Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: I Didn't Hear It
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"Twins of Light, Black Ring, Envy, Devour, Darkness, Abyss."
"Isia! Are you okay?!"
Raphael shook the muttering Isia wildly, but she didn't budge an inch. Her unfocused eyes just kept murmuring something nonstop.
Raphael figured the shock from being sent flying earlier must have damaged her brain. But the truth was something else entirely.
She was concentrating. No, hyper-focused—intensely locked in.
Right now, nothing around her was registering in Isia's mind at all.
Only one thing was getting through: the formula structure and chant of the five-verse incantation 「Black Ring」. The reason was simple.
She had figured it out. The truth.
It started with self-loathing. Why am I so weak?
If it had been Lee Seong-hoon or Sophia here instead of me, could Raphael have avoided getting hurt?—that kind of self-hatred.
Of course, the old Isia would have fought for Raphael too. She'd have said something like, "Fighting for the weak is what heroes do, right!"
But the current Isia was different. The reason for protecting Raphael had shifted just a bit.
—Who else will believe in our maid if not me?
—I can win. I've seen what she can do plenty of times.
—You can even withstand a ten-verse chant!
She couldn't even pull off a ten-verse chant. She was weaker than Lucy Violet. All she ever did was play support for Lee Seong-hoon and get treated like a fool.
When it mattered, she just watched from the sidelines or got rescued. She was so incompetent she despised herself for it.
And yet Lee Seong-hoon believed in her. As if it were the most natural thing. As if she could do it if she tried.
Why? If she voiced the question filling her head, there'd only be one answer.
—Because you can.
That's why she wanted to prove him right. Isia had never experienced true expectation before.
As a kid, she'd been called a genius, but from some point on, she'd never beaten Lucy Violet even once.
Her father was a good man, no doubt. He treated her well, but he was stingy with praise.
Lee Seong-hoon's words had been like rain in a drought.
That's why she'd managed to hold the barrier in the ranking match all day. That's why she'd thrown herself at Sylvia for Raphael.
All of it because she didn't want to betray his expectations.
However.
—Tricks only work against equals.
—Boring. Why are all mages so one-dimensional?
She'd lost. Without landing a single scratch. Now she was slammed into the wall, head first.
The old Isia would have given up here. But not this one. She thought:
'Tricks won't work. So how can I win?'
A way to win. A way not to give up.
—Don't get into a mana fight. That was 「Parallel Chant」 and 「Chant Cancellation」. If you can't, then listen to my tricks.
'「Parallel Chant」 and 「Chant Cancellation」.'
If tricks failed, go straight at it. She couldn't chant. It'd get crushed instantly. So only 「Chant Cancellation」 remained.
Isia recalled what Sophia had told her.
—Hmm~ I don't know much. I have 「Chant Cancellation」 as a skill, but not 「Parallel Chant」.
—If old stories from someone I know are fine, I can tell you.
—They said don't trust the formula. It seems perfect, but it's not. Keep questioning it endlessly—that's the key? What's with that confused look? Yeah, I don't get it either.
It didn't make sense. Still didn't. But she had to understand.
'Doubt the formula.'
The formula and the chant.
Essential steps to manifest magic.
But 「Chant Cancellation」 skipped them entirely, producing only the result. Ignoring the laws of causality.
If that's possible, why chant at all?
Why?
That single word snapped Isia's eyes open. They'd been closed against the wall, but now they stared at nothing.
Why.
The ripple from that one question was massive. Her thoughts accelerated like she'd been struck in the back of the head.
Why? Why need a chant? Why chant on top of the formula?
What did the chant do? Was the formula's role not enough? Why?
Questions spawned more questions. Answers birthed new doubts. In that endless chain, Isia's lips moved too.
"Black Ring, Abyss, Darkness, Formula, Three Strokes, Twins of Light, O Darkness."
It didn't stop.
In her mind, formulas drew themselves—not through a magic circle, but the magic itself, vast and precise.
Doubts birthed formulas. She didn't know the principle. Her nonstop thinking conjured one unbidden.
And she understood.
What is a chant? What is a formula?
Enlightenment always starts small.
And that small thing was always one.
Doubt. Why?
Someone saw an apple fall and questioned.
Someone doubted the earth was flat.
That's how it works. A tiny doubt creates ripples, and when those grow uncontrollable...
Enlightenment dawns.
Formulas filled her mind, and when she grasped them fully, something new entered Isia's vision.
