episode_0106

000

“Lyla. You were here again.”

A kind yet stern old man’s voice.

Startled by the voice of the person she loved most in the world, she turned around.

There stood her grandfather, Agni Flamewatch, a white-haired old man with a rich beard, a worn-out pipe in his mouth, and a bitter smile on his face as if he couldn’t help it.

Agni’s room, filled with a large number of magic books, was like a treasure trove to Lyla.

Some of them were written by Agni himself, containing the research achievements he devoted his life to in order to find the `Primordial Flame`, which the Flamewatch family considered their ultimate goal.

The book Lyla was reading today was one of the more difficult and flavorful magic books among them.

Her grandfather’s books were written in a kind way, unlike those written by other mages, and they stimulated her desire for knowledge about magic more and more as she read them.

“Have you already finished reading the book I gave you last time? Studying magic is good, but how about taking up other hobbies from time to time?”

However, Agni himself was worried that Lyla was too deeply immersed in magic, and stroked her head.

Even Agni, her grandfather, recognized that Lyla was a genius born with a talent for magic, one of the best.

However, Agni knew from his own experience that devoting one’s life solely to `magic` was meaningless.

Lyla smiled brightly at her grandfather and nodded proudly.

“I’ve already finished reading that book and put it back on the bookshelf!”

“Hmm, already? Are you getting enough sleep? You’re not secretly using `early payment` again, are you?”

“N-no!”

Lyla shook her head from side to side, denying Agni’s suspicious gaze.

Agni was greatly shocked by the fact that a child who was not even 10 years old was so engrossed in magic that she was using even techniques that put a great burden on her body.

That was the first and last time he had raised his voice to Lyla, and it must have been quite a painful experience for her.

Of course, Lyla kept her grandfather’s words well and was not using early payment now.

She just saved time by reading books instead of sleeping without using early payment.

She thought that wasn’t ideal either, but it wouldn’t be a problem as long as her grandfather didn’t find out.

Lyla pointed to a part of the book she was reading to change the subject from her grandfather’s doubts.

“G-Grandfather! What is this `Avatar` magic here?”

Agni stroked his chin beard at Lyla’s question and opened his mouth.

“You’re looking at quite a difficult book. That’s the last book I wrote. Avatar, along with primordial elemental magic, is the stage that we elemental mages ultimately aim for.”

As Agni spread his index finger, a small flame bloomed at the end of it. It was a natural act as if he was breathing, but manifesting unsubstantiated elemental magic in a limited area without incantation was an achievement that could be done by mages above a certain level.

“Elemental power is scattered in the natural world, and we use our own power as a center point to attract the desired elements from the surroundings and shape them with techniques. Shamans go one step further and pass their power through spirits, but that requires quite a high level of power control.”

Lyla nodded as she listened to her grandfather’s words. It was something she had read in a previous book, but it felt new when she heard it directly from her grandfather.

“Power is controlled by three factors: body, soul, and mind. Among them, the soul is most closely related to power. But there is a major obstacle for mages in strengthening their connection with power.”

“Obstacle…?”

Agni extinguished the fire he had been holding on his finger with a clenched fist and moved his hand over his chest.

“Yes. It’s our mage’s body.”

That was a strange statement. The reason we can control power through the power organ in our body is because we are beings belonging to the material world, but the body is the biggest obstacle?

“The reason we use the body – the power organ of the heart – is because we are living beings belonging to the material world. If we need a power organ to use magic, then spirits or spiritual beings without bodies would not be able to use magic. We act according to the laws of the world we belong to.”

Lyla nodded at Agni’s words.

In other words, the control of the will to use magic is done by the mind and soul, but that will alone cannot move the power flowing in the material body. Therefore, a power organ in the body is needed.

“But if we can break free from the constraints of the body and become spiritual beings like the spirits of the natural world, we can reduce the two-step process of soul-body-magic to a one-step process of soul-magic.”

“Um… But isn’t the soul leaving the body dying?”

Agni raised the corner of his mouth and nodded at Lyla’s obvious question.

“Yes. In the past, mages made numerous attempts to break out of the shell of the body, and many people lost their lives in the process.”

“Uh… Then is `Avatar` a scary magic?”

“No. `Avatar` is the ultimate elemental magic developed at the end of such research. It is to shed the physical body and transform it into pure elemental power. By doing so, you can break free from the limits of the body, and the body becomes like living magic, allowing the soul to wield the elements as it wishes.”

