Peace Hunter

Meanwhile, at Commander Oliver, Duke Louis, and Duchess Arlet place.

Commander Oliver and the others were making their way through the labyrinth that had appeared outside the central building. The labyrinth had manifested not only in the academy grounds outside the lobby building but also within the lobby complex itself—an area encompassing the central building, the buildings for first- through fourth-year students, and the facilities for staff, faculty, and the principal of the academy. Commander Oliver and the group continued navigating the labyrinth in search of Rid. However, as they moved forward, Commander Oliver suddenly stopped in his tracks. Duke Louis and the accompanying knights looked puzzled when they saw him halt.

"Is something wrong, Sir Oliver?" Duke Louis asked.

"I apologize, Lord Louis. It seems I cannot accompany you any further in the search for Young Master Rid. For some reason, I am worried about Her Majesty. She did say she could handle Lord Remy on her own, but I remain concerned for her safety. Therefore, I intend to return to her side," Commander Oliver explained.

"I see. That is perfectly fine, Sir Oliver. If you wish to return to Her Majesty, please go at once. She might be facing some difficulty right now," Duke Louis said.

"Yes, Lord Louis. Once again, I apologize," Commander Oliver said.

"It is quite alright; there is no need to apologize. Since you are leaving, I would like you to put my wife down; I will carry her myself while we search for Rid," Duke Louis said.

"Will you be alright, Lord Louis? You are currently injured, and I fear you might not have the strength to carry your wife. It would be better if one of these knights carried her instead," Commander Oliver suggested.

"Yes, that is true, Lord Louis. Let us carry Lady Arlet instead. You are currently injured, and we are concerned that you might not have the strength to carry her given your condition. Furthermore, your injuries could worsen if you were to carry her," said one of the knights accompanying them.

The other knights nodded in agreement.

"I am indeed injured, but I have already treated my wounds, so they will not worsen. I am still strong enough to carry my own wife, so there is no need for you to worry," Duke Louis said.

"But..." the knight who had spoken earlier began.

However, before the knight could finish his sentence, Commander Oliver cut him off.

"Very well, Lord Louis. If you wish to carry your wife yourself, I will grant your request," Commander Oliver said.

"Commander Oliver, weren't you also worried earlier about Lord Louis carrying Lady Arlet himself?" the knight asked.

"Yes, but Lord Louis just stated that he is still strong enough to carry his wife, so I am allowing him to do so. You need not worry; simply trust him," Commander Oliver replied.

"......Very well, Commander Oliver," the knight said.

Afterward, Commander Oliver lowered the unconscious Duchess Arlet from his back and transferred her onto Duke Louis's back. Duke Louis initially seemed to struggle a bit when he first took her weight, but he gradually grew accustomed to it and no longer found it difficult.

"Thank you for granting my request, Commander Oliver," Duke Louis said.

"There is no need for thanks, Lord Louis. Once again, I apologize for being unable to accompany you to find Young Master Rid. As an apology for not being able to join you in locating him, I will provide you with his current whereabouts."

"Right now, I sense that Young Master Rid is quite a distance ahead of us. It is not just him; I also sense that Prince Charles and Princess Chloe are with him. Since we have been walking straight ever since leaving the central building, the structure ahead of us should be the academy's lobby building. Young Master Rid appears to be in the vicinity of that lobby. If we were to keep walking straight, we would likely run right into him. However, I see a wall of trees blocking our path just ahead. That wall is surely indestructible; I previously attempted to destroy the wall of trees surrounding this area but failed. Therefore, to find Young Master Rid, we cannot simply continue straight ahead; we must take a different route. There are two paths available to us up ahead: one leading to the right and the other to the left."

"One of those paths leads to where Young Master Rid is, but I do not know which one will take us there," said Commander Oliver.

"Thank you for the information you just provided. But didn't I tell you before that there is no need to apologize anymore, Sir Oliver?" asked Lord Louis.

"Hahaha, very well, Lofd Louis. In that case, I shall take my leave and return to Her Majesty," said Commander Oliver.

