16

A pale blue, semi-transparent right hand emerged from the empty right sleeve where Ains no longer had an arm.

Ains slipped the white glove fastened at his right shoulder onto that hand and held it up before his eyes.

“This makes the second time today.”

From the way the empty right sleeve fluttered in the wind, the knights present, Corbelli, and the bandits all knew that Ains had only one arm.

Precisely because of that, the phenomenon was far too eerie. It was not a prosthetic, not an arm anyone had ever seen before. There was no magical chant, nor any familiar incantation. Any mage could use “short-form casting,” and Corbelli himself had done so moments earlier.

Yet the phrase “Limited Release” was something no one there had ever heard. Not Sophia, and not even Corbelli, the self-proclaimed sorcerer.

“W-well, ‘using magic is a loss’!”

Corbelli’s thoughts were still in disarray, but he forced out words. His specialty was “magic”—spells meant to restrict an opponent’s movements. A type of magic that Ains had already seen through.

“In this situation, that magic is meaningless. There’s no need to take countermeasures.”

Ains’s right arm would not be dispelled by Corbelli’s chanting.

The effect of Corbelli’s magic was the “amplification of the target’s sense of gain and loss,” but for it to work, Corbelli himself had to understand what actions were being restricted for the target.

Corbelli did not truly understand sorcery. He had no idea what Ains’s right arm actually was. To be honest, Corbelli had already grasped through experience that Ains’s arm lay outside the realm of magic as he knew it.

Unrestrained, Ains—

Without saying a word, Ains clenched something with the right hand he held out in front of him.

The next instant, the bandits who had been holding their weapons spewed blood from their noses and mouths all at once and died where they stood.

Only Corbelli remained, barely managing to steady his breathing.

“W-what was that magic!? What did you do to them without even chanting!?”

“There’s no need for chanting. Because it isn’t magic.”

“Then how did you kill all of them in an instant!? If it’s not magic, then what is it!?”

Ains lowered his closed right hand and toyed with the white glove as he answered.

“This is sorcery. One of the sorceries I wield—Miracle Right Arm. A sorcery that grants me everything I desire among things that can be obtained.”

A pool of blood spread outward, and the iron stench carried by the passing wind filled the air.

“Just now, I desired their hearts. I gathered them together with my right hand—and crushed them.”

Ains spoke calmly, as if stating something utterly ordinary.

Combined with his cold silver hair fluttering in the wind, the chill Corbelli felt became immeasurable.

“…m-monster.”

Staggering backward, Corbelli tripped over a small stone and fell onto his backside. Because he failed to break his fall with his hands, a dull thud echoed.

“This is sorcery. By elevating wishes and desires beyond the natural laws of the world and interfering with reality itself—those who wield such ‘arts’ are called sorcerers. —Isn’t that right, wise mage?”

Ains slowly approached Corbelli.

“S-stop… d-don’t come any closer!”

Completely paralyzed with fear, Corbelli could not stand and instead crawled backward, flailing his arms wildly as if to drive Ains away.

The people around them stared blankly at the sight of Corbelli—who had shown nothing but arrogance until now—trembling in terror.

But if there was one thing they all felt, it was gratitude that Ains’s unfathomable right arm was not being turned toward them.

“W-wait, Ains! Please don’t kill Corbelli!”

“Ains? …Oh, so your name is Corbelli.”

The one who stopped Ains just before he reached Corbelli was Laika.

“He’s a member of a magical cabal called the Next-Era Luminaries. He needs to be subjected to a severe interrogation.”

“I see. But so what? He claimed to be a sorcerer. He did so knowing this was a duel. And a duel has only one ending, doesn’t it?”

Ains paused at Laika’s words, but then once more placed his right hand on Corbelli’s head. Corbelli stared up at him, eyes wide, tears streaming down his face, liquid also running from between his legs.

“P-please… forgive me…”

There was no killing intent in Ains’s blue and white eyes as Corbelli looked into them. No anger either—only Corbelli himself reflected there.

Ains would probably not stop.

Corbelli was a member of the Next-Era Luminaries. Until now, no one had managed to properly capture a member of this group. They were a collective of great criminals who had inflicted immense damage upon the Santia Kingdom. Capturing one would be a major achievement for the Brandy family, and by extension, for Laika herself.

Realizing that this opportunity would likely be destroyed right before her eyes, Laika watched Ains and Corbelli with slumped shoulders, half resigned.

“Please wait, Ains-sama.”

The one who stopped Ains yet again was Sophia.

She lowered her face and spoke.

“What is it, Sophia? This is a matter between sorcerers, isn’t it?”

“Ains-sama, we will be heading to the Royal Capital Kirk. This man is one of the kingdom’s great criminals. Laika-sama here is the daughter of the Brandy Marquess. I humbly propose that we take this man as a gift.”

Sophia continued, casting a glance toward Laika.

“Ains-sama’s purpose in going to the Royal Capital Kirk is the pursuit of sorcery at the Magic Academy. I am certain they will show you considerable favor.”

Laika immediately understood Sophia’s intent.

This would place her in Sophia’s debt, but Laika instantly judged that the achievement gained would far outweigh it.

“Yes. If this man is the offering, I can even put in a good word with the royal family.”

By capturing Corbelli, an audience would certainly be arranged. At that occasion, Laika implied, she could also introduce Ains.

“…I see. If he’s a life that would disappear here anyway, then if he can be of use to me, that’s better.”

After thinking for a moment, Ains withdrew the right hand resting on Corbelli’s head.

“Thank you, Sophia. You taught me something useful. Then I’ll leave this mage to Laika. Short-form casting— ‘Prohibited Clause. —Sleep. You are forbidden to awaken until I permit it.’”

With Ains’s incantation, Corbelli fell into slumber.