"…This is my victory, Your Highness."
Katia's words, brimming with certainty, as she looked down upon Aster.
Receiving her gaze, Aster looked back at her with an expression that said he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Then his eyes drifted over his own body and the current situation as he grasped the state of affairs, objectively confirming how the balance of power appeared at this moment.
"…No…!"
He still refused to accept it.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Impossible—there's no way I could lose! —That's right, this is another trial! There's still room for me to awaken—if there weren't, something would be wrong!"
"…Even now, you're still clinging not to your own will, but to whatever power is convenient."
"Shut up! Don't think someone like you can measure me with your own little ruler!"
The man who had spent all this time measuring others by his own ruler was now, in the present progressive tense, receiving the consequences of that as he shouted.
"Hey, that's right, isn't it, Fire Heaven Judgment! The strongest magic that resides in me—the magic befitting of one who reigns as king and guides the people! Its true value isn't something like this! Show your true power, awaken, come to life! I am—I alone am—the greatest mage in this entire country!!"
Magic, by its very nature, is heavily influenced by the caster's emotions.
It was something Ermes had once said. Since magic is born from some kind of wish or feeling to begin with, that characteristic only makes sense.
That dependency varies in degree depending on the magic. For example, Katia's "Netherworld of Salvation" particularly exhibited this tendency.
—And Aster's "Fire Heaven Judgment" was equally pronounced.
At the time, Ermes had also said this: what matters is the "purity" of the feeling.
Aster Joseph von Yustia never doubts it for a second—that he is the greatest mage in the kingdom. That he was chosen by God from the moment he was born, and that no one superior to him could possibly exist.
Anyone who appeared superior either harbored some fatal flaw, or was a trial sent by God for him to overcome.
All of it convenient only for himself, twisted and warped—yet a pure feeling, with no distortion whatsoever, from the very bottom of his heart.
In a sense, Aster's mentality, which had reached a kind of apex among mages, was supremely suited for wielding "Fire Heaven Judgment."
That was why this magic had served as his power to the fullest until now. Just moments ago, it had responded to his feelings and forcibly drawn out a Magic Inscription Liberation that should have been beyond his current ability.
And this time as well. To answer the maddening wish of its host, this magic was about to grant even greater power.
—But he realized. It was no longer possible.
The true value of "Fire Heaven Judgment" lay in flame and the manipulation thereof—a magic that grants its wielder overwhelming firepower and physical ability. Through that, this magic had earlier performed a forced Magic Inscription Liberation by having the magic itself seize partial control of Aster's body.
But there was no more room. Pushed beyond its limits, Aster's body was in tatters. At the very least, now, any further power would destroy it.
It could not grant Aster more power. But Aster desired more.
The magic, caught in this antinomy, mechanically searched for a way to resolve the situation—
—And found it.
The true value of "Fire Heaven Judgment" lay in flame and the manipulation thereof. But the host's body was already on the verge of breaking—manipulation was impossible.
Then—
Manipulate someone other than the host.
And so, with the convergence of Aster's psyche and the magic's nature,
his wish manifested in a grotesque form.
Without warning.
Flames burst radially from within Aster's body.
"!"
Katia instinctively raised a phantom soldier as a shield. The flames would not reach her—or rather—
"That… wasn't an attack?"
Not just Katia—even the phantom soldier that should have been hit by the flames showed no damage whatsoever. The phantom soldier, which had been bracing for elimination, let out a bewildered voice with its young personality.
Then what was that—Katia's question was answered almost immediately.
"Wh—what is, this?!"
"My body—it's moving on its own!"
Those affected were the people around them.
Soldiers who should have been incapacitated by Ermes were struck by the flames, which then clung to their bodies—and they rose unsteadily to their feet. No—they were *forced* to their feet.
"U-uwahh—!"
As though being manipulated… no, not *as though*. They were literally being manipulated by the flames.
All at once, they charged toward Katia.
