A Villain's Will to Survive

Chapter 325: Mentor and Protg (4)

Hummmmm…

The sky rippled, the ground was turned over, the earth was twisted, and a crimson mana dyed the atmosphere.

Whooooosh—

The robe was swaying, as if it were waving in the wind.

However, Epherene knew that in this space where time was stagnant, wind could not exist.

Therefore, this was the work of pure magic, and it was Adrienne’s mana distorting the landscape.

Epherene looked up at Adrienne without a word. From between the clouds, her face was bright and a clear smile reached all the way to her ears.

“Chairwoman,” Epherene called to her.

“Yes?!” Adrienne replied.

“… What does it take to become an archmage?”

When Epherene asked that, the great Archmage Adrienne was so stunned that her eyes widened, for Epherene had never once wished for or even thought about that great and glorious status, as what had led her to this place was not such a vague and grand objective.

“Oh? To become an archmage?”

“Yes.”

Looking back, Epherene’s days were a flurry of impulses, and as her father wished, she hated and despised Deculein, burning with those emotions as she became a mage.

For a long time, she despised him while she was by his side, then she came to realize a very difficult truth, and as she tried to run away from it all, she fell and fell again until she was finally picked up by Deculein, because of whom she came to believe in her true self.

“I plan to become an archmage.”

“Hmm! Why?!”

“I am going to reform the Floating Island.”

The Floating Island was not a society of mages but merely a group that had become endlessly cold and cruel under the pretext of absolute reason.

“And then, I will distribute the Professor’s theory across the continent.”

Without any compensation, Epherene would organize everything from the basics to the advanced in Deculein’s theory, easily breaking down the difficult parts and even compiling them together so that anyone on the continent, regardless of their social status, could become a mage with his theory as long as they had outstanding talent.

“But then, I would have to defeat you, Chairwoman, wouldn’t I?” Epherene concluded, answering her own question.

I must win. Against the current Adrienne, against Quay, and against the destruction of this continent that I have witnessed, Epherene thought.

“Yes! First, you would have to defeat me!” Adrienne replied.

In that moment, a spell was manifested.

Booooooooom—!

The sky shattered, and the land crumbled.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaack—!

Without a distinction between above and below, the world was shattered into fragments, scattering sharply like broken glass.

Claaaaaaaang—!

At the echoing sound of the convection currents being crushed, Epherene let out a laugh in disbelief as it was, of course, a shocking sight and a breathtaking amount of power.

“That is amazing.”

If this magic were to be described in a single sentence, it was the purest destruction, a spell whose purpose was only destruction that went beyond merely interfering with the world to destroy the world itself.

“What are you doing now?!” Adrienne shouted, causing incomprehensible destruction and radiating the dignity of the Eternal rank. “Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”

The shattered sky slowly collapsed into a single point, and the ground Epherene was standing on was already more than half gone.

“… Chairwoman.”

“Yes?!”

“Somehow, I don’t think I will lose.”

“What?!”

In the midst of that destruction, Epherene manifested her own spell, and as she breathed the world’s fragments—which had been shattered by Adrienne—with the time energy, the world was instantly restored to its original state, with a whole sky and land.

“… Haha!” Adrienne murmured, a smile spreading across her face.

Adrienne looked delighted, even though her own spell was broken.

“Should we proceed with a normal magical battle? For a grand magic with expansiveness is ineffective against me,” Epherene said to Adrienne.

There were many weaknesses in grand-scale spells, or to be more accurate, they were so immense that if one held onto a specific part with time, one could easily revert them.

“Haha! That’s awesome! I really love that confidence!”

Then, as if what she did just now was nothing more than a test, Adrienne immediately prepared innumerable spells and fired them as soon as she was ready, which were instant spells with no incantation.

Ruuuuuuuuuumble—!

Meteor Shower, Hellfire Blast, Terra Break, Whirlwind Blade, Moonlight Shard… an enormous number of destruction spells were woven in an instant, immediately pouring toward Epherene.

However…

Snap—!

With a snap of her fingers, Epherene made it disappear, and although the strangeness of the phenomenon—which was closer to a trick than magic—should have been surprising, Adrienne, on the contrary, seemed delighted and fired spells indiscriminately.

