C98
Arcane made a displeased expression.
"Heh. You're praising me? Even a passing dog would laugh."
"Are you okay? Though your mental strength has been restored, it's still just a brain's illusion. If you think of doing more here, I can't guarantee your life."
There's no free lunch in magic. The mental strength recovered by Abyss Memory was an equivalent exchange, risking the possibility of brain death.
"So? Are you trying to stop me in the end?"
"If you step back, we can end this here. It might be your last chance. Since everyone is still safe, I can offer this. But if you can't let go of your obsession, you'll have to pay the price."
"Kekeke. You've always had a knack for words. Pretending to consider, but in the end, you only think of yourself. Do you think your past will be covered if I step back? It's already too late. Not only those present here, but the students who suffered from Abyss Nova are also listening with open ears. You won't be able to stay as the principal any longer."
Shirone looked back at the students who had lost their memories. When the magic was lifted, everything that had happened here would remain in their memories. Even if the battle ended safely, it would still be a big problem.
"Hehe! Do you finally understand the situation? How about killing everyone here instead? If so, I'm willing to cover it up for you."
Alpheas smirked slightly.
“Such a farce.”
“Then why don’t you go with me? I'm the one offering you the last chance. Don't you have to continue the legacy left by Erina? Now, look at the result I've achieved. It's the magical creature, Harvest!"
Shirone and the others looked back to where Arcane pointed. Harvest was lying on the floor, strewn like a rag.
"…Well, it's become a little less impressive. Anyway, the experiment was successful. If you help me, we can achieve even greater results. Moreover, that's precisely what Erina truly wanted."
Upon hearing Erina's name, Alpheas' eyes lit up with a cold light.
"Master, please come to your senses."
Arcane finally revealed his true intention. They had been exchanging trivial conversations, but in reality, they were just meaningless words. From the beginning, their relationship was doomed.
"Do you think you can beat me with your pathetic abilities? Principal? That's not even funny. Always making wise judgments, but still foolish at times, you haven't changed, Alpheas."
The Powers of Darkness that spread in the air united again in the form of fists. In response, Alpheas slowly raised both hands and prepared to cast his magic.
"No, this is right. One foolish judgment is enough."
Alpheas compressed the photons between his palms. Upon seeing the photon output that any mage of light can cast, Arcane snorted in displeasure.
"Do you think you can stop me with that? You have become weak, Alpheas.”
"We won't know unless we try."
"Ha! Wasn't that the phrase you hated the most? You always said that we should know before trying. Where did that Alpheas go?"
"A mage lives in the future. Though times have fallen out of my favor, I haven't just aged. Do you think I couldn't calculate your 40 years?"
“Hoo. Did you foresee today? And all you prepared was a mere Photon Output?"
"Let's end this."
Alpheas raised both hands to the sky. Then, the photons compressed between his palms became smaller than dust. At the same time, Arcane swung his fist. The enormous Power of Darkness poured down to the ground. This would end it. It was a strike that poured out all the resentment of 40 years.
Shirone and his party watched the dark power falling at an incredible speed with a blank look. Upon seeing it up close, it was much larger than they had expected.
Alpheas's hands slowly fell down. The movement of his arms flowed like water and began to split into dozens of afterimages. The eyes of those who watched were filled with wonder.
'What is this?'
The afterimage of Alpheas moved terribly slowly. The compressed photons in his palm disappeared in an instant. Meanwhile, the Power of Darkness had not even reached half the distance.
Shirone could not move a single fingertip. No, even breathing was impossible. Time was flowing slowly. Only a photon smaller than a speck of dust was moving at the speed of light.
The photon plunged into the massive darkness. The ripple that arose like a wave slowly increased its amplitude, moving further away as time slowed down.
And the next moment.
Flash!
A powerful explosion of light that turned the world into a blank slate occurred.
The Power of Darkness was torn apart and scattered. The radiance spreading throughout the magic school weakened from the center and disappeared in the form of a ring.
As time returned to normal, Shirone and his party looked up at the sky with bewildered expressions. The pale moon was floating in the night sky, devoid of even clouds.
'What kind of magic is this?'
It does not have physical force like Photon Cannon, nor does it have durability like Shine. It was magic designed to cause an explosion of the strongest light at the very instant.
Arcane's impression was distorted.
"Alpheas..."
"It's magic called Big Bang. It's too embarrassing to submit to the association, but I think it's enough for a farewell gift."
"Indeed... You haven't just been running away for 40 years."
Arcane realized what Alpheas was aiming for. It wasn't magic developed as a counter to dark magic. Nor was it to surpass himself.
Alpheas had honed the Big Bang for 40 years, considering only this moment and this situation.
"You did quite well, for you."
Arcane's knees thumped and hit the ground. Due to the aftermath of the Abyss Memory, his brain function was seriously impaired.
"It must be nice, Alpheas. The 50-year bet has paid off. Your reputation will soar for defeating the great Arcane. Do you want to become an Archmage like you dreamed?"
Alpheas shook his head. Even at this moment, he is obsessed with superiority and inferiority. Knowing that it was the driving force behind the creation of today's Arcane, he only felt sorry for him.
