Chapter 35
"Indeed. Mana disappears as soon as it's gathered. It feels like it's being sucked away somewhere."
Mea confirmed this as she watched the mana she had gathered in her hand dissipate into the air like dandelion seeds blown by the wind.
It was just as Teresia had said.
Some force was at work here, dispersing mana.
"It seems like a special rule unique to the Abyss is being enforced here, combined with barrier techniques to control and amplify it."
Mea, who had been observing this process, calmly shared her analysis.
"You mean it's artificial?"
"Probably."
Artificial... Come to think of it, even just looking at where we are, we’re surrounded by flat walls that seem to have undergone some kind of processing rather than being a natural cave.
Mea must have discerned traces of barrier techniques from the structure of this room.
With the Hand Shadow incident as well, the suspicious circumstances were blatantly obvious.
"Teresia, who is that person?"
I asked the question I had put off earlier, as confirming the mana absorption phenomenon Teresia had mentioned was the priority.
The small space we were in, maybe about twenty square feet.
In the corner, there was a person curled up tightly.
The pink hair, emitting a clear presence even in the faint light, particularly caught the eye.
The way they kept muttering something to themselves made them look completely out of their mind.
"She's a senior from our school and the person in charge of this training."
"A Senior?"
"That's right. But don't be surprised. Mages are meaningless without mana."
That actually makes it even stranger.
Senior rank was the same as Mea's rank and the minimum rank for an instructor.
Seniors were those who mainly operated on the 3rd floor of the Abyss and could participate as members in expeditions to the 4th floor.
Such Seniors usually have basic defensive magic constantly surrounding them.
Even if mana released outside the body was weakened due to the mage's reduced control, was it to the extent that even the mana accumulated inside the body was absorbed?
"It's like a trap. This place."
Teresia spoke, frowning as if recalling the moment their mana disappeared without them being able to do anything.
"It dissolved from the outside. You two Devil Sorcerers probably didn't notice because you don't use magic constantly."
"So the mana composing the magic was absorbed first."
"...That's right. Me, and the seniors, we were helpless, unable to cast even a single spell. We should have brought vanguards..."
Should've brought vanguards.
But there must have been something more.
Probably monsters.
It would be stranger if there weren't any monsters in a ruin like this.
Mages whose mana had evaporated.
Mages who couldn't even use physical enhancement struggled to handle even low-level monsters.
It might be different if they were battle mages like Rei or Arthur, but unfortunately, the Blostma School that Teresia belonged to had no connection to such martial arts.
In an already confusing situation with mana being absorbed, the team collapsed due to the sudden intrusion of monsters.
How did Teresia escape in such a situation?
Everyone has a trump card, but…
Is it something usable in a situation without mana?
It could be an item.
Mea, who had been checking the condition of the pink-haired person while listening to Teresia and my conversation, spoke in a serious tone, "Let's prioritize getting out of this place. We should be able to go up through the hole we broke in through and came down from, but the height is a bit of an issue."
When Mea and I came down, we both had physical enhancement, so the height wasn't much of a problem.
However, without physical enhancement now, it was obvious that going up, not down, would be quite a challenging process.
Mea and Teresia discussed how they could go up.
The two prioritized escape, excluding fighting monsters from the start.
They must have judged that there was no chance of winning in this state.
"It doesn't seem possible. The height is too great."
Mea shook her head, concluding that it was impossible from here.
"We need to move. Teresia? You said there were stairs at the place where you came down?"
"Yes, but there are monsters in that direction."
Somehow, the two had become united and were exchanging conversation comfortably.
Both were not talkative and tended not to show interest in their surroundings... it seemed like these aspects matched each other quite well.
"Did you confirm what kind of monsters they were?"
"About that... I couldn't see them."
Teresia explained what had happened to her, revealing her dismay.
The moment they noticed their mana being absorbed and tried to leave, monsters suddenly attacked.
Before they could even confirm what kind of creatures they were, half of the 8 team members lost their lives to the first attack.
From that point, the team collapsed.
It seemed that the pink-haired explorer over there, Priscilla, who had lost her mind, squeezed out her remaining mana to push back the unidentified monsters, and Teresia managed to escape with Priscilla.
However, Teresia could only reach Priscilla.
She couldn't save the others.
Immediately after, Priscilla's mind completely broke down from the shock, leaving her in that state.
"They might still be there now."
"They probably are."
In short, there was one exit whose location they knew.
However, there was a high possibility that monsters were guarding that place.
In the end, it meant there was a high chance of combat occurring.
Could we break through with this number of people without mana?
No, It's absolutely impossible.
A mage without mana was like a soldier without a gun.
As we have to assume combat, mana was absolutely necessary.
"...I'll hold off the monsters."
It was Mea who spoke.
"From the test just now, the absorption of mana isn't instantaneous. There will be significant loss in the process of borrowing mana, but there should be enough leeway to cast simple spells."
"But, Senior..."
Teresia, who knew Mea was a Devil Sorcerer like me, expressed concern.
