"Y-You took my Black Flash Cannon point-blank and you're unscathed...?"
"Ah, I can put up a Magic Barrier at that level, so don't worry about it. Keep them coming."
I replied to the stunned Grimoire. After all, there are many things about attack magic you can't truly understand until you've been on the receiving end. Indeed, indeed.
Grimoire must have realized that as well, which is why he didn't hold back when he fired at me. I was a bit startled at first, but on second thought, I always have several Magic Barriers on standby. I've programmed them to trigger automatically against any impact above a certain threshold. He must have sensed that. As expected of a Majin, he really knows his stuff.
Good job, Grimoire.
"G-Gu, gugugu... Don’t screw with me! This is magic I spent five years of training to master!"
But for some reason, Grimoire was trembling, his fists clenched as he gnashed his teeth. I wondered what was wrong.
"Hey, Grimoire, what are you doing? Hurry up and show me the next one."
When I hurried him along, Grimoire scratched his head messily. Then, he glared at me with pure loathing.
...Did I do something?
"Tch... Ah, damn it, fine! If you’re going to say that much, I’ll show you! I’ll show you my strongest magic!"
Grimoire raised his voice and held his open right hand out in front of me. Looking closely, there was a single line on his palm, wriggling and squirming. Then, the line opened. What emerged from within were a red tongue and sharp teeth—in other words, a mouth.
"Double Casting—"
Muttering that, Grimoire began chanting two different spells simultaneously using his two mouths. Oh, so a Majin could do things like that.
"Paint it over, black, black, black; pierce and gouge, my blade—"
As I waited excitedly for the chant to finish, Grimoire’s body began to glow brilliantly.
"—Go to hell!! Spiral Black Flash Cannon!"
A roar erupted as a torrent of magic power blustered forth. Pushed by that pressure, my body was blown back just a tiny bit. The twin waves of black magic power spiraled around each other as they closed in on me. The magic waves collided with my automatically deployed Magic Barrier, releasing a tremendous impact.
"Gu, guguuu...! Pierce him, damn it...!"
Grimoire was straining intensely. Because of that, it seemed like the output was gradually increasing. Of course, not a single scratch appeared on my Magic Barrier, but it was interesting that the power could increase through sheer spirit.
Still... was it Spiral something-or-other? He was going out of his way to control the rotation into a spiral. I wondered if there was a point to it. It just looked like an ordinary wave of mana... Hmm, it was hard to tell from behind the barrier. I'd have to touch it directly. I poked a finger out through the Magic Barrier and gave the magic wave a gentle tap.
Snap! A popping sound rang out, and a shockwave blew through the air.
"Hah-haaaa! You took my Spiral Black Flash Cannon with your bare body?! You’re finished! Blow apart!"
While Grimoire was howling, the magic wave remained stationary at the tip of my finger. I had stopped the magic wave so I could examine its structure.
...I see, I see. There was no particular meaning to it being a spiral or being black. Even so, the reason the power increased was what you’d call a matter of mindset. It often happens that the nature of magic changes due to heightening emotions like anger or through sheer conviction. That said, it’s not always a good thing; sometimes it produces a backlash. Because of that, it hasn't been highly recommended for a while now... but perhaps Ancient Magic evolved in that direction. It was interesting that he could produce this much power that way.
"Oops, time’s up."
Because I had held it still, the supply of magic from the caster was cut off, and the magic wave vanished. Well, I suppose that was enough observation. It wasn't that complex after all.
Beyond the point where the magic wave disappeared, Grimoire stood with an expression of pure shock.
"I-Impossible... That was my maximum output magic... How many decades of effort do you think I put in to be able to use that...? And you just... so easily...!?"
"I see. I could certainly feel a considerable amount of trial, error, and discipline in that magic just now."
"...Hmph! That’s right, it’s the result of blood-soaked effort!"
"—Yeah, I bet it was fun."
Training magic is a wonderful thing. It must be the same for a Majin. As I thought, humans and Majin are the same in that regard.