“Master is no longer Archmage. That was 50 years ago. That's enough time for a 10th-rank newbie to become a 2nd-rank Archmage. Our time is already over. The world has changed, and I am too old to be ambitious. How can you not know that?”
Arcane's temples throbbed with anger. Although he had been defeated, his years of experience were not so worthless as to be admonition by his student.
“Why do you think you are an arrogant Alpheas? You must think you were just unlucky and caught in misfortune. I'll tell you the truth. You are not a genius. You are just a mediocre mage who runs away from misfortune."
Arcane gave strength to his shaking legs and stood up.
"Old? I was an Archmage at your age. How about speaking honestly? You have no confidence. Isn't it just an excuse because you can't climb any higher?"
"It's not just about climbing. If you get older, you should have some introspection. But Master are no different from a boy who only pursues sweet ambition."
“Kekeke! Foolish Alpheas! What are you so afraid of? Take a step back and see. There's no such thing as a divine command that command what things should be in this world!"
A terrifying energy exploded from Arcane's body again. Realizing that his memory had been erased again with Abyss magic, Alpheas raised his eyes in surprise. The brain would withstand one Abyss Memory, but the second was death with an almost absolute probability.
“Foolish old man! Are you that determined to die?”
Arcane responded with a sneer and cast Power of Darkness. The shadow at his feet expanded enough to cover the ground, lifting the memory-less students into the air and moving them to the cliff.
This time, even Alpheas couldn't help but be terrified.
“Stop it! It's just pointless killing! What the hell will you be left with like this!”
"The satisfaction of the winner remains."
"Foolishness! At your age, you still want to win! You think you're a boy forever!"
“You are the one who is foolish Alpheas. Listen carefully.”
In the last moment of his life, Arcane said with a confident smile.
"A mage... will forever be a kid."
Four hundred people held by the Power of Darkness were thrown out over the cliff like scooping up water. Alpheas couldn't understand. To waste the mental power gained in exchange for his life on such foolishness.
'What the hell drives you? What does such a ridiculous belief bring?'
Anyway, now wasn't the time to care about Arcane. Alfeas, who poured all his energy into the Big Bang, quickly looked around and shouted.
“Save the students!”
As soon as the instructions were given, Thad turned into a flash and flew away. Shirone followed, and Nade and Iruki also teleported to the cliff. There were as many as 400 people. They couldn't save everyone anyway. But even that thought was a luxury, as the situation was desperate.
Thad descended halfway up the cliff and created a wall of air with air-type magic. However, a wall of at least 50 square meters had to be made, so it had to be thin.
In the end, holes were pierced in the weak parts, and the students poured down below.
Iruki and Nade were active under Thad. But it was too late to turn the situation around. Tears welled up at the sight of everyone from young children to graduating adults falling.
"Damn it! Damn, damn!"
Iruki looked up at the sky through the flickering view. The stars in the night sky twinkled, and a flash of light came down vertically.
“Shirone!”
The flash passed even Iruki and continued downward. In the eyes of Shirone, who was moving at ultra-high speed, a red-haired girl appeared.
“Amy!”
Hearing Shirone's voice, Amy turned her gaze. Since it was an impossible reaction when affected by Abyss Nova, Shirone shouted again with a glimmer of hope.
”Amy! Wake up!"
'Mind?'
Humans are thinking beings. It is more difficult not to think than to think. However, when affected by the memory-blocking Abyss Nova, the source of thought itself is not provided.
“Amy! Amy!”
Still, Amy could think.
Because she is Amy of the Karmis family.
“Amy! Come to your senses!”
'It's annoying. Please stop iy.'
"It's me! Me, Shirone!”
'Shirone?'
What did he mean? It was an unknown word. But Amy couldn't let go of the three syllables that kept tickling her brain.
'What? What is it? I'm really curious.'
Amy kept thinking. As electricity spread through her cerebral cortex, she began to seek out information. Finally, a pattern flashed and the meaning of Shirone rushed into her body.
'Ah, that's right. Shirone! It was Shirone.'
Amy took a deep breath as if she thought she was dying of frustration. At the same time, her eyes burned red, and the ability of the red eyes was activated. The Abyss Nova quickly burned out, and memories rushed in like a flood.
'What an idiot! What am I doing?'
Her special trait was the red eyes. Academically, it is called self-image memory.
Members of the Karmis family can rewind their state to a specific point in time when their red eyes manifest.
For example, it is possible to store the action of swinging a sword and infinitely repeat the exact same action without error. Moreover, since it is an area of feeling like a Schema, the correction of errors was also immediate.
'A mistake once is the foundation for progress, a mistake twice is the disgrace of the family' was a saying that revealed their confidence.
'What? What condition am I in now?'
Amy analyzed errors at the neural level based on self-image memory. She is currently under the influence of gravity acceleration. The center of her body was tilted at 87.6 degrees, and her heartbeat was 1.6 times faster.
'I'm falling.'
There was no particular complaint about that. She could see Shirone coming down on a flash of light. She recalled the things she had done to him. How could she forget Shirone?
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
