Additional Order

Fern blinked, his pale purple eyes reflecting Frieren's calm profile.

"Huh? Can't you handle it?"

Frieren's gaze remained fixed on the maddening black figure below, her tone flat.

"That's right..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Lowell below moved.

He twisted his foot, his body swayed slightly, and with his right hand, fingers pointed like a knife, he forcefully swung it from above towards where Frieren was.

A perfectly condensed, almost completely transparent arc-shaped slash silently tore through the air, sweeping upwards at an angle. It was so fast that it didn't even create a sound; only the forcibly pushed-out air left a brief, distorted visual afterimage in its wake.

The target of the slash was still Frieren.

However, the area covered also included Fern, who had just spoken.

"Eh..."

Fern's pale purple eyes widened slightly. Her body's instincts told her there was danger, but her thoughts couldn't keep up with the slash.

There wasn't enough time to react.

Even the idea of constructing Defensive Magic had only just begun to take shape.

The transparent slash was about to reach his body—

Frieren and Ruby, who were prepared, reacted almost simultaneously, grabbing her arms with both hands, one on each side.

"Whoosh--!"

The three figures suddenly blurred and then disappeared from their original spot, appearing in the sky at a higher altitude.

And almost at the same time.

On the ground, Himmel's figure was like a blue streak of light, instantly cutting into the extended trajectory of the transparent slash. He held his sword diagonally in front of him with both hands, the blade precisely intercepting the slash's path.

"Clang--!"

A crisp, sharp sound, like the clash of thin blades meticulously forged by a master craftsman, exploded outwards.

With a "crack," the ground beneath Himmel's feet sank half an inch.

The edges of Lowell's five fingers, pressed together, were covered with a thin, almost invisible, yet incredibly solid, black magical blade. At this moment, the blade of this "hand chop" was clashing against the blade of the replica Hero's Sword in his hand, without any fancy embellishment.

The blade, and the fingers of flesh and blood.

It actually produced a metallic clanging sound.

Furthermore, they were evenly matched.

No, perhaps even better. Himmel could feel the heavy, cold pressure emanating from the sword, slowly pressing him down.

Master! Be careful!

The silver spear tip, with a resolute air, suddenly shot out from Himmel's side, aiming straight for the gap in Lowell's ribs that had been slightly exposed by his "sword" swing.

Lupa's shot was flawless in timing, angle, and speed. Her pink figure and the gun almost became one, and the sharp whistling sound that tore through the air finally rang out.

Lowell turned his head, his free left hand outstretched, and precisely pressed against the side of the thrusting spear tip.

"Bang!"

A dull thud. The impact force gathered at the tip of the gun collided violently with the magic power that suddenly surged from his palm.

Lupa felt a tremendous force coming from the gun. Using this force, she flew backward to the side, her feet carving two shallow furrows in the ground as she landed, barely managing to regain her footing.

Lowell was also pulled two steps to the side by the force of the shot, his fingers separating from Himmel's longsword.

He steadied himself, looked down at his unharmed palm, then looked up at the retreating Lupa, a smile spreading across his face—a smile that was a mixture of approval and cruelty.

He shook his left hand.

"Lupa, you're really nice."

Lupa stared at Lowell, exhaled, and her heterochromatic eyes were more solemn than ever before.

"Ha... Master, so it turns out you can deal with us all at once even without using that special ability?"

With the help of Frieren and Ruby, Fern, who was in mid-air, steadied herself. She watched the lightning-fast exchange below, a hint of surprise flashing in her pale purple eyes.

"This..." she said softly, as if sorting out her thoughts, "Hasn't Lord Lowell already deactivated his 'Perfect Warrior' state? In close combat... he still has this kind of fighting ability?"

"In the 'Perfect Warrior' state, one reaches the strongest level purely through warrior skills, but resistance to magical attacks is relatively weakened, which is why Ruby's Mental Magic took advantage of the situation," Frieren's voice rang out calmly, explaining to her, her emerald eyes still fixed on Lowell below.

"But that doesn't mean his close-combat ability is weaker once that state is lifted. Demons generals are generally skilled at using magic to extremely enhance their physical bodies. He's very good at that," she added.

"In addition..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Lowell, below, had already raised his hands. He no longer looked at Himmel and Lupa, but instead placed his palms down on the area where everyone was, and then pressed them down sharply.

There were no dazzling light effects, no complicated magic circles.

But at the same time, Frieren, Ruby, and Fern, who were in the air, felt their bodies suddenly sink!

