Fifty-Seventh Chapter
Magic and Magic
One area in Vanalis was filled with smoke and explosions, devoid of any snow. Some snow would fall only to evaporate immediately from the aftermath of spells flying around. This area was enveloped in the heat of battle.
The king of moths, Shem Azah, had once fallen to the ground. But while it hadn’t recovered, it now rose up into the sky again.
“So what’s the trigger for this arbitrary invocation spell thing?!” Lettie shouted between attacks, with the four huge and eerie stakes still behind her. In order to avoid the Shem Azah’s attacks from above, she had no choice but to keep moving. The constant motion was starting to tire her out a little.
“Don’t ask me. But, well, if we corner it, I’m sure they’ll be activated.”
Lettie was exasperated at how Alus was talking like it didn’t concern him, but she soon reconsidered her attitude, since it was a spell he didn’t really know either. Fiends used many spells that were still a mystery to humanity. So, worst case, we’ll need to destroy the core in a single blow. Still...Allie just doesn’t panic, does he?
She felt his reply was a little too relaxed, but then it wasn’t like he was letting his guard down. He probably already had countermeasures in mind in case the worst happened. Lettie was acutely aware of this, but at the same time... “And I’m sure you don’t want to use that either. I don’t know what we’d do if it ran rampant again.”
The last time, during the Demi Azur fight, Loki rushing over had created an opportunity to save Alus, but it would take a miracle or two for the same thing to happen again. Alus’s special ability was an extremely risky and terrifying power.
“Well, it’s not really for me to think about. Besides, I caused you a lot of trouble, so this is where I should be putting work in!” Lettie said, as if to encourage herself, a refreshed smile on her face.
Having Alus nearby was reassuring, and her injured body felt a lot lighter. Maybe it was just her emotions, but it was strange how it affected her mood. She even felt a little envious of Loki being Alus’s partner. It had been a while since she fought while feeling like that.
Thinking back on it, she could only really recall leading a squad in the Outer World. She was always in a position to command and protect others. She hadn’t been around someone she could fight with as an equal, or even rely on, for a long time. Ah...this is pretty comfortable. But I wonder if the fact that I’m thinking of things like this in this situation means I’ve finally lost it. Even her inner thoughts were somewhat elated.
Lettie ran across the snow, and as she caught Alus in the corner of her eye, she giggled. “Hee hee.” Not even she knew what was so funny exactly, but she decided to push it all into the back of her mind for later.
For the time being, Lettie pulled her arms back and accelerated. In her hands she created bright red fireballs that illuminated her surroundings. The mana naturally flowed into her arms without any resistance. She felt like she could do anything now.
The fireballs gradually grew larger and their fire fiercer. Just before they became too much for her to control, she suddenly changed direction and jumped towards the Shem Azah. With two fireballs large enough to swallow an adult whole at the ready, Lettie put some strength in her arms to swing them, and released the fireballs from her palms.
The massive fireballs flew towards the Shem Azah, growing even bigger on the way. Just in front of it, they overlapped and swallowed each other. That gave them explosive growth, turning them into something like a small sun. Judging from the burning flames, it wasn’t the kind of explosive spell that Lettie specialized in. But it was an expert-level fire spell.
Being a fire attribute spell, it was only natural that Lettie would be able to use it, but even Alus could count on a single hand the number of times he’d seen her use pure fire spells. “I see you still love to keep it flashy,” he said with a smile. He could tell that she was enjoying weaving her spells much more than during the first encounter with the Shem Azah.
Aside from knowledge and technique, a person’s mental state also played a big part in casting spells, which was why a person’s preferences and mood couldn’t be ignored. But from what Alus could tell, creating an expert-level spell of this scale required more than just aptitude. Be it talent or mood... Impressive, but... Alus thought to himself, and frowned.
Their current situation was complicated and difficult. That spell most likely wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Shem Azah. The arbitrary invocation spell was eerie, and its trigger was still unknown. Rather than carelessly injuring the Fiend, it was better to put it into a situation where they could finish it off without fail.
That was one of the reasons why he’d held Lettie back from pursuing it before. But he wasn’t certain how to go about killing it. Alus still hadn’t reached an answer. Even so, the battle needed to continue to keep the Shem Azah’s attention on them.
But there is something I don’t understand... Alus hadn’t seen the Shem Azah use an ice attribute spell even once. There were times when high-classed Fiends specialized in specific attributes, but it was typically possible for them to use multiple attributes.
The environment-altering spell causing the snow definitely belonged to the ice attribute, and it was a very high level spell at that. As with Alus’s Muspelheim, spells like that ate up a lot of time and mana as the composition and information needed to be rewritten sequentially.
But it didn’t make sense to go that far just to interfere with magic. In fact, if the Shem Azah was that skilled at ice magic it would be actively using it. Yet the Fiend showed no signs of that.
Moreover, the Shem Azah had lost a leg to Cocytus. If a Fiend like that could use the ice attribute, it would have been able to do something to avoid losing its leg.
Alus glanced over at the Shem Azah. Right now it was blowing away Lettie’s fireball with a flap of its wings.
He helped out from time to time, but he never stopped observing the stakes in the ground. The strange and eerie pulsation that had been unaffected by his Niflheim was still there. It seemed to resemble the beating of a heart. It’s probably fine, but I need to watch out for Demis Brionach too.
Just in case, Alus constantly maintained a certain distance from Lettie. Maybe I’ll try using water magic, he thought, deciding to use an attribute he wasn’t particularly skilled in. The rings on his AWR contained formulas for all attributes, but he rarely used water spells.
The accuracy of each attribute depended on the user’s affinity. There were attributes that were hard to use without an affinity and water was one of them. Even for Alus, who could use all the attributes, it was a particularly inefficient attribute. “Which to use...” he pondered out loud. A half-baked spell wasn’t going to be worth trying.
In the next moment, Alus and Lettie sensed the two signal flares sent up into the air. The Ogma and Lefkis had been defeated.
Which means the Shem Azah is responsible for the snow. As such, Alus felt a stronger need to confirm his suspicions. After launching a mana signal Lettie’s way, he focused his attention. I just need to draw out the ice attribute from this thing’s hand of cards, and that’ll be all the proof I need.
Alus sharply exhaled, and swiftly moved from spell construction to manifestation. A pool of water formed above the Fiend. Soon it was like an invisible tank burst as the water started flooding out from one point, creating a sphere. The amount of water alone was enough to submerge a small village.
He took his mind off the spell. And the next moment the massive sphere of water started falling down on the Fiend.
Great Cascade. It was similar to an expert-level taboo spell that caused a massive flood. However, this was a simplified spell reducing the amount of mana used to create the water, which weakened it considerably. Even so, it was a huge amount of water. Bullets of water scattered and shot towards their target. If they all hit, that would be fine, but if it tried to dodge...
