"Increase the output of the Genesis Magic."
True to his declaration, Chrono raised his magic power to the critical threshold.
The intensity of the weakening domain climbed further, and Ermes, who had barely been keeping it in check, began to be pushed back once more. Lucius rushed in to cover him, but the rejection magic directed at him was even stronger than before. Even he was nearly thrown off balance, but managed to resist.
He had the vague sense that Rose was shouting something, but the sound of explosions drowned it out.
He thought he heard something else at the same time, but couldn't make that out either.
"Four is a circle — the revelation of purity — let us link the stars, let us link the stars!"
He barely managed to restore a stalemate. They were still being pushed back, but — Rose, clicking her tongue in frustration, had recovered as well. Along with what sounded like a voice trying to stop something, she fired off her magic in a panic.
Something like a chant
seemed to reach him
he thought, but
,
this was no time for that
.
"Stars
from
heaven —
the heavens
are from the gods — let us connect
the bonds
of the world
guide
]
Resist as is. Endure somehow—just don't let them break through.
We were overwhelmingly at a disadvantage, but they'd said it was a "gamble." A reckless power-up couldn't possibly last long—so first, we'd bet on that and simply endure with everything we had.
Faint footsteps—not the kind of combat sounds that would carry.
"[ Thus I name this image the throne, and by the path I weave, I invoke order—
summoning—
I know the images yet to come—
bestowing
]"
But just enduring probably wouldn't be enough. The fact that they'd powered up at this timing meant they'd calculated they could push through. If so, just enduring without any plan would mean being taken down exactly as they'd calculated.
So we'd counterattack too. Push beyond our limits here and resist. Whether that resolve somehow reached them or not, Lucius and Rose also strengthened their resistance.
And so, there was the sound of someone catching something that had flown in from somewhere, but no one noticed.
"[ And so—the flowing truth, of things truly connected—
the form—
blessings upon the changing flames ]"
They'd probably noticed that we'd stepped up our game too.
From here was the final clash. Both sides naturally realized this and pushed their concentration even higher. Everything around them besides allies and enemies vanished from consciousness.
Since nothing else could possibly come here at this point, that was only natural.
"'[All that arises becomes a drop, and the mark etched by destiny —]
[scra]
[ping away — that sorcerous record is called divination]'"
Raise the magic power. Settle the stance.
This would be the final, truest clash of attrition. Both sides were already nearing their limits — when the next exchange concluded, only one would remain standing. Each steeled themselves with that resolve.
And then.
"'[The end is —]
[not]
[here — let it circle round, and reach even the distant sky]'"
Synchronizing breath. Exchanging wills.
Regally, unwavering, they took the fateful step that would decide the victor——
"'[◻︎◻︎◻︎◻︎ ◻︎◻︎◻︎◻︎◻︎ ◻︎◻︎◻︎◻︎ ◻︎◻︎◻︎◻︎]'"
And there.
.
Finally.
,
they realized.
.
"……………………Huh?"
Ermes.
With her guard completely down, she let out a stunned voice.
After all, the scene before her eyes was just that unbelievable.
Right at the exact midpoint where Chrono and the others were about to clash in their final confrontation.
Before anyone realized it, a figure was already standing there.
That figure... Ermes addressed the young red-haired girl whose face she knew all too well.
"Lily... my lady?"
Yes, that figure was unmistakably the lovely girl she looked up to as both her lord and her teacher.
Several questions surfaced in Ermes's mind.
Why had she come? No—how had she even gotten here in the first place?
Even for Liliana—even for someone with extraordinary physical manipulation abilities enhanced by magic power—
This was the very heart of a battlefield where their overwhelmingly powerful magic flew in every direction. For her, who didn't even possess Bloodline Magic, to make it all the way to the center—it should have been impossible.
The only explanation she could think of was—as the girl made her way here, purely
by chance,
by sheer coincidence,
conveniently,
all the magic
every last attack
happened not to reach her.
...was the only possibility. No—surely not.
(No—more importantly! What is that...!?)
What Ermes saw next was something Liliana had been holding, no one knew since when.
A magical tool. And he recognized it. A thick tome with wings—the wings squirming, the book portion opening wide, and numerous rings flying out from within; despite this transformed state, the magical tool matched the characteristics Niina had described. Without a doubt...
