Chapter 25
Me and Misha are heading up the stairs towards the upper levels of the dungeon .
“Catching up?” Misha asks .
Sasha tried to use Flight <Fres> but I prevented that . Walking normally we still haven’t caught up though . Perhaps she’s running?
“It’ll be fine . ”
I raise my foot slightly and stamp on the floor . With a rumbling noise, the dungeon begins to shake so violently even standing becomes difficult .
“Hold on . ”
“……Nn……”
Holding onto my hand Misha is able to stay upright somehow .
After about a minute the shaking finally stops .
“You can let go now . ”
Misha gently lets go of my hand .
“What did you do?”
“I changed the topography a little and made some dead ends . We can catch up now . ”
After advancing onward for a while a bright space appeared in front of us .
The room where nature magic could be performed .
Sasha was there though she appeared to be at a loss .
The reason was probably the fact that the passage we came through was no longer there . When I stamped my foot the terrain changed dramatically and collapsed the tunnel .
“Yo Sasha . ”
When I spoke she jumped before turning around . She still grasping the king’s sceptre .
“Is this your doing?”
I assume she’s on about the dead end .
“Why would I tell a traitor?”
Sasha’s eyes take on a grim look .
She’s being cautious since she doesn’t know what my aim is .
“If you want the king sceptre you’ll have to kill me . ”
“What? No . Misha wants to make up with you . ”
Sasha rolled her eyes with irritation .
“Are you an idiot? Have you already forgotten what you did to me a while back?”
Sharp words but Misha just stares at Sasha .
“I’m amazed at this idiot doll as well as you Arnos . You take everything this child says so seriously . This child you are so enamoured with does not exist . It has no life and no soul . It’s just a trash doll that will disappear tomorrow . ”
“Fumu . I’ve already heard about that . So what?”
Were my words unexpected? Sasha appears to be at a loss .
“… . . I see . She told you . Doll-san has been behaving like she’s alive for a long time now . Is it afraid of disappearing?”
“Wrong . ”
“What is?”
“It’s decided that I will disappear . There’s nothing to be scared of . ” Misha said indifferently . “But before that, I want to make up with Sasha . That’s all . ”
Sasha glares at Misha .
“I also want to know the truth . ”
“About what?”
In a rare moment of hesitation Misha stalls before asking Sasha
“Does Sasha hate me?”
Sasha didn’t answer the question and instead turned to me .
“Nee . Do you want to fight again?”
She’s a woman who obviously hasn’t learnt her lesson .
“What kind of match?”
“I will draw a magic formation . If you can use it on your first attempt you win . If you can’t it’s my win . ”
Using the magic formation that another person has built is very difficult . You need to know what type of magic it is as well as understand the technique for using it . Normally the side drawing the formation will have an overwhelming advantage but that’s only if their opponent is not me .
“That’s all? It’s quite advantageous for me . You can apply some more handicaps if you want . ”
“I’m fine . Even you will find this impossible to do . ”
Fumu . She’s confident . How interesting .
“What are you betting?”
“If you win I will answer that child’s question . ”
“And if you win?”
“You’ll use a single magic of my choosing without refusing . ”
A strange condition .
“What magic?”
“Oh? You have to check? Are you too scared to play now?”
Hou . This fellow knows how to rile someone up .
The condition is to use one magic unquestioningly . It’s a broad condition and the use of Contract <Zekt> will make sure it’s absolute . <Zekt> cannot be cancelled by being halfhearted either . I need to be cautious due to my high magical power .
If she makes the conditions simple and limited, using <Zekt> should be okay .
“Very well . I accept your challenge . ”
Sasha smiled in satisfaction and used <Zekt> .
After checking the contents I sign it .
“Well then, whats the formation?”
“I’m going to start drawing it now . ”
Sasha turns around and walks off before stopping in the centre of the room .
Closing her eyes she holds the king’s sceptre with both hands and raises it up .
Magic power particles begin to rise up and an original magic circle starts to form at her feet before gradually spreading out all over the room .
It’s a magical formation of considerable scale .
Originally, this formation would be beyond what Sasha could cast due to her power levels but with the kings sceptre and the <Phoenix’s Vestment> her magic power has risen enough to let her create this formation .
Magic characters and gates form one after the other . Ten minutes or so pass and Sasha is still building it .
I still have no idea what this magic is .
For starters, I don’t know this magic . It resembles no magic from the age of myths . This is either something developed in the last 2000 years or judging by Sasha confidence something she herself has created .
Another reason is the formation is unfinished . By my guess its not even at 10% yet .
There’s too many options to guess at the moment . At this stage, even for me, it’s impossible to narrow down what kind of magic it is .
“How long is this going to take?”
“Don’t worry . It will be done before that child disappears at midnight tomorrow . ”
At her current pace, it will only just be done by midnight tomorrow .
I see . It’s probably a strategy to delay me . Does she think I’ll be in a hurry to save Misha before midnight so I’ll rush and fail or is she planning something else entirely?
“Oh? Are you getting impatient a little?”
“You challenged me to a match so you should do your best . Don’t ruin it with petty tricks . ”
“What wonderful confidence . Take a look . I’ll win this time . ”
During our last match, the differences in our abilities were clearly shown . Where’s her confidence coming from? Sasha understands how powerful I am .
“Interesting . Out of respect for your reckless courage, I’ll not look at all until you complete the formation . ”
I sit down and close my demon eyes before casting Magic Clock <Teru> to see what time it was .
Sasha is concentrating on constructing her formation . At this scale if she makes even a tiny mistake she won’t finish in time though I don’t think her pride will allow her to make a mistake .
With considerable concentration, Sasha continues drawing without making any mistakes .
As the sun goes down moonlight enters the room .
Misha watches her sister figure desperately building the magic formation as if trying to burn the scene into her eyes . It’s like she would regret even blinking and continues watching her .
In this way, time passes and eventually <Teru> shows the time 11:45