Therefore, the name of the magic is `Avatar`, that is, `Incarnation`. It is a magic that sublimates the caster’s body into pure elemental magic, temporarily transforming them into a being like a spirit.

“That’s amazing…! Can I learn it too!?”

It seemed that the magic sounded attractive to Lyla, as she asked Agni with sparkling eyes.

“Of course you can learn it. But this magic also has great dangers in using it.”

“Danger?”

“Yes. The discarded body temporarily disappears. This is because all the body is converted into power. Therefore, when the magic is over, you need to return the power to the body… Many mages fail in this part.”

At those words, Lyla closed her mouth as if swallowing her breath.

“And the soul’s power continues to be consumed, eventually disappearing slowly like the spirits of the natural world. In other words, a more cruel ending than death. The soul disappears.”

“Th… Then it’s still a scary magic…”

Lyla at the time still had fear, and her face became dark.

“No, Avatar is the most human magic.”

“… …?”

“In order for a mage who has become magic due to Avatar to return to normal, a strong connection with a precious being is needed.”

“Precious being…?”

“Yes. Someone who loves you, and someone you love. For me, that person is Lyla.”

Agni’s words felt more difficult to Lyla now than anything she had ever heard from him.

Of course, Lyla also thought of her grandfather as a precious person, but what role would that play in using this magic?

“Even if I transform into any form, Lyla, you’ll definitely remember me, right?”

“Of course! Grandpa’s fancy beard, the wrinkles on your forehead. And your favorite red jacket too!”

Agni stroked her head again at Lyla’s confident words.

“A being that has become magic gradually distances itself from humans and breaks free from the bonds of `memories` and `relationships`, which are unnecessary for spiritual beings. Even though these bonds are by no means bad, they are what make humans human.”

Even if you try to stop using `Avatar` and regain your human body, those whose bonds have disappeared will lose track of what they looked like and what they were. If they miss such things, they will have to spend the rest of their lives as magic.

In order to prevent that, Avatar users had to use precious humans as anchors of existence and find their existence from them.

“…Most mages only research magic and neglect their relationships with others, so there are too many who know how to use this magic but ultimately fail.”

Lyla didn’t fully understand, but she somehow accepted the meaning of Agni’s words and nodded.

“So Lyla. If the time comes when you need to learn and use this magic. At that time, you must be with someone precious to you.”

“… Like Grandpa?”

“Haha! Of course, it would be okay if I’m there… But even I won’t be able to be with Lyla forever. Even if I disappear someday, I hope Lyla can be with such a person. Because there will be more great, wonderful, and wonderful things than researching magic alone.”

Until he could convey everything he wanted to convey to her, he wished to the `god` he had come to believe in late in life that he would not take his life.

Agni looked at Lyla with such a small hope.

001

Lyla, who had become a form made of pure flame power, confirmed her body floating naturally in the air even without using flight magic.

Avatar magic `Mage Flamewatch`.

Lyla, who had literally become the incarnation of burning thirst for knowledge, blushed as she saw Kleon looking at her as if she were a marvel.

“What, what is it? Is it so amazing?”

Then Kleon unconsciously answered Lyla’s question.

“No, it’s a beautiful flame. So…”

“~~~~!! Wh, what are you saying! In this situation! Hey! Look over there, not at me! Stare at the demon beast!”

Whoosh! The flames swelled greatly, and as Lyla reached out her hand, numerous chains of flames appeared in the air according to her will and bound Humbaba.

Pure flame power, though not as much as divine power, restrained, burned, and bound his body, which was contaminated with two-dimensional power.

`Amazing… I feel like power is moving as I imagine it, even without using incantation. This is the power of a mage who has overcome the limits of the body…`

Lyla was slightly shocked by the magic she was performing herself, but she understood how to use her power naturally.

Her eyes gained the vision of a spirit, and even without using power vision, she traced the traces of Humbaba’s power and grasped another soul inside it.

“It’s in the chest! There’s another soul there!”

[Damn mage bitch…! Do you think you can stop me with such fake magic…!]

As if blocking Lyla’s cry, Humbaba roared.

At the same time, he wrapped his two-dimensional power around the chains of fire that were binding and burning him, trying to contaminate and erode them.

“Ku…!”

The power of flame magic had noticeably increased, and the control was incomparably higher.

However, the fact that she had become a pure power body meant that she was more easily affected by other powers.

Lyla gritted her teeth and increased the flame power to slow down the rate of erosion.

She had to hold this demon beast firmly so that Kuon and Kleon could deliver effective blows.

“Kuon!”