“As expected! I’m good at seeing people for who they are, you know!”

Delighted to have Epherene as her opponent, Adrienne launched spells without a moment’s pause.

Booooooooooooom—!

The types of spells poured out in a single moment were in the hundreds, far exceeding dozens, and the most concentrated destruction, mobilizing every element, was focused on a single point named Epherene like an artillery bombardment.

Epherene thought that such a disparate yet powerful Adrienne was indeed worthy of being called an archmage, and in terms of destruction, no other human on this continent could compare to her.

Snap—!

However, even Epherene, who could make that archmage’s attacks disappear with a mere snap of her fingers, now had confidence and trust.

Booooooooooooooom—!

Each of the situations in the extremely violent magical battle was explosive and flashed with all kinds of mana, but in reality, the offensive did not change from beginning to end, with Adrienne’s overwhelming superiority from start to finish.

Crush—!

An intangible, penetrating spell that Epherene could not bring herself to catch pierced the shoulder of her mana armor. A fragment of cinder burned her knee—her joint was pierced and her skin was scorched. Yet, there was not the slightest change in Epherene’s expression.

“It’s useless to just stay there! Please, please make it a little more interesting!” Adrienne shouted clearly, pouring out her mana unsparingly for the first time in a long while having a great satisfaction knowing she finally had an opponent who wouldn’t die. “If you only block, you’ll die of old age!”

Because a fairy was not constrained by mana, this magical battle simply went on without end, as Adrienne attacked while Epherene only defended, and in the end, Epherene was defeated when her time expired first.

“… Chairwoman, you know what?”

Nevertheless, Epherene twisted the corner of her mouth into a smile that seemed to guarantee victory and plot some wicked scheme, and because it resembled a past Deculein, the smile was unsettling to Adrienne.

“About what? That expression is exactly like Deculein’s—it’s terrible!”

… They say a mentor and protégé resemble each other, Adrienne thought.

“I am not, at this moment, defending against your spell, Chairwoman. Rather, I am merely controlling its time and modifying its vector.”

“Haha! What do you mean by… Oh.”

Delighted by Epherene’s strange words and the cheerful nature of the magical battle, Adrienne could only laugh.

However, Adrienne soon realized the meaning of Epherene’s words.

“… That is right.”

As expected of an archmage, her comprehension is quick, Epherene thought.

Epherene nodded with a smile, and Adrienne’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“I have sent your spell to the near future, Chairwoman.”

“… Oh my.”

It was an expression of frustration or some other emotion indistinguishable at the time, and by the time Adrienne realized it, it was already too late.

Snap—!

As Epherene snapped her fingers, those innumerable spells reappeared in the empty air—no, they were Adrienne’s spells that she had banished to the near future and now returned all at once, stuck to the present time, filling the sky with enormous density.

Hummmmmmm—

However, the vector of that spell—the target the spell was heading toward—was no longer Epherene.

The trajectory of the spell that Epherene had modified…

“All of it falls under your charge, Chairwoman.”

And it was headed only toward Adrienne.

Surrounded by the brutal projectiles and mana of tens of thousands of destruction spells, Adrienne simply stood there with her mouth wide open.

“Hmm…” Adrienne murmured, her fingers going to her chin as she was lost in thought.

Should I cast a barrier? Or should I respond with a greater destruction spell? But these are no ordinary destruction spells. They are spells that I, myself, composed and cast. Spells that are flawless and perfect, Adrienne thought.

“… I let my guard down, it seems.”

In the end, Adrienne could not help but laugh.

“Yes, that’s right,” Epherene replied with a wave of her hand.

Whooooooooosh—

The spells in the air began to vibrate, and with the sound of a stray wind, the destruction spells that Adrienne had launched went back toward her.

Booooooooooooooom—!

It was a bombardment.

***

Whoooooosh…

The moment the barrier of time was broken, the foothills where grass and trees swayed in the wind were suddenly transformed.

“I admit it! No matter how much I was caught off guard, I lost!” Adrienne said.

Epherene looked at Adrienne, who was flying in the sky and chattering with a slightly blank expression, and at that very moment Adrienne seemed extremely strange because, for one, her body was small.

“Why are you looking at me like that?! Do you find me so strange?!”

“… Of course. Why did you become smaller?” Epherene asked.

