Sage Breny Aketra (2)
"Focus. I'll teach you what magic really is."
The little dragon tilted her head at Riella's words.
"I already know."
She didn't need an explanation. She was already familiar with it.
"Then tell me what it is."
"It's that sparkly, flashy power!"
"Wrong."
Riella shook her head without a hint of hesitation.
"You don't know magic. All you can do is change your body."
"Is that so?"
"It is. Magic runs far deeper than you think."
Breny didn't really understand what that meant. Even so, she listened quietly. Riella only ever said the right things.
"First, try changing your appearance to look like mine."
"Like you, Riella?"
Breny thought it over for a moment, then took the form of a human girl.
"Like this?"
"Well done."
A gentle hand gave her cheek a light pinch. Even that single remaining eye held a deep well of affection. Riella was kind. She looked after her carefully and never said anything cruel — even if her face was often scrunched up like a villain's.
"But why do I have to change?"
"Our Magic Tower's system is built around the human body… no. I just like it better this way."
"You like it?"
A race that had to walk around on two legs. It felt a little awkward. She couldn't quite see what was supposed to be so great about it.
"From now on, you'll be going around looking like that a lot. You remember that dream you had a while ago?"
"Yeah. A really bright person said a bunch of stuff to me."
The rite of being named a Sage. To a hatchling who knew nothing of the world, it had been nothing more than a dream filled with sunlight.
"In a few months, you'll have to set out on a journey with the other children who dreamed the same dream."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you later. For now, just know that you have to get very, very good at using magic."
She was talking faster than usual, and her gaze wouldn't stay still. There was something hurried about her.
"Don't get distracted. Listen carefully."
Those words came back to her now. Breny recalled the process of manifesting magic that Riella had taught her. For reasons she couldn't fathom, the villain who had stolen Clitia's body simply stood there with his arms folded, waiting patiently.
I remember all of it!
Magic was a transaction with the world. You had to request what you wanted in the proper form. When she'd first heard that, she hadn't understood a word of it and had simply crammed it into her head. Even now, she didn't truly understand. But she had a rough sense of what she needed to do. Knowledge sprouted on its own, as naturally as breathing — as if a guide were walking ahead of her, pointing out the path.
It starts with imagination.
A rope appeared in the space inside her mind. Something to bind the villain with. She had to make sure he couldn't do anything bad. Wouldn't it be even better if he couldn't move at all? The rope grew thick, and long, and sturdy.
Next, the magic circle.
A transaction proposal held out to the world. You drew the magic you had imagined using pictures and letters. Mana was both the cost and the paint. The more you spent, the more powerful and vivid the magic that took shape.
Take it all!
Mana surged up from her heart, left her body, and painted a deep golden magic circle in the air. Straight lines shaped like a rope. A phrase that wished the enemy bound. Whether the design was simple or elaborate didn't matter. What counted was the content, not the appearance. The gold grew deeper still. The magic circle was complete.
"Not bad. You've got a talent for magic."
Breny ignored the villain's praise and moved on to the finishing step. Manifestation. She had to present the completed contract.
Beginners have to say the name of the spell.
Riella could bring magic into being with nothing more than a flick of her fingers, but that was beyond Breny.
"Bind-Tight Rope."
A thick rope burst from the magic circle and coiled around the villain's body, winding with the same sinister motion as a snake constricting its prey. In a mere few dozen seconds, a spell had been created — a sight that would have made an ordinary human mage foam at the mouth. It was the handiwork of a talent as deep as the sea.
"Excellent. I'll praise you, even though you're my enemy."
The villain remained perfectly composed, even bound. As if this much were nothing at all.
"You're finished now!"
"It is not yet time for you to be so confident."
An enormous presence crashed over her in that instant. Not mana — the raw force of physical power. Breny flinched and took a small step back.
"A paltry trick like this will never work on me!"
The rope burst apart with a great shout, so easily it was almost disappointing.
"Have you prepared yourself to die?"
Those blackened eyes were terrifying. Even so, Breny stood her ground and began preparing another spell. If she got scared and ran, Clitia would be in danger. That was something she would never allow.
"Clitia, just hold on a little longer!"
"I'll set you free with my magic!"
I swallowed the laugh that was about to burst out of me. That earnest little face was adorable. The composure I'd so carefully locked in place started to come undone. I pulled myself together and recited the lines Riella and I had prepared.
"Don't be absurd. Did you think I, Kbalt of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings, would fall to a child like you?!"
In truth, the real Kbalt of the Four Heavenly Kings hadn't been anything like this. A taciturn, cold-blooded assassin. A formidable opponent that Liam and I had barely managed to take down after a brutal fight. This much was a minor historical inaccuracy. History was a record that always got twisted a little to suit the victor's tastes, wasn't it?
"Hurting Hand."
In that brief span of time, another spell had already taken shape. A giant hand rose from the golden magic circle drawn on the floor and seized me.
"That's hardly any different from the rope spell."
