Chapter 50: A Night of Scattered Magic

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“Riley.”

“…!”

He turned his head immediately.

It wasn’t a mistake caused by the sound of magic or incantations. It was a refreshing voice, like a spring breeze.

When he looked back, a white-haired girl was staring at Riley. Her dazed eyes blinked, and soon reason returned to them. But then, her expression twisted into one of shock.

“You…!”

She must have been shocked by Riley’s current state. Sugar opened her mouth as if to say something, but upon seeing the chaos before her—the fierce battle, the melody of the crows, the sheer pandemonium—she simply trembled and clenched her lips tightly.

“…I’m fine like this.”

When Riley spoke, Sugar shook her head vigorously. She looked at her own body, which was unharmed compared to the boy’s. She wanted to apologize but fearing it might burden him, she instead kept muttering words of gratitude.

Her eyes, moist with tears, blinked open and closed.

Then, with a fiercely angry expression, she locked onto the crow-like man who seemed like a demon.

How dare he do something like this and think he’d get away with it. She stomped her feet nervously and took a stance.

Sugar knew only three spells:
Protection, Warm Breeze, and Dispel.

She didn’t know any proper offensive spells. Yet, she confidently pointed her staff as if she could do something.

As she steadied her breath and focused her sharpened senses, she could feel it. The mana in the air, thickly layered due to the intense battle.

Her own mana surged within her. It felt like she could do anything. The mana in the air seemed to speak to her.

‘Imagine that you can do it.’

The white stone wall covered in moss. The illusion the girl had just seen.

The blocked wall couldn’t be broken through. It was still too early for this girl.

But she had succeeded in recognizing at least one voice from beyond it.

Magic is imagination.

Imagination is magic.

It felt like she had glimpsed a fragment of a vast truth within that simplicity.

Following that voice, the girl who had awakened just one thing pointed her staff toward the sky, the mana in the air responding to her.

The mana left in the atmosphere from the spells cast by the mages.

It flowed into Sugar’s body, transformed into pure mana and gathered again through her staff, forming a small, pure white sphere of mana.

The rate at which it gathered into a sphere was much faster and greater than the rate at which it dissipated into the air. The sphere grew larger and larger, then began to compress.

This was due to the user’s extremely personal preference—it was easier to shoot this way.

It swelled, compressed, swelled, and compressed again. This repeated several times until the mana in the air was nearly depleted.

Sugar reached out her staffless hand.

As if asking someone to come to her side and take it, she stretched out her hand.

‘If Sugar creates the sphere and then holds hands to transform it with Riley’s mana properties…’

‘If it leads to ‘transformation’ beyond just ‘manipulation’—’

An experiment Riley had once thought of. The mana bullets made from Sugar’s mana would easily dissipate in the air and be neutralized by the opponent’s mana. In other words, they would be weak in terms of offensive power, so he had conceived this technique to compensate for that.

He had shelved it, thinking it was too cumbersome and impractical, as it would be easier for Riley to just create and shoot a mana bullet himself.

But what if it wasn’t a normal mana bullet?

What if it was a mass of energy that gathered all the residual mana in the area?

“…”

Without a word, Riley approached and took Sugar’s hand.

He tucked the grimoire under his left arm and with his unharmed right hand grasped Sugar’s hand as they stood side by side.

No further words were needed. Asking how this was possible, or if she had known his thoughts, would have been too cliché.

Still, could he really transform this enormous amount of mana?

No, he had to.

This girl had already succeeded in something incredible.

So, he simply held her hand tightly and wished.

Change.

Their joined hands were warm.

The mana flowing through their hands, their pulse, their will—it all transmitted to this mysterious, magical girl.

Just like in the factory, or in the attic, when they held hands and manipulated objects together. But this time, he infused it with a slightly different will.

The girl who had opened her heart to the boy fully accepting his will. As the caster responded, the mana sphere also responded.

A faint blue hue began to swirl within the pure white sphere. It was Riley’s mana color. Its properties changed, reducing the amount that dissipated into the air and stabilizing its form.

Stopping at barely above the size of a pebble, the density of the mana gathered from the vicinity was terrifying.

“…!”

As if sensing something, Louveci, who had been checking on the children even during the battle, dodged. She was sweating cold sweat, looking unusually flustered.

Claude, who had been following her, soon sensed something strange.

The air was dry, and the mana felt oddly brittle. Yet, strangely, he felt a massive surge of mana from a certain direction. When he looked, he saw the children. The girl pointing her staff at him and the boy holding her hand.

