Gwoooh…
The sky trembled, and the earth turned upside down as red mana filled the atmosphere.
Whooosh-
Her robe fluttered as if with the wind, but Epherene knew. In this space where time was stagnant, no wind existed. So, this was a purely magic effect.
It was Adrienne’s mana that distorted the scenery.
“…”
Epherene looked up at Adrienne. Her complexion was bright as she faced her among the clouds. She was smiling from ear to ear.
“Chairman.”
“Yes?!”
“…How do I become an archmage?”
At that question, Adrienne’s eyes widened.
Archmage. Epherene had never once wished for such a great and glorious status. She never even considered it. It was not such a vague and ambitious goal that led her to this place.
“Eh? Archmage?”
“Yes.”
Looking back, it was an impulse. Following her father’s wish, she hated Deculein. Burnt with those emotions, she became a wizard. After being at his side for a long time, she realized the hard truth and tried to run away from it. She fell, and fell again… eventually, she was raised by Deculein.
Thanks to Deculein, she came to believe purely in herself.
“I want to become an archmage.”
“Hmm! Why?!”
“I’m going to repair the Floating Island.”
The Floating Island wasn’t a society of wizards. They were nothing more than a group that had become infinitely cold and cruel under the name of absolute reason.
“So, I will distribute the Professor’s theory throughout the continent.”
Deculein’s theory. She would easily solve the difficult parts and distribute them starting from the basics. She would put it all together, if possible, and at no cost.
“So, to do that, I have to win, right?”
Epherene answered her own question. She must win against Adrienne now, and then handle Quay and the destruction of the continent.
“Yes! You must defeat me first!”
Adrienne said. At the same time, her magic was manifested.
RUMBLE-!
The sky was shattered. The land collapsed.
Tzuzuzuzuzujwu—!
There was no longer a distinction between up and down.
Claaaaaaank—!
Epherene snorted. It was truly incredible scenery, borne from an absurd talent.
“That’s impressive.”
If she had to describe this magic quickly, it would be the purest destruction. Magic for the sole purpose of destruction went beyond merely interfering with the world. It was destroying the world.
“What the!”
Adrienne exclaimed.
“Are you going to just stand still?!”
The fragmented sky gradually collapsed into a single point, and more than half of the land on which Epherene stood had already disappeared.
“…Chairman.”
“What?!”
“Somehow, I don’t think I will lose.”
“What?!”
In the middle of that destruction, Epherene unleashed her magic. She energized time into the shards of the world that Adrienne had shattered. Then, the world returned to normal before being destroyed by Adrienne, to the perfect heaven and earth.
In an instant.
“…Haha!”
Adrienne laughed. Epherene said.
“Shall we start with an ordinary magic battle? After all, great magic with a wide range doesn’t work on me.”
There were many gaps in magic on that large of a scale. To be precise, if she held onto only a certain part of it with time, she could turn it back very easily.
“Haha! Fine!
Adrienne prepared countless more spells as if what she did just now was a test. As soon as they were ready, they fired.
Boooooom—!
Meteor Drop, Hell Fireball, Earth Decomposition, Windfury Blade, Moonlight Shard. Enormous destructive spells were woven in an instant and fell upon Epherene. But.
“Exactly—!”
As Epherene snapped her fingers, each of the spells vanished.
“As expected! I’m good at judging people!”
Epherene was dispersing her magic non-stop.
RUMBLE-!
The spells that poured out went beyond the hundreds. The most intensive destruction mobilizing all the elements at Adrienne’s command was concentrated onto a single point called Epherene.
“—!”
Adrienne, the master of such destruction and power, deserved to be called an Archmage.
Snap—!
But even so, Epherene, who could extinguish an Archmage’s attacks with just a snap of a finger, had confidence.
Craaaaaaash-
Their battle was explosive, and the air flashed with blinding spells, but the offense didn’t deteriorate from start to finish. Adrienne’s overwhelming superiority continued throughout.
Craaack—!
The intangible penetrating magic that Epherene couldn’t hold onto pierced through the shoulder of her mana armor. Ash burned down to Epherene’s knees.
“…”
So her joints were pierced, her skin was burned, but there was no change in Epherene’s expression.
“There is no point in holding on! But, please, make it a little more fun!”
Adrienne exclaimed with a laugh. She had the chance to pour out her mana for the first time in a long time, so it was impossible not to feel satisfied.
“You will grow old and die if you stick to blocking!”
Since fairies didn’t have mana restrictions, this magic battle would continue like this indefinitely. Adrienne would attack, Epherene would only defend, and in the end, Epherene, running out of time first, would be defeated.
“…Chairman. Do you know?”
Nevertheless, Epherene twisted her lips. As if she was guaranteed victory, as if she was plotting some kind of scheme, resembling Deculein, her smile was sinister.
“What?! That expression looks completely like Deculein’s!”