"You've got to be—kidding me?!"
Despite her shock, Katia directed her phantom soldiers to block the assault from all directions. With a counterattack from the phantom soldiers, she blew away every soldier who had charged—
"Ugh… uhh…"
Like phantoms themselves.
Just as before, the soldiers were made to rise unsteadily once more, and once again charged at Katia.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Behind Katia, who was occupied dealing with the soldiers, a triumphant laugh thundered.
"I see—that's how it is, Fire Heaven Judgment! A king is not strong by himself alone—he must also command those around him effectively!"
"You—stop joking around!"
Katia snapped at Aster, who had clearly acknowledged that the phenomenon was his will.
"This was supposed to be a fight between you and me! Yet you're doing this to the people around us… You're not commanding them—you're just controlling them!"
"What?! What are you saying?! I am a king—which means every person in this country belongs to me! What's wrong with doing as I please? Besides, they should be honored to participate in bringing down a national enemy like you—a demon! Rather, they should be grateful to offer their very bodies for this cause!"
Aster declared this with a laugh.
Immediately after—a dry cracking sound rang out.
"Ghk…!"
The source of the sound was one of the soldiers charging at Katia.
By any measure, it was the sound of a bone breaking. The soldier grimaced in agony—but couldn't even crouch down, and continued charging at Katia.
Forcibly made to continue.
"It hurts… it hurts…"
"P-please… help me…"
"F-forgive me… Your Highness…"
…They were clearly being made to act beyond their bodies' limits.
As long as it wasn't his own body, it didn't matter if it broke—defeating Katia was the priority.
Aster's will took precedence over theirs, and they were not permitted to stop moving.
The pain must have been beyond imagination. Not a single one among them was willing in this action.
But perhaps Aster's ears no longer heard such screams.
"Be grateful, soldiers! I am letting you useless lot fight on my behalf! And brace yourself, Katia! This—is the power of this country!!"
"You—how far will you go?!"
The soldiers attacked with even greater momentum. Their movements exceeded her expectations, and Katia was pushed entirely on the defensive.
Part of it was that their movements, pushed beyond all limits, were powerful—but more than anything, she couldn't bring herself to be ruthless against those who were being forced to fight against their will. Her resolve wavered just short of committing fully to attacking them.
And that hesitation, by its very nature, affected her magic directly.
"!"
She felt her connection to the souls weaken. The tremor born from the doubt in her heart—"Is it right to fight them?"—caused her magic's performance to drop, and a portion of the phantom soldiers vanished.
Aster, who was controlling the soldiers, did not let that opening slip.
"No—"
Through the gap left by the vanished phantom soldiers, the soldiers' blades rushed in.
She couldn't dodge. She didn't have enough hands to defend. Helplessly, her body was about to be pierced by swords—
"—This is something I truly cannot overlook."
At that very instant.
A wall of light unfolded before her body, catching the swords with a high-pitched ring.
The boy had threaded through the soldiers' encirclement to reach her. In an instant, he embraced her body and temporarily pulled free of the surround—
"Erm…"
He was supporting her exhausted body with unwavering strength.
"You… are you all right?"
"Yes. I blocked those flames with magic. And it's not just me—over there, too."
Following his gaze, she saw Sara, who had similarly erected a cage of light, protecting herself and the surrounding soldiers.
"I'm… sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for. If anything, we're the ones who arrived late—I was a bit caught off guard by such an unexpected development."
She had insisted on handling it alone, a selfish request, and then failed to do so.
She was apologing out of guilt for that, but Ermes shook his head.
"Besides, this battle was unquestionably your victory. The duel between His Highness Aster and Lady Katia—it was clearly your victory by every measure. They were the ones who refused to accept that and broke the agreement first by dragging others into it."
That was why, he continued, with quiet fury:
"If they choose to act this way, we have no reason to hold back. —Forgive the presumption, but allow me to intervene."
With cold eyes fixed upon Aster, he spoke those words.