Ch 7
NEYMAR
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Chapter 7
“Heheh! I like confident bastards like you. They’re the most fun to kill…!”
The red-haired man sneered for a while longer before stating the one-week deadline and leaving the prison.
Only after he was gone did Keila speak.
“...What the hell is this situation?”
She still couldn't grasp what was happening. To be fair, I had explained things rather poorly.
“He’s telling us to learn magic. For one week.”
“What? Magic? Why?”
“He plans to fatten us up and then devour us. That way, he can absorb more mana.”
“...Ha!”
Keila glanced at the spellbook and scowled.
“That absolute bastard. If he’s going to kill us, he should just kill us. Why dangle this impossible task in front of us and call it a chance?!”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He’s toying with us because he knows we can’t win even if we learn all of this!”
“Toying with us, you say…”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. That was likely his exact intention.
But from my perspective… I wasn’t so sure.
Isn’t that a rather one-dimensional way of looking at it?
“Why do you assume we can’t win?”
“...What?”
“I have no intention of losing.”
“...Are you seriously saying you’re going to kill that monster?”
Fwip—!
Instead of answering, I opened the spellbook.
Showing her would be faster than explaining.
Day three of poring over the spellbook, relying on a single lantern in the pitch-darkness.
I had to admit, I was impressed.
The spellbook the man had brought wasn't just some ordinary tome.
It was a high-quality spellbook that covered not only mana control—like manipulation, compression, and emission—but also touched on a few elemental magics.
He was completely blinded by his own arrogance.
Thanks to that…
“You… you…!”
In just three days, I had managed to manifest three different elemental magics.
Water, Earth, and Lightning.
Combined with the Fire magic I had already mastered, I had now grasped a total of four elements.
Of course, it was all still at a basic level, but this was an astonishing achievement nonetheless.
Naturally, Keila was practically screaming in disbelief.
“D-Does that even make sense? How, in just three days?!”
“It’s a good thing. Why are you so shocked?”
“I know it is, but… it’s impossible! How can you learn three new spells in three days?! And elemental ones at that!”
“Anything is possible if you try hard enough.”
“...What? Try hard? Are you mocking me right now?”
Every time I made a new breakthrough, Keila would huff and challenge me.
Seeing her act like this even with her life on the line, she must have a strong competitive streak.
It was a bit tiring having to come up with excuses, but in the end, her competitive nature worked in her favor.
In just three days, the girl who could barely manage manipulation had conquered mana control and taken her first steps into elemental magic.
She didn't seem to realize it, but this too was an incredible growth rate.
It just seemed slow because she was being overshadowed by me and my Mythic-grade Trait.
In any case, watching Keila grow allowed me to guess what her Trait was.
A Heroic-grade Trait.
[Desperate Wish].
In short, it was a Trait that caused her to blossom in a specific field when she desperately desired something, granting her rapid learning abilities in that area.
It could have manifested in swordsmanship, archery, or even spirit arts, but it seemed to have channeled itself into magic.
You could say she was lucky.
From a purely objective standpoint, specializing in magic offers the highest efficiency.
That’s why I’d chosen a wizard build when planning my new character, after all.
Anyway.
“Did… did you see that? A flame just bloomed in my palm!”
“Good job.”
This was enough.
Enough to move on to the next step.
“Ye-ha! I… I used elemental magic…! Is this real? Am I dreaming?”
I felt a little bad for Keila, but it was too early to celebrate.
I cast a Water spell to quench my dry throat and then spoke.
“Keila, this is the spellbook he gave us.”
“Huh? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“It means that even if we master every spell in here, we’ll only be at the level he expects.”
“...”
The color drained from Keila’s face.
She understood what I meant.
“So… you’re saying this isn’t enough to kill him?”
“That’s right.”
“...Then what are we supposed to do?”
Keila’s eyes were filled with anxiety as she asked.
Of course, it was a needless worry.
If this was all I had planned, I never would have started.
“Naturally, we have to surpass his expectations.”
“...Surpass his expectations? How?”
“From now on, we’re going to modify the magic. And once we’re done with that…”
Shk.
I pulled something out of my pocket.
It was a greyish stone engraved with a strange symbol.
“We’ll have to use this.”
“...A [Blinkstone]?”
“Because I know a place with something useful.”
Four days remaining.
Not much time left.
Not long until I got to see the twisted look on that bastard’s face.
