Episode 146 Mysterious Stone
After finishing their meal at the ship's restaurant, Shu and Iris boarded a small boat on the waterway to return to the hotel. As it is ranked as a high-class restaurant, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"I was able to take it easy today."
"Would you like to try walking overland tomorrow?"
"That's great! I agree!"
The long waterway is illuminated with electric lights at night. Although only part of the waterway is illuminated for sightseeing, it is still beautiful. Iris is also in a good mood.
"Good. Are you sightseeing? How was the lake?"
"It was fun. We got to ride on a lot of different ships."
"The water was beautiful."
"I guess so. People in this town drink that water."
The sun has already set, but there are still many people working in the city. So was this boatman. For Shu, who knows what happened 100 years ago, I think this is a great improvement.
"Iris"
“I know.”
However, there are always many fools.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
“Then, if they attack you, fight back.”
"Don't kill me."
"It's a different time now."
Immediately after the two finished their conversation in low voices, multiple shadows attacked from both sides of the waterway. Fire, water, and lightning rained down. It seemed like no one could react to this surprise attack.
However, they stopped mid-air.
Time has stopped.
"Is this magic? No, there's no magic circle, so it's a magic weapon."
"It seems like that. For now, I'll knock you out. Shuu-san, please erase the magic."
"Leave it to me."
"Then let's move forward in time."
And time begins to move on.
Shu erased the approaching magic with death magic, and at the same time as time stopped, the assailant was forced into a state of paralysis due to electric magic sent to the past. Because the magic was sent to the past, it means that the body was paralyzed in the past stage, and the causal relationship changed and the attacker in the present time also fell.
"W-what!?"
The boatman was so surprised that he flinched, and the boat swayed violently. Meanwhile, Shu stood up and silently flew through the air to secure the fallen assailant. Using mobile magic, he gathered the five fallen people in one place, used material manifestation to bring out steel wires, and tied them together.
The people around him couldn't help but applaud this move.
There weren't many people on the streets, but there were some witnesses. From their point of view, it appeared that the magic of the assailants had been negated, they had been stunned by mysterious means, and they had been skillfully restrained.
Iris also flies in later.
"Shu-san"
"It's over. And they're all alive. That was just the right output."
“I’ve gotten used to keeping it alive and neutralizing it.”
As the times have changed, in most countries there has been a trend that killing, even in self-defense, is taboo. As Shu, he has no obligation to protect him, but he is currently sightseeing in the Kingdom of Armando. If he doesn't follow the rules of the Armando Kingdom, he will run away, so he refrains from killing in cases like this.
Also, Iris's wanted status has gradually faded. Moreover, it would be unbearable if arrangements were to be strengthened. In this day and age, even holy knights may not know Iris's face.
"Hey! What's going on!"
In other words, there is no problem in getting involved with the national army who comes to question you.
Two soldiers soon arrived and asked the civilians nearby to understand the situation.
"What happened?"
“Suddenly, there were people using magical equipment, and that person caught them!”
“Is that the man in black clothes with long hair?”
"that's right"
The soldiers who understood the situation approached Shu and spoke to him while comparing him with the five captured attackers.
"There are witnesses, and it seems like you are the one who got involved. I'd like to interview you."
"I don't mind. I have something I'd like to ask you too."
"Okay. Well, I know you're the victim, so it'll be over soon. How about that young lady?"
"He's my companion."
“She’s my wife!”
"I'm sorry for that. Now, let's get right to it..."
One soldier was questioning Shu and Iris about the situation, while the other was investigating the assailant who was wrapped in steel wire. It's normal to roll up your clothes, check your face, and check for weapons.
After listening to Shu and Iris about the situation, the soldier nodded as if he understood.
“Is this the end?”
"Ah, yeah. That's it. Thank you very much. Looks like they picked the wrong person. Hahahahaha."
“Then I want to hear it next.”
"That's right. I think there's a limit to what I can answer, but feel free to ask me anything."
Perhaps because the interrogation was over, the soldier's voice became a little softer.
It's probably because he changed from work mode to benevolent behavior.
“Are those people the kidnappers that have been rumored recently?”
"Probably. It's the same outfit as the ones seen. Their black cloaks and the crescent moon mark on their backs. They're called the Gekkokai. They're also being watched by the church. But this is the first time they've been arrested. What? No, it really helped me.”
At the soldier who said that, Shu tilted his head.
Even though Iris stopped time, the five attackers were nothing more than small fry. The power of the magic equipment is not that great, and a country's soldiers or holy knights should be able to capture it easily.
"Have you not been able to capture it until now? It was quite weak."
"Weak? They can easily handle high-level magic. There's no way they're weak. You guys were lucky. Also, you said it was a magic outfit, but it's probably magic."
