Infinite Mage

Canis, frantically dodging the blinding flashes of the Photon Canon, was in unprecedented panic. Why wasn't he getting tired? It seemed as if the limit to his mental strength had vanished.

-Harvest! At this rate, we'll be done for!

There was still no response from Harvest. Unprecedented in their history, this silence was ominous. And the reason behind it was unclear. Harvest wasn't a foolish magical creature that would stay silent in battle just because of a disagreement in opinions.

-Harvest! Answer me!

A Photon Canon brushed past Canis, who hastily twisted his waist to dodge. It was clearly a delayed reaction. It wasn't that he avoided it; it was that he wasn't hit.

"What's going on?"

About a dozen flashes were fired by Shirone, but the aim wasn't precise. Canis then realized something. The numerous flashes were annihilating all the darkness, blocking his Dark Port routes.

'Insane...!'

If he couldn't hit, he would trap and beat him – that was the strategy. It made sense but was too brute-force, wasn't it? Photon Canon, a magic spell that consumes a lot of mental strength, had already been fired more than 200 times. But instead of tiring, the number of flashes was increasing.

'How immense is his mental strength?'

Chilled by the thought, Canis felt despair as dozens of Photon Canons filled his view, blocking all escape routes through Dark Port.

'I can't escape this. It's over.'

He felt bitter and resentful. More than dying, the fact that he was being defeated by a light mage in front of his master was scarier.

-Annoying. Arcane.

-Harvest?

For the first time since the aerial battle began, the mental channel opened. Harvest blocked Canis's path and took the Photon Canon hits. The consecutive shockwaves made the magical creature's body shudder, emitting strange moans.

Unable to absorb through its surface alone, Harvest opened its body wide and swallowed the Photon Canon whole. Its body twitched, and its once slender waist ballooned like a balloon. It began digesting the photons at full capacity, and gradually, its body shrank back to its original form.

"Cough...!"

Canis bent over, shocked. Harvest was able to absorb the Photon Canon because it drew upon his mental strength without permission. However, unilaterally borrowing power without consent was impossible under the master-servant contract.

-Harvest?

-Get it together and prepare!

Having drained all of Canis's mental strength, Harvest rushed towards Shirone, swinging its claws. Shirone, not adept at close combat, was cornered. Harvest's speed was nimble enough to catch up with his teleportation. How could this be? It even seemed much stronger than Canis.

Ethella, thinking the same, looked at Arcane. Watching the battle with emotionless eyes, she understood the situation.

'Viltor Arcane. You are truly cruel.'

Attaching the supreme magical creature to Canis wasn't out of love for his disciple. To the revenge-driven Arcane, a disciple was merely a tool to achieve his goals. Canis was just a fuel tank to maximize Harvest's power.

As Shirone increased the speed of his teleportation, Harvest's movements became faster. Canis's complexion turned as pale as a corpse. Completely drained of mental strength, he couldn't even think. Only feelings of betrayal and deprivation echoed in his mind.

-Harvest. Why?

Only silence returned. Realizing who the real master was, life faded from Canis's eyes. All past events flashed before him, bringing tears.

Shirone retreated to the ground. Blood flowed from a wound as if cut by a sword.

'The Photon Canon doesn't work. There's not much time left for Immortal Function.'

Canis, who came down with Harvest, leaned on the ground, his pupils out of focus. Harvest, unconcerned, charged at Shirone. It had to end the battle before Canis's mental strength completely ran out.

Dodging Harvest's razor-sharp claw attacks, Shirone thought. Until a moment ago, he had the upper hand, but the situation had been reversed in an instant.

Reversal of master and servant.

The situation changed as Harvest, previously just a support for Canis, took the forefront. A magical creature without fear of death. Could there be a more difficult enemy on the battlefield? Harvest moved as a war machine, feeding on the life force from Canis, the fuel tank.

'A war machine...?'

Shirone suddenly realized his mistake. He hadn't noticed it, blinded by Harvest's intelligence. The reversal of master and servant simply meant that the enemy changed from a living being to an inanimate object. Naturally, his magic needed to adapt accordingly.

Shirone canceled the Photon Canon and cast Photon Output. The Photon Canon was dangerous because of its impact force on living beings. However, for lifeless Harvest, physical force was irrelevant. If it specialized in absorbing energy, then overwhelming it with energy beyond its limit was the solution.

Photon Output, being pure magic without even mass, was easier to wield than Photon Canon. Moreover, the Immortal Function was still active. When Shirone's power, channeled through 300 hologram devices around the campus, converged, a beam large enough to cover a human body was fired.

"Aaaaaah!"

Harvest was pushed back, buried in the light. Although it had no physical force, smoke rose from its body made of dark matter. However, immune to light, the properties of the photons were of no help. Only the energy contained in the photons could whittle it down.

'I need even stronger energy.'

Shirone recalled the core principle of photonization theory: energy is mass times the speed of light squared. The Particle of God provides mass. If so, reversing the photonization theory's formula to convert mass into energy was also possible.

Reconfiguring the photon output's power source to be mass-based, he combined it with the omnipotence of the Immortal Function. Mass began converting into energy in real-time. When theory and reality perfectly aligned, the exhilarating feeling was incomparable. Stepping into an unknown world for the first time, Shirone felt a thrill.

