"It's no good!" I heard Svin say, as he swallowed nervously. "We did, too well."
That's right. Even though I didn't release the Noble Phantasm, we still were strong enough to attract the interest of the contents of that 'box.'
Against that, the only hope we had was Rhongomyniad.
But at this point, I had neither the time nor the magical energy to activate it.
The only thing I could do now was-
"First Stage Limited Form - Scythe"
The shield reassembled itself into a scythe. Launching myself between the retreating tentacles, I swung hard at a point-blank range.
"Gray?!"
With a shout, I smashed it with all my might.
The enormous amount of magical energy there exploded.
As the tremendous magical energy protecting the 'box' came into contact with that of Add, it exploded outwards.
In the face of that wave of pressure, even Volumen Hydrargyrum was thrown off of me.
"Hey! Gray! I know it's me we're talking about, but this is still too much!"
Though I felt somewhat sorry, I ignored Add's voice.
Well over the safe amount of magical energy I could absorb, the overflow tore through my nerves and Magic Circuits. That pain flooded my brain, as if I was being torn apart from the inside. It was like red hot spikes were driven all throughout my body, spinning through it. Turning into a sack of meat that remembered only pain, it felt like my consciousness had died a hundred years ago.
But the circulation of magical energy didn't stop.
Just as it had been instructed from the beginning, it automatically smashed its way into the 'box.'
"...ah....a...."
Groans, turn to power.
Pain, turn to strength.
Though my consciousness should have long since been wiped out, it still whispered.
It hurts.
But even then, I felt a suffering far greater than that pain up until now.
I was always rejecting the world - no, that was wrong. My body was the one rejecting this world. I knew that. I knew, but there was nothing I could do about it. No amount of screaming would make that better. So all I could do was kill my voice, and curl up in the corner of my room, right?
But even so.
Even so, now...
I was being watched.
I was being protected.
Even now, I could feel the eyes on my back.
With just that, I could take one more step forward.
"...g....o........ba....ck.....!!"
But, feelings couldn't be turned into magical energy.
The pressure from within accelerated in its growth.
The two small lights were joined by many more.
From inside the darkness, a tremendous howl that overwhelmed both rage and hunger filled my ears. Was there more than one of these beasts? Or was this the form of a single monster?
Just as that despair flooded my chest, just as it drowned my heart in black,
"-That's enough."
A calm voice called out.
I wasn't able to turn around. But with my enhanced senses, I could tell my master had placed a large object on the ground beside him.
"I took the liberty of giving this bag a quick inspection," he said, stroking the surface of it. "In short, the bag is a Mystic Code that is only capable of keeping a connection open between 'there' and 'here' while magical energy is running through it. If the magus supplying it were to become unable to provide that energy, it would close all on its own. As such, it was the perfect fit for a rampaging monster like you. It certainly seems like a thing she would think of."
With equial parts admiration and exasperation, he shrugged.
"So if the magical energy supply was to come from within that 'box,' what would happen? It would create a möbius strip effect, of course, but the result? Will another copy of you appear? Or will you be torn apart by the paradox? What an interesting question. Please, by all means, let me see."
With what must have been a Strengthened hand, he threw the bag.
As the bag flew in an arc, I saw a cigar stuck to it. With its faint magical energy, I realized that it was a simple type of Mystic Code for the first time.
The thorned tentacles moved in a blind rush to stop it.
Whether it had understood my master's words, or was just acting on instinct, I couldn't tell.
With a spin of my scythe, those tentacles were each cut down.
Case Files III, Chapter 3, Part 6