Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Why?
Why did hearing that voice fill him with a sense of relief he couldn’t understand?
“Keep your eyes wide open and watch.”
Ban raised his hand.
“I’m about to show you a new horizon.”
At that very moment, FWOOOOSH!!! A colossal star rose amid a radiant blaze.
‘A magic circle?’
It was the Sealing Formation that had been holding the Evil Spirit Lord in place!
‘How? Could it be Formation Interference?’
Cal stared at him in disbelief.
A Magic Circle worked by physically fixing Mana Stars in place, then activating them with an internal power source.
It was stable, but extremely difficult to interfere with from the outside.
And all the more so if it was a high-level Magic Circle powerful enough to restrain the Evil Spirit Lord.
Yet Ban was accomplishing that impossible feat with an unruffled expression.
And that wasn’t all.
“Now vanish, you wretched specter.”
Along with that arrogant command—
Rumble.
The stars in the Magic Circle shuddered.
Their nature changed.
Not mere ‘binding,’ but ‘destruction.’
‘Formation Transformation!!’
Cal’s eyes widened until they seemed ready to split.
To go beyond interfering with the Formation and actually change it—
There was no need to say how difficult that was.
‘What? Am I seeing things?’
But it wasn’t an illusion.
The Magic Circle, transformed into a destructive force, began tearing the Evil Spirit Lord to pieces.
-KRAAAAAA!!!
The Evil Spirit Lord screamed, but it was no use.
Like a trap closing around a beast and cutting off its breath, the Magic Circle destroyed the Evil Spirit Lord’s core.
‘Th-that’s impossible.’
Through his vision, growing hazy from mana depletion, Cal looked at Ban.
Ban was exactly as he had been before.
There wasn’t even the slightest hint of unsteadiness in him—nothing to suggest that he was performing an unbelievable miracle.
And yet, his very composure seemed to declare that all of this was real.
-You’ll come to respect this older brother of yours.
Those words were the last thing to pass through Cal’s mind before he lost consciousness.
‘That was almost a disaster.’
My heart was pounding like crazy.
‘So much for a 90.3% chance of winning. I nearly failed!’
There were two ways to defeat the Evil Spirit Lord.
The first was to beat it with brute force.
That was nearly impossible.
The more common method was what I’d just done: manipulate and transform the Magic Circle to destroy its core.
‘This Magic Circle was originally created to destroy the Evil Spirit Lord’s core. It failed, and became a Sealing Formation instead.’
That was why you needed at least three mage-class protagonists gathered together to clear it.
I’d thought the Grandmaster of Magic skill would make it possible, but I immediately ran into a roadblock.
‘I can’t make sense of the spellwork at all.’
Of course I couldn’t.
My accumulated knowledge of magic was only around the Third Star Rank.
Meanwhile, this Magic Circle had been created through the combined efforts of Eighth Star Rank archmages. There was no way I could know what kind of spellwork they’d used.
‘Shit. What do I do? Should I run?’
But I shook my head.
‘No. I can’t give up.’
If I ran, I’d have no way to obtain mana.
I wouldn’t be able to win the Duel with the Duke, either, and there was a good chance I’d be forced into the military or some government position.
‘For the sake of my cushy future, I’m going to win this no matter what!’
The one saving grace was Cal.
I was using him as a human shield while I desperately tried to figure out a way through—
That was when things began to change.
‘…I can see the structure of the Magic Circle.’
I still couldn’t tell what kind of magical spellwork had been used.
That was a matter of ‘knowledge.’
Even so—
‘…I think I can get a rough idea of what role each star plays.’
-I see through the essence of magic!
Once again, I realized just how broken the Grandmaster of Magic trait was.
‘But how do I turn it into a destructive spell?’
I didn’t know.
But—
‘It feels like this will work.’
It wasn’t a conclusion I’d reached through knowledge.
It was more like animal instinct.
‘…Can I really do it?’
I had no confidence at all.
But I had to try.
“Keep your eyes wide open and watch. I’m about to show you a new horizon.”
With the Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma putting on a ridiculous show, I somehow managed to make the Evil Spirit Lord disappear!
‘…Is it really over?’
It seemed to be.
A message appeared.
-Hidden Piece ‘Defeat of the Evil Spirit Lord’ achieved!
-You have received a reward!
-You have acquired the scattered ‘Mana’!
‘Yes!’
I silently let out a cheer.
The Evil Spirit Lord was an Astral Body made of mana, with no physical form.
Defeating it could yield mana on par with a decent magical elixir.
It was an amount comparable to what a mage could obtain by accumulating mana for ten years.
‘Of course, with my Mana Insensitivity, I can’t expect that kind of effect.’
As I’d explained earlier, my absorption rate was about one hundredth that of a mage’s.
The mana I’d just obtained amounted to barely more than a month’s worth—not ten years’ worth.
‘Even this much is an enormous amount for me.’
It was about half of what an ordinary First-star apprentice mage had.
You might say, ‘That’s all?’ but to me, it meant a great deal.
-You have obtained the title ‘Slayer of the Evil Spirit Lord’!
-The Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma has grown even more powerful!
I looked reluctant.
I already had charisma more than enough to spare, so this reward was useless to me.
‘Aaaah. Let’s go inside and rest now. Good work.’
But there was something I’d forgotten.
“You… What the hell did you do?”
A voice filled with chilling fury.
A middle-aged man with eyes as sharp as blades appeared, glaring at me as if he meant to kill me.
It was the Duke!
“You’ve arrived, Father. As you can see, Cal broke the Evil Spirit Lord’s Sealing Formation, and so I—”
Halfway through, I suddenly realized something.
‘Will the Duke even believe me?’
The one witness who should have been able to back me up, Cal, was unconscious.
