Chapter 39 - The Unwritten Rule of Mages

CRACKLE!

An electrical explosion erupted in front of Yuren.

A blue curtain of light shone before him.

Magic Shield, a 4th-tier spell.

His reflexive response had left him completely unharmed, but he was busy steadying his startled heart.

'Was that... Elemental Bolt?'

Elemental Bolt, a 3rd-tier spell.

It possessed greater power than Mana Shot, and was a basic spell whose effect changed depending on the attribute imbued into it.

'The attribute he imbued was lightning, so it must be Lightning Bolt.'

Lightning was a spell specialized in speed, piercing through an enemy's openings.

That speed was what Elemental Bolt gained when imbued with it, making it on average three times faster than other attributes.

'It was like an arrow fired by a master archer.'

If he had not responded quickly, there was no doubt some part of him would have been blown off.

'And he is a 3rd Circle mage?'

Ferda was a mage who had reached the 3rd Circle, but Yuren had not underestimated him for that.

He was a possessor of a Red Circle, and Red Circle possessors always wielded great power in their attribute of affinity.

The fact that he had defeated Thessalos Vulture at the 1st Circle was already famous.

So even among mages of the same level, Yuren had treated him as being in the highest possible class.

'I even thought he might be comparable to a 4th Circle mage.'

But even that had been an underestimation.

He was using magic with power that far surpassed imagination.

'What trick did he use?'

Yuren's eyes swept over Ferda.

For a moment, he thought Ferda might secretly be receiving help from something.

That was impossible.

There was no way he would have been allowed to carry a weapon before entering this sealed warehouse.

'Without a wand or staff to assist his calculations, he is producing that casting speed purely with his own head?'

There was only one answer for increasing casting speed: repetition and mastery.

And that repetition and mastery were not as simple as copying lines endlessly as a student.

It was only possible when drawing mana pathways became as natural as breathing, to the point one could cast magic even in one's sleep.

That was impossible for Yuren.

Ferda's genius was worthy of awe.

"You seem curious about what magic that was."

Ferda provoked Yuren in a relaxed voice.

"For your reference, it was Elemental Bolt."

"You cocky little bastard."

Yuren's face flushed bright red.

No matter how high his status was, as a mage, he was nothing more than a 3rd Circle brat.

A magic circle was drawn in Yuren's hand.

"Go on, keep acting arrogant!"

In a duel with their lives on the line, titles and all that crap no longer mattered.

The completed magic circle in Yuren's hand did not disappear, but floated in the air.

'A sustained-concentration magic circle.'

The common expendable magic circle transformed the mana of the circle into the form of a spell when magic was used.

A sustained-concentration magic circle maintained the magic circle without consuming its mana, firing magic by injecting mana into it.

It was a technique any 5th Circle mage could naturally use.

'The magic circle is the same as mine, Elemental Bolt.'

He inferred it from the shape and engraved formula, and as he thought, white ice spikes were created from the magic circle.

It was Ice Bolt.

"Let's see you dodge this too!"

And it was not a single shot, but rapid fire.

Ferda threw himself behind a display stand and avoided the attack.

The ice struck the white stone display cabinet and shattered.

It was frozen so solid that the following bombardment nearly broke the display stand apart.

'As expected, sustained-concentration types are troublesome.'

It would be a lie to say he was not at a disadvantage.

The moment an opening appeared in his mind, a sinister voice crawled toward Ferda.

-Do you need my power?

It was the temptation of demons.

Those things made contracts with people when they were driven into a corner, asking an absurd price in return.

'They caught a glimpse of my talent.'

Demons had eyes too, and did not tempt just anyone recklessly.

Of course, Ferda was not shaken by that voice in the slightest.

For now, he focused on the battle.

'Mana is not infinite.'

Neither his opponent nor Ferda had infinite mana.

Before the stone display stand could shatter, the bombardment of Ice Bolts stopped. Ferda rose terrifyingly fast and looked up at the magic circle.

The way to erase a sustained-concentration magic circle was,

'To scatter the opponent's concentration.'

The moment Yuren tried to bombard him again, Ferda extended the magic circle he had prepared toward his opponent.

"Lightning Bolt."

A bullet of lightning flew in a straight line.

Its speed was excellent, but because it was so fast, its path was honest.