I slipped free without any trouble and charged at Breny, who was being perfectly serious in her own way.
"I am invincible against anything that is not mental magic!"
I even dropped the hint right out in the open. Our innocent dragon didn't seem to notice anything odd about that — her face lit up as if she'd just found the answer.
"Stinging Sound."
Another newly created spell. Ultrasonic waves burst forth and tore at my ears.
"That is not mental magic — that is an attack on the sense of hearing!"
I drove a fist at that pretty face. Breny couldn't dodge in time. She hit the ground headfirst and went down.
"Hngh…"
Okay, that might have been too much. She got up quickly enough, but her face had crumpled like she was about to cry. What if she lost her nerve and gave up? I glanced over at Riella.
"Breny, don't give up!"
Quick on the uptake, she launched straight into the cheered-on-and-finding-her-strength sequence.
"Please save Clitia! You're our only hope!"
Was this actually going to work? The doubt had barely crossed my mind when Breny wiped away the tears that had started to well up and opened her eyes wide.
"Okay!"
Eyes burning with resolve. The way she was cheering while still sprawled on the ground looked a little unnatural, but it worked surprisingly well.
"You are a more formidable opponent than I thought."
I threw in another line to firm up her will a bit more.
"I don't want to hear your compliments."
Breny bared her anger, grinding her teeth, her voice dropping into a low and grave register.
"Sharp Dizziness. Chilling Itch. Tedious Darkness."
Three spells manifested at once. A kid who hadn't even been able to draw a magic circle a moment ago had already jumped to the advanced course. She really was a dragon built for magic. I hadn't expected the mental training to take effect this fast.
"Get away!"
Three differently formed spells came flying at me all at once. Unlike before, these were attacks aimed at the mind, and they were quite powerful for something thrown together in a hurry. My head throbbed. The world spun, and I could barely keep my balance.
"Interesting."
Still far from enough to bring me down, though. I stepped forward hard and drove my fist into that childish face. Breny rolled across the ground, then sprang back to her feet. Same sequence as before — but what followed was different. Far from crying, she was smiling. She didn't even seem to feel the pain as she drew another magic circle. The spells kept coming without a pause. My mind was being gnawed at, dulled, numbed. It was weaker than Riella's assault. But for a beginner who had only started using magic a little while ago, the power was unbelievable.
"Why will you not fall?!"
Another fist connected with her face. It had to hurt, but she got up with a dignity that didn't belong on a child and sent more magic flying. I was moved. She was genuinely throwing everything she had into beating me. If she was already like this, what would she become as she grew? How strong would she be fighting alongside the Hero?
My heart started to pound. This was the talent I'd been hoping for ever since I first heard her called a super genius — a capacity that vaulted clean over every limit. If it were up to me, I'd fight her until I was sick of it and wring out every last drop of her potential. Unfortunately, I had to wrap it up around here. Content for kids shouldn't drag on too long.
"Terrifying Wave."
The brightest, largest magic circle yet. It looked fitting as the attack to close things out. A golden wave surged toward me and crashed over me in a rough, glittering tide. Time for the villain to make his exit.
"To think that I, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, would lose to a brat like that…"
I trembled and dropped to my knees. Breny struck a triumphant pose.
"Get lost already!"
"Savor this while you can. I will return someday!"
A sequel hook to finish it off. One spectacularly cheesy play, brought to a successful close.
"…What happened?"
I played the part of someone coming back to her senses. Right on cue, Riella's magic — the spell that had been blackening my eyes — faded away.
"Clitia!"
Breny came running and threw her arms around me. I greeted her with a suitably bewildered look.
"Breny?"
"I beat the villain! I just shot magic at him and I won!"
A smile came naturally at the sight of that innocent joy.
"Thank you. You saved my life."
"Hehe. Did I do good?"
"You're my hero."
I locked eyes with Riella, who had quietly gotten up behind us. We gave each other a thumbs-up, celebrating a job well done.
"I can use magic really well now! It was super easy!"
"Keep practicing anyway."
That should be enough mental training. She'd learned magic, and she'd learned how to fight without giving up — a complete success. I sincerely hoped that as she worked as a Sage, she would grow into the kind of superior powerhouse only a dragon could become.
Back in the Tower Master's chambers, Riella sank into deep thought.
Easier to handle than I expected.
Clitia wanted to lose. She was prepared to do anything if it meant being defeated. She was broken, in some way — given to bizarre behavior that even the kindest description couldn't call normal. But she was a long way from an evil that needed to be destroyed. On the contrary, she had a kind heart. Kind enough to become friends with Breny in less than a day.
Which meant even the infamous title of Public Enemy could be erased. It would be a long road, but wasn't it worth trying? First, she needed to guide her toward doing good. All she had to do was use Clitia's particular tastes to steer her in the right direction.
I'll have her take down the other Public Enemies.
The so-called Clitia Image Rehabilitation Project. A plan for her precious friend was being quietly set in motion.