Magic Maker - How to make magic in another world - - Chapter 62

Magic Maker – How to make magic in another world –

Chapter 62   The Scarlet Night has come.

Several days later, at night.

In my sister’s room, I was taking care of her.

Today, instead of Mom, it was my turn to take care of her at night.

Moonlit night.

The moonlight illuminated my sister’s profile.

Even when she’s not moving, my sister’s body is still growing.

Over a year, a significant amount of fat has disappeared.

Not pathologically thin, but not as healthy-looking as before.

Even if she could be cured, it might take a while for her to move normally.

I gently stroked my sister’s cheek.

It was cold.

I had transferred magic to my sister before.

At that time, I had transferred all my magic, but ultimately, there was almost no response.

However, her body temperature remained faintly.

Compared to mild cases, the response was minimal, but magic certainly affected my sister’s body.

Clearly, there was a significant shortage of magic.

If only there were more abundant magic, the research might progress.

The problem lies in the method.

I need to think of something.

“Don’t worry. I won’t give up.”

While gazing at my sister’s sleeping face, I muttered.

I want her to return to the lively sister she used to be as soon as possible.

Thinking that, I absentmindedly looked up at the sky.

The stars were sparkling in the night sky with almost no light. There was a change visible in the night sky.

“…What’s this?”

Born from the darkness, a color.

Crimson.

The dark, stagnant sky begins to ominously glow.

Red. Crimson. Vermilion.

The curtain of light crawls across the sky.

Scarlet Night.

No mistake.

It’s what I saw on that night.

Something like that.

Even though it hadn’t happened for over a year.

Why now?

Forcing my confused thoughts back on track, I stood up.

This is dangerous as it is.

Soldiers, those without lightning lamps,

I grabbed one of the lightning lamps I had placed on the shelf and put it near my sister.

“I’ll be back, sis.”

Holding another lightning lamp, I left the room to wake up Mom, who was sleeping in the next room.

I knocked on Mom’s door, and it opened right away.

“What’s… what’s going on?”

“Mom, I’m sorry, but I need you to take care of my sister!”

I blurted out and immediately started running.

“Shion-kun, where are you going!?”

“The sky is red! I need to inform Duke Balkh! Mom, stay inside, and leave the lightning lamp on!”

I rushed outside.

No one else could see that sky.

Only those with magical abilities could perceive it.

If I didn’t inform them, no one would notice until invisible magical creatures, the Wraiths, attacked.

Today, Dad is in the village.

I have to go.

I ran towards Duke Balkh’s mansion.

○●○

Even though the sky was red, it wasn’t illuminating anything. That light, much like magic itself, merely asserted its existence and didn’t reveal any specific shapes. I ran, holding the lightning lamp, kicking the ground beneath me. I needed to inform others about this situation quickly, as people might be in danger.

There were hardly any people on the streets due to the late hour. In the calmness, only the sound of my footsteps echoed. In the distance, I saw a faint light. As I focused, I realized it was a patrol. Two soldiers in armor, one tall and lean, the other short and stout, were walking towards me. They carried lanterns, not lightning lamps, which were less effective at dispelling the darkness. Even though they might question me as we passed, I couldn’t afford to stop. I decided to ignore them and head straight to the Duke’s mansion. However, that plan was immediately revised when I saw what was behind them.

I increased my speed, leaning forward and gathering magical energy at my feet. Using a continuous magic technique, I activated jumps with each bounce. With every step, my speed increased, and the scenery blurred. Surpassing human speeds, each step covered more than three meters. To prevent my body from lagging behind, I leaned forward. The patrol noticed me, wearing clearly puzzled expressions. Nevertheless, I shouted without hesitation.

“Behind you!”

Upon hearing my shout, one of the patrolling soldiers immediately turned to look behind. However, without noticing anything, he turned back towards me. Damn it! The wraiths are right there! They can’t see them. They lack magical abilities, and they don’t even have lightning lamps. To the wraith, they must seem like perfect prey.

“Stop! What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

My shout seemed to make them suspicious, but I had no intention of responding to such voices. I approached the soldiers directly. The wraith was right behind them. Would I make it in time? Using an extra burst of magic at my feet, I jumped. Internally, a small sense of amazement. Simultaneously, voices rose from the soldiers.

“Whoa!?”

“What’s going on!?”

I shared the same sense of bewilderment. I had ‘leaped over the soldiers.’ Jumping magic was primarily used for lateral movement in all directions, mainly for evasion, and the height of the jump was usually limited to about two meters. Until now, that had been my limit, but now I had ‘jumped nearly five meters.’ Huh? Why? Even as I marveled at my own power, I focused on the sight of the wraiths.

“Kyaaaaa!”

The monster’s cry did not reach the soldiers. The ghostly claws were aimed at me as I glided towards the wraiths. I manipulated magic, and with the ability for immediate reactivation within a second, there was little room for openings. Continuous magic. Both hands gathered dense magic. Gathering magic. Changing direction mid-air was impossible. Whether the wraith knew it or not, it reached out straight towards me. Gathering the remaining magic at my feet, I accelerated slightly and simultaneously shifted the falling angle. A sudden diagonal line emerged. Avoiding the wraith’s attack, my arm touched the head of the wraith.

“Gyaaaaah, Aaaaah!”

Purification. The wraith struggled with an expression of agony, but it had already lost its strength.

“W-What is that monster!?”

“S-Stay back! Wh-When did it get here!?”

Perhaps due to the illumination from the lightning lamp, the wraith’s forms seemed visible to the two men. No, it could be because of the purification. The wraith’s body had charred, crumbled, and then dissipated.

