"A heat laser!


    Flames shoot out in a straight line from my fingertips.


    It points its fingertips at the swarm of demons in front of you, and at the enemy soldiers.


    This magic can emit a heat ray in the direction of your finger while it''s being emitted.


    The extremely condensed rays of fire are very good at penetration and can easily cut through the bodies of demons and people.


    Just by slightly tilting the ray of fire, the body of a demon or person will be ripped apart.


    You have to be careful not to hit your allies, and if it hits a building as well, the fire will rise, so you need to be even more careful, but it''s a very strong magic.


    It''s a technique I was taught by Commander Anne before.


    ''''Tina Aulin, well done!　Step back!


    Yes!


    I lost quite a bit of magic since I released this magic after building up my magic power.


    I immediately step back and ask the seniors to release the next magic.


    I immediately start storing up my magic power again.


    The place I''m at right now is the back gate of the royal palace.


    Many demons and enemy soldiers had come here and were fighting to keep them from entering the royal palace.


    With the explosion that happened earlier, the enemy came all the way here at once.


    There are two gates into the Royal Palace, the main gate and the back gate.


    The main gate is bigger and the enemy can easily enter, so the Anne Commander is over there.


    This one has no one in the Commander or Deputy Commander.


    I don''t know where Commander Yelle is, but this is the situation. He must be doing something that only a Commander can do.


    I have to do what I can do, too.


    If I don''t defend this back gate now, this Royal City of Begonia will be corrupted.


    If they enter the royal palace and kill His Majesty Leonardo, this country will be as good as lost.


    We haven''t allowed a single demon or enemy soldier into the royal palace from our side yet.


    However, it might be just a matter of time.


    There are beginning to be more soldiers and demons from the enemy side than soldiers from this side.


    We''re still winning on quality, but it would be bad if we''re pushed out by quantity.


    There are a lot of soldiers on this side that can use magic, but the other side has a lot of people that are good at close combat.


    Right now, I''m releasing magic from a distance to hold them down, but many of them are running out of magic.


    I still have plenty of time to spare, but as the pace of shooting magic slows down more and more, they get closer and closer.


    When it comes to close combat, my opponent has the advantage.


    There are a few soldiers who use swords here too, but they are less in number than the enemy demons and soldiers.


    If we don''t call for reinforcements of soldiers from the Knights instead of the Magic Knights, we''ll have to keep going like this.......!


    "Sunburst!


    I built up enough magic power behind me and released my magic.


    A small ball of light flew from my fingertips towards the enemy.


    When I got to the side of the three soldiers and some demons, the ball exploded.


    The soldiers and the demons were caught in the explosion and turned into pieces of meat.


    I''ve been killing demons and people with magic since a while ago.


    I''m killing people for the first time, but it doesn''t feel like it.


    I''m still in the middle of a battle, and since I''m using magic to kill, it may not feel real.


    But I don''t have any regrets.


    On the contrary, I''m a little glad that I killed someone, because I''ve been able to get a little closer to Eric.


    Because it allows me to get a little closer to Eric.


    Eric killed that man who attacked our village.


    He killed him to protect our village.


    We kill people to protect something.


    If Eric had done it, I can''t wait to experience it too.


    This is what it felt like to kill someone before Eric.


    I haven''t felt it yet, but I wonder what''s going to happen now.


    I heard a senior soldier once tell me about a soldier who killed someone and then quit because he was mentally ill.


    I was afraid of that happening.


    I was afraid to leave Eric.


    But after what we fought through, I know now that I''ve learned to stop worrying about that.


    I can take a life to protect people, just like Eric did.


    I was a little glad to be able to do that as well as Eric.


    The hordes of soldiers and demons of the other side are getting closer than before.


    The soldiers who are fighting in close quarters here are also returning fire, but their numbers are too different.


    This is really bad, we can''t continue like this...!


    Next!　Unleash the magic!


    I''m sorry, I''m so sorry, I don''t have any magic...!


    After I released my magic and stepped back, the people following me had already run out of magic power.


    ''''d*mn!　Let go of the magic that''s built up!


    The soldier in command says so, but the magic isn''t flying off at all.


    Most of them are out of magic power.


    I can still strike if I build up my magic power, but I can''t do it yet because it''s right after I strike.


    And - finally, the balance is broken.


    ''''Oraa!''''


    I can''t...


    The soldier who was in command was in the front and turned around.


    He took advantage of the opportunity and struck me in the head from behind with his weapon.


    ''Follow me, boys!　Let''s take the palace down!


    Oh, oh, oh!


    When the demon man who had defeated the soldier who was commanding him raised his voice, the demon soldiers were approaching him from behind with a shout.


    ''''Kutu...!　"The Ice Wall!


    I released the accumulated magic power and released my magic.


    I created a huge wall of ice between the enemy soldiers and our soldiers.


    This is not a magic to kill the opponent, but a magic to stop their advance.


    Thank you, Tina!


    Get back on your feet while you still can!


    The other soldiers say so, but there are few soldiers here that can release magic anymore.


    There are also fewer soldiers capable of close combat than their opponents.


    We have a wall of ice to stop them now, but they will soon be able to break through.


    ''''Do we have reinforcements yet!


    I''m going to die.


    The female soldier next to me is cowering, trembling, holding her body in her arms.


    If this is the case, this place will be breached and we''ll be invaded into the royal palace...!


    Besides, I''m not that good at melee combat either.


    If I can get past this wall too...!


    I don''t want to die, ever!


    It''s been three days already since I last saw Eric.


    For the first time in my life, I am this far away from Eric.


    I''m not going to die before I see Eric...!


    I was about to build up my magic once more and release it, and that''s when I heard.


    ''Tina, you did a great job.''


    A familiar voice came from behind me and something warm was placed on my shoulder.


    I recognized it as a hand, and the figure in the voice was immediately recognizable.


    Turning back around, he shouted the person''s name happily.


    ''-- Eric!


    Yeah, you''re waiting. I''ll take care of it.