The venue was filled with commotion.
The images projected on the stage did not have any sound. But still, Cyril's, Glenn's, and Roberto's suffering and screams were conveyed clearly.
…And that Hubert was manipulating flame arrows without chanting.
Felix stared at the scene without blinking.
When someone said "Chantless magic?", the buzz spread quickly. Chantless magic could only be used by one person in the world… the Silent Witch.
Was he the Silent Witch? No, Lady Everett was a woman. That was certain… but what if the woman I met was a hallucination or something?
In Felix's pocket, his contract spirit Wildean in the shape of a lizard was unusually confused as it wriggled.
If Cyril and the others were defeated, Felix intended to intervene with Wildean and dispose of Hubert secretly. But if Hubert was a user of chantless magic, could Wildean, who was not good at combat, do anything about it?
As Felix was hesitating, Lana screamed behind him.
"Monica, are you okay? Monica!"
When Felix turned around, Monica had a pale face, covering her mouth with her hand, and shivering.
In the image, Hubert fired flame arrows and maliciously gouged Cyril and the others' limbs. Every time, Monica gasped and trembled with tears in her eyes.
"…Stop it… please, stop…"
Monica's voice was so faint that it was almost drowned out by the commotion.
Lana, who was sitting next to her, rubbed Monica's back, but Monica looked like she was going to vomit.
"…Why don't you go throw up?"
Claudia told her bluntly, and Monica nodded and staggered to her feet.
Lana, who had a worried look on her face, tried to accompany her, but Monica shook her head and refused.
"…Lana, watch it… in my place… who… wins…"
She said that and left her seat. She walked fast for someone who was slow.
Felix thought for a moment and got up. Bridget, sitting next to him, covered her mouth with a fan and looked up at Felix.
"Taking care of Monica Norton?"
"I can't leave her alone."
"I see. Then, I will burn the details of this magic duel in my eyes on behalf of you, Your Highness. As a secretary, I will record this match so that it can be preserved."
Felix returned the words with a bitter smile and looked for Monica.
Many people were standing near the audience seats, so it was difficult to find the petite Monica if she got lost in the crowd. Felix checked that the people around him were not paying attention to him and ordered Wildean.
"Wildean. Intervene in the magic duel and dispose of Hubert Dee in a way that looks like an accident. I don't care how you do it."
"…What about you, Your Highness?"
"I'm looking for Monica. I'm worried if she's fallen or something along the way."
After confirming Wildean had crawled out of his pocket and moved quickly, Felix looked for Monica. Unbeknownst to him, the girl he was looking for was heading to the forest with her unfamiliar flying magic.
An unpleasant humming sound was heard.
Amidst the intense pain, Cyril's consciousness surfaced for a brief moment. He moved his blurry eyes and saw Roberto lying limp on the ground, and behind him, Glenn was being tortured by Hubert.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm, it's so pitiful that you guys with a lot of mana can't faint easily, isn't it?"
Hubert said that and flicked his finger, and a flame arrow gouged Glenn's body. There was no damage to his flesh or clothes, but Glenn's body twitched with pain. He was already in too much pain to even scream, and only a thin breathing sound came from Glenn's mouth. Cyril tried to chant and retaliate against Hubert, but he couldn't even move his lips. Cyril's mana had already hit rock bottom. He was able to regain his consciousness barely, probably because he had a magic overconsumption constitution.
It was inconvenient to have a constitution that absorbed mana more easily than others, but it was useful at times … but it was too late to do anything with his mana so low.
There was no way Cyril could retaliate against Hubert now. He could use magic without chanting.
…But, is he really using chantless magic?
If Hubert could use chantless magic freely, why didn't he use it from the start?
The advantage of chantless magic was to catch the opponent off guard and take the initiative. But Hubert didn't try to use chantless magic until Roberto showed up. Now that he thought about it, he took Glenn's fireball to lure out Roberto, who was hiding.
…Did he not want Roberto Vinkel to observe him using chantless magic? Maybe he had some trick up his sleeve?
Then Cyril noticed something. Hubert's hand… he should have had several tacky rings on his knotty fingers. But now he only had one ring on his right middle finger. Come to think of it, when he fought Hubert in this forest, he already had only one ring.
Cyril unconsciously reached for the brooch on his collar, as he always did. But he couldn't even move a finger. His hazy consciousness was about to sink into the darkness again. His vision was starting to blur white.
Before he knew it, a thick fog had enveloped the area. He could barely see the scenery a few steps ahead, and Hubert's figure was only a vague silhouette.
It was too unnatural to be a naturally occurring fog. It was reasonable to assume that it was caused by some kind of magic, but the only one who could move in this situation was Hubert.
And he didn't understand why Hubert would bother to create fog.
In Cyril's confused vision, a small figure approached Hubert. A really small figure. Compared to Hubert, it looked like a young child.
The young figure muttered something in a low voice. His voice was too small for Cyril to hear well… but Hubert's loud laughter was annoyingly clear.
"Ahahaha! Ah, ah, you're the best! You know…
…My dear Silent Witch!"
Monica knew the spell formula for flying magic and had perfect control over mana manipulation. However, she had always struggled with her sense of balance, and jumping high was the best she could do. But in this urgent situation, Monica activated her flying magic without hesitation.
The sense of balance was mainly tested when changing direction. If she didn't fly too high and just flew straight, Monica could barely manage it. It wasn't something she could use frequently because if she accidentally collided with a person or an obstacle, it would lead to a major accident.
She flew straight as far as she could, then deactivated the spell at the corner to adjust her course before activating it again. In this way, Monica consumed more mana than necessary while moving quickly toward the entrance of the forest. She created a mist with chantless magic, shrouding the entire forest. Manipulating the weather was considered a forbidden spell, but as long as it covered only a part of the forest, it wouldn't be considered a forbidden spell.
Covering herself with mist to hide her presence, Monica ventured deeper into the forest.
Using her perception spell, it wasn't too hard to find Hubert's whereabouts.
Hubert was humming a tune while kicking someone… it was Glenn. He seemed to have lost consciousness, his eyes closed tightly.
With a slight movement of her gaze, Monica could see Cyril and Robert lying on the ground. They seemed to have fainted and were motionless.
The sight chilled Monica's insides as if a coldness settled in her stomach. Her fingertips were cold, not just because of the cold weather.
Monica clenched both fists tightly. Her left hand throbbed with pain, but she didn't mind.
When Monica muttered, Hubert's humming abruptly stopped. Hubert tilted his head and looked at Monica, grinning widely. His sanpaku eyes sparkled with delight, like a hunter who had found his prey. That expression always terrified Monica. It still did, even now.
…But there was a stronger emotion that dominated Monica at the moment.
"I… I'm probably very, very angry right now."
Monica, who was always inexperienced with anger, raised her head and stared at the towering figure in front of her. And then, she said one word.
"…I'm going to hit you hard."
Hubert looked taken aback for a moment, then he arched his body backward and burst into laughter.
"Ahahaha! Oh, oh, you're the best! The Silent Witch indeed!"
Hubert laughed heartily, his throat trembling with excitement, as he looked at Monica.
Normally, Monica would immediately avert her gaze, but now she stared back at Hubert with calm eyes, just like when she focused on a chessboard.
"This magical duel… can anyone be a challenger? Then, I'll join as an unexpected participant."
"Oh, yeah! That's great! Only you can truly satisfy me… Can you make me feel the ultimate thrill?"
Monica's words were met with Hubert's laughter, filled with anticipation.