Chapter 31 - Coming of Age Ceremony (3)

He had been able to use smoke formulas for quite some time. Over the past 8 years, he had occasionally observed Irina's formulas and tried a few, all of which worked well. However, it was impossible to finely adjust the smoke as she did.

This was due to a lack of understanding of smoke formulas. Just as anyone could swing a sword, but proper handling required learning swordsmanship, he could manifest the magic but was hindered in its application. Unlike handling lightning, shape transformation required controlling magical power at the particle level.

While this would have been too much for an ordinary mage's brain to handle, it wasn't that difficult for Acel.

He held the smoke that had changed to a sharp point in one hand, spinning it while looking at Irina.

"Lightning formulas feel more like handling energy than a medium, but smoke feels like delicately adjusting each particle that makes up the gas, so it's a bit unfamiliar. That's why I'd like some advice."

"...I don't quite understand the concept of adjusting particles. How does that work?" Irina muttered this and carefully examined the smoke spear Acel had created. 

Then she understood.

Smoke formulas belong to a type of magic with a quite complex process of constructing spells. Even just creating a spear shape required using a lot of characters in the spell. However, the spear Acel made had no such spell. He simply used a formula to control smoke, and created the shape by moving each particle of tobacco smoke individually.

It was an unbelievable feat. Irina rubbed her temples, feeling as if the magic she had been with all her life was being denied.

"There's a limit to things, but you keep doing more amazing things as time passes."

She glanced at Ena with a tired look, wondering where on earth she had picked up such a person. Then she dispersed the smoke Acel had created with her hand. Since it wasn't a shape created by magic, there was no backlash to Acel. He caught the disappearing smoke in mid-air, forming it into a sphere as he opened his mouth.

"How can I improve?"

"I have nothing to say. The moment I give you advice about your magic, it becomes my magic, not yours. Advice is essentially meaningless to a mage with talent like yours."

"..."

"So... I'll give you a book about smoke magic that I personally have. Read it and create your own new formula. That would be right."

Giving advice to a mage who had reached a certain level could sometimes lead to negative influences. Especially if it was a mage who hadn't yet realized their uniqueness.

Even among mages who had learned the same type, if their uniqueness was different, the same formula could often manifest magic with completely different effects. The same went for creating magic.

Irina didn't want to take away such boundless possibilities from Acel.

So Acel understood her answer. He nodded and let the smoke sphere float into the air.

"I'll give you the book before you move into the academy dormitory. Is two days from now okay?"

"Yes. I'll be waiting."

"Alright, alright."

Irina smiled slightly and tapped Acel's head with her pipe.

At that moment, all the lights in the banquet hall went out. Simultaneously, a wave of powerful magical power swept through the hall. There was no need to wonder whose it was. Acel turned his head towards the source of the magical power and waited for the light to return.

"Disciple of Genesis, Acel."

As the voice was heard, the banquet hall brightened. Without time to perceive it, Acel was standing in front of three old mages. A teleportation formula manifested at a speed that didn't give the target time to realize. It was impossible unless the mage's level had reached that of an archmage.

Master of teleportation magic. Galven Pirgoan.

The mage on the far left. One of the elders of the Witch Association. Acel glanced at her, who looked quite eccentric, then deeply bowed his head and bent one knee.

"Yes."

After that, formal congratulations were given. Something about being young, about talent, congratulations on becoming an adult, and so on. Of course, he didn't ignore it. Acel continued the coming of age ceremony while engraving their words in his mind.

After the congratulations ended, Galven, who had been silent until now, looked down at Acel and opened her mouth, "Raise your head."

"Yes."

"We have brought magic tools to celebrate your coming of age ceremony. Choose and take one of them."

The elder standing on the right stretched out her hand into the air. In sync with her movement, a black hole appeared in mid-air, and the elder took out three magic tools from it.

They were taken out from a spatial artifact. As it was known to be a rare artifact, even Acel was seeing it for the first time.

I wonder if I could ask for that.

Of course, it was clear that wouldn't be allowed, but if he had a spatial artifact, he could dissect the formula and learn spatial formulas, so he couldn't help but desire it.

However, it would be strange to throw a tantrum for something he couldn't obtain. Acel cleanly shook off his greed and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the three magic tools floating in the air. 

Galven confirmed his gaze and began explaining, "Reson's Mirror. A magic tool that shows the true name and face of anyone related to demons if they are nearby. It's an item directly created by Reson, who was famous as a demon hunter."

"..."

"Bracelet of Flow. Once a day, it's a magic tool that deflects an attack the wearer didn't perceive in a completely different direction."

"..."

"Lastly, the Feather of Ill Omen. It's a shape-changing magic tool that can transform into forms like daggers, arrowheads, or spearheads. Any part affected by this feather rapidly rots. Choose one of these three."

"I'll take the Bracelet of Flow."

There was no need for deliberation. Acel immediately answered while looking at Galven.

The mirror and feather. They were undoubtedly all excellent magic tools. However, for the research Acel wanted to do right now, the remote interception formula, he needed the Bracelet of Flow.

Disassembling and analyzing the formula in the bracelet would help in creating magic. Although Reson's Mirror was tempting too, it had to be pushed back in priority.

"Then take it. This is now yours."

The choice was made smoothly without a moment's hesitation. Perhaps pleased by this, Galven smiled faintly and personally put the bracelet on Acel's right wrist. A bracelet made of simple black cloth without any pattern. As soon as Acel wore the bracelet, he could fully feel the magical power and formula inherent in it.

This would be enough to help with his research. Acel smiled with satisfaction and bowed his head.

