Is the Demon Eye going wild?
“Oh my, Trixie dear. Are we starting again? I know the setup, but you shouldn’t play around.”
Evangeline places her hands on her hips and addresses Beatrice.
[Hey partner, is she really sick or what?]
Just then, the Black Prince clicks his tongue.
A faint purple hue flickers behind her eye patch.
My face distorts with cold dread.
Wait a second.
Is the Phantom Eye of Crimson actually manifesting?
The black dragon is rampaging.
Thud.
Beatrice’s knees hit the ground.
She clutches her eye patch with her hands.
Flash.
A purple flash gleams from beneath her eye patch.
Drip.
Tears of blood trickle down under her eye patch.
“Ughhh…! The Demon Eye is going wild! The black dragon sealed in the Phantom Eye of Crimson is rampaging…!”
Beatrice mutters in agony.
[What? Wasn’t that an act?]
The Black Prince murmurs, surprised.
“Trixie…?”
“Smith…?”
Evangeline and Rin stare at Beatrice with a mix of shock and concern.
Eye patches and Demon Eyes.
It’s the kind of accessory that comes with middle school character tropes, but this world is one where supernatural powers really exist.
The Demon Eye hidden behind the Saintess’s eye patch isn’t some second-rate concept; it’s the real deal.
The black dragon may be a bluff, but…
The Phantom Eye of Crimson.
This artifact, taking the place of the Saintess’s left eye, has the abilities of danger foresight and binding.
Among these two abilities, it’s clear that the danger foresight has warned Beatrice of a future threat.
“Hey, Trixie. Are you okay?”
I approach her.
“Ugh, ughhh…”
She’s half-kneeling, letting out pained groans.
The greater the threat the Phantom Eye senses, the more intense the pain inflicted on the user.
“A danger so enormous it’s beyond imagination… is targeting her… Everyone, run away…”
And there haven’t been many instances in the original work where she was in so much pain she shed tears of blood.
EX-rank villain.
Grand Elder of the Cult, Diego Morales.
That was a prime example of when he decided to betray the Saintess.
Which means, at the very least, the danger she foresaw is at the level of an EX-rank villain or equivalent.
Her face turns pale.
If an EX-rank villain truly appears, then even if we run away right now, our lives are not guaranteed.
In this world, while one-on-one comparisons are difficult, in terms of martial arts novels, they correspond to a high-level master of the spirit realm.
Fleeing or fighting is impossible.
We need to find the communicator.
I rummage through my waist.
Nothing.
“It’s okay because the girl is next to me. Trixie, calm down.”
“W-what are you doing? Didn’t you just say to run away…?!”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but calm down, Smith. Nothing is happening.”
While Rin and Evangelin are soothing Beatrice, I find the communicator in the bag spread out under the shade of a tree.
I press the large red button on the black rectangular communicator firmly.
[Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, is there something going on?]
Han Seo-Jin’s voice echoes from the speaker.
“We’re in danger. We need at least EX-rank power or higher. As soon as possible…”
[Understood… Tzzzt… Tzzzt… ]
Cut off.
“They’re coming…! They’re coming! Hurry up and run…!”
A chilling sensation runs down my spine.
It’s not just a bad feeling; it’s a physically cold sensation.
Even in summer, a winter-like chill sweeps across the beach.
I look around.
The summer sea that had just been shimmering white is now frozen solid like winter.
The once-clear sky darkens with ominous clouds, as if it’s about to rain.
“Why… is it this c-cold…?”
“T-this is an abnormal situation, so we need to contact HQ… Huh?”
At that moment, Evangelin, noticing the abnormal situation, has trembling eyes, and Rin taps on the Hunter Watch.
“Communication is… down?”
Rin’s navy blue eyes waver.
[Partner… this is… ]
The Black Prince trails off in my head.
With a communication outage and the sudden drop in temperature, there’s only one EX-rank villain or hero in the original story that has these characteristics.
[Ivan Antonov… could it be him?]
The White Tiger of Siberia.
Ivan Antonov.
Commander of the Soviet Special Forces 3rd Division.
The main villain of Volume 15 of the original story, who aimed to dominate the world after obtaining the saintess and manipulating the cult to become the ruler of the Soviet Union, planning to take over through World War III.
He’s the only EX-rank villain with freezing abilities.
I grit my teeth.
“Everyone, switch to combat mode.”
Whether we fight or flee, we can’t do anything in the current state.
“Got it, Deok-Sung.”
“Understood!”
With a flash.
Navy blue and pink lights burst from Rin and Evangelin’s bodies.
Full-body gloves attach to the two’s bodies.
Swish.
Rin draws her Totsuka no Tsurugi, and magic ignites on Evangelin’s Ascalon.
“You too, Trixie.”
“Grr… I, I understand… Come forth, ‘Spear of Longinus’…! Answer the call of the spirit!”
The saintess mumbles through gritted teeth.
With a flash.
A golden light erupts from the bracelet wrapped around her wrist.
A golden flash erupts from the bracelet wrapped around my wrist.
Longinus’ holy spear.
The transcendent weapon in the form of a spear possessed by the Saint reveals itself.
Seriously, who wouldn’t think this is a typical middle school syndrome character? Longinus, really.
It’s absurd, but now’s not the time for that.
[Durandal Online]
Switching Durandal to combat mode.
Whoosh, clank, clank.
The moment black flashes envelop my body in full-scale armor.
