"...I see. Someone who can reproduce magic just by looking at it, huh?"
The Third Princess's faction had each begun making preparations for the next battle.
Among them, Ermes was the first to begin discussions with his master Rose on countermeasures against Karma, just as instructed.
"Does that mean they're a user of the same type of magic as us?"
"Well, it's not impossible. Magic is fundamentally a technique anyone can use as long as they know the theory, and a Creation Magic capable of reproducing magic isn't something limited exclusively to the"
Primal Inscription
"It's entirely possible that someone reached the root of magic the same way I did and developed magic of the same school—that's not something I can rule out."
Even for Rose, she was by no means an utterly unique existence. Once that much had been firmly established...
"—But from your intuition, it doesn't feel like that, does it?"
"...No, it doesn't."
Reading what was going through his mind from Ermes's expression, Rose had posed the question—and he nodded earnestly.
"There was no sense that they were analyzing anything, at all. If I had to say, without fear of misunderstanding... it was more like a child playing in the sand who accidentally produced magic. Not through theory, but intuitively, unconsciously, of its own accord, automatically. Almost like..."
"...Bloodline Magic?"
"—That's exactly it."
At Rose's addition, Ermes was finally able to put a name to the unease he'd been feeling, and murmured to himself.
Right. That moment. If he dared put into words the magical characteristics Karma had displayed when he'd faced him...
That man wielded the nature of a Bloodline Magic user with the effect of a Creation Magic user.
"If that's the case, our predictions narrow down considerably."
Picking up the thread, Rose continued.
"In the first place, he's been bypassing the knowledge and abilities normally required to learn magic. If that's the case, there has to be some compensating reason why he can get away with it — just like a Bloodline Magic user. And from what you observed, his traits are close to those of a Bloodline Magic user. That means there's only one conclusion."
"...Some kind of magic has been embedded in his body."
The moment he reached that conclusion — everything started to connect.
Right. He has some kind of magic inside him. No, rather...
"—
That thing's
body
itself is
Creation Magic
...is that it?"
Now that he thought about it, that seemed to fit remarkably well.
Every time the man copied magic, every time he used it — he'd sensed the magic power and everything else composing his flesh shifting in minute ways.
Most likely, every single component that made up his body corresponded directly to fragments of magic contained in Ermes's '
Primal Inscription
.'
He couldn't say for certain whether it was truly Creation Magic, but through something of a similar nature — just by looking at a spell, his body would unconsciously analyze it and restructure itself into the optimal physical composition for wielding it.
If the '
Primal Inscription
' was magic designed to ultimately become the perfect book of wisdom recording all spells...
Then he was the biological version of that. Ultimately —
All
magic
freely
to wield
a creature
to become
so that
It appears to be what could be called the "larval form" of something born into this world — something designed as the ultimate expression of a "magical creature," made for precisely that purpose.
"......"
"......Seems like it's even more terrifying than I imagined."
As things stood, it was an anomaly that might even rival Rose.
Furthermore, it apparently still had considerable room for further evolution from there.
...Why such a thing was currently in a place like this was a mystery — but if all of this speculation held true, then the other side was a complete upper-tier version of them. At first glance, there would seem to be absolutely no chance of winning.
Having fully grasped every last detail of that with the knowledge at their disposal —
"Well then."
"Yes."
Master and disciple, matching their breathing without a word, spoke.
"" — How do we beat it?""
It was, for them, as routine as anything.
Invincible enemies, the unyielding laws of the world — it went without saying that what they were meant to fight had always been something far stronger than themselves.
And so, they felt no fear whatsoever. Now that they had shared all their information, the real battle began.
The Creation Magic users continued onward. Just as before, they kept up their analysis based on their experience from the first engagement.
Sorry for the short chapter!
Karma is an opponent who is different in every sense of the word, so I hope you'll keep reading to see how Ermes and the others fight him and what they'll come to understand!