Chris and Ermes had both deployed their magic.
Next, Ermes decided on the Bloodline Magic he would wield, just as before.
"—[Six are holy bows, one is a magic bullet; its
trigger
is the arm of a false
god]
]
"..."
Oh? he thought.
One weakness of the Primal Inscription
that Ermes wielded
was that reproducing Bloodline Magic required more time than usual.
Unlike the normal process,
the Primal Inscription
had to be chanted and activated first, after which an additional chant was needed to reproduce the magic—so naturally, Chris, who knew all about his methods, would have exploited that opening.
But the moment he saw Chris's provoking expression, he understood immediately.
So that was it. It seemed Chris wanted a head-on exchange, just like last time.
He could have handled a preemptive strike easily enough with Enhanced universal magic, but if Chris wanted it this way, all the better.
He deployed the magic bullet as Chris wished, and both Chris and Ermes fired their magic simultaneously, the two colliding midway between them—
—It was Ermes who came out on the losing end.
"!"
The stray magic bullet came flying toward him. Ermes dodged it with a quick sideways leap, but Chris already had the next shot ready behind it.
"Hahahaha! How about that, Ermes? This is my true power!"
Ermes also generated and fired his next shot while on the move. A shooting battle erupted, but Chris's shots were undeniably more powerful. Ermes was pushed entirely on the defensive.
Compared to their previous fight, Ermes's own power should have risen thanks to his greater mastery of magic. But Chris had received enhancements that surpassed even that—unnaturally so.
"Just because you won once doesn't mean you should get cocky! I wasn't even trying back then—not one bit! Got it, Ermes? This is the gap between you and me that can never be bridged—"
"Brother."
Cutting short his triumphant speech, Ermes posed a question.
"What is that you're hiding inside your coat?"
Ngh!
One good look, and it was immediately obvious.
Inside the robe Chris was wearing—there was a slight bulge, and above all, that abnormal Magic Power Reaction told the whole story.
Chris gritted his teeth once, but quickly recovered his composure. If anything, he opened his robe to show it off and pulled the object out.
"That is—"
It was a staff he recognized. The silver body gleamed, entwined with a serpent carving, and topped with wings of light.
"...
Ancient magical tool.
"
"That's right! Its name is Caduceus—the divine staff worthy of being held by yours truly!"
It was, without a doubt, the magical tool that Ermes and Katia had discovered in a dungeon they once visited and presented to the royal family.
How Chris came to possess it was unclear, but he was technically Aster's subordinate. Perhaps Aster had done something.
And then it clicked. He must have been using that staff to dramatically boost both magic power output and the performance of his magic itself.
An ancient magical tool.
At that level of power, such a feat would be entirely expected. That was the true nature of those abnormal enhancements.
"...Relying completely on a tool you didn't even find yourself and calling it your 'real strength.' Are you satisfied just barely surpassing me?"
"Ha ha! That sounds nothing but like a loser howling at the moon!"
It was a question born of genuine curiosity, but Chris had long since stopped caring. Proudly, he raised the staff—Caduceus—for all to see.
"Listen well—this staff chose me! My strength, my capacity to wield it—that is what it means to hold this!"
"..."
"Jealous? Too bad for you—the one most worthy of this is me! Someone who wasn't chosen could never do the same!"
"Oh really? Then how about letting me try using it for a spin?"
"—Ha! What are you talking about! For someone like you, even laying a hand on this divine artifact is an act of supreme impudence!"
Ermes looked nothing short of terrified that Chris might use the staff even more skillfully than he could. But then again, in the middle of combat, such a stunt would naturally be out of the question.
Besides, Chris did have a point.
Capacity, vessel, whatever—he was someone with the standing to wield it, and that much was undeniable. Ermes had no such claim. He had no intention of objecting to someone using the tools available to them.
Having reached that conclusion, Ermes set the matter aside. Chris, meanwhile, spread his arms wide and declared at the top of his voice:
"Now then, let me show you! The true magic wielded not by some counterfeit—but by one truly beloved by the gods!"
The staff blazed with light. Magic bullets deployed behind him, poised to fire—except he did not fire them.
Instead, Chris made another declaration.
"
'
Magic Bullet Archer
'——
Attribute Enchantment
:
Flame
!'"
In that instant.
The magic bullets behind Chris blazed crimson.
The moment he swung his hand down, the crimson magic bullets surged forward all at once.
"...This is bad."
There was no blocking them.
Having made that split-second judgment, Ermes dodged the incoming bullets by a hair's breadth.
Even the heat wave brushing his cheeks told him their power had surged dramatically compared to before.
"Looks like you're completely outmatched!"
He tried firing his own magic bullets to counter, but was even more overwhelmingly outgunned than before.
Better not to fire at all. Having reached that conclusion, Ermes devoted himself to dodging and observing for the time being.
Whether Chris interpreted this as nothing more than pathetic scrambling, he watched Ermes—now more on the defensive than ever—with an amused grin and called out mockingly.
"Now you understand, don't you? This '
"—this is what—"
Magic Bullet Archer
"—is truly all about! The essence of magic that only I can draw out—a realm that you, who just mindlessly fire bullets, can never reach!"
"......"
"Now there's no denying it! In raw power, in magical talent—I surpass you in every way! You're a failure, a complete failure! I'm the one who deserves it, I'm the one who should be standing at the top!!"
"............"
Ermes let the rant wash over him, calmly observing as he dodged each spell.
So that was his limit. His magic's destructive power peaked here—there was nothing beyond Attribute Enchantment in his arsenal. If he had anything beyond that, someone with his personality would never have held it back.
And so Ermes reached his judgment.
Easy.
At this level, the ways to win were countless. He could dismantle any of Chris's spells with a full display of his own repertoire, and if it came down to brute force, he could think of magic that would crush him through sheer power alone.
But Katia had said it: "Make him regret it."
And above all, Ermes couldn't pretend he had no feelings toward this man—his brother, the embodiment of his past failure, who had kept him under his thumb for so long.
So he decided.
He would defeat this man with nothing but—
Magic Bullet Archer
—alone.
The magic Ermes wielded—
Primal Inscription
—reproduced magic. In doing so, it broke down the target's spells in granular detail, discerning their structure, philosophy, and essence with piercing clarity—down to nuances that even someone born with Bloodline Magic might overlook.
And even for—
Magic Bullet Archer—
it is no exception.
"Is—
Enchantment—
the very true worth of—
Magic Bullet Archer—
?"
That is something—
—
he already known long ago.
.
At the same time, he thought.
If he understands that, then why does he only fight in such a one-sided way?
Now, let us begin.
Chris, who claims to bring out that magic—that wonderful magic's essence—at only that level.
To surpass him with nothing but his own magic, Ermes slipped into the gaps between the magic bullets, exploiting the briefest opening to draw a breath.
And declared:
"'Magic Bullet—
Archer
"—
Attribute Enchantment
:
Water Ice
'