"Fu...?! A-Are you an idiot?!"
He seemed quite surprised. Did I say something strange?
"Damn it! Don’t mess with me! This time for sure...!"
Grimoire began chanting the same magic as before once more. Hmm, if it was the same one, I didn't really need to see it twice. Besides, I couldn't exactly say the level was very high. Perhaps Ancient Magic wasn't something with high offensive capabilities.
"Ah, I'm good on the attacks now, I've got the gist of it. Show me something else next."
"Something else... you say...?"
"Yeah, anything is fine... let’s see, how about defense magic? Ah, it might be easier to understand if I attack you."
Saying that, I held out my right hand and began gathering magic. For now, let's start with ordinary High Magic.
"—Blazing Fireball."
I gathered a massive amount of flame at my fingertips and fired it toward Grimoire.
"Nuwaaaaaah?!"
The flames hit home, and Grimoire let out a scream. Huh? I wondered why he didn't defend with a Magic Barrier.
"H-Hey, Grimoire. Are you okay?"
When I hurriedly called out to him, a shadow flickered within the flames. Looking closely, there wasn't a single burn on Grimoire’s body.
"Ku, kuku... You gave me a scare... but there’s no way you can defeat me, a Majin, with magic! Too bad for you!"
"Eh, is that so?!"
"Yeah, that’s right. If it were the Holy Magic used by those priests, I might take a little damage, but there’s no way a mere mage could defeat me! Too bad, Lloyd! The moment you resurrected me, it was checkmate for you... Bufoh!"
This time, I hit him with a Torrential Waterball. Even while taking a water strike like a waterfall, Grimoire certainly didn't look like he was taking damage.
"L-Listen to me... I told you it’s useless... Gafah?!"
"Amazing. It really isn't working."
I muttered while firing a Crushing Earthball. Even while being crushed by rocks, Grimoire seemed perfectly fine. This was a surprise. Magic really didn't work on a Majin! I wondered just how much he could take. I wanted to know; I wanted to test the limits.
"H-Hey, wait, you. Why are you looking at me with those sparkling eyes?! H-Hey, stop it! Hey, cut it ouuuuut!"
I proceeded to hit Grimoire with every spell I could think of.
"I am so sorry!!"
In front of my eyes, Grimoire thrust both hands onto the ground in a deep prostration.
"Hey, now. What’s with this all of a sudden? Doing a dogeza and all."
"Please forgive me, Lord Lloyd! I won’t do anything bad ever again! So please...! I’m begging you!"
Grimoire pleaded with tears in his eyes. I had only hit him with a few hundred attack spells... I didn't really get it.
"Whatever, let’s just get on with the rest. I want to know more about Ancient Magic."
"Higyee?! W-Wait! My body can’t take any more!"
"Eh—really? But I’m still not satisfied at all..."
At my words, Grimoire turned pale for some reason, scrambled backward, and lowered his head with such force it seemed like he would bury it in the ground.
"I, Grimoire, swear to serve Lord Lloyd with all my heart and soul! I’ll be your familiar or anything else! So please! Have mercy on me!"
"A familiar, huh..."
I didn't really get it, but if he was going that far, I guessed I could call it a day. If he became my familiar, I could perform magic experiments whenever I wanted.
...Yeah, not bad.
I gave him a bright smile and reached out my hand.
"Alright, then. Do you want to make a contract with me?"
"Yes, sir!"
Grimoire clung to the hand I held out. A brilliant light enveloped us, and the contract was complete.
"...Dammit, what a humiliation for the great Grimoire to become a human’s familiar... But this guy’s strength is no joke. Once I’ve gained enough of his trust, I can just sweet-talk him and use him, and then it’ll be possible for me to rule the world from the shadows. Kuh-hi-hi, I just have to endure until then..."
"Hm? What are you muttering about?"
"N-No, nothing! It’s nothing at all, Lord Lloyd!"
Grimoire flustered about. He was kind of an emotionally unstable guy... Oh well.
At any rate, in this manner, Grimoire became my familiar.