To think he would seal the Magic Eyes.
Eric felt as though those words were a dream.
It wasn’t that he had never resolved to seal his Magic Eyes. But their power was far too strong—so strong that with any ordinary method, he couldn’t even attempt it.
Even with the large glasses artifact he had obtained with the help of Headmaster Elisa, all he could manage was barely suppressing their activation.
‘But sealing... Is that really possible?’
If anyone other than Ludger had said it, Eric wouldn’t have believed them.
But if it was Ludger, he could believe it. Everything Ludger had shown him so far had inspired trust.
Rather than dressing words up prettily, he would demonstrate his ability decisively just once.
Ludger’s way was extremely concise and efficient. It was a choice only possible because he had absolute confidence in his own skill.
“My Magic Eyes are powerful. Is it really possible?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I suffered from something far worse than yours.”
“Even if you say that... it won’t be easy, will it...?”
To the point that even living a normal daily life was difficult—the power of the Magic Eyes he possessed was simply too strong.
Hadn’t even the Headmaster, who specialized in dealing with Magic Eyes, been unable to do anything about his?
Of course, after coming here and seeing Mina’s utterly insane constitution, he no longer thought he was the only one suffering.
But to have endured something even worse than Magic Eyes?
Ludger understood the question in Eric’s gaze.
Well, from Eric’s perspective, it was only natural to be full of doubt.
“Hm. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to show you a little.”
For the sake of smoother lessons in the future, a small °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° demonstration should be fine.
Ludger erected a solid barrier spell around the inside of the classroom.
When Ludger suddenly used magic, Eric instinctively sensed that something was coming and tensed slightly.
“What exactly are you going to show me?”
“Eric Willow. From now on, what you are about to see must not be spoken of to anyone.”
“No, just what is it...?”
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
With that, Ludger quietly closed his eyes.
The mana overflowing throughout his body receded outward like an ebbing tide, forming a blue mist.
As the mist thickened and filled the classroom, Ludger gently opened the eyes he had closed.
‘Huh?’
Eric realized that Ludger’s eyes had changed.
They had been a piercingly beautiful blue. But now, they shone a deep crimson, as if rubies had been set into them.
Only then did Eric realize it.
Those crimson eyes were his original eye color, and the blue had been the result of excessive mana.
“Heavenly Aperture—open.”
A small ring appeared above Ludger’s head.
It was a halo, a symbol of angels.
But unlike a normal halo, inside the ring there was a pitch-black hole.
The hole was small—only large enough to fit a single human arm. Yet Eric could feel it. From within poured an overwhelming presence he could not resist.
“Hm. I only opened it a little, yet it comes rushing out immediately. I thought it had calmed down compared to before... but perhaps it just feels that way because my mana has increased.”
Ludger muttered to himself.
“P-Professor... what is that, exactly...?”
Only belatedly did Eric realize that his voice was trembling.
Normally, he would brush most things off coolly, but this time, there was no way he could.
At that moment, Eric saw something small emerge from within the pitch-black hole.
It was smaller than a single segment of a human finger.
And yet, within that tiny thing resided something overwhelmingly indescribable.
It felt like compressing thousands of people into something that small.
It was so tiny that it should have been easy to ignore—yet strangely, his gaze was drawn to it on its own.
Wasn’t there a law of universal gravitation? Overwhelming mass possessed an immense pulling force simply by existing.
That tiny finger segment was the same.
Though small in size, it possessed a density beyond imagination. It was only natural that his eyes were drawn to it.
Soon, Eric’s eyes began to throb.
A sharp pain, along with the sensation of something burrowing into his pupils.
“Ugh!”
As Eric flinched involuntarily, Ludger watched him and murmured quietly.
“Looks like it took a liking to you, unexpectedly.”
“W-What do you mean by that...?”
“I only meant to show a moderate example, but perhaps you helped it along.”
Ludger lifted his head and spoke toward the hole.
“That’s enough. Any further would be dangerous.”
...Who is the professor talking to right now?
Even amid the pain in his eyes, curiosity welled up within Eric.
A mage’s reason and curiosity.
But his instincts screamed otherwise—screamed madly that he must not listen to those words, that he must not lift his head and look at that thing.
Cold sweat ran down Eric’s body. For some reason, even breathing was difficult.
As Eric began gasping for air, Ludger spoke.
“That’s enough. This time, I only opened it to confirm something. If you insist any further, I won’t open it again for the rest of your life.”
Ssssss.
Perhaps the half-threatening warning worked.
Whatever had been communicating with Ludger seemed to accept it reluctantly and disappeared beyond the other side.
Ludger immediately closed the hole in the air, absorbing mana and weaving a sealing spell.
“Huff! Huff!”
As the pressure that had densely swallowed the entire classroom vanished, Eric was finally able to breathe normally again.
“P-Professor... what was that, just now?”
Eric asked, his voice shaking with fear and dread.
“A transcendent being.”
“Then what exactly... no, where did something like that come from... That was practically—”
“Like a god?”
At the words that struck the core, Eric fell silent.