“Got you.” If one wanted to counteract a water spell like that, the easiest way was to freeze it with the ice attribute. Of course there were other methods of dealing with it, but if the Shem Azah could use ice magic, it would be strange for it not to rely on it.
!!! The countless water bullets were stopped by an invisible wall and froze before shattering above the Fiend. The way they turned into a fine mist and disappeared had a fantastical beauty to it.
But the sight felt very off to Alus. In reality, it was a strange phenomenon. The spell had been frozen like he’d expected, but it was difficult to judge who had cast the spell. It would be natural to assume that the Shem Azah had used a spell to protect itself, and even Lettie wasn’t questioning it.
However, in that moment... The snow stopped. Alus unconsciously readied himself to cast a spell before he could even think. He still had his doubts, but he wouldn’t overlook such a golden opportunity.
“Allie!” Alus nodded at Lettie’s urgent tone, and they moved to finish off the enemy in one fell swoop.
Two Single Digit Magicmasters preparing spells made for a blast of mana that filled their surroundings. Any weak Fiend would cower in fear from that alone and be rooted to the spot. The same applied for Magicmasters too.
A Single’s power was similar to going beyond human knowledge. The monstrous amount of mana threatened to swallow up the entire area. Alus’s ominous mana had a seemingly endless amount of darkness and intent to kill. Lettie’s dazzling mana shone bright, colored by her strong will.
However, in the next second, the two felt a massive wide-area spell activating that covered even the area where they were. It was a blatant reaction of mana that stretched over a kilometer radius, as if Vanalis itself was spitting out magic.
The pressure Alus felt forced him to cancel the spell he was casting. “Lettie!” He ran to Lettie as fast as he could. They only had seconds to spare. As the unidentified spell’s presence grew stronger, he reached out with his hand.
Lettie’s spell had been dispelled from her own surprise and shock. She twisted her head and looked at Alus with a fearful expression. Not only was she surprised, but she was also astonished by the unbelievable phenomenon happening to her. “Allie, I can’t... I can’t move my body at all!”
“Reach out with your hand!”
“I-I can’t!” She tried to reach out to Alus, but her body refused to budge like she’d been deprived of all freedom. That paralysis only confused her even more. She’d always remained conscious of the mana inside of her so that there wouldn’t be any interference.
The Shem Azah stared down at them from above as if mocking them. Alus kept reaching out, but he was convinced he wouldn’t reach her at the rate he was going. Even so, he needed to get as close as possible.
Then a part of Vanalis’s ground rose up as if being pushed by something below. A moment later, a powerful wind blew from the bottom of the earth and everything turned to dust. Mud, snow, wood chips, and stone fragments were hurled up into the sky. It was like their surroundings were thrown into a blender. Everything was pulverized as the terrible wind howled.
***
“...? Wh-Where am I...?” Lettie opened her eyes and hurriedly looked around.
She was near the peak of a high mountain. The terrain was hard and craggy, the air thin. She could see snow-capped peaks in the distance.
The slanted footing made Lettie lose her balance. The piled-up snow was the same as the snow field where they’d fought the Shem Azah, but that was the only similar thing.
After a moment of confusion, she noticed a strange device nearby and let out a gasp. It was a pole covered in a translucent, white material with complex machinery inside. It was the portable Circle Port that she’d had Alus check out yesterday.
“That was a close one. Any later and we would’ve been toast.”
Lettie turned in answer to the familiar voice next to her. “Um, does that mean we teleported from there?”
Alus nodded.
But why had the device left in their base been moved over here? The reason was that Alus had asked the unit that remained at the base to carry it outside to the top of the mountain near the base just in case.
The Shem Azah was visible in the distance. But despite the distance, they were still in range of being detected.
“Phew, I’m glad you managed to move somewhat at the end. So how’s your body holding up?”
“That’s true. It feels fine.” For some reason, Lettie pulled at her shirt and looked inside her clothing before saying “It looks fine too,” but it was too much of a pain for Alus to quip about it.
“You seem to be in a good mood for someone who almost died.”
“Well, I knew I wouldn’t die.” Lettie smiled like Alus had said something strange. From the look of it, she seemed a little thrilled to have been caught up in a spell of that scale, or it could just be that she trusted Alus that much.
“In exchange, it was destroyed in a single transfer,” Alus said, pointing at the Circle Port with his thumb. Important-looking parts were spewing white smoke. It was obviously broken.
“Good work,” Lettie said to the machine.
Alus had created the theory that formed the basis of the Circle Port, as well as designed its foundation, so he could certainly use it as an emergency escape device. Of course, he hadn’t planned on using it while it was still snowing because he couldn’t tell what kind of problems that might cause. Fortunately, the snow had stopped in that moment.
Strictly speaking, he’d used the transfer destination of Shuffle, restricted it to one direction, and set the copied coordinates for the Circle Port. Normally, two devices were necessary to make use of the Circle Port. This time though, Alus was responsible for the transmission part, making the transfer possible. The theory behind the Circle Port had been a by-product of learning Shuffle. They both used similar magic formulas, so it was a drastic move only Alus could pull off.
Even so, the sudden transfer of two people proved to be too much for the device. If possible, he would’ve preferred to directly touch Lettie to make the duplication of information easier, but he’d had to settle for just safely transporting them at all.
That finally convinced Lettie, but then a thought occurred to her. “Anyways...it was that, Allie. The pattern on the wings.”
“Hm?” Alus grunted, urging her to continue.
“You know, that eye-like pattern. I looked at it just before, and immediately afterwards I couldn’t move my body. Now that I think about it, Mujir can use a similar spell.”
“Magic that’s applied through vision... Maybe it’s like a form of hypnosis. The pattern itself could be a magic formula. But I looked at that eye too. I don’t get why it wouldn’t use that before now.” They’d cornered the Shem Azah once, so if it had a trump card like that, it wouldn’t have been strange for it to use it against Alus back then. That said, he didn’t understand how a Fiend’s mind worked. “Well, casting a spell through sight would come with a lot of restrictions.”
Rinne’s Magic Eye was probably similar. Its effect was influenced by whether whoever she was looking at had noticed her. The effect that had frozen Lettie’s body probably worked in a similar way.
“Is there no way to counter it? Getting hit by that in the middle of battle is bad news.”
“It won’t work perfectly, but you should make your flow of mana completely autonomous so there’s no room for outside interference.”
“What?! You’re the only one who can do that.”
“Hm? You can’t do it?”
“Quit playing around at a time like this.”
Alus didn’t want to hear that from her, but since he wouldn’t get anywhere by pointing that out, he grudgingly continued to think about it. It seemed that instead of interfering with the body directly, the spell worked by interfering with the target’s mana.
He could think of two possibilities. The first was interference with the Magicmaster’s mana control and freezing the flow of mana. The other was based on looking at the pattern as a requirement, which then affected the subconscious. In other words, a kind of self-suggestion.
