Atop Ohio City's border wall, Yuki and Tiyara stood frozen in shock.
The city behind them was burning.
Massive flames engulfed entire districts, black smoke rising high into the sky.
Tiyara's face turned pale.
"Let's go... let's go... let's go!!"
Her voice was low, fast, and filled with panic.
Without wasting another second, she activated her magic.
Small tornadoes formed around her feet, lifting her into the air.
Turning toward Yuki, she shouted,
"Grab me, Yuki! I'll fly us over there!"
However, Yuki never responded.
His eyes remained fixed on the burning city.
Then—
He jumped.
Straight off the twenty-story-high wall.
"W-WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Tiyara screamed in disbelief.
"That wall is as tall as twenty floors of my tower and he just jumped?! Is he crazy?!"
A moment later, she saw him safely land on the roof of a nearby building.
Without slowing down, Yuki began sprinting across rooftops, leaping from building to building like a ninja as he rushed toward the fire.
Tiyara could only stare.
Her face was completely blank with shock.
Is he a monster?
He doesn't even have magic! How in the world did he survive a fall from that height?!
She quickly flew after him.
A few minutes later, both of them arrived at the source of the destruction.
Several powerful Crocas had broken through another section of the city's defenses and entered the city.
Buildings had collapsed.
Houses were burning.
The streets were filled with chaos.
Many civilians had already died.
Yuki narrowed his eyes.
They're strong.
Much stronger than the Crocas Duke Jalrai and his army are fighting outside.
I can tell just by looking at their bodies and size.
While flying overhead, Tiyara shouted,
"Yuki! Handle the Crocas! I'll evacuate the civilians!"
Yuki nodded.
Jumping from a rooftop, he landed on the ground and immediately charged toward the monsters with his sword drawn.
Meanwhile, Tiyara activated her magic.
"BIND!"
Dozens of wire-like magical threads erupted from her back.
The threads wrapped around trapped civilians, injured people, and even those buried beneath rubble.
One by one, they were lifted into the air.
Tiyara carried them away to safety.
At the same time, Yuki reached the enemy.
With a single slash, he cut a Croca in half.
But the moment he struck, another Croca launched a stream of fire directly at him.
A direct hit.
Or at least it should have been.
Yuki instantly leapt into the air and avoided it.
Landing smoothly, he prepared to charge again—
Then stopped.
Ten.
Twenty.
Maybe even more Crocas had surrounded him.
All of them opened their mouths simultaneously.
"FUUUUUUU!"
A massive wave of flames erupted.
The temperature was so intense it could have melted diamonds.
Yet Yuki still escaped.
Because Tiyara arrived just in time.
Using her Bind Magic, she grabbed Yuki with one of her magical wires and pulled him out of danger.
Now both of them were airborne.
The Crocas glared up at them.
Tiyara hovered in the sky while a magical wire connected her to Yuki.
Yuki looked down at the monsters.
"I don't think I can fight this many at once."
He lowered his voice.
"Especially when they can use magic."
Then he added,
"If they didn't have magic, I could probably defeat fifty of them by myself."
Tiyara snorted.
"Hmph! Big talk for someone who isn't doing much."
She sounded like she was scolding him.
Yuki ignored her.
"Can you do something?"
Tiyara puffed out her chest proudly.
"What do you think? Why do you think I'm the Master of Knowledge?"
Yuki muttered quietly,
"Because you're a smart idiot."
Unfortunately for him, Tiyara didn't hear it.
She continued proudly,
"I wouldn't even allow creatures this weak inside my tower. Dealing with them is child's play."
She formed several hand signs.
Suddenly—
A giant eye appeared high above the battlefield.
The white portion of the eye was black.
Its iris was brown, decorated with golden lines and purple dots.
The sight alone was terrifying.
Then a beam of light shot out from the eye.
Everything touched by the beam disintegrated instantly.
One Croca after another vanished without a trace.
Yuki froze.
His entire body stiffened.
Good thing I never fought her seriously.
Wait... I'm never calling her a weakling again.
Gulp.
For the first time in a while, Yuki genuinely felt afraid.
After several moments, the beam faded.
Then the giant eye disappeared as well.
Tiyara gently lowered Yuki to the ground before landing herself.
The magical wires retreated back into her body.
Placing her hands on her hips, she proudly declared,
"So? Hmph! What do you think?"
She puffed out her chest even more.
"Don't you think I'm powerful?!"
Her voice was filled with confidence, pride, and self-satisfaction.
Yuki maintained a calm expression.
Though his voice sounded slightly nervous.
"Y-Yeah... you're powerful..."
Tiyara immediately burst into laughter.
"Hmhmhm~ Hahahahaha~!"
The two of them then looked around.
Burning buildings.
Destroyed homes.
Cracked streets.
Blood.
Bodies.
Death.
The aftermath of the attack stretched as far as they could see.
After a long silence, Yuki quietly spoke.
"W-We tried our best, right?"
His voice was low.
"This wasn't our responsibility..."
Tiyara slowly nodded.
"Y-Yeah..."
"It's not."
Yet neither of them sounded convinced.
Meanwhile, outside the city walls—
The war continued.