Ermes's master Rose — also known as Roselia Kirsch von Yustia.
A magician born as royalty, whom everyone had high hopes for. After all, she had inherited three incomparably powerful Bloodline Magics — she possessed a "Triple Aptitude" that surpassed even Sara's. In all of the kingdom's history, going back to its very founding, there had been only one other Triple Aptitude Bloodline Magic user besides her: a founding royal.
She was celebrated and hailed as the reincarnation of a legend, the talk of the kingdom — and yet she left the Royal Capital.
Because her views on magic were far too heretical for the kingdom.
...Well, truth be told.
As her student, he himself could be said to know nothing more than that. In fact, it was the first he'd heard that Yurugen even knew Rose, let alone that the two of them had been on fairly close terms, judging by his tone.
She was, as ever, a woman full of mysteries. For starters, despite being an entire generation older than Ermes and the others, that physical age of hers made no sense. No matter how you looked at her, she appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful woman in her early twenties — and the fact that she hadn't changed at all during the five years Ermes had known her was yet another enigma.
And also — she'd get angry if he said this to her — but mentally, she didn't seem remotely close to Yurugen's age either.
But none of that mattered. Ermes respected Rose from the bottom of his heart.
"Master has taught me so many things — "
He had been about to launch into that thought, reminiscing fondly, but —
Katia, once again, had abruptly begun trembling and clung to him, forcing him to cut himself short.
"Um, Katia—"
"Sh-shut up! Of course I'm scared when you drag me to a place like this for no reason!"
...Well, he supposed she had a point.
They were currently soaring absurdly high above the forest — at an altitude where their tent below looked no bigger than a bean.
"Sorry, sorry. But it really wasn't for nothing. There's something I want to show you. Alright, I'm letting go."
"...I-it's going to be okay, right...?"
"It's fine. As long as we're holding hands, you won't fall. And even if you somehow do, I'll just pick you right back up."
He slowly released Katya's trembling body, her eyes still shut, and gently urged her.
"Y-you're sure it's okay!?"
"I didn't mean for you to keep your eyes closed, but… sure. Go ahead and look."
Katya squeezed their clasped hands tightly and tentatively relaxed the tension in her eyelids.
Still trembling, she gradually opened her eyes, revealing her purple irises.
There it was — the sky.
To the west, the horizon showed a sky of deep, pitch-black darkness, as though gently swallowing everything within it.
Faint starlight accompanied it — a soothing hue that lured all who beheld it into calm tranquility and a gentle drowsiness.
From there, it gradually extended to the other side: a captivating deep indigo that drew you in. After passing through a vivid green visible only at this hour, it reached a striking orange that warmed the very depths of one's heart.
To the east, the horizon displayed a sky of pure white that illuminated and brightened all things.
The light of beginnings, the symbol of dawn. The color of the sun that watches over the world.
At the western edge lay night; at the eastern edge, morning.
It was the world's ending and beginning. A miracle permitted only in the moments before daybreak. The primal gradient painted across the canvas of the gods.
—All the colors of the sky were there.
"…………"
It was overwhelmingly vast, incredibly pure.
And, undeniably beautiful.
"——Master really taught me so many things."
Addressing Katya, who stood speechless and mesmerized by a sight that could only be witnessed in this time and place, Ermes began to speak in a calm voice.
"How to use magic. The laws that lie at the foundation of magic. And even the truth of magic."
Magic is not a god-given talent but the crystallization of effort. Based on that philosophy, he studied magic theory, and with the
Primal Inscription
— the very embodiment of that philosophy — he analyzed every spell there was.
"And then, you start to see it. How this spell was constructed, what intention drove its creation. And in the end, you come to understand — what lies at the root of all magic is, after all, a feeling. A wish."
"...A wish?"
"That's right. Someone desired something, but as things were, they couldn't reach it. So they piled on effort to bridge that gap, desperately building and assembling — until finally, they caught a shard of the wishing star. That is what magic truly is."
And so, within every spell, there dwells the wish behind its creation.
That is why he learns — to reclaim the feelings he once lost, and to create magic that is his alone.
"Oh, right — there's something I wanted to ask you."
He raised his gaze and posed the question.
"This spell. The one that lets you fly through the sky — the
Seamless Great Eagle
— what do you think its developer wished for when they created it?"
"Wh—"
At his words, Katya began to think.
