“What are you doing, Master Lloyd?!”
Grimo’s voice suddenly rang out.
Whoa, not so loud. You startled me.
“Wh-What’s the matter...?” I asked.
“What do you mean ‘what’s the matter’?! You could have dodged that attack if you wanted to! Taking that guy’s hit on purpose is just plain crazy! What would I do if something happened to you?!”
Ah, he caught me.
Actually, it was a close call, but my curiosity got the better of me and I ended up taking it.
“...Well, even so, I wouldn’t have known for sure unless I tried taking it at least once,” I replied.
A physical phenomenon manifested through mana without the use of a spell formula. I wouldn't know how it differed from magic or how it functioned unless I actually experienced it firsthand. It turned out to be more ordinary than I expected, but even that was something I only realized by being hit.
Grimo fell silent at my response.
“You only have one life! It’ll be a problem for me if you don’t value your own safety! Please, I’m begging you, don't do anything reckless!”
“What’s this? Are you actually worried about me?”
“I-It’s not like that... ugh, it’s the body that’ll be mine one day. I can’t have you dying in a place like this...!”
Grimo began muttering under his breath. It was true that in my previous life, I died because I took an unknown spell head-on just to observe it. Maybe I should be a little more cautious. Yeah.
“You tried taking it... you say...? Hahaha, don't make me laugh...!”
With a low roar, the mana gathered from the surroundings surged into Guisarm’s body. He raised both hands, and a massive sphere of mana manifested between them. Even without looking closely, the magic concentration was staggering; sparks were popping and crackling with intensity.
Oh, that’s quite an output. It was rare to see this much mana in one place.
“I’ve gathered every scrap of mana from this entire area... I didn't want to destroy this manor, you know. But it’s your fault, isn't it? It’s because you said things to provoke me...!”
A smile twisted by rage played across Jade’s face. It looked like an interesting attack... but as things stood, Ren and the others behind me were liable to be caught in the crossfire.
“Ren, take the others and get away from here.”
As a result of Guisarm concentrating his mana into a single point, the magic pressure had eased, allowing Galilea and the others to finally get back on their feet. The soldiers were also in a state of confusion, so this was their chance to escape.
“Y-Yeah... but what about you, Lloyd?”
“I’ll be fine. Just go.”
“...All right. Be careful!”
Ren began to run, leading the others away while looking back at me several times with lingering concern. Good, they were gone. If Ren and her group were here, they would only get in the way. Now I could fight while trying out all sorts of things without any reservations.
“I won't let you escape!”
Guisarm fired several spears from the mana sphere toward the retreating assassins. However, the magic barrier I deployed knocked them aside. With a dull metallic clang, the deflected magic spears pierced through the nearby soldiers instead.
“Hey now, don't waste the mana you worked so hard to collect. It won’t be any fun if you don't hit me with all of it.”
“...Heh, heh heh heh... Fine. If you want to die that badly, I’ll grant your wish. My Black Death Ball is loaded with the entirety of my mana; it is my strongest technique, one that swallows everything into sub-space. I look forward to seeing if you can still run your mouth after facing this!”
Guisarm rapidly condensed the gathered mana sphere. The sound of space itself creaking and distorting echoed throughout the hall. That black vortex... I had seen something like it before.
Which meant if I used that... As I was turning the thought over in my mind, Grimo cried out again.
“Wait, Master Lloyd, what do you intend to do?! That magic pressure is way too dangerous!”
“It’s fine. I’ll stop it.”
“I just told you not to do anything reckless!”
Guisarm wore a murderous expression as he swung down his raised hands.
“Aha! If you think you can stop it, then try! Swallow everything! Black Death Ball!”
With a roar, the mana sphere was unleashed at high speed, obliterating rubble, piercing through soldiers, and sucking in clouds of dust. It surged toward me, swallowing every obstacle in its path. I produced flames with a Fireball and tried firing it at the sphere. With a hiss, the flames vanished instantly, leaving behind only a thin trail of smoke.
“Hahahaha! It’s useless, useless! My Black Death Ball swallows and grinds up everything, whether it’s a magic barrier or anything else! Defense is impossible! Now, be ground into nothing!”
Guisarm laughed loudly. As the sphere closed in, Grimo shrieked.
“Daaaah! I knew it, this is too reckless!”
“It’s okay. It’s not reckless,” I muttered.
By taking a hit myself earlier, I had gained a general understanding of Guisarm’s abilities. He essentially sent out mana with commands embedded in it, but the effects were limited to simple phenomena. And just as I had neutralized his magic spear with Quaking Rock Fang, it was possible to counter him with magic that shared a similar effect.
Guisarm said that modern magic was born from this power used by Demons. In other words, the difference was simply whether one used a spell formula or not. And I knew of a spell that caused a phenomenon identical to that mana sphere.
Spatial System Magic: Void.
It was a spell that created a hole leading to sub-space, causing any object that touched it to vanish. It bypassed magic barriers and everything else. I once tested how much mass Void could swallow, and it ended up gulping down an entire mountain. At that time, a thought occurred to me.
What would happen if I clashed these spells against each other? The result of that experiment was something to look forward to.
“—And so, here we go.”
When I activated Void, a black vortex appeared before me. Immediately afterward, the Black Death Ball collided with it. They mingled, repelled each other, and melted together with a low, groaning roar—and finally, both vanished completely.
“Wh-What?!”
A look of pure shock appeared on Guisarm’s face. Yes, when holes in space leading to another dimension collided, they devoured each other and underwent mutual annihilation. I really wanted the excitement back that I felt when I had first lined up and fired Void spells, wondering what kind of incredible catastrophe would happen.
Even though I had snuck out of the castle in the middle of the night and performed a test firing over the deserted sea... Ahem, well, regardless of that.
“Was that your strongest technique, Guisarm?”
“Grrr...!”
Guisarm ground his teeth at my words. Hmm, judging by his reaction, it seemed his boast from earlier was true. In that case, I had no more use for him. It was time to end this.
“Then, this time, it’s my turn.”
As I took a step forward, Guisarm recoiled.