It was nothing special. Trivial compared to her revelation—
Exactly.
Skills.
The three supernatural abilities granted to humanity with mana’s emergence. Unknown powers, still shrouded in mystery.
They don't consume magic power or demand any cost. They just appear one day and stay for life, identity unknown.
Of course, plenty tried researching them. But even with everyone piling on, discoveries were few.
One thing was certain.
The only situations for acquiring the three skills. Funny that so many people boiled it down to just that, but
for Isia, it was enough to understand her situation.
Skill acquisition triggers.
Birth, crisis, growth. So why had the blue window popped up now?
Simple: the [Skill] system recognized her growth.
It made her a little happy, but that wasn't important now.
How long was I thinking?
No idea. Subjectively, eternities had passed in nonstop thought. As she tried to sit up and look around in surprise—
"Huh? Isia? Why'd you stop muttering all of a sudden!! Is she dead?! She's not dying, right?! Seong-hoon! You killed her!!"
Shake shake shake
In her wildly shaking vision, Isia grabbed Raphael's hand. Only then did Raphael go "Eh?" as their eyes met.
"I-I'm f-f-f-f-f-fine, s-s-so s-s-stop."
Raphael had shaken her so hard her words trembled. Isia gripped her arm hard, channeling her desire to die, forcing her to stop.
"You sure you're okay? You were muttering weird stuff earlier!"
"Yeah. That's what made me okay. More importantly, how long was I out? Felt like forever."
"30 seconds."
"?"
"30 seconds. You muttered for about 30 seconds."
Lies. Felt like at least three hours of pure thought. And yet only 30 seconds? She was inwardly shocked but relieved.
That's why Raphael's fine. Isia sprang up and scanned around. 30 seconds meant that Sylvia woman was still nearby.
As she looked with that in mind, something unbelievable caught her eye.
A man facing Sylvia. Black-haired. Wearing a weird skull mask and black robe, but Isia knew instantly who it was.
'He came to save us again?'
How many times now? Since meeting Lee Seong-hoon, how many rescues? Staring at him, Isia felt sorry and grateful at once.
A strange relief too, but now it was her turn. She could beat that woman now.
As she walked to help Lee Seong-hoon with that thought, she heard something odd.
"See? We're destined. Didn't know you'd think of me that much."
"Hey. I think you've misunderstood. That's not what I—"
"What? You want me to bite you so we can be together forever? Got it. I'm nervous too—first time sucking blood with consent. Don't worry, I'm a rich girl."
"You crazy bitch! Listen to me!!"
"Eek. Even swearing for me!!"
"....."
Isia closely watched their exchange from the voices. A woman twisting her body—hair now similar to Isia's—teasing a flustered, stammering Lee Seong-hoon.
Hearts popping, surroundings dyed pink. Seeing that scene, something welled up in Isia's chest.
Surge—
Her brows furrowed at the sudden emotion. Narrowed eyes observed Lee Seong-hoon and Sylvia, then she raised her hand.
Boom—!!!!
A massive pillar erupted with a thunderous roar, splitting the space between them. The pink haze vanished, and their gazes turned to Isia.
"Some of us were fighting for our lives... and others were trying to flirt with the enemy...?"
Rrrrrumble.
A dark aura enveloped her. It looked like an illusion, but no—her darkness-attribute magic power was truly cloaking her body.
"W-Wait!! Isia, there's a misunderstanding! She said all that crap on her own! You heard our talk just now, right? Right?! Please say you did—!!!"
"I didn't hear it."
She smiled brightly. Lee Seong-hoon, pale-faced, tried explaining, but nothing got through to her.
She didn't know why she felt so bad, but she did.
She'd just glimpsed magical truth, felt like flying—now plummeted to rock bottom.
Veins throbbed on her forehead, eyes smiled, but her mouth didn't.
"Karma, huh? Let's leave 'em be? Seong-hoon~ Isia says handle your escape yourself~"
"What? Hold on!! Don't say that. Isia. Let's fight together? Yeah?! Please!! Aaaah!! She's coming!! She's coming!! I got holy water! Stay back?! I'll throw it!!"
"Says no interference. Just us two now. Nothing to interrupt. Getting shy now?"
Nooo—!!! Isia smirked as Lee Seong-hoon screamed and fled.
"You really won't help?"
She shook her head at Raphael's question. As if.
Right now, Isia felt like she could beat anything.