"......"
There was no feeling in my ankle. Despite the skeletal hand gripping it hard enough to crush the bone, I hadn't realized it until I looked down. It seems there's a paralysis effect.
Could the Redflame assassin control even bones? No, the direction of her abilities is different. This is someone else's power.
Rustle.
More skeletal hands began to emerge silently, one by one. They rose from the ground, grabbing Bennett's and Sissel's ankles, slowly revealing themselves.
A warning signal went off sharply in my head. I immediately shouted,
"Watch out for the ground! It's skeletons!"
"Skeletons? Where are they... Huh?! What the hell is this?!"
Amusingly, Sissel's startled reaction was exactly like her sister’s.
"...Necromancy infused with cold, damn it. This is the magic of 'Corpse Flower!'"
Bennett shouted as he swung his sword of protection, slicing through the bones that bound him. Corpse Flower... That was the identifier for a notorious dark sorceress who had taken over Bennett's sister's body.
It reminded me of The Virgin Who Drinks Pleasure, the succubus queen. If this Corpse Flower was on par with the queen, she would be an extremely dangerous opponent.
"Bennett, what do we need to be careful about?"
"First, get off the ground. Climb the trees!"
Fwoosh, crack-!
I wrapped my legs in flames, stomping down to shatter the skeletal hands. Then I grabbed Selvia, who was standing idly nearby, and leaped up.
We dashed up the tree trunk, and I saw that Bennett and Sissel had also jumped onto the branches in one leap.
Clatter, grind. Grind, grind, grind-!
The sound of countless hands scratching and tearing at the ground filled the air. The earth churned as skeletons began to rise one by one from the ground.
No, they surged up.
Rumble, rumble, rumble──!
From every visible patch of ground, bones erupted simultaneously. It continued, endlessly, to the point where it seemed impossible.
Soon, a sea of bones about a meter deep formed.
And it began to surge like waves. Despite being solid, the sheer volume made it appear to ripple like liquid.
The insane scale of it all left me dizzy.
"Insane..."
"Are those... are those all human bones? How...?"
Selvia, who was in my arms, was also aghast. If we had stayed on the ground, our fate would have been obvious. But it was far too early to relax.
The bone sea that had formed in an instant continued to rise, inch by inch.
"Serpent of Love!"
Sssshhh──!
I sent the fire serpent out, hoping to evaporate the sea of bones and eliminate the threat. The Serpent of Love twisted its body, melting and incinerating the bones, but the coldness within the bones extinguished its flames, sapping its strength.
After about ten seconds, the serpent was swallowed up by the bone waves, leaving nothing behind. I quickly assessed the situation. This required the firepower of Kim Lulu’s level to be effective.
Creak, creak!
The trees were being gnawed at from their bases, beginning to tilt in various directions. We had to move or come up with something before we were drowned in bones.
"Is there any chance this spell might lose power and stop halfway?"
"If Corpse Flower is here, she likely brought a horde of souls to replenish her mana. We’d be swept away long before that."
"Then we have no choice but to take out the caster. Let’s go, Sissel, Bennett! The reaction is coming from the direction of the scream! Bennett, carry me, and Sissel, take care of Selvia!"
"Yes, I will."
Leap.
Balancing on the collapsing trees, we had to jump to the next one, all while avoiding the sea of bones below—a nearly impossible task for a mage.
Even if I could calculate the movement, my physical ability wasn't up to the task. So, Selvia and I relied on the two in the front as we raced through the crumbling forest. Bennett was surprisingly comfortable to ride.
Meanwhile, I was deep in thought.
Unless this place was some horrific execution ground for humans or a massive burial site of an ancient cannibal empire, such a massive quantity of bones was impossible.
The situation seemed as though something was created out of nothing. That phrase itself felt strangely familiar. I had a feeling I knew the secret behind this magic.
As we headed toward the source of the Redflame assassin’s scream, the reaction from the elven relic grew stronger. Simultaneously, a cold, slithering voice echoed through the forest.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
With the sound of bones clashing and entwining, a giant serpent of bones rose from the bone sea. It opened its jaws wide, ready to swallow me whole, with sharp, spiraled rib bones inside its maw.
