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Chapter 79. Divergence

"…The path to victory is coming into view."

"Seriously?"

If Frodil sees a path to victory, it means we might lose. If I don’t figure out a way to counter that future-predicting Grimoire-like ability, our movements will be read, and we’ll lose.

"Next time, it might even reach your life."

"Huh?"

What is this guy suddenly saying?

Still, his strength is extraordinary... It’s not just that his magic is strong or his swordsmanship is crazy; his power seems to anticipate all my moves. His power is... too dangerous.

"Ha!"

"Damn it... It's hot!?"

"What?"

When I tried to intercept Frodil, the Grimoire [Yaldabaoth] I was holding suddenly became extremely hot, so I took a distance to escape from Frodil.

Even after releasing the Grimoire and looking at my hand, there’s no burn, but... it still feels slightly warm.

"What the hell... this has never happened before... Oh, wait."

Come to think of it, I usually try not to use it, so I forgot, but my Grimoire, [Yaldabaoth], generates tiny vibrations of magic around the blade, giving it tremendous sharpness. Furthermore, the Grimoire can absorb and store surrounding magic by releasing its ability, but... its absorption limit is actually quite shallow. Specifically, it’s about the equivalent of five attacks from a court magician's offensive magic... It's hard to explain. Anyway, it can fill up to its limit fairly quickly... and once it reaches that limit, the Grimoire generates heat as if urging me to release it quickly.

"Good grief... Even though it's Theodore Anthem's Grimoire, it's quite a wild horse."

What does it mean for a Grimoire to attack its owner?

But... I don’t think I’ve properly absorbed magic in this battle so far... I don’t understand why the Grimoire has accumulated this much magic.

Frodil, who was aggressively attacking just a moment ago, suddenly stopped and started acting cautiously... What’s going on?

"It can't be helped... Hah!"

I release the accumulated magic from the Grimoire towards the wyvern squad flying above the arena. The slash from the Grimoire, charged to its limit, has quite a bit of power, but... it seems the wyvern squad narrowly avoided it. As expected, the elite troops from the western countries are no pushovers.

"... Why hasn’t this happened before now?"

"What’s wrong? Muttering to yourself."

"Could it be that Grimoire not only nullifies magic but also absorbs and stores it?"

Huh? It seems he doesn’t fully know my Grimoire's abilities. I assumed that information had leaked from somewhere, and he knew my Grimoire’s complete capabilities... but it looks like there’s still a lot he doesn’t know.

Moreover... I keep feeling like I’m about to remember something every time I touch the Grimoire... What is this sensation? It’s so frustrating that I wish it would stop during the fight.

"You are more dangerous than I imagined. There’s a possibility you’ve accurately grasped the ability of my Grimoire and can respond accordingly... I must be careful."

"Grimoire? You’re not using it."

"Ha!"

He suddenly stopped listening.

As swords clash, I absolutely avoid the Grimoire’s attacks without blocking. If I channel magic into Verethragna , he will clearly be cautious of the magical blade, and if I cast magic, he will easily respond.

This guy... I thought he was recognizing the magic I use from the magic circles, but it feels like he knows exactly when and what magic I’ll use. It’s as if he’s watching my habits. Maybe I should try a slightly unconventional spell.

"Here!"

"... Are you kidding me?"

It’s a spell that shoots a water gun from the palm of my hand. Kids use it in play, right?

There’s no power to the water gun spell, so it shouldn’t be a problem if it hits. But... I’ve confirmed it now.

"Ugh..."

I distance myself from Frodil. Holding the Grimoire, I feel a slight warmth... it seems to have absorbed more magic without me noticing.

As expected.

"Up to a specific point or a set number of seconds... You’re reversing time, Frodil."

He doesn’t seem surprised... but his reaction isn’t exactly what I expected.

"Not being surprised means that another version of me in a different time axis has apparently figured out the true nature of your Grimoire. But, by reversing time, that version didn’t notice it."

"... How far do you know?"

The Grimoire’s accumulation of magic while I’m unaware is due to its reaction to Frodil’s Grimoire activation. In other words, even if I don’t recognize the time reversal, the Grimoire nullifies that ability and continues to remember it.

"During the recent exchanges, how many times did you reverse time? ... Probably about five times. You couldn’t predict what magic I’d use after which attack. And the last time you reversed it was when I used the water gun... Probably, in your first encounter, you were confused by taking the water gun directly to the face while losing one of your limbs to my attack."

"... That’s right. I never imagined being hit by a water gun, not even a practical magic."

I thought so. I used the water gun spell specifically to confirm that reaction... If you’re intimidated, it means my deductions were off, and if you moved your face to easily avoid it, then you must know what I’m doing in advance.

"... I see! Your Grimoire is nullifying and absorbing even my [Sandalphon]. That’s why you’re left with a small sense of discomfort from the time reversal that should normally be remembered. If the Grimoire remembers the reversal, that discomfort remains in you, who possesses that soul."

Is that so? Well... I’ve been hearing the ticking of a clock unusually clearly recently, but... could it be the sound of the Grimoire activating?

"Ha... I thought it was an exaggeration to say you could single-handedly defeat a division leader, but to think you win by infinitely repeating it... No one would notice."

"Indeed... My sword and magic are only at the level that an ordinary person can reach through effort."

However, due to the time flow he has repeatedly experienced, he has pushed his ordinary sword to its limits. Probably... he has experienced enough time to make an ordinary person’s mind collapse.

"... You can probably only revert to a specific point you set."

"That’s correct. My [Sandalphon] can only revert to a specific point I set, and the furthest I can set it is about 2 minutes back. Changing the fate of the world is quite beyond my reach..."

About 2 minutes... does that mean you’re fine with me knowing your ability?

"As you thought, there’s no need to hide the Grimoire’s ability from you anymore. After all, you’d uncover it no matter how much I try to hide it."

"... So even a normal person wouldn’t understand when they were reversed in time, huh?"

Good grief... I’m up against a truly unbelievable opponent.

I never thought Frodil would be a "real death game guy" who keeps going until he wins. What should I do... I could break someone’s spirit with a normal opponent, but he’s already long past that stage, and it might be impossible to win.