Yuren read the direction of the magic circle, and a blue curtain formed before him.

CRACKLE!

Ferda's Lightning Bolt vanished when it touched Magic Shield.

It was fast, but the spell itself had low destructive power.

'If only I could combine two attributes, I could have pierced it.'

Combining darkness, which had the highest destructive power, with electricity, which was strongest in speed.

That was still impossible for him, who was only 3rd Circle.

'Then...'

Ferda turned his gaze toward the magic circle.

His opponent had stopped injecting mana, but three Ice Bolts were flying toward Ferda.

'Magic Intercept.'

With the technique that seized magic used by an opponent, he tried to intercept the three ice spikes with threads made of mana.

Ferda had been an 8th Circle Great Mage, but right now, he was a 3rd Circle mage.

It was impossible to make all three of the rapidly flying spells his own.

If he gave up one, he could take two.

'I give up the one farthest from my vitals.'

A rational and swift judgment.

The Ice Bolt he gave up tore deeply through Ferda's thigh.

His flesh split, blood flowed out, and pain climbed through his veins.

But it did not matter.

The two ice spikes Yuren had created now bared their fangs at their master.

"I shall return these to you."

A magic circle was drawn in Ferda's hand.

The same Lightning Bolt.

But that Lightning Bolt was launched from behind the Ice Bolts.

"Lightning Bolt."

WHOOSH!

The Ice Bolts shot forward, gaining lightning-like speed.

They pierced the blue curtain Yuren had made.

SHATTER!

The Ice Bolts vanished, and the blue curtain broke.

Yuren's eyes went wide.

'My barrier broke?'

The sturdiness of the Ice Bolts and the speed of Lightning Bolt had combined, and the impact could not be withstood.

His bewilderment lasted only briefly, and Yuren sensed death.

He still had one Ice Bolt left.

"Lightning Bolt."

This time, the ice spike flew toward Yuren's brow.

"Uaaah!"

Yuren stopped concentrating and threw himself away from the spot.

The sustained-concentration magic circle scattered and disappeared as it was.

Yuren rose to his feet, feeling adrenaline spinning through his head.

"Whew... You caught me off guard. Are you truly a 3rd Circle mage?"

Ferda replied.

"Was it only after hearing that directly from me that you realized you were such a third-rate mage?"

"Everything you do makes me ask that. Even the court Great Mage, that old geezer, would not be able to respond like you at the 3rd Circle."

"That old geezer is still among the wisest in this imperial palace."

"You speak as if you know him. You have never even seen him."

As if he had not.

That old man was the one Ferda had confronted until the emperor bowed his head.

While Ferda was thinking that, Yuren took something out from inside his clothes.

A magic tool with a round crystal fitted onto a wooden rod.

It was a wand.

As long as mana was poured into it, the magic circle engraved within would react and fire magic.

The fact that he took out that object carried great meaning.

"Are you admitting defeat in skill?"

"Mock me as much as you like. All I need to do is remove you!"

Mana was injected, and the magic circle revealed itself.

Ferda quickly read the shape of that magic circle.

'From a rough look, it seems a 4th-tier spell is engraved on it.'

Just as he expected, the magic circle was a 4th-tier spell.

The mana of the magic circle gathered, emitting white cold air as it sharpened into a point.

Its form was similar to the Ice Bolts he had been firing wildly.

But it did not feel like a simple Ice Bolt.

The insight dwelling in Ferda's eyes shone.

'It contains an excessive amount of cold inside.'

It was a Frost Bomb disguised as an Ice Bolt.

The moment it touched something or broke, the cold inside would burst out.

If he tried clumsily to dodge, defend, or intercept it, he would be the one struck instead.

'So I need to shoot it down.'

Ferda flicked the sphere of mana held at his finger and made it touch the Frost Bomb.

HISSSS!

Cold air like steam burst out and froze the surroundings.

Ferda's mana sphere also froze solid and rolled across the floor.

It was a spell destructive enough to freeze mana solid.

'He saw through my Frost Bomb.'

Yuren was not surprised.

There was no way a mage skilled enough to use Magic Intercept would fail to recognize a feint.

In that time, Yuren chanted another spell.

"Shield of the Empire!"

A magic circle drawn with highly concentrated mana took shape and became a shield.

