Chapter Fifty-Five
“—If I’m lucky, he’ll definitely show up.”
“…That’s usually called being unlucky, you know.”
Sofia looked dumbfounded as soon as I said those words, hiding myself so I wouldn’t be noticed, keeping a certain distance while staring at a certain person from a place where I could look down on them.
The night of the day I talked to Lilea—around the time the date changed.
Me, Sofia, and Lilea were outside. Needless to say, it was for my own convenience that I aimed to defeat the ‘Magician Hunter.’
I would have preferred to be somewhere else, but Sofia refused, and Lilea reached for her sword with a look of amusement, saying she would take care of it if I got killed.
Hence, we were a party of three.
“But I think if he gets any more trump cards, it’ll be even harder to deal with him, you know.”
So, I insisted that it would be better to meet him at this time.
…But choosing to fight in the first place is a mistake, I was told. A perfectly reasonable statement, mixed with a sigh, flew at me, so I decided to shut my mouth.
At the end of my gaze—I couldn’t grasp the feelings of the man leisurely strolling through the royal capital late at night, with a carefree gait, at such a time when the ‘Magician Hunter’ was rampant.
Did he not think that he might die?
Or was it a lack of awareness of danger? Or did he think it would be fine even if he died?
…Well, it was probably the latter.
“It was a stroke of luck that it rained.”
“…What do you mean?”
“It seems that the ‘Perception Obstruction’ magic can’t change everything unconditionally as one pleases.”
It was Lilea who tilted her head.
I pointed my finger for her.
There were many puddles scattered around. Even though the rain had already stopped, the puddles occasionally rippled.
As if someone had stepped into them.
Eventually, the intervals between the rippling puddles grew smaller. If he could obstruct all perception, he could thoroughly obstruct the recognition of even a shred of evidence. Yet, the ‘Magician Hunter’ probably wasn’t doing that.
No, it should be assumed that he couldn’t do it for some reason.
“Lilea. How much time is left until the date changes?”
“About two minutes.”
“…Hee. That means the ‘Magician Hunter’ is a ridiculously punctual guy.”
He was probably waiting for the fifth day, following the rules he had set for himself.
…I had expected it from the warning he had given us, but it seemed he couldn’t abandon his own obsessions to the very end.
If that was the case, there was no more time.
“Then—let’s begin.”
In the silence of the hushed royal capital at night.
I cast my magic while chanting the words—‘Sword Creation.’
A blade rang out.
That was the signal to start.
There was no turning back now.
Realizing this, I twisted the corners of my mouth and jumped down from the spot, running off at full speed.
“Eh, w-wait, Julius!?”
Sofia, who hadn’t fully grasped the situation, cried out in surprise, asking what I was doing, but I ignored her voice.
Of course, just as I could clearly hear Sofia’s voice, my hearing was intact. I hadn’t taken any countermeasures against the ‘Perception Obstruction’ that Zenoah had told me about… But I wasn’t running around without a plan.
—Zenoah had mind-reading abilities.
There was no doubt about that.
However, a small, ineradicable splinter remained in me.
If she could read minds, she should have known that I would come to this incredibly foolish, battle-hungry idea.
And Zenoah had spoken in favor of the ‘Magician Hunter’s’ actions. The wail directed at me that night must have been her true feelings.
So why did Zenoah give me information about the ‘Magician Hunter’? Why did she tell me about his flaws?
I could understand if she was troubled by the ‘Magician Hunter’s’ deeds. But knowing that it would be a hindrance, would she tell me everything just because they were Fiole’s acquaintances?—The answer was no.
There was a famous trick used by swindlers.
By mixing 1% of lies into 99% of truth, they could make it seem as if it were all true.
“So I’m betting on that 1%.”
One step, two steps, I ran, and ran, and ran.
Narrowing my eyes against the night wind caressing my skin, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword.
“The ‘Perception Obstruction’ ability is probably one of the most troublesome among existing magic.”
It was a magic so extraordinary that, depending on the user, it could even land a blow on the ‘Star Slayer’ from my memories.
—About 100 meters left.
“But the flaws of magic are always flaws.”
That was Lilea’s teaching.
There was always a visible flaw in magic. In addition, depending on the magic ability, the flaw might not be limited to just one.
Therefore.
“It can’t be that he can’t do anything without killing my hearing.”
I declared.
I was particularly lucky.
It just so happened that it had been raining for the past two days, and thanks to that, I had the opportunity to get a hint.
Without a doubt, ‘Perception Obstruction’ also had some fatal flaw.
Other than it being nullified if hearing was lost, there was a more fundamental flaw.
“If so, there’s something I can do.”
I didn’t know what the flaw was, and I wasn’t perceptive enough to easily discern it.
However, as long as I was certain that there was some kind of flaw, that was enough.
All I had to do was find it while wielding my sword.
Therefore,
“Suu—”
I inhaled, filling my lungs with air.
My first objective was to prevent the ‘Magician Hunter’ from killing any more magicians. The ‘Collector’s’ ability was probably triggered by that act.
Then, it was simple.
All I had to do was stop the ‘Magician Hunter,’ who was obstructing the perception of his own form.
Even if he wasn’t visible, as long as I knew his objective, I could tell where his invisible form was.
“Be torn apart—”
In my mind’s eye, I drew a single line enveloped in the brilliance of the heavens. There was no need to aim at the enemy. This was just a show of skill, meant to stop his movements.
Minimizing the strain on my arm, I quietly uttered the words,
“—‘Shooting Star.’”
I fired it at what was before my eyes.
Immediately afterwards, the ‘Shooting Star’ slash ran, carving cracks into the ground as if to tear through the night.
The magician, who had abandoned his vigilance due to the act, stared at me with a startled look as I ran towards him, and the ripples in the puddles all around stopped.
“Sorry for the rough greeting. But I thought I wouldn’t be able to stop you otherwise.”
So it couldn’t be helped, I said to the invisible ‘Magician Hunter’ as I stopped running.
A line had formed in my vision, separating the magician and the invisible ‘Magician Hunter.’
“But I’m sure you won’t wait long even if I do this, right? So, let’s make this quick.”
While he was still surprised and focused on me.
“I have a favor to ask of you. It’s a favor that the ‘Magician Hunter’ who’s causing such a stir in the royal capital would be happy to accept.”
With a big smile that anyone who saw my expression would surely describe as ‘creepy,’ I tried to utter words that were naturally insane.
I’d tell him straight up that I wanted to fight him to become stronger.
That was what I was, and above all, it was because I believed without a doubt that it was the right choice for me.
Therefore, anticipating that the ‘Magician Hunter’ would be enraged, I spat out my true feelings. I was going to interfere with him because I wanted to become stronger.
“Let’s fight, ‘Magician Hunter.’ There’s nothing strange about it. After all, all human beings are self-centered. It’s not strange that there are one or two people like me, right? Besides, the world isn’t so well-made that things will go your way.”
[Translator – Vine]
[Proofreader – Lust]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/Eh2ayfR4FB
