"...?"
Gerald looked at the wall that had suddenly opened and moved halfway aside, revealing a corner of the courtyard beyond it. A question mark seemed to pop up over the Pegasus's head.
Fine, then.
Though he had no idea what she was planning, a Pegasus would never refuse an invitation to battle.
Stepping out of the hidden room, he drew the sword at his waist and assumed a ready stance. This time, Gerald was fully prepared to deal with the thorns around him.
Just as he had cleaved apart the Incantations surrounding the courtyard that morning, allowing the young Banshees to escape the impact of Incantations at the level of a Royal Court lord, his deeper study and analysis of the thorns had made him thoroughly familiar with this kind of Incantation—the key was to shatter them with Arts before they completely enclosed his field of vision.
"Come on, Lamaline."
Seeing him so thoroughly on guard, the Banshee Queen's irritation surged even higher. Almost without hesitation, she brought down the Bone Pen.
In an instant, thorns seemed to grow from the void itself. Their vines spread wildly, carrying the whispers of ancient Incantations as they surged toward Gerald with overwhelming pressure.
Just as he had expected.
Sword light flashed forth like a storm sweeping over the wilderness, sharp and decisive as it severed everything in its path. The moment the blade came down, every thorn and the Incantations attached to them crumbled and vanished into the air, as if they had never existed.
However, behind the sea of thorns, the true killing blow descended in silence.
What his sword wind had avoided was an Incantation personally condensed by a Royal Court lord.
The moment the thorns flooded over the image of the Pegasus in her eyes, the Banshee Queen