In the end, Ias refused to pick up a weapon to the very last and lost completely.
Looking at Ias, I recalled Pielot from the past. Pielot had been a bundle of pride and stubborn to a fault. Of course, the Pielot of now has changed a great deal, perhaps moved by the effort and diligence I poured into fostering his growth.
Ias might change too depending on how I handle him, but that isn’t something I’m interested in right this moment.
'Unlike Pielot, he’s a character I don’t know at all.'
Unlike Pielot, who appeared in the game, I don’t know a single person on this continent. There’s no way to tell whether Ias is on the “good” side or the “bad.” In this game, if you judge good and evil by appearances, you never know what kind of mess you’ll end up in.
“Huff—, huff—...”
Flat on his back, Ias kept gulping for air. Some of that was stamina, but breath that ragged was probably a matter of mentality.
I’d spent the entire class time dealing with Ias, but for the first day this should be enough. Most of the students won’t be looking down on me anymore.
“That’s enough for the spar. Time’s up.”
Saying so, I turned my back and gathered my class materials.
In fact, after the spar with Ias I’d brought various items to explain the principle of “prediction,” but they ended up unnecessary.
Well, I can use them next time, so it’s not a problem.
“Kh...!”
And then, my instincts reacted.
Killing intent flared behind me as I turned. No mistake — Ias.
“Aaaargh!”
“W-wait! Ias!”
He sprang up from where he’d been sprawled and charged at my back. He’d finally activated his Divine Power — the very thing I told him to use in the first place. The startled students shouted to stop him, but of course no one could physically block a sudden outburst like that.
Still—
I had just said the spar was over.
'If I use the devil’s power, he’ll quiet down for a while.'
After repeating it many times, I can now control the range and degree of the devil’s power completely.
Of course, there were minor sacrifices on the way to that point, but for the greater good you need to swallow your tears and move forward.
So I moved to use the devil’s power on Ias—
“...!”
—and stopped midway.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Instead I used Heukcheon, unfurling a curtain to block Ias’s strike.
“Kh! What is this!!”
Still keyed up, Ias tried to cut through Heukcheon no matter what, but in that excited state and with such sloppy form, it was impossible — Divine Power or not.
“Stop! Stop it, Ias!”
Soon the other students rushed in and restrained him.
“It would be best if you calmed down a bit, Ias.”
After saying that to him, I looked at everyone.
“Then I’ll see you next class.”
And as if nothing had happened, I finished gathering my materials and walked off.
On the way out, I remembered something and looked back at Ias.
“Oh, for the record, you’re getting demerits.”
“Kh...!”
***
That strange sensation I felt just before using the devil’s power on Ias—
To confirm it, I called Arald and Liri.
“...Pandemonium?”
Liri echoed my words back.
Ias had been using Divine Power, and I was just about to use the devil’s power.
At that moment, my intuition warned me:
If I used the devil’s power as-is, a Pandemonium might break out.
I needed to verify whether that had been a mere mistaken impression, or if it really would have happened.
“In other words, this,”
Arald said, as if summarizing.
“If a human with Divine Power meets the devil’s power while actively using that power, a Pandemonium occurs.”
“I’m not certain. I’m saying a sense of dread hit me in that instant.”
The devil’s power is the power of the soul. Pandemonium is the clash of souls.
Does that extend further, to gods as well?
“So the condition isn’t merely possessing Divine Power, but actively using it.”
“Arald, Liri — have either of you had that happen? Using the devil’s power against someone actively using Divine Power.”
At my question, both of them rifled through their memories with thoughtful faces, then shook their heads.
Liri spoke first.
“I don’t know. Humans with Divine Power are vanishingly few to begin with. And devils generally don’t want to fight humans who have it. Most Divine Power is fatal to devils.”
“I’ve had no such experience either,” Arald said. “I dislike fighting in the first ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) place, but beyond that, humans with Divine Power have no reason to cross my path. Our company’s products are aimed at ordinary people with little strength.”
