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---
Chapter 66
Three days after Charizard's first flight, Link discovered that privacy was dead.
Not metaphorically.
Nor in that dramatic way Subaru announced the death of his dignity every time Ram managed to say a complete sentence about him.
Link's privacy had literally died three hundred meters above the ground, when he looked over his shoulder and discovered that half the manor was following him.
Charizard flew steadily above the forest.
Its enormous wings cut through the air in long, deep intervals. It no longer climbed like a stone launched by a catapult, nor did it need to correct every tilt through abrupt movements of its tail. Three days of practice had allowed the automaton to learn more precise routes, distribute its weight better, and stop carving trenches every time it landed.
The last part was still a work in progress.
It had only made one that morning.
A small one.
Compared to the first.
Link leaned forward over the main saddle. The wind threw his hair backward and made the edges of his jacket flutter. Luci sat between the two small stone horns protruding from Charizard's head, both arms stretched out to the sides as she pretended she was also controlling the flight.
The four lesser spirits were distributed around the automaton.
The Red Flame remained near the tail.
The Bluish-White Sphere moved through the channels beneath the right wing.
The Ember Bird slipped in and out between the plates around the neck.
The Golden Light flew beside Luci, leaving a short trail behind it.
Everything was normal.
Until Link sensed a presence behind him.
Then another.
And another.
He turned.
About fifty meters away, Roswaal flew with his arms crossed behind his back, as though crossing the sky with magic were a perfectly ordinary form of walking.
Puck floated nearby.
Emilia traveled inside a platform of ice supported by several currents of air. She wore a white cloak and an expression far too cheerful for someone who had supposedly come to prevent a catastrophe.
Farther below traveled a carriage.
Two Wolgarms ran in front of it, attached through an improvised harness. They were not pulling because the carriage needed them to. It was light for them. They pulled because Petra had discovered they enjoyed competing with each other, and Ram had turned that into useful transportation.
Ram drove.
Rem sat beside her.
Subaru was in the back, gripping the edges while every root in the road launched him several centimeters into the air.
Beatrice was not there.
A door appeared in the air beside Charizard.
The little spirit poked her head through.
—You're flying too fast, I suppose.
The door closed.
Another appeared twenty meters ahead.
Beatrice poked her head through again.
—And too high.
It closed again.
Link looked at Luci.
—Did you know about this?
The quasi-spirit turned toward the procession.
Then back toward Link.
—Many.
—I can see that.
Luci raised both arms.
—Supervision.
Link reduced the flow toward the Wind core.
Charizard fully extended its wings and shifted from active flight into a slower glide.
Roswaal positioned himself on his left.
—A pleasant morning.
—Why are you following me?
—Curiosity.
Puck appeared on the other side.
—Concern.
From below, Subaru cupped both hands around his mouth.
—DISTRUST!
His voice barely reached them.
Link looked at Rem.
She raised her head.
Even from that distance, he could recognize her expression.
She was not angry.
Yet.
That was worse.
—Since when was this planned? —Link asked.
Puck moved his tail.
—Since Beatrice discovered you disappear every morning for several hours and return smelling like scorched earth, pulverized rock, blood, fire, and exhaustion.
—That's the normal smell of training.
Roswaal tilted his head.
—That is what we want to verify.
—You could have asked.
Beatrice appeared on Charizard's back.
The door closed behind her.
She landed sitting in the second seat.
—We did ask.
Link remembered the previous night.
Rem had asked what he did in the mornings.
He had answered:
"Exercise."
Ram had asked how much.
He had said:
"An amount."
Subaru had asked what he dragged around to come back with trembling legs.
Link had answered:
"Motivation."
Beatrice had demanded a precise description.
Link had pretended to be asleep.
—Those were unspecific questions —he said.
The little spirit struck his head with her book.
—You're a terrible liar, I suppose.
—Emilia is worse.
—Don't use her to reduce your guilt.
Below, the carriage hit another root.
Subaru went flying.
One of Link's kagunes descended.
It caught him before he fell.
Subaru hung several meters above the road.
—Thanks!
—Want to come up?
—Yes!
Link started lifting him.
Ram spoke without raising her voice.
—Barusu has not finished securing the boxes.
Subaru looked at the carriage.
Then Charizard.
Then Ram.
—I have responsibilities.
Link placed him back on the seat.
The carriage continued.
Rem kept looking at him.
Link raised one hand.
She pointed forward.
The message was clear.
Land.
Charizard descended.
The training ground lay a little more than three kilometers from the manor.
From above, it looked like an irregular clearing between two hills. From the ground, it was obvious the terrain had not been created naturally.
There were craters.
Furrows.
Melted stones.
Trees that had been knocked down and turned into training posts.
Several areas had been marked with stakes.
A strip of dirt crossed the valley like a road built by a creature incapable of understanding why curves existed.
At the northern end stood a wall of black rock.
It was not a natural formation.
Link had melted it, compressed it, and cooled it again to use as a target.
Charizard landed.
Its claws touched the ground.
The machine took four steps before stopping.
This time, it did not create a trench.
Its feet merely sank to the ankles.
—Progress —Link said.
Beatrice descended through a door.
—It left four holes.
—Not a trench.
—Your standards are deteriorating rapidly.
Roswaal descended smoothly.
Puck lowered Emilia's platform to the ground.
The carriage arrived shortly afterward. The Wolgarms arrived first, competing to see which one crossed an imaginary finish line before the other. Ram pulled the reins.
Both stopped.
The carriage did not.
Subaru screamed.
Rem grabbed the brake.
One wheel threw up dirt.
The vehicle stopped less than a meter from Charizard.
Subaru climbed down.
Kissed the ground.
—Solid.
Ram descended.
—Barusu exaggerates.
—You drive like you want to reduce the guest population!
—Ram would not consider a reduction of one a demographic change.
Rem walked directly toward Link.
He opened his arms.
—Good morning again.
She did not enter the embrace.
She inspected him.
Hands.
Face.
Clothes.
Hidden horns.
Retracted kagunes.
—Is this where you train every day?
—Yes.
—Alone?
—Luci is with me.
The quasi-spirit raised one arm.
—Luci.
