After getting all our forces inside the Cube out, I used Transmutation on the Cube again.Crackle—.With a burst of intense lightning, the Cube's shape changed once more.I Transmuted the long Cube into a half-sphere, completely separating Elena's nearby forces from her main body.Thud—.The inside and outside were completely cut off, like I had dropped a huge helmet over them.Looking around the pitch-dark interior of the Cube, where not a single ray of sunlight came in, Elena spoke."So this was your plan, Loen.""That's right. Inside this space, we have the numerical advantage."Fwoosh—.I lit a torch to push back the darkness and thought about this operation.'From the start, trying to crush Elena's faction head-on in a contest of strength would have been overreaching.'Our troop numbers were more than double apart, and it wasn't like the quality of our side was overwhelmingly high enough to make up for that.And the enemy was a force made up of Saintea's holy knights, who excel at large-scale battles, so the odds of winning a frontal fight were very low.So what I chose was a kind of gamble."You knew we were missing people, right?""Of course. I was on guard the whole time."The thirty mages I had pulled aside from the very beginning of the battle.By openly pulling people out, I had planted the awareness that I was cooking up some separate scheme and lured her into feeling wary."And to think that was actually a plan to lure my personal guard somewhere else."By revealing the hidden troops through the magic bombardment, I momentarily dispersed the close-guard forces around Elena.The enemy they had been wondering when would show themselves appeared out in the open, so they must have decided there was nothing left to worry about."Was firing that bombardment at me also to force out my magic?""Yes."With the bombardment, I had deliberately lured Elena into using her unique spell, [Severance].If Elena had planned to stall for time and used [Severance] on herself to endure, this surprise attack would have been rendered meaningless.'Elena's [Severance] is an incredibly powerful spell, but its cooldown is long to match.'On top of that, she had deployed it on a wide enough scale to block a large-area magic bombardment, so the cooldown would be at least ten minutes.The only opportunity was the time period when she couldn't use [Severance] because of the cooldown, so I had made a plan to subdue Elena in that window.Once all that was prepared, I used my Transmutation magic to remodel the Cube's shape.From a massive fortress form into a long corridor form that was convenient for transporting people.It served as a passage stretching straight from my main base to Elena's main camp, as well as a means of attack.And now, it had been Transmuted again into a half-sphere and was being used as a wall isolating Elena from her main force.Having more or less grasped the situation, Elena spoke."……This is an incredibly dangerous plan. What would you have done if my personal guard had acted more cautiously?""Well, what else. I would’ve fought in a more disadvantageous situation than now. But since it worked out like this, isn't that enough?"I shrugged and aimed the Azoth Sword at Elena."So, what are you going to do now?"We were no longer right in the middle of Elena's main camp. Inside this half-sphere Cube, our side had the majority.Ciel, Tepes, Hildegard, and all of our commander-class people were gathered here.Since the commanders were missing, the situation outside the Cube had probably deteriorated rapidly for us, but that didn't matter.Because as long as we stole Elena's Cube, we would win.Meanwhile, the troops Elena had inside the Cube with her were only a half-dozen or so, including Adler—the ones who had been guarding her side.Most of the personal guard who had been protecting the main camp had gone off to deal with our mage group.Watching Elena fidget with the Cube in her pocket, I spoke."Don't even think about deploying that and escaping. It's impossible to deploy another Cube inside a Cube."Then I tapped on the walls of the Cube that were dividing the space and explained."And this isn't my Cube. It's Ciel's. Even if you break this Cube or take it, it won't really mean anything."I had lowered my Base Level separately to store my Cube and raised the level of Ciel's Cube instead to Transmute this.It was in preparation for exactly this kind of situation.So even if they broke or took this Cube, I wouldn't lose.Clicking her tongue, Elena spoke, apparently annoyed that I'd read her intentions."Tch, at this point I guess there's no helping it."Elena obediently took out her Cube and held it out toward me."Here."At her action, Adler cried out in shock."Lady Elena! There's no need for that! I'll subdue them all!"However—"No, it can't be helped now. When you get hit this perfectly, it breaks your will, you know."As if she'd given up, Elena held out the Cube to me and said,"Come and take my Cube, Loen. If you can."In the darkness, Elena's eyes quietly gleamed."……"I first told my companions to hold and slowly walked toward Elena."Are you really giving it to me?""Yes, though I might resist a little. After getting done in this badly, I have to…… pay you back at least a bit, don't you think?"Tilting her head slightly, Elena smiled at me.It wasn't the bright, radiant smile she normally showed others by default.It was a pure smile, like a child who'd found an interesting new toy.Exactly.Her hand was obediently offering the Cube, but her eyes were clearly saying she wasn't going to hand it over quietly.'She's really enjoying this.'Just looking into Elena's eyes, I could feel how much she was looking forward to this fight.Sighing inwardly, I spoke to Ciel."Ciel, you and the others take down everyone except Elena.""Yes.""I'll take care of Elena!"Shrring—.The moment I swung the Azoth Sword, Elena thrust out her fist."Ha!"Whoosh—.A powerful punch wrapped in holy power.Her fist crumpled space as it shot straight to right in front of my nose in an instant.Watching that pure white fist flicker in front of my eyes, I swallowed hard.'……If that hits me, I die.'A chill ran down my spine as I quickly bent my body back to avoid Elena's punch.Boom—.As I bent back, Elena's holy-power punch tore straight through the space where I'd been and slammed into the wall of the Cube.Kwang-!The impact was so powerful that the entire giant half-sphere Cube shook violently, like it was about to break apart.Vmmm—.As the Cube trembled, Elena covered her mouth lightly and said,"Oh my, I haven't used my strength in a while, so my control's off. Shall we keep going?"Rolling her shoulders in circles to loosen up, Elena warmed up her body.Watching her, I wiped the sweat off my forehead."