[Eternal Frozen Ground]
【Crystal Land】
Ooom!
With a deafening roar, the world freezes into a bright white.
A middle-aged man with white hair dressed in a pure white bodysuit descends from the sky with an expressionless face.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion echoes.
His inorganic eyes fixate on me.
Flap.
His deep crimson Soviet coat billows in the cold wind.
It’s definite.
Ivan Antonov.
The villain from volumes 14 to 15 appears here, looking just like in the anime.
[Shit… Damn it…]
The Black Prince grits his teeth.
He must already know of that man’s existence.
There’s no way he wouldn’t.
The Spetsnaz squad leader had been a disciple of Nikolai Kasatkin, the EX-rank hero known as ‘Red Star,’ who claimed all seats in Five Crowns.
[Partner, things aren’t looking good…]
The Black Prince trails off.
I know too.
An entity where fighting or fleeing is out of the question.
That’s EX-rank.
All I can do against that guy is buy time.
Hoping that Han Seo-Jin heard my transmission and quickly brings the chairman or the association president.
Ivan’s lips part.
“The Fairy Princess of England, the Samurai of Japan, and the only heroic force from the Far Eastern small nation gathered together. It’s hard to believe even seeing it.”
As soon as he opens his mouth, a chill seeps through my magical barrier and full-body armor.
This isn’t supposed to happen in combat mode of a transcendent weapon.
This area, no, the entire island has been engulfed by his mental projection, the Eternal Frozen Ground.
Mental projections can only be dealt with through mental projections.
According to the setting, my condition deteriorates in real-time, and mana consumption increases exponentially.
A powerful pressure washes over me.
I haven’t even used any skills yet, and I’m feeling this much.
This sucks.
“You are… the White Tiger of Siberia? Why is the commander of the Soviet Spetsnaz Squad 3 here?”
Evangelin bites her lip.
With a serious expression unlike usual, she places her hand on her chest.
Evangelin’s sharp pink eyes gaze at me.
“Could it be that you came for me, the princess of the British Empire?”
Wait, why did her speech suddenly normalize?
This isn’t even the time to tackle that, it’s ridiculous.
“Or are you after me, the heir of the Shinozaki family?”
Rin steps forward.
“Heh.”
A cold smile creeps on Ivan’s lips.
“Looks like you’re under some grand delusion.”
He touches his chin.
“My target isn’t you guys; it’s that woman.”
Ivan raises his hand and points at Beatrice.
“Ugh!”
Beatrice hiccups and collapses.
“Y-you want Trixie?! N-no! I can’t let someone like you take her!”
“I can’t give it to you!”
Evangeline grits her teeth as she wraps herself around her.
“Are you covering for that woman after learning her true identity?”
Ivan’s lips twist.
Evangeline counters, “True identity?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know? Well, that’s your own business.”
Weeeeeeeng.
White magical energy gathers in the knuckle weapon embedded in Ivan’s fist, Tsar Knuckle.
“Just get rid of the annoying obstacles.”
“Hey, Trixie! With my magic power, that guy…”
Just as I was about to instruct Beatrice to bind him, Ivan murmurs, “Siberian Wave.”
With that, he punches forward.
Kwah-aaaaang!
A deafening roar accompanies a horrendous shockwave that envelops us with a cold wave.
Flash.
A blinding white light fills my vision.
‘It’s too late!’
Siberian Wave.
His area-of-effect skill that sweeps across the battlefield in an instant.
I knew it.
But I can’t stop it.
I can feel it instinctively.
The despairing power.
[Partner…]
I force my frozen body to channel faint magical energy into Durandal.
I still need to struggle somehow…
Just then, while I was trying to grit my teeth and fight back,
“Castle of Britannia──!”
A sharp voice rises, cutting through the brutal shockwave and frost, bursting forth from Evangeline.
Flash.
Pink magical energy spreads out, forming a translucent shield.
Castle of Britannia.
The absolute defense skill that can be considered Evangeline’s ultimate move manifests.
“Hmm?”
The moment Ivan twitches his eyebrows.
Kwah-kaw-kaw-kaw-kaw!
Siberian Wave and Castle of Britannia collide, filling the senses with merciless explosions, flashes, and shockwaves.
*
Beach Hotel.
Originally used as accommodation for cadets, the hotel was now completely empty.
Thanks to the cadets all being away for a field training exercise.
Inside the hotel’s meeting room.
In a quiet room styled with tatami mats, a middle-aged man with striking dark green hair sips on oolong tea.
The Association President, Shinozaki Ichiro.
“Looks like Ichiro-kun still loves oolong tea.”
A familiar voice whispers in Ichiro’s ear.
Creak.
The tatami room door opens.
Standing there with a sultry smile is a beautiful girl with white hair and red eyes, dressed in a black gothic dress—Yoshizaki Seira.
“Mr. President?”
“Is there no matcha? With all the kids gone, I’m quite bored… You need to keep this old man company, Ichiro.”
Tap.
Seira closes the door.
Swish.
Seira walks over, opening a lace fan as she sits opposite Ichiro.
“There’s none. Just drink your oolong tea.”
Swish.
Ichiro pours oolong tea into an empty teacup.
“Ugh. Tsk, tsk. You still don’t understand the tea ceremony, do you, Ichiro?”
Seira clicks her tongue.
“If you say that, you sound old, Mr. President.”
“…Old?”
Twitch.
Seira’s white eyebrows twitch.
Especially since Seira has a complex about her age.