Lettie definitely would have noticed any interference with her mana. Considering the panicked look on her face back then, it was probably the latter. “It’s not like the eyes of a mythological monster, but the best option would be to not look at it. Close your eyes and rely on your mana to confirm your target’s location. Anyway, the snow stopping is convenient. I want to get this over with.”
“What was with that spell anyway? It’s worse than an S-class. That spell was crazy dangerous.”
“That was the ultimate-level wind spell Kehenage...probably.” Alus leaned forward and looked down at the scenery below them, confirming the spell’s magnitude. The area where they fought had completely changed. All the snow was gone, leaving behind only a crater filled with mud, with not a single tree near it. Instead of snow there was now dust and sand, as well as wood and stone still raining down.
The time between the Shem Azah casting the spell and the spell manifesting was too short. And yet it brought about so much destruction. It was enough to kill most people easily.
“I can understand why it was never completed.” Even the basics of the formula had never been disclosed. Or rather, Alus recalled that the magic formula had been left unfinished. It was one of the spells that had been developed during the transition between the past and the present. That was the time when many taboo spells had been born, and it had been canceled around the same time.
Alus, who was deeply involved in the development of magic, and who had access to the military’s classified materials, was probably the only one who knew how many spells were canceled halfway through their development. This is just indiscriminate destruction. Fine control was impossible, and the damage it caused was too great. In that sense it was a weapon of mass destruction.
Spells that were designated as taboo were often too lethal, or had a negative impact on the future of humanity. Of course, spells that were that lethal were originally used by Fiends and were meant to kill. In that sense, Fiends could already use taboo spells, and they were often ahead of the curve in that regard.
Moreover, Alus noted that the four stakes pierced into the ground had been reduced to three. It’s possible that the trigger is automatically pulled when the Fiend is in danger. Even if the Fiend wasn’t brought to the brink of life or death, if it felt that its life was in danger that could be the condition to trigger it, though it was still uncertain if Fiends had that kind of biological reaction. Most scholars on the subject denied it. Even so, Alus explained as much to Lettie.
It was unclear if she was actually listening, as she intently stared down at the Shem Azah’s shadow. “Look at it searching.” The Fiend wasn’t making any major moves, but Lettie’s gaze was piercing.
“Sounds like you have an idea.”
“I have a few, but they’d be hard to pull off on my own.” Lettie had a pensive look on her face. Despite her brave words, she glanced over at Alus like she was counting on him.
“In the worst case I’ll finish it off, but you won’t be able to use Kagutsuchi.”
Speaking of aces up Lettie’s sleeve, the first that came to mind was directly branding the enemy with the fire spell Kagutsuchi. But the conditions were so severe that successfully using it against an S-class Fiend was extremely difficult. Not only would it be hard to restrain it until the spell was constructed, but the brand would be different depending on the size and type of the target.
But most of all, applying the brand required being up close. Not to mention that the brand itself had almost no effect, so Lettie would be defenseless while she applied it. That would be very unrealistic in the current situation. “I don’t want to get close to that thing either. Especially not to slowly apply a magic brand, you know.”
“Knowing you, you still might try it,” Alus said dryly.
“Even I know when and where to use it. It’s fine. I’ll finish it off with my special move. So if I need your backup, I’ll ask for it separately each time. But it’ll be a crapshoot.”
“...” Frankly, Lettie’s words left Alus feeling uneasy, but he’d given a lot of vague instructions based on predictions himself, as well as made last-minute changes to the plans, so he wasn’t one to talk.
He also dreaded the thought of what would happen after this. The two might be high up, but it wasn’t an area suitable for hiding. The Shem Azah was only searching the snow field since they’d suddenly disappeared, but it was only a matter of time before they were found. “Whatever. It’ll probably be a crapshoot for both of us anyway. We’ll need to finish this before it goes after the rest of the squad.”
Lettie looked at him with a puzzled expression. “For both of us? Whatcha mean?”
“The Kehenage. One of them activated just now, but there’s still three more of those stakes left and they’re like big unexploded bombs. I have a countermeasure in mind, but I can’t tell how effective it’ll be.”
“Hmm... But we can’t keep hiding here, can we?”
“Yeah, this is bad. If it loses its patience and goes after the rest of the squad, there’s not going to be much we can do.”
“...” Lettie fell silent. She stared at Alus for a moment. “But Allie, you do have a countermeasure, right? Even if it’s not certain...”
“More or less, yes.”
She smiled broadly at Alus’s stern expression. “Then it’s simple. I just have to believe in you. Besides, I can imagine all the complaints I’ll hear if that thing goes after my idiots because I did nothing.”
“That’s true. I’ve gotten tired of hiding here too.”
Lettie was a little relieved to hear his casual banter again. “What a coincidence. I’m not one to draw out a fight either.”
“I bet... Hey?!”
“Well, I’m going first.” She took off running before Alus could stop her, going down the sloped ground. “Sorry, Allie... But I can’t stand losing anyone else because I’m no good!”
Somewhat exasperated, Alus ran after her. But there was a bittersweet feeling in his chest. Sure, it was reckless and simplistic, but that was just how Lettie was. She believed in Alus and wouldn’t hesitate to throw her life away to protect her allies.
That said, Alus had no intention of letting her throw her life away in the first place. I forgot she was such a handful... This is what I get for casually agreeing to help. Either way, if she dies here, the mission will get pushed onto me.
“Let’s start with an ambush! Allie, knock it down!” Lettie pointed at the Shem Azah.
Alus’s cheek twitched at her easily requesting something like that, and he grabbed Night Mist. He would have loved to say it was impossible, but frustratingly enough, several ideas came to mind right away.
“I guess I’ll go with speed.” He pulled Night Mist’s chain out longer than usual. The ring that appeared in front of his face began faintly glowing.
Lettie sensed the immense wind generating around Alus. Running forward, she looked up. The thick clouds burst apart as a mass of wind shot down like a giant cannonball. “Downburst, huh. Do you think that’ll bring it down?”
“If it doesn’t, then I’ll just fire off one more.”
Before long, the burst of wind slammed down on the Fiend’s back. The Shem Azah’s posture was thrown off as it was suddenly burdened by an invisible weight. Downburst was a strong enough spell to crumple the ground itself when focused on a single point. However, a single application wasn’t enough to bring the Fiend down to the ground. Flapping its wings, the Shem Azah put up a fight against the weight on its back.
But that level of resistance was pointless. Alus applied the spell again and again, increasing the weight, pushing the Shem Azah down.
“Great work!”
Alus watched intently as the Fiend was unable to hold on any longer, and fell to the ground just as Lettie had requested. Well, I did what you wanted. He wasn’t sure about Lettie’s plan, but at least he’d get to see what she would do next. This would be the first time Alus witnessed the true depths of Lettie’s power on this mission.
The Shem Azah’s massive body slammed onto the ground with a roar. In the blink of an eye, flames burst up into its abdomen that was on the ground, which then exploded, a trick not possible when the snow was still around. The next moment, the king of moths was wrapped in fire and smoke.