Rem looked at the craters.
—Luci weighs less than a cup.
—Her authority is enormous.
—Link does not obey her.
—That is an accusation without—
Luci struck his forehead.
—Bad.
Rem raised an eyebrow.
—That appears to be an accusation with a witness.
Link took her hand.
—Nothing serious has ever happened.
Subaru pointed at the nearest crater.
It was thirty meters wide.
—Was that minor?
—A spell lost direction.
—And that?
He pointed toward a stone formation turned into glass.
—Temperature control.
—The trees?
—Range test.
—The crack?
Link followed his finger.
The fissure ran through part of the hill.
—That wasn't there yesterday.
Beatrice pressed one hand to her forehead.
Rem closed her fingers around his.
—Explain your training.
—It's a simple routine.
Ram examined the landscape.
—Ram fears discovering what you consider complicated.
Link released Rem's hand.
Removed his jacket.
Underneath, he wore a sleeveless shirt reinforced around the back to allow his kagunes to emerge.
—First, I warm up.
Subaru looked at the smoking remains of a tree.
—That sentence has too many interpretations coming from you.
Link walked toward the center of the clearing.
—Don't interfere.
—What are you going to do? —Emilia asked.
—Breathe badly.
Rem took one step.
Link raised a hand.
—It only affects me.
He spread his fingers.
Mana responded.
No flames appeared.
The air around Link distorted inside an invisible sphere several meters wide. Dry leaves rose, spun, and became stuck along the edge of a boundary nobody could see.
Link inhaled.
The first breath was normal.
The second shorter.
On the third, his chest stopped filling.
Emilia opened her eyes wide.
—The air...
Puck descended.
—He is altering temperature and pressure to consume the oxygen inside the area.
Beatrice tightened her grip on her book.
—Ul Goa Vacuo.
Rem looked at Link.
He maintained a concentrated expression.
The muscles in his neck were beginning to tense.
—He's suffocating himself?
—Yes —Puck answered.
Rem moved forward.
Beatrice blocked her with a barrier.
—Wait.
The blue-haired maid turned.
—Beatrice-sama.
—He still controls the spell.
—He is using magic to prevent himself from breathing.
—Betty can see that.
—Then stop him.
Link walked out of the sphere.
Air filled his lungs.
He breathed once.
Then stepped back in.
—I don't keep it active the entire time —he explained between breaths—. I adjust it to reduce the oxygen without immediately losing consciousness.
Subaru stared at him.
—Why?
—To amplify the effort.
—You could run.
—I do.
—You could run faster.
—I do that too.
—YOU DON'T NEED TO SUFFOCATE YOURSELF WHILE DOING IT!
Link spread his arms.
The four kagunes emerged.
The red structures stabbed into the ground and launched him toward the rear of the valley.
—That's only the first step.
Everyone followed him with their eyes.
Link reached a gray formation covered in moss.
At first, it looked like a low hill.
Then one of the kagunes pulled away an enormous tarp.
The stone appeared.
It was almost cubic, although the irregular edges destroyed any symmetry. Its volume exceeded that of a small house. Part of the ground had sunk beneath its weight.
Subaru remained silent.
Emilia tilted her head upward.
Ram stopped pretending to be indifferent.
Rem looked at Link.
Then the rock.
Then Link again.
—No.
He extended his kagunes.
—I haven't done anything yet.
—No.
—I use it every day.
—That doesn't help.
Roswaal approached.
Placed one hand against the stone.
A series of magical circles appeared.
—Interesting.
Subaru did not take his eyes off it.
—How much does it weigh?
Roswaal finished evaluating it.
—Approximately two thousand tons.
The silence deepened.
Subaru pointed at the stone.
—That is not a weight.
Link wrapped the first kagune around it.
—I never said it was.
—It's a geological accident.
The second kagune wrapped around another side.
—I found it nearby.
—YOU DON'T "FIND" A TWO-THOUSAND-TON ROCK! YOU BUILD A VILLAGE AROUND IT!
Ram examined the furrows in the ground.
—He drags it.
—Yes.
—How far?
—Several kilometers.
Rem walked toward him.
—Link.
—I do it every day.
—You're saying that as though it makes it reasonable.
The third kagune tightened.
The fourth formed a double chain around the rock.
Link positioned himself in front.
The red extensions emerged from his back and stretched along the ground toward the block like four enormous living ropes.
—I'm not going to break.
Subaru looked at the craters marking the route.
—That sounds false.
—I'll break a little.
—THAT DOESN'T FIX IT!
Link manifested his horns.
Two dark points emerged from his forehead.
The reddish lines lit up.
Ambient mana began flowing toward them.
The four lesser spirits approached.
Luci descended onto his shoulder.
Rem did not stop watching him.
—What else do you use?
Link smiled.
—Prometheus.
Flames appeared over his skin.
They were not ordinary fire.
A white-and-golden layer spread across his arms, chest, and legs. It did not burn his clothes. It adhered to his body like a second surface.
The air warped.
The grass around him turned brown.
Then black.
Droplets of moisture in the soil transformed into vapor.
Emilia stepped backward.
Puck raised a thermal barrier.
Beatrice added another.
—Earthly Spiritual Form: Prometheus —Roswaal murmured.
Link closed his hands.
The heat increased.
The nearest stone began to glow.
—He is saturating his body with fire —Puck explained—. He is not projecting it. He is using it to keep every part of himself under pressure.
Subaru watched the light covering his skin.
—Doesn't that cook him?
—His regeneration and mana are compensating for it —Beatrice answered—. In a stupid way.
—Can a non-stupid method do the same thing?
—Yes.
—Does he know it?
—Probably.
—Then this is deliberate.
Rem clenched her fist.
Link activated Ul Goa Vacuo again.
The invisible sphere surrounded him.
This time, he did not step outside.
He leaned forward.
The kagunes tightened.
The rock remained motionless.
Link planted one foot.
The ground cracked beneath it.
The stone did not move.
The muscles in his arms and neck grew more pronounced.
The lines across his horns intensified.
A second crack appeared beneath his feet.
The block made a deep sound.
It shifted one centimeter.
Subaru opened his mouth.
Link took one step.
