The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Brother!”

“Bruce!”

Suddenly, Betty and Blazer, running at the frontlines, noticed that something was happening to Bruce.

The Silver Wolf’s right arm was dancing in the air — he had fallen victim to an attack by an Alpha.

In the frontlines, where everyone was pushed beyond their limits, all the combatant’ bodies were already smeared with the blood of themselves, their comrades, and monsters, in a situation where even breathing was a struggle.

It was strange that, up until this moment, nothing bad had happened to Bruce, who was performing the most strenuous tasks with the blade of his sword. Things had been going too smoothly until now — That was what anyone would say in this situation.

Betty could not help Bruce, and neither could Blazer.

The other members of Team Silver running behind them faced the same dilemma.

Bruce’s arm, flying in the air, was torn apart by monsters and vanished without a trace.

“Don’t mind me!!!!”

However, Bruce’s expression remained unchanged.

Right here, right now, the best course of action was to destroy the monsters and move on.

Bruce, without showing any fear, focused only on defeating the enemies in front of him.

But then a certain change occurred that erased such thoughts.

“”…!?””

The first to notice it was the Silver Princess, Haruhana.

[This isn’t happening…! Please, let it be just my imagination…!]

This was because she had been tracking the arcane energy of her most beloved person as much as she could.

Almost simultaneously, Bruce, Blazer, and Betty also felt it overwhelming them.

Ryan, Reyna, Mana, Reid, Idéa, Midors, Tzar, Tarawo, Adolf, Argent, Belia, Eigul — those on the frontlines, close to the Devil King’s Chestpocket — all of them quickly realized.

[What the…!? What’s going on with Asley!?]

[His arcane energy! It’s…]

[How’d his energy just up and vanish like that!?]

No matter how much Bruce, Blazer, and Betty tried to sense Asley’s arcane energy, they could not detect it.

Bruce was more concerned about Asley’s vanished arcane energy than his lost arm.

It was not because the fate of humanity hung in the balance — It was simply because Asley, a friend, a student, and a benefactor, was someone they cared deeply about.

The monsters still numbered in the millions, and the initial strength of humanity was dwindling. The relentless advance of monsters and Devilkin was steadily robbing humanity of its strength.

With Tūs, Irene, and Warren absent from their positions, the central forces were being pushed back, forced to join the central rear forces. Instead of maintaining coordination with the rear, the focus was on how to survive — Such was the situation Irene’s right-hand woman Trace, the Dainty Tiger Dragan, and the Meteor Battlemage Tangalán were forced to deal with.

The three of them, having grouped up at the center of the formation, already had their hands full dealing with the advancing monster horde, and as such, they were unable to pay attention to the people behind them.

“”GAAAAHHH!?””

Screams of young combatants echoed from the rear.

“Ngh…!”

Blood flowed from Tangalán’s mouth as he fought at the forefront of the rear formation.

[Why must the younger generation suffer like this!?]

It was blood that leaked out as he clenched his teeth in frustration.

Dragan, too, wore a similar expression of sorrow at the loss of young lives.

In the midst of this, a certain silhouette appeared for a brief moment in Trace’s vicinity.

It was right behind her, visible from the very center of the central rear forces.

“…!?”

Trace noticed it. Someone was supposed to be there, lying unconscious — yet at this moment, the spot was empty.

The person in question was the one Lylia had entrusted to Tūs, and Tūs had entrusted to Trace.

“What in blazes…!?”

Indeed, the one there was the man called Lloyd of the White. Leon, the son of Holy Emperor Hudl of the ancient Holy Nation, was lying unconscious.

Leon could not possibly have awakened. Trace could say with confidence.

This was because, after Lylia knocked Leon out cold, Tūs had cast the Slumber Sleight spell, ensuring that he stayed asleep. That was why Leon’s disappearance was impossible.

Yet, Leon was gone. A suspicion immediately surfaced in Trace’s mind.

“If Leon did wake up, why didn’t he attack the army from within…?”

No matter how much she thought about it, Trace could not find an answer.

The reason for Leon’s disappearance, and the reason he did not attack the army if he woke up, and Leon’s whereabouts…

Everything remained a mystery, and Trace could not think any further. She had no room for such contemplation at the moment.

Leading the group of adventurers on the left flank was Charlie, the Thousand Morphing Blade.

Finally, the left flank, like the front liners in the front-central formation, was forced to adapt its march to the ever-changing situation.

The goal, of course, was to rendezvous with Bruce and the others.

However, Charlie showed impatience at the movement of the Devil King’s army, a force that prevented them from doing so.

“GAHAHAHA! The Devil King’s army isn’t half bad!”

Everyone could see that Charlie was putting up an act.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and cold sweat ran down his cheeks. Charlie had no choice but to put up an act that fooled no one. Even Duncan was unable to react to the buffoonery.

The former Duodecad members were also reaching their limits. Some even activated the Ultimate Limit, a skill that only low-level individuals could use for a short time. In other words, the situation was becoming increasingly dire.

At this time, Melchi also noticed the sudden vanishing of her junior’s arcane energy.

[What in the world is happening!? Ash’s arcane energy is gone, and I can’t sense Master’s arcane energy at all, either! Then there’s another large arcane energy heading towards that place! What the hell is that!?]

Despite having so many questions, there was nothing Melchi could do.

At this moment, among all the marching forces, there was a unit that could move most freely — It was comprised of the elite members led by Viola, the former Royal Capital Magic and Warrior Guardians.

Haiko, who had been moving as a guerrilla force, had joined this unit.

It was a precaution against the reappearance of Billy.

However, Billy never appeared before this right-flank formation.

That was why Viola, while issuing instructions to everyone, kept searching for Billy’s arcane energy.

And then, it happened — Sensing arcane energy moving like a tempest through the center, Viola reported it to Haiko.

“Master Haiko!”

“Yes, I sense it as well!”

“Miss Viola! We ought to pursue it!”

Though Jeanne said so, Viola hesitated to finalize her actions.

However, there was a group that started moving without heeding Viola’s instructions.

It was the members of the Warrior Guardians.

Egd led this group and began to charge onward.

“Egd!? What are you–“

“We MUST pursue it! Miss Lina is there! She’s right there!!”

Indeed, as Egd spoke, Billy was heading towards the Devil King’s Chestpocket where Lina and others were.

And Egd’s words carried a meaning beyond the presence of Lina.

[…! He’s right — Allowing Billy near them now would only lead to disastrous results!]

In agreement with Viola’s thoughts, Jeanne shouted,

“Let us hurry, Brigadier Viola! We were the ones who first took charge of Billy! We’re responsible for our failure!”

“Agreed!”

Haiko added, leaving Viola with no choice but to nod.

The elite members of the former Magic Guardians Brigade felt the same way.

“Hmph! That’s right! It doesn’t matter what is what anymore — we’re simply doing our job as the guardians of the capital! Retreating now would damage our name forever! Although, that name was already damaged, courtesy of Pochi clawing our signboard… And Sir Gaston never got around to replacing it…”

Once the decision was made, Viola acted swiftly.

She immediately stuck close to the advancing Warrior Guardians, aiming for Regalia Castle.

On this battlefield, survival was impossible without units moving together cohesively.

Soon after, Dragan and Tangalán took charge of the central rear forces and began to move.