Vol. 16 Ch. 9: Monica's Message

While maintaining the magic-battle barrier and monitoring the situation, Neil confirmed in the crystal ball that Louis's magical power had run out, then called out to Cyril.

"Barrier Mage-sama's magical power has been exhausted. I'll dispel the magic-battle barrier."

"Yeah."

The bug-attracting curse set by the Abyssal Curse Mage had forced Louis to maintain the barrier until the curse wore off. Meanwhile, flowers that absorbed magical power had been planted throughout the flower field. Almost exactly as the bug-attracting curse wore off, Louis's magical power was depleted.

Once his magical power was empty, he could no longer use flight magic to head for the castle.

Louis was sharp-witted and eloquent, so Monica had stalled him to keep him from fighting at the council meeting.

Moreover, Louis was skilled at close-quarters combat. That was why she had erected the magic-battle barrier—to seal that option away.

And on top of that, Louis was also skilled at magic battles. That was why she had set a trap to make him expend his magical power.

In short, Monica had thoroughly adhered to two principles: not fighting Louis on his home turf and focusing entirely on buying time.

After dispelling the magic-battle barrier, Neil and Cyril headed into the forest to rejoin Glenn and the others...