Discord: sdiscord.gg/yT4GsFAYRf
Viltor Arcane made a disgruntled face.
"Hmph. Are you praising ? Even passing dogs would laugh."
"Are you sure you're alright? You might have restored your ntal strength with Abyss mory, but it's rely an illusion of the brain. If you plan to exert yourself further, I cannot guarantee your life."
There's no free lunch in magic. The ntal strength restored by Abyss mory was an equivalent exchange achieved at the risk of brain death.
"So what? You're trying to stop ?"
"If you step back, we can end it here. Perhaps its your last chance. Since everyone's still safe, I can make this offer. But if you can't let go of your obsession, you'll have to pay the price."
"Hahaha! As always, eloquent with your words. Pretending to care, but in the end, you only think of yourself. Do you think stepping back will cover up your past? It's too late. Everyone here, and even those affected by Abyss Nova, are listening, so you can't remain as the headmaster anymore."
Shirone glanced at the students who had lost their mories. Once the magic is released, everything that happened here would be rembered. Even if the battle ended safely, it was undeniably a serious situation.
"Ha! Now you realize the situation? How about killing everyone here? Then I might consider covering it up for you."
Alpheas Myrhe slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.
"What a joke."
"Then how about coming with ? I'm giving you your last chance. Shouldn't you continue the legacy left by Erina? Look at what I've achieved. Behold, the magical creature Harvest!"
Shirone and his companions looked where Arcane was pointing. Harvest lay on the ground, crumpled like a rag.
"Well, it's a bit unsightly now. But anyway, the experint was a success. With your help, we could achieve even greater results. And that's exactly what Erina truly wanted."
Hearing Erina's na, Alpheas's eyes flashed coldly.
"Master, please be sensible."
Finally, Arcane revealed his murderous intent. The seemingly casual conversation was, in fact, aningless. From the beginning, they were dood to be irreconcilable adversaries.
"Do you think you can beat , headmaster? Don't make laugh. As smart as you are, you've always made foolish decisions, Alpheas."
The mass of darkness in the sky again ford into a fist. Alpheas slowly raised his hands, preparing to cast his magic.
"No, this is right. One foolish decision is enough."
Alpheas compressed photons in his palms. Seeing the Photon Output, a basic light mage skill, Arcane snorted dismissively.
"You think you can stop with that? You've weakened, Alpheas."
"Only trying will tell."
"Haha! Weren't your least favorite words, 'try before knowing'? Where's the Alpheas who used to say that, knowing everything in advance?"
"A mage lives in the future. Though my courage has waned, I've not only aged. Do you think I wouldn't have calculated your 40 years?"
"Ho? You foresaw this day? And prepared nothing but Photon Output?"
"Let's end this."
Alpheas raised his hands to the sky, compressing the photon into an almost dust-sized particle. anwhile, Arcane swung his fist, and the massive Might of Darkness plumted to the ground. This strike was to vent 40 years of frustration.
Shirone and his companions watched in disbelief as the Might of Darkness descended with incredible speed. When viewed up close, it was much larger than expected.
As Alpheas's arms slowly descended, they split into dozens of afterimages, puzzling those watching.
'What's this?'
The afterimages of Alpheas moved excruciatingly slow. The photon, once compressed in his palm, disappeared in an instant. During this ti, the Might of Darkness had not yet covered half the distance.
Shirone couldn't move a finger, let alone breathe. Ti was moving slowly. Only a tiny photon was moving at the speed of light.
The photon plunged into the vast darkness. Like a ripple in water, the wave slowly expanded in the slowed ti.
And then, in the next mont.
Flash!
A powerful explosion of light obliterated everything. The Might of Darkness was torn to shreds, spreading throughout the Magic Academy. The brightness diminished from the center, eventually dissipating like a ring.
As ti returned to normal, Shirone and his group looked up at the sky in astonishnt. The pale moon hung in the night sky where even the clouds had vanished.
'What kind of magic was this?'
It was neither a physical force like Photon Canon nor a persistent effect like Shining. It was a spell designed to explode with the strongest light at a mont's notice.
Arcane's expression twisted.
"Alpheas"
"Big Bang. A spell I'm hesitant to report to the Association, but fitting as a parting gift, I believe."
"Indeed You haven't just been running away for 40 years."
Arcane realized Alpheas's intention. It wasn't a counter to dark magic, nor to surpass him. Alpheas had honed Big Bang for this mont, this situation, for 40 years.
"Not bad, for soone like you."
Arcane's knees hit the ground with a thud. The aftermath of Abyss mory had severely diminished his brain function.
"Lucky you, Alpheas. A 50-year bet paid off. Defeating the great Viltor Arcane will surely raise your fa. Do you aspire to beco an archmage?"
Alpheas shook his head. Even in such a mont, Arcane clung to his pride, the driving force behind today's Arcane, yet it also seed pitiful.
