(…As expected of you, Master.)
Deflecting one Enhanced universal magic after another—spells far more powerful than Ermes's own—he murmurs inwardly.
The magic itself is the same, but the output is overwhelming. A complete loss in raw power.
As for whether that means he's winning on technique… he isn't.
It's true that Ermes is wielding every fine technique at his disposal. But Rose, too, isn't casting her spells blindly.
She remains constantly vigilant for Ermes's next move, keeping a reserve of awareness. She picks her timing to minimize the risk of his counterattacks while never letting up even a fraction on her spells' raw power.
It isn't like those bloodline magic users he has faced before, who fire off spells monotonously because casting is all they can do.
This is the head-on force born from pushing magical technique to its limits and stripping away everything superfluous.
A tactic honed to the sharpness of a polished spear. That is precisely why half-hearted tricks cannot break through. She doesn't waver an inch at Ermes's feints.
There are simply no openings.
Once again, he reaffirms the depth of his master's strength.
And at the same time, it is for that very reason that he thinks—just once is enough. Just one instant is enough. He wants to reach this person with something.
He knows full well that the version of himself standing here is nowhere near the level where he could even dream of winning.
With the awareness that he is the challenger, and with all his respect for his master—he will throw everything he has at this person.
"!"
Rose's eyes flew open.
And small wonder—at the very instant Rose was about to cast her spell, Ermes didn't fall back to meet it. Instead, he did the opposite and charged straight at her.
Even as surprise flickered across her face, she released her spell without hesitation. With him having closed the distance, a direct hit was all but guaranteed.
All he could do now was deploy magic to minimize the damage as much as possible. But even that—Ermes does not do.
He twisted his body with everything he had. Pushing his physical abilities to their absolute limit, he dove out of the trajectory of the incoming spell.
Of course, it wasn't easy enough to dodge completely. The spell she unleashed—a bolt of lightning—pierced into his shoulder. Intense heat and numbness radiated outward from the point of impact, but—
"—Not yet!"
In other words, that was all it was. It wouldn't put him out of the fight or even significantly hinder his movement.
For damage taken without using any magic to mitigate it, it was actually on the lighter end. And the benefit of that... was unfolding right before his eyes.
Rose, stiffened right after firing her spell. Himself, in the very act of launching his own. Between them—only a handful of steps.
If so, then for this one instant, the situation tilted overwhelmingly in Ermes's favor.
Convinced of this, Ermes threw himself into a reckless charge. He conjured a gust of wind compressed into a projectile in his right hand and, riding his momentum, hurled it toward Rose—
"Good aim, though."
"—!"
At the last split second, a wall of light deployed just in front of him, blocking the way.
There hadn't been enough time for her to react. Which meant she'd anticipated it—expected that Ermes would find some way to break through her offense.
...However.
Up to this point
,
was also within his calculations.
Having confirmed the barrier, Ermes detonated the wind projectile at the tip of his right hand.
"!?"
Gales erupted in every direction. Rose, whose body had already been lifted off the ground by the force of his charge, was blown away—while Ermes was sent hurtling in the opposite direction just the same.
Naturally, Rose took no damage. If anything, Ermes, who hadn't been defending, was the one who sustained some minor injuries.
But that was fine. This was precisely his goal—creating distance.
Because with distance came the time needed to chant.
"I see."
Watching Ermes's magic power surge, Rose caught on to his intentions and laughed with delight.
Very well—keeping her eyes locked on her opponent across the gap, Rose likewise unleashed a torrent of magic power, then—
"{
Heaven and Earth—
Those eyes that survey all, springs within—
A skull,
offered as sacrifice—
Know that my station is the pinnacle!}"
What they recited was, just as before, a perfectly synchronized chanting of the exact same words.
"Formula Replay—"
"Bloodline Magic—"
As though they had both been aware of it all along, without hesitation and like mirror images of each other, they raised their left hands to the sky.
They shouted the magic inscription.
"{
Meteor Throne
}!"