In front of them was a small mana sphere. Though it looked tiny to the naked eye, it emitted an overwhelming aura.

He realized what they were about to do.

‘What is that!’

He needed to speed up the chorus… no, he couldn’t let them transfer to headquarters like this!

He hastily made a decision and called the crows, but as if refusing to wait for his deliberation, Sugar swung her staff.

The girl, who was good at shooting quickly, aimed the pebble-sized mana bullet at Claude.

The power shot directly in a straight line.

A flash that split the sky.

It swallowed the crows, pierced the barrier covering the sky and shot straight upward reaching for the stars.

The brilliance was dazzling. As bright as the sunlight the girl carried within her.

“Ugh… Keuk…”

The force of the mana pushed her body, making it hard to keep the staff aimed. Her legs trembled, feeling as though they might collapse at any moment. Yet, leaning on her friend’s hand, she steadfastly maintained her stance.

‘Just a little more… just a little more…’

A little more, and she could surely repel the evil. The power to grasp their own freedom.

Adding even her own mana, she continued the attack as the boy transformed it.

The vibrating sound of mana drowned out everything else, and she was in a trance from pouring all her mana into it. But she faintly felt the warmth of the joined hands.

When she squeezed the hand, the other side squeezed back.

This was enough. She had no doubt that any outcome would be satisfying.

She would witness the result with her own eyes.

Even amidst the overwhelming surge of mana, Sugar raised her head and opened her eyes wide.

—–…

She gasped for breath.

The bright light disappeared, and in the darkness of the mountains, a trail of light fell like a shooting star.

The aftermath of the combined magic used by Sugar and Riley.

Sugar steadied her breath and stared ahead. The forest, scorched by the torrent of mana, was filled with smoke. It was a field of devastation, no part left unscathed by the magic that had torn through it.

And the crows. Not a single one was visible, likely swept away by the magic. It seemed the chorus incantation had been successfully blocked.

Sugar let out a sigh of relief and wobbled as if about to collapse. She didn’t know the details of the chorus magic, but she knew well that it must not be cast.

But Riley grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

“Wait.”

His short words, spoken in a trembling voice, felt ominous. Sugar somehow gathered her depleted mana and focused it into her eyes to see ahead.

Someone was standing there.

To remain unharmed after taking that hit was not just shocking—it was almost admirable.

Sugar, with her creaking body, somehow managed to point her staff. She narrowed her eyes and looked ahead.

But the other side didn’t move. He didn’t speak either. Ah, maybe because all the crows were dead, he couldn’t speak. He had no vocal cords. Even with his medical skills that could revive half-dead people, he couldn’t fix his own throat.

As she recalled this characteristic from the original story, the smoke slowly dispersed, revealing what was inside.

It was Claude. The apostle with the bird-like mask.

But his body—half of his upper torso was gone. It was a miracle he was still standing on two feet.

[…]

He stood motionless.

Was he dead?

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, his body crumbled into dust and disappeared. Instead, the sound of cawing crows came from somewhere.

A small, tiny crow was seen fleeing high into the sky, where the barrier had broken. Soon, it disappeared without a trace into the dark sky.

She hadn’t thought it would be easy to deal with him.

Still, relieved to have escaped the immediate danger, Sugar’s shadow shifted as Louveci peeked out.

“You’re truly desirable talents, everyone.”

She stepped out nonchalantly and stood before the two children, her demeanor absurd.

“…You’ll really let us go this time, right?”

“Oh, of course.”

Kk, kk. Her laughter was mischievous. It was clearly annoying, but she couldn’t just hate her outright. A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Then… what are you going to do now? You’ve been completely branded a traitor by the Church.”

“Wow, Sugar. Are you worried about me?”

“Ugh…”

Even Riley, who was listening beside her, let out a hollow laugh and sighed. Both of them were too exhausted to even retort. The situation was just so absurd and ridiculous.

Louveci, as usual, smiled gently—or perhaps inscrutably—at the children and replied.

“Hoho. Just be kids. All you need to do is run around innocently, knowing nothing.”

As if what they’d just experienced was something kids could handle.

“And… this is sudden, but I’ll take this chance to say it. I’m sorry about what happened last time, Tommy. I wasn’t careful enough.”

“…”

Riley frowned, about to say something, but then he sighed and nodded.

He had a family now. And she had helped save that family. So, in the end, it didn’t matter anymore.

Meanwhile, voices could be heard in the distance. The sound of many people shouting and running. When Sugar glanced back, she saw people in white cloaks flying through the sky. Thanks to the combined magic the barrier had broken, so they must be entering now.

