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Chapter 267 – Aerial Party VS Ex Party 2 / At the Base of the Heavens

267 – Aerial Party VS Ex Party 2 / At the Base of the Heavens

The choice that Aerial and I made was, oddly enough, the same.
We fully operated our magical energy organ and poured the generated magical energy into the Holy Sword.
By compressing and purifying the magical energy with the power of the Holy Sword, we could improve its quality and increase the effectiveness of the subsequent magic.

There are two goals for all first phase participants.
『To win the battle right in front of them』and『to win the final battle』.

Some may say that we should only focus on the former, but can we defeat the strongest Demon King and the best Hero in an exhausted state?

― That’s impossible.

Therefore, we have to think about it.
How to win without completely exhausting our finite power.
In the case of me and Aerial, it’s the magical energy of the Spirits.

I would not have been able to make such a decision until a while ago.
My comrades had already done enough.
I might have pushed myself to do something about it.

But now, I can say it.

「I’ll leave it to you all for a while.」

My comrades are strong.
And I fight to win with them.

The Storm Hero and the Jet-Black Hero did not move while holding their Holy Sword, and only both of their comrades started to move.

The sound of an explosion.
A raging storm and a red flame.

The Wizard of Foresight Merlin and the Crimson Wizard Michel’s huge flame ball collided in the center of the field and exploded.
The magic was on a scale that if an average Wizard did it, they would have to refine their magical energy and magic formula for a few minutes.
But the two of them released that kind of magic in an instant.

A blast stroked the field and our clothes swayed.

Michel gritted her teeth.
It was a rare behavior from her, as she gets excited when she uses magic.

「What’s wrong, Michel? Your usual happy face looks better on you, you know?」

「…Merlin-chan, aren’t you stronger than before?」

Merlin replied to Michel’s words as if it was nothing.

「Ahh, about that. My wand has been strengthened, so it’s still like a Holy Wand. The wand of my genius self has received a blessing… Is this what they mean by making a strong person even stronger? It’s a proverb from the East, isn’t it? Can you ask Masamune if I’m right or not?」

Merlin is acting like usual.
Michelle didn’t respond to her and squeezed out her voice.

「…I can’t afford to lose in fire-attribute magic.」

Michel’s nickname came from her prominent fire-attribute magic.
And her magic was offset by Merlin, albeit only one shot right after the start of the match.
I guess that hurt Michel’s pride.

Unfortunately for her, Merlin, the all-rounder genius, is not the same as a jack of all trades but master of none.
It’s not that she doesn’t have an attribute that she’s particularly good at, but rather that she can handle all attributes flawlessly.
This is more than enough talent to make many Wizards despair as they work hard to master just one attribute.

「You’ve already lost to Fenix anyway. What’s so frustrating about me taking away the title of strongest that you got when Fenix hasn’t appeared.」

Merlin is an important comrade, but to put it simply ― she has a bad personality.
The more she likes that person, the more she wants to annoy them.

When she agitates the people she likes, it works very effectively.
She could draw out more strength from the other party.

A huge amount of magical energy emanated from Michel.
It was concentrated on top of her head and became a flame ball that was two times larger than the one before.

「I won’t accept that～ 」

There is no way that a member of the world’s 1st ranked Party would give in to despair.
It doesn’t matter whether the other party is an all-rounder genius or a Hero loved by the Four Great Spirits.

She has no intentions of giving in.

「That’s great, excellent. That’s exactly what makes me get fired up.」

The magical energy that flowed from Merlin into the Holy Wand is converted into magic.

「――」

Michel’s eyes widened.
She must’ve realized.

She must’ve understood what that is.

Which is why she was at a loss for words.

「The Ultimate Spirit Magic is referred to as Esoteric. Then what do you call an Ultimate Magic?」

It was a huge Phoenix.

「…the base…of heavens.」

Michel incoherently mumbled that.

It is said that magic is a degraded form of Spirit Magic.
It was lowered to a level that can be used by humans.

The only way for a human to use Spirit Magic is to awaken as a Hero that has a special ability and be liked by the Spirits, or to become a Possessed and have their weapons receive a blessing.

Then, will other humans never reach the realm of Spirit Magic?
Will my limits be determined by whether or not I am loved by a Spirit, by that chance of fate?

In the past, there were those who resisted such reality and exceeded their limits.
There was a person who touched the edge of Spirit Magic, even though it was supposed to be unable to be used by those who were not chosen by a Spirit.
An improbable possibility realized by persistence, passion, and effort to the point of distorting logic.
A feat that seemed to have reached the base of the heavens, a realm that should be unattainable by humans.

It is called the Heavenly-Base Magic.
Currently, there are two people who are said to be able to use Heavenly-Base Magic.

The first person.
The former 1st rank, the Unyielding Hero Altreed.
He can use wind-attribute Heavenly-Base Magic.

It’s a feat that would normally be passed down through human history, but that’s not how it’s currently being evaluated.
There are several reasons for this, but the fact that it was a wind-attribute is a big part of it.

There was a Hero in the same time period as him who could use Esoteric Magic and control『Wind』from the Four Major Attributes.
In addition, the Aerial Party surpassed the Altreed Party to become 1st Rank.
In the same year, the Altreed Party was disbanded.

The public’s attention was focused on the stronger light and because of that his awesomeness did not penetrate through.
The marvelous skill of the best Hero was not appreciated by the world because of the times.

But those who know about it understand.
They know just how amazing he was.

The second person.
The former member of the 1st ranked Party, the Great Saint Panacea.
Her ability to heal even the most serious near-death wounds can be considered as the peak of White Magic.

Despite having an unfavorable Job, her overwhelming talent made the world aware that she was an important member of the world’s 1st ranked Party.
A true genius who overturned the common sense of that era.
That genius withdrew from the front lines out of love for her child.

And the information from here on out is unofficial.

The third person.
A member of the 2nd ranked Party, the Wizard of Foresight Merlin.
She has accomplished reaching the Heavenly-Base Magic of all Four Major Attributes.

Hoping to meet the Spirits once again, she has mastered the path of magic, and her achievement has surpassed the limits of humanity.
The number of skills that a person can use does not equate to strength. This is obvious.
However, in this day and age, the most excellent Wizard is Merlin.

Finally, the fourth person.
A former member of the 4th ranked Party, the Greatest Black Sorcerer Lem.
His Black Magic is indistinguishable from Black Sorcery.

Not only did he cast Black Magic on all 200 thieves, but he also used multiple effects and switched between them as needed, which is no human feat.
The most frightening fact about him was that he was not satisfied with his power.
It’s as if he knows with his own body that there is a higher level.

There is something strange with this era.
Including me, there are four people who have reached the Esoteric, and four people who have reached the Heavenly-Base.
There’s also the world’s strongest Demon King.
Ever since the world was at peace, this is definitely the era where the strongest people have gathered.

Not so long ago, I might have felt fainthearted.
I might have said that I was unlucky to be born in such an era, or something like that.
But now, this is how I feel.
How lucky I am.
Together with my strong comrades, if we can defeat those strong opponents, we can prove that we are the strongest!

Merlin smiled.

「I really like you, Michel. But I’m going to prove it today. That I’m the Wizard closest to the Spirits.」

「…Still, I won’t lose! I’m not going to yield in fire-attribute magic, even if you’re the most excellent…!」

Michel’s flame ball was further inflated by the magical energy poured by the user.
It was like the sun.

The world was illuminated in red by the greatest Wizards.