"Bennett, jump!"
"...Jump here? You mean to get eaten?"
"I'll maneuver us out of it—just jump!"
Without hesitation, Bennett launched himself into the air. I immediately cast a spell.
"Booster!"
Using fire magic as propulsion, I maneuvered Bennett through the air. We performed a graceful dive, much like a swallow, in a daring aerial maneuver.
Crrrrrack!
We narrowly passed through a small gap between the bone serpent and the bone sea, evading the attack. The serpent only succeeded in grinding up an innocent tree in an instant.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Bennett's neck. That must have been nerve-wracking. I was a bit shaken too.
"Brother, what on earth is she rambling about?!"
"Well, that is..."
Tap.
As we evaded the giant bone wave, we reached our destination: a beautiful clearing where white bone flowers bloomed. In the center stood a woman seated on a throne of bones.
Next to her, clutching her perforated waist and glaring at us, was the Redflame assassin.
Her ash-gray hair, tinted a deep green by the magic’s influence, was a poisonous hue that looked like it could be addictive just by looking at it. Her features resembled Bennett’s closely.
Bennett, his voice filled with bitter anger, muttered through clenched teeth,
"Corpse Flower..."
"It’s been a while, Bennett. I heard you’ve been living a happy life, leaving your sister behind. If I’d known you were that cold-hearted, I would’ve put a different kind of leash on you."
"You’ve come all this way with such heavy steps. I didn’t expect to meet you here, Corpse Flower. Now, give me back my sister’s body──!!"
"Do you really think that’s possible? No, let me explain why. Where was I... Oh yes, I was talking about the pinnacle of magic."
Swish.
With a casual wave of her hand, the undead soldiers rose. The bone sea behind her stirred with a chilling, grating noise that set my nerves on edge.
My indirect connection with this dark sorceress began the moment I joined the Academy. In the secret facility beneath the Academy, she had set up a magic circle to amplify emotions, waiting for the right moment.
Now, that circle had been repurposed into a session-based auxiliary battery, rendering it practically useless. But looking back now...
The fact that she set up a magic circle to amplify emotions, rather than draining souls or siphoning mana, was significant.
And the dark sorcerers’ covert operations at the Academy? She sought to harvest a massive amount of fear through them.
"After 300 years of repeatedly dying and reviving, I finally reached the realm of the gods. 'Materialization of Fear'... I can create corpses without bodies and summon souls without souls."
Corpse Flower looked down at the Redflame assassin, soliloquizing as if to boast about her achievements.
"That’s why I didn’t bother creating an idol of the dark god. I didn’t need the god’s power; I could do it myself."
In other words...
Her necromancy, which draws power from fear, was on the same level as my hologram technology, which converts belief into physical force.
I had never considered the possibility of losing a magic duel based purely on skill.
My high-performance brain is objectively monstrous, and the so-called geniuses I’ve encountered thus far have all been outmatched by my calculative abilities. Only Yuna could compete with me.
But now, even considering I was weakened by being fragmented into dozens of pieces──
"Corpse Explosion, Bone Spear."
"Flame Harpoon, ugh... Why does it always have to be such a dirty, underhanded trajectory!"
I was getting pushed back.
The pinpoint spells of Corpse Flower systematically countered and strangled the magic I cast in response.
The experience accumulated from 300 years of necromancy and her talent in using emotion as a power source allowed her to intuitively strike at my vulnerabilities with deadly precision.
Hummm──
"Academic Radiance...!"
"Brother, did you steal my Transcendence?!"
Even when I tried to launch a mini-sun I had arranged myself,
"Bone Needle."
"No way, damn...!"
She accurately struck the trigger that would detonate the spell in mid-air, causing it to disintegrate. Even I was left dumbfounded.
It was like shooting a needle at a bullet during a firefight and causing it to explode inside the gun.
I didn’t know where she was drawing from, but the endlessly multiplying skeletons were still advancing. To sweep them away, I’d need a powerful, large-scale spell with casting time.
