6. Let’s take a moment to clarify.
“Could it be that Morow ran away as soon as the soldiers were defeated?”
“This is his destination, isn’t it? Where else is he going to run to?”
“However, I haven’t heard any noise since a while ago.”
“Yeah, that is true. This castle is too quiet. There is no sign of people. It has nothing to do with me taking care of the soldiers, it seems to have been like this from the beginning. So I’m sure that’s what it is.”
“So it is true, the king and all of his vassals are by Morow…”
Celia had a terrified look on her face, but her footsteps were firm and steady. I intend to protect her no matter what happens, but nothing is absolute. Let’s make sure she protects herself as much as she can.
As soon as I broke down the heavy door and entered the throne room, I felt something uncomfortable. It was a feeling as if I had broken through something. At the same time, Celia had disappeared from my side.
A forced teleportation, huh? Let’s try to find out where she was sent based on the traces of magic remaining… Oh, it seems that she has been sent to the outside of the royal castle grounds. If that’s the case, there is no problem. Given enough time, she should be able to come back on her own.
“What a clever way to conceal a teleportation trap. A little too elaborate for an empty throne, don’t you think?”
“An empty throne, you say? Outrageous… I’m over here.”
An extravagant chair for the king to sit on, that placed on the steps. The owner was nowhere to be seen, but instead, a single man was waiting underneath. The thin, nervous-looking guy is already prepared to fight.
“So you are Morow.”
“Yeah. Who the heck are you?”
“Is that the reason you sent Celia away? You could have just talked to her as a former colleague.”
“Answer the question. No, at this point, it doesn’t matter who you are. However, I will definitely reveal how you are able to use ‘that power’.”
“That power?”
“It’s pointless to play the fool, I can sense your unusual magic power even from here. That is undoubtedly── the same power as mine!”
Bwoosh, a strong gush of wind blowing inside the room. It’s a magical wind. An artificial natural phenomenon caused by obtaining magic power from magic essence or as a result of magic manipulation. The stronger the power, the stronger the wind becomes. I could say that the wind power that makes my robe flutter is quite something.
“I see, now I am certainly sure of it── this is indeed Eidos’ magic power. As I thought, you could use it, too.”
The terrible misunderstanding Celia gave me. The assumption that ‘Eidos magic is something that is well known’ has just been overturned. I took several disciples and taught them the basics of magic, but all my disciples were children. Due to their ignorance as children, I assumed they wouldn’t know the difference between normal magic and Eidos magic, but at one point I thought they were already professional magicians (?). Even a certain Celia is not only unable to use Eidos magic, she doesn’t even know anything about it. If that is the case──
“Eidos…?”
Yes, just like this man who is tilting his head, it seems that people don’t even know about the Ideal Realm (Eidos) in the first place. Unless that’s the case, Celia wouldn’t have reacted like that…
“You’re a user of that magic, and yet you don’t even have a clue about Eidos… Well, perhaps because I gave it that name on my own, it is possible that it is known by a different name. But judging from your reaction, it seems like it’s not the case.”
“What the heck are you talking about?”
“Therefore, it’s Eidos, the Ideal realm. I am talking about the source of that magic power.”
How should I put it, this world is structured in two layers. Eidos completely envelops the existential world (Exiss), but it cannot be seen or touched. It’s just there. Magic power is what leaks out of the Eidos, which is made up of the magic essence. It is the source of the magic power that humans use. In other words, most of the time we generate the magic power again from the residue of magic power. This is quite an unexpected recycling.
One might wonder if it is possible to create magic again from the residue, but it is actually not a big deal. That simply means that the magic power of Eidos is in a completely different league. Because there is nothing but pure magic power in that place. Some are living creatures, others are plants and trees. There are also humans. Only two exist. All of those too are magic powers. It might be a little confusing, but that’s the kind of world Eidos is.
And so. You might have figured it out by now, but Eidos magic essentially involves directly utilizing Eidos’ magic power. Because it does not require the usual process of absorbing and converting magic essence, and because it uses the abundant magic power of Eidos, it is incomparably more dangerous than ordinary magic. Naturally, it becomes easier to accomplish what is usually difficult to accomplish with normal magic.