In the damp, dusty, bug-infested dungeon.
“Huu… huu…”
Keila took a deep breath, the space around her barely illuminated by a single lantern.
But perhaps it was the knowledge that a battle was imminent.
Or perhaps it was the fact that she had to fight alone.
She just couldn’t seem to calm down.
She tried to soothe herself by thinking back on the week’s events.
“It’s okay… It’s okay. You prepared for this, right?”
As she told herself, she had grown an unbelievable amount in just under a week.
Proficient mana control, Fire magic, and even the difficult practice of spell modification.
She could now proudly call herself a full-fledged wizard without any hesitation.
“...Though it’s all thanks to his help.”
Her thoughts naturally drifted to ‘him.’
“...That crazy bastard.”
Crazy bastard!
That was Keila’s honest assessment of him.
And for good reason. He had completely mastered an entire spellbook in just one week.
And that wasn’t all.
He had modified spells in the most bizarre ways, helped Keila with her own magic training, and even planned the entire battle that was about to unfold.
These were achievements that should have been impossible in a mere week.
“Is something like this even possible…?”
Keila entertained the doubt for a moment before shaking her head.
The question itself was meaningless.
She had seen it with her own two eyes.
He had done it all.
“Huu…”
Based on what she’d read in the spellbook, Keila’s own talent for magic certainly wasn't bad.
No, it was quite exceptional.
Tasks that should have taken three days, she completed in one. Things that should have taken a month, she mastered in a week.
But he… he was in a different league.
If Keila herself was a genius of magic, then he was…
A virtuoso.
[Magical Genius].
That was the only fitting term. The word ‘genius’ alone couldn’t possibly encompass his talent.
The fact that someone was so far above her was unsettling, but still, Keila felt a sense of relief.
That crazy bastard… no, that genius was on her side right now.
“Let’s do this.”
For some reason, all her tension melted away.
A surge of confidence that she could win washed over her.
And in that moment of confidence.
He finally appeared.
Thud, thud—.
Each step was heavy.
As if her earlier calm had been a lie, her body tensed up again.
Fear.
With every step he took closer, Keila felt the fear welling up inside her. The memory of him tearing out that man’s heart replayed in her mind.
The red-haired man’s eyes met hers, and he spoke in a relaxed tone.
“Long time no see. Are you ready?”
“...You’ll see.”
“Hahaha! So confident! Been practicing hard, have you?”
Keila didn’t respond, instead taking a fighting stance.
“Oh, ready to fight?”
He chuckled lightly, then looked around and tilted his head.
“But where’d the other bastard go?”
“Who knows.”
“...”
A brief silence.
The man’s face turned cold as stone.
The atmosphere changed completely.
“I asked you where he went.”
It was just one sentence, but the killing intent laced within it made her entire body tremble.
Keila fought back her fear and stretched out her hands.
FWOOSH!
Mana rushed towards her in an instant.
It formed characters, took shape, and finally drew a circle.
She ended with a desperate scream.
“Die!!”
KABOOM!
A powerful explosion of fire erupted from the magic circle.
It was a flame she had fired with all her might.
But it was all for nothing.
“...Well, look at this.”
He was standing there, perfectly fine.
The explosion had gone off beside him.
He had twisted the very trajectory of the spell.
Just as he had predicted.
—He’ll probably use some kind of spatial magic. He’ll use it to divert the path of your spells.
How in the world did he know that?
There was no time to ponder the question.
WHOOOSH!
Keila once again drew in the surrounding mana.
She simultaneously unleashed a continuous barrage of mana orbs infused with the fire element.
“Uraaaagh!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of fire spells cast through the magic circle.
The surrounding heat intensified, and smoke from the dust and explosions obscured her vision.
Flames shot up from the ground.
CRACKLE!
The lantern shattered from the impact.
CRASH!
Now, only the roaring flames illuminated the area.
With her vision obscured by smoke, Keila couldn’t tell if her spells had hit.
She didn’t care. She just fired, and fired again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…!
How much time had passed?
“Hahk! Hahk…!”
Just as she was panting heavily from excessive mana consumption.
POW!
A sinister mana burst through the flames in an instant.
It materialized into a spell to Keila’s right.
Space itself warped.
She screamed.
“Kuaaaargh…!”
In the blink of an eye, the skin on her right hand was torn away.
She had reacted just quickly enough to avoid the worst of it; a direct hit would have ripped her arm clean off.
