Ser loved magic.
Growing up under the tutelage of her wizard parents at the Mage Tower, she couldn’t help but fall in love with the miracles that magic could create.
Was it the fruit of that fervent emotion?
From a young age, Ser showed extraordinary talent in magic.
By the time she started speaking, she could feel the flow of magical power.
When her intellect sharpened, she manipulated that power with ease.
And by the time she hit her teenage years, she possessed a quantity of magical power that transcended human limits.
Her parents, too, witnessed glimpses of their daughter’s talent and hoped she would fulfill the dreams they couldn’t achieve.
Thus, they became her teachers and began implanting various magical knowledge within her.
While other kids were learning languages, Ser recited incantations.
When reading storybooks, she read intermediate magic texts.
When eating her favorite foods, she chugged potions.
And when she caught a cold and lay bedridden, she battled magical exhaustion.
When spring came, she made flowers bloom with magic.
When summer arrived, she created ice while tied under the blazing sun.
In autumn, she returned falling leaves back to trees.
And when winter arrived, she lit a fire while trapped in a freezer.
Rice that she always ate with her bare hands, she began eating from alchemical dishes.
The scar left from a wild dog bite was completely healed with healing magic.
The muddy water she reluctantly drank to survive was sweetened using a newly created artifact.
The insects she consumed for protein were replaced by the carcasses of beheaded beasts.
Though she lived a life worse than a beast, she didn’t consider it unhappiness.
She regarded the talent she possessed and the expectations of her parents as blessings.
And as she welcomed a new spring, many titles began to attach to her name.
The youngest wizard of the Mage Tower.
The prodigious genius.
The child born of magic.
The guide that would lead to the end of magic.
And, the reincarnation of the great sage Beelus.
Such heavy titles became the driving force that propelled her higher.
Based on the magical formulas found in grimoires, she created her own new spells.
She developed a more efficient method of using magical power that was different from the known ways.
She created grand spells that could only be wielded with boundless magical power unique to her.
She invented incantations that embedded magical energy into words, a domain thought to belong solely to dragons.
By the end of her teens, instead of using the magical power stored within her body, she created a unique magic that converted the floating magical power in the air directly into spells.
Upon becoming an adult, the title following Ser’s name was no longer just a nickname, but a title of the miraculous grand mage.
Her eyes were looking toward the end of magic.
Her legs were moving straight toward its end.
Magic loved Ser, and Ser loved magic.
However, the world did not love Ser.
It was jealous of her overwhelming talent.
It envied her great achievements.
It coveted her endless magical power.
The head of the Mage Tower was among those humans.
Ultimately, blinded by such emotions, the head of the tower crossed the line.
Attempting to open the door to the spirit realm, which could never be opened with human power, using Ser’s body as a medium.
Spreading false rumors.
Ruining those around her.
Scheming, envying, and igniting jealousy.
But Ser’s parents stood by her until the end.
It was unclear whether it was a parental affection or a wizard’s longing to see the end of magic, but Ser was incredibly grateful for it.
So, when her parents were taken hostage, she did not hesitate to offer herself.
Even if her magical power was depleted.
Even if the total quantity of magic diminished.
As long as her knowledge, talent, achievements,
And the feelings of love for magic, along with her loving parents remained,
She believed she could reach the end of magic.
So, when she walked to the head of the Mage Tower and offered her magical power, everything collapsed.
The magical formula that the head of the tower had built over a lifetime was fundamentally flawed, and
The intention of wanting to become the master rather than summoning spirits provoked the spirits into rage.
This ugly sentiment triggered the wrath of the spirit king.
The spirits went berserk.
Using Ser’s magical power as a medium, the summoned spirits began to slaughter all the mage tower’s wizards.
Included in that number were Ser’s parents.
The wind severed limbs.
The water suffocated.
The fire burned wounds.
The earth pierced bodies.
The darkness turned bodies into disgusting meat chunks.
The light healed it all.
Again,
The wind.
The water.
The fire.
The earth.
The darkness.
The light.
But Ser was a genius.
Even in such a situation, she did not lose her reason and precisely realized what she could do and what she had to do.
She evaporated all her magical power spread throughout the area.
She altered the magical power flowing within her body.
She twisted, blocked, bent, tore, and sealed the path.
Next, she changed the nature of the magical power.
Finally, she reconstructed her body in a way that made it impossible to use magic again.
She completed these processes just as the light healed her parents’ bodies.
As Ser’s power vanished, the dismembered bodies of her parents returned to normal.
The spirits, having lost their medium, scattered.
Her parents, now whole, remained at the location.
That alone was enough.
Though she gave up the magic she loved, it didn’t matter.
