23

The moment Seidel stepped forward with the leg he had strengthened by wrapping it in magic power, he released formless magic power into the ground.

That leg acted as a stopper, allowing Seidel to halt himself. At the same time, sand and dust rose up, successfully blocking Ains’s vision.

Seidel did not understand the principle behind Ains’s erasure of magic.

“(But if he is restricting sorcery, then that is certainly magic as well.)”

While Ains was unable to make out Seidel’s figure through the swirling dust, Seidel inscribed the formula for an ice spear onto the ground.

He could not multi-cast magic. In addition, he had not mastered the heavily simplified method of formula deployment that was essential for multi-casting.

That was why it ended up crude, but he was compensating by inscribing the formula onto the ground like this.

The dust cloud was beginning to clear, and Ains’s silhouette started to faintly appear.

Apparently, Ains had not moved from that spot even after all this.

“‘The river of flame that flows through the underworld. The souls that remain in death are never permitted to return. Life to ash, death to ash. Only the flames of hellfire dance. Neither good nor evil shall dance thereafter.’—Flame Hell.”

Flame Hell, an advanced spell in which Seidel excelled.

He intended to slam it directly into Ains.

The dust fully cleared, and both Ains and Seidel could now see each other.

“Flame Hell, huh. It seems fire magic is your specialty, Seidel-san.”

Ains held out his left hand.

Seidel understood. Ains was without question about to use that magic cancellation from before.

“I won’t let you!”

Seidel wrapped magic power around his legs and released formless magic power into the ground.

“Hm?”

Ains thought Seidel intended to block his vision again with sand and dust, but that did not seem to be the case.

No cloud of dust was stirred up.

Ains narrowed his eyes and looked at Seidel’s feet.

A formula had been drawn on the ground where the magic power had been released.

“When did he? During that dust cloud just now?”

A flaming dragon swirled high into the sky. Scattering savage scales of fire, it bared its fangs at Ains.

Floating in the air around that flaming dragon were ice spears encircling it.

“You thought this through. It’s true that my cancellation magic only works on one kind of magic that I have visually identified.”

The ice spears were faster than Ains could take evasive action.

Ains fixed the ice spears as the target of his cancellation.

“‘Release.’”

But Seidel’s Flame Hell was already immediately bearing down on Ains.

The temperature was high enough to make sweat slowly bead on the skin.

The sand on the ground burned black, and the trace grains of iron mixed into it glowed red for an instant before burning away.

“Maybe I should answer an advanced spell with an advanced spell of my own. Not water overcoming fire like Rubelmel-san’s, though.”

Ains clicked his prosthetic leg.

In an instant, the formula for Ice Hell was deployed.

In the blink of an eye, the blackened scorched earth was dyed silver within a world of ice.

Pillars of ice layered over one another collided with the flaming dragon and held it in deadlock.

“That should do it, I think.”

Ains blocked Flame Hell and looked away.

But Seidel was not where Ains turned his gaze.

(He moved? In that case…)

Ains immediately spun around to look behind him.

Seidel manifested magic while pointing his fingertip at Ains.

His fingertip flashed violently, and a beam of light burst forth bright enough to burn the eyes.

—Lightning.

Ains could not evade it.

“‘Release.’”

Ains immediately used cancellation magic. Naturally, Lightning cut off before it could pierce Ains’s body.

“That is not all.”

Ains had cancelled Lightning, but Seidel, beads of sweat on his face, smiled fearlessly.

Behind Ains, Flame Hell and Ice Hell, which had been locked in deadlock, shattered as though each were crushing the other.

Flame Hell writhing as it scattered scales of fire all around. Ice Hell collapsing and crumbling into chunks of ice.

Threading through the gap between them, the fire spear Seidel had deployed beforehand rushed toward Ains from behind.

The first ice spears had also been meant to direct Ains’s gaze and attention toward Flame Hell.

“(If it were Ains-dono, I knew he would deal with Flame Hell without fail. Then after that, he would reassess his own situation. If he realized I was no longer in sight, he would first check his blind spots. In other words, behind himself.)”

The fire spear sought to pierce straight through Ains’s back.

“(Since I am inferior in skill, the only chance I had against Ains-dono was this strike aimed at the opening created by that instant of relief after he confirmed me behind him and dealt with the blind spot.)”

Got him! Seidel rejoiced.

Seidel’s strike from Ains’s blind spot shot through Ains’s torso from behind.

Ains’s eyes widened, and with a face full of shock, he collapsed to the ground.

After confirming that sight, Seidel pulled out a potion with trembling hands.

“I was not aiming so high, but I never imagined I would actually land a blow on Ains-dono.”

What was supposed to be a spar had turned heated.

Normally, it should have ended with both sides stopping just short. But such was the difference in strength between Seidel and Ains. It was so great that Seidel could do nothing unless he faced him with the resolve to strike Ains down.

But when it was all over, he had actually felled Ains.

A fierce surge of joy welled up within Seidel, but he quickly regained his senses at the situation.

Potion in hand, Seidel rubbed the back of Ains, who was lying face down on the ground.

“Ains-dono, I am terribly sorry. I will apply the potion at once!”

Seidel opened the potion’s cap, but—

“There is no need, Seidel-san.”

“!?”

That voice had come from behind Seidel.

Not from the Ains lying collapsed before his eyes. And yet it was unmistakably Ains’s voice.

Before Seidel, who could not make sense of it at all, Ains’s left hand came down lightly onto his shoulder.

Seidel turned toward the side where the hand had been placed, and Ains’s finger poked him in the cheek.

“Simultaneous Reenactment—that one was a mana body. It used up quite a lot of magic power, though.”

At the words of the standing Ains, Seidel glanced at the prone Ains.

Then, as if to declare that it had fulfilled its role, it dissolved into pale blue particles and vanished.

“…I yield.”

The strength left Seidel’s shoulders.

He screwed the cap back onto the potion and turned to face the real Ains.