"Relax, it's fine."
Just from Moen's expression, Gildarts immediately knew this kid had completely misunderstood.
"You won't die."
Gildarts chuckled as he explained, repeatedly assuring Moen there was absolutely no danger.
"Really won't die?"
Moen looked doubtful. Although his mouth still voiced suspicion, deep down he trusted Gildarts. He believed this uncle would never actually harm him.
"But… how exactly am I supposed to experience it?"
Moen's curiosity only grew. Could it really be that his body would be shattered and then pieced back together? If so, this magic was downright twisted.
"You'll understand once you feel it."
Gildarts didn't bother explaining further. He channeled his magic, his hand glowing with azure light, and pressed it directly onto Moen's shoulder.
Buzz!
In an instant, Moen's body was enveloped in magic, his form quickly collapsing into a glowing sphere radiating dazzling light.
As the brilliance faded, hundreds of miniature Moens appeared in the very spot he had been standing.
Each one was perched atop another, stacked up like figurines building a tower, resembling big-headed chibi dolls with tiny limbs.
"What the—?!"
"What's happening?!"
"What just happened?!"
As Moen realized what had occurred, a chorus of squeaky voices filled the air. Dozens upon dozens of tiny Moens all shouted in unison.
"Ugh—so noisy!"
Gildarts groaned, digging a finger in his ear with a helpless look.
This, perhaps, was the greatest drawback of this ability—he couldn't silence an opponent once they were fragmented. A hundred voices chattering at once right in front of him was maddening, especially since all the little figurine Moens spoke almost in sync.
Of course, if this had been an enemy rather than Moen, they wouldn't even get the chance to speak. They'd already be reporting to the underworld.
At this moment, Moen was utterly shocked.
He hadn't expected this outcome. He hadn't been "crushed"—instead, he had been split into a horde of tiny toy-sized selves!
Even more bizarre, he could still control the fragments. With just a thought, all those "avatars" could mimic his actions.
He could make them attack together, shout together, or even perform completely different movements.
Excited, Moen kept experimenting, commanding one fragment to lift a leg, another to throw a punch—having the time of his life.
A swarm of little figurines squeaked noisily, chattering away. Moen himself felt fine, but to anyone else, it was downright unbearable.
This strange state sparked an idea in Moen's mind.
If he trained while in this form, then recombined later… would he gain multiplied training results?
"Uncle Gildarts—"
Moen was just about to ask when Gildarts cut him off, raising his hand with a casual wave. Magic surged outward.
Under its power, all the tiny Moens were sucked together, spiraling as they converged into a single point. In moments, Moen's true body was restored.
With his body reformed, the world finally grew quiet again.
"What were you about to say, Moen? Did you have some kind of realization?"
Seeing the surprised look on Moen's face, Gildarts asked calmly, offering no explanation for why he had suddenly undone the fragmentation.
"Uh… yeah, I had some thoughts."
Moen nodded. Though he was curious about why Gildarts had reverted him so quickly, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he shared the idea he had just come up with.
"You're certainly imaginative. But sorry—that's impossible."
Gildarts's expression first showed surprise, clearly not expecting Moen to suggest such a thing. But then he immediately gave a firm denial.
"Huh? Why not?"
Moen sounded disappointed. He had thought he'd discovered a loophole to boost training—if it worked, it would be like gaining a hundredfold experience boost!
"When recombining the original body, serious problems could occur."
Gildarts's face turned stern. He needed Moen to abandon this reckless thought. This was, after all, a combat spell—not a method for assisted training.
Short-term splitting would not cause much harm, but once the duration grew too long, the consequences would be immeasurable. There was even the possibility of never being able to return to one complete form again.
"That really is a pity…"
Moen nodded in disappointment. This kind of risk clearly wasn't worth taking.
If the usable time was that short, then even with hundreds of copies of himself training at once, it wouldn't actually increase efficiency much. The gains wouldn't come close to balancing the risks.
Still, this strange experience gave Morn other feelings besides that single thought.
When magic power surged into his body and began manipulating it, Moen could clearly sense the flow of that energy.
"Crush Magic is really hard!"
Moen sighed with emotion. Even though he had directly felt how that magic coursed through his body, he hadn't managed to gain much enlightenment from it.
You could say that splitting a body into countless smaller figures was an ability far more difficult than shattering or separating matter at the atomic level.
To crush a target, you only needed to violently sever the bonds between atoms.
But to divide a person into countless miniature figurines required considering countless additional details.
And then, fusing those figurines back together into one body—that was even more difficult.
This Super Magic "Crush," aside from Gildarts, basically no one else could master it. It wasn't without reason. This magic was incredibly obscure and difficult to comprehend. Even stepping through the door of understanding was nearly impossible.
"You're right, learning Crush really is extremely difficult."
Gildarts nodded in agreement with Moen's words. After all, this was one of the hardest Magics to learn.
Moreover, Gildarts could say with absolute confidence that even if others managed to learn "Crush," they would never be able to wield it the same way he did.
Magic was something that depended on compatibility. Each person excelled at different kinds of spells, with certain innate tendencies. Those with greater talent might even awaken mastery over a certain magic on their own, as though they were born with it.
For Gildarts, this incomprehensibly complex Super Magic "Crush" was precisely the spell he was born to wield. He could cast it casually, as if it were a simple attack.
Others who wanted to use a Magic had to first prepare and build up magical energy, which would always take time.
"Crush is honestly too bloody and violent. I usually don't use it much myself—otherwise I'd just end up drenched in blood."
Gildarts spoke frankly. This wasn't boasting, just the truth. Normally, he preferred to fight with his fists in direct combat. He wouldn't casually use "Crush" to blow his enemies into shredded flesh and blood mist. Only truly powerful opponents could force him to unleash that spell.
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