Magic Inscription Liberation
.
The secret art that unseals the original power of magic sealed away when embedded into a bloodline—granting the user the ability to wield the full force of the magic as it existed before becoming Bloodline Magic. The innermost secret among secrets for a Bloodline Magic user.
Naturally, those who can use it are exceedingly limited. Currently, there is no one in the kingdom with the ability to officially employ
Magic Inscription Liberation
—and even since Ermes returned to the Royal Capital, no one has been observed who could properly use Magic Inscription Liberation in its correct form.
A secret technique only accessible to a mage who has reached the absolute pinnacle...
"—'
Bonfire Veil of the Evil God
'—
Magic Inscription Liberation.
"
This man had performed it with ease.
...To be honest, I had anticipated this.
From the very first confrontation, I already knew that Laplace possessed extraordinary power. I had thoroughly considered the possibility that a man who could freely command such overwhelming magic had also mastered the secrets of Bloodline Magic.
That is precisely why — what I need to focus on now isn't surprise, but dealing with this
Magic Inscription Liberation.
That is what I must do.
Having settled my resolve, I fixed my gaze on Laplace's actions, watching closely to assess the technique's effects.
And so, Laplace completed the magic's activation, and in that instant.
──The world changed.
That was my immediate intuition.
There was no clearly discernible event, exactly. And yet, somewhere—
Compared to before, the air had grown far heavier. A strange wrongness clung to my entire body, as if the very space had been tinged with a dull hue.
……At the same time, beyond that, there was no other clear effect. Laplace himself stood quietly, the magic still active.
──As if declaring "Come at me," he stared at Ermes with calm, still eyes.
……For a moment, I wondered whether I should take the bait.
But I quickly realized — in the first place, we were in no position to welcome a stalemate. After all, even now, Yurugen's "
Netherworld of Salvation
" was overwhelmingly pushing Katia back. If we didn't break the deadlock soon, we'd be crushed either way.
Therefore, we had no choice but to advance. Making a split-second decision, Ermes moved to charge without giving him time to react, seizing the opening to
hold
the '
Magic Bullet Archer
' and release it, accelerating to close the distance to Laplace in one burst—the instant
"—
Reject it.
"
He went berserk.
—
The magic bullet that had been on the verge of being imbued at Ermes' feet suddenly broke free of its control and bared its fangs at him.
"—!? Th-this is—!"
He sensed it instantly and narrowly avoided fatal damage to his feet, but losing his balance was unavoidable.
Keeping his guard up against Laplace as best he could, he righted himself and began analyzing what had just happened.
...The event itself was familiar—no, it was something Ermes himself had done just moments ago. The
Curtain of the Evil God
's basic function—the "Rejection" ability—had caused the magic to run rampant.
—But there was one critical difference in what had just occurred.
In order for that "Rejection" function to activate, the
Curtain of the Evil God
's black barrier was supposed to be required to seal the target within.
And yet.
Now—
without enclosing them in the barrier,
,
Laplace
issued a single command
and just from that alone
the magic—
Gone
berserk
.
"No... way..."
Ermes arrived at the answer in an instant — the conclusion one could draw from this, confirmed by that nagging sense of wrongness she had just felt. Piecing together every scrap of information, her profound mastery of magic led her there in a heartbeat.
—An answer she didn't want to reach.
"Oh, that look on your face. You've already figured it out, haven't you? That's right."
Laplace looked at Ermes's face with a grin, savoring her despair as she spoke.
"We're...
already...
inside...
the barrier...
now."
"
"—"
"It's not like everything's covered by a clearly visible black barrier like back at the academy, though. If I had to put an image to it, 'erosion' might describe it better, don't you think?
The space throughout this entire region is being reshaped to match the inside of the barrier of
the Evil God's Bonfire Veil—
specifically, in a limited way,
the world's..."
"...into it."
"'The
Evil God's
Bonfire Veil's
rules—I
twisted them in
and made
them
adapt.'"
I... was able to understand.
After all, the original meaning of a barrier is, as the name suggests, to solidify a world.
