12. And Then There Was Another Disciple
Selene gingerly touched the corner of her eye, the way one might handle the rarest treasure in the world. Her world looked completely different now than it had before. Those eyes were reading the very weave of reality itself.
So this is... the world as seen through the Magic Wheel Eye.
She thought she understood what she had awakened, and why Sian had told her the eye had to awaken first. For a mage like her, this eye was so omniscient it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to call it the eye of a god.
"......"
Selene's gaze turned to the fissure that had opened before her. What had been nothing but a chaotic, overwhelming storm of mana mere moments ago was now squirming before her eyes in clearly defined shapes. From that place — a wound torn open in space itself — a sinister, powerful mana was pouring out in a horrific vortex, enough to turn her stomach.
That is dangerous.
Even having awakened the Magic Wheel Eye, the existence beyond the fissure was unmistakably dangerous. No — precisely because she had awakened, she realized just how dangerous it was. That it was something that must never, ever be allowed to cross over into this world.
There's still a chance.
She raised her mana. Her body refused to move at all, just as before — but within her new eyes, within irises dyed red, black jewels spun slowly, reading the flow of the world.
I was already inside its domain.
An existence that could manipulate the flow of mana as it pleased, simply by existing. Whatever waited beyond that rift was not human — it was something that transcended this world entirely. She read the flow of mana with the Magic Wheel Eye inside its domain, where mana twisted and warped as it flowed. Then, rather than fighting against that forcibly contorted current, she matched her own mana to it — and the mana that had refused to budge an inch began to move again.
Kugugugung...!
Perhaps it had sensed the danger. The fissure vibrated more erratically, and a pressure far worse than before bore down on Selene. Through the Magic Wheel Eye, she could see it clearly: the true form of that mana, condensing furiously as if intent on shattering her very existence.
But—
"Too late."
It had already ended the moment her eyes awakened. There was nothing that being could do to stop her now. She read the mana bearing down on her and twisted its flow, casting induced collapse. Ordinarily, such a technique was only barely possible between opponents of overwhelmingly different skill — but because she could read the flow with her own eyes, precise manipulation became possible.
And the result—
Foooom.
The mana that had surged toward her like a storm scattered into nothing more than a gentle breeze.
"Control."
At her word, the mana began to flow in reverse. Normally, closing a rift like that would have required weeks of preparation and a grand ritual. But now, with every flow of mana laid bare before her eyes, no such elaborate spell was necessary.
"Conversion."
The space that had belonged to the existence beyond the rift began to color over with Selene's own. The being tried to resist—
"Domination."
—and that resistance crumbled with ridiculous ease.
"Compression."
She clenched her fist as if for the final act.
Kudududuk!
A hideous sound rang out as the space itself warped and crumpled. Deep inside the compressing fissure, where a sliver still remained open—
-Ves......ah... still......not......yet....
A faint voice leaked through, and in the same instant the broken fissure snapped back to its original state.
Stillness settled all around. Believing she had survived the crisis, Selene—
"Khough."
—coughed up a mouthful of blood.
She had forced her eyes to awaken in a situation pushed to its absolute limit, and the moment they awakened, she had used that power to repel and turn away the invasion of a transcendent being. It would have been stranger if her body were in one piece.
She looked toward Estel. She's... alive. Thank goodness.
Her thoughts would go no further. Her eyes throbbed and a leaden heaviness was closing over her. And just as she tried to close her eyes—
"......?"
She heard someone's voice. The one voice she wanted to hear most in that moment. Through her fading consciousness, she turned toward the sound. Looking at Sian as he approached her, she murmured, barely above a whisper:
"I... I did it, Transcendent One."
Selene forced out only those words, then surrendered herself entirely to a deep sleep.
.
.
.
And Sian, who had witnessed the whole scene—
"No, seriously, what the hell is going on here?"
—sighed, letting his bag of herbs droop from his shoulder. He'd gone out planning to gather some herbs for the first time in a while, and when he heard what sounded like an explosion, he'd come running to find this. A magic circle sketched into the ground around them, Estel collapsed in the distance, and Selene coughing up blood before passing out. It was a full-blown circus.
"You two have really gone and made a mess of things, running magic experiments behind someone's house."
This was the outskirts of the village — by distance, the empty lot directly behind Sian's own home. And they'd been conducting unauthorized experiments right there. What if someone had happened to pass by and been blasted to death by a stray spell?
"Sheesh."
It was infuriating, but he couldn't exactly leave a noblewoman lying there like this. He hoisted both of them onto his back and set off for the village chief's house, when—
"Whoa! Teacher knocked out two nobles!"
"No I didn't, you brats."
The village kids came swarming over, crowding around and chattering away. The villagers, for their part, took one look at the scene, went white as sheets, and quickly made themselves scarce.
...Honestly, I probably would've done the same.
Unless you'd witnessed it yourself, you'd play dumb too. A noble lord suddenly coughing up blood and collapsing in the village — it wouldn't have been strange at all for a knight order to show up out of nowhere and declare there was a plague and order the place burned.
...Maybe I really should move to a different village.
He'd spent several peaceful years living in this one, but judging by recent events, something felt off. He'd grown fairly attached to the villagers, but they seemed to be getting more and more wary of him.
It's not like I'm short on candidates.
Back in his adventurer days, he'd traveled far and wide scouting out which village to settle in. He'd chosen this one because it was the most peaceful of them all — but if things kept going like this, maybe it'd be easier on his nerves to just go hunt goblins on a regular basis instead.
"Come to think of it..."
When Sian had found Selene, he thought he'd seen her mutter something at him. And the look on her face had definitely been one of accomplishment.
...No way.
