Riveria Ljos Alf.
She was, by common consent, the strongest mage in Loki Familia.
No—she was the greatest mage of this era, even beyond Orario.
Very few would dispute that fact.
In truth, it would not be an exaggeration to say there were none at all.
Her skill, talent, achievements, and presence as a mage were all, without question, the very best of the best.
And the reason she could stand where she did now was not simply because of the powerful spells she possessed.
There were a few additional factors beyond her Magecraft as well.
But if I were to introduce and explain them all here, I would be short on time, budget, stamina, and patience, so I will leave that aside for now.
For the moment, there is only one thing worth introducing.
One rare skill she possessed.
"Alv Regia."
To explain it as simply as possible, its effects were as follows.
[1. Enhances the "Mana" ability.]
This increases Riveria's own spell power.
[2. Amplifies the magical effects of elves within her Magic Circle.]
It also boosts the spell power of the elven allies around her.
[3. Converts the consumed magical energy of elves within her Magic Circle into Mind and absorbs it.]
It restores the mental energy spent in the process, to a certain extent, even without Mind Potions.
In short, it was a party buff exclusive to the elf race.
More precisely, it was a strengthening buff exclusive to mage classes.
Thanks to this unprecedented rare skill alone, Riveria was able to stably lead and maintain the absurdly unbalanced party that was a group of mages.
To put it in an easier analogy, an elf mage party with her was basically a modern Earth tank.
No, it was a battleship running across land.
And if you added Lefiya, who could use offensive magic on par with Riveria, it became a terrifying force carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Of course, this was one of Loki Familia's many trump cards, so ordinary outsiders usually knew nothing about it.
Naturally, the magus had never heard this information from them either.
However, during the recent expedition to the deep levels with them, he had been given a few chances to catch faint glimpses of that little fragment of their power.
As a result, through his own guesses and calculations, he had been able to infer, more or less, that Riveria possessed such a power.
And he had been able to prepare a ritual circle suited to that effect in advance.
With the small hope and concern that perhaps it might be useful for something like this someday.
"[The murky inscription that seeps forth.]"
Thud!
"Ghh!"
"Ah!"
"A-ah, it hurts...!"
At the same time the magus began his chant, the ritual circle drawn beneath their feet also began to emit light.
The color of that light was a murky, ominous violet-black glow.
This unnatural light greedily dragged in all the surrounding magical energy, devouring it whole.
And then it processed the absorbed resources through a filter into first-stage magical energy.
Of course, by filter, I mean the Loki Familia mages standing atop the ritual circle.
Under normal circumstances, they would not have been in this much pain.
Compared to Riveria they were still far behind, but they were all veterans who had seen plenty of battle and hardship.
They could endure most pain, and their aptitude as mages was exceptional as well.
And yet, even for them, this magic ritual was something far beyond what they could comfortably bear.
The proof was the bruises spreading across their bodies from forcing themselves to do something beyond their capacity.
On top of that, the amount of magical energy being drawn into the ritual circle was enormous.
The magical energy in the air, already raised to abnormal levels by the earlier Broken Phantasms of the Black Heavenly Dog King and the Crozzo magic sword, was far beyond what they were used to.
They were dragging in and absorbing that immense quantity indiscriminately.
Under the pressure of the overwhelming magical force continuously pouring into their bodies, their fragile capillaries were bursting and tearing apart, causing internal injuries.
If they pushed themselves any further, they would likely suffer serious damage that would eventually reach their internal organs.
Several of them already had a little blood in their mouths.
"I-it hurts!"
"My stomach feels like it's going to turn inside out... I want to throw up everything!"
"Aah, I feel like I'm about to collapse!"
"But... Lady Riveria...!"
The reason they gritted their teeth through the pain and bit their tongues until they bled was half because of the warning the magus had given earlier.
The other half was because of the single elf in front of them, who was being broken down even more violently than they were.
"[The vessel of insolent madness.]"
Thwack!
"Ngh...!"
At the second chant, Riveria's body burst again and blood sprayed out.