"If I use Flame Angel Level 3..."
"No, Selvia. Turn off Flame Angel."
"Rafflesia of the Battlefield."
Fwoosh──! Poisonous gas spread through the wind. I quickly raised a wall of flame to burn away the toxins.
Right. She’s not giving me a chance to cast anything big. That’s why I had Selvia shut off Flame Angel.
While it increases her destructive power, Flame Angel drastically reduces her defense, meaning one hit would be fatal in a fight this precise. Against an opponent capable of such precision attacks, it’s basically a suicide mission.
"Life Extraction - Leash Your Neck!"
Sissel was holding back the sea of skeletons attacking from the rear. She was using gravity to pin them down, preventing them from advancing, but that alone was taking all her strength. She had no energy left to help us.
And Bennett...
"I'll make sure to put a hole in your side──!!"
"Move aside. I have no time to waste on you."
"Don't be ridiculous, you're going to die here, grr?!"
Clang, clang!
Bennett was engaged in combat with the Redflame assassin, whose bone club was wrapped in dark red magic. His fighting spirit was more intense than I had ever seen before.
Bennett fought without hesitation, as if willing to sacrifice his life if it meant he could reach his sister. His fierce determination was so overwhelming that the assassin was being pushed back.
"I told you to move aside."
"...Are you seriously underestimating me?!"
However, it didn’t seem like the battle would be decided quickly.
If we wanted to turn this fight around, we’d need to build our strategy around Bennett. Whether it was the burning power of his heart or something else, he was fighting better than ever.
Bennett’s strange awakening was a stroke of luck, but this was still a brutally difficult battle. A necromancer should be powerless without corpses, right? If she can create them from emotions, doesn’t that cease to be necromancy?
Then again, I’m in no position to criticize, given that I use illusion magic to do just about everything.
"I’ve heard a lot about you, Crazy Mage. I hear you ruined the precious magic circle I set up at the Academy?"
"Oh, I noticed it was terribly inefficient, so I fixed it up a bit!"
"Thank you. Now I’ll take it back. 'Funeral of the Insects.'"
"As if... Selvia, to the right!"
Corpse Flower's voice was calm and taunting. It was infuriating. She spoke with the confidence of someone who knew she had the upper hand.
Even at the most optimistic, this was a crisis. I couldn’t think of any way to break through with fire magic. If it were illusion magic, I might have tried something!
But that doesn’t mean all hope was lost.
We had one last resort!
Dodging the incoming bone spear with a swift arm-maneuver, I used the time I gained to shout to Bennett as I sent a fireball toward the Redflame assassin.
"Bennett, use it!"
"...Understood."
Bennett pulled out the Violet Tower Master's wish ticket from his pocket. Though half a year had passed, the ticket was still in pristine condition.
Without hesitation, he tore it in half.
A burst of light erupted from the ticket, sending an invisible signal skyward. Yuna would arrive soon. The moment she did, the tide of battle would turn drastically.
From now on, it was a race against time. We just had to hold out until Yuna arrived. If we focused solely on defense, we could manage that.
Soon.
Creak- Crack.
A crack appeared in the sky. Through the gap, Yuna’s enlarged eye calmly peered out, as a swirl of illusions filled the air, mixed with the cries of various animals.
It was a scene that felt distinctly cosmic horror.
"...W-What is that now?!"
"Don’t worry! That’s Yuna, the Violet Tower Master!"
I reassured the panicking Selvia.
Yuna’s Transcendence, Realm of Illusions: Opening the Gate.
She was using her power to blur the line between illusion and reality, casting a spatial transfer spell to this marked location. Since she was coming through the realm of illusions, the visual was nightmarish due to her psychological state.
This battle was won. There was no way we couldn’t hold out for that long, and if the enemy tried to flee, we had the means to capture them.
How’s that for a twist? I checked Corpse Flower's expression. But...
"Hahaha... Hehehe."
She’s laughing?
I quickly tightened my focus. It didn’t seem like she was bluffing. Did she have a trump card? Something strong enough to face Yuna?
She continued to speak nonchalantly as she unleashed attacks.
