Genius 9

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Chapter 9. Encore

"Creation Magic── [Emerald Tablet]!"

Greeted by everyone's astonishment, his magic was finally unveiled.

With the invocation, appeared a translucent green tablet imbued with a fantastical emerald light.

Rows of mysterious characters adorned its surface, surrounded by green cubes emitting the same light dancing around it.

A magic disc of illusion, holding both mystery and wisdom, miracles and principles simultaneously, rested in his left hand.

"Herm, is that...?"

While captivated by the beauty of the magic, Katia inquired.

"[Emerald Tablet]. A magic taught to me by my master, what I call the 'seed' of my magic──"

"──It's a bluff!!!"

However, his response was once again interrupted by a high-pitched voice.

"I don't know what that thing is, but it's probably just some useless magic! You, having exceptional magic? That's impossible! You, who were chosen for everything other than magic!"

Chris shouted, conveying not disbelief, but a sense of refusal to acknowledge.

In response, the magic bullets behind him intensified their glow.

"Yeah, I was ordered to capture Miss Katia alone. So, even if a commoner happened to be unlucky enough to get involved in the process──no one will blame me for that, right?!"

No one present misunderstood Chris's words.

With bloodshot eyes filled with clear murderous intent, Chris stared at Hermes.

The light behind him had already reached its limit, clearly about to unleash its murderous intent and magic power upon Hermes.

Yet, Hermes remained unfazed.

Quietly and carefully, he kept the magic manifested, observing the magic before him.

As if searching for something──or perhaps, trying to decipher something.

At the same time, he remembered. The time when he was taught this magic in the form of a disc by his master.

◆

Five years ago.

"This is the creation magic, [Emerald Tablet]. My ultimate creation and──the strongest magic I've developed."

"The strongest... magic...!"

Hermes, who had just become Rose's disciple, was first taught the basics by his master.

His eyes sparkled with admiration at the magic she proudly and joyfully announced.

"Boys like that kind of stuff, right? Thanks for the honest reaction, my cute disciple."

Seeing Hermes's reaction, Rose petted his head with a pleased expression.

"The basic effect of this magic is, in other words, 'analysis and reproduction of magic'."

"Analysis and... reproduction?"

"Yes. I'll say it for you. Magic isn't a gift from the heavens but a human achievement. All magic has logic, rules, and solid causality and reproducibility."

In other words, anyone should be able to handle magic if they follow its logic and rules. That's what Rose explained.

"This [Emerald Tablet] assists in the necessary analysis. It shows how the magic in front of you flows, where the spells are engraved, and in what order they activate."

The patterns on the disk she unfolded traced complex trajectories.

In front of Rose's gaze was a lamp containing flames placed between the two of them.

"And based on the analysis results, you combine the 'magic components' embedded in this magic to──reproduce it."

At the end of her words, flames of the exact same color as the lamp suddenly ignited on her palm.

"I use this magic to further 'modify' Generic Magic into Bloodline Magic-like by combining the 'magic components' embedded in it."

"Wow!"

Seeing the various magics Rose showed when they first met, Hermes praised her sincerely.

"Master! Can I do the same thing!?"

"Hahaha. What are you saying, my disciple?"

Receiving the expected question, Rose showed a cheerful smile.

"You, capable of 'more than this'!"

"!"

"Due to the Bloodline Magic curse I possess, I can only reproduce magic that is 'close' to Bloodline Magic, but unlike me. You, however, can master the true usage of this magic. That's why I thought of entrusting this to you──"

◆

"...'Six are holy bows, one is a magic bullet, the trigger is the arm of a false god'..."

Once again, everyone present widened their eyes.

Because it was the incantation of Chris's Bloodline Magic, about to be unleashed.

And it came from──Hermes's mouth.

"No way──!"

Anticipating what would happen next, Chris shot his magic as if refusing to acknowledge it.

But Hermes remained calm and uttered the name along with the surge of immense magic power.

"Spell Reproduction──[Mistle Teinn]!"

That's the true usage of the [Emerald Tablet].

Inaccessible to Rose, cursed with Bloodline Magic, only Hermes, lacking suitability, could reach this realm.

That is, 'reproduction of Bloodline Magic'.

It was like a mirror image.

A giant light sphere also appeared behind Hermes, directly confronting Chris's light sphere.

The two magics collided. The torrent of magic power raging between them was more than double what it was before.

Eventually, it subsided, and the result was──inevitable, given that two identical magic clashed from opposite directions──balance.

Without causing any damage to each other, the magic bullets from both sides disappeared cleanly.

(Phew. Somehow, it worked out.)

Hermes breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the result.

As can be understood from his appearance, he didn't achieve the current result easily.

In theory, the [Emerald Tablet] could reproduce all magic.

But that's just in theory. In practice, it requires keen observational skills and knowledge to accurately understand the target magic, the ability to properly assemble the reproduced magic, and the adaptability to improvise substitutes for what Hermes doesn't understand.

In short, reproducing complex magic like Bloodline Magic-like Bloodline Magic class is almost impossible on the first try.

Hermes had been thoroughly drilled in these basics by his master for the past 5 years, and [Mistle Teinn], which he had seen many times since childhood and even experienced firsthand, was an exception that he succeeded in reproducing on the spot.

But Chris, who didn't know about Hermes's circumstances, was unaware of all this.

"It's impossible...!"

Trembling with anger, he began to shout.

"It's impossible, impossible, impossible! For me, the chosen one is different from him! To be facing him of all people, it's inconceivable! It must be a mistake!!"

Chris, fueled by his anger, unleashed a large number of magic bullets one after another.

But this time, Hermes also remained unfazed, countering with the same magic he had just reproduced.

"Don't resist, you failure! Whether you die on your own or crawl under me for the rest of your life!"

"..."

As both were using the same magic, this time's confrontation, just like before, was not even.

Gradually but steadily, the momentum of Hermes's magic began to overwhelm Chris.

"No way...!"

If they were using the same magic, the difference would be in other aspects.

Namely, magic power output affects the power of magic, magic manipulation eliminates losses when converting magic, and magic perception accurately grasps the movement of magic.

Hermes, who had been training since childhood, surpassed Chris in all these aspects.

Hermes never gave up training despite being unsuitable. But Chris neglected his training while resting on his Bloodline Magic.

The current situation of the confrontation was simply the difference in their efforts.

"Idiotic...! For me, to be──!"

And finally, Hermes's magic bullets hit in front of Chris, sending him flying from the impact.

"Ngh, Captain Chris!?"

"Idiotic, Captain Chris defeated...!"

The soldiers around, watching with bated breath, were bewildered by the unbelievable sight.

Now, Hermes decided.

"Katia-sama, now is the time. Let's escape the encirclement."

"Ah──Y-Yes. But what about Chris-san...?"

"Don't worry, I didn't hit him directly, so he's not dead. On the contrary..."

"Hey! What are you doing!? Kill him! Kill that worthless failure right now!"

"...As you can see, he's still full of fighting spirit. It's troublesome to get pursued, so I think it's time."

"...I-I understand."

With a tense expression, Katia nodded, and the two ran away from the scene.

Afterward, they got attacked by the enraged Chris and the soldiers under his command.

However, thanks to Katia's familiarity with the geography of the capital and Hermes's disruption and interference using Rose's directly transmitted enhanced Generic Magic, they managed to shake them off and evacuate to a safe location.