Aidan still couldn't wrap his head around Madeline's words.
Let's go through there.
What the hell is that black storm…….?
"Ah!"
Aidan looked around, realizing why he'd fainted.
Where was Leo? Where were Tracy and Iona?
Aidan looked around and saw his friends lying on the ground.
He was about to pull himself up and check on them when Madeline grabbed his shoulder.
"Stop. Don't bother checking on them. They're out cold right now but they're not in critical condition."
"What?"
"I'm more surprised about something else. You were hit a little hard, but you woke up right away. You've been practicing the spells I taught you, haven't you?"
Aidan's face fell as he suddenly realized something.
"Master, what the hell is going on?"
"It's a long story, but what we need now is to get to that storm over there."
Even as Madeline spoke, she sounded reluctant. But she couldn't help it.
'The man came out and warned me.'
When she spotted a massive eruption of power in the distance Madeline's first reaction was to flee.
Something dangerous had happened, so she needed to hide somewhere safe and come back when it's over but her escape lasted less than three seconds as a black, shadowy man emerged from the ground.
It was Rudger Chelici and the moment she spotted him, she froze.
-Madeline. Thank God.
-Yes, yes, yes!
-Things are not looking good right now. I don't have time for a long explanation, so I'll cut to the chase. I need your anti-magic.
-My anti-magic?
-I'll buy you some time. All you have to do is clear the way.
-A way? To whom?
-You'll see. Are you going to do it or not?
At Rudger's question, Madeline broke out in a cold sweat.
She ran away because she was scared, and now he wanted her to go back there.
No one could do that without going insane. But when she saw the look in Rudger's eyes, she couldn't help but say yes.
-I'll do it.
-Good.
With those words, Rudger disappeared back into the shadows.
It's a magic that's hard to believe even though she saw it before.
Moving freely through space using shadows?
This is why you can't run away and not be caught.
-Ah! That sucks!
Madeline rubbed her head roughly, then lifted her head up.
-Ahhh.
Madeline paced.
In the meantime, whatever Rudger had done, the storm raging in the distance had moved on.
Instead, a larger black vortex that threatened to engulf the entire capital formed.
I can't fight this alone.
I needed the help of someone who can use anti-magic.
And one such person happened to be in the capital.
"Aidan. Will you do it?"
Madeline asked, looking at Aidan with serious eyes.
Honestly, Aidan's help was just a backup plan, just in case. It wasn't a requirement.
If Aidan didn't want to do it, Madeline would leave him behind, at least as a teacher. But this foolishly upright apprentice didn't seem to think so.
"I have to do it. It's dangerous not to, isn't it?"
"Who? Your friends?"
"No, no. My teacher."
"……."
Madeline was speechless for a moment.
Aidan looked over at her, grinning from ear to ear, and Madeline smirked and roughly ruffled her apprentice's hair.
"Yuck!"
"Don't give me that look."
"What look?"
"You don't need to know."
Madeline quickly grabbed Aidan's hand and pulled him to his feet.
"How are you feeling?"
"Uhm. I think I'm okay."
"I don't care if it's bad, you said you'd do it, so I'm not going to spare you."
"You never change, master."
"Neither have you."
Madeline reached for the staff at her waist. Her staff, like Aidan's, was shaped like a sword. But unlike Aidan's, which was merely an imitation of a sword, it was a real sword.
'I'm ready.'
He must be in the center of that storm right now.
I don't know exactly what's going on, but he's putting up a fierce fight.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Madeline headed into the storm with Aidan.
* * *
Rudger kept moving forward through the black storm, unable to see anything.
It felt like the world was coming to an end and every step he took weighed him down like a thousand pounds.
It was hard to breathe, and he could barely see.
The intense wind pressure of the storm made his entire body feel like he was being beaten with a club. But more than anything else, it was the fluctuation of his emotions that bothered Rudger.
His mind, which had been as strong as an iron wall, was beginning to be affected, albeit in small ways, by the non-stop barrage of mental attacks.
-Why are you still alive?
-You ruined everything!
-Why didn't you save me?
Flashes of the past appeared but Rudger didn't stop and stepped toward Basara.
"That's great."
Basara was honest with himself.
No matter how great a man you are, it's hard to maintain your sanity in a storm of this magnitude.
The slightest lapse in concentration and the storm would tear you apart.
Body and mind, it was an assault on everything at once and yet Rudger held on or rather, he kept coming toward him.
This storm had no eye of the storm so it wasn't safe to move toward the center.
On the contrary, the closer you get, the more the strain on both body and mind rises sharply.
Getting closer would only make it worse. Still, Rudger didn't stop.
"Why do you keep coming?"
Basara asked.
It was a pure question.
"Are you trying to be a hero, to protect the world, to stand up to me out of pure conviction?"
But something in Rudger's demeanor told Basara that he wasn't fighting out of heroism.
Then what was he fighting for? Basara didn't understand.
Now that he was more emotionally capable, he was curious to know what was driving Rudger.
"Or is it the owner of the body I occupy?"
"……."