"Bennett. Aren’t you curious about the 'Nightmare Summoning' spell that was delayed because of your betrayal? It’s a secret technique once researched by the old Violet Tower. Its effect is... to summon the most terrifying thing the target has ever experienced."
"..."
"I’ve been preparing this spell for a very long time. Once I use it now, it’ll take about a hundred years before I can cast it again. That’s why... I had to choose my target very carefully."
If it really was a spell that summoned nightmares, and if she used it on Bennett... Wouldn’t that mean the dark god from the session would manifest in reality? A being that could manipulate the universe?
Surely not.
It couldn’t be such a simple spell. Otherwise, you could just make a child imagine a planet-sized octopus and cast 'Nightmare Summoning' to summon it.
She’d probably need data. The more detailed her knowledge of the target, the more concrete and realistic the nightmare would be.
If that’s the case...
"Crazy Mage, I heard you had a conflict with the boy knight... the Empire’s Sword Saint. The Violet Tower was half destroyed, wasn’t it?"
That’s right. That was when Irid finished the first session.
I had witnessed the clash between the Violet Tower Master and the boy knight.
"You must have been very impressed. Probably trembling with fear. Your genius brain would have thoroughly analyzed just how powerful the Empire’s Sword Saint really was."
Exactly. Now that I had more data on Transcendence and Sublimation, I could imagine the boy knight’s strength in great detail.
It’s the brain of a monster. I might remember it more vividly and accurately than anyone else in this world, excluding the boy knight himself.
"The reason I accepted Faceless’s request for help wasn’t just because I was tempted by the elven relic... but because I wanted to meet you, Crazy Mage. To draw the boy Sword Saint out of your mind."
Her eyes, with pupils tinted green, curved into a satisfied smile.
"Damn it, shadows underfoot, the darkness peeking through the wardrobe crack..."
I immediately prepared a mind-clearing spell, intending to erase the memory from my brain. If I could wipe out my consciousness and data, Nightmare Summoning wouldn’t be able to extract anything.
If the boy knight manifested as an enemy, it would be a tough fight, even for Yuna. I had to stop it.
But...
"It’s already too late."
Right. When a mage starts talking, they’ve already completed their preparations.
Looking back, Bennett’s brief daze earlier might have been a hint that Corpse Flower’s magic circle was laid in this forest.
A sinister black light glowed in Corpse Flower’s hand.
"Nightmare Summoning."
The spell was cast, targeting me.
The world was engulfed in darkness in an instant.
Then, magic and emotion swirled together.
This was the accumulated power of a dark sorceress who had died and resurrected repeatedly over 300 years. The amount of reagents, resources, and time spent was staggering. A vortex of purple light spiraled toward the center of the darkness.
Yes. This was the moment Corpse Flower had been waiting for. She was ready to greet the clone of the Empire’s Sword Saint that was about to be born. It might be somewhat rebellious, perhaps difficult to control, but...
She had prepared thoroughly for that too. Finally, she was about to obtain the sharpest blade in the world. Once she had that power, she could achieve all her desires.
Gradually, a form began to take shape.
The deepest fear engraved in the Crazy Mage’s heart, something so horrific it could never be forgotten, finally began to reveal itself.
A rigid body. A figure less than a meter tall.
...It’s not the boy knight. Corpse Flower bit her lip. She had expected it to be the Sword Saint. It wasn’t what she anticipated, but that’s okay.
If this insane mage, who’s a powerful sorcerer in his own right and a wrecker of all sorts of dark sorcery, truly feared this entity, then it would be strong enough. Maybe even stronger than the Sword Saint. The Lamb had hinted that the Crazy Mage might be connected to an evil god.
Finally, the Crazy Mage’s fear manifested.
As the darkness and mist cleared, a metallic, sleek figure emerged into the world, causing the Crazy Mage’s legs to give out. He collapsed, trembling with terror, and screamed.
"Aaaaahhhhh!!"
It was a being without emotions, indifferent, methodically, and relentlessly swinging a feather duster.
It was a cleaning golem.
"?"