episode_0125

Why can’t we use instant-kill techniques?

According to Lucian’s explanation, it can be summarized into two points.

“Magic and unique abilities involve projecting Aether to a desired coordinate and manipulating it. You know this, right?”

“Yes, I know. But Aether ignores the laws of physics, doesn’t it? It can even penetrate thick walls.”

I know this because I’ve tried creating clones beyond walls. The characteristic of being able to cross anything within 2 meters of space has been useful for infiltration and investigation.

“Coordinate setting is the problem. Coordinates get disrupted within thick matter. The manipulation process itself stops.”

If that’s true, then I can’t create them inside tightly packed objects. I understand.

I’ve felt this myself and know it. If there’s no space, the clone itself can’t be created.

“Even for inanimate objects, this is the case, but living organisms are far more complex. After the First Dimensional Invasion, all living creatures in the world have Aether inside their bodies, regardless of whether they’re awakened or not. You know this, right?”

“Of course, I do!”

This is something I learned while being tutored by Professor Albert.

“Aether is strongly influenced by a living being’s will or thoughts, whether they are unawakened or awakened. That’s why every living being has their own magical field, big or small, inside their body. So, if I project my magic into someone else’s body to manipulate it, interference occurs between my magic and their magic. In the end, manipulation is blocked in this case too. Do you understand?”

“What about unique abilities? For example, the student council president’s telekinesis.”

When I asked, Lucian looked at me as if I was being ridiculous.

“I told you. Whether it’s magic or a unique ability, it just can’t be done! It’s impossible for that guy to manipulate your body or mine from the inside. He might be able to crumple someone or choke them, but he can’t squeeze their heart or manipulate their nerves.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible if you injected more magic?”

“If you poured in enough magic to ignore the magical field, the opponent’s body would explode or be riddled with holes.”

Only after hearing Lucian’s explanation could I understand. It’s possible to launch fireballs to burn someone’s outside, but impossible to create them inside. That’s a shame.

After that, he continued to explain various complex theories and formulas, but I couldn’t understand even half of it. So, theoretically, it’s impossible.

「Is it really impossible? Let’s try.」 「Alright!」

Violet 221, who was tidying up outside the restaurant, placed her hand on Violet 601’s stomach. Our Violets are stronger in practice than in theory!

When I aimed for the inside of the body and tried to create a clone, the magic activated just as Lucian said, then spread and dispersed like cotton candy dissolving in water.

I repeated it several times, but the results were similar.

Agh! Ugh!

On the last attempt, Violet 412 was created as if ricocheting off in front of Violet 601. The two Violets collided and tumbled to the floor.

I became dejected. An invincible instant-kill technique had just popped into my head, and it was such a shame I couldn’t use it.

“…Violet, you’re not thinking strange things again, are you?”

When I turned my head, Daphne was looking at me with suspicious eyes. I shook my head.

“It’s nothing!”

“…Yes, I suppose so. Alright.”

Despite my answer, her blue eyes continued to gaze at me suspiciously. Being stared at like that was too burdensome. So, Violet 3 quickly changed the subject.

“Well, it can’t be used for offense. That’s a shame, right?”

“Haa… stop talking about that. It’s too cruel!”

At Violet 3’s words, Daphne shuddered in disgust. I waved my hand dismissively.

“Alright! What I meant was, what if we tried applying it in various ways? I’ll help you practice. How’s that?”

“I understand what you mean. But…”

My friend trailed off. I tilted my head.

“If you tell me to use them as targets, I’ll get angry. Understand?”

Hearing what Daphne said sent shivers down my spine. How did she know?

“Because Violet’s face tells you everything she’s going to say.”

Wha?!

Seeing my reaction, the light faded from Daphne’s eyes. She tilted her head stiffly like a broken machine and chuckled awkwardly.

“You’re not going to do it, are you?”

The way she asked, enunciating each syllable, made me scared. My face tells everything I’m going to say? Come to think of it, Kalia said something similar. That I can’t lie.

“I won’t say things like that!”

Only after I promised her several times did Daphne’s expression soften. Next time, I’ll have to manage my expressions better so I don’t get caught.

As I was leaving the restaurant, I turned my head towards Lucian. He had been chuckling to himself for a while now.

“Hey, Lucian. I’ll send Violet 234 to call you later, so come along.”

“What? Why?”

He asked.