When Kleon saw the scene and called Kuon, Kuon immediately carried out what she had to do.

“Yes! -In the name of righteous will and your justice, purify these unrighteous ones. Purification!”

A wave of purification made of divine power spread out and suppressed and purified the two-dimensional power that was rising up on Lyla’s chains.

In the meantime, Kleon flew up again and swung his sword towards the place Lyla had mentioned.

The sword blade coated with divine power, along with the swordsmanship of the sword saint, cut through Humbaba’s chest, revealing the `Enkidu` made of steel inside.

In other words, he could see that there was a black golem inside, which was the core of this demon beast and contained rails inside.

However, this guy’s regeneration speed was faster than that of the barrier tree, so even if it left a sacred scar, it would immediately cover it with new mud.

“We need a collision of divine power with greater power… But if Kuon stops purifying Lyla…”

Kleon bit his lower lip and tried to borrow Kuon’s divine magic and use it, but the same thing as before was repeated.

The moment Kleon’s concentration was momentarily directed elsewhere to think of a way, Humbaba’s claws were swung at him.

But the next moment, nearly dozens of arrows were simultaneously embedded in Humbaba’s hand-

“Storm!”

Along with Sasha’s voice, the power arrows exploded, blowing away the hand without a trace.

The shock of the explosion was enough to momentarily stagger Humbaba’s huge body and lose its balance.

When Kleon looked down at Sasha, he saw Sasha sweating on her forehead and glaring at Humbaba with an unusually sharp glint in her eyes.

She must have used a lot of power just now.

Even if they go into a war of attrition like this, it is impossible to defeat a demon beast that continues to receive power from the two-dimensional gap.

Unless they close the gap or pull out the rail from Enkidu inside Humbaba.

Kleon could understand why it was `Arondight` that defeated Humbaba.

If they go into a long battle, Arondight will gradually increase its power due to its characteristics.

And the fragments of the holy sword containing divine power will block the `two-dimensional gap`.

In the meantime, he just needs to create a storm of swords and tear Humbaba apart.

However, Arondight is currently in a state where neither its user nor the holy sword itself is complete.

The barrier will not last forever, and Arondight’s fight will inevitably involve everything around it.

Defeating Humbaba before Aruru arrives here was the best outcome.

However, the power was barely lacking to achieve that best outcome.

If Rubella was here, he would have had the same thought, but Kleon clenched his fist as if he could hear his master’s ridicule.

“Wait! It’s dangerous to go in there without permission!”

A shout was heard from behind at that moment.

Everyone’s heads turned towards the sound due to the sudden situation, and there stood Beatrix, holding Ariadne in her hand, with a determined expression, appearing in front of the group.

“Beatrix!? If you die, you’ll lose all of Demiurgos’ factors, so I told you to stay in the safest place possible!”

Beatrix shook her head at Kleon’s words.

“I want to fight alongside you, senior… Lyla and senior are risking their lives to fight the enemy of the world, I can’t just stay in a place like that!”

The next moment, her Ariadne spread out and surrounded Lyla like a barrier.

Then, Beatrix’s power was deployed through Ariadne, and the power wave she possessed protected Lyla, replacing Kuon’s purification magic.

“I’ll protect Lyla…! Kuon-ssi, please help senior attack the core!”

“…Okay!”

When Kuon nodded at Beatrix’s words, a huge divine power gathered in her body the next moment.

“Resonate, breath of the stars. Gather here and become a light that illuminates the sacred path…! Starlight Road!”

Soon after the incantation was completed, a huge magic circle of divine magic spread out around Kuon’s body, and the surrounding area was adorned with golden shining divine power.

Then, the powers slowly gathered into one, compressed like the breath used by Humbaba.

Soon, it was fired to pierce through his chest with a strong impact.

[UROAAAAAA!]

Humbaba let out a scream of pain.

Divine power was certainly his weakness, as it instantly evaporated the two-dimensional power that was covering his chest.

Unlike Iona’s and Kleon’s attacks earlier, the regeneration speed there was significantly slower.

[Kleon!]

Even before Iona’s shout, Kleon swung his master’s sword towards that part.

The red famous sword had the power to cut off physical enemies more reliably than Iona, who was wielding divine power.

Will, body, and sword became one, and the sword was swung in a perfect straight line.

Then, the outer armor of Enkidu, which was incomparably harder than steel, was torn with a `crack`, finally opening the gap.

And Kleon gasped at the silhouette of a human he could see through it.

There was the figure of Rail, withered like a mummy, beyond it.