The True Essence of Magi
Magi-filled Eugene stared blankly at Ruen's right hand.
A sticky, dark crimson liquid oozed out.
It soon dripped—plop—onto the ground, releasing a revolting stench.
A familiar disgust. The smell of hatred. The smell of magi.
"Heh."
Ruen smiled for some unknowable reason. Eugene couldn't even guess at it.
It was magi of an intensely thick density.
The average lifespan of a black mage was just over five years from awakening.
Whether caught by the temple or driven mad by rampaging magi.
Those who harbored magi in their bodies were fated not to live long.
And yet, he himself had lived over ten years with it festering inside. Ancient magi churned through his veins.
He must be the strongest black mage in history. And that thought was probably true.
But.
And yet...
The magi blooming from Ruen right before his eyes was far denser than his own.
How?
The village. Everyone he knew had died horribly. Five-year-old Eugene had burned those sights into his eyes.
Could anyone be more unfortunate than him? That's what Eugene had thought.
"Ahem. Follow me!"
Ruen said to him. Her voice rang pure and clear in his ears, without a trace of impurity.
"...Yes."
Was the professor a black mage like him? What reason had she found to hate the world?
And if so, how could she bear that level of magi and still...
Maintain her sanity? Stay alive?
Eugene followed behind Ruen as if entranced.
Because he wanted to know more.
The place Ruen headed to was the secluded back mountain of the academy, far from the grounds.
"Is it okay to go outside without permission?"
Eugene asked, keeping about three steps behind her.
"I'm the dorm supervisor, aren't I?"
"......You're right."
Ever since witnessing that magi, her voice hadn't felt familiar at all.
hatred is born from horrific memories. And yet Ruen's voice was endlessly bright.
Was she completely hiding her emotions? Or had they never existed to begin with?
Eugene felt a chill at that cheerful tone.
"Hmm..."
Ruen whipped her head around, scanning the surroundings.
Then she closed her eyes and scattered mana around them. Soon, the spread mana formed a barrier.
"Now no one outside can see us."
Ruen nodded toward Eugene as she looked back at him.
"Give it a try."
There was no direct object, but Eugene understood naturally.
That had been the purpose of coming here, after all.
"Understood."
Eugene nodded and spread his arms wide, as if embracing the world.
But the aura emanating from him was the opposite of a warm hug.
Eugene's body was dyed dark crimson. Stale hatred wrapped tightly around him.
"Ooh..."
Ruen rubbed her small chin as she watched.
Drip, drip.
Magi turning into sticky liquid and falling to the ground.
—Sizzle.
Fresh green grass just starting to sprout withered and twisted. Spring flowers heavy with life bowed their heads. Leaves rustled down like screams.
Everything inside Ruen's barrier was stained purple, dying together.
"For real..."
Ruen felt a familiarity there. A landscape similar to what she'd seen beyond the northern borders.
"It's not a magic beast, right?"
"It's a person."
Eugene, having fully released his magi, answered Ruen as she eyed him with interest.
Probably.
Still, he swallowed the afterthought. He couldn't be sure himself.
"Well then..."
Ruen slowly stepped forward, circling around Eugene.
Crunch. The withered grass sounded like fallen leaves.
Refreshing.
The dark crimson mana—or magi—filling the space wrapped heavily around my body.
A pleasant pressure.
"Heh."
I couldn't help but hum, and Eugene stared at me with a baffled look.
"......Doesn't it bother you?"
"Eh, pretty much."
Different in form and color, but magi was still a type of mana. At least, that's how it felt to me.
So a place this rich in mana felt like a sanctuary.
Of course there was nothing wrong.
When I answered nonchalantly, Eugene closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"Just how horrific a past..."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"No, nothing. I was about to be rude."
He'd murmured so quietly that I missed the first part.
Eh, probably not important.
"...Hmm."
Instead of prying, I raised my right arm and swept through the magi in the air.
A breeze brushed my palm. Dark crimson haze swayed with it.
"You cast spells with this, right?"
Eugene nodded and raised his left arm on the opposite side.
—Whoosh!
The ground trembled.
Dark crimson thorns sprouted along the arc of his arm.
Dozens of thorns covering the earth.
Soon they vanished, leaving nothing on the dead grass and altered soil.
"As you know, professor, black magic is... magic solely for destruction."
Eugene's voice trembled faintly as he spoke slowly.
Like he was holding back excitement, or feeling sorrow.
"Try a different spell this time. That ku-gu-gwang! one you showed before."
"...It's vibration."
"Anyway!"
Purple mana rose from Eugene's hand.
Vibrations rang out with it. The magi haze churned too.
"Hmm."
I stepped four paces closer and peered at the mana right in front of my nose.
Whoosh. Eugene flinched as I closed the distance.
Wondering why, I looked up at him, and he averted his eyes.
"Th-the smell is awful..."
"Wh-what???"
I-I showered!
Stunned by the shocking remark, I grabbed the collar of my shirt and sniffed. No smell at all...
"N-no, not you, professor... Isn't the magi's stench terrible?"
"Oh, haha..."
I let out a sigh of relief.
Then I viewed his mana from a slightly farther spot than before.
It was a misunderstanding, but still a bit hurtful.
"Well... it's fine."
I pouted and answered casually.
Magi definitely had its own distinct smell.
A sweet-and-sour scent, far from the foulness Eugene described.
"......As expected."
Eugene nodded heavily again, like he'd grasped something.
His gaze was pretty burdensome.
Ignoring it, I raised both hands.
From what he'd said, black mages got caught because of that stench and unpleasant aura.
So if I erased that, problem solved.
In one hand, mana infused with Eugene's attribute. In the other, blooming magi.
"How does this look to you?"
"Nothing special. One's mana, one's magi."
His matter-of-fact answer reminded me of Kian and Uriel.
Setting aside talent differences, other mages' visions differed greatly from mine.
Might be common sense in this world, prejudice about mana.
Or maybe because I lived in a world without mana.
"Nope."
I deconstructed the structures of the mana in both hands and spread them out in front of me.
Every single crystal. How they intertwined, crystal clear.
Like branches from the same root. Similar shapes.
"Their essence is the same."
In the end, mana.
Eugene looked dazed for a moment, then furrowed his brow.
He stared intently at the mana structures I'd displayed.
"You said magi feels unpleasant and reeks, right?"
"Yes."
"Then..."
To explain, I brushed away Eugene's displayed mana and pressed that hand to the magi's crystal structure.
Tap.
I touched a connection point with my finger, modifying the structure.
Some crystals I moved, some connections I shattered entirely.
Crack.
With Eugene right there, my fingers danced busily.
His calm expression shifted to intrigue, then shock at the end.
Crack, crack-crack.
I forcibly bent the distorted mana waveform. Aligned it like normal mana.
"This is... what..."
Eugene murmured, covering his mouth with his palm. A very satisfying reaction for me.
"Done."
Soon, in the magi's place appeared another mana.
Different from Eugene's mana and the original magi. Vermilion mana.
"Is this... really magi?"
Eugene slowly approached after drawing back the magi pouring from his body.
He cautiously caressed the vermilion mana.
"Feels okay, right?"
"No smell at all..."
"Ahem. Of cooourse, naturally."
A completely new mana, preserving only magi's core form.
Eugene gaped, staring blankly at it for a long while.
"Really..."
"...Huh?"
Then, a single tear rolled down from Eugene's eye.