The Water Magician

He had discarded his left arm.

By allowing it to be severed, he shifted Garwin's fist and protected his own neck.

In exchange for that, he aimed to decapitate Garwin with just his right arm.

That was Ryo's plan.

However... that right arm was also cut off.

The one who severed it was not Garwin's sword.

The moment his right arm was severed, Ryo understood.

Godspeed step.

Purple lightning flash.

Literally, a sword flash like a lightning bolt cleaved through Ryo's right arm.

Why?

He knew.

Such a sword flash was unparalleled. No one else possessed it.

He had experienced this before.

As the dust settled, that person... no, the phantom being revealed itself.

“Marie...”

A moan escaped Ryo's lips.

“It's been a while, Ryo. You really are more charming without your arms... Oh? You have no arms at all? I only cut off your right arm, though?”

“Garwin took the left arm, and Marie took the right.”

“Oh my...”

Marie shrugged.

Yes, when Ryo fought against Marie in the Eastern Nations, he had lost an arm to her sword drawing technique.

And now, once again...

The bleeding had stopped.

Rather, he had connected the blood flow of his lost arms and was forcing it to circulate within his body.

“I jumped in impulsively when I sensed Ryo was here and cut off your arm... but you were in a fight, weren’t you?”

“...What do you mean by that?”

Marie explained, and Ryo responded with a frown.

He thought it was inappropriate to greet someone by jumping in and severing their arm.

After all, the opponent was not human.

It was someone with whom the common sense Ryo held did not apply.

“Phantom being, do you also want to kill Ryo?”

“Eh? Oh... Spelno? Yes, Ryo was fighting against Spelno. I did want to face Ryo one more time directly, but that seems impossible now. Do as you wish.”

“I see, then I will deliver the finishing blow to Ryo.”

Garwin said this with a wicked smile.

“Ryo!”

Abel's shout reached Ryo.

Faintly.

(This is bad...)

Even Ryo could tell he was in a desperate situation.

He glanced briefly at Abel.

Abel was confronting not only Orenju but also female and male kin.

The kin other than Orenju took positions to prevent anyone from reaching Ryo.

It was a one against three situation.

Even for Abel, who had grown stronger after going to the Eastern Nations, it seemed difficult.

Was there nothing?

No opportunities for a turnaround?

He kept searching.

His probing gaze suddenly turned towards the sky.

At the end of that gaze, the space was cut into inky blackness.

“I will not allow it.”

A booming voice echoed from beyond the pitch black.

“I will not permit it, nor acknowledge it. To be killed by anyone other than myself...”

From the darkness, light began to emanate.

Garwin, who was about to deliver the finishing blow to Ryo, and Marie, who was watching from the side, both sensed the danger and leapt back instantaneously.

Ryo, unable to move.

He recognized the voice he had just heard...

“I will not allow it.”

It was the same voice as before.

A voice coming from the one who had struck the ground.

“I said that I would be the one to kill Ryo.”

That voice belonged to someone who desired to kill Ryo more than anyone else.

“I will not permit anyone else to kill him.”

Yes, it was the voice of the Demon who was fixated on killing Ryo directly.

In a sense, it was someone Ryo knew very well...

“Leonor...”

The enraged Demon Leonor descended.

“Why...?”

Ryo's question, which slipped from his lips, was only natural.

“I told you, Ryo will be killed by me. I will not allow him to be killed by anyone else.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry.”

“If the opponent were the Dragon King, that would be one thing, but to be killed by Spelno or a phantom is completely unacceptable.”

“Is that so...?”

Ryo was simply overwhelmed by Leonor's furious, rapid-fire questioning.

Of course, everyone around him was equally immobilized.

Garwin, Marie.

Abel, Orenju, Izolda, Vim Row as well.

And even those from the Bardale Principality watching from the castle walls.

No one could move or speak; they merely watched as Leonor descended from the sky and Ryo, who had lost both arms.