Crimson blood dripped from her hand.
Keila bit her lip.
“...Son of a bitch.”
She fought to clear her spinning head and looked up.
The wall of flames that had blocked her view had been pushed to either side.
And walking slowly down the path created between them was him.
Thump, thump.
Their eyes met.
A corner of his mouth curled up as if he’d realized something.
His voice was still overflowing with confidence.
“Ahh, I get it now! That bastard ran away, didn’t he? I was wondering where the [Blinkstone] from the safe went!”
“...”
“...Ha! That goddamn bastard. Acting all high and mighty, only to ditch you and run?”
His face twisted in annoyance as he continued to approach.
But Keila didn’t move an inch.
Not even when he was right in front of her.
GRAB!
With a vicious smirk, he seized Keila’s throat with one hand.
“Hk, hheup!”
Her airway was cut off, her breath choked.
But even as she gasped, Keila’s eyes were perfectly calm.
Because this was the moment she had been waiting for.
Modification.
With so little time, she had spent four days focusing on just one spell modification.
A modification that created a point-blank explosion around her.
There was one problem: its range was pitifully short.
To land the modified spell, she needed to close the distance between them as much as possible.
And when that chance came…
She would wring out every last drop of her mana to cast it.
Which meant…
Just… like… now!
“...Go… to hell.”
“...!!”
KRA-KOOOOM!
A terrifying roar echoed through the dungeon.
Without any warning, an explosion erupted from Keila’s position.
The man’s pupils dilated for a split second.
The blast Keila had created engulfed him completely.
And because he had been close enough to grab her throat, the hit was absolute.
FWOOOSH!
“Ugyaaaaah!”
The first scream she had ever heard from him.
Caught squarely in the explosion, the red-haired man, now covered in black ash, stumbled backward.
But had he reacted in that split second?
The damage seemed less severe than she’d hoped.
The skin on both his arms was peeled back, but that was it.
He looked down at his burned arms, veins bulging in his neck.
“...You fucking bitch!”
CRUNCH!
He lunged forward and choked her again.
His bloodshot eyes were focused solely on Keila.
This time, he was really going to kill her.
Blood rushed to her head, and the world began to fade.
Keila felt her consciousness slipping.
“...Hahk!”
The flames had long since died out.
The area was plunged into a darkness so complete she couldn’t see an inch in front of her.
And from that darkness, a cruel voice whispered.
“You’re a pitiful one, you know? You seem to have some talent, but you had to meet a bastard like that… Things might have been different if you fought together. Right?”
“...Sh-shut… up.”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down. Even if you don’t want to hear it, you won’t be able to soon enough.”
SWOOOSH!
Sinister mana, gathering from all directions, radiated a foul energy.
The sharpened tips of that mana were all aimed at Keila.
In that dizzying moment, Keila forgot everything and thought of a single word.
Death.
...This is the end.
It was in that very instant.
BZZZT!
A single streak of light bloomed from the direction of the stairs.
KABOOOOM!
The yellow light struck the red-haired man’s body directly.
She heard the sound of him being thrown into a wall.
CRUMBLE!
“Ah…”
Keila slumped to the ground, her strength gone, and lifted her head.
BZZT! BZZT—!
Her vision was illuminated by rhythmic flashes of light.
And there, with his back to her, stood a man cloaked entirely in electrical magic.
She couldn’t see him clearly, but she didn’t need to guess who it was.
It was him.
“What took you so long, you bastard…”
“Sorry, they hid it pretty well. Took me a while to find it.”
“...What exactly did you find?”
Toss, toss.
He had been tossing something up and down in his hand. He let out a small laugh.
“The one thing demons can’t stand.”
“...Can’t stand?”
“Holy Water.”
The moment he answered, he gathered his mana and swung his right arm wide.
WHOOSH—!
Simultaneously, something flew at the speed of light.
Its destination: where the red-haired man had been thrown.
CRASH!
From that direction came the sound of shattering glass, followed by a scream filled with agony.
“Gyaaaaaaah—!”
Amidst that horrifying shriek, a calm voice rang out.
“You fought well to hold on. I’ll take it from here, so get some rest.”
“...”
An unknown emotion surged up inside her, hot and overwhelming.
Keila fought it back, unable to tear her gaze from the scene before her.
What she saw was a back far too shabby and unimpressive to belong to a hero.
But for some reason…
It looked unbelievably… reliable.
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