The rock moved.
It did not roll.
It was dragged.
The base tore through dirt, roots, and stones. A wave of earth accumulated before it. The kagunes sank into their own surface beneath the strain.
Link took another step.
Then another.
The movement increased.
Prometheus burned across his body.
Ul Goa Vacuo stole the air from his lungs.
The rock dragged him backward.
He continued.
His heels carved furrows.
A vein burst inside his eye.
Healed.
The skin over one shoulder tore beneath the pressure.
It closed before the blood reached his elbow.
Fibers within the kagunes broke and rebuilt themselves without stopping.
Rem moved toward the barrier.
—He's hurting himself.
—Yes —Beatrice replied.
—Why aren't you stopping him?
—Because he still hasn't lost control.
—That does not mean he is fine.
Puck watched the flow.
—He is forcing his body to sustain three opposing processes. Suffocation, heat, and physical force.
Roswaal smiled.
Not with amusement.
With interest.
—While using the horns to absorb and regulate mana.
Ram looked at the rock.
Then at Link's body.
—He is training himself to keep going even when every system fails.
Rem did not answer.
The conclusion was too close.
Link advanced.
His pace increased.
Each step produced an explosion of dirt.
The stone crossed the clearing.
Entered the marked path.
Link began to run.
Subaru could not believe it.
—HE'S RUNNING!
The two-thousand-ton block advanced behind him.
Slowly at first.
Then too fast.
The kagunes worked like chains.
Prometheus turned Link's silhouette into a white figure surrounded by distortion.
The valley trembled.
The Wolgarms whimpered and retreated toward the carriage.
Charizard spread its wings, placing itself between them and the rain of rocks.
Luci remained on Link's shoulder.
Her body of light leaned forward.
—More —she said.
—DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM! —Subaru shouted.
Link did not hear.
Or pretended not to.
He ran several hundred meters.
The rock carved a road behind him.
The air around Link remained empty.
His breathing had disappeared.
His heart pounded with such violence that Rem could hear it even from behind the barrier.
One leg gave out.
The bone snapped.
Link fell onto one knee.
The rock continued through inertia.
The kagunes ripped him off the ground.
His body was dragged several meters.
The leg rebuilt itself before he stopped.
Link planted both hands into the dirt.
Stood up.
Started running again.
—LINK! —Rem shouted.
He barely turned his head.
Saw her.
The Ul Goa Vacuo sphere vanished.
Link breathed.
Air rushed in.
His speed decreased.
He did not stop.
He continued dragging the rock until he completed the circuit.
When he reached the starting point, he released the kagunes.
The block moved another meter.
Sank into the ground.
Link remained standing.
Prometheus still burned around him.
He took one step.
The flames disappeared.
His horns remained visible.
He tried taking a breath.
His legs gave out.
He fell face-first.
Rem crossed the barrier before Beatrice could stop her.
She reached him.
Turned him over.
Link opened his eyes.
—Time.
—What?
—Subaru was supposed to measure it.
Subaru arrived panting despite not having trained.
—NOBODY WAS TIMING IT!
Link closed his eyes.
—Useless.
Rem held his face.
—Don't speak like that again.
—About you?
—About this.
—It's the routine.
—It's torture.
—Self-inflicted.
—That doesn't make it better.
Link raised one hand.
Placed it over hers.
—I'm fine.
Rem looked at his chest.
His breathing was already stabilizing.
His muscles had stopped trembling.
The wounds were gone.
—You weren't a moment ago.
—That's why I train.
—To stay worse for longer?
—So next time, I can keep moving.
There was no humor in the answer.
Rem lowered her gaze.
She knew what kind of "next time" Link imagined.
One where someone needed the rock moved.
One where Subaru was dying.
One where she was behind him.
Link was not preparing to win.
He was preparing to continue even after his body had lost the physical right to do so.
Rem rested her forehead against his.
—You shouldn't train as if you're always alone.
—Today I'm not.
—I didn't only mean supervision.
Link fell silent.
She moved away.
Took a bottle of concentrated broth from the basket.
—Drink.
He obeyed.
Subaru leaned over both of them.
—Was that everything?
Link drank.
—Warm-up.
Subaru sat on the ground.
—I hate him.
Link rested for twelve minutes.
Rem demanded twenty.
Beatrice determined twelve were physically sufficient.
Rem looked at her.
Beatrice corrected herself.
—Twenty is better, I suppose.
Link waited twenty.
Not because he needed all of it.
Because Rem kept her head on his shoulder and one hand around his wrist, measuring his pulse.
When he stood, his body had completely recovered.
Most of his mana remained intact. Prometheus had consumed a constant amount, but his horns absorbed part of what he had lost during the rest.
Subaru watched with a mixture of admiration and disgust.
—What's next?
Link walked toward the black stone wall.
—Punching.
—You could say physical training.
—That was before.
—THE PREVIOUS THING WAS ALSO AN ATTACK ON YOUR COMMON SENSE!
Link positioned himself in front of a prepared block.
It was three meters thick and composed of several layers of compressed rock.
—Gora Al Shula.
Flames surrounded his fists.
They were not large.
They fit around his knuckles and forearms like gauntlets.
The center turned bluish-white.
Rem watched from behind the barrier.
—What does it do?
Puck narrowed his eyes.
—He isn't trying to burn the surface.
Link punched.
His fist barely sank in.
There was no immediate explosion.
A line of heat passed through the block.
Steam emerged through the cracks.
The rock swelled from within.
Subaru took one step backward.
The block exploded.
Fragments flew outward.
The barriers stopped them.
The center had vanished, reduced to powder and melted glass.
Link opened and closed his hand.
—Needs less dispersion.
Roswaal walked to the edge of the barrier.
—You inject heat through the impact.
—Yes.
—You vaporize the internal moisture and force expansion.
—That was the objective.
Subaru looked at the remains.
—And if you hit a person?
Link pointed at the block.
—That.
Emilia went pale.
—You won't use it on normal people, right?
—No.
The answer was immediate.
—Only on people who are difficult to kill.
That did not reassure her.
Link walked toward another area.
Four stone pillars stood in a row.
Beatrice recognized the target.
