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42nd Chapter

Reverse Flow (5)

Not long ago, Riley told me.

She said she would learn ancient magic.

But as I mentioned then, to master ancient magic, one must invest countless efforts.

Ancient runes.

Casting methods.

Prayers.

Mana circuit modifications.

And so on.

….

…….

Ancient magic is, quite literally, a domain exclusive to those who have dedicated their entire lives to it.

Especially with the system of ancient magic having declined, finding such magicians has become nearly impossible.

“ᛰᚦᚧ᛫᛬᛭ᛮᛯ, ᚥᚦ᛬᛭ᚧᚨᚩ, ᚥ…….”

[…….]

But truly, by a stroke of luck.

That rare breed, which is hard to find in this age, was right before our eyes.

Hmm, hmm──.

In a world slowed down.

Still in a state of “thought acceleration”.

Only about 5 seconds had passed since Garon Theobalt suggested Riley surrender.

Riley was still pretending to contemplate her surrender.

But there is a limit to this.

If more time elapsed, it would become dangerous.

Indeed, suspicion was starting to cloud Garon Theobalt’s face.

“Yaaahnee, haahngboookeul……”

He opened his mouth.

Due to the effects of thought acceleration, his words sounded incredibly slow.

I scrutinized Garon Theobalt’s face.

I could see the muscles in his brow twitching slightly.

That expression is often made when something is bothering him.

As expected, it seems he caught on to the fact that Riley was trying to pull a fast one.

Now we had approximately 2 seconds left.

If “thought acceleration” continued beyond this, Riley’s brain would overload.

So, I needed to find a solution as quickly as possible.

[…….]

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I silently stared at Olivia.

Mumbling─.

Her lips moved in perfect harmony.

I analyzed the ancient runes she was reciting.

-Thus, the Great Mother of Magic commands…….

There was no issue with the words she uttered.

Pronunciation and sentence structure were impeccable.

It seemed that the ancient magical casting forms from the era of turmoil had been perfectly passed down.

[Huh…….]

An involuntary admiration slipped out.

Now I could understand why Olivia had been so confident in her ancient magic skills.

Since the establishment of the modern magic system, I had never seen a magician who could handle ancient runes as well as she did.

It was impossible without perfectly interpreting historical documents passed down through guilds.

I could guess how much effort and dedication she had poured into ancient magic.

While other magicians might regard that effort as foolhardy, I knew just how challenging it truly was.

However….

There was one critical flaw noticeable.

[……Insufficient.]

Her chanting had run into a blockade with the prayer that activates the magic.

Since the key element was missing, no matter how many incantations she recited, the magic remained stagnant and unable to manifest.

Of all times.

At this critical moment, the most vital verse had been lost.

[…….]

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.

Ancient magic artifacts face the ravages of time.

Through that passage of time, it was only natural for some prayers or casting methods to vanish.

The power of time is that strong.

Even a robust kingdom built on prosperity.

The grand statues erected by institutions.

The beautiful landscapes that once ruled an era.

All became dust before the march of time and were forgotten.

This was simply natural.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the order of a world created by the gods.

[…….]

However.

There was one entity that uniquely withstood the ravages of that time.

One being that defied the natural order of the world created by the gods.

Even when the robust castle walls of the great kingdom crumbled.

When the grand statues yielded to rot, and the beautiful lands that once thrived faded away.

There was just one existence that stubbornly endured that eternal passage of time.

That being was the very backbone of magic, the mentor of great magicians who illuminated the Empire.

Alone, it had persevered, struggling fiercely for thousands and tens of thousands of years.

A tome of magic.

[…….]

Yes.

I am that tome.

-Thus, the Great Mother of Magic commands, ignite, oh flame…….

And what Olivia was reciting was also a prayer I had created thousands of years ago.

[Riley.]

“……”

[Now.]

There was no need for further explanation.

The moment my words finished, Riley sprang into action.

One soul united.

With the power of binding now established, my thoughts were practically Riley’s thoughts.

Fwoosh─!

The confinement of time began to wane. The sluggish world slowly started to return to its normal pace.

In that normalized flow of time, Riley connected with Olivia through “telepathy”.

-Olivia.

As we conversed, the skilled telepathy unfolded smoothly, even without relying on the power of binding.

-Don’t stop reciting; just focus on what I’m saying.

Riley’s voice sent a shiver through Olivia.

Thankfully, she didn’t cease her chanting amidst it.

-Olivia, you must also know there is a crucial missing verse in that casting method.

There was no way she wouldn’t know.

Someone as immersed in ancient magic as Olivia would instinctively realize that fact.

She just lacked the courage to seek out the verse lost in the flow of time.

-I will tell you that verse.

But what if we could recover that lost verse?

“……!”

Olivia’s eyes sparked with intrigue. She looked at Riley with disbelief.

-Please don’t ask how I know that verse. It’s a secret that’s a bit tricky to explain.

However.

-If you keep that promise, I will convey to you the final verse that acts as the key to “activation”.

Gulp.

I could see Olivia swallow hard.

-What do you think?

-Would you like to try?

An opportunity to cement the culmination she had sought throughout her life. A chance to prove the reality others dismissed as illusion.

Of course, there was no reason for her to refuse this proposal.

Olivia nodded quietly.

-Alright.

-Then let’s give it a go, Olivia.

Riley turned to face backward.

We could see the enemy we had to confront.

Garon Edward von Theobalt.

High-ranking magician, the Empire’s greatest shield, a living legend, a hero who single-handedly wiped out hundreds of demonic beasts, and so on.

