C91
Canis, who was dodging the rampaging flashes of the Photon Cannon, was more flustered than ever before. Why wasn't Shirone getting tired? It was as if the limit of his mental power had been cut off.
- Harvey! I'm going to get hit like this!
Harvest still hasn't responded back. It was ominous because it had never been like this before. Moreover, the reason was unknown. Canis knew better than anyone that Harvest was not a foolish magical creature that would keep silent during battle just because he was upset about the conflict of opinions.
- Harvest! Answer me!
A Photon Cannon grazed past Canis, who was straining his nerves on the mental channel. He hastily twisted his waist, but it was definitely a late response. It wasn't that he dodged it, but that it wasn't aimed at him.
"What?"
About 10 flashes of light were fired from Shirone. But this time, too, the aim was not accurate. Canis finally realized. Numerous flashes were extinguishing all the darkness that could be moved by Dark Port.
'This crazy...!'
If he couldn't hit, it was a strategy to hold on and defeat him. It makes sense, but isn't it too ignorant? He had already fired more than 200 shots of mentally consuming magic like the Photon Cannon. Even so, far from getting tired, the number of flashes continued to increase.
'How enormous is his mental power?'
The thought gave him goosebumps. As dozens of Photon Cannons filled Canis' field of vision, a sense of despair filled his heart. The volley of flashes blocked all routes that could be moved through Dark Port and came in.
'This cannot be avoided. It's over.'
He was angry and resentful. Losing to a light mage in front of his master was more frightening than death.
- How annoying. Arcane.
- Harvey?
The mental channel opened for the first time since the aerial battle began. Harvest stood in front of Canis and received the Photon Cannon with his body. The whole body of the magical creature trembled as shockwaves came in continuously, and a bizarre moan leaked out.
Thinking that it couldn't be absorbed just by the surface, Harvest opened his body wide and swallowed the Photon Cannon whole. His body twitched, and his slender waist swelled like a balloon. He started digesting the photons by fully operating the absorption power inside his body. Gradually, his body contracted and returned to its original form.
"Gah...!"
Canis bent his upper body with a shocked expression. The reason Harvest was able to absorb the Photon Cannon was that he had used Canis's mental power. However, borrowing power unilaterally without consent was impossible under the master-servant contract.
- Harvy?
- Get a grip and get ready!
Harvest, who absorbed all of Canis' mental power, flew to Shirone and brandished his claws. Shirone, not accustomed to close combat, was cornered. Harvest's speed was agile enough to catch up with the movements of teleporting to dodge. How could this happen? It even seemed much stronger than Canis.
Ethella, who had the same thoughts as Sgirone, looked back at Arcane. From his emotionless eyes watching the battle, she could tell the turn of events.
'Viltor Arcane. What a cruel man you are.'
The reason he attached the best magical creature to Kanis was not because he loved his disciple. To him, burning with vengeance, a disciple was merely a disposable tool to achieve his own will. A fuel tank that could maximize the power of Harvest. That was the purpose of Canis's existence.
As Shirone increased the link speed of teleportation, Harvest's movement became even faster. Canis' complexion turned as pale as a corpse. He couldn't even think because his mental strength was drained. Only feelings of betrayal and deprivation echoed in his head.
- Harvest. why?
Only silence returned. Canis, realizing who the master was, had the life drained from his eyes. As all the past events flickered by like a revolving lantern, tears welled up.
Shirone took refuge on the ground. He had his blood dripping from his wounds, which had been cut as if cut by a knife.
'Even the Photon Cannon doesn't work. There isn't much time left to open the Immortal Function.'
Canis, who came down with Harvest, put his hands on the ground. His pupils were out of focus. Harvest didn't care and charged at Shirone. The battle had to be finished before Canis' mental strength was exhausted.
Shirone thought while dodging Harvest's razor-sharp nail attacks. The situation where he had the upper hand just moments ago had been reversed in an instant.
Reversal of master-servant role.
As Harvest, who was only an assistant to Canis, took the forefront, things began to change. A magical creature without the fear of death. Could there be a more difficult enemy on the battlefield? It was a war machine that moved by sucking life from Canis, the fuel tank.
'War machine...?'
Shirone suddenly realized that he was mistaken. He had been oblivious to it, obscured by Harvest's intelligence. The meaning of the reversal of roles was simple. The enemy changed from a living being to an inanimate object. Naturally, magic had to adjust accordingly.
Shirone completely revised his strategy, canceling the Photon Cannon and casting Photon Output The reason the Photon Cannon is dangerous is because of its destructive power to living beings. However, physical force was not important to the lifeless Harvest. If it was specialized in absorbing energy, it had to be destroyed with energy exceeding its limits.
Photon Output was pure magic, without even mass, making it more versatile than the Photon Cannon. Moreover, the Immortal Function was still open. When Shirone's light, which transmitted light with 100 percent efficiency to 300 hologram devices installed in the school, was concentrated in one place, a beam of light large enough to cover a person's body was shot.
"Krrrrrrrrrr!"
Harvest seemed to be buried in light, pushed back. There was no physical force, but smoke rose from his body made of dark matter. However, being immune to light, the properties of photons did not help. Only the energy contained in the photons could chip away at him.
'I need even stronger energy.'
Shiroane recalled the representative formula of photonization theory, that energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared. The God Particle is a source that gives mass. Then, it was also possible to reverse the formula of photonization theory and convert mass into energy.
He restructured the energy source of the Photon Output based on mass. When combined with the Omnipotence of the Immortal Function, mass began to be converted into energy in real time. The thrill he felt when the theory and reality matched perfectly was incomparable, and Shirone, who stepped into the unknown world, felt a shiver.
