Chapter 105: The Power to Change Fate
“I’m not surprised.”
While coolly deflecting the flashes of magic unleashed by Makina, the Night Witch weaves her words.
“That Leor or whoever appeared in your plight. That Makina-Orchestra rose up and rushed to your side.”
“—-kuh……!?”
Shadows overflow, pushing back the beams Makina fires.
“[Flame Magic Sphere]!”
Even a slight graze from those shadows means I’m out. I lay down long-range wires and unleash a barrage of fireballs. I don’t expect this to defeat her.
“It’s only natural, considering the [Original Magic] you fully awakened.”
“…….!? [Original Magic]……you say……?”
What flashes in my mind is the mysterious power that welled up when I saved Makina. A magic unknown to me.
“[Water Flow Magic Slash]!”
Makina wields the mechanized sword in her right hand, unleashing a water slash. But as soon as it touches the despair shadows the Night Witch unfurls, the water stops and dissipates.
“The power that defeated my former self. The magic that rewrites the story called ‘fate’……. That is the [Original Magic] you now harbor.”
“Like I know any magic like that!”
“Even if you don’t know it, you’ve been rewriting fate countless times.”
“—-ugh……!”
A massive blackness overflowed from the Night Witch’s entire body. Makina and I simultaneously interrupted our magical attacks and hastily switched to defense. We didn’t know what was coming. Just that our accumulated battle experience gave us that intuition, and that intuition is uncannily accurate about bad things.
“[Earth Magic Wall]!”
I hastily erected an earth defensive wall. Immediately after, shadows filled every direction centered on the Night Witch.
“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Like a flash, shadows gushed out in every direction around us. The impact blew Makina and me away, slamming us into the floor.
“Kugh……Looks like we managed to block the shadows……Maki.na……you alright over there……”
“Yes……Somehow, thanks to you hastily layering walls, I avoided contact with those shadows……”
And yet, just the sheer impact alone blew us this far away.
The combined might of Charl’s immense magic power and miasma granted such destructive force.
“…………As I thought. You are unconsciously using [Original Magic].”
“Like I know. Spouting nonsense……”
“Even that last attack proves it. That should have been the end by all rights. That was a highly taxing spell. Not some half-baked attack that could be blocked by defensive magic. But you used [Original Magic] to rewrite the original fate of [unable to block the attack] into [able to block the attack].”
The Night Witch spoke with such conviction that it should have been easy to deny her words.
But with each additional word, something deep inside me resonated with the witch’s claims.
“The path you’ve taken, it’s all thanks to rewriting fate. It’s because you rewrote fate that Leor and Makina-Orchestra arrived at such convenient timing. It’s because you rewrote fate that Makina-Orchestra, who should have died, survived…….”
“……You saying it’s all thanks to magic?”
“That’s what I’m saying……. Didn’t you find it strange? That the girl you liked conveniently had her engagement broken off. That the [Legendary Goldsmith] conveniently appeared, allowing you to add her to your party. That opportunities to demonstrate your strength conveniently rolled your way after that. That when the capital was attacked and your fiancée was in danger, you conveniently rushed to her aid…… It all happened because you wished for it. You rewrote fate and created this heroic tale for yourself.”
The drumbeats echoing in my chest seemed to affirm her words.
“At first I was skeptical. That someone would emerge with the same ridiculous [Original Magic] that defeated me before. But……after witnessing that surge of magic power that saved Makina-Orchestra, I was convinced. You possess the same [Original Magic] to rewrite fate as Berg-Leuville……. But this time, it won’t go like before.”
As she observes my demeanor, the Night Witch grasps her outstretched hand.
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“Before, fate was rewritten into the heroic tale of [The Night Witch is defeated]. But this time, I have this [Despair] power. As long as I have these shadows, my own fate cannot be rewritten. No matter the [Original Magic], the moment you try to interfere, the rewriting itself will [Stop] and be [Lost]. Your [Original Magic] cannot reach me. You cannot defeat me!”
“Are you done with your monologue……. Listening was a waste of time, you’re just spouting nonsense.”
“………………What did you say?”
“Quit yapping about fate. All that grandiose talk, and you’re just babbling about mundane things. Waste of my time listening.”
“Mundane? Ha. What are you saying? The [Original Magic] to rewrite fate that you possess is a special magic that once even defeated me. You call that mundane? Are you saying anyone can rewrite fate?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Rewriting fate isn’t anything special.”
I whip my body and stand up. As many times as it takes.
“I failed and made mistakes. But I got back up, faced forward, and took a step again. If I had given up, I would have stayed that way. If I had just stood still because I made a mistake, nothing would have changed. My fate changed because I refused to give up……!”
I take a step forward. Kick off the ground and start running.
What flickers in my chest like a small flame is the figure of a girl. The figure of Charl that I’ve seen get back up so many times since childhood.
“There’s nothing special about it! Anyone can change their fate if they don’t give up!”
I shout out. Just a plain, ordinary fact. Utterly mundane words.
“Insolent fool!”
With the witch’s enraged cry, the shadows undulate and surge forth like a turbulent stream.
“Al sama!”
As if clearing my path from behind, Makina’s covering fire rains down.
Countless magic shell rounds shower down, wearing away at the shadows and illuminating my path forward. No, it’s more than that. I grab what Makina fired and—-
“Futile!”
Faster than Makina’s shelling can erode, faster and faster, darkness overflows, engulfing the path ahead in pitch blackness.
Just shy of reaching the witch, just as I was about to make it through, I lost any means to dodge and was swallowed whole by the full force of the shadows.
“I’ve got you now! Without your spirits to protect you, you’re mine! They can’t take the [Despair] in your place this time! This [Original Magic] you cursedly possess will be consumed by despair! It will stop and be lost! The power to change fate will vanish! I win! This is my victory! Ahah! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“——–That’s why I’m telling you, magic has nothing to do with it.”
Even engulfed in shadows, even consumed by despair, I kept moving forward. Unfalteringly. In the pitch blackness, never stopping, never giving up, I just kept pressing relentlessly on……until I burst through the shadows to the other side.
“——–Huh?”
In my hand was the mechanized slashing-type sword hastily thrown by Makina.
“See? Even as a mere mortal whose [Original Magic] was [Lost] to [Despair]…….”
Without ever letting go, I grasped the sword tightly, raised it up—-
“……Because I never gave up moving forward, I could change my fate.”
—-and brought it slashing down.
“GaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?”
A flash. With all my might, I drove the downward diagonal cut into the miasma-formed body.
The blade tore from shoulder to side, causing a torrent of miasma to gush out like blood from the wound.
“Haah, haah, haah……got one hit in……eat that, you bastard……!”
“Ggh……Kugh……Uuuuuuuuuuuu……!? You, fiend……! A wound like this, will heal instantly……!”
As the Night Witch twisted her face in agony and hatred, trying to regenerate her body……her movements stopped. As if her entire body was bound by strings.
“Gu……!? Damn it…………! Claudia you……!”
Baffled, the witch cried out a name. A figure that Makina and I had the same thought about.
“Al sama. Could that be, by any chance…….”
“……Yeah. Just as I expected, it didn’t end there.”
In the world of miasma, we knew who had risen back up.
I clenched my right hand bearing the pure white [Royal Garment Ring] and charged straight at the Night Witch.
“That’s right—-“
My clenched right hand became a fist that I drove into the source of the miasma emanating from the Night Witch.
“—-Charl!”
To extend my hand to the beloved person who must be there.
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