Chapter 58 - Cheap Goods

'Uh...'

Cromwell, a Black Mage who had followed the Society's president into the sanctuary, panted for breath. The president had run ahead like a madman, leaving some distance between them.

Cromwell could not turn his eyes toward the president. The knight who had shut the gate was looking down at them.

Drawing his sword, the knight said, "You lot are mine."

Cromwell instinctively realized that the knight would be their opponent.

"Attack!"

He hurriedly chanted an incantation.

"Excellent!"

The knight drew his sword with a hearty laugh. Aura blazed fiercely along the blade, taking a form closer to fire than aura. Cromwell swallowed hard at the sight.

There were thirty Black Mages on their side. Knight or not, their opponent surely could not defeat them. Still, the sight of him closing the gate had been so intimidating that Cromwell kept his guard up.

"I-I can't gather mana!"

Several men screamed. They were the ones who had not been chosen.

'Useless fools.'

Clicking his tongue softly, Cromwell spat out his incantation.

"Blazing Spear!"

A flaming spear shot toward the knight. As though it were a signal, other spells followed. In an instant, spells of every kind flew toward him, so thickly that they seemed to engulf him completely.

A question suddenly occurred to Cromwell. A knight should have moved before the spells were cast. Yet this knight merely adjusted his grip on his sword without budging, as though he were waiting.

"Come! Pain that shall nourish me!"

Uttering those bizarre words, the knight extended his sword. Fire enveloped the blazing aura. It was magic. As the spells mingled with it, the aura flared even higher, until the sword resembled an enormous flame.

'What in the—'

The knight swept his sword in a long arc. The aura left the blade and moved like a spell, as though it had been fired.

'He's launching aura? What is this...?'

Cromwell narrowed his eyes at the unprecedented sight. The flame-laden aura cut a long path through the air. That immense, fierce surge swallowed the incoming spells.

No, it tore them apart.

Flames rose into the sky and spread violently. Everyone gaped at the absurd display of power. The raging fire parted, and the knight approached.

"Hahaha! Excellent!"

The knight charging toward him with a laugh truly terrified Cromwell.

* * *

THUMP!

Galahad's heart pounded fiercely. No, it was the Egg of agony attached beside his heart that was vibrating violently. It revealed a more ferocious greed than ever before, until he could barely distinguish whose greed it was.

'Tsk.'

Galahad clicked his tongue and collected himself.

THUMP! THUMP!

The Egg of agony poured out mana. Galahad frowned at the egg, which was proving so difficult to control.

There was only one reason it was running wild.

'An egg, eh?'

It was the enormous egg mounted on the staff of the old man who appeared to be the Society's president.

In truth, he had never thought the Egg of agony was particularly precious. It had belonged to Corton in the first place. Something truly important would never have ended up in Corton's hands.

'Is Dawn handing these out?'

Since Corton had also received his from Dawn, that was very likely.

Whatever the case...

'The reward just got bigger.'

Galahad's lips curled upward as he studied the old man. Roots extending from the staff were embedded in his skeletal arm. They pulsed like a heartbeat, seemingly drinking his blood.

The old man kept twitching as he stared at Galahad with blood-red eyes, like a dog faced with food. He seemed desperately to be restraining the egg's urges.

'A Mage being led around by his tool.'

Galahad clicked his tongue and opened his canteen.

The old man exhaled roughly. For a moment, Galahad had the impression of a foul stench wafting toward him.

"You look delicious."

"Thank you for the compliment."

The instant the old man's eyes narrowed slightly, Galahad snapped his fingers. Something burst in front of the old man: the Ice Spike Galahad had sent at him.

"Such a cheap trick—"

"Consider it a greeting."

The Ice Spike should have embedded itself in the old man's body. Galahad reviewed what he had just seen. The old man's reaction had clearly been slow. Yet the spell had been blocked.

'It wasn't the old man who reacted. The egg?'

That was very likely. Apparently, it had more functions than his own egg. The Egg of agony thudded.

Then a red light emerged from the old man's abdomen. Its shape was quite familiar: the magic circle left by the first human Mage. It was larger and more intricate than the ones inscribed on the others.

'So that's the original. No wonder the others were a little crude.'

He was not particularly interested. The magic circle he had inscribed himself was sure to be more effective.

"Rending Claw."

The old man swung his staff.

'Rending Claw? Ridiculous.'

Galahad frowned at the foolish choice. Rending Claw's advantage was its lack of a visible form. Yet he was using it in the ash-filled Demon Realm.

"How stupid."

Galahad clicked his tongue openly. The displaced ash revealed the shape of an enormous claw as it lunged at him.

"Good speed."

He snapped his fingers. A thick barrier appeared before him.

THUD!

The barrier shuddered violently as it blocked the claw, then collapsed in an instant.

'Hmm.'

Galahad's eyes gleamed. He twisted aside, and the spell brushed past him to rake the ground.

SCREEECH!

With a shrill sound, it gouged long scars into the earth.

"Good power, too."

Galahad nodded, noting their length.

"Arrogant wretch."

The old man's face twisted, deepening his wrinkles. His eyes grew redder.

