Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Translator: Penny
Episode 17: Because I'm the Strongest
Episode 17: Because I'm the Strongest
Psychokinesis fundamentally comprises two forces: attraction, which pulls objects together, and repulsion, which pushes them apart. Gravity, universal gravitation, and other similar terms are simply different names for these two fundamental forces.
In essence, by mastering psychokinesis, one could create the translucent energy blocks I demonstrated earlier, unleash massive energy beams, or even conjure portals capable of traversing space.
There's a theory that tracing the origins of most supernatural abilities leads back to psychokinesis.
Yet despite its legendary status as the root of all supernatural powers, psychokinesis is often overlooked. When asked why, the most common answer is simply, "It's not cool."
It's true, the Psychokinesis skill tree isn't very popular when leveling up characters.
A typical ability with a high floor but a low ceiling—decent but unremarkable.
However, there's a way to push Psychokinesis to its full potential.
By combining Attraction and Repulsion—forces as fundamentally incompatible as the north and south poles of a magnet.
I would forcibly merge these two mutually exclusive forces using the overwhelming mana contained within the fragment of Mephisto implanted in my eye.
Naturally, with two opposing forces bound together by such immense mana... the moment this precarious balance shatters, an enormous burst of energy will be released. This could finally grant Psychokinesis the raw power it has always lacked.
*KWA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-
The white and black spheres merged perfectly, completing the Ash Sphere.
It resembled a technique used by a blindfolded man in a certain manga—the one who gets sliced in half and dies despite his mastery of domain expansion... but let's not dwell on the details.
Void.
Yun Se-a's ultimate attack from our boss battle.
To recruit Yun Se-a as a heroine, I must have died countless times from that attack, retrying until I lost count. The memories still feel fresh.
It took quite a while to prepare, perhaps because I still didn't fully understand Yun Se-a...
But with Shena's movements completely restricted by the Demonic Eye of Suggestion, it doesn't matter.
Right. Instead of fighting Eve, why didn't you just enter the Gates, kill me, and retrieve Mephisto's remains?
The only downside is... I probably won't find any clues in Shena's remains to enhance my Demonic Eye of Suggestion.
But what can I do? If I get greedy, I'll end up dead. I need to cut my losses quickly.
It's been a while since I used this magic.
The mana consumption is considerable, but... it's worth every drop. Thanks to Mephisto's remains, my mana reserves have reached near-limitless levels. It's best to completely eliminate this Shena variable while I have the chance.
The Void would probably suffice, but... I don't want to create any unnecessary flags.
These are the kind of enemies who could resurrect at any moment if someone asks, "Is she gone?" I need to use every means at my disposal to burn the life out of this loathsome Demon.
First, I levitated the Ash Sphere I had created into the air. Then, I drew deeply on the Mana within my body, amplifying my magical power to its maximum.
Remaining time... about 10 seconds. Tight, but I can manage.
In an instant, a night sky as dark as the cosmos began to unfold.
"Shining stars, paint your beautiful forms across the heavens!"
As I declared this, white lines began to emerge from the darkness, radiating outward from me like the game board of a constellation-drawing game.
"Th-that's... How did you learn that technique?!"
How? I used it as casually as eating while progressing through the story. I know it well.
Constellation Magic.
To learn Constellation Magic, you had to enter an ancient ruin during the third-year episode where you travel to Europe. Inside, you could acquire a magic book containing the spell.
Constellation Magic is a specialized type of magic that draws power from the stars, making it particularly effective against monsters, especially Demons.
However, the Demon-related episodes conclude around the second year of the game.
After all, the final boss battle against Mephisto is a late second-year event.
The third year functions more like DLC, focusing on raising the heroines' affection levels and exploring the world through travel. By the time players acquire Constellation Magic in their third year, there's hardly any practical use for it.
After defeating the final boss, why would anyone bother using Constellation Magic to hunt down Demons? It's far more efficient to focus on mastering other spells during that time.
So, is Constellation Magic truly a useless, burdensome spell? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
This is because Constellation Magic possesses a critical flaw.
'Theoretically, if you can draw the constellation for Constellation Magic yourself, you can use it even with F-Rank Mana.'
Of course, to draw the constellation stably, you need at least A+ Mana.
Even if you somehow manage to draw the constellation, it's still a one-time-use spell unless you've formally mastered Constellation Magic. Even the protagonist, a third-year student with S+ Mana, can't use Constellation Magic consecutively without proper training.
Still, many players memorized the constellations beforehand because they granted access to useful skills that drastically reduced the game's difficulty.
It was well-known that the difficulty difference between players who could use Constellation Magic in the final boss battle and those who couldn't was literally as vast as the heavens and the earth.
