Chapter 16: Let’s go home (6)

-There is nothing particularly difficult about dealing with a mage.
-It is easiest to think of magic as a kind of machine.

Those were the words of my aunt, the hero known to the world as the Sage, Macmill Ron Lafrien.

-A machine will eventually break if even a single component is missing.
-The same goes for adding too many components or excessive output.
-The moment even one thing goes wrong, the magic fails.
-What?
You don’t understand?
In other words…

Rustle.

-If even one of those components is restricted,
-the mage is nothing more than an ordinary person.

Mana shimmering at my fingertips stretched toward the air.
Pure-white remnants of mana glittered, forming an irregular constellation.

“Shall we start by nullifying the enchant effect?”
“What?”

As I reached out toward the incoming arrows, the mana that had risen into the air scattered away.
I snapped my fingers and spoke.

Snap!

“Brake.”

Whoooong!

The scattering mana spread across the crimson western sky.
The remnants of mana flowing along the arrow fletchings were brought to a halt.

The tip of the arrow that had been flying straight ahead suddenly plummeted helplessly.

Tick, tidick, tick.

As the slender shafts fell, the arrow fletchings shattered into pieces.
I looked at the fallen arrows and raised the corners of my mouth into a satisfied smile.

“Hm!
It works.”

The result was satisfactory.
I had known the theory, but my previous body had been incapable of putting it into practice.
However, in the body I was moving now, I could vividly feel the activity of mana unlike before.

‘So this is what she meant by having fallen in rank…’

This was what being weakened meant?
She’s absurdly strong.
Seriously.

I brushed the remnants clinging to my fingertips away and clicked my tongue in amazement.

“When did you learn magic?”
“It’s been quite a while.
I couldn’t use very much of it, so I never really had a chance to put it to use.”

The bandits hurriedly drew their bowstrings again.

“You won’t be able to use those anymore.”

Their enchanted weapons could no longer perform their intended functions.
The bandits roughly threw the weapons aside and began charging toward us like a pack of wild dogs.

“I’ll take care of the rear.”
“All right.”

The moment Father stepped forward, my foot moved forward as well.

“Hmm…”

I shook my wrists and advanced.
The sensation of running beneath my soles brought back memories of the urgency of the battlefield.
I threw off the robe I had been wearing, clenched my fists, and moved forward.

“Well, then.”

Crack.

“Shall we finish this before sunset?”

“What the hell…
What is going on?”

Surd Crisis, the former strongest hero.
He was silently subduing the bandits before him.

“Why is Surd near the Demon Realm?
Didn’t he retire?!”

Thump!

A wildly swung sword was caught in his hand.
It was worthless swordsmanship, lacking both proper strength and any clear target.
With a slight squeeze of the hand holding the sword, the bandit’s weapon crumbled helplessly.

Clang!

“Huh…?”
“Go to sleep.”

Thud!

Surd’s fist drove into his solar plexus.
A foreign sensation that turned his insides upside down caused foam to spill from the bandit’s mouth.
His eyes rolled back until only the whites showed, and his body tumbled across the ground.

Surd calmly looked toward his next target.

“R-run!
Everyone, run!”

A man who appeared to be the leader raised a hand axe.
Faint mana was rising from the axe’s handle.

Seeing the enchantment placed on the weapon he alone carried, Surd was certain.

‘That’s the enchanter.’

An enchanter’s abilities truly showed their value the more chaotic a battle became.
A weapon’s performance was an important factor in determining whether someone lived or died.
When two opponents were assumed to be of equal skill, the equipment they possessed could ultimately determine victory or defeat.

Watching the leader turn his back and run, Surd clicked his tongue.

‘What a waste.
To think someone with that kind of talent is working as a bandit in a place like this.’

Surd felt his thoughts settle.
He knew how much money countless military units invested to recruit even a single enchanter.

“Boss…
Wait for us!”
“Argh!”

Bandits dropped one after another at Surd’s hands.
The bandits blocking the road tumbled across the ground.
Surd glared at the fleeing leader.
The crimson western sky of sunset reflected in his eyes.

“Damn, the sunlight…”

His eyelids gently lowered as the glare reached his eyes.
He spread a hand over his forehead to cast a shadow and looked straight ahead again.

Rustle.

“Huh?”

The leader who had been running only moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
He had closed his eyes for barely one or two seconds.
That was nowhere near enough time to disappear.

‘Where did he go?’

Had he used a Stealth spell?
Or had he been hiding his true abilities all along?

‘Strange.
There was no sign of that.’

Just as Surd tilted his head and prepared to run forward—

“Why?
Trying to run away?”

A clear voice came from above his head.

“Hmm?”

Surd slowly raised his head.

A girl stood atop the trunk of a tree, her pure-white hair fluttering as she looked down.
Where her gaze was directed, the missing leader was hanging upside down.

“L-let me go!
I said let me go right now!”
“Hmm…
Let you go?”

With a mischievous smile, the girl released the vine she was holding.

“A-argh!”