—Do not use too much.
—Ul Goa Sagitta.
Link raised one hand.
A line of fire compressed above his palm.
It did not take the shape of a physical arrow. It was a thermal needle, so concentrated that the air shrieked around it.
The Red Flame positioned itself beside the tip.
The Bluish-White Sphere regulated the edge.
Luci raised both arms.
—Route.
Link smiled.
—Source.
The Golden Light drew a line.
—Command.
The Ember Bird descended along his arm.
Beatrice closed her eyes.
—Output.
Link released it.
The arrow passed through the first pillar.
It did not explode.
It pierced the second.
The third.
The fourth.
Then struck the wall at the back.
Entered.
One second later, a wave of fire erupted from every hole.
The four pillars broke apart.
The wall had an incandescent tunnel driven through it.
Link looked at Beatrice.
—Source, route, command, and output.
—Do not use my teachings to boast about unnecessary destruction.
—It worked.
—That wasn't the problem.
Subaru raised one hand.
—I have a question.
—No —Beatrice said.
—Can he make a bigger arrow?
—No.
Link thought.
—Yes.
Beatrice hit him with the book.
The next spell began with ice.
Emilia looked surprised.
Puck did not.
Link's Fire affinity was not limited to creating flames. His control extended to temperature. He could provide heat, remove it, or compress the differences until reaching opposite extremes.
Link placed both hands against the ground.
—Ul Huma Leviathan.
The temperature dropped.
Moisture in the air gathered.
A line of ice appeared before him.
It grew.
Twisted.
The body of a dragon emerged from the ground.
It was not as large as Charizard.
It was still large enough to coil around a house.
Its head had long jaws, white eyes, and a crest made of transparent spikes. It did not flap wings. It moved through a serpentine body that floated above the ground, freezing vapor around itself.
Subaru looked at the dragon.
Then at Link.
—You have a preference for large forms.
—They're easier to imagine.
—That explains your problems.
Puck created a sphere of mana.
He launched it into the sky.
The Leviathan turned its head.
Its eyes followed the signature.
The dragon took off.
It did not fly by its own will. It continuously created and destroyed itself, forming ice ahead while dissolving its tail.
It pursued the sphere.
Puck changed direction.
The Leviathan corrected.
Climbed.
Descended.
Circled a pillar.
Finally opened its jaws.
Caught the target.
The sphere froze inside a mouth of ice.
Link closed his fist.
The dragon dissolved into fine snowfall.
Emilia applauded.
—That one was pretty.
Link smiled.
—I can make another.
Rem spoke from behind him.
—No.
—It didn't cost that much.
—You said you would show us a few.
—Three counts as a few.
Ram checked the notebook.
—You showed four if we include the suffocation.
—Ul Goa Vacuo is part of the routine.
—It remains a spell.
Link looked at everyone.
They had come to supervise him.
That meant opportunity.
One he had been waiting for far too long.
—Then there's only one left.
Beatrice looked at him.
—Which one?
Link smiled.
Puck stopped moving his tail.
Rem recognized that expression.
—No.
—You don't know which one.
—No.
—There are three people capable of containing it.
Roswaal raised an eyebrow.
—That sounds interesting.
Beatrice understood.
—No.
Puck did too.
—Perhaps.
Beatrice turned toward him.
—Nii-cha.
—We're far from the manor.
—Don't encourage him.
Link pointed toward the horizon.
More than a dozen kilometers away stood a solitary mountain. It was not the tallest in the region, but it dominated the nearby landscape. Its slopes were rocky, and the summit had no trees.
—Explosion.
Subaru's eyes widened.
The first time, he had seen the result.
The crater.
The exhaustion.
Link's body collapsing after using nearly everything he had.
—You can cast it again?
—Yes.
Rem stepped in front of him.
—No.
—Now I have supervision.
—That does not turn a bad idea into a good one.
—That is exactly what supervision does.
—No.
Roswaal looked toward the mountain.
—There are no settlements in that area.
Puck closed his eyes.
An invisible current spread from him.
He examined the forest.
The animals.
The currents.
The presences.
—There are creatures on the lower slopes.
Emilia spoke immediately.
—Then no.
—I can move them away —Puck answered—. But the mountain...
Roswaal looked at Link.
—What is the objective?
—Make it disappear.
The silence was complete.
Subaru raised one hand.
—I would like to withdraw from the supervision area.
Ram nodded.
—A sensible request.
Link spread both hands.
—I can't know how much I've improved if I don't try.
—You could destroy part of it —Emilia said.
—Then it wouldn't be Explosion.
—It could be a small Explosion.
—That contradicts the name.
Beatrice clenched her teeth.
—The name is not an order.
—For me it is.
Rem held his arm.
—How much mana will you spend?
—I don't know.
—Then no.
—Puck can measure it. Beatrice can close my gate. Roswaal can redirect the shockwave. You can hit me if I try doing it twice.
Ram intervened.
—Rem does not require permission for that.
—Exactly.
Rem looked at the three mages.
Puck floated silently.
Beatrice did not look convinced.
Roswaal did.
That reduced the value of his vote.
—Once —Rem said.
Link looked at her.
—Once.
—If Beatrice-sama, Puck, or Roswaal-sama tells you to stop, you stop before finishing.
—Yes.
—And you will not cast any other large-scale spell today.
Link thought about the lake project.
—Define large-scale.
Rem squeezed his arm.
—Link.
—Fine.
It was not fine.
He would have to negotiate afterward.
Puck descended toward the forest surrounding the mountain.
Evacuating the animals took almost an hour.
Not because there were too many.
Because convincing a bear to leave a cave through spiritual magic required more patience than expected.
Emilia helped.
Roswaal raised three barriers.
The first surrounded the group.
The second stretched over the clearing.
The third formed an invisible arc designed to direct the pressure upward.
Beatrice added layers of Yin to reduce the sound and contain fragments capable of reaching them.
Charizard positioned itself in front of the Wolgarms.
Its wings formed a wall.
Ram moved the carriage behind the machine.
Rem remained at the closest point she was allowed.
—Don't move any closer —Beatrice said.
—Rem needs to see him.
—You can see him from here.
Link walked toward the center of the clearing.
