A considerable amount of time had passed since I became aware of my true unique ability.
During that time, I had been fighting the [Hero] nonstop, but the battle was progressing in my favor.
The area that had been a mixed forest earlier was now completely treeless in places, with craters dotting the ground, turning it into a wide-open wasteland.
No trace of the forest remained.
(It should be about time for the advance unit Count Eddington prepared to arrive in Lugau.)
After reassessing the situation, I expanded the mana in Schwarzhause—now a magic sword—reshaping it into a greatsword, kicked off the ground, and closed the shortest possible distance to the [Hero].
With [Seal Release] pushing my physical abilities close to their limit, I could now move at speeds normal people couldn't even react to.
But my opponent was the [Hero], far beyond ordinary humans.
A simple charge would be easily countered—I'd learned that lesson more than enough from our previous exchanges.
So instead, I activated [Reflective Wall] at the very edge of the [Hero]'s range.
I also canceled the gravity acting on my own body.
By routing my path through multiple [Reflective Wall] barriers I'd placed around the [Hero], I circled behind him without losing any speed.
This maneuver was only possible thanks to [Gravity Manipulation].
It could theoretically be done with gravity still active, but sudden direction changes at high speed would place an enormous gravitational load on my body.
Unless absolutely necessary, I wouldn't attempt it without [Gravity Manipulation].
The moment I got behind him, I reshaped the magic sword from greatsword to twin blades.
With both blades, I slashed his back—deep enough to wound, but not deep enough to kill.
By the time I'd finished the slashes, the [Hero] had spun around and swung his sword.
I dodged it and drove a kick into his abdomen.
The [Hero], taking the full force of my gravity-enhanced kick, spat blood and flew back more than ten meters.
The [Hero] staggered slightly as he stood up, then spoke with a childlike, innocent smile.
"Hahaha! I love this—this sensation of putting my life on the line! This is what battle should be! Come on, entertain me more—more!"
Ever since I'd awakened my true unique ability and become able to fight on equal or better terms, the [Hero]'s expression had gradually softened. He now looked like he was genuinely enjoying the fight.
Given his position and ability, it was likely no one had ever truly been able to fight him properly before. He probably rarely—if ever—felt his life was in real danger.
That was why he was enjoying this battle against me from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't screw with me, you battle maniac…!"
As I cursed him, the [Hero]'s body blurred with speed as he closed the distance again.
I released the twin magic swords and summoned a spare blade from storage.
I activated [Durability Up] on it, then—matching the [Hero]'s charging sword swing—I unleashed a slash infused with [Gravity Manipulation] weighting and [Instant Capability Super Boost].
When our blades clashed, the intense shockwave scattered outward.
A massive sound rang out as countless cracks like fissures raced across the ground.
"…[Form Zero: Mont Null]."
While locked in a blade clash on the unstable ground, I muttered the words.
The magic sword I'd released earlier turned into formless jet-black mana.
That mana gradually took shape, transforming into chains that wrapped around the [Hero]'s body.
"Guh… what are these chains…!"
The jet-black chains, weighted by gravity, had considerable mass.
Even with his abnormal physical ability, the [Hero] couldn't move easily.
In the dream where I'd fought Oliver, I'd created similar jet-black chains from thin air.
I remembered the sensation of making those chains, but I still couldn't fully understand it.
Something essential was missing—there was such a strong sense of wrongness that it felt natural to think so.
(Those chains were far more advanced than the ones I just made with the magic sword. What the hell were they really? If I can do [Seal Release], I should be able to create those chains too. Does it require some special technique like ki control…? —No, I'll think about that later.)
I refocused my wandering thoughts, put distance between myself and the restrained [Hero], and began constructing a spell formula.
"This ends now…!"
I poured mana into the completed formula and activated [Super Explosion].
A roar echoed as the adjusted explosion—calibrated not to kill—struck the [Hero] directly, raising a cloud of black smoke.
"…[Form One: Mont Eins]."
I released the jet-black chains restraining the [Hero], turning them back into formless mana.
Then I gathered mana near my right hand, reshaping it into a long sword—my magic sword—stored the spare blade, and gripped the new one.
I hoped that last strike had finished it.
But my opponent was the [Hero].
It wouldn't be strange if he survived.
I kept my guard up and stared into the black smoke where the [Hero] should be.
"—!?"
Suddenly the smoke moved strangely. I twisted my body just in time as a slash flew toward me.
I couldn't fully evade it—pain shot through my left shoulder, and blood flowed from the cut.
While stopping the bleeding with magic, a voice came from within the smoke.
"What was that weak attack? Don't hold back. Come at me with the intent to kill! …If you don't have that intent, I'll force you to get serious whether you like it or not!"
As the smoke cleared, the [Hero] appeared—glaring at me with rage-filled eyes.
"…Hey, are you kidding? You planning to wipe out the whole area!?"
The blade of the [Hero]'s sword was distorting the air around it.
