I also thought I couldn't possibly withstand it—"
"But..."
"Compared to Master's punishment, your venom is not worth mentioning!"
Thud.
Mash, using her shield as an offensive weapon, crashed down on Locusta's head like a meteor, hitting her mark without deviation.
The latter immediately lost consciousness.
And the giant serpents, which had been under her control, also dissipated into illusions after this 'Fallen Angel' strike.
Having accomplished all this, Mash's expression had become somewhat sly.
"Don't think Senpai is the only one who wants to see Master. I really want to see him too—"
As Mash said this, she felt Fujimaru Ritsuka hug her from behind.
"We did it!"
"Ye-Yes, we did!"
Mash instantly changed back.
"Does this mean we can go find Senpai now?"
"Let's wait here—"
Fujimaru Ritsuka showed off her wristband.
"He's already leading the people of Britannia towards our location."
"By the way, what did you just say?"
"No-Nothing!"
"Mmm—A lie!"
"Really, nothing!"
________________________________________
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