For the first time, Rudger responded as a fleeting flicker appeared in his eyes. It was so subtle as to be imperceptible, but Basara, who controlled the space itself, could tell and a long arc formed at the corners of his mouth.
"Hahaha, that's so funny. To think that someone of your caliber would be motivated by such a trivial reason."
Basara placed a hand on his chest as he said this.
"Are you trying to play teacher now, when you didn't really care what happened to this kid?"
"……."
"You don't know it, but I can feel it, this kid hates everyone in the world, and rightfully so, because no one has ever acknowledged her for having such a gift."
Basara said.
"She was born into a good family, but she was discriminated against because she was an outcast. She was despised and persecuted by those who wanted to recognize her, and no one around her wanted to help."
Rudger stared at Basara with wide eyes. He could barely make out the words, but he knew they were there.
Basara continued.
"It's the same for you, too, Professor. You knew this kid was good, but you never gave her a proper compliment. I wonder if you ever gave her the proper recognition in the first place?"
The shadows on Rudger's body began to chip away.
Even the physically resilient Aether Nocturnus could not withstand the storm's cumulative damage for long.
The storm began to tear at the fabric of his clothes and cut into his skin.
"What kind of a stranger are you, anyway? You have your own precious child to save. Maybe you shouldn't have paid attention to Flora."
Basara could feel Flora's emotions.
Even now, her emotions were seeping into him and the more they did, the more they maximized their potential.
The storm slowly grew in size, spilling over the square and swallowing the surrounding buildings.
The roofs of the buildings around the square disintegrated, tearing off bricks. So did the brass pipes on the exterior walls and the sturdy cars.
"Give up now, she's already given up on everything. She'll be happy now, because she has someone who understands her, the only person who understands her…No, not a person."
Basara laughed, holding his stomach as if it were funny.
"Human or demon, it doesn't matter. It's important to have someone who understands you, isn't it? If a god or a man won't hold your hand, a demon will."
The Lumos family believes in the religion of Lumensis, which follows the gods. They say that the teachings of the gods are the real truth, and that their behavior is not wrong.
Flora Lumos grew up in such a family and everyone including her father, her siblings and the people of her family abandoned her, even the gods who were supposed to save her.
"Given your skill, I'll give you one last chance. Get away from here and never be seen by me again. Then I can spare your life."
Basara spoke excitedly.
"This is my way of repaying the master of this body. I want to kill you, but this child doesn't seem to want to kill you very much, so this is my last mercy. This demonic mercy I speak of is as precious as a mermaid's tears, isn't it?"
By now, Rudger was within earshot of Basara.
Just a hand's reach away Rudger staggered to a halt.
Now that he was within touching distance of Basara, the black storm was at full strength. He couldn't move, even if he wanted to, and it was a miracle he could even stay in place.
With a knowing look on his face, Basara offered.
"Now, answer me, will you give up?"
"……."
"Come on. If you just say that, it'll make it easier for everyone, and she can let go of her expectations and start fresh."
"……."
"Just say it. I give up. It's not that hard, is it? I'll let you live."
The raven mask on Rudger's face was long gone, one cheek was bleeding, and Rudger pursed his lips.
Basara pricked up his ears, knowing he was about to say something.
As far as Basara could see, Rudger was already at his limit. His body and mind were so worn out that he could barely stand. In fact, he could hardly believe he was still standing on his own two legs. But that, too, was coming to an end.
Go ahead, say it. You give up.
If you say so, it's all…….
"You talk a lot."
"What?"
"Well, if you're going to make such a big deal out of it, you can't possibly not know."
"What…….?"
"I come all this way and you tell me to give up?"
The moment when Basara gets that look of disbelief on his face Rudger shouted as loud as he could.
"Madeline!!!"
Right after that.
[───!!!]
The black storm that was about to engulf the capital snapped in half.
"What?"
Basara couldn't comprehend the sight before her.
It was not merely demonic power, but the power of a supremely gifted physical body, imbued with magic.
Even a Master could not stop this storm. Then the unbelievable happened.
Basara's gaze fell on the edge of the storm. There, breathing hard, was a man and a woman.
One was a student Flora remembered but the other was a dark-haired woman she had never seen before.
Seeing the inscrutable power radiating from the tips of their wands, Basara muttered.
"Anti-magic?"
Magic that nullifies magic. It was a ridiculous magic that gave one an unconditional advantage in combat, regardless of the size of the power.
To make matters worse, there were not one, but two anti-magic users in the same place.
What an absurdity.
But even that miraculous [Unusual] magic could only calm the raging storm for a moment.
The storm would move again, and the disaster of destruction that had been halted would continue but that momentary lull was enough to turn the tide.
This is what Rudger was aiming for from the start.
"There you are."
The storm had subsided enough for Rudger to see and Basara's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at him.
Before he could struggle, Rudger reached out with his right hand and grabbed his head activating the magic he had prepared.
"Drive him to hell (Divina Virtute in Infernum Detrude)."
(Exorkismos)
TLN: The words in () were copied from the raws not translated.