Chapter 65

The heavens and earth shook from just two people.

Hans, wielding a blazing sword, clashed with Sena, whose staff radiated a kaleidoscope of magical energy.

The shockwave from the explosion forced them apart, leaving a massive crater in the once-green meadow.

Dozens of similar scars already dotted the battlefield from their prolonged fight.

A brief silence followed.

Sena was the first to move.

“Lightning.”

With a strike of her staff, a bolt of lightning descended from the clear sky.

Hans, instead of dodging, met the attack head-on, slicing the bolt in two with perfect timing.

The split lightning scorched the grass, leaving a mess.

Sena, watching this, looked more annoyed than impressed.

“…Why are you so obsessed with swords? You’re a mage, aren’t you?”

“It’s cool. Can’t use it normally, so might as well use it now.”

“That’s so childish. Men, I swear.”

Hans smirked at Sena’s exasperation.

“Ah, you want to see my magic? Should’ve said so!”

He plunged his sword into the ground, causing the area around it to glow red like magma.

A stream of molten rock surged toward Sena.

As it neared, Hans pulled his sword up, and the stream erupted into a massive wave of magma.

Sena frowned in irritation.

“…Your ego is way too big.”

The droplets at the tip of her staff shimmered, then exploded into thousands of tiny particles, spreading like mist.

Tap, tap. Her staff struck the ground twice.

The particles grew, filling the air with thousands of floating water droplets.

“Water Whirlwind.”

At her command, the droplets spun, gathering moisture and forming a massive whirlwind that collided with the magma wave.

Their attacks clashed evenly, neither giving ground.

After a moment, both attacks dissipated, and they immediately launched their next moves.

It was a battle of equals.

After the illusion faded, the two picked up their weapons and began sparring.

They seemed used to this, often clashing like this.

As for me, I had no idea what to do.

Being the captain and the odd one out, I guess.

I sat a bit away, hugging my knees and watching their fight.

The scale was bigger than in reality, making it quite a spectacle.

The Observation Department lives up to its name.

As I watched, I got a bit bored and thought about making some popcorn.

Then, I heard footsteps.

The owner of the footsteps stopped nearby and spoke.

“Care for a match?”

It was Yohan, with their usual dry expression, offering to spar.

They probably came over after seeing me alone, being considerate.

…This is so awkward.

If those two are fighting, it’s natural for the remaining two to spar as well.

But, well. It was just getting good.

“Uh… Thanks for the offer, but…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you. It’s not good to just sit and watch, right?”

Honestly, I’d rather keep watching.

I’m not confident in fighting, nor in being a good punching bag.

Thinking about how to split the sky seems more productive.

But I can’t just refuse, can I?

No matter how much I want to slack off, I can’t just abandon my junior.

I stretched and stood up.

“Alright. How should we do this?”

“Hmm. The method.”

Yohan’s eyes lost focus for a moment, then returned.

That must be their thinking face.

“I’ll go bare-handed. I won’t use any illusions, so you can attack however you like, Remia-senpai.”

So, they’re going to fight with fists instead of weapons to avoid being too brutal.

Normally, I’d think they’re going easy on me, but not this time.

Having seen Yohan’s hand-to-hand combat, it seems like they chose their best fighting style.

“Alright then.”

“Good. I’ll let you have the first move.”

Yohan took a stance about five meters away.

Their usually dull eyes now seemed sharp.

Are they planning to dodge my attack and counter?

…I’m getting unnecessarily nervous.

No, I don’t need to be.

It’s just an illusion, after all.

Even if I die, I’ll just regenerate, and there’s no pain.

I took a deep breath to steady myself.

Then, let’s imagine.

A strong attack.

A strong attack…

Something so destructive they can’t counter…

With a wide range since I can’t guarantee a direct hit…

Preferably something Yohan hasn’t seen before…

As I listed these conditions, a half-forgotten memory from a past life surfaced.

A nuke?

I shook my head, thinking it was absurd, but this high-performance illusion reflected even that fleeting thought.

A bad feeling made me look up, and sure enough, a nuclear warhead was falling toward us.

…Is that real?

This world doesn’t have nukes, right?

But it’s working?

No way.

It can’t be.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh, well. I attacked. Up there…”

Sweating, I pointed upward, and Yohan looked up.

“That’s your attack? It looks peculiar. I don’t know what it is, though.”

Yohan tilted their head and then raised their fist, striking the nuclear warhead with full force.