Upon landing, the lightning lamp, unable to withstand the impact, broke. While it was impressive that glass could be produced at this civilization level, it was quite fragile in this world. It had neither high transparency nor a large production volume. Though it had become relatively common recently, there was nothing to be done about it now that it was broken, especially since parts other than the glass had also been damaged this time.

“H-Hey, could you see that thing just now?”

“Yes. That was the invisible monster, the wraith, rumored about a year ago. It might be infiltrating other parts of the city, so please alert others. With the lightning lamp, you can see their forms and keep them from approaching! However, be cautious as conventional sword-like attacks won’t work! Now, I need to report to Duke Balkh’s residence!”

Uttering these words in one breath, I started running.

“H-Hey! Take this with you!”

Looking back, the tall soldier was offering a lamp. Certainly, there was no light other than the lightning lamp. Well, if I continued to use flares, I could see, but I wanted to conserve magic as much as possible. I took the lamp and started running again.

“Thank you! Take care!”

“Be cautious!”

With these words from behind, I raised my hand in response and continued running. The presence of magic was evident everywhere. This was bad. wraiths had infiltrated the city. They did exist after all. In this red night, they were the creatures that appeared. Over the course of a year, this fact had been forgotten. I, too, thought that similar events wouldn’t occur anymore. I was naive. I had been preoccupied with the Lazy syndrome and had forgotten about the wraiths. I had been storing lightning lamps for production, but that was about it. Anyway, I needed to hurry.

With each jump, I increased my speed. I had seen the wraiths several times, but if I kept defeating them, the report would be delayed. Despite my hesitation, I decided to report to Duke Balkh first and continued running.

In a few minutes, I reached Duke Balkh’s residence. There were two guards, so I tried to approach them, but they pointed their spears at me.

“Halt there! Who goes there?”

“I’m Shion Ornstein! I have an urgent report for Duke Balkh! The Scarlet Night has come! Please convey this message!”

“The Scarlet Night? What nonsense are you talking about! Instead of such things, you should come back tomorrow at a proper time!”

Perhaps if I were an adult or wearing armor, the response would have been different. But I was just a child. A child’s words on a night like this were unlikely to be believed. Nevertheless, it was all I could do.

“I don’t have time for this! Quickly, report to him!”

Unfortunately, the guards didn’t know me. They seemed like newcomers, clearly inflexible. Moreover, they probably couldn’t trust someone visiting at such a late hour. There was no time for questioning here. The guards had no intention of letting me pass. Their eyes conveyed that if I made even a slightly suspicious move, they would kill me. I turned away from them and moved away from the gate. There was a relieved feeling from behind. However, I suddenly stopped and turned around.

“If you don’t stop, you won’t survive, even if you’re a child!”

His voice was trembling. Clearly, he was afraid, but I didn’t stop. I increased my speed and leaped, attempting to soar over the gate, which was almost five meters tall. However, it seemed I didn’t have enough altitude, and my foot hit the top of the gate.

“Uwa!”

With a scream, I fell. Just before touching the ground, I gathered magic at my feet to absorb the impact — or at least that was the plan. Instead, my body flew.

“I-it hurts… guh!”

Covered in dirt, I somehow managed to stand up. It seemed like I had somehow entered the garden. The guards in front of the main gate were still gaping at me. Without paying them any mind, I knocked on the door of the Duke’s mansion.

“Duke Balkh! I have something important to discuss! The Scarlet Night—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the door swung open. Standing there was Duke Balkh himself, holding a candelabrum and dressed in sleepwear.

“What’s all this commotion? Hm? Shion, is it not? What’s happening!?”

“The Scarlet Night! The Scarlet Night has arrived!”

“The Scarlet Night, you say!? Shion, explain in detail!”

He promptly took action. I quickly explained the scene I had witnessed earlier, including the presence of the wraiths.

“I can’t see them, but Shion can. Well, if my subordinates have confirmed the existence of the wraiths, there’s no doubt they were here. Seriously, they’ve actually come? Ugh, I believed there might be some mistake! We have no choice… Hey!”

“Yes!”

There was a man in armor behind the Duke, as if he had appeared out of nowhere.

“Prepare the lightning lamps for the security team, the defenders at the barrier points, and the gatekeepers. Mobilize the defense forces and distribute the lightning lamps. We have stored them in the warehouse and a designated storage area. Use them.”

“Are you sure? It was considered a non-issue once.”

“Fine. If something happens, I’ll take responsibility. I’d rather not, but… I’ll take it! Anyway, that’s the plan, so go quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The man in armor swiftly departed.

“Um, is it really okay? Making a judgment based solely on my testimony?”

“What are you talking about? You have dedicated yourself to the study of the Lazy syndrome for a long time and have achieved results. The words of a sincere person are trustworthy in themselves. Shion, I believed you because it’s you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Shion, you should go back home. You have lightning lamps at home, right?”

“Yes, but if I may, it might be better if I stay. I don’t think we can defeat the wraiths with just lightning lamps.”

“That’s… appreciated, but no, however, I’ve already burdened you. I can’t rely on you any further.”

“No, I’ll do it. At least for today, everyone doesn’t believe in the existence of the wraiths, so it’s even more dangerous. If we can get through today’s surprise attack, we can come up with countermeasures in the future.”

“…I see. I understand. I apologize, Shion. I’m burdening you every time. Join forces with the mobilized defense forces. Please communicate with the leader of the defense forces. The name of the leader is Roland. He doesn’t have any distinctive features, but you’ll notice him because he stands out. Well then, I’m counting on you, Shion.”

“Yes!”

Despite looking apologetic, he spoke with a dignified tone. I nodded in response to Duke Balkh.

It’s about to begin. The battle against the wraiths.