C163
“Huu, huu.”
Amy, who had been watching this for a while, shouted as if she could no longer let it go.
"Hey! Can't you move aside? The criminal gets angry at the victim. Other people will think that we are the bullies and they are the victims.”
Marsha, turning her gaze towards Amy, pouted her lips as if igniting a fire in her chest and snuggled deeper into Sirone's embrace.
Amy felt like her patience snapped.
“I said let go of him, this woman!”
Freeman stepped in front of Marsha, pleading.
"Leave her alone. She must be exhausted from crying."
Amy looked at Freeman in bewilderment and pointed at him.
“Aren’t you mistaken about something? Do you know how much trouble we've had because of you? I’m glad that we won, but Shirone’s life almost ended!”
That's what really upset Amy. Was it just okay because things ended well? If Shirone had not been able to overcome today's crisis, what would happen afterward would have been terrible to even imagine.
Not only Shirone who had his magic deprived, but Amy, who had to witness it all, felt like she came back alive from hell.
"I'm sorry. The crimes committed while operating as the Parrot Thieves Band were all under my orders. Marsha merely confronted Magic Association's pursuers. But if even that is considered a crime..."
Amy crossed her arms and asked back.
"If what?"
“I will take responsibility for her life as well.”
Marsha, who was being held by Shirone, suddenly stood up. She then came up with a huff and kicked Freeman's ass.
“You’re joking! Is there anyone who wants to stop me from getting married? I don't need a man like you!"
It was Freeman, whose waist was wobbly, but he still stood there like an old tree. He had long grown accustomed to Marsha's tantrums since young.
“Marsha noona.”
Marsha's shoulders flinch at Shirone's voice. She didn't have the courage to look back. The reason she took out her anger on Freeman was because she was afraid of this very situation. In the end, she couldn't turn her body and spoke.
"That... I'm sorry about this. Of course, I don't expect to be forgiven."
That's right. I can't forgive noona."
Marsha turned around in surprise. Shirone's eyes were cold. The image of the man who had been caressing her wounds moments ago had disappeared without a trace.
“No matter what the reason, noona kidnapped the girl and used her. This is something noona should never do.”
Marsha bowed her head, unable to refute. In her entire life, she has never bullied the weak. She did, but she didn't want to make excuses. This was because Shirone was the one who suffered the most from Yuna's kidnapping.
“Yeah, I guess so. When I think about it, I am a world-class villain.”
"That's right. My noona is a world-class villain."
Shirone said without hesitation. If one think about it, she had that kind of personality. The reason there is no conflict while treating someone sincerely is because her nature itself is good, not because she likes to misrepresent the truth or falsify.
"I'll go. I hope noona overcome it well. And… I hope we never meet again."
Shirone turned and walked away without any hesitation. Understanding and empathizing with Marsha was all he could do.
"I was wrong!"
At that moment, Marsha cried out, mustering her courage. Shirone did not make any judgment on this matter.
It was the same as when she stole pottery from the market. Therefore, she had no choice but to approach him first.
"How can you just leave like this? I'm just starting to change. You should at least promise to meet again!"
Shirone, who had been stood silently for a while, turned around. His gaze remained stern, making Marsha feel like a convict awaiting her sentence.
"If you truly think you were wrong, apologize to Yuna. You must also apologize to her older brother, Jis. You must also compensate for all the damage suffered by the siblings.”
"Of course! I actually hate this sort of thing, you know. I won't make excuses, but I'll personally seek forgiveness from both of them."
“Even so, it doesn’t mean that mistakes made will go away. I can never forgive noona for what you've done up until now."
Marsha's shoulders slumped. Tears were about to fall from her eyes at any moment.
"But if you've truly decided to start a new life, I can forget the past."
Marsha quickly lifted her head and, like a child, threw her arms around Shirone, sobbing.
“Uwaaaah! It was all my fault!"
Shirone couldn't comfort Marsha, who was crying in his arms. In fact, this was the first time he had made such a choice.
Some people live a much harder life than others. Not everyone can fight for their beliefs.
That's why Shirone decided to forgive her.
If the starting point of her change was him, he felt it was his responsibility to observe her transformation.
'Clay Marsha...'
Perhaps that's why? Shirone suddenly realized.
Marsha, who had always seemed so strong and fearsome, was in fact a small woman who could easily be held in his arms.
* * *
Marsha led Sirone and his friends to the building. As it was the place where the two mages had fought, not a single object remained intact.
The friends were able to guess how much Shirone was struggling.
"Let's go to the second floor. I'm hungry after the fight. I'll cook you some food. My skills aren't great, but still."
Fortunately, the second floor was in a condition suitable to stay in. Just a few broken flowerpots on the floor.
Shirone and the others waited for the food to come out.
Yuna was also sitting there. Her complexion seemed to have improved, unlike earlier, as if her tension had eased.
They left at dawn and couldn't eat a single meal until the sun went down. They were hungry enough that they couldn’t wait for food, so Marsha treated them to soup and bread that they could eat right away.
As soon as the food was served, they devoured it hungrily. Although Rian's injuries were such that he was not in a condition to eat, he seemed to have eaten the most out of the group.
"So, can you no longer utilize Rule Eater now?"
