Ch.129Social Interactions and Cults (4)

Carisia’s primary magical attribute is light.

Mages choose the branch of magic they will pursue based on their elemental affinity.

Occasionally, there are dull talents with no aptitude for any element, or prodigies with talent across all elements. Naturally, there are also unique talents specialized in just one element.

Considering Carisia’s background, one might expect her to show talent only in the light attribute. However, in reality, Carisia’s elemental affinity encompasses all ten major elements defined by the Archmage.

It’s just that her light affinity is so overwhelming that it actually interferes with her use of other elements.

This is why no one in Blasphemia doubts that she is a monster created by the White Light.

Right here. This point.

Carisia is a mage who specializes in light magic. Simultaneously, she has a very, very aggressive temperament.

The destructive image associated with “light” is limited.

It brings to mind healing wounds or dispelling darkness—aspects similar to priests, or being the natural enemy of the unholy, like the undead.

Or perhaps one might think of lasers, like the lightsabers of space knights from a distant galaxy.

Beyond being the antithesis of darkness or death beams, light’s destructive aspects are considerably diminished.

Close combat that involves beating someone up while asking if they’ve ever been hit at the speed of light, well… let’s just say strength-based mages aren’t mainstream in this world.

Phenomena like “lightning” or “flames” that might be associated with light’s brightness are defined as independent attributes, so they’re not part of the light attribute discussion.

Usually, ordinary beam attacks are enough to satisfy the offensive needs of a typical mage.

However, when it comes to aggression, my employer could rival the Archmage as the greatest of all time. She even has the most courteous temper that would rather bring half the world to apocalypse than settle for second place, saying she’d rather die than be number two.

Naturally, death beams alone aren’t enough to satisfy Carisia’s aggression.

…As a result, the bizarre light attribute magic I’m witnessing now was born.

Atomic Fist (原子衝拳).

Golden magical light filled the grooves carved into Carisia’s gauntlet. She walked forward steadily, calmly raising her fist.

Then she struck—or rather, touched—with a light tap that was closer to a brush than a hit.

And then.

“Stay behind me.”

A protective barrier extended from Carisia, enveloping me behind her. The next moment, the door touched by Carisia’s fingertips began to glow white-hot.

What was clearly solid metal began to melt, the liquid that had lost its original properties vaporized, and soon all form was lost, leaving only light. Plasma.

The terrifying heat concentrated in the plasma instantly invaded the space. Carisia twisted her wrist as if plucking an apple from a tree.

A brilliant light that could illuminate the entire world condensed into a single point, eventually transforming into an extremely compressed sphere of light. The gauntleted hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

The light sphere exploded. Everywhere the light touched, matter disappeared as if devoured.

This insane magic Carisia developed was a spell that interfered with matter at the particle level. The name “Atomic Fist” directly described its function, without a hint of exaggeration.

How dumbfounded I was when I received the misplaced praise that no one but me could have created it.

It’s true that I once asked if there was magic that utilized radiation since light includes radiation. But that was a joke about wishing we had a nuclear bomb because we were being chased by so many people.

Beyond the raging bundle of light, that priest stares at us with a dazed look.

“You people…?”

I clicked my tongue.

“I tried to stop her.”

***

The parasite was bewildered. Sensing massive magical power surging right in front of the lodging, it roused its body, only to find one side of the suddenly assigned building melting away.

Behind the vanished wall, faces gradually appeared. It was none other than Ortes and that mage they had encountered at the social gathering.

‘I haven’t done anything yet?’

The mage it had marked as a sacrifice was glaring with gleaming eyes. Pure—no, pristine light itself seemed to flow through her body.

Wait. Hold on.

It hastily circulated magic through its spare bodies. The moment it witnessed that, some strange magic was activated. A type of curse?

One body closer to Carisia collapsed as if crumbling. The parasite immediately understood the situation.

Its brain had been cooked.

‘What insanity…?’

The intelligence bestowed by the parasite’s creator interpreted the magic. It maximized the output of visible light directed at the retina. The very scene being witnessed acted as an attack.

