To infinity (1)

Arcane made a disgusted expression.

"Ha. Are you praising me? Even a passing dog would laugh."

"Are you okay? Although your mental strength has been restored, it's still just an illusion of the brain. If you think about doing more here, I can't guarantee your life."

There's no free meal in magic. The mental strength regained by the Abyss Memory was an equivalent exchange, risking the possibility of brain death.

"So? Are you trying to stop me in the end?"

"If you step back, we can end this here. It might be your last chance. Since everyone is still safe, I can offer you this. But if you can't let go of your obsession, you'll have to pay the price."

"Kekeke. You've always had a way with words. Pretending consideration, but in the end, you only think of yourself. Do you think your past will remain covered if I step back? It's already too late. Not only those present here, but the students who suffered Abyss Nova are also listening attentively. You won't be able to remain the director for much longer."

Shirone looked at the students who had lost their memories. When the magic was lifted, everything that had happened here would remain in their memories. Even if the battle ended safely, it would still be a big problem.

"Hehe! Do you finally understand the situation? How about if we kill everyone here? If so, I'm willing to cover it up for you."

Alpeas smiled slightly.

"What a farce."

"Then, why don't you come with me? I'm the one offering you the last chance. Don't you have to continue Erina's legacy? Look at the result I've achieved. It's the magical creature, Havist!"

Shirone and the others looked to where Arcane was pointing. Havist was lying on the ground, sprawled like a rag.

"...Well, it's become a little less impressive. Anyway, the experiment was successful. If you help me, we can achieve even greater results. Besides, that's precisely what Erina truly wanted."

Upon hearing Erina's name, Alpeas' eyes gleamed with a cold light.

"Master, please come to your senses."

Arcane finally revealed his true intention. They had been exchanging trivial conversations, but in reality, they were nothing but meaningless words. From the beginning, their relationship was doomed.

"Do you think you can defeat me with your pathetic skills? Director? That's not even funny. Always making wise judgments, but still foolish at times, you haven't changed, Alpeas."

The Powers of Darkness extending in the air merged back into fists. In response, Alpeas slowly raised both hands and prepared to cast his magic.

"No, this is the right thing to do. A foolish judgment is enough."

Alpeas compressed photons between his palms. Seeing the photon discharge that any light mage could cast, Arcane snorted disapprovingly.

"Do you think you can stop me with that? You've become weak, Alpeas."

"We won't know unless we try."

"Haha! Wasn't that the phrase you hated the most? You always said we had to know before trying it. Where has that Alpeas gone?"

"A mage lives in the future. Even though the times don't favor me, I'm not just aging. Do you think I couldn't calculate your 40 years?"

"Hoo. Did you foresee today? And all you prepared was a mere Photon Discharge?"

"Let's end this."

Alpeas raised both hands to the sky. Then, the compressed photons between his palms became smaller than dust. At the same time, Arcane brandished his fist. The enormous Power of Darkness spilled toward the ground. This would end him. It was a strike that spilled all the resentment of 40 years.

Shirone and his group watched the dark power falling at an incredible speed with a bewildered look. Seeing it up close, it was much larger than they had expected.

Alpeas' hands slowly fell. The movement of his arms flowed like water and began to split into dozens of secondary images. The eyes of the spectators filled with astonishment.

What is this?

The secondary image of Alpeas moved with terrible slowness. The photons compressed in his palm disappeared in an instant. Meanwhile, the Power of Darkness hadn't even reached halfway.

Shirone couldn't move even the tip of a finger. Breathing wasn't possible either. Time flowed slowly. Only a photon smaller than a speck of dust was moving at the speed of light.

The photon plunged into the immense darkness. The ripple that emerged like a wave slowly increased its amplitude, moving away as time slowed down.

And the next moment.

Flash!

A powerful explosion of light occurred that turned the world into a blank slate.

The Power of Darkness tore apart and dispersed. The glow that spread throughout the magic academy weakened from the center and disappeared in the form of a ring.

When time returned to normal, Shirone and his group looked at the sky with a puzzled expression. The pale moon floated in the night sky, devoid even of clouds.

What kind of magic is this?

It doesn't have physical strength like the Photon Cannon, nor durability like the Shine. It was magic designed to cause the strongest light explosion at the precise moment.

Arcane's expression distorted.

"Alpeas..."

"It's magic called Big Bang. It's too embarrassing to present to the association, but I believe it's enough for a farewell gift."

"Indeed... You haven't just been running away for 40 years."

Arcane realized what Alpeas intended. It wasn't magic developed to counter dark magic. Nor was it to surpass himself.

Alpeas had created the Big Bang for 40 years, considering only this moment and this situation.

"You did quite well, for you."

Arcane's knees rumbled and hit the ground. Due to the aftermath of Abyss Memory, his brain function was severely damaged.

"It must be nice, Alpeas. The 50-year bet has paid off. Your reputation will soar for having defeated an Archmage. Do you want to become an Archmage as you dreamed?"

Alpeas shook his head. Even at this moment, he is obsessed with superiority and inferiority. Knowing that he was the driving force behind the creation of the current Arcane, he only felt pity for him.