The part that impressed Shirone the most in this battle was, of course, the Rule Eater. It may not be as impressive as Unlocker, but it is clearly a rare trait in the mage society.
“No, it's not like that. Of course, Deprivation may be impossible, but the truth is that wounds engraved in one's heart are not so easily healed. They'll probably transform in some way.”
“I see. Hmm.”
As Shirone trailed off, Marsha, being quick-witted, smiled brightly and said.
“Don’t worry. I won’t create such malicious magic anymore. The rules can be changed to some extent.”
Shirone nodded with a surprised expression. This too was practical information he couldn’t learn in academy.
“Then do you have any rules in mind already?”
“There’s nothing in particular yet. Let’s see…. Should I go to magic academy and develop a magic that can charm handsome men with blonde hair?”
Shirone smiled uneasily. He had experienced the eccentricity of Rule Eater, so he couldn't just pass it off as a joke.
Marsha, who received Amy's stinging glare, waved her hand to reassure her.
“Huhu, don’t worry. It’s not about Shirone.”
“Hoo? Is that so? Then who is it about?”
“There is one. A man who goes to a magic school, with blond hair, and is handsome.”
Amy abruptly stopped talking. Arguing with Rule Eater mage, who sees the world in their own way, was futile.
Freeman put down his spoon and spoke seriously.
“How about magic that charms men with no eyebrows?”
“Pfft!”
Marsha spat out the soup she had just taken back into her bowl. She didn't expect him to say such a brazen thing in a place like this.
“What nonsense! What’s gotten into you?”
"What's the matter? I didn’t say a word about me.”
"Is there anyone else without eyebrows other than you and a monkey?"
“Monkeys are no humans.”
“No! I meant you are the monkey! Now that I think about it, you lost, didn’t you? What a pathetic coward. How many times did I tell you not to go for the Reverse Technique Tree? Huh? Huh?”
Marsha poked Freeman's temple with a fork.
As Amy watched this, something occurred to her. It was certainly strange that Freeman remained unharmed even after being hit directly by her Flame Strike.
‘Reverse Technique Tree?’
Those who train Schema build up by superimposing several Schemas. The most basic build was placed at the bottom and the optional build was put on top.
Reverse Build is about flipping this arrangement in an instant.
Schema users call this a 'reversal', and it can be said to be a defensive build that is chosen only when life is in danger.
Gunner types, whose mobility and accuracy are vital, usually base their build on sensory or neural enhancements.
Therefore, regenerative or cell activation builds related to defensive abilities have no choice but to be relegated to options.
Freeman, being a gunner, wouldn't be much different.
However, if she listens to Marsha's words, he fought from the beginning with a defensive build, a reversal build.
In that case, it makes sense that he was fine even though his face was burned by Flame Strike.
'But…. the speed at which he saved Marsha at the end was incredible.’
That must have been his unreversed gunner movement. Thinking this, Amy's irritation surged.
Freeman said, perhaps conscious of Amy's feelings.
“If it wasn’t for the reversal, the opponent would have strategized differently. There's no strong or weak. It’s just about adapting to the situation, and courage is also part of one’s skill. Amy was stronger than me. That's all there is to it.”
Marsha rested her chin on her hand and let out a chuckle. The cowardly, eyebrow-less Freeman had finally learned to speak like a man.
Receiving praise from an enemy, Amy felt awkward.
“No, well… you were incredible too, uncle.”
“Thanks. But I'm not a 'uncle.' I'm the same age as Marsha.”
"So what? Even if you are the same age, you're still an 'uncle' to me, aren’t you?”
Freeman, looking a bit disheartened, bowed his head and focused on tearing his bread. The words 'Why does Shirone call Marsha 'sister'?' almost escaped his lips, but his timid nature prevented him from actually voicing them.
As the chattering atmosphere faded, Marsha readjusted her expression and spoke seriously again.
“Anyway, Shirone, if you also aim to become a mage, you better be wary of Rule Eater like me. It's kind of funny for me to say this, though."
"No, I want to know. Please tell me more."
"Hmm, actually, my Deprivation Magic is not a very efficient magic. Although taking away the opponent's magic is itself overpowering, it is only a challenge to the possibility and cannot be said to be an effective method in combat.”
Shirone also thought that if risking one's life was the price for obtaining a certain ability, Deprivation wouldn't be his choice.
The very act of plundering someone else's abilities came with too many restrictions.
“I am a bit of a unique case. Of course, most of Rule Eater are unique, but it wasn't magic created with combat in mind from the beginning. Other Rule Eater will use maguic which is much more effective and more applicable than me.”
"I see. To be honest, fighting noona was really scary. I had no idea there was a way to block the Immortal Function in the world of magic.”
“Hehe, sorry about that. But you're right. There's nothing impossible in the world of magic, no absolutes. You were able to beat me because you figured out my weakness, right?"
"Yes. If the triggering of Rule Eater magic itself is caused by trauma, I thought that if we target that trauma persistently, variables could arise.”
"That's exactly it. In other words, it's a battle of logic between constraints and consequences. When dealing with Rule Eater, it's more important to quickly understand the mechanism of their magic than their combat abilities. Though I think you'll do just fine."
"No, I learned a lot from this experience."
Shirone answered sincerely. It was a battle that made him realize how vast the world is and how many talented people there are.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
