First, they had to peel him away from the soldiers — that was the top priority.
Those words just now probably weren't a joke.
The white-haired boy before their eyes, if he got serious... he could kill someone as easily as lifting a finger.
He had that kind of power.
Therefore, their only option was a preemptive strike, before his attention turned toward the soldiers.
She quickly locked eyes with Lucius to share that understanding, and they sprang into action immediately.
"!"
First, Lucius charged head-on.
His strength when closing the distance was unquestionably among the finest in the kingdom — even this foe couldn't afford to ignore the threat.
Just as expected, the enemy turned his attention their way.
He raised his magic power to intercept Lucius's charge —
—but that was
a decoy.
"Technique Composite — 'Messenger of the Faceless'!"
Hidden in the shadow of the charging Lucius, Ermes completed his magic chant.
A composite Bloodline Magic combining "Messenger of the Faceless" and "Magic Bullet Archer" —
— a spell that replicated extraordinary mobility by layering body-strengthening magic on top of the propulsive movement of magic bullets.
With even more refined magical technique than before,
and the actual
Messenger of the Faceless
Having learned the secrets of the craft from Lucius, the user of the "Messenger of the Faceless," this current magic now surpassed even Lucius in terms of instantaneous speed alone.
"What!?"
Even he hadn't expected that another person would come even faster from behind Lucius, who was already charging at godspeed.
He couldn't react in time, and Ermes's body tackle hit him head-on. He barely managed to guard in the nick of time, but couldn't avoid the impact and was sent flying through the air.
He landed exactly where he'd aimed — an area clear of people.
"I'll follow up."
"Right."
Of course, they didn't for a second believe they'd finished him off.
Matching Lucius's rhythm, they gave chase. Sure enough, the enemy recovered his stance midair and landed. He stood there in a relaxed posture, waiting for the two of them.
Once again, the two sides faced off in a sparsely populated area. The monsters and soldiers who had been present were quickly driven away by the overwhelming, otherworldly pressure the three of them emanated, so at least here they could fight without too much concern.
Now then, what to do next? He raised his head, trying to formulate his next tactic based on what he'd grasped from the preceding exchange — their physical abilities, magic power, and so on —
"——"
—— He couldn't help but shudder.
The monster standing there hadn't done anything in particular.
It was simply looking at Ermes. There was no hostility, nothing — just a pure, transparent gaze directed at him.
...And yet, for some reason.
He felt a premonition that something terrible was about to happen.
The very instant he felt that, the boy before him opened his mouth.
"...Amazing, you. That just now was magic, right?"
"...Huh?"
An unexpected, straightforward compliment.
To make matters worse, the words that came out carried a pure, admiring emotion — the kind you'd never expect from someone who had just been hostile moments ago. He was bewildered.
"I've never seen magic that fast. Not even Bloodline Magic — was it some other kind of magic?"
"..."
"Was it like combining two different magics? I saw you create that white stuff and absorb it into your body, but, hmmm..."
Before Ermes and Lucius, who couldn't quite gauge what he would do, the boy—
—moved his hands with utter innocence, as if reenacting the scene from moments ago.
"Hmmm, errr, so it was like that, and then like this, and then like so..."
After wriggling his magic power around as if searching for something.
He gazed into the void while raising his power, then pointed his fingertip at the space before him.
A white Magic Bullet
,
conjured into midair
.
He drew it
,
into his own legs
.
"...—
Something like this, maybe—
?"
Right after.
With a deafening roar, the boy's figure vanished—and the next instant, he was standing before Ermes.
"...—What?"
"Ah, I did it!"
The boy, still wearing that look of joy on his face, swung his arm without a shred of hesitation.
"————!?"
A devastating impact struck Ermes.
It was practically a direct hit. There was no time to dodge, not even time to guard like before. The best he could do was barely shift his body to avoid the vital spots.
"Ermes!"
The speed and force were so immense that even Lucius didn't notice until Ermes was sent flying. The boy's attack on him had prevented a follow-up, and he somehow managed to buy time to recover with
Star Corolla
.
...But.
The mental shock he had received was beyond compare with the physical damage.
(That just now...)
There was no mistaking it.
The boy's words and actions just now, the magic he had produced, and the result it had brought—they left no room for denial, pointing to a single fact.
Right now, that monster was—
──After observing the opponent's magic and then replicating it as his own.
That was.
What Ermes had... always done to other mages.
"What... did you just do?"
Without thinking, Ermes asked the boy.
To be able to replicate magic... and to do so with composite Bloodline Magic, a highly advanced technique even among those Ermes could currently use.
This opponent must have, at minimum, mastered magical theory on par with Ermes himself──
...or so he thought.
"Huh? I think I did exactly what I saw. I just copied your magic."
"Then you also... use Creation Magic, or a similar magical theory──"
"?? I don't get what you're saying, but..."
The white-haired boy in front of him.
Tilted his head as if looking at something he truly didn't understand.
──
"Magic is
something you
can kind of
mimic
just by watching."
isn't there?
?"
"——"
"...You fool."
It was as though they had arrived at a place that was on an entirely different level from anything they had known until now.
In that instant, both of them—without a shred of doubt—became utterly convinced of it.
Sorry for the delayed update and the short chapter!
From here on, all sorts of insane first battles await. Stay tuned!