At their answers, I folded my arms and looked up.
Devils don’t want to fight gods. Naturally, they avoid humans with Divine Power. To devils, humans are beings whose souls or desires are to be coveted through contracts, not opponents worth confronting head-on.
'If I’d used the devil’s power then and a Pandemonium really had occurred, I couldn’t guarantee Ias’s life.'
In Pandemonium, the loser is trapped within the victor’s power, suffering eternal torment.
Of course, I could lose too — if Ias’s Divine Power were strong enough to overcome Bael, king of hell.
Granted, I did once enter Pandemonium again to pull Bael out, but when I saved him he was on the verge of total collapse. Barely a few minutes had passed, and yet the so-called king of hell had been driven that far.
No matter how fast I moved, there’s no telling whether Ias could endure my Pandemonium for that span.
But conversely—
'If an enemy has Divine Power, I might be able to deliberately trigger Pandemonium.'
Pandemonium is the soul’s very form. If the opponent has Divine Power, I might discern which god’s power they bear. Of course, that presumes I’m confident of victory within Pandemonium.
“Ah, that reminds me, Arald. Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Of course.”
At once, Arald drew a sheaf of materials from inside his coat.
It wasn’t anything special — I’d simply asked him to show me the resources he’d collected as source data for the 3D map.
I took the hefty bundle.
“Quite a pile. All maps of the Agoris continent?”
“Maps, plus various marks and symbols, cultural spheres, standards of scale — I prepared everything. Anything that would improve the accuracy of the 3D map.”
“Excellent.”
I went through the papers Arald had brought.
One sheet, then another.
There was more than I’d expected; just skimming took quite some time, and the two of them gradually cocked their heads.
“...Frondier. Should we come back later? Why not set aside time now and go through it properly?”
By the time Liri kindly suggested that, I’d finished the last sheet and returned to the first.
Then I handed the stack back to Arald.
“Thanks, Arald. That helped.”
“...? Weren’t you planning to learn the continent’s maps?”
“I learned them all.”
The workshop did.
“?”
Arald looked baffled, but he accepted the materials I offered back.
“All right, then. Time’s up. Let’s get back to studying.”
Liri asked at my words,
“Oh, the data-interpretation thing?”
“Yeah. Arald agreed to teach me. I’m working hard at it.”
“I didn’t expect you to be interested in magitechnology.”
“I’m not. But it’s necessary.”
“Hm...?”
Liri gave a vague reply at that. Seeing I was about to study, she stood, gave a light farewell, and left the room. Grateful for the courtesy of giving me space, I focused on my studying.
“...Pardon me, Frondier.”
While we were studying, Arald brought up a different topic.
“Hm? What is it?”
“May I ask what your recent schedule looks like?”
“My schedule? Why?”
“I’m worried that learning about the 3D map from me might be stealing time from something else important.”
“Don’t worry. You teaching me is as important as anything else.”
“Even so, I’m curious how you’re spending your time.”
Hmm.
So this was Arald’s way of worrying. I looked up and recalled my schedule.
“First, in the morning I review the class materials I prepared the night before.”
“What time do you wake?”
“Six.”
“...Please continue.”
What was with that pause?
Anyway, I went on.
“My main work is teaching at Atlas. Right now I’m handling both Magic Theory and Combat Theory. It’s turned into quite a bit more than I expected.”
“...I see.”
“And after I’m done teaching, I head to the library to dig through books and records. I have to find Heracles, and I need to learn about the gods of this land.”
That mindset is similar to when I played the Etius game. The difference is I don’t have to cram it into my head by rote; I can quickly fill the workshop with knowledge.
“Then when I get home, on alternating days I learn about the 3D map from you, and on the other alternating days I learn magic from Elodie.”
“You’re spending six evenings a week learning?”
“Hm? That’s right.”
“And after that, you rest?”