Claymore, huh. Hidden and timed perfectly. He was a little surprised by her impressive skills. It wouldn’t have gone that easily if she hadn’t predicted where the Shem Azah would land when it began falling, and planted the spell in the ground.
The spell was a landmine that relied on being planted into the ground and going undetected. From the look of it, Lettie’s goal wasn’t only to deal non-lethal damage, but also to hit its wings. The blazing flames spread to the wings and set them alight. It looked like it would be tough to burn them completely, but it was enough to damage the patterns.
The eye-like pattern on the forewings was a kind of magic formula in their entirety. It was what had caused the petrification of Alus’s fire dragon as well as Lettie’s body freezing up. But with the wings being damaged like this, part of the magic formula was too. It wouldn’t be able to use that power again for a while.
That said, carelessly dealing too much damage might trigger the pulsating stakes. If the Kehenage activated again, they wouldn’t make it out in one piece. For the time being... Alus got to work on the countermeasure for the Kehenage that he’d hinted about before.
Like he’d experienced with Niflheim, interfering with the pulsating stakes from the outside wouldn’t cause them to cease to function. Not even Niflheim with its ability to create a world of ice could do that. Alus’s working assumption was that the black stakes were made up of two attributes: the earth attribute on the outside as a protective layer and the wind attribute spell Kehenage on the inside.
Even with his wealth of knowledge, Alus was unsure whether this countermeasure would work. It was the best method he could think of at the moment. But he couldn’t guarantee that it would be effective here, so there was still some risk.
Alus concluded that he had to take his chances with it. “Lettie, keep it busy for a while.”
In response, Lettie flexed her arms and made fists, grinning. “You got it! Also, I’ll show you something cool in a moment.”
They were meaningful words coming from Lettie, but dealing with the stakes came first. Before the Claymore pushed the Shem Azah past its limits, Alus rushed to the stakes. If he misjudged the Fiend’s limits he would get caught up in the Kehenage, not that distance mattered much with that spell. He ran like he was flying and arrived at his destination in no time at all.
In front of him were the three black stakes driven into the ground. Looking at them like that, they felt very ominous to Alus. Despite being carbonized, their surfaces were strangely smooth. Their bark was completely unnatural. The Kehenage’s activation device pulsed to show that it was still alive, and the time for activation seemed to be coming ever closer.
Alus glanced back at the Shem Azah. Explosions from Lettie’s Claymore spells were still taking place. The Shem Azah wriggled its body, but its magic resistance was working against the spells. Only its wings were burning. The rest of its body hadn’t taken fatal damage.
Meanwhile, Lettie’s mana wasn’t unlimited. She couldn’t keep up her attack while burning the Fiend’s wings and stalling it forever. The Claymores she’d planted were already running out. When that happened, she would have to face the Shem Azah alone, and would need to run around to avoid directly confronting it.
I guess she’ll last another ten, fifteen minutes. Alus took a deep breath and sharpened his senses. He covered his hands with a bare minimum of mana, neither casting a spell nor creating a mana blade. Narrowing his aim down to the center stake, he put both hands on the eerie bark.
When he touched it, he could tell it had some kind of elasticity to it that pushed his hands back. A faint smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes. Just as expected. It’s a composition of two spells.
Right now he was trying to neutralize the Kehenage. In other words, he was trying to overwrite the spell. The process of composing spells should be the same for both humans and Fiends. If so, then the same should be true for setting coordinates, designating power, durability, directionality, shape, and more.
However, Alus was probably the first Magicmaster to try and tamper with the internal construction of a Fiend’s spell. If it was even possible to perfectly analyze the spells Fiends used, modern magic would probably look very different today. Humans had been searching for ways to fight Fiends for half a century, but still hadn’t found a complete solution.
It’s pretty loose, but as long as I can understand the spell in broad strokes, then it should be easy to figure out where to make changes. Normal magic, the kind used by humans, was easy to figure out. But he couldn’t tell to what extent existing knowledge would help with a Fiend’s spell.
He carefully started pouring his mana into the bark. Instead of interfering, he was trying to synchronize with it. Being able to read spells was the ultimate in mana control. Alus was able to use his field of view to recreate the structure in his head. He’d practiced mana control to restrain Gra Eater, and his goal was now to take control of the spell.
That’s why he could tell that rewriting the spell was risky business and should be avoided. If there was even a single loose thread it might unfurl the entire spell, causing it to run out of control and mutate, which could lead to even more damage.
Incidentally, Alus didn’t think he could completely dismantle a spell of Kehenage’s level. Similar to a bomb, he was trying to stop the fuse so it didn’t activate, as opposed to neutralizing the bomb’s contents.
However... “!!!” As he came into direct contact with the spell, Alus opened his eyes wide. This is completely different from any spells I know! Shit!
There was no theoretical formula and no information connected to it. Spells created by humans were established through engineering. Creating a spell was like piecing together a massive puzzle. But there was no single connection in this spell, no steps that made up a single picture. It was more like the caster just willed it into existence. It was a supernatural power that ignored logic and theory. It was too much to handle. Everything was too abnormal.
An unusual amount of cold sweat ran down Alus’s back. “Then why do Lost Spells exist!” Ancient letters known as Lost Spells were said to be the origin of humanity’s spells. With them, even humans could use magic. They were a form of guidelines, believed to have been derived from deciphered Fiend spells, but any evidence of that would’ve dated from before humanity’s chaotic period and was therefore lost to time.
The reason Fiends could use magic better than humans was probably because the source of Lost Spells was included in their formulas. It was likely something as strange as hieroglyphs.
Alus sharpened his senses further, diving deep into the sea of information, even if it frayed his nerves. No, the origin of Lost Spells, their source, exists somewhere. I just can’t perceive it. The sea of chaos chose who could see it. Those with limited vision would go mad. It wasn’t a place humanity should enter. It was more like a divine or demonic realm.
Even with his knowledge, Alus was far from grasping everything, though he was probably the first human to access this information. When he perceived it, he felt his brain rapidly activating. It was like he was being bombarded with enough information to last a lifetime. Pain surged through his head like his brain was frying. A fantastical light flickered in his retinas and it felt like sparks were flying around in his eyes.
It was a place where the roots of the world and the soul lay, a place that a mere human’s intellect would never reach. Indeed, it was almost as if it was... “The Akashic Records...” Alus blurted out.
His voice felt like it belonged to someone else, like his mind had been taken over by something and the electrons in his brain had fired off on their own to move his mouth. However, before he was about to be swallowed by the unknown, the presence of a jet-black glutton stirred inside him, bringing his consciousness back.
“I see. I was able to access it just a little.” A look of satisfaction appeared on his face. He’d understood a portion of the Fiends’ magic. It was just for a moment, and he couldn’t reach the same place again. Even so, he had ever so briefly touched upon it.