He possessed dozens of titles…….

-Let’s take him down.

Riley, Olivia, and I.

Just like that, the three of us.

-Let’s take him down among ourselves.

As the telepathy ended, Riley swiftly conveyed the key verse to Olivia.

Fwoosh─.

The ignition word for ancient magic.

Of course, since it was an ancient rune Riley was trying for the first time, her pronunciation wasn’t perfect.

“─────.”

But Olivia understood its meaning.

Her talent bound to ancient magic.

With just two syllables heard, she began to fill in the remaining verses on her own.

That’s the nature of ancient runes.

Getting the first button right is the hardest part.

If the starting point is misstep, the subsequent spells are bound to become distorted.

But if you get that first step right.

Then, there would be no issues thereafter.

Mumbling-.

The forgotten last piece clicked into place.

Olivia began to chant ceaselessly without hindrance.

“……”

5 seconds.

From the moment Garon Theobalt suggested surrender to this point, exactly 5 seconds had passed.

Rumble─!

As the activation word flowed from Olivia’s lips, a violent surge of magic erupted.

An overwhelming presence weighed down on everything around us.

Rumble rumble rumble─!

It felt like the ground itself trembled.

The resonating magic shifted the flow of air. The ruins shook, and dust began to cascade from the ceiling.

“What in the world…….”

Garon Theobalt frowned at the sensation.

This must have been the first pressure he ever felt.

And rightly so, since no spell exhibiting this flow of magic existed following the “modern magic system”.

Sensing something amiss, Garon Theobalt trembled and asked us in a quaking voice.

“What…… are you trying to do?”

“Well.”

Riley replied with a grin.

“I believe you should ask my teammate back there.”

Garon Theobalt glanced back at us.

Seeing Olivia engaged in her chanting, his eyes widened in astonishment.

“Surely not….”

He was well aware of it.

The fact that Olivia belonged to the “Blaze Arcane Academy” that studied ancient magic.

“Could it be that she…… is practicing ancient magic?”

Riley simply smiled and did not respond.

“How… how could this be….”

“This is not the time for such things, Sir Theobalt.”

Riley interrupted him.

How we reproduced the ancient magic wasn’t vital.

What mattered right now was something different.

“You need to stop that casting right now.”

Because.

“I assure you, if Olivia finishes her casting before you can break through me, Sir Theobalt, you will lose your life.”

This wasn’t a typical battle.

A time attack.

Until now, Riley had been the one who had to get through in time; now, the roles had completely reversed.

Reverse flow.

The situation had turned upside down.

From now on, the one pressed for time would be Garon Theobalt, not us.

“This is also….”

Garon Theobalt snarled.

“Is this part of your revenge you spoke of?”

“Yes.”

He mumbled.

“……You really are a troublesome personality.”

“I agree.”

Boom──!

The moment the conversation ended, Garon Theobalt lunged at Riley.

Attacks infused with wind mana flew fiercely toward her to bring her down.

Casting and dispelling repeated in the deluge of magic.

Riley utilized her mana affinity to read the spells he was unfolding in advance and countered his magic as it came.

I quickly seized that gap to continue reciting the next verses.

And hearing my words, Riley conveyed them directly to Olivia.

“ᚧ᛫᛬᛭ᛮᛰᚦᛯ᛬᛭, ᚥᚦᚧᚨᚩ…….”

As Olivia continued her chanting, the magical energy in the air heightened.

With it came a wave of heat.

A massive magic circle emerged behind us. From within it, a grand flow of magical energy began to writhe.

My senses of hearing and sight became numb.

Due to the molten waves of magic, nothing could be heard.

The bright light leaking from the magic circle obscured everything.

The resonance of magic dulled my sense of touch.

My sense of smell.

My taste.

All five senses crumbled before the overbearing magic.

In a pitch-black space.

We looked at this world using only “mana affinity”.

In a realm where nothing was visible beyond the flow of magic, Riley and Garon Theobalt fiercely exchanged blows.

I had no thought of losing.

No matter how high-ranking he was, in a situation where all senses were excluded, Riley could fight on equal ground with him.

Because her mana affinity was unmatched by anyone else.

Roar──!

Olivia’s magic circle continued to expand.

As I gazed at this scene, I didn’t pause in reciting the verses.

[ᛮᛰ, ᚦᛯᚧ᛫᛬ᚧᛢᚩ, ᚥℐᚨᚧᚨᚩ…….]

-ᛮᛰ, ᚦᛯᚧ᛫᛬ᚧᛢᚩ, ᚥℐᚨᚧᚨᚩ…….

Yes.

Before the flow of time, the legends created by me and my disciples have faded into obscurity.

The legends became tales.

Those tales became fairy tales.

And those fairy tales turned into illusions.

The ancient magic that had become nothing more than a laughingstock.

But now.

This moment is different.

Time flows in reverse.

It goes back to the past, flipping the timeline.

Reverse flow.

Illusions became fairy tales once more.

Fairy tales transformed back into legends.

And those legends became tales again.

No longer were there foolish people chasing illusions.

Ancient magic.

So powerful it had been forgotten by the people.

With a single spell, it had cleaved the seas in two, toppled mountains with one incantation, and overturned the tides of battle with another──.

“Thus the Great Mother of Magic commands…….”

That forgotten legend.

Once synonymous with the reason for magic’s existence, the overwhelming firepower that consumed everything.

“……Ignite, oh flame.”

BOOM────!

With Olivia’s final howl, seemingly pouring everything she had into it,

A resurrection unfolded before our eyes.