After that, the director and Gwen evacuated.
The preparations for resurrection were already complete, and from here on I could proceed alone.
There was no reason for them to remain; they would only become collateral damage.
And I wanted to activate the spell somewhere away from harm as well.
The director essentially dragged Gwen away as the latter resisted, and the two of them departed.
Gwen apparently still harbored lingering discomfort.
It was unusual for someone who maintained a joking demeanor regardless of who she was dealing with.
Sarcasm and provocation had no effect on the director, leaving her with nothing she could do.
Perhaps the director was the one true nemesis in Gwen's life.
(No matter.)
Alone now, I shifted my train of thought.
Standing before the magic circle in the mixed wasteland between wilderness and desert, my long-cherished wish was finally about to be fulfilled.
I felt moved, yet I was not as tense as I had expected.
Perhaps it was thanks to my dealings with the executive officers.
I was here with a calm heart.
At any rate, I should get started sooner rather than later.
There was nothing to be gained by dragging it out.
My subordinates were still fighting on various fronts, awaiting my return.
With my resolve settled, I quietly began the spell.
Chanting words of incalculable length, she collapsed the instant it ended.
Lowering both hands, she placed them against the magic circle and began channeling mana from its designated points.
In that instant, the magic circle began to glow.
The power she had poured in began circulating, accelerating endlessly.
Multiple formulas embedded within the circle swelled the mass of magic.
Grey clouds blanketed what had been a clear sky, transforming the weather into something where rain could fall at any moment.
I paid it no mind and continued the spell.
A lapse in concentration causing failure would be too terrible to contemplate.
Before long, the circle began generating a gale.
On the verge of being blown away, I sank ivy grown from both legs into the ground.
Maintaining my posture, I dedicated myself to sustaining the spell.
The relic bones vibrated, clattering.
Soon they dissolved, seeping into the magic circle.
Having absorbed the bones, the circle bleached white and further increased its circulation speed.
"Guh..."
I forcefully held back a formula that was swelling as if it might rupture.
A momentary lapse in attention could cause the spell to detonate.
This had to be prevented at all costs.
The soul placed within began flickering frantically, like a madman.
It spun and rotated, blazing with a radiance like the sun itself.
The magic circle rose into three dimensions as though tearing the earth apart, writhing with movements that seemed almost alive.
The chaotic, swirling magic circles surged toward the revolving soul.
Entangling one after another, they gradually coalesced into a single shape.
It appeared humanoid.
In that instant, thunder roared overhead.
The intervals between claps grew shorter, and a torrential downpour erupted as if the sky had burst open.
In the desolate wilderness now lashed by sheets of rain, the soul blazed ever brighter, as if in defiance.
Before long, the magic circles vanished entirely, and a white humanoid figure spewed forth brilliant light.
It stood in a posture like kneeling before the memento sword.
It was composed of rough contours, its appearance so crude that individual identification was impossible.
The spell I had activated was on the verge of escaping my control.
It was proceeding exactly as intended, producing the phenomenon I had aimed for, but it had already reached a stage where suppression was no longer possible.
That was how inexhaustibly the magical power had continued to climb.
If the spell were to fail and the energy were converted into a destructive force, it carried enough power to annihilate the world.
"Guh... kuh..."
Ignoring the cracks spreading across my entire body, I devoted every ounce of concentration to operating the spell.
Without looking away for even a moment, I watched the humanoid figure approach completion.
How much time had passed since then?
Just as my very consciousness was beginning to blur, the spell breached its critical point and detonated in a massive explosion.
Without even the luxury of mounting a defense, I was blown away.
I generated a force field in the direction of my trajectory and kicked off it to cancel out the momentum.
Both my knees shattered in the process, but I somehow managed to land.
(What happened?)
I repaired the damaged parts with miasma.
Even as rain poured down on me, I raised my face to look at the explosion site.
Amid the massive cloud of sand rising up, I could confirm an extremely high-output magical reaction.
It was such an overwhelmingly powerful reaction that it was almost laughable.
It had a mass comparable not only to Grom and Diera, but even to myself.
In other words, it was extraordinary on an individual level.
And yet, strangely, the presence felt familiar.
Without thinking, words escaped my lips.
"Ah, I see..."
A figure walked out from within the sand cloud.
Appearing sword in hand was the supreme hero of the world who had slain the Demon King—the previous hero.