Composition or construction has nothing on completed magic. It even has a sort of beauty to it. To think there’s no excess information whatsoever, it’s truly monstrous...and pathetic.
Human magic always contained noise in the form of emotions. In a sense, it was an incomplete product that tried to approach perfection but could never reach it. When Alus sensed that, he stopped trying to interfere with the spell directly. He didn’t give up. He just changed his approach. No matter how perfect the Fiends’ magic was, humans could create magical theories that imitated their instincts. That, of course, meant they had something in common.
The Kehenage was set up to be remotely triggered. Then the Shem Azah must be holding the trigger or the end of the fuse.
All three are still connected, aren’t they? Alus searched for magic in a world that was completely different from the one humans experienced. Digging deeper and deeper, he looked for a construct that matched something in his knowledge.
In order for a spell to be connected to a caster from a distance, some form of communication that transcended space was mandatory. The key was mana. Alus’s attribute-less power, together with his observant eyes backed by his outstanding mana control, meant he wouldn’t overlook it.
Suddenly, the edges of his lips curled up. It seemed there was indeed an unnecessary circuit in the construct for the three stakes. The reason he saw it as unnecessary was because of conditions similar to the magic that humans used.
But he was only able to notice it after touching the stake. Normally it would have slipped by unnoticed, as something humans couldn’t understand. Deciphering it and understanding it would take longer than all of human history.
No matter, I’ll be able to cut the link to the Kehenage now. Alus employed magic in his mind to act as virtual fingers. Amid a dimly glowing light, they moved like a pianist’s delicate fingers to skillfully unravel the three eerily intertwined threads that pulsed like veins. The circuit was finally cut.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes with a clear mind. It felt truly refreshing, like all of the noise in his brain had been removed. At the same time he could instantly think of multiple things in parallel. For just that moment, he felt like his senses were perfectly clear.
Yet his eyes widened again at the unthinkable scene before him. The stake in front of him was still pulsating.
He should have completely disconnected the circuit from the construct, removing the Shem Azah’s control of it. But it wasn’t only pulsating. Tension washed over him as he saw the stake had begun to glow in a sinister light. It was the same color as when the Kehenage had activated.
Looking over, he could see the other two stakes glowing the same way, like they were resonating with the first. I see. It’s perfect. What a well thought-out spell.
The giant stakes resembled time bombs laced with elaborate traps. When he cut the circuit, another mechanism kicked in. The link being cut was probably another trigger for the spell to activate.
The worst-case scenario in his mind was happening. In response, Alus slowly closed his eyes. Gra Eater, which constantly threatened to run out of control, appeared as his final trump card. Three stakes’ worth of mana, huh... It’s unclear if it can fit inside the vessel, but too late for that now.
Considering the risk for rampage, it was a dangerous choice. While Alus had his misgivings, he noticed something odd. Gra Eater was always struggling and putting up a fight even under his control, but this time it was being strangely cooperative. In fact, it was even showing unexpected movements.
This is my first time seeing this. Gra Eater opened its eerie mouth and bared its dark-colored fangs at the stakes as if trying to intimidate them. It wasn’t predatory instinct at play, but rather fighting spirit and hostility. To Alus it looked like it was trying to counter a threat with a will of its own. Whether it was enough to call it consciousness was questionable, but Gra Eater seemed to have developed a sense for danger, when before it only had basic predatory instincts.
He hesitated for a moment but quickly got back into it. I’m not sure what’s happening...but I have no choice but to do this.
His shoulders slumped down as he turned his consciousness in on himself. Like always, he felt his vessel turning incredibly vague. He always felt like he was diving down deep into the sea of a different world that went beyond theory and reality. It was similar to paying complete attention to every little movement to do something as natural as moving your arm or finger. After all, that was without a doubt a foreign body with a grotesque form, but even as such he needed to control it like it was part of his body.
He plunged half of his consciousness into the dark abyss. Then he raised his arm...and spoke its name. “‹‹Gra Eater››”
Eight twisted, jet-black forms of mana gathered around Alus in an odd shape. They then rushed like mad at the stakes that were about to release their spells.
Any onlookers might have thought that the black mana moved like a snake, while others might describe it as a naga dragon. However, it was something fundamentally different from a living being. It was a predator’s pure instincts given form. As if embodying that, Gra Eater was nothing but a mouth to eat its prey.
Opening its giant mouth wide, it continuously spewed out black mana. The vomited mana formed a mouth of its own, and the cycle continued infinitely like a nesting doll as it approached its prey.
Gra Eater swarmed to its food at unbelievable speeds. Perhaps sensing the approach of the violent black mana, the stakes emitted an eerie glow and burst open at once.
Alus manipulated his black mana like a whip. He couldn’t tell if the Kehenage had activated or not, but considering the amount of mana flowing into him it must have, and three at that. However, unlike when he’d come into direct contact with the knowledge within the Fiend’s magic, the information in what he absorbed was too rough to distinguish.
A moment later Alus stood alone with only a violent wind rampaging around him. He let out a long sigh and confirmed the state he was in. The absorbed mana far exceeded his expectation, but it managed to stay within his vessel. But he did feel a sort of pressure.
Meanwhile, the three stakes were sucked dry and returned to mana particles. Alus, though, was deep within his own mind, ignoring all of that.
After his battle with Demi Azur, Alus’s vessel for storing mana had increased twofold. Moreover, Gra Eater was easier to control than before, which was why he was very aware of the mana he’d absorbed. Maybe he was being overly cautious, but he wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake.
Once he’d confirmed it had been completely absorbed, he swung his arm towards the Shem Azah. As a result of the repeated Claymores, the Shem Azah had been thrown back up into the air.
Its wings were badly burned, the patterning on them mostly gone, but the Shem Azah flapped them in hopes of flying. But it wasn’t enough, and it needed to support itself with wind magic just to stay afloat.
Alus concluded that now was the time to counterattack. There was no longer any need to concern himself with the mana necessary for his assault. And with the greatest threat already neutralized, he had nothing to worry about.
Thinking back on it, this was the first time in a long while that he’d struggled against a mere S-class. He’d been forced to brace himself for death in battle against powerful Fiends, but that was all in the past. Now, he truly had the power to stand at the top of all Magicmasters.
Just as he began constructing his spell to finish off the Fiend, he heard a clear voice chanting.
“Blocked by thirty-five lattices, O hellfires of rejection confined within an infinite hallway. The critical point is there, the edge of light is there, leave not even dust behind. Guide it all to the end of life...”
“...!!” Alus sharply reacted to Lettie’s unfamiliar incantation. Before he could even decipher the meaning of it, he searched his brain for the magic formula using the Lost Spell it contained to predict the magic he could expect from Lettie. But there were no matches in his head.
The more her incantation progressed, the worse his goose bumps got. That said, there was no reason for him to cancel his own spell. For the time being, Alus manifested his spell filled with vast amounts of mana before Lettie could finish her own.
