Having repelled the attackers in the hallway, I pried open the passenger car window and placed my foot on the window frame.
At my feet, steel rails and wheels are making a deafening noise, and countless small stones and mud are being kicked up.
If I accidentally fall, my body seems like it would shatter into pieces.
(Even though it's wrapped in magical power, it's still pretty scary. ...But it seems like there's no time to waste...)
Holding the window frame with an underhand grip, I spread magical power throughout my body.
"Here we go! Alright!!"
I let out a shout of determination and burst out with vigor, as if doing a backflip.
A sensation of floating in the air, a feeling as if your heart is tightening...!
"Whoa... safely landed..."
On the roof of the train, the swaying of the high-speed train and the howling wind are directly transmitted, making it quite difficult to maintain balance.
To avoid being thrown off, I manipulated the magical structure at my feet to somehow regain my balance and started running vigorously towards the second carriage, where Erika was being held captive.
The surrounding scenery is unusually calm, in stark contrast to my inner tension.
In the sunlight, tropical flowers shine, and a sluggish water buffalo grazes slowly.
As we passed through the grove of palm trees, lush green mountains spread out before us, and the train advanced through the gaps between them.
(Erika... please stay safe...!!)
――＜Magic Power Exploration＞――
Having reached the roof of the target car, I concentrated my magical power into my eyes and released a magical probe to observe the inside.
If you look through eyes imbued with magical power, you can even see inside a car covered with thick steel as if it were X-rayed.
(Is that Erika lying there...? Phew, thank goodness! It seems like she's not in any life-threatening danger...)
Through the
I take a breath, shift my mindset, and decide to look around inside again.
(Then there are two people equipped with automatic rifles... and there's someone with an unusually strong magical response. Could they be a mage?)
To catch what she was saying, I began to channel magic into my ears as well.
To prevent my eardrums from bursting due to the train's roar, I carefully manipulate my magical power so that I can only hear the conversations inside the passenger car.
Delicate manipulation of magical power was quite a challenge, but gradually I started to be able to understand their conversations.
"...I feel...magical power...just in case..."
(...What are they talking about?)
The woman at the center of the attackers is mumbling something.
If I concentrate more magical energy in my ears, I might be able to hear it...
"Hey, you up there! The roof is going to get blown off! Be careful!!"
(What...?!)
The sudden voice of Erika's warning echoed...!
That he moment reflexively backflipped onto the rear passenger car... a deafening explosion echoed, and the train's roof shattered into pieces...!!
From inside the shattered upper part of the passenger car, a blood-soaked Erika can be seen.
Though her face was pale from severe bleeding, a strong will to fight was evident in his eyes.
"Tch, unnecessary meddling."
(What the hell is this guy...?!)
After a moment of silence, a woman crawls up onto the roof from the passenger car.
Dressed in a tattered railway police uniform that covered her entire body, with a face as gray as a corpse and eyes like a demon with inverted black and white, she seemed utterly otherworldly.
However, what was even more unsettling was the intense magical energy emanating chaotically from the woman's body.
It's not like I was freaked out by the amount of magical waves or anything.
Speaking of magical power, I have quite a bit myself, and within the 'Empire' army, there are those with even more outrageous amounts.
However, it was the first time I had met someone with such a vast amount of magical power, yet at a level of magical manipulation that could only be described as that of an infant.
It's as if... just a moment ago, a person who had never handled magic suddenly received magical power.
"Well, whatever... You don't look like a noble, and you don't seem like you'd be worth any money..."
Noticing that I was dressed in light, easy-to-move clothing instead of a military school uniform, she muttered that I was a commoner and raised his hand towards me.
I quickly crouch down while enveloping my body in multiple layers of magical protective barriers.
A moment later, a nasty smell that scorched the magical defense membrane tickled my nose, and a few moments after that... a tremendous roar!
When I turned around, I saw a big hole in the ceiling of the passenger car behind me.
Even though it only grazed a little, several layers of the protective membrane are cracked.
This is bad. Besides, if this keeps happening, there will eventually be casualties among the train passengers.
Before that, I need to somehow take care of this woman
I wrapped my legs in magical power and moved at high speed, intent on killing the monster woman in front of me... and unleashed several blasts of
The lightning bolt I unleashed struck her chest, and the woman's body was enveloped in a purple flash of lightning.
However...
"Oh, you can handle that much magic without a magic wand, huh..."
"Seriously?!"
She was standing there with a nonchalant expression.
