“This is ridiculous. Do you have no pride as a wizard?”
Two monsters lay at Nella’s feet as she spoke. For now, she could take her time dealing with them. Edwin stood still in the distance, looking at her.
“You rely on these creatures to fight and can’t even do that properly.”
“Associate Professor Nella, I’ve never had any sense of belonging or pride in the wizarding community.”
Edwin replied dryly. What had happened to a Fourth Circle wizard, who must have worked at the Tower for at least thirty years, to make him say that?
“Was it so easy to deny your time here?”
“Time and years are useless in the face of real absolutes. Nella, have you ever come face to face with the Absolute, beneath whose eyes truth and falsehood are irrelevant and the very definition of existence meaningless?”
Edwin stared into the night sky.
“When you face it…Whether it’s been thirty years, three hundred years, or thirty thousand years, you realize it doesn’t matter. You realize that we’re just a handful of dust, your years, my years, the Queen’s years, the Hero’s years….”
Edwin paused and shook his head.
“It’s just the unnecessary toil of the insignificant. Even the Disasters are the same.”
“Funny. You have never even seen the toe of a scourge, you have never tried to face it, and yet you speak of it and its destruction.”
“Oh, no. I am capable of such discernment. I know that even if the Disasters were to come, they would never reach the toes of the Absolutes.”
The room was still as it listened to Edwin’s ramblings.
“Well, you don’t have to see it to know it. It’s like comparing the difference between an ant and an elephant.”
Nella frowned at Edwin’s attitude of reducing Disasters to ants. There’s no reason to listen to him, and if she wanted to, she could do it while he was in cuffs.
“They are beings fit to be called gods, Nella. Confused, inscrutable, powerful, and seemingly stupid, but wise above all else.”
Edwin looked at the mana gathering in Nella’s hands as he spoke.
“The magic we create by squeezing our hearts is nothing compared to their breath or step. Even the great magic that Sixth and Seventh Circle wizards used would dissipate in a single blink.”
Edwin walked over to a monster and placed his hands on its head.
“It’s as simple as this.”
The monster’s head snapped off.
“You don’t know anything yet. You don’t know how meaningless your rampage is or what the Absolutes truly are. Some of us despair when we realize that all we’ve been searching for is an illusion. This is the only truth of this world.”
Edwin tossed the severed head to the ground. The monster crumbled to dust.
“So you’re unhappy that I must rely on monsters to fight? I suggest you defeat them all before arguing your point.”
“…Oh yeah?”
Nella twisted the corners of her mouth. ‘What a coward, hiding behind monsters and spouting reasons why he can’t face me.’ She finished composing her magic. Five Circles worth of mana. It was the most lethal spell Nella had ever realized.
“How about this.”
Despite Nella’s quiet voice, the magic she unleashed was terrifyingly powerful. A massive pillar of fire rose from the floor, consuming half the eleventh floor. Nella frowned as she felt more than half of the magic she had stored in her heart evaporate.
“Did I get him?”
Nella instantly regretted saying those words. She clicked her tongue as she stared at the aftermath of the flames; as she’d expected, the creatures consumed by her spell didn’t even leave a trace. However, a figure still stood.
“Do you know why I dismissed magic as a vice, Nella?”
Edwin’s voice was grotesquely modulated, with a harsh, noisy rasp as if his vocal cords had been shredded on a grater. What emerged was no different from the monsters before him.
“Where magic can never reach, their strength allows them to reach instantly.”
“…I don’t think that’s the right thing to say after looking like that shit.”
“It’s not like you can’t understand, Nella. You’ve forgotten what magic is for; to accomplish things that human power cannot.”
Edwin’s hands burned with a dark fire. It seemed he could use magic even in his monstrous form.
“I suppose you could call this magic, then. I implore you to throw away all you know about magic.”
“…That’s a very pathetic thing to say, that.”
Even though she kept her voice steady, Nella began to tremble with anxiety. The continuous battles were draining her mana, and the energy she could sense from Edwin’s tentacles writhing in front of her was stronger than her. It was well beyond the point where Nella could win.
“It’s a shame I’ve lost so many comrades, but your power alone would compensate for it. Why don’t you consider switching sides?”
“You don’t mean to ask me that seriously under the circumstances, do you?”
“Of course, I’m joking. I should have a chance to feel less guilty before I kill you.”
Nella didn’t give up. She might have a chance to escape if she could dodge one of his attacks. She had no intention of staying here and fighting for her life like a fool.