“Wha- What is that?”
Everyone watching the battle widened their eyes. The Photon Output began to thin out, emitting a blood-red light. They didn't know what kind of magic it was, but the color alone was threatening.
Iruki recalled a story about a certain phenomenon of light that he had heard from his father, the leader of the Dragon Thunder.
"Is that... a laser, by any chance?"
"Laser? What is that?"
"It's when light energy is highly amplified. Maybe the ultimate evolution of the flash series? But how is that possible?"
A laser was a matter of brute force, not talent or effort. It took at least 10 years of mental rebound to gain the power necessary to amplify photons into a laser.
However, the story changes if you circumvent it mathematically. Shirone, who reconstructed the theory of photonization based on the God Particles, amplified energy through mass conversion rather than brute force. It was as if his unique energy source had developed a new route. (I’m not sure whether this energy source mean Omniscience instead.)
“Kuaaaaa!”
Harvest writhed in pain. The laser was extremely thin compared to the Photon Output, but the concentrated energy was beyond imagination. The color was never the problem. The real danger was the invisible infrared rays outside the red wavelength. The single-wavelength laser generated massive heat by vibrating molecules.
“Harvest!”
Canis clutched his painful head and screamed. The immense shock hitting his brain meant that in just 2 seconds, Harvest had exceeded the energy absorption limit. It was the power of Shirone's new magic, the Laser Pulse Cannon.
Harvest tried his best to digest the energy, but the molecular vibration speed was too fast. As the absorption rate reached saturation, his body swelled up and eventually inflated like a balloon.
Ethella looked at Arcane's reaction. Despite the gloomy situation, the absence of facial expression changes made her feel uneasy.
“Canis! Just give up!"
What would be the next state of the massively inflated Harvest? It could be extinction, but it could also be a much more horrifying end.
"Shut up! I will fight!”
"You're being deceived by Arcane. Harvest is not your subordinate. Rather, you were Harvest's subordinate. Arcane only used you."
Canis didn't answer. If he couldn't feel anything, it would be a lie. From the moment he heard that the ultimate product of the Archmage, a magical creature, would become his, he thought it could be possible. He just didn't have the courage to face reality. If he admitted the truth, he would have nothing left.
"I'll win! I'm not afraid to die! I will never submit to the likes of you!"
When he came to his senses, he was in Radum, which is called the hell of the world. To Arcane, he was just a consumable. To Harvest, whom he thought was his friend, he was nothing but a fuel tank. Now it didn't matter. All that remained was hatred for the world..
'Canis....'
Arin covered her mouth and shed tears. Canis has always been such a child. He was a poor child who could do nothing for the people he loved, but torturing himself.
“Master! Save Canis! Please!"
She didn't even consider him a master. Yet, she swallowed her pride and pleaded to save Canis. But the arcane just gave a cold-eyed command to Harvest.
"End it here, Harvest."
Unable to respond due to being in an energy-saturated state, Harvest couldn't answer. If it tried to make a sound with the vibrations, it would explode. And that was the result Arcane desired.
- Canis. Listen carefully.
- Harvest.
- Arcane intends to explode me. Probably everyone here will be caught in the explosion. Then it's the end for both you and me.
Arin released the mind control over the students. Then she rushed at Arcane, sobbing and sniffling.
"Save Kanis! If you don't, I won't forgive you!"
"Arin!"
Canis got up and spoke.
“What are you doing to Master? Stop right now.”
"Canis! This person is trying to..."
"Yeah. The teacher saved us from hell. They helped us escape from Radum. That's enough for me. I'm going to fight to the end."
Was Canis sincere? But it didn't matter now. His rage was so intense that even his own death felt refreshing.
"That's right! We all die together!"
Canis shouted to the sky. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks. It was a truly dirty life. But if it was his fate, he would face the disgusting end.
"Kuaaaaaaa!"
As the molecules boiled, huge bubbles swelled on Harvest's body. Now anyone could see that Arcane intended to blow up the entire school.
"Shirone! Stop! Harvist is going to explode!"
As Shirone, who had been pouring out energy in a trance, heard Ethella's words, she hurriedly stopped the output. However, the chain reaction of explosions was already underway in Harvest's body. The grotesquely twisting figure foreshadowed the second and third explosions.
"Hahaha! Farewell! It must be disgusting to die with trash like me! This is the end of everything!"
- Canis. I’m sorry.
Canis' face hardened.
- I will release the master-servant contract.
Harvest absorbed all the remaining mental power and released the contract. Canis, who felt a sense of deprivation as if his soul was being pulled out, fell to the ground in shock.
"Why... why... Harvy..."
Harvest flew into the sky. How many seconds were left until the explosion? 3 seconds? 2 seconds? In the process of racing towards the end of his life, the memories that had seeped in as vibrations came back to life. Harvey. Harvey. Harvey. It was regrettable to think that he could no longer hear the voice that had been calling him incessantly.
'Kekekek. Canis. That's the problem with you. You pretend to be strong for no reason.'
Since it never had a life to begin with, death wasn't frightening. It was just worried. The sense of betrayal it received through the mental channel still felt as if they were one body. But since it couldn't convey anything now, Harvest just wished.
It hoped Canis wouldn't be too hurt.
At an altitude of 2 kilometers where it voice wouldn't reach the ground, the shadowy face's mouth stretched grotesquely.
“It was fun though. Canis.”
Woooooong!
A massive explosion that destroyed the darkness of the world occurred.
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