Because of mana depletion, he wouldn’t regain consciousness for at least two or three days.
Just as I’d expected.
“Shut up!! You defeated the Evil Spirit Lord?! If you’re going to lie, at least tell a lie anyone might believe! How can you be so utterly beyond help?!”
The duke shouted, his face flushed bright red.
He seemed to think I’d caused the trouble and Cal had cleaned up after me.
It was an understandable reaction.
It would be best to let this go without making too much of it, but…
If I waited patiently until Cal woke up, the matter would sort itself out in due course. But I shook my head.
I’d thought of a way to gain something from this.
As it happened, in response to the duke’s persecution, Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma came to my aid.
“Father, I clearly told you that I defeated the Evil Spirit Lord.”
“What…?!”
“If I’m right, what will you do?”
“!!”
The duke flinched.
“The Ecclesia family is a house of justice and integrity. Even you, Father, must take responsibility for it if you’ve persecuted me unjustly, don’t you think?”
The duke’s brow furrowed sharply.
He looked as if he were wondering whether I’d eaten something strange.
“If I win the Duel, you’ll apologize for having misunderstood me all this time, and you’ll grant one request of mine.”
“Ha!!”
The duke let out an incredulous laugh.
“Fine! It’ll be as you say. But remember this: the Duel will take place first thing tomorrow. If you fail to prove your words, you’ll be expelled from the family on the spot.”
I nodded.
“May I say one more thing? It’s advice for the sake of your honor, Father.”
“What?”
“At the Duel, it would be best to keep the number of spectators to a minimum. The fewer people there are to witness the shame you’ll suffer, the better.”
“!!”
The duke clenched his teeth.
Under his murderous glare, I swallowed hard.
I was scared, but I didn’t look away.
The Duel has already begun. If I back down here, I’ll have lost before the fight even starts.
I recalled the way I used to size up clients when I was in sales.
Sales was hard.
You always had to maintain the posture of the subordinate, but that didn’t mean you could just bow and scrape.
When the time called for it, like now, I had to show strength.
Even if I was nervous and trembling.
The Black Flame Dragon came to my aid.
I met the duke’s gaze with an arrogant, haughty look of my own, and in the end, the duke was the first to look away.
“Prepare yourself for tomorrow.”
With that, the duke whisked Cal away.
When I stepped outside, Hans greeted me with the eager look of a chick waiting for its mother.
“Your Grace!! You really did defeat the Evil Spirit Lord, didn’t you? As expected! I knew I could trust you! Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty! But why is the duke acting like that?”
Hans shot a glare at the duke’s retreating back.
“Did he misunderstand and persecute you, Your Grace? I’ll go and explain everything to him properly!!”
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. Stay where you are. Everything will come to light tomorrow anyway.”
There was a reason I’d been acting so confident this whole time.
<Gambler’s Judgment manifests ahead of tomorrow’s Duel!>
-Probability of landing a blow on the duke: 100%
A guaranteed win.
“Father, are you really going to Duel Ban?”
A young man with neat features asked the duke.
It was Ron, the eldest son of the Ecclesia Ducal House.
“Yes.”
“…But surely a Duel between you and Ban can’t be valid? Ban must have acted rashly again, so couldn’t you be a little more understanding, Father…?”
“I’ve already been understanding and waited long enough. For more than twenty years, no less.”
At the duke’s cold reply, Ron pressed his lips tightly together.
Ha. Ban, you little rascal. How could you cause such a massive disaster?
Ron lamented.
He was the sort of person who felt sorry for his younger brother, Ban.
“Then, would you consider holding the Duel in private? For Ban’s honor.”
The duke frowned.
Ban’s words came back to him.
—At the Duel, it would be best to keep the number of spectators to a minimum. The fewer people there are to witness the shame you’ll suffer, the better.
That lunatic.
He ground his teeth, then said, “The Duel will take place on the training grounds. Have the White Eagle Knights attend as witnesses.”
“Father?”
“This time, it would be best to make Ban understand his place once and for all.”
The duke intended to cast Ban out of the family after tomorrow.
If so, it would be right for him to give Ban one final lesson as a father.
Perhaps, by some chance, it might give the boy an opportunity to come to his senses.
…Ban, what on earth are you planning?
With a dark look on his face, Ron worried about his younger brother.
And so, news of the Duel between Ban and the duke spread throughout the entire Ducal House.
“Have you heard? Young Master Ban challenged the duke to a Duel.”
“A Duel? What kind of insane nonsense is that? Is that good-for-nothing young master trying to get himself killed?”
“I hear that after this Duel, they’re going to cast Young Master Ban out of the family.”
“Ha, finally? I feel relieved just hearing it. Of all things, for trash like him to be born into the great Ecclesia Ducal House. They should’ve cast him out long ago.”
“Still, he hasn’t really caused any trouble lately.”
“Hasn’t he gone even crazier instead? Delusions and lies, now.”
“True. How crazy do you have to be to Duel the duke?”
Everyone in the Ducal House sneered at Ban.
The White Eagle Knights, who served the Ducal House, reacted with something beyond mockery: anger.
He dared to challenge the duke to a Duel?
There’s a limit to how little you can know your place.
The knights had not a single member who didn’t respect the duke.
They had already ground their teeth at Ban for a long time. And now, without even knowing his place, he had dared to challenge the duke to a Duel.
The knights waited for Ban on the training grounds, their air positively murderous.
‘His Grace won’t even need to lift a finger.’
‘We’ll make him piss himself before he even sets foot in the dueling ground.’
The knights silently exchanged glances.
When Ban appeared, they would focus their hostile presence on him and frighten him.
There was no way a wretch like Ban could endure it.
Before long—
‘He’s here!’
A handsome man whose looks alone were enough to draw a gasp of admiration.
Ban appeared.