"..."
"All dark magicians are tarred with the sa brush!"
As Shesta Villandet Bapulor spoke to herself, Orport, standing behind Patricia, muttered under his breath. This investigator was well aware of the Nicholas family’s capabilities, and he was all the more cognizant of Patricia’s status as the strongest contemporary swordsman.
So, he felt perfectly justified in seeking shelter behind the girl.
The investigator’s gloved right hand slipped into his pocket and rubbed for a few seconds, while he began to recite a spell under his breath.
Just as Shesta Villandet Bapulor was engrossed in studying her montary loss,
The investigator pointed at her from a distance, wielding his right hand out of his pocket.
"Ouch!"
"Why do you all have to be so tricky?"
The effects of the spell were imdiate.
Though the finger he pointed lacked the grandeur of visible lights and shadows, the magic curse hit Shesta solidly, causing her already astral-projected body to flicker in and out of visibility.
Orport imdiately spoke up to remind the others:
"Purely magical attacks work very well, don’t use just plain weapons!"
"..."
Patricia’s gaze sharpened.
The investigator’s reminder saved her the effort of further testing.
Then, Patricia gripped her longsword and began infusing it with magic power. The blade, known as the Cold Strike Blade, began to change, the spell starting to spread from the center of the sword spine.
Ding—
At that mont, a sound seed to chi from the sword.
The longsword, which had appeared devoid of any decorative patterns, now completely shed its tallic hue. From the mont Patricia infused it with magic power, it barely took a second to transform.
To describe it succinctly—
The shape of the sword had not changed.
But its material had beco sothing akin to a block of transparent ice.
"..."
"What is this thing?"
Shesta Villandet Bapulor, still hovering in the air, was taken aback.
She had heard of the Cold Strike Blade and had familiarized herself with this renowned weapon. But the change before her was entirely beyond the scope of information she had acquired.
Clang—
It was at that mont that Patricia struck again.
Due to the transformation of the sword material, the sound of the blade piercing through the air was no longer the sa.
This ti, Patricia didn’t utilize the ability awakened with Ronald’s help. She earnestly held the longsword, swinging it in the style of the spells passed down through her family lineage, wielding the sword techniques she had practiced countless tis.
The longsword thrust out, lightning-fast.
The two investigators standing closely behind her could vaguely see sothing—the nearly transparent blade, when moving through the air, left behind a trail of frosty light, as if it had disturbed so very fine substance.
"Hey!"
"Can’t we have a proper talk?"
At this point, Shesta Villandet Bapulor was finally cornered.
The transford Cold Strike Blade could fully harm her even in her astral form, and in close combat, Shesta could not compare to Patricia. She was forced to retreat bit by bit, dodging as best as she could.
However, Patricia, accustod to battle, was also extrely quick in devising tactics.
Within ten seconds, she cornered Shesta Villandet Bapulor through relentless pursuit.
Clang—
Another pale blue sword shadow flashed through the air.
Shesta Villandet Bapulor couldn’t dodge in ti, and her left arm was imdiately severed.
In her astral state, Shesta demonstrated none of the normal reactions like injury or bleeding. The severed left arm separated from her torso and promptly dissipated into insubstantial mist, vanishing into thin air.
At that mont, Shesta Villandet Bapulor’s eyes widened as she glanced at her now-empty shoulder.
Then she shouted very earnestly:
"Wait! Just wait a mont!"
"I, Shesta Villandet Bapulor, have sothing to say!"
"..."
Patricia stopped her actions.
It was a result of habit.
In Gride, so criminals guilty of heinous cris would shout in this manner right before being hanged on the gallows, indicating that they had last words to share with the spectators.
Due to the most basic considerations, the executioner would generally also consent.
At this mont, Shesta suddenly blurted out such a phrase.
Everyone present subconsciously thought she had sothing very important to say.
Then, under the gaze of Nicholas and two investigators, Shesta spoke:
"If I were to kneel and beg for rcy now, would you let go?"
"..."
Everyone was rendered speechless by Shesta’s act.
In such a disadvantaged situation in battle, it wouldn’t have been incomprehensible for Shesta to suggest trading information or sothing else of importance for her own life.
But what was the aning of begging on the ground?
Observing the expressions of the three people opposite her, Shesta’s eyes lit up, and she imdiately expounded her reasoning:
"I an, we don’t really have any conflicts, do we?"
"I can’t decide who my father is, and the things my dad or those under him have done have nothing to do with ; I haven’t even participated in their activities."
"An innocent girl searching for her missing father shouldn’t be attacked by you all!"
"Besides, these bracers were really expensive to make..."
"Heretic Magician!" Just as Shesta was about to continue, Orport interrupted her, "These are all your one-sided claims, do you think anyone would believe you?"
"You’re discriminating against based on profession!" Shesta imdiately yelled out, "Even in Gride’s judicial system, aren’t there both good and bad people? As an investigator, you’re generalizing and slandering!"
Faced with Shesta’s seemingly faultless logic,
Orport responded with a cold laugh:
"Hmph—"
"If you want to put it that way, fine, but today, the person who used magic to interfere with the investigator’s ntal state was you, wasn’t it?"
"Do you know what cri it is to attack the Investigation Bureau in Springs?"
"..."
"I... ntal interference isn’t lethal, I didn’t attack you!"
Shesta, her reasoning blocked by Orport, struggled for several seconds before she could find sothing else to argue.
"Furthermore..."
"Even though I interfered with your ntal state, I didn’t cause any trouble during today’s security operations. Just now, I even helped you arrest my father’s subordinates!"
"Can’t the rits offset the faults?"
"..."
Boom, boom, boom—
According to the original atmosphere and rhythm, the argunt should have continued for a few more exchanges.
However, a sudden volley of cannon fire interrupted them and also drew everyone’s attention away.
Over at the neighboring Harvest Day celebration venue.
Queen Dantrian, dressed in extravagant garnts, re-boarded the warship and proclaid the successful conclusion of the festivities.
The common people in the venue were all focused on the rare speech by the Queen, but there were others who were different.
—These people were all powerful Casters.
—And their gazes were fixed on the distant Sunset Sea.
Those with stronger perception had already noticed—there were several extrely potent Magic Fluctuations.
Approaching Springs!
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