Episode 6-31: The Rematch and the Mage

In the end, Igni stayed for dinner at Estia’s home before taking his leave. He had worried that staying so long might be a bother, but the whole family had been so enthusiastic about keeping him there that he simply went along with it.

“…Thanks for today.”

“No, thank you.”

Estia insisted on walking Igni as far as the main road, so the two were currently strolling through the night-shrouded streets. Since it was quite dark, Igni felt her escort was unnecessary, but she had been adamant, and he had eventually given in.

“Is school out tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it is.”

Because of the aftermath regarding Gregory and the others, school was indeed cancelled. There would likely be discussions about what to do with the “Inter-Academy Competition.”

The event would probably be rescheduled for another day, but the faculty would need to decide how to handle the students who were in the middle of matches when the raid occurred. There was no room for the Student Council to intervene; everything would be decided by the staff.

As a result, Igni unusually had a day off the following day. Since he was free to cut loose, he had been thinking about inviting Yuri out somewhere.

“Then, I guess the next time we’ll see each other is the day after tomorrow… Onii-chan.”

She must have been waiting for the perfect moment to say it. Just as they reached the edge of the main road, Estia called out to him softly.

“…Right.”

Igni did his absolute best just to respond with a cool, composed nod. As I thought, being called “big brother” by a classmate carries a certain criminal weight to it…!

As Igni was getting hyped up internally, Estia suddenly noticed something.

“…Huh? It’s dark.”

The main road was pitch black. Normally, the city would be brilliantly lit even at night by magical artifacts, but tonight there wasn’t a single light to be seen, as if every artifact had simultaneously broken.

Furthermore, the usual crowd of men returning from work and adventurers were nowhere to be found. Not a single soul was in sight.

“…Is everyone staying home?”

“Estia. It’s dangerous. I’m walking you back to your door.”

Igni’s sharpened hearing caught the sound of a scream in the distance. And he could tell it wasn’t just one—the screams were numerous, and they were heading this way.

“Eh? B-but, I’m supposed to be walking you—”

Before Estia could finish, Igni scooped her up and leaped. a split second later, a spear of light slammed into the spot where they had just been standing.

“…You arrived quite early, didn’t you?”

Igni spoke to the mage who had attacked. The mage said nothing. Moving with the uncentered, swaying gait of a ghost, the figure stared at Igni and Estia with hollow, vacant eyes.

“I was wondering who the serial attacker was, and of course, it’s you. Fray.”

Igni identified the attacker. In the darkness of night, with only the moonlight to rely on, Igni’s night vision—honed over two years in the “Demon Lord’s Territory”—easily unmasked the culprit.

Standing there was Fray, his eyes completely void of life.

“Now that I think about it, I lost track of you halfway through the chaos… I didn’t think it was because of this.”

Fray met Igni’s gaze in silence… and then unleashed a spell.

“…That’s some serious precision, damn!”

Igni dodged, amazed by the sheer speed of the spell’s formation. A prismatic blade of light tore through the ground where he had been, striking a nearby street stall and shattering it into splinters.

The precision and speed of his magic had clearly increased. The delay between the manifestation of mana and the activation of the spell—which Fray previously struggled with—had shortened significantly.

It was now at a level that could rival the “Kyokuten” class.

“O-Onii-chan, is that!?”

“It’s Fray. He must have been hit by some kind of spell somewhere.”

Igni landed behind Fray as he spoke. He didn’t possess appraisal magic like Lux, so he couldn’t grasp the exact details of Fray’s condition, but he could still make an educated guess.

“…Brainwashing magic, or maybe he’s possessed.”

Igni had heard about such magics from Lux, though his grandfather had noted they were so rare that mages capable of them were almost non-existent.

“Well, either way, he’s not in a good state.”

Igni spoke as he deployed a 『Fireball』 in front of him.

“『Ignition』!”

Mana surged into Igni’s 『Fireball』 with a sharp hum.

“『Fire』!”

Following Igni’s chant, the 『Fireball』 shot forward, only to be scattered into sparks and extinguished just before reaching Fray.

“Mana Dispersion… and it was chantless.”

That was Fray’s signature magic—the same spell Igni had seen during the tournament. However, Fray hadn’t possessed the skill to perform it chantlessly back then. Having fought him, Igni knew his capabilities better than anyone.

“…I am… the best…”

Fray’s lips moved.

“The… strongest…”

“…Ah, so that’s it.”

Igni understood what had happened. He understood everything.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I get it now. Why he ended up like that.”

“…Really?”

“He probably sold his soul to become stronger. And this is the result.”

“……”

Estia watched Fray quietly. This was a mage who had once stood out even among those called the “Golden Generation.”

“I don’t know what kind of magic or ritual he used… I don’t know the details, but it feels like his heart was taken as payment for power.”

“A-and that’s why he’s attacking other mages?”

“He might have lost his reason.”

“…Eh?”

“Maybe he just wants to be recognized as the strongest.”

Estia said nothing to that. She simply looked at Fray as he slowly turned back toward them.

“…What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to stop him.”

Igni spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It wasn’t just because he was being targeted himself.

Fray had been moving from the main road toward Estia’s house. Igni guessed it was because of the presence of two mages—Estia and himself.

But what if Igni and Estia had simply fled and lost Fray? Who would be targeted next?

Wouldn’t it be Rita? Estia’s younger sister undoubtedly had talent as a mage—talent enough to get into Rolmod.

And what would happen if she were targeted? What would happen to her afterward?

Igni didn’t know the answer to that, but he couldn’t stand by and watch while a girl might be put in harm’s way.

“Estia, stay back.”

Setting Estia down, Igni faded into the darkness of the night, and the “Inter-Academy Competition” effectively resumed.

[End 202]