Chapter 40.2: The Magician’s Weakness

“────~~!!”

Overwhelmed by the pain, Kevin collapsed and writhed on the ground in agony.

As if to support Kevin, a spiral mass of wind suddenly attacked the man, accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound.

However, as expected, the wind mass passed through the man without making contact.

“Tch…!! —Heh, ah!?”

Marco, who clicked his tongue in annoyance that his spell hadn’t hit, was suddenly shocked as the man—who had been several meters away—appeared right before his eyes, leaving him greatly dismayed.

“Buge!!”

Marco’s astonished face was met with a right fist to the face, and he collapsed to the ground, his nose bleeding profusely.

After confirming that Marco had suffered a concussion and was unable to move for a while, the man turned his gaze to Dominik, who was lying on his side.

Dominik, who had just been given a forceful side kick, remained sprawled on the ground.

Casting a disdainful glance at their state, the man silently shifted his gaze back to Kevin.

From a few meters away, as Kevin hunched over and groaned in pain—“Uu…!! Hoo…!!”—the man began to approach once more.

—but then, at that moment.

Suddenly, several thick rock pillars emerged from the ground, surrounding the man and completely sealing off the area where he stood.

“Got you!!”

From behind, Dominik—having just risen from his feigned unconscious state and setting up a magic circle with his hands on the ground—shouted with a smug expression.

“You idiot!! While you’re at it—”

“The idiot is you!”

Dominik, urging Kevin to finish off the man while he still had him captured, was cut off.

“Ha…!? Gugah…!!!”

When Dominik turned to look directly behind him at the source of the voice, he was struck again with a powerful kick to his side while still hunched over, and he tumbled sideways.

“U… gi…”

“…”

“………”

Ignoring the groans of Marco and Dominik, the man silently advanced toward Kevin once more.

“Guu…tch, kuh…!!”

As the man steadily drew closer, Kevin glared at him while groaning in pain.

After that body blow, his ribs were likely cracked. With a pained expression, Kevin clutched the affected area—a sharp pain piercing through with every breath.

But the man, showing no mercy, continued to approach step by step, his eyes filled with cold, relentless anger.

“…!! Wa-wait!!”

Still crouched on the ground, Kevin extended his hand in an attempt to restrain the man.

“O-okay…! We were in the wrong!! I’m sorry…! I’ll properly apologize to that little runt too!! So, will you please cut us some slack…!?”

Upon hearing that, the man halted in his tracks.

“…You’re not lying, are you?”

The man glared at Kevin as if to confirm his words.

“I-I’m serious…! I really am remorseful!! So, please, forgive us…!!”

Kevin pleaded with the man, his words desperate.

“I see, you’re remorseful, huh? …Then,”

At that, the man turned his gaze to the back of Kevin.

“What is that hid・den・right hand?”

He was referring to Kevin’s right hand—which he had pulled back as if to hide it—contrasting with the left hand extended forward to restrain him.

“Ah, ah! Don’t get the wrong idea, this is just…”

Saying this in a fluster, Kevin swung his right hand, which had been held behind his back, forward.

“It’s 『Light Flash』!!!”

Then, as if catching the man off guard, a brilliant flash burst forth from the magic circle that had been secretly unfolding behind him.

“(No matter how fast you are, you can’t dodge light, can you!!!!)”

“!!”

And just as Kevin had anticipated, the man didn’t let the magic pass through him as before—instead, he jerked his body, as if his vision had been momentarily blinded, a trace of panic in his eyes.

“Now!! Gu…! D-dos it!!”

Not letting the opportunity slip, Kevin, wincing at the pain in his creaking ribs, shouted instructions to Marco and Dominik, who had somehow managed to get back on their feet a few meters away.

Then, Kevin himself unfolded a magic circle and unleashed a relentless, full-power spell at the man.

“Lion’s Rote: Flame Roar Leonne!!!”

From a bright red magic circle over one meter in diameter, Kevin hurled a blob of flame shaped like a lion toward the man.

Marco and Dominik simultaneously cast their highest-level wind and fire spells, respectively.

An overwhelming torrent of magic surged toward the man from three directions at once—he still hadn’t regained his sight.

And just when it seemed that the spells had pressed in so tightly as to block every escape route and were bound, this time for sure, to hit him directly—at that very moment—

—with a deafening roar that shook the ground—a vast mass of water surged up like a tornado from the man’s feet, swallowing up all・the・magic・was・swallowed.

The enormous water that had obliterated Kevin and his comrades’ spells swirled upward high above the man’s head and transformed into the shape of a three-headed dragon.

Even the head alone of this colossal water dragon, whose diameter exceeded the height of Kevin and the others, loomed over them as if glaring.

“W-what the hell is that…?”

“There’s no way that’s allowed…!”

Marco and Dominik each wore expressions of utter despair.

The magic in the form of a dragon was ranked as the highest-level spell in its element—a realm of magic so far beyond the abilities of any of the three that they could never hope to wield it.

After being utterly overwhelmed even by bare hands, to be shown such a terrifying disparity in magical prowess left them with nothing but despair.

