Voldemort in the Final Circle

"Dwarf, you're done for!"

Singlev's attacks came at longer and longer intervals, and his clash with the opponent gradually shifted from offense to defense.

Leopold, however, entered an abnormal state of exhilaration. His saber whistled through the air as he swung it, utterly unconcerned with the weapon's wear. He slashed, chopped, and thrust with wild abandon, forcing the dwarf into a frantic defense and leaving him no chance to trigger another explosion.

Knowing his limits, Mr. Arle no longer joined the fight. After dealing with Hill's side, she did not remount. Instead, she took the crossbow from her back and braced it with her foot to cock the string. Then the ranger raised the crossbow. Though the dwarf and Leopold were tangled together in close combat, the height difference gave Hill the confidence to pull the trigger with bold precision.

The bolt shot straight at them with tremendous force. Leopold actually caught sight of it from the corner of his eye. His reactions now far surpassed those of an ordinary man, and he casually flicked his blade before his chest, neatly knocking aside the ranger's ambush.

"Not enough! Still not enough! I, Leopold, a knight of the Empire—how could I possibly be defeated by trash like you?! Even all of you together aren't enough!"

Leopold could no longer control himself. The strength in his hands increased again as he hacked down viciously, numbing the dwarf's weapon hand through his guard and secretly alarming Singlev.

The knight who had initially faced Singlev adjusted his stance and was about to assist Leopold when he was suddenly torn from his horse and thrown to the ground.

A huge invisible hand pinned him down, crushing him into the soft soil of the riverbank. Air kept rushing out of his chest, but he could not draw another breath.

His ribs... were breaking...

A new sensation swiftly followed. The giant hand ignited in flames, enveloping him from every angle.

"Everyone else, move back!" Rorschach roared. The dwarf, the ranger, and Mr. Arle turned to look. Blue light shone from the veins in the young mage's eyes and exposed skin, and the three of them retreated in coordination.

Leopold also sensed that something was wrong. He broke free from his feverish excitement and cautiously stopped tangling with the dwarf. He quickly pulled out some kind of ointment, smeared it messily over his face, then coated his long blade with it before charging at the mage.

"Get lost!"

"Mana Condensation" + "Repulsion" + "Projectile"! This time, it was no longer a wild rabbit being blasted away, but a knight weighing several hundred pounds along with his heavily armored warhorse. Leopold flew backward as though he had slammed into a wall, crashing into the water before being lifted again by invisible force and tightly gripped.

"Is this the power of a mage?" Leopold did not panic, merely sighing in midair. His years of combat experience, his martial skill, and the blessings and enhancements he had received from Mother Earth were all completely suppressed before the mage.

Just like the previous knight, the Mage Hand gripping him transformed into Burning Hand. In only a few seconds, Leopold's skin would be charred black.

Flames burst forth, illuminating the rippling river and a face covered in old scars and fresh wounds. The man did not flex his powerful muscles in resistance, nor did he pray to Mother Earth. He merely stared at the mage who had fallen into madness, appearing exceptionally calm.

Then the situation changed abruptly.

Yellow-green smoke erupted from Leopold's body, spraying out and spreading at an explosive speed.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

Too late. The thick smoke raced along the ground, engulfing the entire caravan in an instant. Horses and people alike saw their vision rapidly blur before they lost consciousness. The creatures within its range had not so much been knocked out as had their awareness severed after the smoke invaded their bodies.

When the smoke dispersed, Leopold was completely unaffected. He had already fallen back into the water, struggled ashore, and walked over to the unconscious Rorschach.

His outer clothes were torn, and his inner armor was blackened. The man stripped them all off. The last of the sunset sank completely beyond the horizon, as if announcing the end of the battle.

The usually stern man smiled. He had suffered many fresh wounds, but under the effects of Mother Earth's ointment, all he could feel now was the joy of victory.

"Some herbs only take effect after they're ignited."

He kicked the youth, but the mage did not respond.

"Ha! Hahaha... Hahahaha!"

The riverbank, where only one person remained standing, echoed with wild, beastlike laughter.

Bang.

The man who had been celebrating victory a moment ago lost part of his head. More precisely, the sphenoid bone on the right side, part of the left parietal bone, and other tissue.

Two men rose from the hillside to the side. One of them still held a Hunting Rifle—not one driven by gunpowder, but by magically activated propulsion. The round it fired was an Alchemical Slug capable of piercing low-level defensive spells.

"After watching the show for so long, I'm tired of lying down."

"I'm gonna take a piss. Check whether that kid's still breathing." One of them ran to the riverbank and got started.

The other man crept over to Rorschach, crouched beside him, and held a finger beneath his nostrils.

"He's breathing, he's breathing. That last smoke was probably just a potent inhaled anesthetic."

"Interesting."

"What's interesting about it? Ah, I need to piss too. I'm about to burst..."

"That rider's last move was interesting. That kid was interesting too when he went all out. Looks like our boss didn't misjudge them."

The skin exposed on Rorschach's body still glowed blue. If someone drew blood from him now, even a nurse could find his veins in one try—they were lit up!

"Quit talking nonsense. Come on, deal with this thing, and wipe away our footprints too. Let me think... finish off all those knights, then take everything in their packs."

Hill was the first to wake. She had been pinned beneath a horse and had to wriggle free before she could stand.

The moonlit scene was a complete mess.

There was no trace of Leopold. Only beside where Rorschach lay was a patch of congealed blood. Hill went closer to inspect it, but the bloodstains vanished at the riverbank.

"Did he leave? Did he accomplish his goal?"

Thinking of that, Hill hurriedly checked Rorschach's breathing. It was weak, but still there. Hill breathed a sigh of relief.

One by one, the others and the horses woke up as well. Horrifyingly, the enemy's heavily armored warhorses had been reduced to puddles of pus, while the other knights had been corroded by that pus until more than half their bodies were gone after falling unconscious.

No one had died, and none of the cargo was lost. But Rorschach still had not awakened.

"His breathing is fairly steady, so don't forcefully wake the mage. Rorschach's condition at the end didn't seem normal. He must have expended a great deal." Arle gathered the others and decided on the next plan.

"We're about to leave the area where the Order is active, so we can head for a town. The next town is roughly five days away. Mage Rorschach will rest in the supply carriage, and his horse will be tied alongside carriage number two. Everyone endured this trial, and it was truly thanks to our mage. If he still hasn't awakened by the time we reach town, we'll seek out the Mage Guild."

After the drivers returned to their posts, Mr. Arle said worriedly to the two adventurers, "Did either of you see Leopold at the end? None of the other knights survived, but he disappeared."

"The bloodstain beside Rorschach should have been Leopold's. He probably left. The trail went to the riverbank and vanished there."

"That kid got beaten up bad by us, and his horse is gone too. He shouldn't be able to cause trouble anymore!"

"Let's hope so... Thank you, everyone. Even with one less fighter, please stay doubly alert."

"Okay."

"Don't worry, boss. If that bastard comes back looking for a lesson, I'll give him a few more hammer blows!"