"There should have been no magic formation. Did you see Iris?"
"You haven't seen it."
"But it seems like they've found a way to activate magic without a magic circle. There's no way to stop it because it activates immediately without chanting."
It's impossible, Shu thinks.
A magic circle is like a language used by the world to modify events. It is believed that if this world is converted into data, it can be represented by the pattern of a magic circle, and the magic circle is a method of rewriting the event symbols.
In other words, as long as magic is activated, it is unthinkable not to go through a magic circle.
It is a common theory that magical equipment is activated through a magic circle carved into the soul. Magic is also close to that. By the way, magic has different laws from existing ones, so it cannot be described using magic circles.
It was hard to believe that it was neither a magical outfit nor a magic spell, and that magic could be activated without a magic circle.
“Do you know how it works?”
"I'm looking into it...how's it going!"
Another soldier, who was examining the attackers' belongings, silently turned up their clothes. Then, a translucent pale stone was embedded in the attacker's heart. That's everyone.
"What I carry is a weapon, and if there's anything suspicious about it, it's this."
“What is that?”
"Well, we won't know until we investigate."
The soldiers didn't seem to know anything.
Shu and Iris also consulted.
“It looks like a mass of magical power… is it a catalyst or something?”
"Do you want to find out?"
"ah"
"Then let's stop time."
After saying that, Iris easily stopped time. In a world where time has stopped, Shu walks up to the assailant and examines the pale stone.
Thanks to this time stop, suspicious acts were easily possible.
Normally, when time stops, all laws stop temporally. In other words, nothing can be seen, the air is fixed, and movement is impossible. This is physical time stopping.
However, since Iris has awakened, she has gained another ability to manipulate time. That's another phase time. It is a method of constructing a barrier based on the concept of a time-stopped state and placing oneself in a phase outside of that barrier. To put it simply, you can see a world where time has stopped, just like looking at a photograph.
Due to this phase-shifting time barrier, Iris and Shu can move freely even in a stopped world.
"Is this stone a metal imbued with magical power? But it's strange that it doesn't turn into a monster."
"Was it metal? But it's translucent."
"It's been altered by magic. I think the light absorption band has changed. You can call it a new substance. As for the properties of this substance... I don't really understand it. It's not just a magic tank. I think"
“Is this how magic is activated without using a magic circle?”
"Maybe. I don't know the details. But I'll just get one."
Shu pulled out a pale stone from the assailant's chest and used magic to create a stone of a similar color and place it in its place. It will be revealed soon, but this place can be deceived.
Then both of them returned to their original positions.
“It moves time forward.”
"ah"
The time stop is lifted and the world begins to move. The soldiers tilted their heads and studied the stones.
Shu asked the two of them.
"So, can we go home?"
"Ah. That's right. You can go home now. Be careful."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Please take care."
The two returned to the hotel on a small boat that had been waiting for them during the interview.
◆◆◆
On the top floor of the Mullite Hotel, Shu was examining the stone he had obtained.
"I see. You certainly don't need a magic circle."
When I activated magic while holding the stone, the magic was activated without a magic circle. It was a simple movement magic that moved objects in a straight line, but a magic circle was still absolutely necessary. However, the current movement magic was activated without a small magic circle.
Shu was also surprised by this.
"I never expected a stone like this..."
“How do you think it works?”
"If you try using Iris, you'll understand."
Shu threw a stone at Iris. Iris catches it and immediately uses magic. As expected, there was no magic circle, and the movement magic was activated, and the chair moved.
With that, Iris was satisfied.
“Is that what you mean?”
"Ah. A magic circle has been constructed inside this stone. It's so tiny that it's invisible to the naked eye. And I think I realized it when it was activated..."
“It consumes almost no magic power!”
"Ah. I don't know why, but it's less than half the normal amount. It's possible to use high-level magic repeatedly. The Moonlight Society is also developing interesting things."
“It looks like you can easily use forbidden spells with this.”
"It would be impossible in terms of capacity. Besides, if you use more than a certain amount of magic, the internal magic power should also disappear."
As far as Shu, who is an expert in magic, has seen, there is a considerable amount of magical power stored inside the stone. If you use this, the stone will be able to build a magic circle within itself just by imagining it, and it will automatically supply magic power to easily activate even higher-level magic.
However, considering the capacity of the magic circle, higher-level magic is the limit. When it comes to tactical level magic or higher, it is not worth the capacity and the internally constructed magic circle collapses.
"This technology...to be honest, I don't really need it, but it would be troublesome if humans used it."
"is not it"
"And this stone...it's still unfinished. If you can use forbidden spells easily, the world might change."
“What will happen?”
"I'm going to challenge the 'king'"
That's what Shu expected.
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