At that moment, light filled the world.

A massive fireball formed in an instant, swallowing not only me and Yohan but also Hans and Sena, who were fighting in the distance.

The superheated blast swept across a radius of hundreds of meters, soon followed by a mushroom-shaped cloud that pierced the sky and rose ominously.

Simultaneously, the shockwave and residual heat, intense enough to incinerate a human, spread outward, causing destruction and chaos across dozens of kilometers.

It was a destructive mark so devastating that one could almost believe the end had come.

Just moments ago, this place was an idyllic paradise of blue skies and vast grasslands.

But in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a post-apocalyptic landscape, shrouded in mushroom clouds and scorched earth, with nothing but ruins in sight.

At the center of it all, we stood, having died and regenerated about five or six times each, staring blankly at the remnants of destruction.

Yohan, with an uncharacteristically trembling voice, asked, “…What is this?”

I couldn’t help but avert my eyes. It seems even this world doesn’t have magic with such destructive power.

After struggling to find the right words, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “It’s, uh, a Nuclear Blast. A magic from my imagination.”

Answering like this made me feel like a potential terrorist.

As expected, Yohan’s expression turned awkward. “This is hardly a ‘blast.’ Shouldn’t it be called ‘annihilation’ or ‘erasure’?”

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t expect it to be this destructive either…?”

Seeing my flustered expression, Yohan sighed and rubbed their forehead, looking exactly like the Health Teacher when dealing with me.

…They really do resemble each other. I wish they’d resemble each other in other ways instead.

“To think the Princess had been planning such a wide-scale destruction spell all along… I should have considered her watering can magic a blessing…”

“…That’s not it. More importantly, how do you even know about the watering can magic?”

“Ah, Senior Blomberg told me about it.”

“Did she now…?”

Sena, just how much of my personal information are you spreading around? I really need to have a word with her next time.

As I was thinking this, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from somewhere.

“Princess! Are you okay!?”

“What the hell is this? Sonépar? Did you do this?”

“Not me. It was the Princess you’re looking for.”

Turning toward the sound, I saw two people running toward us in a panic from the distance.

Yohan, now composed again, continued, “It’s called a Nuclear Blast. The power of imagination is truly formidable.”

“Nuclear Blast…”

“This is worse than siege magic… What even is this…?”

The two, having experienced the pinnacle of modern weaponry, seemed at a loss for words. Their gazes toward me even held a hint of fear.

This feels unfair. Isn’t this all because of Hans’ overly vivid imagination? I only imagined it; I didn’t actually create it.

…Though I can’t really argue if the problem is that I imagined it in the first place.

Maybe I should have imagined napalm bombs instead.

Wait, no. That would be just as bad.

Ah.

Wait.

Huh? Seriously?

“Wait, what’s that?”

As if betraying my hopes, Hans pointed at the sky in panic. Looking up, I saw a cluster of napalm bombs falling through the dispersing clouds.

No, why again? I really didn’t imagine this one.

And why is it a bombing this time? Is it because napalm has a strong association with bombings? Is this place really that sensitive to nuances?

…This is driving me crazy.

Seeing the bombing, Yohan shouted at me in shock, “Did you do this again!?”

“No, no! I only imagined it a little!”

“That’s not the point! A Nuclear Blast is coming!”

“This time it’s, uh, probably a Napalm Bomb!”

“What’s that now!?”

“Well, you see…”

Before I could explain, the bombing was already upon us.

Why so fast?

“Ah, ugh! Princess, come over here!”

Sena shielded me and swung her staff, creating a translucent barrier. Hans, who was pointlessly holding a sword, and Yohan, who was unarmed, were swept away by the bombing.

The series of explosions that followed created sticky flames that engulfed everything around us. Thankfully, unlike the nuclear blast, the barrier held, but the heat was just as intense.

As the flames lingered even after the explosions subsided, Sena muttered in resignation, “…This could be called the ultimate fire magic.”

She tried dousing the flames creeping near the barrier with water, but they only subsided briefly, refusing to be extinguished.

Looking at her hopeless expression, I replied with a grimace, “Yeah… Why does this keep happening…?”

In reality, I’m too weak, but in this fantasy, I’m too strong. Why can’t I just be in the middle?

Hans and Yohan were still burning, repeatedly regenerating. Seeing them lying there, seemingly lifeless, only deepened my gloom.

I’m sorry…