The sound of ringing chains could be heard, as two appeared in front of the Shem Azah and another two appeared behind it, hanging down from the sky above. Though made from magic, the chains were unusually thick and could be mistaken for real solid objects.
Just as the Shem Azah seemed to recognize the chains, they were pulled up with great force. As the chains were pulled up, something fell down, cutting through the sky.
It was a set of four crescent-shaped blades. It looked like a guillotine made for Fiends. Each blade precisely cut off one of the Shem Azah’s wings at its base, then fell to the ground and disappeared. The chains, having completed their own job, also disappeared, leaving large amounts of mana remnants behind.
In place of the disappeared blades was a flood of blood. Having no wings, the Shem Azah lost its balance and let out a strange, deafening sound. As it fell, it used wind magic to keep itself from crashing into the ground.
The next moment, Alus felt an immense pressure and looked over his shoulder. There he could see Lettie finally completing the mystical spell she’d been casting.
A translucent sphere spread out to envelop the Shem Azah’s body. The surface was covered in an enormous number of Lost Spells.
Lettie thrust out her hands, and the bracelet-type AWRs on her arms started glowing. She wasn’t using her rings as usual, and moreover, she was using two AWRs at once.
However, her expression was neither hateful nor bitter. She looked terribly sorrowful, and at the same time like a realization had dawned on her. Like she’d finally reached her goal after a long period of wandering... In other words, it was a mixture of joy and sadness.
As those thoughts ran through Alus’s mind, the translucent membrane gradually shrank. It looked like it finally got absorbed into the Fiend’s body and disappeared, but if one strained their eyes, a bright light could be seen leaking out from its skin. Indeed, it wasn’t shrinkage, but condensation. Unlike the red dots of Lettie’s Detonation, this spell emitted a blue light.
“Don’t tell me—!”
Before Alus could make a move, Lettie put the finishing touches on her spell and quietly spoke its name. “Blue Star... ‹‹M2-Polaris››”
The blue light reached its limits and explosively expanded. Without any smoke, blue flames spread over a wide area that included the Shem Azah.
The blue flames that burned the clouds and swallowed mountains first erased sound from the world. Next, it dyed the landscape blue. Then a blast wave swept everything away.
Alus could see blue flames covering the sky in a spherical shape. A mana explosion... No, all unnecessary information has been removed from it, leaving only pure mana energy. Did she reconstruct the spell and accumulate all of this at once?!
M2-Polaris was one of the spells that Alus and Lettie had jointly come up with the basic theory for when they were looking at ways to improve Detonation. However, they’d stopped developing it because there were supposedly no techniques for accumulating pure energy from the mana in the air. Even Alus had given up on it, as it was extremely difficult to pull off in the Outer World.
Those bracelets are responsible for this! They must have made the normally impossible act possible. This was definitely the cool thing she had mentioned.
For now, he ran towards Lettie. Did she really understand what kind of aftermath would result from this? It was a spell that would continue on even after reducing all to nothing. No, even if she could do something about it, it was still too dangerous from his point of view. He had started running because he feared Lettie might be releasing it with the intent of going down with it.
The novel idea of reusing mana residue was proof that Lettie had made modifications to the basic theory Alus knew about. His primary concern had been resolved with a single bracelet. There was indeed a large amount of mana lingering around the Shem Azah after Alus’s spell, and Lettie had taken advantage of that.
However, the power of her spell was so high that the aftermath would be devastating. A normal person caught up in it would be blown apart.
Clicking his tongue, Alus continued running.
“...! Al...lie...”
Alus slid in front of her, not even having enough time to respond to her voice. He bit his lip, repressing the irritation welling up inside.
Behind him was Lettie pouring everything into her AWRs. Thanks to that the blue flames shrunk just a little. Even so, it was an ebb and flow situation. Lettie weakened the impact and kept it from growing any larger, but she clearly couldn’t restrain it.
The mana formula isn’t converging properly. Alus narrowed his eyes and assessed the situation. It was a spell he hadn’t expected, but having noted the characteristics of that bracelet-type AWR before, he could guess the cause to some extent.
Lettie wasn’t able to extinguish the flames faster than they were spreading. Moreover, unlike a simple explosive spell like Detonation, the blue flames defied her intentions and expanded as they spiraled.
Alus finished his analysis in the blink of an eye. He was convinced their current situation would collapse eventually. Lettie probably wouldn’t make it. For starters, her AWRs’ performance wasn’t good enough to contain the spell.
Even so she wasn’t giving up, and that paid off. She might have reacted a little late, but it was enough for Alus to weave a spell strong enough to counteract the situation. He had more than enough mana for it, even considering the amount he’d used against the Shem Azah.
He couldn’t converge the formula that Lettie had released, but he did have a way to counteract the phenomenon of combustion. It was a method he could use while Lettie’s control was clashing with the spell. It rewound the structure itself, even the causation of events, and returned all phenomena to their original states. It was a spell that could even make spells about to manifest return to fundamental mana information.
“‹‹Temple Fall››” Up in the air, above the vortex of blue flames, was a vast composite magic circle containing the highest-level formulas of all six attributes. Everything under its influence had its coordinates fixed and even time itself was stopped. The lamentation of all of creation shook the air, and everything began to return to the primordial void.
Once the spell that disintegrated all compositions activated, there was no longer any need for Lettie. All magical existences under its influence were fated to go back in time and ultimately revert into nothing but mana information.
M2-Polaris was no exception. The blue light gradually dimmed and dissolved into pure mana information. Soon it all faded away, leaving only a pale light, as if it had only been an illusion.
Only a large hole was left in the ground. It was unfathomably deep and filled only with darkness. Temple Fall had drilled way down into Vanalis.
Alus took a deep breath and looked around. The clash between Lettie’s M2-Polaris and his own Temple Fall left a massive scar on the land.
“That’s my first time seeing that spell,” Lettie casually said, as she tried to catch her breath. But her complexion was far from good. As to be expected from a Single Digit Magicmaster though, she could still move. If she’d been so exhausted she couldn’t even move, then it would have been more worthwhile to swoop in and save her. For some reason, the fact that she still had energy left in her annoyed Alus somewhat.
“It’s only the second time I’ve used it at all.”
“Phew, well, it really saved my bacon this time.”
“Were you relying on me from the start?” Alus was completely exasperated by her unabashed attitude.
“Well, if you weren’t here I wouldn’t have used it. But I wanted to finish it with a bang, ya know...for my dead comrades,” she finished with moist eyes and a sorrowful tone.
Hearing that, Alus held his tongue. Her attitude might’ve been an act, but she was telling the truth about her feelings. It was easy for him to tell she was hesitant to say what she was thinking. To Lettie, the blue flames may have been her way of mourning her fallen comrades, though it was a little extreme to Alus’s way of thinking.
“It’s over.” Lettie smiled as she said the simple words to Alus, who was silent.