His horns remained visible.
The kagunes extended.
Luci descended in front of him.
The four lesser spirits took their positions around him.
The Red Flame over his right hand.
The Bluish-White Sphere over his left.
The Ember Bird moving along the kagunes.
The Golden Light behind Luci.
Mana began gathering.
Not all at once.
First through the gate.
Then through the horns.
The kagunes functioned as conduits, absorbing part of the ambient energy and stabilizing the output.
Rings of light appeared around Link.
Red.
Gold.
One over the ground.
Another at chest height.
Three more rose toward the sky.
Ancient runes revolved around him.
They belonged to no alphabet Beatrice fully recognized. They were symbols constructed from Link's mental image, imitations of magic seen in stories, memories, and fantasies.
The mountain became marked.
An enormous circle appeared over its summit.
Subaru stopped joking.
Pressure reached the barrier.
The air trembled.
Luci raised both arms.
Link extended one hand.
His voice began low.
—Darker than black...
The first ring turned.
—Darker than darkness...
Light concentrated above the mountain.
—Alongside my deep crimson...
The horns absorbed mana.
The red lines brightened until they turned white.
—The time to awaken has come...
The Ember Bird traveled along one kagune and emerged through its tip.
—Descend upon these boundaries...
The sky above the mountain warped.
—And dance, dance without end!
Luci spun around.
Her tiny silhouette left a golden spiral.
Subaru looked at her.
—She's participating in the theatrics.
Beatrice did not take her eyes off the flow.
—She is stabilizing the image, I suppose.
—A distortion without barriers...!
The circle closed.
—A force without equal!
Puck raised both paws.
Roswaal reinforced the arc.
Beatrice opened her book.
—Emerge from your abyss!
The mountain disappeared behind a sphere of red light.
It had not exploded yet.
The energy was compressing.
Rock began rising.
Small fragments left the summit as though gravity had ceased to exist.
—The most offensive attack in creation!
Rem watched Link's back.
He was not trembling.
The first time, his body had begun failing before he even finished.
Now his posture remained steady.
—Like a cataclysm...
The target turned white.
Not red.
Not orange.
White, with an electric-blue center.
—Behold my...!
Everyone understood what was coming.
Link closed his hand.
—EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOSION!
The world lost sound.
For a fraction of a second, there was only light.
The entire mountain was inside it.
Then came expansion.
A sphere of fire emerged from the center and grew, devouring stone, earth, and air. The slopes disintegrated before they could be thrown outward. The ground rose in plates. Red and golden bolts passed through the cloud.
The barrier received the shockwave.
The first layer bent.
The second cracked.
Roswaal raised both hands.
Puck pushed upward.
Beatrice shouted a word.
The pressure changed.
A pillar of fire rose.
The sky became covered by a mushroom of smoke and flames.
The ground beneath the clearing trembled.
The Wolgarms dropped flat.
Subaru protected his head.
Emilia held onto Puck when the Great Spirit was pushed several meters backward.
Ram held the carriage.
Rem did not move.
She watched Link.
The shockwave continued.
Then ended.
Sound returned as a prolonged thunderclap.
The barriers dissolved.
Wind passed over them.
Dust.
Heat.
The dry scent of pulverized rock.
The mountain was gone.
In its place lay an enormous depression surrounded by incandescent edges. Part of the base remained, transformed into an irregular ring of red-and-black stone.
Nothing rose above the horizon anymore.
Subaru opened his mouth.
Found no words.
Emilia looked at the empty space.
—He made it disappear.
Puck descended slowly.
His tail did not move.
—Yes.
Roswaal still had his arms raised.
His smile had vanished.
Beatrice looked at Link.
Not at the crater.
At Link.
He was still standing.
The rings of light faded.
The kagunes lowered.
His horns remained illuminated.
Link breathed.
Once.
Twice.
He looked at his hands.
—It worked.
Rem crossed the distance.
Stopped in front of him.
—How much?
—What?
—Mana.
Beatrice appeared beside him.
Placed a hand on Link's abdomen.
He grimaced.
—You could warn me.
The little spirit closed her eyes.
The silence lasted too long.
Subaru approached.
—Did he empty himself?
Beatrice opened her eyes.
Looked at Puck.
Then Roswaal.
—No.
—How much does he have left? —Rem asked.
Beatrice removed her hand.
—More than seven tenths, I suppose.
Nobody spoke.
Link smiled.
—I can cast another.
—No —everyone said.
The collective answer struck the valley.
Luci raised one hand.
—Another.
Rem looked at the quasi-spirit.
—No.
Luci lowered her arm.
—No.
Link looked at the space where the mountain had stood.
The first Explosion had left him unconscious.
That one had barely emptied a portion of his reserves.
His body no longer seemed to contain the same scale of power it had months ago.
Or perhaps it had always been there.
He simply had not known how to open the gate without breaking it.
Roswaal slowly recovered his smile.
—Impressive.
Link pointed at him.
—You cannot use it.
—I haven't asked anything.
—You're thinking about it.
—I think many things.
Ram looked at the horizon.
—The maps will require updating.
Link lowered his hand.
—It wasn't an important mountain.
—Now it isn't —Ram replied.
Supervision should have ended there.
That was what everyone thought.
Link had other plans.
—I want to test another spell.
Rem looked at him.
—You promised not to use another large-scale spell.
—I didn't say this one was large.
Beatrice turned toward him.
—You just erased a mountain and now you're trying to use technicalities.
—This one is more precise.
—Which one?
Link raised one finger.
The Red Flame approached.
Rem closed her eyes.
—No.
—I need water.
Puck looked west.
—There is a lake less than two kilometers away.
—Perfect.
Emilia raised one hand.
—Why do you need a lake?
Link smiled.
Subaru recognized the expression.
—I know that face.
—You know nothing.
—You're going to copy another scene.
Link did not answer.
That confirmed everything.
The lake occupied a depression between hills.
It was not especially deep, but it was wide. The water covered a considerable area and fed a narrow stream descending toward the forest.
Emilia refused to allow any test until they made sure no people or animals were in danger.
Puck searched the water.
There were small fish, insects, and several frog-like aquatic creatures.