“Well. The usual latecomers are here.”

When she turned her face back to Louveci, the woman was clearing her throat and dusting off her clothes.

Then, she gently grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed.

As if showing respect to someone of higher status. Her face was utterly serious, without a trace of a smile.

“Farewell, truly. My saintess.”

Her voice was clear and resonant, just like the day they first met.

Her gray eyes turned to Sugar. Before Sugar could say anything, Louveci smiled faintly and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

May both of you stay healthy— It almost sounded like an echo from the mountains.

“…”

“…”

The two children, dazed, slumped down at the same time.

Looking at each other, they couldn’t help but laugh. None of this felt real. With moist eyes, they exchanged hollow smiles when someone shouted.

“The children are here!”

Hah. Riley, snapping back to his senses, quickly made the book disappear.

“Hmm.”

But then, a deep voice came from behind. The two children turned sharply and saw a middle-aged man looking down at them. It was impossible to tell how long he’d been there.

His hair was cut short, with a thick beard. His bear-like build and the scars all over his body cut a striking image. The white cloak embroidered with gold threads clearly marking him as a holy knight.

He—Cedric—stared at the spot where Riley’s book had been for a moment before speaking.

“You two.”

His tone was solemn and serious. His expression matched.

The two, thinking they’d been caught, trembled in fear…

Swish.

Unexpectedly, he draped his cloak over them.

“You’ve been through a lot. Let’s go.”

Then, he wrapped the cloak around them and lifted them both in his arms.

“Found children who appear to be victims. Will provide first aid and take them to the Holy Capital… Peko. You stay behind and help clean up the remnants.”

“Huh!? Shouldn’t I be the one going to the Holy Capital?”

“This is an order to help you gain real combat experience.”

“Aah…”

The sound of commotion.

The guards confronting the subordinates who had gone berserk after losing their connection to Claude. The holy knight shouting as he swung his sword, cutting down everything around him.

Inside the cloak, everything felt distant.

“…”

The two children, facing each other, were held in the man’s arms. It was all so absurd, but at least they were safe.

Sugar looked at Riley.

In the darkness, his blue eyes were vivid. She could feel him looking at her.

“…Does it hurt?”

Remembering his injured arm, she mouthed the words. Riley shook his head. It did hurt, but he had to act tough.

Sugar hesitated, unsure how to express her gratitude for what had happened today. The debt was too great.

Riley could see it clearly but the boy wanted to see a different side of Sugar.

Of course, it was nice that she worried and cared for him, but what he really wanted to see was her face. That would put him at ease.

What should he do? How could he make her smile?

She was always smiling. She was the kind of kid who would grin without him having to do anything. Thinking about it, this was the first time he’d ever worried about something like this.

Ugh. After some thought, Riley decided to act.

He reached out his uninjured right hand and placed it on Sugar’s head.

Then, he gently stroked her hair.

With an extremely soft touch, he felt her fine, white hair tickling between his fingers.

He adjusted her headband slightly and then let his hand slide down to her cheek.

Warm and soft. This was the real Sugar, not a dream or an illusion.

After lightly touching her cheek, Riley let out a soft laugh, reassured. Then, he slowly withdrew his hand as if reluctant to let go.

When Sugar did this to him, it didn’t feel bad at all. So, he decided to try it too. What was it called? Skinship? Something like that.

But when he looked at Sugar, she just hung her head low.

Does she not like this? Did I do something wrong? Is she hurt? Riley worriedly looked at her.

Meanwhile, Sugar was…

‘…Huh?’

Her chest felt strange. The pounding was different from what she’d felt during the fight, and it left her flustered.

It wasn’t the first time he’d stroked her head. But this time, his touch was so gentle.

His eyes, narrowed in reassurance, showed a rare smile. A mature smile that somehow made her feel secure. It made her chest feel oddly strange.

‘Huh…? Huh?’

She couldn’t respond and just buried her face deeper.

Her face felt hot. Her chest wouldn’t calm down.

But it was dark, so no one would notice the color of Sugar’s cheeks. Not even Sugar herself.

A boy who was endlessly worried about the girl, and a girl who was just beginning to taste something bittersweet.

Having realized the importance of each other’s existence more clearly than ever today, what would become of these two?

There was much to do. Enemies to fight. Trials and hardships awaited.

The future was uncertain.

But for now, since they’d made it through today, let them rest a little.

The starry sky above the exhausted children was breathtakingly beautiful.

A night where magic scattered like a meteor shower.

A day that shone brighter than any other.