Seeing that the clothes she was wearing didn't take much damage, it seems she somehow applied an incredible amount of defensive membrane to her body without any motion.
Through the magical eye, I could see a large amount of defensive membrane rapidly forming again on her body.
That number is an astonishing twenty-seven sheets!!
Even for someone like me who can handle a large amount of magical power, the most I can summon instantly is about thirteen sheets.
(How can I defeat someone like this... I at least want to find a way to let Erika escape.)
The train had already passed through the deep green-covered mountains and was entering the massive bridge built of natural stones.
Under the bridge, a muddy river spread out, its surface glistening fiercely in the sunlight.
(Should I sink the train into the river with explosion magic...? No, that's not right... That would cause dozens of deaths. I don't even know if Erika would be safe...)
My heart was starting to waver at the sight of the enemy's resilience.
Zugaga!! Zugaga!!
Suddenly, the deafening sound of gunpowder and screams echoed.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. It's Erika!
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the guard looked away, she swiftly snatched the assault rifle from the enemy's hands...!
The next moment, a barrage of bullets flies through the air.
A countless rain of iron erupted from Erika's hand and attacked the sentry...!!
The dry sound of the assault rifle echoed, its reverberation shaking the eardrums.
It was like the sound of thunder echoing.
She threw the gun to the floor and retrieved her magic wand, which had been taken by the guard.
Erika, with that momentum, wrapped herself in the
(Good job, Erika...! If we attack together, we might be able to break through her defense!)
Due to her slightly introverted demeanor and her tendency to act like a yandere girl, it's easy to forget, but Erika is a far more outstanding military officer and magician than I am.
(With her, we might just be able to get through this tough situation somehow...!)
My heart was once again filled with warm energy of hope.
"Seriously, we can't even handle a kid who can't use magic. It makes me really dislike how our organization is filled with incompetents..."
The monster woman in front of me looked down with an exasperated expression.
"Now it's two against one. If you're going to surrender..."
"Kai! Jump into the river right now!!"
As I was about to throw some provocative words at my opponent, Erika suddenly interrupted.
Jump into the river?!
What is she saying at a time like this?
"Erika, what are you saying..."
"Now's your chance! You can't win against that monster!"
Erika's eyes were dead serious. No way, are you telling me to escape alone...?
"Jump into the river and escape! Kai! This is an 'order'!!"
"Order"
The moment those words were spoken, an immense surge of magical power began to emanate from the
It was as if a sleeping giant serpent had awakened and begun to coil with tremendous power.
My feet, against my own will, slowly begin to walk towards the edge of the roof.
"Do you think I would let it slip away?"
"The one you're up against is me...!"
Having regained her magic wand, she began to interfere with the monster woman by unleashing her signature gravity and ice magic.
A collision sound echoed as if time and space were distorted, and at the same time, the surrounding space was filled with a freezing cold air.
In the meantime, my body was about to jump into the river from the edge of the train's structure.
(Please... make it in time...!)
I unleashed the magic power from my gut with all my might against the collar.
For the past month, I have been continuously pouring magical energy from my body into the
(This damn chain! Break already!! I said break already...!!)
A strong backlash comes from the collar...!
The sound of metal grinding can be heard from the magical binding chains.
Just a little more...! Please! Break...!!!
The sound of metal scraping echoes in my head...
"You've made me struggle... Hmph, but your male concubine seems to be frozen in fear. Hahaha."
"Kai... I'm sorry... It's an 'order.' Please run away..."
Looking back, I saw Erika's face, torn and stained with despair, and the monster woman with a cruel smile...
My feet, staring at it, felt as if time had frozen... and then they stopped.
...Seriously, this woman Erika just keeps saying selfish things without ever realizing how I feel.
My theory is that only male protagonists in light novels are allowed to be oblivious.
"Erika, whether it's kissing, oral sex, or intercourse, if you want to do it, I'll do it as much as you want from now on... but sorry about that."
"Ka, Kai?! Wh-what are you saying at a time like this...?"
I can see Erika's face turning bright red and her eyes wide open.
"I can't follow that 'order'."
I smirked , hooked my index finger on the "collar of subjugation," and pulled it hard.
The restraints, with their magical structure in disarray, crumble with a sound like glasswork shattering.
"That crazy yandere woman over there is mine! I'll take her back, you monster!"
"This guy...! Don't get carried away...!!"
I started running on top of the train, unleashing Thunder Magic and Explosion Magic on my opponent with reckless abandon.
I won't be weak anymore!
I will definitely survive this crisis with Erika!!