Sian suddenly remembered the assignment he'd given her. But he quickly shook his head.
Nah, no way.
How was anyone supposed to awaken eyes that didn't even exist? That was what he thought. But—
"......There's no way, right?"
A sense of foreboding crept over him. He remembered feeling this exact same feeling not long ago.
The truly ominous part is...
That lately, this ominous feeling had an annoying tendency to be right.
So time passed, and Selene woke up. The first words out of her mouth the moment she rose were—
"I... as you instructed, I have awakened the Magic Wheel Eye!"
Of course. His premonition never missed.
And—
...She actually did it?
—that was the expression Sian was making. Selene saw his stunned face and chuckled.
Even the Transcendent One didn't expect me to awaken this quickly.
Selene giggled like a child. She felt a deep satisfaction at having managed to surprise even Sian, a transcendent being. The assumption that Sian = ordinary person had long since vanished from her mind. From Elina and Tiana onward — all the knowledge he possessed, the way he'd triggered her own awakening — there was no way he could be an ordinary man. His surprise simply meant she had exceeded even his predictions.
And when Sian finally came to his senses, only one thought filled his mind.
I am so thoroughly screwed.
He had said he'd take her on as a disciple if she awakened the eye — but what exactly was he supposed to teach her?
Ninjutsu, or whatever it's called...
He didn't know the first thing about hand signs, let alone chakra. He'd enjoyed the manga well enough, but he'd never known it in that much detail. He was the type who'd read the whole thing casually and gone, "huh, that was fun," and moved on with his life.
"Transcendent One — no. May I call you Teacher now?"
"...Y-yes. Sure."
For now, he had to agree and buy himself time. Otherwise, he had a feeling he'd end up reduced to ash by real magic, or hauled off to the Count's estate to meet a guillotine. As he was agonizing over what to do—
"Much as I would like to receive your teachings this very instant... might I return to my family home for a short while?"
—she was the one asking him for time.
"Huh?"
Sian mumbled, dumbfounded by the unexpected windfall. Given that maddening display she'd put on last time, he'd assumed she'd demand to be taught on the spot.
"What happened this time made me truly understand how terrifying a power the rift is — and its true nature."
Well, yeah, I'd imagine so. You were bragging about how well things were going and then had a magic accident.
Sian was still rock-solid convinced that Selene had injured herself in a magical mishap. It made sense — what else could possibly hurt her like that in a place where not even a monster showed up?
"My family is researching the rifts as well, so I believe I need to warn them about this incident."
However obsessed with magic she might be, now that she knew the rift was a bomb that could summon something capable of ending the world, she wasn't about to leave it alone. If it ever got loose, there would truly be no containing it.
The Transcendent One could stop it if it came to that...
But it wouldn't do to burden him with the inconvenience. As Selene was thinking this, a sudden question occurred to her: what if she looked at Sian through the eye she had just awakened? Would he be an existence radiating the terror of the abyss, like that being? Or something sacred, like a god?
Curiosity got the better of her, and she activated the Magic Wheel Eye and looked at Sian — but even through her awakened eyes, he appeared as nothing more than an ordinary human.
I knew it...
Yet somehow, she found herself nodding along, feeling it made perfect sense. In Selene's estimation, Sian was one of the most powerful among transcendent beings. Perhaps he was a god from the mythical age of the distant past — the kind whose name alone would tell you everything. For such an existence to live disguised as an ordinary human, there was no way a nobody like her could see through it.
This is only the natural result.
And so she felt no doubt at all. If anything, she simply steeled her resolve to train harder, so that one day she might behold his true form.
"Right, well — if that's the situation, off you go."
For his part, with her saying she'd be gone even briefly, he had every reason to welcome it.
I'd better use this time to come up with a plan.
While Sian was thinking that, Estel also came to her senses and got up. Seeing Selene's injuries, she flew into a panic and moved to interrogate Sian — but her mistress's intervention left her no choice but to stand down.
"Then, I shall depart at once."
"...Right now?"
You just woke up? Even if she could move, she was injured all over. He opened his mouth to object, then looked at the fire burning in Selene's eyes and decided to say nothing. Her face made it abundantly clear that nothing he said would get through.
I must reach my family's estate as quickly as possible, then return and learn everything I can.
Had Sian known this, he would have told her to rest until she was fully healed. But since she said she'd simply pay for treatment at the temple on the way, he had no grounds to stop her.
And so the two of them set off for House Vesperia. The moment they were outside the village, Selene seemed to remember something and spoke to Estel.
"Estel. About this whole thing. I'm sorry."
"...Pardon?"
"I pushed you to hurry, and you got hurt. This was my fault."
"N-no, my lady! I'm perfectly fine — there's no need to apologize!"
Estel was flustered, yet her face was full of emotion. Selene was a genius, but she was equally arrogant — or, to put it kindly, overflowing with confidence. She had never once failed or made a mistake, so in all Estel's long years serving at her side, she had never heard her admit to being wrong. And now that mistress of hers was not only admitting fault out loud, but apologizing for it.
You've grown so much, my lady...
Like a proud parent, Estel watched Selene's growth with swelling emotion. But that emotion—
"I suppose I should conduct myself with a little humility for the time being."
—turned to confusion at the words that followed.
"...For the time being, my lady?"
"I've realized now that I was a frog in a well. But once I've learned from my teacher, that won't be true anymore, will it?"
Her teacher had been astonished by her awakening — so surely, once she studied under him, she would leave the founding ancestor Aman Vesperia far behind without breaking a sweat.
"At that point, I'll have earned the right to be arrogant again, won't I?"
"......"
It didn't exactly sound wrong, so Estel found herself with nothing to say.