More than that, its greatest characteristic is that its destructive power is also orders of magnitude proportional to the quality and quantity of magic used.
“The Ideal Realm (Eidos) ──Is that where I was connected to!”
“You’re connected. Make no mistake, there is definitely a connection. But it’s not just that, don’t forget that each time you use Eidos’ magic, a hole opens up in the world. it’s a hole for allowing magic power to pass through. You should be careful. Otherwise, one day you will get swallowed by it.”
“That’s enough of your lofty theories. Why do you know so much about this power? I’m starting to get interested in who you really are… I’ll make you spill everything!”
“Hmm.”
The reason I used Eidos magic is not to stop the soldiers──more specifically, to use the magic power of Eidos──it was more of a message to Morow than a necessity to defeat him.
While it would make him more cautious, it would also make a lot of things clearer. That’s exactly what was happening, but I ended up making the other guy start his engine more than I had expected.
“Well, I suppose battles are inevitable…”
Without hesitation, he sends out dead soldiers (in the literal meaning of the word) to try to eliminate the intruders. It was a matter of course that this would happen as soon as I reached the throne room. Then there’s one thing I’m going to do.
Let’s get this one straight.
◇◇◇
Edea estimated that she would arrive ten minutes later, Celia, having once again rushed through the main gate and the deserted castle, returned to the throne room in less than half the time she expected. But in just that short period of time, everything was already over.
“That was fast, Celia. You’re are always quick to act.”
That’s supposed to be my line, Celia thought. Morow prostrated himself at Edea’s feet in the throne room── which did not seem to have been damaged at all── compared to the devastation in the hallway. He prostrated himself. It’s no wonder that, Celia doubted her own eyes before celebrating Edea’s safety.
“You won, did you?”
“As you can see. Hey, Morow.”
When the man was spoken to, he flinched in surprise and rubbed his forehead on the ground without raising his face as he responded.
“I have acted disrespectfully toward you, not knowing that you are the primordial witch. I offer you my deepest apologies…!”
“Just Edea is fine… See, this is how it goes. Before I introduced myself, he was still rebellious though. The moment he found out that I was called the primordial witch, this happened.”
That must be the case, Celia thought.
Regardless of one’s belief in the existence of the primordial witch, the mythical witch is a legendary figure, especially among magicians. Their mere presence is shocking enough, but to antagonize them without even realizing it is beyond unfortunate. Seeing how frightened Morow was, Celia felt ashamed for her own outrageous action of bringing the primordial witch to resolve her doubts.
However, Morow’s behavior is a bit strange. How can he be this frightened? I tried to confirm whether he had been subjected to some kind of horrible ordeal by Edea, but there were no noticeable injuries on him. On the contrary, his clothes are barely disheveled. He wouldn’t look like this if he fought and was defeated… Celia shook her head as she recalled the devastating magic that had reduced the soldiers to nothing.
In response to that, Edea gave me a nod.
“There are those who become cowardly when they are disadvantaged, but this guy isn’t one of those types, is he?”
“As far as I know, he is pretty confident.”
“Certainly he was like that at first. ──Hey, Morow. Could it be that you have some kind of connection with me? Not about today, but a long time ago. For example, when you were still a baby.”
The manner in which Edea spoke seemed very strange to Celia. It is also very specific, asking questions in a gentle tone of voice, as if talking to a baby. It was a way of asking that could only be possible without some kind of certainty.
With a swift motion, Morow raised his head from his prostrating position. There is a look full of delight on his face. Celia, who had never seen him look like that while working with him as a colleague, was left speechless.
“Oh, so you remember, Lady Primordial Witch! About me and my mother…”
“I knew it, there was a connection. You’re that baby who was on the verge of death back then.”
“Yes, I am Morow, the one who was saved by you.”
“Sorry, I didn’t remember your name. Even after hearing your name, it doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Please don’t apologize for such a thing, Lady Primordial Witch! Just the fact that you have not forgotten my mother, I am…!”
Morow has tears in the corners of his eyes, as if overwhelmed by emotion, while Edea tries to help him to his feet with a wry smile. Seeing this from the side, Celia couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
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