A torrent of Prima Materia raged around me. It swirled with me at its center, pale blue energy overflowing from my body.
As I felt the power, I sensed my physical form gradually shifting. My hair, once a bluish-black, changed its hue, and my skin became a translucent, pure white.
"Ray... that form? And your hair...?"
Amelia whispered, dazed. Though the other four were still conscious, they no longer possessed the will to stand. They could only huddle on the ground, staring up at me.
In that instant, I had instinctively constructed a defensive barrier. Thanks to that, those nearby had managed to remain conscious.
Even though Mr. Alium was suffering from deficiency, he stared at me through the heavy pressure, his eyes burning with something far different from his previous anger or hatred—it was as if he were searing my existence into his very soul.
Just as Amelia had noticed, my hair had turned a pristine white, tinged with a faint shade of blue.
—It has been three years since I last took this form.
A wave of nostalgia washed over me. Recalling those brutal battlefields did not bring a pleasant feeling, but if it was to protect my friends, I was prepared to face this side of myself once more.
"Amazing... the Prima Materia... it’s all around Ray-kun..."
"Yeah... I can see it. Just how dense is it? Visualization shouldn't even be possible under normal circumstances..."
As Evi said, the pale blue Prima Materia surrounding me had become thick enough to be visible to the naked eye. Normally, Prima Materia is invisible and colorless. It was only being manifested in this world as pale blue particles because I, a sorcerer, was acting as a medium.
"I’ll tell you everything... once this is over. I won’t hide anything from you anymore. I’ll give you a sincere apology. But for now, please wait just a little longer. It seems I have a battle to finish with Instructor Gray."
After telling them that, I calmly stepped forward.
With every step I took, the ground froze with a sharp cracking sound. As if the previous world of crimson flames had been a mere illusion, the surroundings were transformed into a literal realm of ice.
Standing here now was a genuine member of the Seven Grand Sorcerers—the Ice Sword Sorcerer.
"Hoh... so you really weren't ordinary after all."
"The same could be said of you. And now, I finally understand."
The figure grinning there was no longer the woman I knew.
Instructor Gray showed no immediate sign of attacking; she seemed curious about what I had to say. She was willing to talk, so I continued.
"Very well. Let’s have one last lecture. Why don’t you share your deductions?"
"...I already know who you are. You belong to Eugenics."
"Go on."
"Your goal is engrams. In other words, the brains of sorcerers. And the students you mentioned during our talk—the ones who were suspended or dropped out..."
Before I could finish, she burst into loud, mocking laughter.
"Heh... Ahahahaha!! Ah, you're quite well-informed! That’s right, you hit the mark. Ray White. I don't dislike clever people. Now then, I find myself very interested in your engram as well."
"...And the practical exercise in Kafka Forest. You tried to make it look like an accident so you could kidnap students, didn't you? You were stationed in that forest to manipulate the monsters..."
"Heh... You’ve figured out that much? That exercise is perfect every year... I can make up any excuse I want. And then I grieve. I play the tragic heroine... 'Oh, why did this have to happen to my students?'... Heh, honestly, this academy is the best... Fufu... Young brains are magnificent. They haven't fully adapted to the codes yet, which makes extracting their engrams a simple task. Fufu, hehehe. That’s why I take charge of the first-years every year... Heh... Ah, kids really are so easy to control; it's a huge help."
As she responded with a distorted face, anger threatened to consume me, but I forced it down and continued.
"Furthermore, Mr. Alium was acting strange. So were the other students. You were the one who instigated them, weren't you?"
"Heh, they’re all fools. Trash with high pride and no skill to back it up. But it’s a stroke of luck that so many high-quality sorcerers are gathered here today. Especially since members of the Three Great Noble Families are present... Heh, everything is going exactly as planned... Fufufu, ahahahaha!! Ah... truly wonderful... With this much, my standing within Eugenics will surely rise."
"...Then the consultation you gave me was also a lie."