"Thank you."

With that, the awarding ceremony ended. Acel raised his bowed body, and the elders gave him words of blessing.

"Keep striving. All the rumors we hear say you will become the next archmage."

"You flatter me."

"Whether it's flattery or not is for us to decide. Don't settle for the present, but climb higher."

"..."

"Be diligent. Even after entering the academy, experience the world and look upwards. Don't forget to return to Wyheim during vacations."

Words thrown one by one by each. Acel nodded, thinking that they might not be eccentric, but actually old-fashioned elders who cared for their juniors.

"I'll keep it in mind."

Fortunately, the elders didn't do anything more than that. Instead, after telling him to enjoy the coming of age ceremony, they instantly left the banquet hall using Galven's magic. Acel looked at where they had been standing for a moment, then returned to Ena while fiddling with the bracelet.

The coming of age ceremony was over.

Now only entering the academy remained.

***

Human sacrifice was more complex in procedure than one might think. Not only did it involve simply capturing and grinding up people, but also carefully considering the items needed for the ritual, the magic circle, and the amount of sacrifice to offer in order to achieve meaningful results.

"Aaagh!! Stop! Stooop!! Grrrk..."

"Oh, stay still. I'm telling you I need to cut off your legs to match the weight?"

In this regard, devil worshippers often had many people skilled in human sacrifice. Having conducted rituals offering so many humans as sacrifices, most knew very well how many humans were needed for which ritual, and how to match their weight.

The woman was the same. She clicked her tongue at the old man who had fainted after writhing in pain, and threw him onto the magic circle without even stopping the bleeding. The old man's family members, who were also on the magic circle, rushed to him. They hurriedly tried to press their hands against the amputation site to stop the bleeding, but the bleeding didn't stop.

It was because there was a blood mage among those conducting the ritual. The blood mage showed an excited expression as he shoved life force into the magic circle using the old man's flowing blood. The woman glared at him and folded her arms.

"Girzen, do it calmly. It's the job of filling Him with blood and flesh. Do it reverently."

"Hehe... That's why it's more exciting, Delim. When I think about how great a thing I'm doing, I can't stop getting excited."

"Crazy psychopath bastard," the woman called Delim muttered and began taking out people trapped in cages one by one. 

Among them, she threw the women alive onto the magic circle, and for the men, she just cut off their heads and stacked them neatly on the characters engraved in the magic circle. Blood flowed madly and screams echoed everywhere, but Delim paid no attention.

"P-please save me, please save me, please..."

"Shut up."

Slash!

Delim cleanly cut off the head of the man begging and grabbing her feet, then carefully placed it on the last character. She stuck out her tongue and pulled the dead man's tongue with her hand, then tapped it while smiling.

"Ding ding ding~ How lovely are you when you're still? Should I give you a kiss?"

She didn't wait for an answer. Delim immediately kissed the pulled-out tongue and ravenously tore it off to eat. With a crunch, her pupils split vertically, and the sorcerer leading the ritual smiled brightly and said, "Delim, come out now. We're about to start the ritual."

"Don't interfere with my love with him."

"Don't worry. Your 47th husband will soon become one with Him. Then you can share your love to your heart's content."

"Will He like me?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't like a lovely and cute woman like you?"

At the sorcerer's words, Delim cut off the man's tongue with a regretful look.

She chewed on the cut-off tongue noisily as she approached behind the sorcerer. The sorcerer smiled at her once, then murmured with his hands clasped together.

"Let's begin."

Woong.

As he uttered this, the sorcerer operated his curse power. His curse power, corrupted by hundreds of human sacrifices, resonated with the blood mage's characters and caused a dark red wave. The wave soon clung to the women's bodies like insects and frantically gnawed at their blood and flesh.

Ear-splitting screams filled the space. But the sorcerer still moved his lips with a calm expression.

Sorcery, carried out differently from magic. A miracle manifested by hammering in wishes and imagery using specific substances as mediums. That technique activates using blood, flesh, and souls as mediums to form a vessel to contain a transcendent being existing in another dimension.

Boom!

The wave of curse power spread over the magic circle.

The movements of the writhing women stopped. The focus disappeared from their eyes. They looked at each other, then opened their mouths wide and started to devour the person next to them. Organs were strewn about, and countless corpses piled up on the floor.

Eventually, only one tattered woman remained on the magic circle. She looked at the sorcerer with blank eyes and moved her lips.

"Iwantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsoulswantsouls"

"Phew. It's a success. The vessel for Him has been created."

The sorcerer smiled brightly as he spoke, showing no fear even while looking at the woman muttering eerily.

"Now we just have to wait until Gorsel brings a mage."

"Do you think that young brat can do it properly? I don't think so. It would have been better to send me or Delim."

"There are things he can do because he's young. As you know, young souls are ideal for offering souls."

"Is that why you had him enroll in the academy? To catch kids of similar age?"

"Yes," the sorcerer answered, stretching his mouth corners.

"If they're too young, they're immature, and if they're too old, the ritual becomes unstable. A mage who has just become an adult is ideal. And the academy is a place crawling with such mages."

"...Haa, but it will take a long time to catch one. It's true that I, who want to see Him quickly, am not pleased with this."

"What can we do? Don't you think it's better to have proper thinking and conversation possible than seeing Him unable to do anything stupidly?"

Instead of answering, the blood mage Girzen clicked his tongue and looked at the woman on the magic circle. The sorcerer also didn't continue the conversation and muttered softly while smiling and looking at the ceiling.

"I'm looking forward to it."