"I am reluctant to show the true essence of my magic against mere monsters, but this is no time to hold back. Now, shall we go rabbit hunting?"
Oh, it looked like Saias was finally motivated.
That glove was a magic tool designed to seal his mana. By imposing such a restriction, he must have been boosting the power of a specific spell. The fact that he’d removed it was a clear declaration of intent: he was going to use a spell that was special even to him.
Which meant I was finally about to see Saias’s Bloodline Magic.
"Is it really that rare?" Grimo asked. "To me, Master Lloyd’s very existence is far rarer."
"What are you saying, Grimo! Bloodline Magic is like a work of art, a legacy built by a house of mages over generations! Especially one from a prestigious lineage like House Revenant. Ah, I can't wait!"
While we were talking, the Snow Rabbit crouched low and leaped. It hopped through the air, creating footholds of ice as it went. After a few bounds, the monster landed right in front of us.
"Kyuuu... kill, kill, kill, kill..."
Despite its cute appearance, its body was easily as tall as a massive tree. It was enormous.
"I-It’s so cold...!"
"My hands are going numb..."
The biting cold radiating from the Snow Rabbit was actually dealing damage to the surrounding soldiers. Just as I was about to deploy a barrier, the air around us grew slightly warm. The flames swirling around Saias were neutralizing the chill.
"Hmph. Stay behind me."
"Yes, yes, I’ll gladly do so."
"I don't know why you look so happy about it... but fine. Let’s do this."
Saias began to deploy a spell formula.
Alright, time to start my observation. I focused mana into my eyes and stared intently. The formula Saias deployed drew in mana, swirling at high speed as it shaped the flames.
They weren't ordinary flames, either. Within the prismatic, blazing fire, I could see an ice storm raging and the roar of thunder. That wasn't all—various other phenomena were woven together to create that brilliant, prismatic light.
"Hoh, quite a pretty firework. But that is all it is," Jiriel commented.
"And the charge time is way too long; it's far from practical," Grimo added. "I don't think it’s anything for Master Lloyd to be concerned about."
Grimo and Jiriel dismissed it, but I couldn't take my eyes off the fire. I felt like I’d seen those flames somewhere before... As I pondered that, Saias gathered the swirling energy, compressing it into a single point.
"Take this! Prismatic Light-Flame!"
The unleashed prismatic fire shot out in a radial arc, closing in on the Snow Rabbit. Seeing it in motion finally jogged my memory.
—That was the magic that had incinerated me in my previous life.
Back then, I hadn't been able to read spell formulas, so I hadn't understood it. But seeing it activated like this now, I knew. There was no doubt; it was the exact same magic from that day.
Did that mean Saias was the one who...? Hmm, I was never very good at faces. I didn't really remember things from over ten years ago.
...Well, whatever. More importantly, the Bloodline Magic itself. Now that I’d seen it up close, I understood. They likely made such complex spell formulas possible by inscribing them directly into their blood.
I see. The human body is mostly water. While it’s common to inscribe formulas onto skin or equipment, it made sense that you could fit far more by using the blood. Still, if that was the case, I felt it would be better to make the formula more versatile rather than limiting it to one specific spell. Formulas for mana efficiency, storage, and compression are quite long, but considering the volume of blood in a body, it should be perfectly possible.
Alright, I’ll give it a try too.
"Kill-kill-kill-kill—!!"
The battle continued while I was busy inscribing the formula into my own system. To counter the approaching flames, the Snow Rabbit gathered its cold aura and spat it out. Fire and ice collided, locked in a struggle for dominance.
"Guh... to think my Bloodline Magic is evenly matched with a mere monster...!?"
"Kill... uuu!"
Hmm, he was struggling. From the looks of it, Saias hadn't fully mastered that Bloodline Magic yet. It couldn't be helped; I’d give him a little hand. I’d just finished inscribing the formula, anyway.
"...Prismatic Light-Flame."
Muttering the words under my breath, I unleashed the spell from behind Saias. Multicolored flames gathered at a single point on my fingertip and erupted.
With a thunderous roar, a torrent of light swept forward, and the Snow Rabbit was simply erased. The radial blast didn't stop there; it incinerated the entire monster horde along with the forest on the opposite cliff.
Everyone on the scene froze, their mouths hanging wide open.
"Wh-What on earth just happened...?"
Looking at the formula, I’d realized that the Prismatic Light-Flame was essentially a one-man Multiple Synthesis Magic. The reason other phenomena occurred within the flames was simply because the output was insufficient; if activated with equal power across all elements, it functioned as a perfect synthesis. The quality of the casters had likely declined over the long years, resulting in what I’d seen from Saias.
...Well, the power was greater than I’d expected. I’d intended to hold back considerably, but because of the formula I’d inscribed into my blood, I might have overdone it.
"Woooooah! What incredible power! As expected of Lord Saias!"
"So that is the Bloodline Magic of House Revenant... it truly is magnificent! With this, no matter how many monsters come, they'll be nothing! Saias-dono!"
"...Ha, haha..."
Saias himself looked completely bewildered, but in any case, it seemed I’d managed to gloss it over. Probably. Hopefully.
"...Lloyd, you did that just now, didn't you?"
"Even if you do it secretly, it's totally obvious. You went way too far."
"Besides, I don't think that pampered noble is capable of a stunt like that anyway," Bills added.
"Ha, haha..."
It seemed a few people had caught on... but well, the others didn't seem to notice, so I’d call it a success.
"W-Well then, Brother Shneider is calling for me, so I'll be going... Bills, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
I hurried away from the scene before I could let any more slips show.