……I don't think you even fought this hard in the Competition Battle. Don't go all out in a place like this.""Hehe, when else am I going to get to fight this freely? There aren't many eyes watching here."Elena smiled like she really liked this space cut off from the outside.She must be very happy that she can fight comfortably without worrying about anyone else's gaze.There were only about a dozen people here, and even they were too busy grappling with each other to pay attention.Watching Elena suddenly so excited, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.'Did I miscalculate this?'Maybe it would have been better to have dealt with a few more of Elena's personal guard if it meant she couldn't unleash her true power.Elena rarely used her hidden strength, for the sake of managing her external image.Watching Elena drop into her stance, I swallowed again.'Elena's hidden strength.'Holy Martial Art [Jacob's Fist].If someone like me, a half-human half-demon, took a beating from those holy power-filled fists, I could die outright.And it wasn't just the holy power infused in her fists that was the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) problem.Elena's physical strength itself was on par with Ciel's, so her fists alone were more than dangerous enough.'A saintess is supposed to be strong, after all.'A body filled with holy power was not going to be fragile.In a way, it was very close to an RPG stereotype, but this kind of element was well implemented in Mirellin Saga too."All right then, here comes the next attack, okay?"Warning me, Elena stomped her foot.Boom—!When Elena stomped, the sand under her feet surged up like a tidal wave and poured down over my head.I immediately manipulated the Azoth Sword and Transmuted the sand under my feet into a wall.Crackle—.A wall of sand rose in front of me with blue lightning.It blocked the wave of sand Elena had sent.However—Shraa—.Elena cut through that wave of sand and appeared in front of me again, starting to swing her fists.Whoosh—.Her fists poured down at me threateningly, slicing through the air.I kicked off the ground and leaped back, barely dodging Elena's punches.As I kept only running away instead of landing any real counters, Elena shouted in an excited voice."Hmph. Are you just going to keep running? Now that you've come this far, fight me properly!"Papapapap—.Unlike usual, Elena wore a thrilled expression as she chased after me.She looked much better like this—genuinely happy and excited—than with her fixed, formal smile…… but I had no leeway to match her mood.If I messed up even once, I'd really die.I shouted urgently."Go ask the sturdy Leonhardt to play with you! If that fist hits me, I'll die!""Die, seriously? What an exaggeration."Whooom—.Elena's fist grazed my hair.Several strands of my hair that her fist brushed against floated off into the air like they'd been cut.Whish—.Right after that, Elena launched a powerful kick in a cool stance."You'll just spend a few days in the hospital!"Kwang-!Crrrack—.From Elena's powerful kick, cracks ran through the outer wall of the Cube that was supposedly unbreakable inside Full Moon Island.Of course, the damage was quickly repaired by mana, but it showed just how strong Elena really was.Retracting her outstretched leg, Elena spoke to me."Even if you get hurt, I'll treat you carefully and take good care of you afterward, so try a bit harder, Loen."Treat me, my ass.'If you treat me, I'll die.'I barely swallowed the words that had risen up to my throat and fixed my stance properly."Hoo."Then I calmed my breathing and settled my mind.There was no need to force myself to subdue Elena right now.Soon, Ciel and the others would finish taking down Elena's personal guard and come to help me.'I just need to stall for time somehow.'When I took up a defensive stance, Elena tilted her head slightly."Hmm? So you're trying to stall? I can't let that happen."Flash—.Clang—clang—.When Elena extended her hand, holy-power shields appeared one after another, blocking off all directions."……"Just the holy power oozing out from the shields made my whole body feel weak.With complete confidence, Elena placed her hands on her waist and said,"How is it? You can't run away now, can you?"Elena laughed innocently, like a child who'd gotten a new toy to play with.I let out a long sigh and shook my head helplessly."If you're going to come at me like that, I have no choice but to use the method that's most like me.""Oh, you still had something up your sleeve?""Of course."Elena was hyped up for her fight with me.In this state, the status ailment resistance magic she always walked around with would definitely be down.Swish—.I pulled something from my coat and threw it at Elena.She lightly batted it away with her hand, but—Poof—.The thing that touched Elena's hand burst instantly, scattering powder in all directions."Hmph."Realizing what the powder was, Elena covered her mouth and nose and quickly moved away.But."It's too late. It's sleeping powder strong enough to knock out an elephant. Not even you can endure it."Staggering, Elena glared at me."Loen, you……"I apologized to her."Sorry. I'll play with you another time. You're still a bit too much for me to handle."It's a good thing that Elena, who was always crushed under the role of saintess, could fight excitedly without worrying about other people's gazes.But I couldn't keep playing with Elena while risking having my whole body blown apart by holy-power fists if I slipped up.Elena collapsed with a flop, without even getting the chance to cast a Cure spell, overwhelmed by the dense sleeping powder."Hoo."Only then did I let out a breath of relief, walked over to Elena, and took her Cube.Click—.When I inserted my student ID into it, a guide voice flowed out from the Cube.[The ruler of Jungle Island has been decided. Loen Dvralis Team. Congratulations. Loen and those under his command will be awarded points in proportion to their performance and time spent. Second place, Ciel Yurapia, third place, Tepes Jerome……]And with that, the long Faction War came to an end.

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