At this very moment, Adrienne’s whole body was no bigger than a pigeon, and she was, in every sense of the word, the size of a pigeon.

“Hmm! Actually, I am a half fairy!”

“… Sorry?” Epherene said, her eyes widening.

A fairy? Could it be that same fairy from the legends? Epherene thought.

“Yes! By reducing my body size like this, I can avoid a direct hit. Besides, the density of my barrier naturally increases, allowing me to preserve my body. However, it’s a flaw that once I enter this state, I have to stay like this for a week!”

Adrienne let out a chuckle.

“Anyway, it’s all good!” Adrienne continued, looking alternately at Deculein and Epherene. “Since I lost, I will leave without doing any harm to Professor Deculein!”

After looking at Deculein and giving a blank nod, Epherene knelt again and placed her hand on Deculein’s forehead, which was burning with such a high fever that it felt as if it would cook her hand, while his whole body was boiling hot.

“But are you okay? Deculein seems like he will die soon?!”

“… Yes, it is okay.”

However, Epherene felt no concern, for being free from the constraints of time had its benefits in moments like this.

“Later, when the time is right, I just have to call one person. So…” Epherene added, glaring at Adrienne with narrowed eyes.

It meant that it was time for her to leave, so they could have a moment to themselves.

“Heh! Alright then! I’ll be going now, but don’t think it’s all over.”

“Will you come to find me again?”

“Wherever you are! It was so much fun! Next time, I won’t fall for the same trick again!” Adrienne replied with a giggle.

“Alright, do come to find me anytime,” Epherene said, giving Adrienne a smile.

“Okay!”

Poof—

Along with that reply, Adrienne disappeared, and Epherene, left alone with Deculein, knelt silently beside him, staring blankly at his unconscious face, unable to look away as she kept looking and looking at him.

Tick, tock—!

At that moment, the sound of a ticking clock in Epherene’s head signaled that her time was up, but she shook her head.

“Not yet.”

Epherene held fast to that time by force, holding onto it even though she didn’t know if it would last for three, five, or ten seconds.

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

“… Professor.”

Continuing to stay with Deculein…

“What should I do…?”

Epherene slowly leaned her body and rested her head against his chest.

“I think I have nurtured a feeling that is too disrespectful to take hold,” Epherene muttered, feeling a faint heartbeat within her sadness.

Tick, tock—

The ticking of the second hand sounded once more, and each moment Epherene held onto time, her mana was rapidly drained, bringing her to the state of near exhaustion.

“So, I think…”

Epherene’s lips had a pale violet hue and were trembling.

“I am…”

A small voice escaped from between them.

“In love with you, Professor,” Epherene muttered.

Rustle—

At that moment, Epherene heard the sound of someone’s footsteps echoing, and although she did not yet know who it was, it must have been the reinforcements she had called for.

Tick, tock—

A smile spread across Epherene’s face as she looked in that direction. Her adventurer friend Ria, who was quite grown and had already become an adult, was pushing her way through the grass toward her, seemingly not having found Epherene yet and merely pattering along like a rabbit, following the trail of mana.

My future self is calling her, I see, Epherene thought.

“Of course, if it’s someone like Ria…”

Ria is trustworthy, she’s diligent, smart, charming, and has the kind of looks that Deculein would like—no, openly likes without a doubt. I’m just jealous for no good reason, Epherene thought.

Tick, tock—

Without warning, along with the sound of a ticking second hand that shook Epherene’s skull, all the mana in her body was exhausted, and a dreadful sense of exhaustion and fatigue began to consume her body, creating a sensation as if she were drowning on land.

“Ah…”

Swaying from dizziness, Epherene slowly collapsed and was naturally held in Deculein’s arms, which were comforting and warm, making her wish she could stay there a little longer or, truthfully, for the rest of her life…

… Tick, tock.

The final second had approached without her noticing, and now it was time for them to part.

“Professor, I think I understand now.”

In that last moment, while held in Deculein’s arms, or tightly holding him against his chest…

“I think as time passes, as each day passes…”

Epherene returned to somewhere that was not the present.

“I will love you, Professor, more and more with each passing moment…” Epherene concluded.

Leaving a few very small words with gentle hesitation in her most precious professor’s ear.