"Very well, Lord Oliver," said Duke Louis.

"Everyone, please look after Lord Louis and Lady Arlet," Commander Oliver said to the soldiers accompanying them.

"Understood, Commander," the knights replied.

"Until later, then, Lord Louis—and all of you," said Commander Oliver.

With that, Commander Oliver quickly sped back to where Queen Kayana was located, while Duke Louis and his accompanying knights resumed their search for Rid.

-

Back on the first floor of the central building, where Queen Kayana was.

Duke Remy, holding a syringe, aimed it at his own neck, intending to inject the fluid inside into his body. Seeing this, Queen Kayana immediately prepared to stop him.

"I won't let you inject that thing," Queen Kayana declared.

She then swiftly swung her magic staff toward Duke Remy.

~Gravity Magic: Great Gravity Slash~

Queen Kayana prepared to strike Duke Remy with the attack. However, just as she was about to hit him, black tree roots surrounding her began to move, darting rapidly in her direction. Realizing this, she quickly redirected her attack toward the roots rushing at her. The struck roots were instantly slammed against the wall behind them; they shattered upon impact but regenerated almost immediately.

Afterward, the roots attacked Queen Kayana once more. Seeing the sheer number of roots a tree trunk hurtled toward her, Queen Kayana prepared to strike the base of her magic staff against the ground once more. However, before she could do so, several black tree trunks erupted from beneath the floor where she stood, launching an immediate attack. Queen Kayana swiftly evaded the rising trunks by darting upward and hovering in the air. Yet, her escape was not flawless; the trunks managed to graze her, leaving several wounds on her body.

Even as she hovered in mid-air, the surrounding tree trunks relentlessly continued their assault. Queen Kayana kept dodging them while remaining airborne. Occasionally, she would aim and swing her staff to unleash gravity magic against the attacking trunks. Although she succeeded in shattering them with her magic, they soon began to regenerate. Queen Kayana appeared to be struggling somewhat to contend with them.

"This is endless. Besides, for some reason, those tree trunks are moving faster than before," Queen Kayana thought.

Meanwhile, Duke Remy appeared to have finished injecting the red liquid from the syringe into his body. He immediately discarded the syringe and fell silent. A few seconds later, he began to move again. He grasped one of the tree trunks protruding from his back with his right hand, then severed and pulled it free. Holding the severed trunk, he extended his right hand—still gripping the wood out in front of him.

~Plant Magic + Dark Magic: Create Magic Weapon – Dark Wood Spear~

The tree trunk Duke Remy was holding suddenly transformed into a black spear. The spear appeared shrouded in a dark aura, characteristic of ~Dark Magic~. Duke Remy then leveled the spear before him, aiming directly at Queen Kayana, who was hovering in mid-air to evade the tree trunks attacking her.

"The gravity magic that previously surrounded you was indeed formidable; any attack approaching you would instantly crash to the floor under its influence. However, activating that surrounding gravity magic comes with a condition: you must strike the base of your magic staff against the floor or another surface. In essence, you need to be standing on the ground or a solid surface to activate it easily. When you aren't touching a surface like now, while you are hovering—you cannot activate that gravity magic. Consequently, while you hover like this, the protective gravity field is absent, leaving your defenses vulnerable. That is why this is the perfect moment to strike, Your Majesty," Duke Remy declared.

He then swiftly launched the spear toward Queen Kayana. It shot rapidly through the air. Queen Kayana, busy dodging the attacking tree trunks, sensed something hurtling toward her. She turned her head to look, but the moment she did, the spear struck her with devastating precision. She had no time to react, as the projectile had moved too fast. The spear pierced straight through her, entering her abdomen and exiting out her back. -

Meanwhile, at the exit of the academy's central building.

Commander Oliver, having just arrived on the ground floor, was visibly shocked to see Queen Kayana pierced by a spear that had run straight through her abdomen.

"Your Majesty!!," Commander Oliver shouted.

-To be continued

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