The Great Spirit raised a sphere of water.
The animals were trapped inside without being harmed.
Emilia and Puck transferred them to a section of the stream protected by ice.
—Now —Puck said—, if you destroy the waterway, Lia will freeze you.
Emilia nodded.
Link looked at the half-elf.
—You too?
—The fish aren't responsible for your ideas.
—Fair.
Roswaal and Beatrice prepared another barrier.
Not as large.
Still too large.
Subaru sat on a rock.
Ram and Rem remained near Charizard.
The Wolgarms had decided to stay behind the automaton.
Link walked to the shore.
Luci floated beside him.
—I need you to be the sun.
The quasi-spirit stretched out her arms.
—Sun.
—Exactly.
—Big.
—Small at first.
Luci brought her hands together.
Her body became rounder.
A sphere of golden light appeared above her head.
Subaru covered his face with one hand.
—He's actually doing it.
Emilia sat beside him.
—Doing what?
—Theater.
Link turned his back to the lake.
Raised his chin.
His posture changed.
His shoulders moved backward.
His face acquired such exaggerated, proud serenity that Ram narrowed her eye.
Luci floated over his index finger, pretending to be a tiny sphere of sunlight.
Puck spoke from behind the barrier.
—You do not have permission to create a sun beside a lake.
Link slowly turned his face.
The smile was unbearably confident.
—And who decided that?
Subaru struck his knee against the rock.
—I KNEW IT!
Link raised his hand.
Luci ascended.
The four lesser spirits positioned themselves around her.
The Red Flame ignited the core.
The Bluish-White Sphere compressed the temperature.
The Ember Bird traced an orbit.
The Golden Light formed a corona.
Luci remained at the center.
The initial sphere was the size of a marble.
—Cruel Sun.
The miniature sun appeared.
It was not an ordinary flame.
Its surface revolved in layers. The white core was surrounded by an orange-and-red corona. Small tongues of fire rose and returned to the main body without breaking away.
The temperature increased.
The remaining snow across the hills melted.
The water near the shore began bubbling.
Subaru stopped laughing.
—That's the size of a marble.
Puck watched the mana.
—For now.
Link opened his fingers slightly.
The sun grew.
Walnut-sized.
Then apple-sized.
Luci remained inside, barely visible as a tiny golden silhouette.
The sphere reached the size of Link's head.
The air began vibrating.
The surface of the lake smoked.
The first few centimeters of water boiled near the shore.
Rem stepped forward.
—Link.
—It's controlled.
The sun continued growing.
It stopped once it reached the size of a large ball.
It did not look impressive compared to Explosion.
The heat did.
Nearby vegetation bent.
Leaves lost moisture.
Mud cracked.
Beatrice reinforced the barrier.
—Too much concentrated heat.
Roswaal watched the core.
—He is maintaining the sphere through thermal differences.
Puck moved his tail.
—It isn't a sun.
Subaru covered his eyes.
—That does not make this better.
Link looked at the lake.
The sun floated above his palm.
—Luci.
The quasi-spirit raised one hand from inside.
—Permission.
Link looked toward Rem.
She pressed her lips together.
—Once.
—Once.
—And not toward us.
—That would be counterproductive.
Link turned.
The sun traveled along his arm.
Stopped above the tip of his finger.
—Cruel Sun.
He launched it.
The sphere crossed the air slowly.
It did not seem to fall.
It advanced with offensive calm, as though the world were expected to move aside.
It touched the center of the lake.
For one instant, it remained over the surface.
The water sank beneath it.
Then began to boil.
Not in sections.
The entire lake reacted.
A pillar of steam rose.
The surface disappeared behind white mist.
The sound was different from an explosion.
A continuous roar.
Water becoming air.
Puck extended both paws to prevent the steam from burning the forest.
Roswaal opened a current toward the sky.
Beatrice maintained the barrier.
The level dropped.
Fast.
The shorelines retreated.
Mud appeared.
Then stones.
Roots.
The sun remained suspended over the center, gradually shrinking as it released heat.
Mist covered everything.
Subaru could no longer see his own hand.
—LINK!
—HERE!
—DID YOU DRY UP THE LAKE?!
—I STILL CAN'T SEE!
The sound diminished.
Puck's wind pushed the mist away.
The lake was gone.
Its bed lay exposed.
Cracked mud.
Hot stones.
A tiny stream of water entered from the creek and evaporated the moment it arrived.
At the center was a circular depression turned into dark glass.
The sun no longer existed.
Luci flew back.
Her form was unstable.
Link caught her between his hands.
—Excellent.
—Sun —she murmured.
—Yes.
—Cruel.
—You learn too quickly.
Emilia stared at the dried lake.
—We'll fill it again.
—Puck can do that.
The spirit looked at Link.
—Puck will do it when the ground stops boiling.
Rem walked toward him.
—You said it wasn't large-scale.
Link indicated the size of the sun with both hands.
—It was a ball.
Rem looked at the lake.
Then his hands.
—The ball evaporated all the water.
—The spell is efficient.
Ram touched Crimson Heart.
—The gardener has just redefined Emilia-sama's standard for lying.
Emilia looked at her.
—Why me?
—Because you remain the lowest reference point.
Subaru descended toward the lakebed.
The mud near the shore was already dry.
—This is incredible.
—Don't go in —Puck said—. Some sections are still too hot.
Subaru walked around the edge.
He examined the exposed stones, old roots, and objects the water had hidden.
A branch.
The remains of a carriage.
Several rusted coins.
A broken helmet.
—We found treasure.
Ram watched him.
—Barusu will touch nothing until its origin has been checked.
—That stuff has been underwater for years.
—Then it can wait a few more hours.
Subaru circled the edge.
Stopped.
Something red showed from behind a tarp half-buried in the slope.
It was not ordinary cloth.
It was covered in dried mud and branches that had been deliberately arranged.
The surge of steam had torn part of the covering loose.
Beneath it was a segmented surface.
Red.
Subaru blinked.
Approached.
Link saw him.
His heart stopped for one second.
—Subaru.
The Japanese boy pulled the tarp.
A colossal head appeared.
Wide jaw.
Empty eyes.