The 5th-tier defensive spell, Aegis.

Created after the name of a hero called Aegis, it boasted ironclad protection.

That shield would perceive magic on its own and move without Yuren's command.

'A troublesome bastard.'

For someone who had never seen it before, there was no magic more troublesome than this.

'... Is what one would be likely to think.'

But Ferda knew it well.

The more troublesome something was, the more clearly he remembered it.

That was why Ferda waited.

For the moment that bastard overtrusted his own magic.

'Now.'

That was the very instant Yuren was casting Frost Bomb with his wand.

At the same time, two spheres formed in Ferda's hand.

One was a normal Mana Shot,

And the other was a Mana Bomb made by compressing a greater amount of mana.

'No way...'

The moment he saw the Mana Bomb, Yuren's intuition struck his mind.

He tried to deny the ominous thought.

That could not possibly happen.

Was a mere 3rd Circle mage supposed to know the method to break a 5th-tier spell?

Though he denied it, Ferda's spheres flew toward Yuren.

The first sphere to rush in was the Mana Bomb.

The shield of Aegis detected that Mana Bomb and moved.

BOOM!

The area grew thick with mana.

At the same time, the shield's movements began to stutter unnaturally.

Yuren's eyes went wide.

'He knows how to break Aegis?'

A battle between mages was about playing one's cards.

If one did not know what a card was, it was often played under the assumption that the opponent would not know either.

No, that assumption was in fact something one had to make.

If one chose a move while preparing for every possibility, even situations outside the norm, no magic could be used at all.

Yuren was facing that abnormality.

'Then the second sphere is...!'

It would aim for the Frost Bomb.

A spell once cast could be extinguished by the mage's will.

But things created by a wand or staff had no way to stop midway.

Ferda would aim for the moment the Frost Bomb was completed, make contact with it, and detonate it as it was.

'Like hell I will!'

Yuren swiftly cast Magic Shield.

A blue curtain covered his front.

It was a defensive spell that could not be pierced by a single Lightning Bolt.

The mana sphere could not touch the Frost Bomb.

Once the Frost Bomb was formed, he could simply throw it somewhere else.

But contrary to that thought.

The spell Ferda cast was,

'Lightning Bolt?'

It was the same arrow of lightning.

Yuren could not understand.

'It cannot pierce through, so why did he make that choice?'

Even if it had excellent power, it did not have enough force to pierce his curtain.

As Yuren tried to find that answer, only then did something begin to appear.

Something even darker, buried within the dark background, was hanging behind Ferda's back.

It looked like an arm he had been hiding, and it was making a throwing motion from low near the floor.

"Ah."

What entered his sight was the frozen mana sphere.

It had frozen in the aftermath of the Frost Bomb and was extremely hard.

Hard enough to be used as a substitute for a metal bullet.

He had brought that sphere from Yuren's blind spot.

"Lightning Bolt."

The moment it rose into his trajectory, lightning was fired.

The Lightning Bolt carried the hard lump of ice as it flew in.

SHATTER!

Magic Shield broke.

Yuren's body shook violently.

Still, Yuren was an experienced mage.

He did not close his eyes with an enemy before him.

In his sight, he saw the mana sphere Ferda had saved flying toward him.

'I need to find a way...!'

But by then, the mana sphere had already touched the Frost Bomb.

HISSSS!

White vapor burst out, and the area became a field of frost.

The vapor did not clear easily.

'He must have died instantly.'

Judging by its power, it would not be strange for Yuren to be dead.

His defenses had been neutralized, and even if he had resistance to magic, he could not survive taking a direct hit from a cold bomb.

Even so, Ferda did not lower his guard.

This was the sealed warehouse, and the desire to live was the will of man.

'Demons sometimes fulfill that will.'

And his concern became reality.

CRACK.

The shape of Yuren, the ice mage covered in frost, moved.

His frozen clothes and wand shattered into shards of ice, but he did not break.

And before anyone knew it, a book was in his hand.

"Heeheehee...!"

A laugh steeped in madness cried out in ecstasy.

"Ahh. So gaining the power of a demon... feels like this."

It was the typical thing said by those intoxicated by demonic power.

What he held in his hand was Marbas's Ice Ring Art.

'Marbas, the demon of bitter cold and ruin.'