At first it had been her fingers.
A little earlier, it had been around her shoulder.
This time, blood burst from her temple.
Elsewhere on her body, skin continued to split and muscles tore, leaving wounds that bled steadily.
The coppery blood ran down her earlobes and jaw.
Unlike the other mages, she had already taken damage to her internal organs long ago.
And there was also that strange, unpleasant resonance echoing continuously in her head.
['BBanKkRrlluu... gl&%$#ruluNNapaa... kr@!#$%@tuulRRu... Luuri$%##YeA... GANAkul pPaTAN...']
"Ku...!"
It was as though her very soul was being defiled.
And yet Riveria did not budge, not even a slight stagger.
The second stage of magical processing in the ritual circle was the process of reordering and transforming the massive amount of magical energy filtered through the earlier layers into a state suitable for the magus to use.
In other words, it was a second filtration and alteration into magical energy fit for Magecraft, which meant it absolutely required something to substitute for magic circuits, like the magus himself or Lili.
This was not a matter of talent or aptitude, but of compatibility.
And she was enduring it in the flesh, with no experience and no knowledge to rely on.
It would have been only natural for the fragmentary aura of alien knowledge to seep into her soul and make things even more agonizing.
And yet, Riveria endured the ritual without even a groan, without even a small breath escaping her lips.
Was that her stubborn pride as the greatest mage of humanity?
Or was it—
"[Rising, and denying.]"
Pow!
"[Paralyzing, flashing, and disturbing sleep.]"
Crackle.Thud.
Was it the fighting spirit of a mage who refused to lose to the young man standing before her?
Perhaps it was both.
"[The iron princess that crawls.]"
Thud! Thud!
A black curtain spread from the sea surface upward, gradually covering the sky above the ocean.
It was like a building made of darkness and iron framework.
Branches like the crosses of a grave intertwined and gathered together, weaving a pattern.
Over that woven foundation, the black curtain finished the structure as if it were being plastered with lime mortar.
Again and again, the process repeated.
The structure rose densely, as though it would not allow even a single sliver of light to escape, and in itself it was a wonder.
"[The clay doll that endlessly self-destructs.]"
Thus, it was a prison for mortals.
Thus, it was the judge's decree.
"[Bind! Resist! Fill the earth and realize your own helplessness!]"
He laughed.
The man laughed.
Even as his body screamed from the strain of adding chant after chant, bursting, tearing, and breaking apart in places until it was falling uselessly onto the sand like trash.
Even as the memories, sacrifices, and price he had piled up in his mind were being cleanly stolen away like a receding tide.
He laughed.
Even if it was a process of self-erasure and self-destruction.
Even though the future regret and sorrow it would surely bring was already vivid before his eyes.
Even so.
He, the magus, could not stop smiling.
Hahahahahahaha!
Ah, yes.
This, too, was ultimately something he had wished for and longed for.
One romance, one dream.
"[Wave 90.]"
Black Coffin.
Thud.
The rumbling that filled the shore fell silent.
The magus's chant came to an end beneath it.
At last.
The black structure he had wanted was fully erected.
Now all that remained was—
"It regenerates if you burn it, regenerates if you freeze and shatter it, regenerates if you cut and tear it?"
Then—
"Dozens of times gravity."
It was a makeshift black hole itself.
"Let's see whether even a single shred of flesh can keep its shape under that pressure!"
Only the annihilation of existence itself!
Goooooo... Crack!
Eventually, when the structure of darkness reached its limit of endurance and shattered like a glass window, scattering fragments in all directions—
"Ah!"
Everyone on the beach below gasped without thinking.
Under the shattered fragments.
There was nothing in the sea.
Nothing.
Not even the blue, salty seawater that should have been there.
"As expected... if it's around 10 percent, then..."
What a bargain, seriously.
Thud.
"Huh? A-ah, An!"
And so the man—the magus—confirmed the result of his work and collapsed unconscious.
With a smile at the corner of his mouth that could not be exchanged for anything else.
Ah.
He was satisfied.
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