“This isn’t a joke!” Luvia shouted fiercely as she stood, raising a finger towards the darkness.
“Call blue, red, green for your queen!”
A One Count.
Like the wind of a raging storm, Luvia’s remaining jewels unleashed a gatling torrent of Gandr. The rainbow-colored light washed over the ground with a terrible beauty, driving out the darkness with pure force. As the light was briefly swallowed in darkness, it made me think of the first words left behind by God.
Let there be light.
…however, the blackness did not relent.
As if it was eagerly devouring the barrage of magical bullets Luvia was unleashing, the encroaching darkness began to accelerate towards us.
“Don’t mess with me!” Luvia screamed. Without pause, she tapped into her Od, and the magical bullets were fired once again. The multi-colored display was breathtaking in its beauty, but it was clear to see that the resolve that backed it was more tragic than anything. Nevermind ordinary magecraft, the level of output she was producing must have been like a blasting furnace in her nerves. As her magic circuits continued to burn, they screamed for rest. Normally, the magic crest would assist with magecraft like this, but Luvia hadn’t mentioned whether the crest had returned to working order yet.
Seeing her struggle on, my master spoke again.
“Luvia.”
“What? Do you plan on telling me you’d rather just die now?”
Even having reached this point, there wasn’t a speck of despair in her eyes. There was nothing there but a blazing fervor, like a scarlet jewel.
To this girl, facing down utter despair, my master spoke.
“Don’t think of them as stones, but as mud.”
“What?”
Luvia’s brow twisted with rage. Had he waited for another second, she likely would have turned her attack on him.
But he didn’t wait another second.
Instead, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“What do you think you’re-”
“I’m talking about the jewels.” Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he spoke softly. “I presume you can feel the pulse from within the ruby. But that’s only half of the power you should be using.”
“…what?”
Normally, those were the kind of words she would brush off with a laugh. Even if my master was a Lord, Luvia still bore the pride of generations of the Edelfelt family. The fact she was willing to lay that pride aside for even a moment signified a major change within her.
“We were talking about it before. The true nature of the Edelfelt magecraft is not in taking pride in value. It’s the circulation of that value. Wind already blows. Water already flows. While the jewel symbolizes your heart, it also symbolizes everything in the outside world. Even that darkness is just a part of that ‘everything.’ Water flows from high to low, electricity moves from high to low, that flow of power is the essence of your magecraft. Just as you draw out the power of the jewel with each beat of your heart, feel also the power of the depths within that darkness.”
It was like listening to a Sports Doctor give advice to a professional athlete. However, he didn’t stop at just giving her academic advice.
As Luvia realized what he had done after grabbing her wrist, her eyebrows shot upwards.
“Are you connecting to my magic circuits?!”
Even just hearing those words made me shudder. Meanwhile, my master’s response was to shout.
“If you’re going to reject it then reject it!”
The words my master was speaking showed a demonstrable lack of sanity.
Because when connecting to someone’s magic circuits, the receiver of the connection had absolute control. For a magus of even middling ability, they would easily be able to manipulate, or even burn out, the connected magus’ circuits. If the whim struck her, Luvia could destroy his magic circuits from the inside out with barely a thought. Considering how magic circuits connected to the nerves of the body, it was similar to putting his live heart in her hands.
But she didn’t.
As magical energy flowed through my master’s circuits into Luvia, even I could tell that her internal image had changed. Completely different from the Luvia that had been standing there just a moment before, this Luvia controlled the flow of magic with a natural gentleness.
Flow.
That was the true essence of her magecraft, my master had said.
“Do you understand? Your attempt to take control of the Castle of Separation didn’t fail. Rather, because you succeeded, the security system was triggered. That being the case, there are magic circles you’ve created even outside this darkness. Be conscious of your self that is both within the barrier here and outside of it. And the you that is the barrier.”
How much did Luvia hear his words? Maybe, with their circuits connected as they were, words were unnecessary between them from the start.
“Your affinity is Earth. From the four classifications in Physics, your starting point is cold and dry. From that point, flow to warm and dry fire, warm and wet wind, cold and wet water. Gather them together and take control. Taking that power in hand, through the lense of Modern Magecraft, call for the angel. The angels you should gather are already there.”
Suddenly, the magic energy spinning around Luvia seemed to jump to another level.
Guided by my master’s magic energy, a new spiral of magic energy began to wind around Luvia’s body, and everything began to speed up.
At the end of the two’s connected magic circuits, the jewel in Luvia’s hand began to glow even brighter. Even the darkness around us began to glow from within, as if it was yet another of her jewels. Just as lightning needed to break through the insulation in the air and create a path for itself before striking, the magic energy Luvia was controlling was attempting to break through the darkness and create a path before Luvia released her spell.
But, an instant before…I heard the unpleasant sound of liquid splattering on the floor.
Matching with the glowing ruby, the back of my master’s hand was died a deep red.
“Master-!”
“Are you-”
As Luvia and I called out,
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just some nerves and blood vessels failing from my circuits using magecraft I’m not accustomed to.” My master cut us off, his face expressionless.
Even as the unfamiliar magecraft tore apart his nerves and blood vessels, my master didn’t so much as tremble. As his control of Luvia’s magical energy became more and more precise, he just continued to watch the encroaching darkness. To me, it felt like those eyes gave the impression of a smoldering ember.
“Fire!”
In response to his shout, Luvia responded with a spell.
“Call!”
With those words, the bullet was released. In an instant, the accumulated light surged forward, scouring away the darkness - it was like watching glass smash.
Suddenly, our vision was overwhelmed with color.
“…did we make it?”
With a stagger, I stood up.
It seemed like we were in a hallway a little removed from the guest room. Streaming through a nearby window was the light of the early afternoon sun, filtered through the peaks of distant mountains.
Case Files I, Chapter 4, Part 4