"The Master is no longer an Archmage. That was 50 years ago. It's enough time for a rank 10 novice to become a rank 2 Archmage. Our time has passed. The world has changed, and I am too old to be ambitious. How can't you know this?"

Arcane's temples throbbed with anger. Although he had been defeated, his years of experience were not so useless for his student to reprimand him.

"Who do you think you are, arrogant Alpeas? You must think that you've only had bad luck and that misfortune has caught up with you. I'll tell you the truth. You're not a genius. You're just a mediocre mage running away from misfortune."

Arcane gave strength to his trembling legs and stood up.

"Old? I was an Archmage at your age. Why not speak honestly? You lack confidence. Isn't it just an excuse because you can't climb higher?"

"It's not just about climbing. If you get older, you should have some introspection. But Master is no different from a boy who only pursues sweet ambition."

"Kekeke! Silly Alpeas! What are you so afraid of? Take a step back and look. There's no such thing as a divine mandate that orders how things should be in this world!"

A terrifying energy exploded again from Arcane's body. Realizing that his memory had been erased again with Abyss magic, Alpeas raised his eyes in surprise. The brain would withstand one Abyss Memory, but the second was death with an almost absolute probability.

"Foolish old man! Are you so determined to die?"

Arcane responded with a sneer and released the Power of Darkness. The shadow at his feet expanded enough to cover the ground, lifting the memoryless students into the air and carrying them toward the cliff.

This time, not even Alpeas could avoid being terrified.

"Enough! It's pointless slaughter! What the hell are you doing, you won't achieve anything!"

"The satisfaction of the victor remains."

"Nonsense! At your age, you still want to win! Do you think yourself a child forever?"

"You're the foolish one, Alpeas. Listen carefully."

In the last moment of his life, Arcane said with a confident smile.

"A mage... will always be a child."

Four hundred people held by the Power of Darkness were thrown off the cliff as if collecting water. Alpeas couldn't understand it. Wasting the mental power gained in exchange for his life on such stupidity.

"What drives you? What does such a ridiculous belief bring?"

Anyway, now wasn't the time to worry about Arcane. Alpeas, who poured all his energy into the Big Bang, quickly looked around and shouted.

"Save all the students!"

As he gave the instructions, Thad became a flash of light and flew out. Shirone followed him, and Neid and Eruki also teleported to the cliff. There were up to 400 people. However, they couldn't save them all. But even that thought was a luxury as the situation was desperate.

Thad descended to the middle of the cliff and created a wall of air with air magic. However, it had to be a wall of at least 50 square meters, so it had to be thin.

In the end, holes were made in the weak parts, and the students fell downwards.

"Eruki and Neid were below Thad. But it was already too late to reverse the situation. Tears welled up at seeing everyone falling, from small children to graduated adults.

"Damn it! Damn it, damn it!"

Eruki looked up at the blinking sight. The stars in the night sky flickered, and a flash of light descended vertically.

"Shirone!"

The flash even passed Eruki and continued downward. In Shirone's eyes, who was moving at an ultrarapid speed, a red-haired girl appeared.

"Amy!"

Upon hearing Shirone's voice, Amy turned her gaze. As it was an impossible reaction affected by Abyss Nova, Shirone shouted again with a glimpse of hope.

"Amy! Wake up!"

"Mind?"

Humans are thinking beings. It's harder not to think than to think. However, when affected by Abyss Nova, which blocks memory, the source of thought itself is not provided.

"Amy! Amy!"

Still, Amy could think.

Because she is Amy from the Karmis family.

"Amy! Come back to your senses!"

'It's annoying. Please, stop.'

"It's me! It's me, Shirone!"

"Shirone?

What did that mean? It was an unknown word. But Amy couldn't release the three syllables that kept tickling her brain.

'What? What is it? I'm very curious.'

Amy kept thinking. As electricity spread through her cerebral cortex, she started searching for information. Finally, a pattern flickered, and the meaning of Shirone rushed into her body.

'Ah, that's it. Shirone! It was Shirone.'

Amy took a deep breath as if believing she was dying of frustration. At the same time, her eyes burned red, and the ability of the red eyes activated. The Abyss Nova quickly burned away, and memories rushed in like a torrent.

What an idiot! What am I doing?

Her special trait was her red eyes. Academically, it's called self-image memory.

Members of the Karmis family can rewind their state to a specific moment when their red eyes manifest.

For example, it's possible to store the action of wielding a sword and repeat the same action infinitely without error. Also, as it involves an area of feeling like a Scheme, error correction was also immediate.

'An error once is the basis of progress, an error twice is the family's disgrace' was a saying that revealed her confidence.

What? What condition am I in now?'

Amy analyzed the errors on a neuronal level based on self-image memory. She was currently under the influence of accelerated gravity. The center of her body was tilted at 87.6 degrees, and her heartbeat was 1.6 times faster.

'I'm falling.'

There was no particular complaint about that. He could see Shirone descending in a flash of light. He remembered the things he had done to him. How could he forget Shirone?