I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 3.7
Yudai the Hero and Lina being together is not surprising.
In fact, after parting ways with Nina, Lina had made contact with Yudai the Hero and they formed a friendly alliance. They both harbored resentment towards the nobility and a mutual distrust for Foranada, which made them quickly find common ground.
Well, this encounter was actually orchestrated by intelligence agents.
The reason behind this was that leaving Lina, who had lost her beloved sister, unattended might lead her to take a criminal path. So, they decided to push her towards Yudai, who had a strong sense of justice. In the original game, except for the “Blood Purge” ending, he was controllable.
The results so far have been a great success. Lina showcased her abilities and gained prominence, vowing to outshine Foranada. With determination in their hearts, the two of them began training together.
Arriving at the edge of the blank area, I immediately began investigating the cause. I could see Yudai and the others being attacked from a distance, but it was crucial to assess the situation first. I left Nina in charge of keeping watch and focused on analyzing the situation with my “Magic Vision.”
“Looks like it’s the same as before.”
The effect and range have increased, but the nature of “interfering with magic manipulation” remains unchanged. It was my natural enemy when it came to magical devices.
However, I wasn’t one to leave my natural enemies unchecked. I had a countermeasure in mind.
“Su… Ha!!!”
Taking a deep breath, I released my magic with a burst of energy.
I hadn’t manipulated anything; it was just an unfiltered torrent of magic that spread throughout the area.
This was my countermeasure against magic manipulation interference.
The interference in question was caused by extremely small curses dispersed into the air, which then interfered with the magic within their range. Specifically, the curse inclined heavily towards “Chaos Black,” meaning it could be described as unbalanced magic. When regular magic comes into contact with it, the imbalance cascades and increases the burden of magic manipulation.
So, the solution was simple: wash away the bothersome curse. It was a blunt force method that only someone with my level of magical power could execute, but it was highly effective. The blank area vanished completely.
“Let’s go!”
“Okay!”
Nina and I dashed forward.
Using “Physical Enhancement,” we closed the distance between us and Yudai in a single step. Yudai and Lina were in bad shape. It was natural since they were exhausted from training and then ambushed. However, they had held on remarkably well.
They were both magic users who could handle a sword, but the main reason for their survival was probably different. From what I observed from afar, the enemy’s target seemed to be Lina. Their intentions were clear, which made it easier for Yudai and the others to handle the situation.
And the enemy, the one dressed in a black robe with a black mask, remained an enigma. From the way they wielded the Sword, it was clear they were highly skilled, but I couldn’t appraise them. The curse attached to their robe and mask nullified our attempts at “Appraisal” and “Magic Vision.”
There is a method to see through curses, but it still takes time to activate. For now, it’s quicker to charge in.
The “Magic Manipulation Interference” magical device is just one of the cursed items. It’s unclear if this man is the witch herself, but he’s undoubtedly an important witness.
“Both of you, step back!”
“We’ll handle this.”
“You guys…”
“Sister!?”
Since the two were just standing there dumbfounded and in the way, I used magic to blow them away from the battlefield. Nina took care of their landing with earth magic, so they were fine.
Alright, now I just need to capture the enemy in front of me.
“Hmph.”
The man in the black robe was taken aback by our sudden appearance.
… No, that’s not quite right. To be more precise, he was looking at Nina.
“As I thought, you’re the one targeting Nina.”
“… “
The man in the black robe didn’t respond.
Well, I wasn’t expecting an answer. I’ll slowly extract the information I need from him later.
I took out two daggers from “Concealing Phase Cover Texture” and stepped towards the enemy.
I expected him to attack with his one-handed sword, so I prepared to clash with him… or so I thought.
“What!?”
I passed through the man in the black robe as if he wasn’t there. I felt no resistance at all.
Nina swung her sword right after, but the result was the same. We just passed through him, unable to cause any harm.
Even if we tried to figure out his tricks, the curse on his robe was too disruptive. Since it was a magical device itself, I couldn’t blow it away with my magic either. Looks like I have no choice but to use “that” after all.
Immediately, I made a decision and focused my magic on my eyes.
However, the man in the black robe seemed to sense our intention to attack and made a swift move to escape.
“He’s sinking!?”
Nina shouted.
Indeed, the enemy began sinking into the ground, or more precisely, he disappeared into the “shadows.” He vanished at an incredibly fast speed, with only his head remaining visible for an instant.
What was that? I’ve never seen such magic before, not in my game knowledge or the knowledge I gained from Akatsuki. It seemed to be a combination of dark magic and curses. Most likely, it was an original spell.
Considering the current situation, could it be a teleportation type? No way, I never thought anyone besides me had perfected teleportation magic. They were trying to interfere with our spells, but the curse was getting in the way.
In the end, we couldn’t do anything, and the enemy vanished without a trace.
I tried to extend my detection magic to track him down, but it was in vain. The enemy was not a fool and didn’t leave any traces for us to follow.
Damn it, we let him escape. The enemy’s retreat was too swift. Because of that, we didn’t have enough time to analyze his magic and equipment properly.
Our encounter time was merely about three seconds. It was impossible to investigate the cause of his intangibility, eliminate the curse, and analyze and disrupt his teleportation magic within such a short time.
However, I had experienced it once, and this time, I needed to come up with a countermeasure before our next encounter. I couldn’t allow the same trick to work again.
For now, the threat was gone, so Nina and I relaxed our combat stances.
At that moment, Yudai and the others, who were blown away earlier, returned.
“What the hell are you guys doing!?”
Yudai shouted loudly, understandably confused. We suddenly intervened in their battle, which had ended just as unexpectedly. It was a mess of incomprehensible events, and he was probably feeling disoriented.
We didn’t need him to be grateful for our help, and I had no complaints about his attitude.
However, we needed to explain the situation. As the Hero, Yudai’s words carried weight, and if rumors spread without proper explanation, the situation could become more complicated.
“It seems that the ones who attacked you were likely kidnappers. They seem to be repeatedly kidnapping beastmen and others.”
I decided to reveal part of the truth. I couldn’t disclose everything, as it might cause trouble for the academy. On the other hand, if I didn’t tell them about the attacker’s identity, they would certainly cause a commotion.
“What!? We have to catch them quickly!”
“We don’t know who they are or where they come from. We are currently investigating. For now, we need to focus on self-defense.”
“You’re taking your time,” Yudai remarked.
“I know we don’t have time to spare, but without evidence, we can’t do much,” I replied.
As expected, Yudai, with his strong sense of justice, stepped forward to search for the culprits.
I had no complaints about him taking action. While I doubted he would find anything without an information network, the fact that the Hero was getting involved might put some pressure on the enemies.
“I see. Nina, let’s go back,” I said.
“Yeah.”
After a small nod, I turned on my heels. Judging by Yudai’s demeanor, he would probably make it back to the dormitory without any trouble. The subordinates who were tailing us seemed fine too, so if anything happened, we would receive a report.
Ignoring Yudai, who was still shouting loudly, we left the scene.
“Sorry,” Nina apologized on our way back.
“What do you mean?”
I played dumb, but she shook her head.
“I mean, sorry about my sister.”
In truth, Lina, who was present earlier, had been glaring at me the whole time. She had shown open hostility, baring her teeth.
I chuckled.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
There was no real harm done, and even if there was, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
Despite my words, Nina kept her head down, so I gently ruffled her hair.
“Eep!”
“Don’t worry about it. I prefer to see you not feeling down.”
“I-I got it. But please stop petting me. You’re messing up my hair!”
Panicking, Nina fled, and I chased after her with my hand still raised.
And so, while playing a game of chase, we made our way back to the mansion.