The S-class had finally been defeated. There was no need to even confirm it. Not even ashes remained after M2-Polaris, and there was nothing of the Shem Azah left.
In the next moment, Lettie leaned against Alus’s back. The tension that had sustained her had disappeared, being replaced with relief. She glanced at Alus’s face with a complicated mix of emotions on her face. But her expression turned stiff again. Alus’s eyes, and his focus, were on a completely different place.
“?!” She’d thought the mission to conquer Vanalis was over...but sensing it wasn’t, she gazed at him with a questioning look.
“Not yet. There’s still one thing that doesn’t add up. Lettie, can you run?”
“I can run, but not really use magic...” She didn’t have much mana left, and she was mentally exhausted to the point that she would struggle to construct any spells.
“That’s fine. I’ll deal with the rest,” Alus said, unconsciously using words that acknowledged there was still another existence to eliminate.
It was the reason why the snow suddenly stopped in the middle of battle against the Shem Azah. Alus was keenly aware of the true nature of the final challenge. It was the last obstacle before they reached the peak and reclaimed Vanalis.
***
Near the top of a lightly snow-capped mountain, the tallest in Vanalis, was a figure looking down at the snow field from above a sheer cliff. Like an unmoving rock, they simply cast a silent gaze downward as if trying to sense something.
The snow had already stopped. The illusion of winter had finally been released. However, the man didn’t seem to think anything of the courageous people who had rushed over. His composed face showed no signs of admiration or hints of irritation. He had long red hair that went down to his neck. That color was the only thing that stood out on the man.
His eyes suddenly flickered, though without any sign of emotion. At his feet was a male Magicmaster that he’d just dealt with...staining the snow red.
Thanks to the snow finally stopping, the sun peeked out at the horizon and there were white clouds in the sky. And as the sunlight lit up his surroundings, what he held in his outstretched hand could be seen. His iron grip held a silver-haired girl letting out a faint cry of agony.
Loki weakly struggled, trying to peel his hand off. She managed to squeeze her hands in between his palm and her neck, but couldn’t budge his hand an inch. Every time she moved, blood seeped out from the wounds she’d sustained while fighting the Lefkis. She fought to breathe, being held above the ground, and glanced down with hazy eyes.
Mujir was on the ground and unconscious. Blood was pooling around him, which only added to Loki’s sense of urgency. But the situation was desperate. There was an overwhelming gap in strength between the red-haired man and her.
After the fight against the Lefkis, they’d noticed the snow hadn’t disappeared and sensed an unnatural presence. They’d rushed over here, but what awaited them was an unexpected sight. It was another human this far into the Outer World.
Moreover, he was a formidable adversary. The battle had ended as quickly as it had begun. While Loki might have been exhausted, it was clear that the man was dreadfully powerful. Even Mujir had been treated like he was a child.
And the moment the man shifted to fight Mujir and Loki, the snow had stopped. That was when Loki realized this man was the one pulling the strings and that he was responsible for the snow. The snow hadn’t been a Fiend’s doing. It was all done by the will of this man.
But why...? When Loki started thinking about the man’s motives, more force was applied to her neck. Blood flowed from her mouth and she struggled to breathe. Her vision was blurring.
Loki mustered the last of her strength to resist. She only had one method left, to manifest electricity within her body. She would designate herself as the manifestation coordinates just like the Lefkis had. It was a crude method, trying to take the man down by self-destructing. But it was the only way she could escape from the man’s hand. Even if she had to burn herself, it was better than having her neck snapped.
On the verge of passing out, she focused her mind and cast the intermediate-level spell Lightning Bolt right next to herself. A ball of lightning appeared with a rumble and fell to the ground. But before she knew it, the lightning that was supposed to electrocute both of them had turned into a normal ball of ice.
But that didn’t surprise Loki. She already knew the man would easily be able to do something like that. He’d only shown an ability to handle the ice attribute, but even in that field alone he displayed fearsome expertise.
‹‹Force››! Using her remaining mana, she forcibly increased her leg strength. She then twisted her body to kick at the man’s arm. It was a powerful kick that she hoped would break a bone.
But as soon as her kick struck the man’s arm, pain shot through her leg like she’d kicked a steel beam. Pain seized her entire body as the top of her foot broke. “Aaah...” she cried out, and a spray of blood flew from her lips.
It wasn’t just pain either. The foot she’d used to kick was being frozen. She swiftly pulled her foot away, but her skin was ripped off along with the frozen, brittle military boot. Blood poured out from the fresh wound and dripped down from her toes.
“A commendable feat for your age.” The man gave Loki empty praise as he threw her away like a broken toy. “But I am beginning to lose interest. So let us bring this to a close,” he muttered, as a weapon made of ice began to appear behind him. The sharp tip was pointed straight at Loki, threatening to run her through. At several meters long, the massive single-blade sword expelled cold air all around it.
A pang of regret ran through Loki’s mind. She wished she hadn’t used up so much strength against the Lefkis, or she could have put up a little more resistance.
But she’d managed to buy a little time. Now her role was over. Loki looked at the man with something close to a relieved smile. Then in the next moment, a force grabbed hold of her body and took her away.
It was neither the reaper nor the impact of the man’s ice sword. When the snow stopped, her mana sonar worked again, and she was able to make full use of her abilities as a spotter.
There he is. Instead of a flare, she had fired out her sonar, knowing he would notice. She was convinced of it, in fact. Even upon their heavy landing, Loki didn’t close her eyes for a moment. She’d simply looked on as Alus had swept her away in his arms and rescued her.
Because she had absolute faith in him, she didn’t want him to think of her as some princess just waiting to be saved. “Thank you very much, Sir Alus,” she said in a clear, calm voice, hoping not to cause him any needless worry, as if she’d been ready for this moment.
After Alus gently put her down, Loki looked over at the red-haired man who’d tried to kill her. He was being flanked by Lettie on one side and Alus on the other.
But the man was motionless. And of course he would be. The moment before he saved Loki, Alus had swung Night Mist at lightning speed and slashed the man twice.
The man’s arm fell to the ground. Blood poured out of his neck that had been neatly cut through. However...
“You certainly are...fast.” Despite his neck being cut so deeply, the man’s voice remained unchanged. Holding his hand over his neck, the wound froze over and the bleeding stopped. Perhaps because Alus’s swordsmanship had been so sharp and precise, the severed artery and even his windpipe froze over in an instant and rejoined. “I’m glad I took action ahead of time. I had my experiments to consider this time, after all.” A normal person would’ve been dead by now, but the man’s gentle tone remained the same.
“What are you after? Were you trying to play nice with the Fiends?”
The man smiled at Alus’s question. “Surely you jest. This is just an experiment for fun.”
Alus furrowed his brow as the man continued with a soft expression, “Still, I was surprised that Godma could produce such useful research results. He truly was a genius.”