“I’ll grant you your last wish. I suppose you’ve earned it for working so hard.”
Nella composed another spell. Edwin smiled.
“Is this your last stand?”
‘What idiot makes a last stand? I’m running away.’
Nella’s eyes shone, searching for an escape route. Her best option was to jump through the shattered dome behind Edwin. ‘If I can somehow control the wind magic, I shouldn’t be too badly injured.’ Edwin’s eyes followed Nella’s gaze.
“You should make it less obvious..!”
Then a massive explosion came from the entrance. Edwin’s tentacles, spreading in front of Nella, were blown off to the side like cannonballs. Her eyes widened, and she looked at the dusty entrance. Another figure has appeared at a critical moment.
“El…roy?”
But the silhouette beyond the dirt belonged to a woman. ‘She’s a little too tall to be the Tower Master…Who else could blast a monster with magic of at least the Sixth Circle?’
“Why is Elroy’s name coming from your mouth?”
The dust settled, and a familiar pink hair appeared.
“You have some explaining, Nella-ssi.” (TN: The other series I’m translating made me remember this is a Korean novel.)
Nella’s face flushed red with shame.
***
All I had was one sword.
But that was all I needed. The Holy Sword gave me cooled my head as my body heated up from the attacks. I smiled exaltedly at the tingling mana coursing through my veins. It had been long since I’d fought a battle at full strength.
“The goal is capture.”
(You are facing quite the headache.)
Natalie hasn’t shown her full strength either. Her expression was still relaxed as she faced me. She gave me a curious glance and spoke up.
“So that’s the Holy Sword.”
The tentacle protruding from Natalie’s waist flicked like a tail in the air. A more intense wave of the Disaster’s power emanated as if to confirm my suspicions. The opponent before me was growing stronger, and subduing her was becoming more difficult, but I was calm.
“Daphne.”
I called out to Daphne, who was preparing her magic behind me. She didn’t answer, but she seemed to hear me. Her eyes never left Natalie. I turned to Daphne with a request.
“I’ll take care of this. Go help the people above.”
“The eleventh floor…?”
“I can feel it. There’s a fight going on up there. Nella’s probably having some difficulty.”
Daphne didn’t ask any more questions. Natalie glanced in Daphne’s direction and gave me a puzzled look, probably questioning my confidence in a one-on-one confrontation.
“You’d have a much easier time catching me if you fought with Professor Daphne. She’s strong.”
“Sometimes overthinking can be a bad thing, Natalie. Unless you’re a psychic who can read the tides of battle and see into my mind.”
“Then maybe you could tell me what you’re thinking, Professor?”
I sighed. The conversation was going nowhere. Natalie’s face didn’t show the slightest hint of agitation.
(But will that stop you?)
‘Of course not. If I’d been able to talk her down in the first place, I would have done so before this happened.’
I didn’t think this was going to be so easy. I grabbed the Holy Sword with both hands.
“[Yet you still consider her your student.]”
…I won’t deny it. Even if I tried to be calm and detached, I couldn’t. Of course, I had to stop the damage from spreading as I fumbled, and there was a part of me that still believed.
“We’re about to see the end of this, Professor.”
The tentacles flew out. I didn’t move.
The floor one step behind me exploded as a tentacle popped out. I don’t flinch. I flick my sword behind me. Without the slightest resistance, the tentacle was severed. Two tentacles appeared before my eyes.
It was all too familiar.
The movement of the oncoming tentacles matches that of the Kraken. And I had already sliced through them a thousand times.
“Simple.”
I continued to slash.
No matter how fast the tentacle grew or how powerful it became, it could not even come close to me. It could never compare to the Disaster itself.
Natalie’s expression slowly changed. I sliced and cut, inching closer to Natalie. With each severed tentacle, she flinched but didn’t stop attacking. She seemed to believe I would not harm her, even though I was getting closer and closer.
“You’re so scary, Professor.”
My sword cut off the last tentacle. I stood only a step away from Natalie. I raised my Holy Sword and brought it down over her head, stopping an inch above her. A smile appeared on Natalie’s face.
“If you don’t have the heart to kill me–”
Her hand moved forward, forcing its way through my chest. Blood regurgitated from my mouth. I’d expected it, but it hurt like hell.
“This is what happens.”
“…Yeah…I guess so.”
I crumpled to the floor. Natalie was looking down at me from above with a smile. She cupped my cheek with her right hand, and it moved down to my legs.
“…Huh?”
And then, her left arm and legs fell off.
(Elroy!)
Subjugation complete.
