*(More powerful than I imagined...)*
Katia murmured to herself.
The powerful, reliable souls flitting about all around her.
Having exchanged words with every single one of them, Katia now felt their thoughts flowing into her.
— *We did it! That prince can't seem to move anymore.*
— *His magic was strong, but his fighting style wasn't that different from a boar's.*
— *There's no way he could beat us. And his heart is just... so awful.*
— *Lady Katia is way more beautiful, isn't she?*
— *Totally.*
— *Yeah.*
*(...Are these kids really... ghosts?)*
Katia harbored a rather earnest doubt.
If they were ghosts, they should have been souls that once lived here — beings who had possessed personalities.
And yet, weren't they just a bit too brimming with childish innocence?
There should definitely have been souls of people who had lived for decades among them, but based on the conversation just now, every single one sounded like a five-year-old. Rather than ghosts, they'd be better described as fairies or spirits or something along those lines.
Naturally, she had explained this phenomenon to Ermes as well.
"...Most likely, they are not strictly souls with a single personality. Without physical bodies, the boundaries between self and others become blurred or separate. Furthermore, because Katia's magic resonated with the aspects of her heart, the result is that the malicious intent is thin — in other words, only the innocent facets of their souls have been extracted, taking on this form..."
"...is what I think, but honestly, even I didn't expect this, so I'm not entirely sure."
In the end, even he didn't seem to know for certain.
Well, it was certainly less stressful than being told to have a conversation with the soul of a hardened forty-something man, and they were honest and endearing, so she had no particular complaints.
Besides... so many souls had listened to her story and come to her, empathizing with her feelings.
That fact alone was more than enough to restore her confidence.
— *Now, let's deliver the finishing blow to that prince!*
— *Charge!*
— *Wahh!*
Thanks to their reliable help, she had managed to corner Aster that far.
All that remained was to decide the outcome. Thinking so, and following their will, Katia was about to send the ghost soldiers forward when—
"W-Wait!"
At that moment, an otherworldly magic power erupted from Aster.
A magic power that emanated an unfathomable pressure — something unthinkable from a human in such battered condition. Sensing the anomaly, Katia recalled the ghost soldiers.
With a tense expression, Katia stared ahead as Aster slowly rose to his feet.
On his face was — an even more insane, even more confidence-overflowing grin than before.
"I'll give you credit, Katia."
Those were his opening words.
But — it was clear from his next words that this carried no recognition of her worth.
"To push me this far with counterfeit power. And for the sake of a great cause — you have fulfilled your role sufficiently."
"...What do you mean?"
Aster was without question in battered condition. If she sent all the ghost soldiers at him now, she should win... and yet, she couldn't move.
"Did you think you could defeat me? How did you ever acquire such groundless confidence. Know this — all of your struggles were nothing more than stepping stones for me to awaken to even greater power!"
*If I move carelessly, I'm done for.* Frozen by that inexplicable yet certain premonition, Katia watched as Aster made his declaration.
"I'll make you the glorious first sacrifice — the true value of my power, of my magic, shall be revealed!!"
And the magic power surging from him intensified further still.
Aster proclaimed:
"— *The hour of the end is nigh; the ancestor is a holy spirit of righteous thought; what befits the dawn is an imperishable age.*"
"I—!"
It was a chant she didn't recognize.
And because of that, she understood. If it wasn't something Ermes knew, there could only be one reason for him to use a chant never heard before.
That was—
"No way...
**Magic Inscription Liberation**
—!"
Bloodline Magic was the practice of embedding ancient, powerful magic into a bloodline, allowing those who inherited it to use it unconditionally.
But could the one who inherited it truly wield power identical to the original — the same magic as the ancient one?
The answer was, naturally, no.
By performing the extraordinary feat of *embedding magic into a bloodline*, there were inevitably elements that could not be fully incorporated. There existed magical functions that had to be sealed away and cut off — functions judged to be beyond what the inheriting human could withstand, that could not normally be activated.
Therefore, those who normally used Bloodline Magic were always utilizing only a fraction of its functions. Compared to the original, they could wield only a limited power. This was not like Katia's case, where she *could actually use it but hadn't realized it* — these were functions sealed away by the very system of Bloodline Magic itself.
But.
Once every several generations, among those who inherited the magic, there existed someone with even greater aptitude for magic and the ability to wield high-level magic — and only they could.
Unseal the locks placed upon Bloodline Magic, endure the strain on body and soul, and fully wield the true magic of the divine age.
That is what—
**Magic Inscription Liberation**
truly is. The innermost secret of magic bearing the name of the apocalypse.
Magic, talent, body. It is the ultimate art and pinnacle achievable only by those blessed in all three — the supreme achievement for any wielder of Bloodline Magic.
*"I am the light of the firmament, the creator — who embraces free will and proclaims the laws of heaven."*
"You're... kidding."