Overlapping red plates.
Large white spikes ran along the sides of the face and neck.
Only the upper section was finished.
The torso remained fused with a block of unworked stone. One arm had complete claws. The other was barely a marked shape.
An enormous tail remained outlined inside the rock at the rear.
Subaru opened his mouth.
Link crossed the distance using a kagune.
The tip wrapped around his face.
Too late.
—GROUDON!
The word crossed the valley.
Everyone turned.
Link covered Subaru's mouth completely.
—No.
Subaru tried to speak.
—Mmmph.
—You saw nothing.
The Japanese boy pointed frantically at the statue.
Emilia approached.
—What is Groudon?
Link tightened the kagune.
Subaru made another sound.
—A sculpture.
Ram looked at the head.
—A sculpture hidden behind a lake.
—I needed moisture to work the stone.
Beatrice approached.
She examined the carved lines.
—There are routes for circuits, I suppose.
—Decoration.
—There is a core cavity in the chest.
—Artistic perspective.
Puck floated around the head.
—It looks associated with earth and fire.
—Coincidence.
Roswaal smiled.
—Another siege engine?
—No.
Subaru managed to free part of his mouth.
—IT IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE LAND!
Link covered it again.
The resulting silence was much worse.
Emilia looked at the statue.
—The personification of the land?
—A creature from stories —Link answered quickly.
Subaru raised four fingers.
Then pointed toward the ground.
He tried to continue.
Link wrapped another kagune around him.
Ram approached the incomplete torso.
Touched a red plate.
—What does it do in the stories?
—Nothing important.
Subaru made desperate sounds.
Luci floated beside him.
—Permission.
Link looked at her.
—No.
Luci touched the kagune.
—Speak.
—No.
Rem arrived beside him.
—Link.
—He is trying to ruin me.
—Let him go.
—He'll say things.
—Yes.
—That's the problem.
Rem touched the kagune.
Link withdrew it.
Subaru inhaled.
—GROUDON IS A LEGENDARY POKÉMON CAPABLE OF EXPANDING THE LAND AND FIGHTING A CREATURE THAT REPRESENTS THE OCEANS!
Link covered him again.
Everyone fell silent.
Puck looked at the dry lake.
Then the statue.
—You dried up a lake beside a representation of the creature that expands the land.
Link considered the result.
—That was not planned.
Beatrice pointed at the tarp.
—You hid it here.
—That part was planned.
—Then you were building it before creating Cruel Sun.
—Yes.
—Why?
Link kept Subaru restrained.
—I needed practice with large-scale sculpting.
Roswaal touched the cavity in the chest.
—That space could contain an Earth lagmite much larger than Charizard's.
—I don't have one like that.
—Yet —Ram said.
Link looked at her.
Ram raised an eyebrow.
He had used that word too many times.
Emilia walked around the head.
The statue was larger than Charizard even unfinished. Once freed from the surrounding rock, it would probably stand six or seven meters tall.
—Will it fly too?
—No.
—Will it walk?
Link did not answer.
—Link.
—In theory.
Rem crossed her arms.
—How many seats will it have?
Everyone looked at him.
Link pointed toward the torso.
—I haven't reached that part yet.
—It needs two.
Subaru stopped struggling against the kagune.
Ram looked at her sister.
—Rem is already negotiating seats inside the next siege engine.
—It's transportation.
Roswaal smiled.
—A creature associated with expanding land could prove useful for roads, fortifications, and public works.
Link pointed at him with the free kagune.
—You will not give it orders.
—It cannot move yet.
—You won't give it orders when it can either.
Beatrice examined the carving.
—The distribution won't work.
Link finally released Subaru.
—What's wrong?
—The entire left side.
—It isn't finished.
—Exactly. If you continue along that route, Earth mana will accumulate in the shoulder.
Link approached.
—I was going to divide it toward the spine.
—The spine won't tolerate the pressure.
—With a Yang lagmite I could coordinate—
Beatrice raised the book.
—You will not add cores until the structure is complete.
—Charizard has four.
—And Betty has to inspect it after every flight.
—It works.
—It opened a trench.
—One.
—Three.
—The first doesn't count.
Subaru leaned against the statue.
—So Groudon will be real.
Link looked at him.
—No.
—You already started.
—It's a sculpture.
—It has a core.
—A hole.
—It has circuits.
—Lines.
—It has moving plates.
Link fell silent.
Subaru raised both arms.
—GROUDON WILL BE REAL!
His voice echoed throughout the dry lakebed.
The Wolgarms howled.
Charizard raised its thumb.
Luci imitated the gesture.
Emilia smiled.
Puck regarded the statue cautiously.
Roswaal seemed to be calculating how much territory a machine like that could modify.
Ram was already thinking about invoices.
Beatrice watched the design flaws.
Rem looked at Link.
Not the statue.
At him.
The guilty happiness was there.
The same expression that appeared whenever he spoke about fire, new spells, or impossible mechanisms.
—You want to finish it —she said.
Link tried to lie.
Could not.
—Yes.
—Even though you already have Charizard?
—They're different.
—How?
Subaru intervened.
—GROUDON IS TERRESTRIAL AND CHARIZARD IS AERIAL! THEY ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STRATEGIC CATEGORIES!
Link looked at him.
—That was useful.
Subaru put one hand over his chest.
—I always am.
Ram shook her head.
—No.
Rem touched one of the red plates.
—Then you need to finish the design first.
—Does that mean I can?
—It means Beatrice-sama will review it.
The little spirit raised her head.
—Betty did not agree to that.
Rem looked at her.
Beatrice tightened her grip on the book.
—I'll only prevent him from destroying the terrain beneath it, I suppose.
Link smiled.
—Thank you.
—I didn't thank you for anything.
—I did.
Roswaal placed one hand against the block.
—I can provide materials.
—Not in exchange for ownership.
—In exchange for a future demonstration.
Link thought.
Rem tightened her grip on his sleeve.
—You are not negotiating after casting Explosion and drying up a lake.
—I'm completely conscious.
—That is the problem.
Ram opened the account book.
—Besides, the gardener has just destroyed a mountain belonging to Mathers territory.
Link's expression changed.