The air touching the gauntlet enveloped in golden magic decomposed and turned to light. The Atomic Fist had not yet been released.

Along the trembling arm, the air melted away. The dissociated air transformed into light.

The parasite moved another body to assess the situation.

Look and die.

Touch and die.

Escape?

The parasite had no particular attachment to its bodies. Though it was a body it had calibrated for a long time, it was something that could be replaced given enough time.

It had no idea why they had come to attack. Perhaps it was the work of a fellow kind who had identified it as a competitor.

The fellow kind using the name Ortes seemed to have established considerable rapport with that sacrifice called Carisia. It must have intuitively realized that the parasite coveted Carisia’s body and launched a preemptive strike to prevent it from operating in Algoth City.

Even now, wasn’t it watching from behind the sacrifice with a smiling face? As if everything was going according to plan.

By this point, it should have recognized the difference in power and was conveying its will for the parasite to quietly retreat.

‘I’ll withdraw for now…’

But while that one had invested most of its capabilities in a single body, it had diversified its investment across many bodies.

The show of force through Carisia was a threat suggesting that any further approach would result in losses not worth the gain—essentially urging a cut-loss retreat.

However, the parasite had no intention of heeding such threats. As Ortes coveted, no body superior to Carisia’s could exist in this world.

Following the instinct implanted by the parasite’s creator since ancient times, it would not give up on evolving. It had already summoned spare bodies the moment it spotted Carisia, so it could gladly sacrifice these two bodies.

***

As the boss had instructed beforehand, I had been keeping my eyes wider open than usual.

“Is it Arguirion?” Carisia asked me only after confirming that the two corpses had melted away. I shook my head.

“Seems like something completely different. By the way, boss, don’t you think you went a bit overboard?”

“What does it matter? It would be a problem if we directly intervened in the competition, but this is a conflict between sponsors, not tower master candidates, right? Even if the organizers say something, we can get away with it.”

Fair enough. From the moment Carisia planned this surprise attack, she had carefully calibrated it so that not a single hair on the head of Lebraque City’s branch leader would be harmed.

‘If you can call this careful…’

Carisia dusted off her gauntlet, which wasn’t even stained with blood. Like the evaporated wall of the building, the husks of the two humans that had been occupied by the parasite had disappeared.

“So it’s not Arguirion, and it wasn’t targeting you either?”

I nodded in affirmation. Just to be sure, I checked again. The Lebraque City branch leader, whom I had drugged with sleeping potion beforehand, was still in deep slumber. Unaware that his sponsor had evaporated (literally), he would remain in deep sleep until the next morning.

Perhaps when he wakes up, he might find himself in a holding cell. Since we started by blowing away part of a building, the Panoptes would arrive before the night was over.

With the Panoptes’ investigative abilities, they would quickly realize that his sleep was induced, so he would likely be treated as a witness rather than a defendant.

“In that case, they should have gotten the message. Let’s move on to the next one.”

Is Carisia planning to send everyone on the list of Arguirion suspects from the social gathering to the netherworld?

As if reading my thoughts, Carisia explained with a prim look:

“…I went all out because it looked dangerous. Better than holding back and getting counterattacked, right?”

“Yes, I suppose so. Since you’ve dealt with the most dangerous one first, let’s split up and search as originally planned from now on.”

Though pouting, Carisia followed my suggestion and headed outside.

As agreed beforehand, I headed in a different direction from Carisia.

Actually, contrary to our agreement, I moved not toward another Arguirion candidate but toward another body of the mental parasite.

It’s true that it’s not Arguirion, and it’s true that it’s not targeting me, but…

How dare it set its sights on my employer.

***

Crunch.

A blade pierced the neck. Not a beheading, but a clean thrust that penetrated only the cervical spine.

Slowly, the nerves disconnected. The sensation of feet touching the ground disappeared, and the salty taste mixed in the wind scattered. As the rotten smell of the back alley that had lingered at the tip of the nose dulled, the dimly lit alley was covered in complete darkness.

Finally, a sound was heard.

“How many are left now?”