"
Ancient magical tool
: Skardrogia...?"
Yes. Skardrogia.
The out-of-class ancient magical tool said to "enable future sight" that Archbishop Johann had used to corner Ermes and the others during the Northern Rebellion.
Why did Liliana have it now? Why had Liliana come here? For what purpose? How?
(...No, more fundamentally—)
As countless questions swirled through his mind, Ermes noticed something terrifyingly wrong.
It was about Skardrogia. After defeating Archbishop Johann during the Northern Rebellion... yes, after defeating him.
(About where Skardrogia ended up... since the Northern Rebellion, none of us had ever known. No—none of us had even cared. A dangerous magical tool like that? Since the Northern Rebellion,
all together,
conveniently,
forgot about its
existence
? Wh...at is this, feeling...!?)
*Squelch.*
His very vision warped.
Something was wrong. Something absurd was critically out of place—no, being deliberately shifted.
It was the kind of nauseating sense of wrongness that felt as though the worst possible coincidence had been forced upon him—as though he'd been funneled toward just barely plausible misfortune against his will.
And he could almost feel all of it converging on the figure standing before him now: Liliana.
He recognized it as an unworthy thought toward his liege, and so he spoke up, hoping to dispel it.
"Li-Lily? That... that magical tool..."
As if answering his words—
Liliana raised her face—
And smiled.
"'Well done... for bringing me this far.'"
Wrong.
.
He knew it instantly.
Because Liliana never showed this kind of smile. It was far too beautiful, far too full of tender affection... and somewhere unfathomable—a smile no eleven-year-old girl should ever wear.
(—ah)
The moment he saw it—
A certain passage surfaced in Ermes's mind.
It was from the incident in the Secret Chapel. A terrifyingly ominous line inscribed in the ancient documents the Church had kept.
"'Should one appear who, despite being of royal blood, possesses not a shred of Bloodline Magic—'"
"'—that person is a true child of God, a holy vessel. They shall be treated with greater care than a king.'"
The content stood in direct opposition to everything this country currently believed.
And further still, his mind reached back to the question he had posed to Rose on their way to the Royal Capital—the very question prompted by that passage.
In other words... the one word in this passage he didn't understand—the word that was likely the most important of all.
Yes—about the "shrine maiden."
"'I don't know the details myself, but it's a position from another country. Seems like it's something akin to what we'd call a priest—mainly tasked with bridging the gap between gods and humans, and as for what they can do...'"
Those were the words he'd heard—the role of a "shrine maiden," what a "shrine maiden" could do.
First, communion with the gods. Service and offerings to the gods. The conducting of sacred rites.
And then. The final one.
—
Vessel of God
.
"Lily... no—"
The moment that word surfaced in Ermes's mind.
Amidst this situation already brimming with questions, he hurled the massive new question that had just emerged.
"Who... are you?"
To that question, the something wearing Liliana's form gave no answer.
Only, in silence, it raised the magical tool it held—Skaldrogia.
"...Ah"
And there, even more information came rushing back. The fragmented pieces he had gathered until now, slowly connecting together.
Ancient magical tool
: Skaldrogia. It was a magical tool on par with the Estia Magna that Chrono had stolen... one of the seven primordial ancient magical tools said to exist, and Chrono had used it to activate Genesis Magic. That was its true purpose.
Seven ancient magical tools. Seven Genesis Magics.
If one were to think about it logically, that meant each magical tool had a corresponding Genesis Magic.
In other words... Skaldrogia too, just like the Estia Magna.
And.
In the exchange that had just taken place — there had been no room to catch it, no reason to wonder "why," but.
Just moments ago, something wearing Liliana's form, in Liliana's voice,
for about seven measures
,
had been chanting something
—hadn't
it?
──?
As if timing it perfectly to when Ermes's thoughts had reached that point,
something wearing Liliana's form smiled gently, with a smile so beautiful it was almost inhuman.
"──
Magic Inscription Liberation.
"
Thus, it declared.
"Fourth
Genesis Magic
──'"
□□□□□
'"
Next time, the truth and purpose of "Her." All the various threads woven up until now will be gradually revealed. I hope you'll read it!