"What... what is that?"

Everyone watching the battle widened their eyes. The photon output began to narrow and emit a crimson hue. Although the nature of the magic was unknown, the color itself was threatening.

Yiruki recalled a phenomenon of light his father had mentioned.

"Is that... a laser?"

"Laser? What's that?"

"A state where light energy is highly amplified. You could say it's the ultimate evolution of the flash series. But how is that possible?"

A laser was a matter of brute strength, not talent or effort. At least ten years of mental rebounding was needed before photons could be amplified to laser intensity.

However, it's a different story if approached mathematically. Shirone, reconfiguring photonization theory with the Particle of God, amplified the energy through mass conversion instead of brute strength. Essentially, his unique power source developed a new route.

"Aaaaaah!"

Harvest writhed in pain. The laser was extremely thin compared to photon output, but the concentrated energy was unimaginably powerful. The color was never the issue. The real danger was the invisible heat rays outside the red spectrum. The single-wavelength laser vibrated molecules, generating immense heat.

"Harvest!"

Canis, clutching his throbbing head in agony, shouted. The immense shock hitting his brain meant that in just 2 seconds, Harvest had exceeded its energy absorption limit. This was the power of Shirone's new magic, Laser Pulse Cannon.

Harvest struggled to digest the energy, but the vibration speed of the molecules was too fast. As the absorption reached saturation, its body swelled enormously, ballooning up like a balloon.

Ethella observed Arcane's reaction. Despite the clearly dire situation, his expression remained unchanged, stirring unease within her.

"Canis! Just give up!"

What would be the next state of the massively swollen Harvest? It could be dissolution, but perhaps something even more dreadful awaited.

"Shut up! I will fight!"

"You're being deceived by Arcane, Canis. Harvest isn't your subordinate. Rather, you've been its subordinate all along. Arcane just used you."

Canis didn't respond. It wouldn't be true to say he felt nothing. He had suspected this possibility since he was first told that the ultimate product of an archmage, a magical creature, would be his. He just lacked the courage to face reality. Accepting the truth meant he would be left with nothing.

"I will win! I'm not afraid to die! I'll never surrender to you people!"

When he came to his senses, he found himself in Radum, the world's hell. To Arcane, he was just expendable. To Harvest, whom he thought was a friend, he was merely a fuel tank. Now, nothing mattered anymore. Only his hatred for the world remained.

'Canis...'

Arin covered her mouth, tears streaming down. Canis had always been that kind of boy, poor and suffering, with nothing to offer to those he loved but his own pain.

"Master! Please save Canis! I beg you!"

She didn't even consider him a master anymore. Still, she swallowed her pride, pleading to save Canis. But Arcane only coldly commanded Harvest, indifferent to the plea.

"End it here, Harvest."

Harvest, in a state of energy saturation, couldn't respond. Even attempting to vocalize through vibration could cause an explosion. And that was exactly what Arcane desired.

-Canis. Listen.

-Harvest.

-Arcane intends to detonate me. Probably, everyone here will be caught in the blast. Then, both you and I will be finished.

Arin released the students from mental control. Then, running towards Arcane with tears and snot streaming, she pleaded.

"Save Canis! If not, I'll never forgive you!"

"Arin!"

Canis, rising up, said,

"What are you doing to the master? Stop right now."

"Canis! This man... he..."

"Yes. The master saved us from hell. He helped us escape Radum. That's enough for me. I'll fight to the end."

Was Canis's word sincere? But it no longer mattered. His rage burned so fiercely that even his own death felt satisfying.

"Yeah! We'll all die together!"

Canis screamed to the sky, hot tears rolling down his cheeks. His life had been filthy. But if that was his fate, he would embrace a nauseating end to the last.

"Aaaaaah!"

Bubbles erupted over Harvest's body as molecules boiled. Everyone knew what Arcane wanted – to blow up the entire school.

"Shirone! Stop! Harvest is going to explode!"

Shirone, engrossed in releasing energy, abruptly stopped upon hearing Ethella's words. But the chain reaction in Harvest's body was already underway, foreboding secondary and tertiary explosions.

"Hahaha! Farewell! Dying with trash like me must be disgusting! This ends everything!"

-Canis. I'm sorry.

Canis's face hardened.

-I'm going to release the master-servant contract.

Harvest absorbed all of Canis's remaining mental strength and released the contract. Canis, feeling as if his soul was being ripped out, collapsed in shock.

"Why... Harvest..."

Harvest soared into the sky. How many seconds were left until the explosion? 3 seconds? 2 seconds? In the final moments of life, memories seeped in vibration form. Harvest. Harvest. Harvest. The constantly calling voice was now beyond reach, and Harvest felt regretful.

'Hehehe. Canis. That's your problem. You pretend to be strong unnecessarily.'

Never fearing death, as it had no life to begin with, Harvest was just worried. The sense of betrayal received through the mental channel was still palpable, as if they were one. But now, unable to convey anything, Harvest just hoped.

"I hope Canis isn't too hurt."

At an altitude of 2 kilometers, where voices couldn't reach the ground, the mouth on the shadowy face grotesquely split.

"It was fun, though, Canis."

Boom!

A massive explosion, shattering the world's darkness, erupted.

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