It was as if countless invisible hands were grabbing them from all directions and pulling them downwards!

"Ugh!"

Fern let out a muffled groan. The Flight Magic she had been maintaining instantly went awry, and her body involuntarily plummeted downwards.

Frieren's arm tightened, and she pulled her back.

At the same time, Frieren's other hand had somehow already grasped her staff. She quickly tapped it in front of her, and a concise and efficient counterspell instantly formed, merging into Fern's Flight Magic. Fern felt the pressure ease, immediately focused her mind, increased her magic output, and regained her footing, though fine beads of sweat had already seeped from her forehead.

So heavy...

On the ground, Himmel, Lupa, and Linié, who had been standing quietly a little distance away, all felt their bodies sink simultaneously. The suction force beneath their feet suddenly increased several times, as if the place where they were standing was not solid ground, but a sticky swamp.

Fern's breathless voice came from the air.

"Hmm, this is..."

"Area-Based Gravity Magic," Frieren's voice came through, still steady, but slightly faster. "Fern, concentrate, increase your magic output, maintain flight, and absolutely do not fall to the ground. The ground is very dangerous right now."

As if to prove her words.

On the ground, countless hair-thin, almost completely transparent magical threads emerged without warning from the soil, from under the fallen leaves, and from the air. Like living tentacles, they silently wrapped around Himmel and Lupa's ankles, calves, and arms from all sorts of tricky angles.

The threads are extremely fine, yet possess a cold texture. Once entangled, they immediately tighten, attempting to restrict movement and penetrate the body, disrupting the flow of magic.

Himmel let out a low shout and swung his sword. The sword flashed, severing several silk threads wrapped around his ankles. But the threads were endless; as soon as one was cut, more would attack from unexpected angles. The heaviness of his body also slowed his movements by a fraction.

Lupa gave a low shout, her spear flashing as the wind swept away a shower of silk threads. But she was also affected, her spear movements less agile than before, and a few threads narrowly grazed her arm armor, leaving faint white marks.

The two struggled against the tearing force of gravity while dealing with the ubiquitous transparent threads, and for a time they found themselves somewhat overwhelmed.

"Ah... not bad..."

Lowell stood a short distance away, watching the three people suspended in mid-air and the two locked in combat on the ground. A low chuckle spread across his face. The chuckle was full of pleasure, and a condescending, cat-and-mouse mockery.

"Haha! Look, look! It looks just like two clowns struggling desperately... no, five, five clowns performing for me! It's really... really funny!"

Frieren frowned slightly, her emerald green eyes sweeping downwards.

"He doesn't talk this much when he's fighting normally," she whispered to the two beside her. "If his personality of 'disliking trouble and pursuing efficiency' were reversed to 'enjoying toying with his opponents and enjoying the process of fighting'... perhaps he could find a way to stall for the effects of the drug."

"I'm so angry!" Ruby puffed out her cheeks, her fiery red curls seemingly standing on end in anger, her large turquoise eyes glaring at the laughing Lowell below. "This Lowell after his transformation is so infuriating! He's arrogant and deserves a beating! And so sarcastic! If it weren't for Himmel's lack of confidence due to the potion, preventing him from unleashing his full power, and if Lupa hadn't been unable to use his full strength because their opponent was Master, we wouldn't be in such a passive position!"

She clenched her small fists, and a faint magical glow began to emanate from her body; her eyes sharpened.

"Alright, since that's the case, then watch my move..."

She seemed to be preparing to cast some kind of spell.

However--

A sharp slash came without warning from the side! Its target was Ruby, who was gathering magic Ruby!

The slash was pitch black and extremely fast.

"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"

Three honeycomb-shaped, semi-transparent Defensive Magic arrays, each with a similar structure but instantly constructed by Frieren, Ruby, and Fern, unfolded in the direction from which the slash came!

"Clang--!"

The slash slammed into the outermost magic circle, producing a loud boom. The magic circle fluctuated violently, but the three layers of defense ultimately withstood the attack steadily.

The attacker was pushed back a few steps by the recoil, revealing his figure.

Sam.

"Hey! Hey!" Ruby Sam, she was both anxious and angry. "Are you crazy! Sam! Why are you attacking me!"

Sam stood with his sword in hand, his expression unchanged, his voice steady and cold, carrying an unquestionable tone.

"You want to attack His Majesty."