"As the instructor, it's right that I do it. Teresia and Roman, you two take Priscilla and escape first. Somehow, get out of the range of mana absorption. Then, after that, help me."
Once we get out of the area where mana is absorbed, Teresia would be able to recover her mana, albeit weakly, to provide support, and above all, I would be able to exert my full power by receiving an endless amount of mana from my Patron devils.
In fact, Mea was probably saying she would hold off the monsters with the latter in mind.
She had directly witnessed my fighting style of shooting magic bullets from a distance.
However…
Is there really a need for that?
"Mea, about the mana absorption..."
"Yes. What?"
"If there's an artificial aspect to it, wouldn't there be a limit?"
"Hmm... That's true. Since it seems to be using the Abyss' unique laws, even if there's a limit, it would be considerable. It would be impossible with this number of people. Unless it was a Master-class mage."
"But there is a limit, right?"
Mea cautiously nodded.
That's enough.
I slowly started to draw up mana.
"Then let's test it."
You think you're so good at absorbing mana?
Let's see how much you can really absorb.
Let's start with Seir.
[Let us begin]
While it could absorb mana, it was impossible to block the spiritual connection of the pact seal itself.
According to my will, Seir's mana started to flow into the mortal world through the pact seal.
At the same time, the mana escaped my control and disappeared as if being sucked away somewhere.
"This much isn't nearly enough."
[...How irreverent. Whose mana...]
The mana flowing through the pact seal became even denser.
There wasn't a dramatic change in quantity, but the density became more concentrated.
The Lord of Hell.
This was the mana of a Devil Duke.
The dense mana possessed by a higher-dimensional being eroded this space just by existing, painting it over as its own.
And as if erasing that color, the unprecedented power filling this space gathered up Seir's mana.
It was a tug of war.
A tug of war testing each other's strength for dominion over this space.
Seir continuously pushed forward, and the space kept accepting it.
The pact seal’s conduit, which had expanded dramatically compared to when I first formed the pact, was filled to the brim for once, pumping mana without rest.
But this isn't enough.
If I don't pour in even more mana...
Leraje.
[Alright. Use it as you will.]
The door of the second pact seal on the back of my right hand opened wide.
The mana pouring from two pipes instantly filled my body, which had been repeating the cycle of filling and emptying.
Continuously, continuously filling and emptying.
As emptiness and fullness alternated, my senses also fluctuated up and down.
Is this what bipolar disorder feels like?
The gap between being highly elated and the sudden sense of loss was considerable.
However, more than that, the sense of achievement that I could handle this much mana surpassed everything else.
My whole body tingled.
Even though my body had become accustomed to mana by repeatedly filling my bones with it every day, as Rei had taught me, I felt the same soreness I had experienced the first time I used mana.
Now, I feel neither loss nor fullness.
What does it matter if it's gone or if it's there?
Instead, my consciousness extended outward.
I focused solely on the test of strength against this space.
Whether it was stubbornness or obsession.
I stupidly continued the contest.
And finally, the balance collapsed.
As if venting anger at those who dared to trap them, the mana I had been continuously releasing raced through the space as if running wild.
The rushing black mana leaped out like unleashed fierce dogs, causing a resonant sound.
The humming resonance seemed to be boasting of its victory.
I closed my pact seals.
And felt a sense of regret.
It felt like I had been fully immersed in a tug of war, and suddenly, the other side let go of the rope.
I won, but there was a 2% feeling of incompleteness.
Couldn't you have held out a bit longer?
I think I was also nearing my limit.
"It's broken."
My toy.
§
When was it?
It was probably something Hecate's predecessor, the former school head had said.
No, maybe the one before that?
I'm not sure.
Mea ruminated on the conversation from that day that somehow remained in her memory, even though she could no longer recall exactly who he was or what he looked like.
"There are mages who use the power of Devils without any price."
"Nonsense."
Mea had dismissed it.
Why are Devils called Devils?
It's because their innate nature is evil, and they are a kind that taints others with evil.
They abhor loss and willingly accept others' despair, fear, and suffering as their nourishment.
How could one handle the power of such beings without paying a price?
She would have understood if there was a heinous Devil Sorcerer who had pushed all the price onto others, dyeing the world red with blood.
Despite Mea's reaction, he had spoken without a shred of doubt.
"No, they really exist. Those loved by Devils. Those with the potential to reign over Devils not as pact-bearers but as masters. I hope you meet one. A Devil Sorcerer who can take away your pain."
Had he seen it?
Had he also seen it?
A scene like this.
A being who continuously and infinitely emitted mana with a density that could be counted on one hand among all the Devils Mea had seen, without any fear or sense of crisis.
Mea's body trembled.
"You..."
It exists.
It’s right in front of my eyes.
In reality.
It truly exists.
A person who only received power from Devils, who usually took precious things as payment for power.
A person who wielded their authority and freely took that power against those who savor the suffering of their pact-bearers and long for their destruction from above their heads.
One who, at the pinnacle of all Devil Sorcerers, gathered all the sins and pain they bear.
He… is the savior of evil.