Clatter!

Just before the leader’s head struck the ground, Lapis grabbed the vine again.
Even as she hauled up a man twice her size, there wasn’t the slightest sign of strain on her face.

“Should I let you go again?”
“N-no!
Please keep holding me!
Please keep holding me!”
“Good.
You made the right choice.”

Lapis gave a slight nod.
Her white hair swayed softly.

“Lapis, what are you doing?”

At Surd’s question, Lapis answered with a smile.

“This guy obviously looked like the enchanter.
I figured we absolutely couldn’t let him get away.”
“Haa…”

Surd let out a small sigh at her brightly smiling face.

“Yes, we certainly couldn’t let that one get away.
But that doesn’t mean you can neglect the other bandits.”
“…Huh?”

Lapis tilted her head as though she didn’t understand what he meant.
Seeing her reaction, Surd raised his voice even further.

“I mean!
Dealing with the other bandits can’t be your second priority…”
“What are you talking about?
Of course I caught them all.”
“…What?”

Surd’s head tilted at her unexpected answer.

‘She already caught them all?’

It had only been about three minutes since they had begun clearing out the bandits.
How in the world had she managed to capture all of them in such a short time?

“Don’t tell me you killed them?”
“Come on~ I didn’t kill them.
I made sure they were all still alive.”

Lapis casually waved her hand.

‘She even captured every one of them alive?’

Was it because the goddess’s body served as her foundation?
Or were the other bandits simply that weak?

The time it had taken to eliminate them was so short that Surd couldn’t comprehend the situation.

“…Where are the ones you captured?”
“You know the meadow where we jumped down earlier?
I threw them down halfway up that field.”

Hearing that, Surd hurriedly made his way out of the grass.

‘What is this?
How did she do it?’

Surd stopped as soon as he emerged from the grass.
A small pile of bandits lay there.
Every one of them was unconscious, drooling from their mouths.

‘She really did capture all of them…’

Surd glanced over their faces.
They had been captured cleanly, without a single drop of blood.
Without saying a word, he pulled open the collars of their clothes.

Whoosh!

“This is…”

Their exposed upper bodies each bore only a single point of impact.

The solar plexus.
An artery.
The jaw.
The back of the neck.

Marks left behind by striking each of the optimal locations for knocking someone unconscious exactly once.

‘Incredible.’

There were no signs of resistance.
Their undisturbed clothing was proof of that.

Surd drew in a short breath.

‘It isn’t strength.
Her technique has been honed to perfection.’

If she had subdued them through physical superiority alone, there would certainly have been traces left all over their bodies.
Some of the bandits might even have died.

Before putting on the goddess’s body,
Cain had already stepped into the threshold of the realm of heroes.

His son had entered the ranks of heroes despite possessing a body that was far from healthy.
Whenever Surd looked at that son of his, he had secretly swallowed down his sorrow.

-He must have suffered unimaginable pain.
-He probably shouldn’t even be capable of fighting anymore.
-If only he had possessed enough strength, he might have even surpassed me.

Those were the thoughts that had accompanied his desperate longing for his son’s return.
If the Cain left in his memories had merely reached the threshold of the realm of heroes—

‘Then the Cain standing here now…’

Gulp.

‘Has surpassed the realm of heroes.’

It made no sense.
How had he become this strong in such a short time?

With those questions filling his mind, Surd stroked his chin.

‘Strange.
It’s almost as if he experienced death and surpassed the boundary between life and death…’

At that moment, the words she had spoken earlier flashed through Surd’s mind.

[I took the trials of the gods, who promised certain death…]

Cain had said that he had burned away everything he possessed in order to overcome those trials.

Mana circuits.
His body.
His lifespan.
His soul.

Everything that governed the life contained within a human body.
He had wagered every last one of those things as sacrificial pieces and walked forward toward the obstacles approaching him without hesitation.

His circuits overloaded.
His body broke apart.
Even after death came, he clung to life.
He carved away at his own soul.

Abandoning even his own safety, which he should have protected above all else, Cain had thrown himself solely toward the death approaching him.

Everything he could wager.
Everything he could do.

By squeezing every last thing he possessed dry and continuing forward, Cain had finally reached out toward the extreme point beyond the realm of heroes.

‘And now he’s gained a powerful body unlike the one he had before.
So…’

……

Surd let out a small, hollow laugh.

“…Heh, hahaha.”

He had thought that from now on, he needed to protect his son.
He had decided that he would clear away the obstacles lying in the path of his son, who had endured countless hardships and trials.

‘But…’

Surd slowly turned his head.

‘Now I can’t even do that anymore.’

Lapis came into view, dragging the unconscious leader behind her.
Seeing her brightly smiling face, Surd felt that the thought he had been holding onto was rather foolish.

‘Yes.
Of course.’

He slowly rose to his feet.

‘He’s not a child anymore.’

As he tied the captured bandits together, Surd hummed a pleasant tune.
While waiting for the soldiers he had summoned through the communication stone, they spent the night beneath a single tree.