They say that teachers and disciples end up resembling each other…
“I am not defending against your magic right now. I’m just adjusting the time and editing that vector.'”
“Haha! I beg your pardon?! What is that…?”
Adrienne laughed because what Epherene said was so much fun, but she quickly realized her meaning.
“…That’s right.”
Indeed, she had the judgment and thinking power fitting an Archmage. Epherene nodded with that same sneer, and Adrienne’s eyes widened.
“I sent your magic to the future for a while.”
“…Oh.”
She didn’t know whether to be excited or afraid of this revelation. But by the time she realized it, it was already too late.
Snap—!
When Epherene snapped her fingers, those countless magics were reborn in the air. No, Adrienne’s magic, which had been kicked forward to the future, returned one after another. They filled the expansive sky with their tremendous density.
—Gwoooh.
However, the vector of the magic, the target, was no longer aimed at Epherene. Epherene’s modified magical trajectory was—
“It’s all yours.”
-aimed right at Adrienne.
“…”
Surrounded by that formidable wall of projectiles and mana, Adrienne’s jaw dropped.
“Hmm…”
And then, she thought deeply. Can I put up a barrier? Or should I respond with bigger destruction magic?
However, these weren’t ordinary spells of destruction magic. It was the magic that Adrienne herself, not anyone else, constructed and cast. They were perfect spells with no gaps.
“…I was careless.”
In the end, Adrienne laughed. Epherene beckoned lightly.
Whoooosh-
The mana of the air vibrated, and the wind whistled. Adrienne’s destruction magic returned right to her.
Boooooooooooom-
It was an inescapable bombardment.
* * *
…Like that, right after the barrier of time was broken.
—I’ll admit it! No matter how careless I was, I lost!
Adrienne said that, and Epherene stared at her blankly. Adrienne was very strange right now. First of all, her body was too small.
—What are you looking at me like that?! Am I funny?!
“…Of course. Why are you so small?”
Now Adrienne was the size of a dove.
—Hmph! I’m actually half fairy!
“…What?”
Epherene’s eyes went round. A fairy? Was she talking about the fairies from the tales of legend?
—Yeah! I can reduce my body size like this! Not only can I avoid direct hits if I do, the density of the barrier naturally increases so that I can preserve my body! One bad thing about this is that I have to stay like this for a week once I’m in this state!
Adrienne grinned.
—Anyway, fine!
She said, and then she looked between Deculein and Epherene.
—Since I lost, I will step down without causing any harm to Professor Deculein!
“…”
Deculein was safe. Epherene nodded her head blankly, lowering her posture again to place her hand on Deculein’s forehead. He had a high fever; his whole body was boiling enough to scorch her hands.
—Is he okay? It looks like he’s going to die soon!
“…Yes. He’s fine.”
However, she didn’t worry. Being free of time had these advantages.
“Later, when the time is right, I can call someone. So…”
Epherene stared at Adrienne with narrowed eyes. She was telling her to leave.
—Huh! Fine! I’ll just go! But, don’t think this is the end!
“Will you stop by again?”
—Anywhere you are! It was so much fun! Now, I won’t fall for the same trick twice!
Adrienne laughed. Seeing her like that, Epherene softly smiled.
“Yeah. Come visit anytime.”
—Yeah!
Pop-
Adrienne disappeared with that answer, and Epherene, left alone with Deculein, slowly fell to her knees. She sat and watched the stunned Deculein.
“…”
Without saying a word, she stared blankly at his face. She kept looking.
She was just looking at him.
Tick—!
Then, the sound of the second hand rang in her head. It meant that it was about time, but Epherene shook her head.
“Not yet.”
She caught the time. She didn’t know if it’d be three seconds, five, or maybe even ten, but she grabbed it forcibly.
“…Professor.”
So, she continued to stay with Deculein.
“What should I do…?”
She leaned slowly over and rested her head on his chest. She felt his heart beating so faintly, and in her sorrow, she murmured in a quiet voice.
“I think I’ve become too rude.”
Tick—
The second hand ticked again. Every moment she seized rapidly consumed her mana, and she was on the verge of exhaustion.
“So, what I mean….”
Her trembling lips became purple.
“Professor…”
Her small voice flowed through them.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
Rustle—
Then the sound of someone’s footsteps fell behind her. She still didn’t know who it was, but it must be the reinforcements the future Epherene had called.
“…”
Tick—
Epherene looked in that direction and smiled. It was her pretty grown adventurer friend, Lia. She was approaching their way through the grass.
—Tock.
At the same time, it sounded again, all of her mana was exhausted, and an excruciating wave of exhaustion engulfed her.
…Tick.
One last second. She rested her head against Deculein’s chest.
“…I love you.”
Epherene returned to somewhere other than the present.
“I know. As time goes on, I will love you more and more and more.”
She left those words in the ear of her most precious professor, too shyly…