"Master, you're no longer an archmage. That title belonged to you 50 years ago. It's been enough ti for a 10th-grade novice to beco a 2nd-grade archmage. Our era has ended. The world has changed, and we're too old for ambitions. How can you not see that?"
Arcane's temples throbbed with veins. Even though he had lost, he wasn't prepared to be lectured by his disciple.
"Why do you think you're the arrogant Alpheas? You probably think you're caught in unfortunate circumstances. Let tell you the truth. You're not a genius. You're just a half-witted mage who runs away from misfortune."
Arcane forced himself to stand on trembling legs.
"Old? I beca an archmage at your age. Be honest. You lack confidence. You're just making excuses because you can't climb any higher, right?"
"Climbing up isn't the only thing that matters. With age should co the right reflection. But Master, even now, you chase after sweet ambitions like a boy."
"Hahaha! Foolish Alpheas! What are you so afraid of? Take a step back and look. There are no absolute imperatives in this world!"
Arcane's body erupted with a terrifying aura again. Realizing he had erased his mory again with Abyss Magic, Alpheas's eyes widened in shock. One use of Abyss mory might be bearable for the brain, but a second was almost certainly fatal.
"Foolish old man! Are you intent on dying?"
Arcane responded with a sneer and cast Might of Darkness. The shadows under his feet expanded to cover the grounds, lifting the amnesiac students into the air and moving them towards the cliff.
Alpheas couldn't help but feel terrified this ti.
"Stop it! It's just aningless slaughter! What do you gain from this?"
"The satisfaction of victory."
"Fool! At your age, you still want to win! Do you think you'll always remain a boy?"
"Foolish Alpheas. Listen well."
In his final mont, Arcane spoke with a confident smile.
"A mage is... an eternal boy."
The 400 students caught in the Might of Darkness were flung out over the cliff like scooping water with a ladle. Alpheas couldn't comprehend it. Using the ntal strength exchanged for his life for such foolishness.
'What drives you? What has this senseless belief brought you?'
Regardless, now was not the ti to worry about Arcane. Having expended all his energy on the Big Bang spell, Alpheas quickly turned and shouted.
"Save the students!"
As soon as the order was given, Thadd transford into a flash of light and flew off. Shirone followed, with Nade and Yiruki using Teleportation to reach the cliff. There were 400 of them. It was impossible to save everyone, but even thinking such was a luxury in this dire situation.
Midway down the cliff, Thadd created a wall of air with his magic. But to cover at least 50 square ters, the wall had to be thin.
Eventually, the weaker parts of the wall gave way, and students began to fall.
Below Thadd, Yiruki and Nade were active. However, it was too late to turn the situation around. From young children to graduating adults, many were falling. Tears welled up in their eyes.
"Damn it! Damn, damn!"
Through his blurred vision, Yiruki looked up at the sky. A star in the night sky twinkled, then a streak of light descended vertically.
"Shirone!"
The light passed even Yiruki, continuing downward. In Shirone's eyes, a girl with red hair ca into view.
"Amy!"
Hearing Shirone's voice, Amy turned her head. Such a response should have been impossible under the influence of Abyss Nova, but Shirone called out again, holding onto a sliver of hope.
"Amy! Snap out of it!"
'Snap?'
Humans are thinking beings. Not thinking is harder than thinking. But under Abyss Nova, which blocks mories, the source of thought isn't provided.
"Amy! Amy!"
Yet Amy could think.
Because she was Amy Karmis.
"Amy! Wake up!"
'Annoying. Please stop.'
"It's ! Shirone!"
'Shirone?'
What did that an? It was an unknown word. But Amy couldn't let go of the three-syllable word tickling her brain.
'What is it, what is it? What was it? So curious.'
Amy kept thinking. Electricity spread across her cerebral cortex, searching for information. Suddenly, one pattern sparked, and the aning of Shirone surged through her.
'Ah, right. Shirone! It was Shirone.'
Amy sighed as if suffocating, relieved. Simultaneously, her eyes ignited with a red glow, activating the power of Red Eyes. Abyss Nova burnt away in an instant, and mories flooded in.
'Im such an idiot! What am I doing right now?'
Her trait was Red Eyes, academically known as Autographic mory.
The Karmis family, when their red eyes manifest, can revert to a specific state.
For example, they could store the action of swinging a sword and infinitely repeat it with no deviation. Moreover, like Schema, being in the realm of feeling allows for imdiate error correction.
'One mistake is the seed of growth; two mistakes, a disgrace to the family' this adage confidently reflected their belief.
'What's my current state?'
Using her Autographic mory, Amy analyzed the discrepancy at a neural level. She was under the influence of gravitational acceleration. Her body was tilted at an angle of 87.6 degrees, and her heart rate was 1.6 tis faster.
'I'm falling.'
That didn't particularly bother her. Shirone was descending in a streak of light. Recollections involving him surfaced. How could she have forgotten Shirone?
Join our discord at sdiscord.gg/yT4GsFAYRf
***
Discord: sdsc.gg/wetried
Link to donations in the discord!
Reviews
All reviews (0)