“We have to work! You said you’d help with our plan. Aren’t you going to?”

“That’s right. Where should I go? Who do I need to fight?”

Lucian’s face lit up at my answer. He had been grumbling earlier, but now that he was actually participating, he seemed more enthusiastic.

“Fight what? We need to make money!”

“What did you say?”

Lucian’s face turned somewhat disgruntled upon hearing my words.

“What, are you just planning to make me do a part-time job…”

It seemed there was some misunderstanding.

“What are you talking about? We’re going to a dungeon! Come when I call you later. I’ll explain what we’ll do there.”

Leaving him be, I went outside and tried practicing my friend’s unique ability application. I took out several fruits and mannequins and used the shield ability on them as targets.

The results were unsatisfactory.

“They all just bounce off…”

“It’s kind of useless.”

Sadly, Daphne’s shield was entirely unreliable for offensive use.

First, I tried compressing the shield into a disc shape and launching it. However, the shield’s control speed was slower than expected, and targets that were hit by its edge merely fell over or bounced off.

It would have been better to just throw a pillow. The shield caused little damage to objects.

So next, I tried deploying the shield over a target, then shrinking the shield. The idea was that it could crush and kill the target by compression.

Of course, the person involved was terrified at first.

“Even if it’s for a fight, this is a bit much… Couldn’t we just attack with magic bullets instead? Or I’ll learn offensive magic from Lucian-ssi!”

“But Daphne isn’t good at offensive magic.”

Unfortunately, Daphne isn’t very good at offensive magic. She’s proficient in self-defense magic bullets and various support and auxiliary spells, however. Professor Albert said that magical aptitude and unique abilities are related to one’s personality, so perhaps Daphne’s gentle nature is connected to her magical aptitude.

Eventually, after much persuasion, she tried my idea, but this time it failed.

While it could contain the target, it couldn’t compress the object inside, regardless of the shield’s own durability.

「Ugh, so it’s impossible to kill people with unique abilities.」

This kind girl, who loved helping others, had a unique ability far removed from lethal force.

Instead, we found another application.

“How is it?”

“Wow, it doesn’t break!”

Daphne tested a new idea. This time, she achieved quite satisfactory results.

Three Violets, acting as test subjects, violently struck the pale green shield with weapons imbued with sword energy. Every time a sword hit the shield, sparks flew noisily, but the shield remained without a single scratch.

The shield itself cannot destroy an opponent. You can’t kill someone by hitting them hard with a cotton comforter or a pillow. However, you can wrap someone tightly in a comforter to immobilize them.

Therefore, the shield can be used to encase and trap opponents or to hinder their movement as an obstacle.

“This works?”

“It’s thanks to you, Violet! Because of that Aether amplifier, my unique ability’s deployment speed and range have also increased. In the past, I wouldn’t have even been able to try this, you know?”

Feeling her abilities improved, Daphne smiled contentedly.

Suddenly, seeing the trapped Violets, a part of the original story I had forgotten came to mind.

The scene where Daphne got the better of the Witch.

In the latter half of Part 1, the Witch Violet attacked the hospital where Daphne was staying while causing chaos throughout the academy city. This action stemmed from the calculation that killing innocent people would further enrage the scholarship officer.

One thing the boundless Witch hadn’t anticipated was that Daphne, though kind, was not an easy person to deal with.

She realized that the opponent she faced was the main body, and just before dying, she used all her strength to cover and seal off the entire hospital with a shield.

Even with her neck severed, the shield remained, and the Witch was trapped. Her clone creation ability couldn’t bypass the shield, which had been powered by her dying life force.

Just then, the scholarship officer also entered. Ultimately, the Witch was defeated.

It was as if a dead Daphne had captured a living Witch.

Of course, our Violets are good Violets; there’s no way we’ll get trapped!

「Now we can capture them alive, can’t we?」

As the Violet Network activated, various application methods came to mind. Crushing them with a shield to immobilize them. Putting smoke bombs inside the shield to suffocate them. Setting a fire and blocking the entrance with a shield…

「Awesome! Now we can fight more safely, can’t we?」 「Should we develop poison gas while we’re at it?」 「That’s impossible, let’s just stick with tear gas!」

The Violet unit’s options expanded. We rejoiced at that fact.

After practice ended, we headed to the orientation venue. It was about time to explain our future plans to our labor force.