In magical combat, the usefulness of being able to fly is immeasurable. ...No, this wasn't limited to magic alone.
To attack unilaterally from a position beyond the enemy's reach — that's one of the fundamental truths of victory in battle. This spell, which alone allows the user to defy the universal law of all things falling to the ground, is perhaps one perfected form of that truth.
In fact, the famed Sky Witch Rose reportedly soared freely through the skies with this spell, and further combined it with the Bloodline Magic known as "Rain of Light" — a combination so outlandish you'd want to ask which deity dreamed it up — to dominate the skies and inspire fear far and wide.
Moreover, she apparently also harbored another trump card — the most powerful Bloodline Magic of all — so it wasn't hard to understand why she'd been expelled for being too far beyond the ordinary.
And so — the developer of this spell...
"……No."
Having thought that far, Katia shook her head.
She understood now. The person who created this spell had probably never once given thought to any such "unnecessary things."
"Yes. The wish embedded within this spell—"
Sensing that Katia had arrived at the answer, Ermes told her.
"—
I want to fly through the sky.
That's all it was."
"……"
"Nothing more than that, yet a wish so pure it bordered on madness. While I was analyzing this spell, those feelings of its creator came through so vividly."
He had no desire to mock it.
After being shown something like this, there was no way he could.
"……Katia. I understand now — how much it hurts to be spinning your wheels because you can't reach the ideal you once held."
And then he finally struck at the core of her being.
"I think it's the kind of thing that will keep haunting you for as long as you chase it. To put it gently, it's hell. …But you know—"
Ermes paused, spreading his hands before Katia with the sky as his backdrop.
"When you've overcome everything, and your wish reaches the stars and takes shape — the view from there is this beautiful."
"—Ah."
"I want to see it. I want you to show me what you'll create once you've arrived there. …That's why I don't want you to give up, Katia."
It was okay to falter.
Stopping now and then to think is important too, I suppose.
But I don't want you to lose the will to keep moving forward. Because—
"That day, when you cheered me on in front of that cell, I became a fan of who you are."
"!"
Straightforward words. Katia accepted them with a faint blush, thought for a moment, and then looked up at the sky once more.
"…It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It really is."
"…Do you think someone like me could create something this beautiful too?"
"You can. I'm here for you."
When he declared this without hesitation, she stared at him in surprise for a moment, then—
…Hmph. With an expression caught somewhere between bewilderment and relief, as if a weight had finally lifted from her shoulders, she smiled.
"…Fine. I'll let you talk me into it. I'll try a little harder. …But in exchange—"
She continued, fixing him with a half-lidded gaze heavy with embarrassment.
"You're taking responsibility for this. …You'll see it through to the very end, right?"
"Of course. I'll follow you all the way to the depths of hell itself."
At his response, she caught her breath and turned away—and yet, she was back to her usual self.
…She'll be okay now, he thought with relief.
And at the same time—click.
Something slotted into place inside his mind.
"—Ah."
Before he could forget that feeling, he spoke in a somewhat hurried tone.
"...Kati. Sorry, one more thing. I need you to do it urgently."
"Wh-what?"
"Could you activate your magic? Right now, right here."
"Eh, wha— fine, I understand."
Perhaps it was the pressure of Ermes closing in closer than necessary—driven by his sense of urgency—that ultimately overwhelmed her, despite her bewilderment at the sudden request.
Kati did as she was told and activated her Bloodline Magic in the middle of the sky.
After observing her closely for several seconds, Ermes—
"—Yeah. I understand now."
With a look of conviction on his face, he nodded. The flash of insight he'd just had wasn't wrong.
"I finally understand, Kati. Your magic—
Netherworld of Salvation
—its true worth. The wish that resides within it, and its real way of being used."
Kati's eyes widened.
Just as he suspected. Until now,
Netherworld of Salvation
had been used in a fundamentally wrong way.
If she understood that and improved upon it, she would evolve dramatically. Befitting of a mage of the Duke's household—no, perhaps even beyond that scope entirely.
Now that he understood, he had to teach her right away. Ermes descended to the ground with Kati in tow.
First, he would teach her what he had just figured out, and then they would put it into practice.
And now, they would face him head-on. To directly deny that prince who still pursued them even now.
Because this far into their journey, they had learned that running away was no longer an option — and they had learned it the hard way.
With their resolve firmly in place, he and she took another step forward.
Next time: The decisive battle begins.
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