"...Heh, of course. I felt something from you... I always pretend to care for students who interest me... as a kind, supportive teacher. Tell me, I played the part well, didn't I? Heh..."
She laughed ghastly.
It was a fearless, mocking laugh.
She was a genuine sorcerer who had strayed from the path of humanity, capturing and killing students just to harvest their brains. She was famous within the academy for being a dedicated teacher—to the point that she even reached out to me, the only Ordinary in the school.
But it was all a sham.
She had no compassion. As long as she could pursue the truths of magic, human lives meant nothing to her. People like her treated lives as simple consumables.
Moreover, the fact that she was speaking so freely in front of students who were still conscious meant she had no intention of letting them leave alive. They would all be used as tools for experimentation. No human dignity, just total subjugation.
I had seen many like her during the Far East Campaign—madmen who found pleasure in slaughter, even if their goals differed. I could see the pure pleasure on Instructor Gray’s face. She undoubtedly believed the matter was already settled.
If she could incapacitate me, she would have the brains of every student present.
However, I would not permit such an atrocity.
That was why there was only one thing for me to do.
"...I expect you to be prepared to lose an arm or two, Instructor Gray."
"Hoh... you still call me instructor? And you intend to capture me alive rather than kill me? Fine... Ray White, you are interesting. I’ll keep you alive for a while so I can observe the engrams inside that brain of yours."
Those words were the signal.
"—Ha!"
I kicked off the ground and closed the distance. However, perhaps having seen my fighting style earlier, Instructor Gray immediately retreated.
She understood that combat at cross-range was my true strength. Even our previous conversations—including the way she claimed Instructor Light had praised me—had been part of her research. It was because she was wary of me that she had arranged that meeting.
Her caution was well-placed; she continued to back away further.
"Fufu... I know all about you. You're a sorcerer specialized in close quarters, aren't you? Even if you are an Ordinary, that amount of Prima Materia and the overflowing ice are a mystery... but if I don't let you get close... you're a sub-par sorcerer... Heh..."
Combining Quick Magic and Chain Magic, she summoned serpents of fire. Using the magic Mr. Alium had produced earlier as a foundation, she must have calculated that the fire attribute would be most effective here.
It was a rational decision. She wasn't ruled by her emotions; she was simply carrying out the task of combat with cold efficiency.
She produced the mid-tier magic, Fire Snake. The serpents of flame moved along irregular paths, attempting to coil around their target.
Once caught, a victim's body would be scorched, the snakes never letting go until it rotted away. It was magic designed specifically for slaughter. What made them truly dangerous was their sheer volume. As expected of an academy instructor, there were likely over two hundred of them within my sight alone.
The Fire Snakes slid across the ground, moving irregularly and at high speeds as they closed in to surround me.
"Kh...!"
Even though I had released my power, I hadn't fully acclimated to it yet. It had been nearly three years since I had taken this form. Because my senses hadn't caught up, it would take time before I could reach my full potential.
For now, I had no choice but to keep my distance and evade.
"Now, now, what's wrong?! You can't do anything if you just keep running, Ray White!"
Their numbers were approaching three hundred. She continued to laugh mockingly, smirking as she watched me flee. To her, it was likely like a game of predator and prey.
Fortunately, their target was only me. I led the Fire Snakes away from the other students, concentrating them in one place.
When I caught a glimpse of her face, she was steeped in pleasure.
A dangerous group that kills people and examines their brains to master the essence of magic. Leaving someone like that to run free, and allowing such an atrocity to happen... it was unforgivable.
"..."
I gritted my teeth.
It was the same on that battlefield. Why can some find joy in killing? Why do they feel nothing? I had spent a long time wondering why. But I had already found the answer.
It is because humans are creatures that possess such a nature.
It is impossible for everyone to be a saint. That is why people fight, and why something called war is born.
It is a sort of destiny. That is why I have no choice but to stand against it. To protect all the students here, and the precious friends I've made... I will...