The old man struck his staff against the ground.

THUD!

A small shock spread outward. Instantly, the ash thickened. Another claw came flying.

'Hand it over.'

As though it had finally grown up, the Egg of agony obediently released life force. The magic circle inscribed on Galahad's wrist shone brilliantly. He erected a barrier with compressed mana.

The claw battered it, and the barrier quickly collapsed. He had compressed the mana considerably, yet it had been overwhelmed so easily.

'That's unexpected.'

Unable to evade the spell, Galahad felt it rake his side. A searing pain followed. The old man sniffed like a wolf scenting blood. It was quite an ugly sight.

"Are you laughing or crying? It's hard to tell with all those wrinkles. Ah, now I see. You're laughing."

Galahad nodded as he reviewed what he had just seen.

"You talk too much."

The old man swung the staff, which had become practically an extension of his hand. Another formless claw shot forth.

Galahad twisted his hand. The magic circle on his wrist blazed, and the Egg of agony spat out life force. He went further, compressing his mana a little more. This time, instead of a barrier, he launched an identical claw.

The two claws collided in midair. Galahad's shattered without a sound. The old man's claw cut a long gash across his shoulder. He grimaced at the pain.

'Strange.'

He and the old man possessed similar things. Both bore a magic circle left by the first human Mage, and both had an egg of an upper-echelon Demon. Yet there was such a difference.

'Is he more skilled at magic than I am? Impossible.'

Galahad shook his head.

No matter how wrinkled the old man's face was, he could not possibly be more proficient at magic than Galahad. If he were, he would occupy the upper levels of a mage tower or be its master. He certainly would not be the mere president of the Black Magic Society, driven into the North.

Galahad was not the cause. Only one variable remained.

'So it was you.'

He murmured the words, pressing near his heart. The Egg of agony, which had been running wild nonstop, abruptly went still. Its silence was an admission.

Galahad sorted through the situation.

'Even eggs have grades.'

The egg mounted on the old man's staff seemed to be of a higher grade than his Egg of agony. Given that his had belonged to Corton, that was only natural in a way.

'Is that why I had to feed it blood?'

Galahad frowned as he put the canteen to his lips. The roots attached to the old man were drinking his blood. Even if he was a Mage, his blood could not contain more mana than a Demon's. Yet his magic was denser than Galahad's, despite Galahad consuming Demon blood throughout the fight. The gap between the two eggs seemed greater than he had thought.

'You're cheap goods, aren't you?'

The Egg of agony gave his heart a little bite. He seemed to have guessed correctly. No wonder there was such a difference in their sizes.

"Not smiling anymore?"

The old man sneered. His eyes were so red they seemed to burn. He looked quite menacing.

Indeed, comparing what each of them possessed again, Galahad was in a poor position. The old man had a larger, clearer magic circle of the first human Mage, as well as a better egg. To be precise, his output was higher. Considerably higher.

Output was a very important factor in magic. It was certainly a difficult situation. But Galahad liked difficult problems.

He calmly considered his options. He had already exchanged spells with the old man four times. Four was enough for Galahad to make an assessment. It came quickly, for this was something he did all the time.

* * *

The old man frowned at his opponent. The man must have felt the clear difference between them, yet his lips curled upward instead, as though he found it amusing.

"So you're too stupid even to recognize the difference."

The excitement flowing through the staff violently shook the old man's mind. He wanted to rip out the man's heart and devour it immediately.

He struck his staff against the ground again.

"Rending Claw—"

As he chanted, he felt a peculiar chill. Before he even registered it, his incantation broke off and the staff moved. An invisible barrier surrounded him.

TAP!

A small impact reached him. Its form was unmistakably that of the basic spell Mana Arrow. But its power was not that of a Mana Arrow. The old man frowned at the trembling barrier.

"Of course I noticed the difference. Do you take me for Sir Gilberton?"

The man snapped his fingers as he uttered that bizarre remark. The chill came again.

TAP!

Another Mana Arrow. The barrier trembled slightly.

"Yes, your output is higher than mine. I admit it."

With another incomprehensible remark, the man snapped his fingers again. The barrier shook once more. His Mana Arrows were quite threatening, but they still could not pierce it.

So why was he smiling?

TAP!

Another Mana Arrow struck. The interval was shorter than before. Only then did the old man notice something strange.

'Why are his spells so fast?'

Basic though it was, Mana Arrow was still a spell. It required formulas and incantations, yet the man kept firing them with nothing more than a snap of his fingers. He intended to keep shooting Mana Arrows without giving the old man a chance to cast.

'He certainly knows his way around a battle between Mages.'

But this time was different. The barrier was a spell cast by the staff. It remained in place without the old man's conscious attention. That made manipulating mana difficult, but not impossible. In other words, he could cast spells while maintaining the barrier.

'Fool.'

The old man's lips curved as he finished his calculations.

'There's still an interval between his spells.'

He intended to exploit that gap. His gaze sharpened as he pushed his concentration to its limit. The instant a Mana Arrow struck the barrier...

"Rending Claw."

The old man chanted and brought his staff down. Rending Claw was the fastest spell he could use. Another Mana Arrow struck him then. The barrier trembled slightly, but his concentration did not waver.

