……For the time being, I'd put together a complete set of countermeasures.
That single confrontation hadn't been enough to read every last detail about the enemy, but by making the most of what I had gathered, I'd managed to narrow things down to theories and strategies worth testing—at the very least.
──And yet, at the same time.
It was precisely because those countermeasures had been devised that I could see the indispensable, inevitable prerequisite. Master and disciple had one last thing to confirm before the end.
"So then, regarding the 'thing' we've analyzed up to this point—our countermeasure against Karma. I'm afraid the conclusion we've reached is twofold."
"Yes."
First came the one that, in a sense, was the most critical of all.
"First—
You must not—
let me—
fight Karma—
directly."
"……"
"I don't think it'll happen. I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure it won't…but as long as the probability isn't zero, if by some freak chance it does happen, there's no taking it back.
──'My third Bloodline Magic gets copied by him.' That's the worst-case scenario. If that happens, we don't just lose all chance of winning…honestly, we'd have to start seriously considering the extinction of the human race."
"Is it really that serious?"
No details about Rose's third Bloodline Magic had been shared at this point. The reason given was that 'it's not something I can casually talk about right now,' but the very phrasing was its own kind of answer, and I had a rough idea of what it meant.
So I'd trusted Rose and refrained from asking until now…but it was really that bad? As I shuddered, Rose gave a wry smile and said, "Sorry I can't tell you," before continuing.
"That's why I can't participate in any fight meant to take Karma down directly. Fortunately, it seems he's wary of me too, so if I stick to hunting other Monsters, we shouldn't cross paths."
That inevitably meant the main role of defeating Karma would fall on me, Ermes.
Which brought us to the second condition.
"Second.……
Ermes alone—
cannot—
beat Karma."
"……Yes."
Rose was my master, and generally lenient with me, but there was one area where she never pulled her punches: magic.
If she said so, it had to be a fact—and based on everything we'd analyzed so far, I'd already come to understand that she was right.
"Well, calling it a lack of ability on your part would be far too cruel. From what I've heard, this Karma fellow…he might be the single worst natural enemy you could possibly face in the entire world. The matchup is just that terrible."
"……Yes, I understand."
His defining trait—reproducing any magic he encountered—made him a complete hard counter. And for someone like me, whose entire arsenal was built around wielding a diverse array of spells at full power, going all out against Karma would only accelerate his evolution all the same.
The key was to defeat him before he'd finished growing. In that sense, my usual fighting style was arguably the worst possible approach.
But that left us in a bind.
Rose couldn't fight; Ermes had the worst possible matchup. For this pair of master and disciple, taking down Karma seemed extraordinarily difficult. And that was the truth.
──If it were just the two of them.
"……Well, isn't that just great."
Rose smiled, the faintest edge of irony in it.
The two of them alone were stuck. Simply adding more heads wasn't enough—they'd need people who could actually understand what those two were doing, and anyone who couldn't was useless.
……Which meant, in other words.
It was only because Ermes had returned to the Royal Capital, connected with a great many people, and helped those people grow that this crisis could be met at all.
"Ermes, it's time to borrow the strength of your friends. You lay the groundwork, and on top of that, cooperate with other powerful magic users. Only then will we finally have a plan to take him down. So…"
"I understand. Then—shall we go back to Lady Lili and the others?"
Defeating Karma required someone beyond me, Ermes—another powerful magic user of sufficient caliber.
In other words, it was their turn. With that conclusion, the master and disciple finished their analysis and stood up.
(……However, the problem is)
On the way back to rejoin the companions currently making final preparations for the decisive battle alongside the soldiers, Ermes mused.
(The problem is—
who to choose
….)
Defeating Karma required one more powerful magic user beyond Ermes.
But naturally, that selection had to be made with the utmost care. Against an enemy that far beyond conventional parameters—they hadn't yet narrowed things down to the point of being certain, 'it has to be this person.'
Of course, it wasn't that they lacked ability. Just as Ermes alone had vanishingly slim odds against Karma, this time the matchup mattered more than raw power.
In that sense, Ermes hadn't yet perfectly identified the 'right fit.'
So they'd need to discuss it with their allies and decide. Fortunately, there was still some time to spare—or so he was thinking when he arrived at the place where the others had gathered. But it was at that very moment.
……It goes without saying.
While Ermes and the others had been hammering out their response to the enemy—the enemy, and the [entity that was neither enemy nor ally], had not been sitting idle.
"──Master!"
What greeted Ermes as he entered the room was Liliana's urgent voice.
The other companions wore grim expressions as well. Nobody was missing from the lineup, but what had happened…before he even had to ask, Ermes could tell something was wrong.
"What is it?"
"……Karma has appeared nearby."
"!"
That single sentence was more than enough to grasp the severity of the situation.
"A preemptive strike, huh? Everything we've heard says he looks and acts like a brat, but apparently he's sharp."
"Any casualties?"
"Not so far. Someone is holding him off."
"Holding him off? But…"
Looking around, there were no vacancies in the Third Princess's camp. The Second Princess's forces were currently too far away to respond to a surprise attack—or so Ermes wondered.
His doubt was swept away in an instant by Liliana's next desperate words.
"──His Highness Herc is handling the situation for now. He probably isn't doing it to help us, I'm sure…But I can tell. From the feel of his magic power and from the information we have, his Highness alone could fall at any moment. So, Master—!"
……I see.
So at this juncture, there was also a need to address that other question—and, in a sense, the most crucial person of all.
Next time, the tale of the First Prince, Herc.
If my schedule doesn't get too brutal, I'll move the update back to Saturday—look forward to it!