"O smoldering flame, O dancing flame, O downpouring flame, O flame that destroys all things equally. Come forth, come forth, come forth—"
Albert began his chant.
That was the incantation for Scorching Flame Fang, a fire-based Supreme Magic spell.
If I recalled correctly, Albert shouldn't have been able to use anything beyond High Magic. I wondered when he had mastered this.
However, it seemed he couldn't perform high-speed chanting using Spell Bundles yet; he was using a standard vocal chant.
As the incantation was spun, magic circles manifested around Albert.
Beautiful patterns flickered vividly into existence before vanishing again.
When using Spell Bundles, all of those steps were omitted, which made the process feel a bit bland.
That said, I remembered the full chant being quite long.
Tao and Sylpha were likely tasked with holding Pazuzu at bay until the chant was complete.
"Hah!" "Yaaah!"
The two were attacking, but their strikes weren't really getting through.
Or rather, they were inflicting minor wounds, but the injuries healed immediately.
It seemed that physical damage didn't easily take hold on a Majin, who was essentially a semi-spiritual entity.
"Master Lloyd, no matter how great that Supreme Magic is, it won't work on a Majin like him!"
"Now that you mention it, you did say something like that before. Though you went down pretty quickly yourself."
"Well, anyone would after taking a hit like that!?"
I internally retorted, wondering which one it actually was.
"Well, whatever. More importantly, Grimo, are you any good at altering the properties of mana?"
"Are you still on about that!?"
What did he mean by "still"?
This was a top priority.
"Haa... Well, Majin are naturally good at altering mana properties. I understand the method at least... but surely it's bad form to ignore those people and teach you right now?"
Grimo cast his gaze toward Albert and the others in the thick of the battle.
"It's fine. I've been casting healing magic on them for a little while now."
If the enemy was going to heal, then so were we.
A few moments ago, I had sent out Magic Imprints to everyone.
These were like markings used to automatically target subjects with magic; once applied, there was no need to manually aim at the person again.
The spell I was using was the Healing System Magic 'Recovery Breathing,' which gradually healed wounds in accordance with the depth of the person's breaths.
Because it healed slowly over a long period, it paired perfectly with Magic Imprints. Plus, it made it harder for people to realize I was the one doing it.
Since all spells in the Healing System were of a fairly high tier, it would be a hassle if my involvement were discovered.
The people who had been wounded and fallen began to stand up after a while as their injuries mended.
Yeah, with this, they probably wouldn't be defeated so easily.
"Anyway, back to our conversation."
"Haa, understood... Ahem. Altering the properties of mana is done when you generate the mana, not through a Spell Formula. Instead of just releasing mana, if you apply a certain process to it, you can change its nature."
"Heh, I never thought of that."
I had always just generated mana aimlessly.
Come to think of it, the reason the Ancient Magic Grimo used changed colors or the shape of the mana waves was because he was altering its properties, not the formula itself.
I had thought it was pointless at the time, but as I expected, magic was a deep field.
"Starting with a change in color is the basic first step. Want to give it a try?"
"Of course."
"The most important part of altering mana properties is the image. You have to strongly visualize the colored mana. That said, it's not something that can be done overnight—"
An image, huh? It was probably like the Mimicry spell I used to change my appearance.
If that was the case, I was good at it. Image, image...
I strongly visualized the color blue and generated mana from my palm.
Immediately, a pale blue mana came overflowing out.
"Oh! Is this what you call altering the properties of mana?"
Red, white, green—the mana changed colors exactly as I wished. This was interesting.
While I was enjoying myself, Grimo wore an expression of sheer shock.
"Wh... You did it so easily just from hearing the explanation...!?"
"I can even make it move. It doesn't seem very useful, though..."
When I sent the mental image of "move" to the generated mana, it writhed and danced while shifting colors.
Watching me manipulate it at will, Grimo's mouth hung wide open.
I see, Pazuzu must have added scents or flavors to his mana to make it more appealing to the magical beasts.
"—O flames, gather and become the fangs that crush all. ...Scorching Flame Fang!"
While I was preoccupied, Albert's chant finally finished.
Sylpha and Tao, noticing immediately, leapt away from Pazuzu.
An instant later, a downpour of smoldering flames rained upon Pazuzu and his pack.
"GAAAAAAAH!?"
The wide-range flames incinerated the surroundings, and the Bearwolves fell one after another, letting out wretched screams.
"We did it! What incredible power!"
"As expected of Master Albert. He won't be getting back up after that."
The two let out voices of joy.
In contrast, Albert's expression remained clouded.
"I hope... that's the case..."
Albert's knees buckled, and he collapsed.
His breathing was ragged, and his whole body was trembling, seemingly unable to muster any strength.
It was the classic symptom of mana exhaustion. His complexion had turned a sickly pale.
"Master Albert!?"
"Are you all right!?"
"Haha... I've used up every last bit of my power... My mana has reached its limit. If he's still alive after this, there's nothing more I can do..."
Both Tao and Sylpha, who were supporting the weakly laughing Albert, were already exhausted.
While healing magic could mend wounds, it couldn't restore spent mana or physical fatigue.
Naturally, the Royal Guards also looked as though they were barely standing.
While everyone stared into the flames with prayerful faces—
—Thump! The ground shook.
Inside the inferno, a massive shadow flickered.
"Kukuku, kufufufufufu... You've done quite well for a human."
Pushing aside the flames, Pazuzu emerged without a single scratch.
Behind him were the Bearwolves, who were also beginning to stand up while staggering.
Despair washed over the faces of everyone watching.
"I-Impossible...?"
Looking at Albert's shocked face, Pazuzu curled his lips into a smirk.
"How naive. I am a Majin. Human magic does not work on me."
As Pazuzu sneered, he exhaled a black breath.
Before anyone realized what was happening, it had enveloped the entire area.
"Ugh...!?" "Guh...!"
The Royal Guards let out groans and collapsed.
Tao and Sylpha followed suit.
Everyone fell prostrate one by one.
"Kuhahahaha! No matter who they are, those who inhale my mana lose their sense of self and become my puppets! You held out longer than most humans, but this is the end. Rest easy. From now on, I shall make use of you as my servants!"
Pazuzu was laughing loudly, but his face quickly stiffened.
His gaze was fixed straight on me.
"I-Impossible!? Why are you still conscious after inhaling my mana!?"
"Eh? I don't know..."
I tilted my head, returning his flustered gaze with a questioning look.