"Rending Claw!"

The claw shot toward the man. Because of the barrier, it contained less mana than before, but his opponent had just cast Mana Arrow. The difference was clear.

'I've won.'

The old man was certain of his victory.

Then...

"Rending Claw."

The man chanted at his leisure.

'His casting speed truly is monstrous.'

Forgetting his circumstances, the old man marveled.

But it made no difference. The man had been casting Mana Arrows until just now. Besides, their earlier clashes had made the difference between them clear. The old man's output was overwhelmingly greater. The outcome was as good as decided.

Then their claws collided. His opponent's claw held out longer than before, then vanished. The old man's claw veered ever so slightly. It gouged a long furrow right beside the man, who did not so much as blink.

'He deflected it?'

Even seeing the result, he found it hard to believe. His output was higher than his opponent's. Maintaining the barrier weakened his spell, but the man had also been casting Mana Arrows until a moment ago. Surely he had even less room to spare. Yet the gap in their output had narrowed.

It was not impossible. By concentrating and compressing mana, one could increase a spell's output. But doing so required time to focus.

Then the barrier shook, and the old man sensed something oddly wrong. He realized what it was.

'The Mana Arrows haven't stopped even once.'

It made no sense that the man had compressed mana in the meantime as well.

'He's using an egg, too.'

Just as the old man's egg cast the barrier, his opponent's egg must be casting Mana Arrow. Was that possible? He wondered, but nothing else made sense. There was the possibility of dual casting, but that was something one might suggest as a joke. He had to be using an egg.

'Even so...'

The old man instinctively sensed that his egg was stronger. His opponent's Mana Arrows could not pierce his barrier, and the claw could only deflect his own. In the end, this was a fight the old man would win. The man was merely struggling in vain.

Clicking his tongue, the old man gauged his timing again. When the Mana Arrow struck...

Then he suddenly noticed something strange. A Mana Arrow should have struck by now...

"Rending Claw."

He heard his opponent's incantation.

So all the man had thought of was attacking first. The old man clicked his tongue softly and chanted. Already prepared, he cast quickly.

"Rending Claw—"

The two claws collided between them.

Then the old man realized. There were no Mana Arrows.

An egg was not something one could control. He himself could not regulate the mana going into the barrier. Yet this man had stopped the Mana Arrows.

'What...?'

The old man's left hand tumbled across the ground.

Their eyes met. The man's gaze was calm, like a hunter's.

"A Mage shouldn't let his tools lead him around."

The old man's claw had been overpowered. What that meant was clear.

'It was dual casting?'

The belated pain reached him, and he let out a small scream.

"Now, try again."

The man's calm voice brimmed with excited laughter.

* * *

"Is that all you've got?"

Galahad clicked his tongue as he looked down at the old man. The old man stared up at him, weeping bloody tears, his body trembling. His already thin frame had shriveled further, until he almost resembled a mummy.

The staff stood embedded in the ground, as though spent. The egg at its tip kept pulsing, seemingly drinking the old man's blood. Even as it drained him, he could not let go of it. He was a Mage, after all.

Of course, the staff already had him in its grip, so he could not have let go even if he wanted to.

"Urrgh..."

A tightly stifled sound escaped the old man's lips.

"Surely you can do a little more?"

At Galahad's question, the old man shook violently.

The old man's egg was certainly superior to Galahad's. That translated directly into output. And output carried considerable weight in magic, but...

"It isn't everything."

Galahad crouched before the old man.

He looked more like a demon-beast than a human.

'A side effect of the egg?'

Galahad studied him with interest. The Egg of agony throbbed violently, urging him to take the thing from the staff and eat it at once.

'Quiet, lowest-grade egg.'

At Galahad's scathing words, the Egg of agony gave a faint tremor. Something shifted in his chest. It felt as though the egg had turned its back on him.

"Tell me about Dawn."

Galahad rested a hand on the old man's head and whispered. Mental interference was quite easy with the old man in such an agitated state.

"Dawn is..."

The old man's mouth opened slowly. Loose teeth spilled out amid red blood. His mouth moved of its own accord. Galahad listened closely to his words. A short while later, the shriveled old man's head slumped.

'A Demon, eh?'

For the Society's president, he had not possessed much information about Dawn. The representative from Dawn had been a powerful Demon, who had given him the egg as a token. And...

'Dawn sends someone periodically.'

That was the information Galahad needed most.

He would need to keep the Black Magic Society running. Of course, he had intended to put them to fulfilling work at the magic-stone deposits anyway. If he waited for the next scheduled visit, he should be able to catch Dawn's representative.

THUMP!

At the Egg of agony's renewed pounding, Galahad clicked his tongue softly and took hold of the staff. It vibrated violently. He could feel its pulse. It whispered to him that it was superior.

The Egg of agony hurriedly made its presence known. It pressed repeatedly against his heart, as though massaging it.

'Very good. Keep going.'

The Egg of agony pressed diligently. Galahad chuckled softly and grasped the egg.

"Sorry, but you're too big."

Galahad took a fork and knife from his pocket.