"Hah, how boring. Then how about... this?"
Instructor Gray summoned more Fire Snakes, but this time they were aimed at Amelia and the others. They were still barely conscious, and now hundreds of fire serpents were about to leap at them.
My anger flared at the nerve of someone who would deliberately target the defenseless, but I suppressed it. My only objective was to neutralize her. I told myself to cast aside all unnecessary emotion.
"...Master. I shall use it."
I no longer had the time to hold anything back.
In that moment, everything clicked into place. It was like the final piece of a puzzle fitting in.
Instantly, I ran the codes through my brain. The sensation was nostalgic. I hadn't properly exercised Code Theory for three years. I had used inside codes, but using outside codes to manifest matter or phenomena in this world... it had been a long time.
And yet, the human body is a mysterious thing; I performed the magic just as I had in my prime.
[Prima Materia = Encoding = Material Code] [Material Code = Decoding] [Material Code = Processing] [Embodiment = Material]
"Kya...!"
"Whoa...!"
"Ugh...!"
"What?!"
Ice walls erupted in front of the four of them. The Fire Snakes crashed into the barriers one after another, completely extinguished.
I dealt with the snakes that tried to bypass the walls, producing icicles to impale and neutralize them.
The serpents moved irregularly, but since I could perfectly sense every bit of Prima Materia within this space, I erased them with pinpoint accuracy.
It was an ultra-advanced technique that required precise code construction and coordinate recognition... but my senses had returned to the point where I could perform it all instinctively.
—At this rate, I might be able to use "that" as well.
"Hm? You can use magic? Or rather, what is that? You can use magic of that scale with Quick Magic? And that precision... even a Platinum Rank sorcerer couldn't... what... what is that... don't tell me, you're..."
I ignored Instructor Gray's stunned voice.
The world around me froze even further. With me at the center, the ground cracked and froze, transforming the entire area into a realm of absolute ice.
The scorched earth and the traces of the magic used by Mr. Alium and Instructor Gray were all overwritten and eroded as my leaking Prima Materia manifested in this world.
I no longer had any use for the broadsword. I thrust it into the frozen ground...
And whispered—
"——Icicle Blaze."
As the codes raced through my mind, they manifested in this world, fixed in mid-air—
Ice Swords.
The floating swords made of ice manifested around me. I flung my right arm out to the side, and the Ice Swords lined up in a single row.
I grabbed just one of the floating blades with my right hand.
—Ah... it's this sensation. This distinct coldness in my palm. It brings back all the memories of those days.
Realizing that this phenomenon was truly extraordinary, Instructor Gray spoke again.
"Y-You, don't tell me... No, the Ice Sword Sorcerer was supposed to have retired after the Far East Campaign! There's no way an Ordinary like you could be the Ice Sword!"
I could understand her disbelief. Most of the Seven Grand Sorcerers have unrevealed identities. Very few people knew that I was the current Ice Sword Sorcerer.
However, I am undoubtedly the one who succeeded my Master.
And these Ice Swords spoke of that fact with absolute confidence.
"You are correct. However, the title of the Ice Sword Sorcerer was passed down... to a certain young boy."
"Ridiculous... Absurd!! Impossible!! Don't spout such nonsense!!!!!"
She unleashed a massive wave of fire-attribute magic, but I sliced through it all with an Ice Sword. In truth, I didn't even need to hold the blade. The Ice Swords manifested in this space moved at my command.
"..."
I focused on her.
Instructor Gray unleashed her attacks in a way meant to surely corner me.
Fireball, Fire Pillar, Fire Rain. Their activation was something even a student could manage, but the sheer quantity was staggering.
It was a collision between a world of fire and a world of ice.
But using my Ice Swords, I sliced through everything. There was no way that fire could erode my world.
It was a flurry of sword strikes in every direction. I could operate all the Ice Swords with high precision; even if they were shattered, I could use the fragments as a medium to create new ones at will.