And so, from two directions overhead, a rain of light poured down.
The beams collided at their intersection, devouring each other, and then.
"...Well, yes, that's about right."
In the dust cloud that had settled from the Meteor Throne, Ermes murmured.
The ground around him was riddled with countless holes of varying sizes. Just from their number alone, it would be easy to tell which side had come out on top in that exchange.
He hadn't landed a single direct hit, but he understood perfectly well that that was only because Rose had dodged them.
However—
"Not bad."
From the other side, his master's voice rang out.
As the dust cleared, she was indeed unharmed. But what graced her face was an unmistakable look of admiration.
"Just as you declared, Bloodline Magic—
—you made me use it."
"Good use of magic. You've gotten stronger, El. But—"
But at that point, Rose gave a soft chuckle.
"—there's still something else, isn't there?"
"!"
"I'd venture it's something even bigger. It looks like it needs enough charging or Chanting that you couldn't afford to create an opening like this time. Am I wrong?"
"...That's exactly right."
He was astonished. How on earth had she read him so thoroughly?
"When you've exchanged magic and looked someone in the face, you pick up on things like that. Especially when it's your cute little apprentice."
Rose answered, her smile shifting from calm to something brighter, more elevated.
"—Fine. Hit me with it. I'll be waiting."
"Huh?"
"I've seen enough of your fighting. Now I want to see the magic you've gained—what you've learned here in the Royal Capital."
...Truth be told, he had been wrestling with whether or not to show this.
It was certainly an achievement of sorts, but far too incomplete and unrefined. He had felt reluctant to present it to a master well-versed in magic.
But to have someone look at him with such pure expectation—
such hope—
such desperate yearning—
When those eyes were fixed on him, simply wanting to see magic he had never known—as someone who shared that same feeling, he could only respond in kind.
"...Understood. Then, here goes."
With that declaration, Ermes focused his consciousness on his own magic.
What he recalled was the magic he had once created.
Since it had been made once before, the blueprint already existed—
Magic Inscription Liberation
wasn't needed for activation.
...But there was no Chant. He simply hadn't refined the technique enough to compress it into something as compact as a Chant.
So, piece by piece in his mind, he carefully assembled each fragment of magic, recreating the spell he had forged before.
It was probably a good full minute of work.
And at the end of it, he had finished the assembly—the crystallization of his wish, born in that final battle, once more.
"Formula Replay — 'Ashen World Tree'"
And so the sword of purple flames appeared before him.
Rose's eyes went wide once more.
She must have sensed it—the colossal energy contained within the sword.
And surely, she had figured out how this magic had been created.
"That is... I see. You made this, didn't you?"
"Yes. ...With the way I am now, this clumsy thing was all I could manage."
"Oh come on, what are you talking about?"
At Ermes' somewhat apologetic remark, Rose shook her head with a smile.
"It's rough around the edges, sure—but it's a fine piece of magic. Something I could never create, and undeniably yours alone.
...Besides, it's strong, isn't it?"
"! ...Yes. Of that, I can guarantee you."
At those words, Ermes nodded with visible relief.
From here on, there was only one thing left to do. Having confirmed that, Ermes raised the sword high.
...But then, it suddenly struck him.
(...Wait. I can fire this, right...?)
This magic was, in a word, specialized entirely in raw destructive power.
In terms of sheer might alone, it far surpassed even the Meteor Throne he had used moments ago.
Even if it was Rose, going head-to-head with this wouldn't end well—
—But that thought was swept away in the very next instant.
"...I suppose I'd better answer that properly too."
The blade of violet flames blazing before her eyes. Rose murmured, her expression one that fully grasped the threat it posed.
She raised her magic power even higher than before and drew one deep breath. Then she closed her eyes and focused solely on her own magic.
And sang.
"——[□□□□□ □□□□ □□□□ □□□□□]"
"...Eh?"
For an instant, Ermes was so stunned he forgot he was even in the midst of casting.
It was a Chant.