With [Gravity Manipulation], I could tell just how dangerous that was.
The power compressed into it was incomparable to the attack I'd barely blocked with my shield earlier.
If he swung that, this entire area would literally be erased.
"Rather convenient."
The [Hero] muttered while readying his sword.
"Tch!"
To intercept the [Hero]'s attack—or rather, to stop him—I supplied even more mana from my storage magic tool into the magic sword.
"You finally got serious—good! Now show me your full power!"
The [Hero] shouted as he swung his sword downward, unleashing a mass of repulsive force capable of erasing everything around us in an instant.
"Heaven Flash!!"
Matching him, I swung my magic sword—infusing it with [Gravity Manipulation] and [Instant Capability Super Boost]—unleashing a jet-black mana slash.
The jet-black and colorless masses of power collided.
Normally, the resulting shockwave would have caused catastrophic damage to the surroundings right at the point of impact.
To minimize that destruction, I'd used [Gravity Manipulation] on Heaven Flash—directing the destructive flow upward into the sky.
The two clashing forces surged skyward, forming a jet-black pillar stretching toward the heavens.
But zero damage was impossible.
The pillar started thin but gradually thickened, swallowing both me and the [Hero] as it continued to expand.
Anticipating this, I'd transformed my magic sword into a shield right after unleashing Heaven Flash—surrounding myself with a cube made of maximally condensed mana walls—so I took no damage.
The [Hero] was probably defending with his own ability, but it likely wasn't perfect.
◇
After confirming the jet-black pillar had disappeared, I dismissed the mana walls—leaving only the bottom surface.
Below me now lay an enormous crater.
In the depths of the hole—where light barely reached—the [Hero] lay battered and exhausted.
"…"
I reshaped the shield back into a long sword, activated [Space Leap] to pull the [Hero] up from the crater to the surface, then kicked off a mana foothold to land a short distance away.
"Don't hate me for this. It all started because you guys invaded."
I spoke to the already unconscious [Hero].
Then, to make sure he didn't die, I began constructing [Ex-Heal]—when suddenly I sensed a presence nearby.
I turned toward it and saw the robed woman from Amuntsāsu—the ones who'd attacked my disciples about half a year ago.
"…Orun."
(Why is this woman here? Did she come to kill me while the chaos distracted everyone?)
Our eyes met. She drew in a sharp breath.
"Those eyes… Could it be… Orun, do you remember me…?"
Her voice trembled as she asked—almost as if hoping for something.
"…How could I forget—"
The moment I opened my mouth, her expression brightened instantly.
"—the woman who tried to kill my disciples? Why would you think I'd forget you?"
When I finished coldly, her bright expression froze for a moment, then crumbled. She forced a smile—desperately hiding her sadness—and whispered, "...Yeah, that's right."
Seeing that expression, for some reason my heart ached terribly.
(...Again. What is this feeling…! Why do I feel so guilty…!)
While I was confused by my own emotions, the robed woman changed her expression to a bold smile and spoke.
"Beating even the [Hero]—impressive as expected. Looks like there was no point in me coming after all."
"Why did you come then? To kill me? Sorry to disappoint you, but I still have plenty of strength left. I won't go down easily."
I took a combat stance against the robed woman.
The fight with the [Hero] had drained me considerably, but I had a rough grasp of this woman's strength from our previous encounter.
Whether I could win was honestly fifty-fifty.
But the current me wasn't completely helpless against her.
"It's understandable you'd think that, but I have no intention of killing you now. Half a year ago was completely our fault. I'm sorry for back then."
Against my combat-ready stance, the robed woman showed no sign of wanting to fight—she bowed deeply, completely open.
(...What's your goal?)
While I tried to read her intentions, a voice came from behind.
"Your Highness… please have mercy. Why are you lying in a place like this?"
I turned. A man wearing something like a white coat stained bright red with blood stood there, shoulders slumped.
"Well, whatever. This guy couldn't meet our expectations. That's all there is to it. Yep, yep."
The red-cloaked man muttered to himself as if we weren't even there.
"Ozwald McLeod…!"
The robed woman glared at the red-cloaked man with naked hostility.
So his name was Ozwald.
From appearances alone, the robed woman and red-cloaked man didn't seem friendly, but there wasn't enough information to judge. The situation was impossible to read.
"Hey, [White Mage]. Don't glare at me like that. It'll ruin your pretty face?"
"——"
Hearing the red-cloaked man's words, the robed woman radiated cold killing intent.
In the next instant, the red-cloaked man was encased in an ice block.
…Was this original magic?
As always, this woman's magic was abnormal.
It felt like she was skipping the mana infusion process entirely… and the spell just activated.
Since the day I fought the robed woman, I'd been thinking about the trick behind this magic—but I still hadn't come up with a single satisfying hypothesis.
It was probably a unique ability, but what kind would allow magic like this?
"None of your business."
With the red-cloaked man immobilized, silence returned to the space, broken only by the robed woman's clear voice.