She had known of the existence of Magic Inscription Liberation.
But it was supposed to be a mark of the divine realm attained only by humans who had spent years wielding Bloodline Magic in combat, ultimately mastering a single spell to its utmost.
One who achieved it would etch their name into the annals of kingdom history, becoming a realm where a single person could serve as both sword and shield for the kingdom. As far as Katia knew, no one in the current kingdom had reached that level.
Above all — even Ermes had said that he had yet to reproduce Magic Inscription Liberation in Bloodline Magic.
*"Know the law of the kingdom — venerate the perfection of reason — and worship the pinnacle of immortality."*
To reach that level, at this very moment.
For no reason other than that he was about to lose, he awakened.
...There was no way to see it as anything but absurd.
*"All that is wicked shall be utterly destroyed — the heavens fall under the dominion of my flame."*
She sent the ghost soldiers to interrupt the chant, but they were blown away by the sheer torrent of his surging magic power alone.
Calmly, imperiously. Uninterrupted by anyone, he sang on.
And the Magic Inscription Liberation of Bloodline Magic was performed through a multi-tiered chant.
Normally, three tiers. The exceptional could reach four, and legendary-grade power required five.
Aster's magic was—
*"Radiant Judgment Heaven — Final Star Judgment — my ring of fire marks the Boundary of Good and Evil — with seven lights, survey the celestial sphere!"*
***Fire Heaven Judgment***
**—Magic Inscription Liberation!**
Naturally, five tiers.
The moment the chant was completed, the tremendous magic power that had been building in Aster's body erupted all at once.
A torrent so immense it could blow her away. Katia braced herself against it, and after several seconds it subsided — and there, at the end of her gaze, stood—
"—Behold."
An incarnation of flame.
Divine fire crawling across his body in intricate, pattern-like designs. Behind him, a pair of crimson wings materialized, and above his head, a halo of blazing red light radiated outward.
In his right hand, he gripped a greatsword radiating scorching white light as though it were the sun itself.
Ahura Mazda.
It was the name of the god of judgment who destroyed all evil — the supreme deity who ruled over flame, depicted with a winged halo.
The current Aster emanated an intimidation that declared he was nothing less than that god made flesh.
And he casually stepped forward toward Katia, who stood ready.
—The next instant, he was right before her.
"——?!"
Katia reflexively leaped back. With a terribly light swing, Aster brought the greatsword in his right hand around in a reverse diagonal slash.
Erased.
The spirits that had been protecting Katia — ghost soldiers with enough durability that Aster at full power had barely managed to burn them away — were all annihilated by a single casual swing.
"I-Impossibly—!!"
Though she faltered, her judgment was swift.
She immediately revived the ghost soldiers, sending them to charge Aster while she retreated, somehow managing to put distance between them once more.
But it was impossible.
The immobilization she had managed just moments ago was completely beyond her reach now. The reason was simple: Aster's firepower had increased by orders of magnitude. Especially the greatsword in his right hand — the ghost soldiers were all incinerated in an instant just from contact with it.
On top of that, having taken on that form, Aster's physical abilities themselves had risen enormously. A simple, yet overwhelmingly powerful boost to both magical and physical strength. That was presumably the effect of that form — the **Magic Inscription Liberation** of ***Fire Heaven Judgment***.
"Heh... fuhaha, fuhahahahaha!!"
And as if finally experiencing the true power of his first Magic Inscription Liberation—
Aster stared at the greatsword in his right hand and let out a laugh drunk on his own power.
"Did you see that, Katia?! This is my true power — power befitting a hero chosen by the gods! Yes, there's no way I could lose! I am stronger, more righteous, and more suited to lead this nation than anyone! How dare the likes of you resist — how utterly insolent! How does it feel, having your hard-won power — power obtained through such vile methods — trampled by an overwhelming force of absolute justice?!"
*(...It's the worst. Obviously.)*
Power won through desperate struggle, anguish, and writhing pain—
Being trampled by power conveniently awakened just because she'd pushed him into a corner — there was no word for that feeling other than *the worst*.
Being cornered, then obtaining new power. A development common to cheap melodrama protagonists, but from the perspective of the one on the receiving end, it was utterly unbearable.
All Katia could do now was run.
This was entirely different from maintaining distance and launching attacks as she had been doing moments ago. Her attacks were completely ignored and burned away, while a single graze from his strikes inflicted extraordinary damage.
Aster's fighting style was the same brute force as before. And yet, with magic performance that had exploded in scale, he was simply rolling over her.
*(This is... impossible...)*
What she had fought so desperately to obtain meant nothing. Everything could be overturned by what one was born with, by what one conveniently received.
...Then what was the point of living in this kingdom?
The kingdom's contradictions were manifesting once again. And not through someone else — through her own self.
Trapped in that helplessness and despair, Katia inadvertently looked away from the scene before her—
And met his eyes.