This overwhelming number of strikes was the true strength of Icicle Blaze.
It was a nostalgic sensation... and it seemed I hadn't dulled yet.
"Hehehehe... So what if you have ice swords! Even if you're one of the Seven Grand Sorcerers, you won't be able to stop this!"
In an instant, a vast amount of Prima Materia gathered toward her. Faint residues of fire-attribute Prima Materia still remained, and Instructor Gray ran her codes as if gathering every last drop.
I faced her magic head-on.
"Casartillio Draco!!!!!!"
A dragon of purgatory manifested. It was beyond comparison to the Febris Draco used by Mr. Alium.
It was Grand-tier Magic, an Extensive Magic that summoned a dragon clad in the fires of purgatory. Its body was constructed of blackish-red flames as it surged across the earth toward me.
It didn't just scorch the ground; it was magic on a scale that caused the earth to melt. Even at this distance, I felt as if my skin were being burned by the heatwave.
Fortunately, her gaze was fixed entirely on me. While the other students might suffer minor burns, they wouldn't be killed.
"...Whew."
I took a deep breath.
The heatwave was intense, but it could be defended against to some extent with magic. Still, Grand-tier Magic was truly extraordinary.
It was an ultra-high difficulty Extensive Magic that only sorcerers of the Grand Rank could hope to use.
But I would not be overwhelmed by such a thing now.
Because right now, I am one of those at the summit of sorcerers—the Ice Sword Sorcerer.
And what I would use next was not an Ice Sword. For magic of this scale, there was something far more effective.
It was magic that only I in this world could use.
I ran a different set of codes through my brain.
"...It seems I have no choice."
I activated the Anti-Material Code.
It was a new code discovered by my Master three years ago. Within the code theory where Prima Materia is converted into matter, the Anti-Material Code exists in opposition to the Material Code.
One could say that Material Codes and Anti-Material Codes exist simultaneously within all matter and phenomena.
However, only the Material Code normally manifests, while the Anti-Material Code remains latent.
That is why the Anti-Material Code is almost never activated. However, I can interfere with that Anti-Material Code and bring it to the surface.
Internal Interference with codes. This was one of the techniques I excelled at. Having been thoroughly trained by my Master, it remained firmly within me even now.
I designated the coordinates of the Casartillio Draco. Reading its internal information format, I activated the latent Anti-Material Code within it.
[Anti-Material Code: Restoration] [Material = Anti-Material Code] [Material: Restoration = Prima Materia]
"—Anti-Material Code, Activate."
In an instant, the Grand-tier Magic, Casartillio Draco, completely vanished. Not even a spark remained. I had taken the phenomenon manifested in this world and returned it to its original state as Prima Materia.
This was what I had meant when I spoke to Mr. Alium.
Strictly speaking, it was not nullification or decomposition.
The essence of the Anti-Material Code is "returning."
The true value of this code is to reverse the process where Prima Materia becomes matter or phenomena.
"Ha... what? What... what was that...?"
Staring at the empty space where not even dust remained, Instructor Gray was speechless.
It was no wonder. The Anti-Material Code was something strictly found in research papers; though its existence was theoretically confirmed, there were no known users.
I spoke calmly once more.
"The Ice Sword is an attribute, not the essence."
"What... what are you saying?"
—Attribute.
In other words, it is a symbol or an emblem.
But it is not the essence. The Ice Sword is nothing more than an attribute.
The Ice Sword Sorcerer.
That title does not mean I can only use ice swords.
Having succeeded my Master, I learned the truth. I learned the essence.
And I learned why I had been able to lower and fix my own abilities until now.
It was because this essence is the core of everything. And it is what connects to the Ice Sword.
The Ice Sword Sorcerer is built upon three essences.
"I shall show you the true essence of the Ice Sword Sorcerer—"
In the truest sense, the Ice Sword Sorcerer manifested.