What Rose had just uttered was, without question, a magical Chant.
And yet.
What she was
saying
,
he couldn't understand.
The sounds reached his ears as pronounceable words, but he couldn't grasp a shred of their meaning.
It wasn't merely some unknown language—that wasn't even the right frame of reference. It felt like words from another world entirely, or perhaps meanings layered so deeply they far exceeded the boundaries of comprehension.
An otherworldly Chant that made him feel as though everything operated on an entirely different scale.
And yet, he couldn't stop.
As if carried along by the flow—or perhaps guided by her Chant itself—he brought the blade of violet flames crashing down.
The flames bore down on her. But Rose didn't flinch in the slightest, slowly opening her eyes.
She raised her hand before the violet flames that were about to incinerate her.
She spoke its name.
"Bloodline Magic—'
□□□□□
'"
This was the third Bloodline Magic she possessed, granted by her Triple Aptitude.
Compared to the other two, it was rarely used—yet its nature was undeniably something else entirely.
The true trump card of Rose, the Sky Witch.
——
Something that
couldn't even be
perceived—something beyond all measure.
"......Wh...at......"
Ermes muttered, stupefied.
To describe mechanically what had just occurred before his eyes:
First, a transparent 'something' radiated from Rose's palm.
It was on a collision course with the flames Ermes had unleashed—but before any clash could occur, from the moment of contact, it—
obliterated
them.
Not satisfied yet, it traced the flames back to their origin—the violet sword—and utterly incinerated it without a trace.
The radiation continued, yet for some reason it passed right through Ermes without affecting him in the slightest.
It devoured even the orange wall and barrier behind him.
It sliced roughly in half
several nearby trees
before finally coming to a stop.
"..."
He couldn't understand any of it. The only thing he understood.
Was that the magic was—unfathomably powerful, overwhelming, and beautiful.
"Didn't get it, huh? Well, can't blame you. Even I don't really understand this one myself, despite using it. That was still just the most basic application, you know."
Rose approached Ermes with a wry smile as he stood there, dumbfounded.
"That's why I keep it sealed most of the time. ...But I figured that particular magic was worth using."
The only part of the sword that had remained in his hand—the hilt—crumbled and dissolved into the air.
...Even the greatest magic he had built up until now was effortlessly surpassed by magic that existed in this world.
Yes. That was truly—
"Hey, El. Magic is pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"...Yes."
Truly a wondrous thing.
And at the same time, it ignited a yearning within him. He wanted to reach that level too.
Seemingly satisfied with Ermes's answer, Rose broke into an innocent grin.
"Alright, we're done! Man, that was fun—you've gotten insanely strong, El! Seriously amazing! Oh, and sorry about that. I know I said it couldn't be helped, but I really did end up hurting you quite a bit this time."
"N-No. I mean, why are you spinning me around...?"
She healed his wounds in an instant, just as she had when they first met, then lifted Ermes up and spun him around gleefully.
Ermes was bewildered, but went along with it for the time being—until he suddenly noticed something.
"M-Master. Your... your face—"
There was a faint red mark on her cheek, like a scar.
Judging by the look of it, it was a burn. It was probably caused by his earlier
Ashen World Tree
just now.
His magic had reached her, however faintly. That in itself was something to be pleased about... but he had unquestionably left a mark on a woman's face, so he immediately used Enhanced Universal Magic to heal Rose's wound.
"Oh? You didn't have to go that far. I would've just healed it later."
"No, you can't do that. I know it's rich, coming from the one who hurt you, but please take better care of your face. ...I mean, you're so beautiful, after all."
"...Hahahaha! If you thought a few words like that would make me happy, you couldn't be more right, my student!"
Whether overcome with emotion or trying to hide her embarrassment, Rose pulled Ermes into a tight embrace once more.
Whether they judged the fight was truly over from seeing this, the residents of the Traukia household came rushing over to the two of them.
And so, the master-disciple duel that had begun so abruptly came to an end.
Next time: Katia and Rose's story.