“...! You mean the Godma that was responsible for the Element Factor Separation Project?” Godma Barhong was a criminal and mad scientist that Alus once received a mission to eliminate. In the end he’d turned into a cross between man and Fiend. He was supposed to have died a mysterious death in the facility where he was being detained.
“You ended up crushing him... What a shame,” the man answered nonchalantly.
There really had been someone else behind the Godma incident. And although his identity was unknown, the man was a powerful Magicmaster. Putting the pieces together, it started to make a lot of sense.
But Alus’s reaction was to something else. “So the Four Books of Fegel did exist,” he said with a slight smile.
The moment those words left Alus’s mouth, the man’s expressionless eyes narrowed in a bemused manner, which only made Alus’s conviction stronger. If the book he’d spotted was truly one of the Four Books of Fegel...then Godma’s mysterious death was meant to silence him and tie up any loose ends.
And the man before him who’d reacted to Alus’s words was the likely culprit. His motive probably wasn’t to erase any traces of his connection to Godma, but of the Four Books of Fegel themselves. That still left the question of how, but the military wasn’t a monolith. He could’ve had an accomplice on the inside.
“Allie, how do you wanna do this?” Lettie aggressively asked, but it was part of her bluff. She didn’t have the strength to fight with the man before them, but still said it as a way to put pressure on him. The man was the very picture of eeriness and the depths of his abilities were unknown.
However, it was the man himself who answered her question. He was almost fearless given the situation. “There won’t be any need for that. My mission is complete, so I will be taking my leave. That one should still be drawing breath as well...though I would’ve made him breathe his last if I had a little more time,” he said in a light tone, while glancing over at Mujir. In contrast to his tone, though, his eyes were dreadfully cold. It was clear as day he would’ve done so if Alus and Lettie hadn’t made it here in time.
“You sure can talk a lot in this situation. You don’t have the choice of escaping. You’ll be killed by me or by Lettie. Either way, you’re going to die here,” Alus said, his sharp eyes locked onto the man.
The man certainly knew his way around ice spells, and he’d already finished icing the end of his cut-off arm to stop the bleeding. But that was all. It was next to impossible for him to overturn the situation he was in. Alus had cut his neck ahead of time to prevent any pointless resistance.
So his consciousness is clear even under these circumstances. In other words, he had the mental capacity to understand the situation and adapt to it. That type of person could construct spells even at death’s door. The mental strength to do that was impossible for just any normal Magicmaster. So this man was that far removed from the ordinary.
Which was why Alus made his decision. “I won’t restrain you. So there won’t be any torture either. Don’t worry, I’m used to this.” A swift execution to avoid future problems...that was Alus’s form of judgment. At the same time he was signaling that he wouldn’t need anyone’s help. Since he didn’t know what the man would do, having the weakened Lettie or Loki step in would only complicate matters.
“I see, that is a reasonable assessment. But I have trouble accepting it outright. As such, I will put up at least a token resistance.” His tone was the sort that rubbed people the wrong way, and his choice of words wasn’t what you’d expect from a cornered man.
In the next moment snow fell, and the man moved.
Alus took a step forward in response. The atmosphere tensed up. He wasn’t wearing the expression of a Magicmaster, but of a man who killed people.
It was Lettie’s first time seeing him like that. Her eyes opened wide with a tinge of turmoil in them. ?! He disappeared...? Alus looked like he’d faded away like a shadow as he blended in with his surroundings. Her eyes fluttered in disbelief, but there was no doubt. The second she realized he’d killed his presence, she felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees.
Lettie’s red braid jumped from her startle response. A Magicmaster’s show of force was mostly based on releasing mana, but Alus had done the exact opposite. It was a sign of combat completely different from what you’d expect a Magicmaster to do.
She experienced an instinctual fear. The unfamiliar sensation made her hands damp from cold sweat even though she also had experience in fighting other people, and more so than most at that. Alus’s every movement emitted an aura unique to those who killed for a living. Lettie unconsciously gulped, and before the sound in her throat fully died down, Alus had slipped right next to the man.
He wordlessly swept his AWR sideways. There was no hesitation, nor did he brace himself, as if killing was just an everyday occurrence. It was a technique for use against people rather than Fiends.
But just in time, the man’s ice sword clashed with Night Mist’s sweep. And the man’s blade wasn’t even in his hand. It was fixed in position between him and Night Mist.
That kind of remote control required a delicate and precise technique. Even so, Alus was neither impressed nor astonished. The only thing his mind processed was that his first attack had been blocked. Any other information was pointless.
The next thing anyone knew, an ultra-thin mana blade extended out from his AWR. Without missing a beat, it stabbed into the man’s abdomen. Blood spurted out. But there wasn’t enough time to push it in further. Before the counterattacking ice sword could hit, he let go of his AWR. It was a quick decision made with the stinging sensation still in his hand.
Taking a step backwards, Alus ducked down under the ice sword. He then struck back, not with his sword but his own arm. Or rather, the new mana blade extending from it. The blade slashed upwards diagonally towards the man’s opposite shoulder.
Fresh blood splattered, but that didn’t faze him. Once Alus decided to kill he wouldn’t stop until he achieved his objective. Even dealing a fatal wound wasn’t enough, as it meant the opponent hadn’t died yet.
The mana blade swung through the man’s body and slashed directly across his neck. It wasn’t a mere attempt at a fatal wound, but a swing that would bring certain death.
When Alus landed and kicked up a puff of snow, his job was finished. The man staggered forward two, three steps, then collapsed.
Blood poured out from his neck, and a moment later his head separated from his neck and rolled over the snow. His expression showed no shock; it was simply the look of a man who had accepted his fate. His blood continued to silently drip on the snow.
Feeling a proper response from his attack, Alus picked up and sheathed his AWR. Normally these kinds of killings didn’t remain in his memory. Even this time it was no different from kicking a pebble out of his path. If anything remained in his memories it would be the sword of ice the man had used...or rather the sculpture. Its shape and decorations were vaguely familiar, but in the end it wasn’t worth remembering and disappeared in the aftermath of the battle.
“Mujir! You still alive?!” Lettie’s voice brought Alus back to reality.
Despite his serious injuries, Mujir seemed to have regained consciousness. He groaned as he moved his wrist and answered Lettie’s call by weakly tapping the snow. Loki, looking on with worry, was relieved.
Shortly afterwards, Alus and the others grouped up with Sajik as well. There were no signs of Fiends around them, but you never knew when one might appear. Because of that, they put off retrieving the man’s corpse for later.
Alus had checked his body, but found no clues as to what his identity was, nor did he find any equipment needed to survive in the Outer World. That fact only made the man more unsettling. He’d come to Fiend-infested Vanalis empty-handed and aided the Fiends with his snow. The man left nothing but mysteries behind, but for the time being, bringing back the injured took priority.
Sajik, who’d been tasked with carrying Mujir, looked truly annoyed, but the group safely returned to the base.
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