266 Battle Universe

I stood in the center of the vast chamber, the Artifact behind me shielded by a shimmering Barrier. Throughout the room, the Magic Barriers I had painstakingly prepared were already active, humming with a quiet intensity.

Facing me was Roz.

He had lost his left arm, yet he was somehow forcing his own Mana to seal the wound, desperately stemming the leakage through sheer willpower. He gripped his Katana, his eyes darting toward my Magic Formula as if calculating how to shatter it. But he didn't move. He couldn't.

I could see the hesitation in his eyes, the flickering shadow of unease. He was looking at me—or rather, he was looking at my Mana. To him, I must have seemed overwhelmingly, laughably weak.

Compared to Weiss, the monster he had been trading blows with until a few minutes ago, I was nothing. My Mana was so faint it looked like it would scatter if someone so much as breathed in my direction. I could practically hear his thoughts: Why? Why is she alone? Why hasn't a single one of her allies come to help?

"...You're awfully composed," Roz spat, his voice tight.

Even if he was confused, his killing intent hadn't wavered. He had clearly resolved to cut me down, girl or not. Yet, despite the threat, I didn't even bother to ready a weapon.

"It's because my comrades trust me," I told him. "And I'm grateful for that."

"…………"

"I don't understand how you people think, and honestly, I don't care what your goals are right now," I said, my voice steadying. "This is simply my resolve."

"What... are you talking about?"

Roz didn't wait for another word. He lunged, moving with a sudden, desperate speed.

He poured everything he had into the strike. I could see the Mana suffusing his Katana—a jagged, piercing energy designed specifically to tear through Anti-Magic like it wasn't even there.

But his blade never reached me.

A visual effect in a color I’m sure he had never seen flared between us. An Anti-Magic field enveloped me, and his sword was violently repelled. No—it wasn't just the sword. The force of the impact physically shoved his entire body back.

He looked stunned. I could feel his confusion. The Mana I was putting out was faint, almost negligible, yet it had just pushed back a Demon General. To someone like Roz, who had spent his life cutting down "strong" opponents, this must have felt completely alien.

And I wasn't done yet.

The ground beneath us began to glow as faint lines of Mana traced across the floor, overlapping in an intricate, glowing web.

"A Barrier...?" he croaked.

"Battle Universe is a game divided into two sides—the first move and the second. You fight by commanding Magic Pieces on a twenty-by-twenty grid," I explained. "And it just so happens that I have absolute confidence in my ability to play. I’m sorry, but your turn is already over."

Roz looked like he wanted to tell me he had no idea what I was talking about.

But he couldn't get the words out. I could see his eyes go wide as a deluge of information flooded his brain. Even if he had never played, even if he had never heard of it, the rules of Battle Universe were being forced into his mind by the magic itself.

"...You... what kind of magic is this?!"

A white Light resonated from the floor with a low hum, and my Magic Pieces materialized around me.

A wizard clutching a massive staff. An old knight atop a horse. A sturdy soldier bracing behind a shield.

Standing in the center of my small army, I reached up and adjusted my glasses.

"I don't have much Mana. I don't have any physical strength, and I can't use any impressive techniques," I said, the words feeling heavy but true. "But even so, everyone believed in me. They put their lives in my hands... and yet, I still managed to disappoint them."

I looked him straight in the eye, my heart finally finding its rhythm.

"That's why I've made up my mind. I'm sorry, but there is no victory left for you. I'm not going to... I won't lose anymore."

Afterword

Magic is a world of imagery.

The one to reach the heights of mastery first wasn't Weiss, Allen, Carta, or even Cynthia—it was Cecil!?

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I Reincarnated as a Lazy and Evil Noble, and After I Destroyed the Scenario, I Became the Strongest with Extraordinary Magic Power

Release Date: March 29, 2024 (Tuesday) (Scheduled for both physical and digital) Label: Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Illustrator: Reine Kuwashima

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