Under the murderous pressure of the water dragon—its gaze seeming ready to crush them—Kevin forced a strained smile and, in a trembling voice, addressed the man.

“W-well… I’m sorry… I, I got carried away… I swear, I’m really surrendering this time, just like this… So, please, have mercy…?”

As he spoke, Kevin raised both hands in surrender and dropped to his knees.

In response, the man, who had emerged from behind the water dragon glaring at Kevin, now fully regained his sight and fixed his gaze on him.

“Have you learned your lesson now?”

Upon hearing that, Kevin vigorously nodded in agreement, as if affirming with all his might.

“Y-yeah!! Of course!! I really am remorseful, and I’ve completely changed my heart!! I even understand what you meant by ‘the pain of others’!! Seriously, please believe me!!”

“……….”

The man regarded Kevin quietly, as if assessing the truth of his words, and after a moment, he spoke softly.

“…I see.”

After closing his eyes briefly as if confirming Kevin’s sincerity, he gently opened them and continued.

“So you have repented and changed your heart. That’s good…”

“!!”

Sensing an air that might grant him forgiveness, hope lit up in Kevin’s eyes.

“Then…”

Saying that, the man lightly raised his right hand.

“Next・time, I hope you’ll put that repentance to use.”

With those chilling words that sent shivers down the spine, he clenched his fist while raising the thumb of his right hand, then forcefully pointed its tip toward the ground.

“Wha───t!!!!”

“!!!!”

In an instant, a water dragon with earth-shattering destructive power attacked Kevin, Marco, and Dominik, leaving them with their eyes wide open.

◆　◆　◆　◆

The C-Class magic student who had single-handedly subdued three A-Class magic students in the blink of an eye walked over to Elliot.

“…It looks like you managed to protect it safely.”

“Eh…!? Uh, well, um…”

Elliot, at a loss for words in front of the male student, was overwhelmed. Unable to express his gratitude for being saved, or to thank him for protecting his dagger—and bombarded with questions like “How can a C-Class student be so strong?” and “Why would someone risk his life to help me?”—Elliot was utterly confused, his thoughts muddled, not knowing where to begin, when the male student gently spoke.

“That’s important to you, isn’t it?”

He said, pointing at the short dagger that Elliot was clutching with both hands.

“Ah… uh, yeah. It’s important—really, really important…”

Elliot nodded in acknowledgement.

“I see. Then that’s good.”

Saying that, while gazing into Elliot’s eyes, the male student introduced himself.

“I’m Shion, Shion Kurosaki. I’m a second-year. And you are?”

“Ah, um, I’m Elliot…! I’m also a second-year student…!”

Slightly flustered by the direct gaze so close to him, Elliot introduced himself.

With a smile, Shion said, “Elliot, got it,” and then, sounding apologetic, added:

“Sorry about that, Elliot. I was just passing by… I wish I could have helped sooner…”

“N-no, no, no…!! That’s not it at all…!! Ah, um, thank you! Th-thank you for saving me…!!”

Elliot, energetically shaking his head as if suddenly remembering, expressed his gratitude.

Shion nodded and said, “Ah,” then continued:

“More importantly, are you hurt? Do you need me to accompany you to the infirmary?”

“Ah, I-I’m fine! The injury is, um, just a small cut in my mouth…!”

Elliot, declining the offer since it wasn’t serious enough for the infirmary, prompted Shion to add with a mischievous smile:

“I see. Those guys being so weak turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

“Ah, ahaha… yeah, that’s right,” Elliot replied with a wry smile before suddenly exclaiming:

“Ah!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“A-are those guys… are they really going to be okay?”

“…Ah, those guys, huh.”

When Elliot pointed at Kevin and the others—still lying collapsed as if unconscious—Shion, as if having completely forgotten, spoke:

“Well, it’s fine to leave them be. That way, it’ll surely be a remedy.”

He answered without much thought.

“I-I see. If you say so, Shion, then that might be best.”

“Yeah. It might even be better if they catch a cold and stay in bed for a while. Don’t worry—in the long run, it’ll be good for them and for the world.”

Snorting with satisfaction as he spoke offhand, Shion smirked.

“I-I see…! T-to think you’d plan that far ahead, that’s amazing…! In that case, let’s just leave them as they are…!”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Shion smiled broadly and said, “Well, that’s that. See you next time, Elliot,” bidding him farewell.

“Ah, y-yeah, sorry for holding you up! See you, Shion!”

With that, the two finally parted ways and headed off in their respective directions.

Gathering the items he had picked up into his bag as he walked, Elliot murmured to himself:

“(What an amazing person…)”

──So cool and strong, just like a hero from a story.

──Yet, incredibly kind and amusing.

──How proud I would be if someone like that used a weapon I made…

──Someday, I will surely forge the ultimate sword for him…!!

Elliot had always loved forging swords and had made countless ones, but on this day, for the first time in his life, he felt a strong desire to craft a sword for someone truly special.

However, Elliot never could have imagined that a man named Shion Kurosaki—whom he held in deep respect—would actually, not as a joke but earnestly, spend every day playing with a sword like a child…