With her parents who loved her, she thought she could rise time and time again.
However.
The ‘world’ did not love Ser.
It did not sympathize.
It did not feel pity.
Her parents, who had tasted the pain of death repeatedly,
Could no longer retain their intellect.
They became living meat chunks,
Unable to even utter the desire to be killed,
Pulling out their own tongues and tearing off their own flesh.
And within the ordinary body that she had become,
Resided the spirit’s magical power that had done that to her parents,
The power that had shattered all of her.
The door to the spirit realm was connected.
But still, Ser was a genius.
She knew exactly what she had to do.
Crawling, she cut her dad’s throat.
With no blade, but a broken shard of glass.
With only a little strength, over and over,
She tore through skin.
Broke bones.
And snuffed out breath.
With her bony hands, she pierced her mom’s heart.
Tore through skin with a broken shard of glass,
And crushed bones with rocks,
Piercing her heart.
She did not borrow the spirit’s power.
She quietly ended it with her own hands.
And when a new spring arrived,
A new title appended to her name.
A mage who creates miracles without a shred of magical power.
A mage who handles beautiful spirits.
A mage who conjures fantastical landscapes.
Thus,
Spirit Master, Ser.
*
“Why are you all like this?”
With a sound that felt like the cozy hut was crumbling, an individual arrived to change the mood.
“Si, Sirin…!”
I rushed to Sirin and grabbed her arm.
“Hmm? Why so suddenly…”
Sirin tilted her head, puzzled at my odd reaction, then she smiled wryly.
“Didn’t I tell you to use the ignition stone?”
“This is faster.”
“Ugh, this is such a hassle.”
Shaking her head, Sirin patted my back and walked to the couch where our companions were seated.
“I hope you understand, but… it won’t be easy. Still, they aren’t bad, so please don’t push them away too much.”
“Ah… I don’t think they are necessarily bad.”
[Exactly. She’s not a bad girl, just a crazy one.]
“Sh, shut up!”
I slapped the bracelet around my wrist.
“That aside, have you taken a look at Ser’s body yet?”
“…Not yet…”
Rubia sighed tremulously and lowered her head.
I approached Rubia and squeezed her hand tightly.
It was damp, cold, and trembling.
“Well… Rubia, if it’s you, you should be able to fix it, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Then that’s a relief.”
“Hmm. And, I’d feel bad just asking for help, so I’ll make sure to give a well-deserved reward.”
Sirin said while slurping down my strawberry milk, turning her gaze towards Ser.
Ser, too, lifted her steaming cup and spoke.
“I’ll do my best to provide whatever I can. For now… shall I take a look at the Fragment of End that Lady Noah is holding? I have somewhat of a knack for alchemy, you see, heh.”
“…Y-yes…?”
“I didn’t peek or anything. I felt a similar energy to that of the Monster of the End from back in the day, so I just realized it.”
[Wow… she’s a truly talented nutcase.]
Ser smiled with an aristocratic grin, and
Kartia muttered something basely.
“And, Lady Rubia… is there anything I can assist you with?”
“Ah, I… um…”
Rubia, having pondered for a moment while tapping her lips, cautiously opened her mouth.
“If you can do alchemy, is it possible for you to create artifacts?”
“Of course.”
“Ah… then, um… I’ll tell you separately about that. Hehe.”
When Rubia finished speaking, she held my hand tightly and quietly smiled.
No longer cold or trembling.
“Good. Then, shall we start slowly?”
“Yes. Let’s do that. Ser, could you lend me your hand first?”
“Yes, understood.”
Nodding, Ser took another sip of coffee and extended her hand to Rubia.
“So, then, you should also try training!”
Seeing this, Sirin nodded and stood up.
“Yes, yes…? Training…?”
“Well, even if you can’t, it’ll take at least three days. We can’t just sit around doing nothing, right?”
“Th-three days…?”
“Three days is actually a fast estimate. If Rubia works non-stop, it’ll be around three days, but it could also stretch longer.”
Rubia, who had been sending divine power into Ser’s body for a bit, finally spoke with difficulty.
“Um… yes. I think it will take that long. But… how did her body end up like this…?”
“Heh, things just happened this way.”
“That’s what you say. Let’s get moving!”
Sirin smiled satisfyingly and grabbed my wrist.
And just like any other time, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
“Lady Rubia, your skin looks fantastic.”
“Yes, y-yes? What did you say?”
Just before the scenery shifted.
“The fragrance, the feel, the atmosphere… It’s similar to mine.”
“Ahh…! S-Se, Ser…?!”
Strange sounds I couldn’t comprehend brushed past my ears.
[Uh-oh, this seems bad.]