Yes. If that terrifying existence was not a god, then what else could be called one?
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
“...Y-Yes?”
“Once, they were gods who possessed divinity. Now, they are nothing more than beings whose names have even been erased.”
Their names erased. Which meant that, compared to the past, what he had seen was actually a weakened result?
“Professor... you were tormented by beings like that...?”
“Relentlessly. But now I’m fine. Just as I told you—thanks to sealing magic.”
Eric’s body trembled.
He had thought that he alone suffered because of his Magic Eyes.
Of course, he knew that all the world’s misfortune wasn’t concentrated on him alone. Still, he had believed himself to be among the truly unfortunate.
But today, Eric realized that he had been a frog in a well.
Just brushing against a fragment of that being had made his hair stand on end and left him struggling to breathe—what must it have been like for Ludger, who communicated with and was tormented by such existences directly?
Now he appeared calm, but Eric knew.
It hadn’t always been that way.
Ludger’s demeanor came from having endured it so excessively that it bordered on a kind of enlightenment.
“People think goodwill is a good thing. They say that if someone offers you kindness or love, you are blessed.”
Ludger calmly dismantled the solid barrier spell he had carved into the classroom.
“But people can only say that because the goodwill is within what they can bear. Compared to the vessel of human desire, the goodwill others offer is often not even enough to fill half of it.”
As the traces of mana faded, the classroom returned to its usual atmosphere.
Yet even in this setting, Eric couldn’t shake the sense of dissonance.
After staring into an excessively bright light, didn’t one still see afterimages even with eyes closed?
He had witnessed something far too shocking. Even though he had returned to reality, it didn’t feel real.
That fleeting memory lingered like an afterimage, continuing to surface in his mind.
“But the love of transcendent beings cannot be judged by human standards. The goodwill they bestow shatters the human vessel with ease.”
If human love was like pouring water into an ordinary vessel—
Then a god’s love was like pouring magma into it.
Naturally, the vessel couldn’t endure it and would melt away in an instant.
“To avoid being tormented by such beings, I developed sealing magic. Do you understand now why I wish to teach it to you?”
Eric nodded silently.
He thought that his past self, who had harbored even a moment of doubt toward Ludger, was foolish.
“This is my constitution. Something similar to yours and Mina’s—something an individual can scarcely bear.”
“So that’s why...”
The reason Ludger had paid such special attention to him and Mina.
It wasn’t just a teacher’s ambition to not leave exceptional mages unattended.
It stemmed from compassion—an inability to simply ignore children who stood in the same position as himself.
“Still, Eric, you’re fairly lucky. I didn’t expect it to shove a finger through an opening door so suddenly, but even after seeing that, your mind is still intact.”
“My mind... intact?”
Even now, his head was spinning, and he felt like he might throw up.
“That’s pretty good, all things considered.”
“What happens if it’s not good?”
“Do you want to hear?”
It was a question asking whether he truly wanted to hear—whether he could bear that truth.
Most students would back down here and say no, but Eric was different.
“...I don’t want to just let it pass without knowing.”
“Heh.”
Ludger let out a hollow chuckle without realizing it.
He had seemed like a boy who found everything bothersome, but in truth, he had more pride and drive than anyone.
“Well, what you saw was only a tiny part, so the aftereffects won’t be severe. But if you see even a little more, things change. From that point on, you are drawn to it.”
“Drawn...?”
“When you saw that finger, your gaze was stolen without you realizing it. Do you know why?”
“That’s...”
“Overwhelming presence draws everything to it by its very nature. That tiny segment claimed your gaze and interest. If it grows any larger, it stops being mere interest.”
The mind is drawn in—and beyond that, the body follows.
“Those who are drawn in have their bodies collapse and become one with it. In the truest sense, it is union.”
A chill ran through Eric’s entire body.
If it went just a little further, his mind would be drawn in and he would become a wreck—and if it went further still, even his body would be taken?
Was that really possible?
No—there was no point denying it. Hadn’t he already accepted that Ludger’s words were sincere?
“And besides, Eric, in your case, you are particularly lucky.”
“...Even after seeing something like that? Well, if being fine after seeing it counts as lucky, I suppose I can accept that.”
“You were the one who harbored curiosity, and I did give you a warning. And the luck I’m referring to has another meaning.”
Ludger gestured toward Eric’s eyes.
“How do your eyes feel now?”
“Huh? Well...”
Only then did Eric realize that the pain that had been stabbing his eyes was gone.
At the same time, he noticed that the world before him had become several times clearer than before.
“H-Huh?”
“It seems it took a liking to you. More precisely, it likely felt curiosity toward the sight of you standing beside me.”
“W-What in the world is going on?”
Eric slowly removed the glasses artifact he had been wearing.
Nothing happened. The world looked no different from when he had the artifact on.
Normally, the power of his Magic Eyes should have been raging—but now, it was eerily calm.
“A goddess’s gift, I suppose. Congratulations, Eric Willow. You’ve become one of the few humans to receive a god’s baptism directly.”
Ludger spoke of an earth-shattering fact as though it were nothing special at all.