A sacred radiance seemed to pierce through space, shining upon the land from another world; that particular area was this otherworld's beginner town.
Axel!
The town of Axel was a gathering place for novice adventurers. Here, typically only weak monsters appeared, yet there were numerous high-reward quests. It wasn't labeled a "beginner's town" just because some story started here—it truly was defined as such by this world.
That was Shichen and the others' destination, but they first needed to deal with the problem in front of them.
"What... is... going on? This immense power... no, it's divine power!" Arnes recognized the essence of the disturbance, hardly believing it.
That tremendous divine power had her worried some deity might descend, but it seemed she was overworried.
Like a waterfall, the brilliant light began contracting and soon vanished, as though nothing had ever happened.
"Ack—!"
Just then, Chomusuke (the black cat) took advantage of Arnes's lapse, biting down on her arm.
"Ow!"
Reflexively, Arnes loosened her grip on Chomusuke.
"Aah—Wolbach-sama!"
Chomusuke fell from midair, and at that moment, Shichen acted. He used magic to freeze it in place, then brought it over to him.
"Shichen!" Yunyun called out happily.
Seeing that, Arnes also let out a small sigh of relief—but she relaxed too soon.
A wave of magical energy began rippling through the area, a stunning aura filling the place.
"What... what is that?" Arnes stared in disbelief, turning toward Megumin.
At that moment, Megumin's staff was condensing massive mana; brilliant, mystic light radiated from it, terrifying in its intensity. Its power looked no weaker than the giant mana orb Arnes had amassed.
"This is...!"
"The ultimate, supreme magic—Explosion," Megumin responded calmly.
Explosion magic, with massive destructive power, was humanity's most potent form of offensive magic!
"So that's it..." Beads of cold sweat rolled down Arnes's cheeks.
"Previously, I said you only knew how to run your mouth. I must apologize for that, little girl. Could you tell me your name?" Arnes finally took Megumin seriously.
"My name is Megumin!" Megumin declared solemnly. "I am the top-class genius of the Crimson Demon Clan, a wielder of Explosion magic!"
"I see..." Arnes nodded, then sneered savagely. "Such taste—must mean your mind's messed up! Cursed Lightning!"
With that shout, the giant orb of mana above Arnes's head thundered down.
"—Explosion!"
At the same time, Megumin unleashed her Explosion magic to meet Arnes's spell!
In a flash, the two massive forces collided, warping the air, kicking up fierce winds.
There was no typical explosion of two spells clashing; the purple-black energy sphere and Megumin's brilliant, multicolored mana beams wrestled ceaselessly, each trying to overpower the other.
Their struggle distorted the very space, generating suction that swept across the area.
"Wah—!" Yunyun nearly got sucked up into the air; Shichen quickly grabbed her at the waist.
"Th-thank you." Yunyun's face reddened as she thanked him.
"No worries." Shichen paid her embarrassment no heed, instead watching the collision of the two spells.
This was his first time personally seeing the "famed Explosion magic," and its power truly was astonishing—greater even than the destructive force of the magic that Arnes had previously used.
But, of course, that made sense; Explosion magic was indeed "magic," while Arnes's earlier spell had merely been raw mana thrown together.
Regardless, Shichen's attention wasn't on that. He noticed Megumin's Explosion magic seemed weaker than Arnes's Cursed Lightning.
Megumin was still young; her mana likely couldn't match Arnes's.
Originally, he hadn't planned to intervene, giving Megumin the stage to shine—but judging by the situation, it looked like he might have to step in.
Rumble—!
Their magics were still deadlocked, as if they wanted to tear the space apart. Guards lying on the ground tumbled in the violent wind, unable to fight back—rather pitiful, yet at least they were in no mortal danger.
They were adventurers, though not mages; some physical toughening was probably good for them. Shichen only needed to keep the travelers in the carriage safe.
Just as Shichen prepared to help, Chomusuke, in his arms, gave a small "meow."
Though very soft, Arnes—up in midair—seemed to catch it.
"Wolbach-sama...!"
Arnes looked at Chomusuke in Shichen's arms, her fierce expression letting slip a ripple of emotion. She couldn't keep attacking. If she overpowered Megumin's spell, Wolbach would also be caught in the blast. She could never bring herself to harm Wolbach.
Sensing that opportunity, Megumin poured in her last ounce of mana. Explosion magic began overwhelming the Cursed Lightning!
"Ugh...!" Arnes's aura faltered. Attempting to fight back was already too late.
The rainbow-like magic beams tore through the purple-black energy orb, swallowing Arnes in a brilliant rush of light!
"This time, get blasted back to hell, Arnes!" Megumin bellowed.
Boom—!
The explosion rumbled across the sky, flames spreading overhead in a display so massive it practically covered half the heavens, leaving onlookers in awe.
This was Explosion magic—humanity's most powerful destructive spell, enough to captivate anyone who beheld it.
Of course, it came with terrible drawbacks, which only this girl who'd been obsessed with since youth would dare make it her specialty.
As the smoke dispersed, the sky now lay empty, with only blue-white background reclaiming people's vision. There wasn't even a trace of Arnes anywhere.
Shichen eyed this Explosion Magic with a budding interest. Art was an explosion, indeed.
And given his inexhaustible mana, such a spell wouldn't empty him out like it did Megumin.
"S-squish—"
Megumin croaked in a faint voice and toppled backward like a wooden plank. However, just before she hit the ground, her body froze in midair, suspended as if by an invisible force.
Shichen stepped forward, smiling at her.
"Not bad, I'll admit you do have some skill."
"Humph. Did you think I was joking?" Megumin smirked through her exhaustion, pleased with herself.
"Still putting on airs?"
"Mm... then let me rest a bit." With that, Megumin's head lolled to the side and she lost consciousness entirely.
Her mana depletion was much worse than Yunyun's.
Shichen chuckled, shaking his head. He gently scooped her up in a princess carry and headed back to the carriage.
Megumin truly was petite, light as a feather. Holding her was like carrying Kanna. No wonder she was so flat-chested—she was likely malnourished.
"Shichen, is Megumin okay?" Yunyun asked worriedly.
"She's fine—just passed out from mana drain."
"That's a relief."
For a mage, that happened often enough.
Carrying Megumin, Shichen returned to the carriage. The mother-daughter pair and that nobleman inside were unharmed. They had witnessed everything from within the magical barrier.
"Megumin-nee was amazing!"
The little girl said excitedly.
"Shh~ Megumin needs rest now." Shichen softly reminded her.
"Okay!"
The little girl clamped her hands over her mouth cutely.
"Yunyun, keep an eye on Megumin. I'll go wake the others," Shichen instructed.
"Understood."
Yunyun carefully let Megumin lie across one of the seats, resting her head on Yunyun's lap. Then Shichen jumped down from the carriage to check on the guards.
Sure enough, everyone was only knocked out, no real injuries. And waking them up, they snapped back to life as though having taken a stimulant—maybe from seeing the epic magic clash.
No one minded Shichen hadn't initially rushed to help; they never dwelled on that. Maybe folks in this world were simple like that.
After a quick rest, the carriage continued on its way to Axel. The horses were fine—just zapped unconscious. Perhaps Arnes had some sense of restraint.
That was just how things were in this world.
By afternoon, Megumin finally awoke—just as they reached their destination.
~~~
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