"I memorized the Big Dipper because it's rumored to be the easiest to draw and the most effective constellation for the time spent."
But the Big Dipper alone wasn't enough.
As a veteran player with dozens, even hundreds, of playthroughs under my belt, I knew this all too well.
That's why I remembered focusing with even greater intensity than when studying for the college entrance exam, immersing myself in drawing an astronomical number of constellations.
"My family, seeing four boxes of A4 paper (about 1,000 sheets) completely covered in constellation drawings, joked, 'Are you trying to get a job at an observatory?' If I'd put that much effort into studying, I might have actually become an astronomer..."
In the Full-Dive Game, activating Constellation Magic required players to directly draw the desired constellation in the sky using their own mana—one of the most demanding activation conditions in the game. However, having drawn countless constellations over the years, I could deploy them even with C- to B-Rank mana levels.
Of course, since it's a makeshift Constellation Magic, using it often leaves me with severe internal injuries... and it can't unleash its full potential. That's why I focused on rapidly increasing my mana capacity instead.
Now that my mana is overflowing at S+ Rank, it's time to do things properly.
Among the hundreds, even thousands, of Constellation Magic spells, certain constellations possess particularly potent effects.
For example, there's Ursa Major, an upgraded version of the Big Dipper I mentioned earlier, or Orion, or the Twelve Zodiacs—all iconic constellations.
Among these constellations, the one I would use today was Sagittarius, which possessed the "Infallible Hit" effect—a power that defied providence and the laws of physics, guaranteeing that every shot would strike its target.
"Great Archer Sagittarius, who shoots down stars, grant me the power to pierce the origin of all enemies."
Fwoooosh!
On the blank white line where nothing had existed before, purple dots began to form, connecting to create a line.
"N-no...!! My body... it won't move?!"
"I told you not to move, Shena."
The completed constellation gradually transformed into the figure of an archer, drawing back the string of a massive bow and aiming it at Shena.
The obvious target for Sagittarius's effect is the Void.
The Ash Sphere slowly began to rise toward the drawn bowstring of Sagittarius.
Ziiiiing!
"Aaaaaaaah! I, Shena, one of the seven greatest Demons, am being defeated?!"
"You just picked the wrong opponent. Anyone who uses this magic against Demons like you... is the strongest."
The energy that had been a sphere had long since transformed into an arrow.
The arrow, nocked on Sagittarius' bowstring, was aimed precisely at Shena's heart—or, more accurately, at her 'source'.
"N-no, it can't end like this! H-hey, tell me what you want! I can give you everything! Just... just spare me, please..."
"Then die!"
"Nooooooooooo!"
The Void arrow, imbued with Sagittarius' Infallible Hit power, shot through the air.
"What do you mean 'no'?"
Snap!
With a light flick of the finger...
KABOOM!
The ashen arrow, literally erasing space, began to devour Shena.
Thud!
"...Shena would have wanted to have dinner with her family—if they're still alive—after this fight. She probably dreamed of traveling the world. She even shouted that she wouldn't die in a place like this, so she must be hiding somewhere, clinging to life."
Perfect. I've planted the death flag with absolute certainty.
Gulp
"Ugh..."
Damn it! I got carried away drawing Sagittarius for the first time in ages and used my power for a bit longer than 20 seconds. My body is even more unresponsive than I imagined...
"Ugh... Uwaaaah!"
From deep within my body, black masses began to erupt, likely a side effect of using Mephisto's remnants.
After vomiting for what felt like an eternity, I stumbled toward Eve, who lay collapsed nearby. Thankfully, I could see her chest rising and falling—she was still breathing.
For now, I managed to block it.
With that, I confirmed Eve's condition. Suddenly, my eyelids grew heavy.
"I can't collapse here..."
Thud!
Through my struggling eyes, I saw my fingers, drained of life, turning pale.
Mana exhaustion? Using it for more than 20 seconds consumes far more mana than I thought...
No wonder. I had used Constellation Magic in an unfamiliar place, with almost no practice.
Drawing Sagittarius, which grants the Infallible Hit effect, was undoubtedly one of the most difficult Constellation Magic spells. I must have made a mistake while drawing the constellation.
By the time the protagonist becomes a second-year student, I'll be a third-year...
If I become a third-year, I should go to Europe immediately and formally learn Constellation Magic.
Through my blurring vision, an A-Rank Monster charged at me, aiming for my neck.
...Ah, I don't even have the strength to move.
I wondered how long I could hold out with the regenerative effect of Recovery (S), but only for a fleeting moment.
Swoosh!
The A-Rank Monster lunging at me was instantly sliced in half.
"...Hey, kid! Are you alright?!"
...Thank goodness Eve contacted them.
As soon as I recognized the voice, I relaxed and closed my eyes.