One of the seven Great Demons, and the great lord of the frozen hell.

He was a demon perfectly suited to Yuren, an ice mage.

'It seems he made a contract with Marbas right before the explosion and survived.'

If one sold one's soul to Marbas, one was granted the blessing to survive extreme cold.

Ferda looked at him and sank down where he stood.

He had lost too much blood, and there was no longer any strength in his thigh.

Even his superhuman concentration was now reaching its limit.

"Oh dear... Where has that supremely confident Regent gone? Come now, we have to keep fighting, do we not?"

Yuren mocked Ferda.

Everything was turning against Ferda.

At that moment,

The malice filling the room began to move once more.

All the demonic books in the sealed warehouse stirred and moved.

-Offer your soul. Then I shall give you the power to kill that worthless thing.

-I will give you the power to burn the one who insults you! Offer your soul to me!

-I shall give you power. Even rolling in a dung heap in this world is better than the afterlife, is it not?

The whispers of demons churned through Ferda.

It felt as if they were tugging him this way and that to take possession of his body.

It was proof that Ferda's body had been driven to the edge of a cliff.

Ferda, who had only been wheezing for breath, opened his mouth.

"Just before death..."

A smile appeared on Ferda's lips.

It was different in nature from the few smiles he had shown before.

It was a smile that welled up from emotion.

"They say the face of the person you love appears first."

Yuren frowned as he looked at Ferda, who had suddenly begun spouting nonsense.

"And do you know what I see right now? You. Do you know what that means?"

"What kind of bullshit is that? Surely you are not about to say you love me."

Ferda's blue eyes stared at Yuren.

They were shining as he used magic.

That undying light was pride, and those two eyes made Yuren look pathetic.

"It means it is not yet my time to die."

At that moment, Yuren's intuition shone once again.

'I cannot... win against this man?'

Even though he had made a contract with the demon Marbas, it told him he could not defeat this man.

'That cannot be.'

Then what did that make him, after selling himself to a demon?

At the moment of death, he had given up everything, and yet he still could not defeat a 3rd Circle mage.

Then what in the world did that make him?

Just as he tried to steady his mind, Ferda asked.

"Do you know the unwritten rule of mages?"

The unwritten rule of mages.

Never reveal one's final means until the moment of death.

In other words, it meant a wildcard capable of overturning everything.

"So you mean to use your final spell? You should no longer have that much mana left."

It was as Yuren said.

The mana Ferda had left now was only enough to use Elemental Bolt once at most.

The blood flowing down his thigh had not even been staunched, and he could no longer put strength into it.

The one driven into a corner was clearly Ferda, not Yuren.

Ferda smiled deeply and said,

"Do not jump to conclusions. When did I ever say it was magic?"

Not magic?

At that moment, Yuren felt a presence behind him.

"Looks like I'm not too late yet."

What came out of nowhere was a man's voice.

Yuren turned his head.

There stood a brown-haired man dressed as a guard.

'A guard... There is no way.'

There was no way an ordinary guard could come into a security area like this.

He was clearly an intruder.

And at that,

An intruder with considerable skill, not a group, who had broken into this sealed warehouse.

The man was the first to move.

He swiftly closed the distance.

'I need to respond.'

Yuren drew a magic circle.

At that moment, the man's ordinary eyes were dyed a vivid red and shone.

'What? Why is the mana...?'

At the place that light stared at, the mana gathering in the magic circle was forcibly scattered.

'No way...!'

A race he had thought vanished into history came to his mind.

"You bastard, are you of the Red-Eye Clan?!"

In other words, a Mage Killer.

The dagger in the man's hand pierced through his neck.

"Ghk, kuh!"

It dug precisely into his windpipe and artery.

All he could make was the sound of air leaking out.

Ferda, who was watching from behind, spoke to the man in a friendly tone.

"Be careful. He is a man who sold himself to a demon."

"I know."

The man gripped the dagger in both hands and took his stance.

"I happen to have deep ties with demons too."

He pulled out the dagger that had pierced through and drew a wide arc.

Yuren's vision flipped and flew into the sky.

Within his consciousness, which had not yet been cut off, he saw Ferda.

He was casting Lightning Bolt toward Yuren's head.

"Farewell, beast who lost his pride."