If that's the case, then anyone who created barrier-type magic—
without exception, imbued that magic with a wish—the nuance of "I want to create some kind of world"—whether great or small.
Then the ultimate form of that wish—
the original effect of the magic—
being a "distortion of the real world" is, rather, a natural conclusion.
And so, in other words—
That this place has become
the Evil God's Bonfire Veil's
barrier—equal to the inside of it—that means, in other words—
Right now, Laplace is anywhere and everywhere in this space—no time, no motion. He can unleash that power of "Rejection" as freely as he pleases.
This is the—
Evil God's Bonfire Veil's—
—
Magic Inscription
Liberation.
He has overcome the single greatest weakness—the process of "generating a barrier." A truly demonic ability that freely rejects everything within its reach.
I'm certain of it. This Liberation has taken half a step beyond the framework of "Bloodline Magic"—outside its domain entirely.
"...So that's how it is."
It's practically invincible.
I can't see any winning line. The most effective option right now would be to flee beyond the range of that "Twist," but that's virtually impossible inside this Hidden Sanctuary. If that's the case, then how should I fight back? I haven't the faintest idea—
(—No.)
But still.
Even so, my knowledge and experience up to this point refuse to accept an easy conclusion.
"What's wrong, can't you reach me? Then I'll grab that Traukia girl—wait!"
Laplace reaches toward Katia... Right before he does, Ermes kicks off the ground. To avoid being rejected, he activates Enhanced universal magic for a mere instant—so brief it can't even be perceived. Using that burst of acceleration, he charges at Laplace once again.
"—Correct."
Laplace easily catches the charge and declares:
"Even if I can reject anything I want, there are limits to the scale. Specifically, while I'm dealing with you, I can't spare a hand for the Traukia girl. The others are busy enough handling Traukia as it is. ...See? If you don't want me laying a hand on your Boss, you'd better try harder."
"...? ...How remarkably kind of you."
Even Ermes couldn't help but sense something off at that point.
It was, without question, remarkably kind of him. From the effects of his
Magic Inscription Liberation
all the way to its weaknesses, he explained everything in meticulous detail. He even impressed upon Ermes that a one-on-one confrontation was the optimal strategy──
"Well yeah,"
Laplace stated bluntly,
"because a one-on-one is the whole point."
──that was his aim, Laplace said plainly.
"...I picked up bits and pieces from the Boss. What you're thinking, why you're lending a hand to reform this country, what your ultimate goal is──I heard quite a lot through what the Boss told me."
"You had some awfully grand and noble vision, didn't you? Man, seriously──"
There, he cut himself off.
"──it made my skin crawl."
Laplace, right here and now... no, to be more precise, for the first time since they'd met.
His face completely blank of any expression, he fixed Ermes with an unwavering gaze.
"Yeah, I figured as much. If that's the kind of thinking you've got, then it makes sense you didn't agree to the recruitment back then, and everything after that lines up too.
...And here's the thing──guys like you, with that kind of mindset? My gut just can't stomach 'em. And the fact that you're completely oblivious about it makes it even worse. Even the famously mild-mannered Laplace is about one step from losing it. ...Anyway, with that said──"
His eyes, sharp and keen as those of a reasoning beast, quietly pierced through the man before him.
"Time for a lecture."
"Let me show you just how much of a joke──how laughably hollow──the self-deception and delusion you're standing on really is."
"Ghk──!"
The magic power radiating from Laplace, along with a pressure that could only be described as killing intent, assailed Ermes' entire body.
That was how he understood. The man standing before him right now... was truly, in every sense, furious.
"First, I'll break your spirit. ──Come at me, you damn brat."
He realized there was no escape.
From everything bearing down on him in this very moment. No matter how desperately he wanted to flee, here and now, it was inescapable. Without any logical reason, he simply knew it in his gut.
And so, Ermes dropped his hips, settled into a combat stance, focused his awareness solely on Laplace, and kicked off the ground.
The third clash with his fated rival had──begun.
Next time: Ermes vs. Laplace, the third round.
I hope you'll look forward to seeing how it all ends.