"I was trying to help him!" Ruby stamped her foot, pointing at Lowell below who was watching them leisurely. "Look at him! It's because he drank that weird potion that his personality has temporarily reversed! I... I wanted to use magic to temporarily subdue him until the effects of the potion wore off!"

Suddenly her eyes lit up, as if she had grasped a lifeline, and she pulled Frieren forward abruptly.

"Oh, right! Look! Lady Frieren! Your Majesty's lover is here too! She also thinks it's time to stop Lowell!"

Sam turned his gaze to Frieren and silently looked at her for two seconds. Frieren's expression remained unchanged as she calmly returned his gaze.

Sam's grip on the sword loosened almost imperceptibly, but the wariness in his eyes did not diminish. He seemed to hesitate, but finally, in his flat voice, he spoke:

"... In short, no attacking His Majesty is permitted."

Frieren looked at Sam, her emerald eyes blinking, and analyzed the situation calmly, as if she were speaking to Ruby and Fern:

"Well, putting aside Sam's overly straightforward and stubborn personality... currently, both Sam and Linié below him are wearing the 'Dominating Stone Ring'."

She glanced at Linié, despite several attempts to help under the influence of gravity and the interference of the threads, could only stand quietly in place, showing no sign of assisting the others.

"Under Stone Ring's absolute command, they could not possibly launch a preemptive attack on Lowell."

Underground, Lowell, who was toying with Himmel and Lupa using silk threads, seemed to have caught the conversation in the air. His movements paused slightly.

"... ha!?"

He abruptly raised his head to look at Frieren in the air, the mocking laughter on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a grotesque expression of offense, a mixture of absurdity and rage.

"What did you say?"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice sounding as if it were being squeezed out from between his teeth.

Frieren calmly met his gaze and continued in that analytical tone, her voice carrying clearly:

"This is bad. In his current mental state, if he becomes aware of the stone ring's binding power and then issues new commands..."

She glanced at Sam, then at Linié on the ground.

"Sam and Linié will both become our enemies."

Lowell's expression froze.

He tilted his head, looking at Frieren, then at Sam, and then at the small pink figure on the ground. In his black eyes, the madness was gradually replaced by a cold, sharp, knife-like light.

The air seemed to fall silent for a moment.

Only the low hum of Gravity Magic and the faint hissing of threads cutting through the air could be heard.

Then--

"Are you kidding me?!"

Lowell let out a roar, a voice filled with utter rage and a fury bordering on humiliation.

He stomped his feet, and a shockwave exploded from the ground, propelling him into the air like a cannonball, instantly placing him at the same height as Frieren and the others. Violent magic surged around him, causing their robes to flutter wildly.

He hovered in the air, his chest heaving violently, his black eyes fixed on the crowd before him, churning with terrifying rage and an almost obsessive pride.

"I! Lowell! The Demon King!"

He pointed to his chest, his voice distorted with emotion.

"Need their help?! What ridiculous stone ring... do I need to command my men to protect me?!"

He suddenly opened his left hand, fingers spread wide, palm facing upward. A concentrated, chilling ball of dark magic slowly rotated within it, radiating destructive energy.

"Magic..."

At the same time, he opened his right hand, then clenched it into a fist. The muscles in his arm tensed slightly, and the magic covering it had a dark, metallic sheen, as if it could crush fine steel.

"Force..."

His gaze swept over Frieren, Ruby, and Fern, over Himmel and Lupa below, over the silent Sam and Linié, and finally, it fixed on the void, as if he were looking down on the entire world.

I have everything I need!

He spread his arms, raised his head, and addressed the sky, the forest, and all that could be heard, issuing a deafening declaration that made the air tremble with every word:

"I! Lorenz! am the strongest... without a doubt! The strongest!!"

The roar echoed through the forest, startling countless birds into flight.

The roar subsided, its echo lingering.

Lowell slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on Sam, then slowly shifting to Linié was quietly watching from the ground.

The rage on his face gradually subsided, replaced by an extreme coldness and an indifference that brooked no dissent.

He raised his right hand, his index finger first pointing to Sam, then to Linié, and then, with a slow, deliberate arc, his arm pointed to—

He himself.

His lips parted, the sound not loud, but clear and carrying a resolute determination to sever all ties, reaching the ears of everyone present:

"In the name of Demon King Lorenz, a new order is hereby issued."

He paused, a cold, cruel smile curving his lips, and looked at Frieren and Ruby, whose expressions instantly changed, before issuing his order, word by word:

"Kill--"

His finger finally landed steadily on his forehead.

"I."