“No. What I learn from you and from Elodie isn’t just to scratch an intellectual itch — there are things I want to do. So after learning, I run various experiments. If I don’t do it right away, a lot evaporates from my head; I’d rather test it immediately.”
“And after that, you rest?”
“Next, as I said, I prepare class materials. Then I review those the next morning.”
“And after that, you rest?”
“Right. Then I sleep. It’s around two in the morning.”
“......”
Arald’s eyes narrowed.
When people look at me like that, I usually end up getting scolded. It’s a teacherly expression, somehow.
Why? I’m the teacher now.
“Frondier. If you keep pushing yourself like this, you might die one day.”
Hearing a devil say “die” is oddly chilling.
But I could laugh it off.
“Haha, that won’t happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ve been doing it since first year. I’m not suddenly going to die now.”
“First year... You mean Constel first year? It was this hard back then?”
“Worse.”
Back then Atjie was putting me through the wringer.
Those days were spent catching up on all the progress past Frondier had lost to sloth, training under Atjie, and repeating mana-capacity work and skill polishing in the practice room.
After that I brought Selena and taught her the ancient tongue as well, so the schedule wasn’t any lighter than now — if anything, heavier.
“Now I move my body a lot less, and I’m doing what I want to do, so it’s much better.”
I’m genuinely satisfied. It’s true I have more breathing room.
“...Even so, be careful. You have a human body. Fatigue accumulates.”
“Haha, what are you talking about? Of course I’m human. Don’t say it like I’m forgetting that.”
“...My apologies.”
I laughed at Arald’s odd joke. Hard to parse, but quite funny.
—And that night.
“All right, let’s try again.”
Arms folded, alone in my room, I handled Heukcheon.
Magic is something constructed by fitting together formulas and elements. Taking the hint from my gear metaphor, I’ve been burning with zeal as I test things, but—
Fsssh—!
“Ah, still not working.”
By now I’d already failed too many times to count.
I fell into thought.
'So I really can’t immediately replicate formulas with Weaving.'
Weaving is a skill that targets objects and skills. It is, after all, replication. So I can’t Weave the symbols of a formula.
Even when I try, Weaving doesn’t respond to thought alone the way Heukcheon does.
'I could hope for Weaving to level up, but it’s been a long time since it did.'
Weaving doesn’t level just because I spam it; by my guess, I need to Weave a new weapon of very high rank. Divine at least, if not Legendary.
There’s no easy way to find such weapons, and even if I leveled up that way, there’s no guarantee I’d get the result I want.
So I have to draw the picture I want using only what I have.
Clang!
This time I shaped the formula symbols as closely as possible with Heukcheon, then tried to combine them into a magic manifestation, but Heukcheon only shattered. With Heukcheon — a foreign substance — mixed into mana, the magic wouldn’t boot.
'Weaving can’t change shape as freely as Heukcheon, and Heukcheon only interferes with magic if I try to make it. Something’s always one screw short.'
Creak.
Just then, the door opened and a little girl rubbed her eyes and came out.
“What are you doing?”
It was Mei. Elodie and I take turns looking after her; tonight was my turn.
“Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No, I just needed to use the bathroom.”
Saying that, Mei tottered off toward the bathroom.
...Utterly human. Sleeping, going to the bathroom.
'What began as imitation — has she now acquired human functions, and even the same desires?'
Mei has no hesitation about learning. Whether it makes her weaker or stronger, more comfortable or less.
With only humans around, it’s natural that Mei keeps getting closer to being human.
Of course there are devils here too, but they live almost the same way humans do in this place.
“So what are you doing?”
“Oh. I was thinking if I pre-make the magic symbols with Weaving, maybe I could do design.”
I gave Mei a brief explanation. She looks like a small child, but she has more than enough knowledge, so I could explain without worry.
Mei made a disinterested little sound — “Hmm”— as if she didn’t care much.
And as she continued on to the bathroom for her original purpose, she said,
“Like a Dragon Heart.”