—It was a useless mountain.
—It possessed territorial value.
—It was rock.
—Now it does not even possess that.
—You cannot charge me for a mountain.
Ram wrote.
—Ram can.
—Roswaal.
The margrave looked at the distant crater.
—We will consider the explosion an authorized test.
Link sighed.
—Thank you.
—The lake, however...
—Puck will refill it.
The Great Spirit moved his tail.
—After it cools down.
—Then there's no damage.
Ram wrote another line.
—Temporary evaporation of water resources.
—That is not a debt.
—Now it is.
Link looked at Groudon.
Then Charizard.
Then the two-thousand-ton rock visible in the distance, the ruined valley, and the empty place where a mountain had once stood.
His training had started as a private routine.
Now he had supervisors.
A new debt.
A dry lake.
An exposed statue.
And Subaru repeating "Groudon" as though he had just discovered a second sunrise.
—I'm never letting you follow me again —he declared.
Rem took his hand.
—Rem will come tomorrow.
—You can.
Ram looked up from the ledger.
—Ram will accompany Rem.
—That cancels the privilege.
Subaru raised both arms.
—Me too!
—No.
Emilia touched Groudon's snout.
—I want to see it finished.
—No.
Puck settled onto her head.
—Someone needs to stop you from evaporating another source of water.
—No.
Beatrice opened a door.
—Betty needs to correct those circuits.
—That one, yes.
Everyone looked at him.
Link closed his eyes.
He had lost.
The return happened at the end of the afternoon.
Puck began restoring water to the lake.
He could not fill it immediately without causing a flood, so he created concentrated rainfall over the depression while Emilia redirected the stream.
Roswaal partially covered Groudon with a barrier to prevent the rain from damaging the carving.
Link protested.
Roswaal pointed out that this demonstrated usefulness.
Link protested more.
Ram added the barrier usage to the expense ledger.
Link stopped protesting.
Charizard prepared for flight.
Rem climbed into the second seat.
That had already become a habit.
Link occupied the first.
Subaru approached.
—I can sit between you.
—No.
—There's room.
—No.
—I weigh less than Rem.
The blue-haired maid looked at him.
Subaru stepped backward.
—I wasn't evaluating her weight. I meant technical distribution.
—Walk —Link said.
—IT'S THREE KILOMETERS!
—Ride a Wolgarm.
The one with the blue ribbon growled.
Subaru reconsidered.
Emilia would travel with Puck.
Roswaal would fly.
Beatrice would use her doors.
Ram would return by carriage.
Subaru looked at the road.
Then Charizard.
—Someday you'll let me ride.
—When he stops hating you.
Charizard turned its head.
Its eyes glowed.
Subaru pointed.
—THE ORIGINAL BODY DOESN'T EVEN EXIST ANYMORE! THE GRUDGE SHOULD HAVE RESET!
—The core remembers.
—TECHNOLOGY SHOULDN'T REMEMBER A FRYING PAN!
Charizard released smoke.
Subaru became covered in soot.
Rem hid a laugh behind Link.
—That was unnecessary —he said.
Charizard raised its thumb.
—But funny.
Subaru fell to his knees.
Link transmitted mana.
The wings spread.
The automaton ran.
Took off.
Rem closed her arms around his waist.
The clearing began to recede.
—Are you tired? —she asked.
—Not much.
—You cast Explosion.
—I still have more than half.
—You also used Cruel Sun.
—I still have plenty.
—And trained with the rock.
—That doesn't consume much mana.
—It consumes your body.
Link looked forward.
Charizard climbed above the trees.
—I'm fine.
Rem rested her cheek against his back.
—Now.
—Yes.
—Tomorrow you will reduce the routine.
—No.
—Link.
—I can reduce Ul Goa Vacuo.
—And Prometheus.
—That defeats the purpose.
—Then Rem will come every day.
Link fell silent.
The threat was serious.
Not because he did not want to see her.
Because he knew she would watch every fracture, every tear, and every time his body collapsed.
It was easier to destroy himself when nobody was watching.
—We can negotiate —he said.
—Good.
—You come two days a week.
—Every day.
—Three.
—Every day.
—Four.
—Every day.
—You're terrible at negotiating.
—You're yielding.
—No.
—Yes.
Rem tightened her arms.
Link smiled.
—Come whenever you want.
—Rem will.
—But you won't stop everything.
—Only what is unnecessary.
—We disagree on what "unnecessary" means.
—That is why Rem will supervise.
Luci flew beside them.
—Supervision.
Link looked at her.
—Everyone learned that word too quickly.
—Bad —Luci added.
—You started as my spirit.
The quasi-spirit descended onto Rem's head.
—Rem.
—Yes.
—Good.
Link looked forward.
—Complete betrayal.
Rem laughed.
Charizard continued flying.
Far away, the absent mountain had left a new opening in the horizon. The setting sun passed directly through that gap, staining the crater orange.
Link looked at his own work.
Part of him felt pride.
Another part understood why everyone had decided to follow him.
They were not afraid he would fail to return.
They were afraid he would return smiling after erasing something that had existed for centuries and announce that he still had mana left.
Behind him, Rem did not release his waist.
—Link.
—Yes?
—What will Groudon do?
He smiled.
—Expand the land.
Her arms tightened.
—The real answer.
—I still don't know.
—You're lying.
—I have ideas.
—How many?
Link looked across the forests, roads, and hills.
He imagined red plates moving across the ground.
Claws capable of raising walls.
An Earth core making the field tremble.
Fire traveling through channels between the armor.
A platform over the back.
Two seats.
Maybe more.
—An amount.
Rem rested her forehead against him.
—Then Beatrice-sama will need another notebook.
—And I'll need more lagmites.
—Rem did not say we would help you obtain them.
—But you thought it.
—Rem was thinking about stopping you from stealing a mountain.
—I can't steal a mountain.
Rem looked toward the gap in the horizon.
—Link just proved he can.
Charizard roared.
Luci raised both arms.
The sun finished disappearing behind the mountain that no longer existed.
And beside a newly emptied shore, hidden once more beneath tarps, mud, and a temporary barrier, Groudon's unfinished head waited for the next training session.