The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Chapter 410: Better Than the Best

“GWOH–!?”

Asley’s right fist had indeed pierced through Devil King Lucifer’s left cheek.

Lucifer had no way of comprehending how that had happened to him. The only choice he had now was to strike back.

However, he could not see Asley anywhere.

Then Asley reappeared, effortlessly weaving his way past Lucifer’s kick.

A blunt impact landed on Lucifer’s unprotected abdomen.

“…GAH!?”

“How’s THAT for ‘no effect,’ huh!?”

“AAAHHHHHH!!”

Lucifer attempted to strike Asley with a headbutt, but the latter dodged it by hopping backward.

“What… what did you do!?”

“No way in hell I’m telling you!”

At that moment, Lucifer saw a ‘change’ in Asley.

He proceeded to focus all his senses on the chill that ran down his back… and the impact that followed.

At the moment of impact, Lucifer leaped forward, reducing the effect of Asley’s punch on his back.

“Shit, almost had it!”

This time, Lucifer focused on Asley’s mouth.

Shortly after, Lucifer sensed a wave of arcane energy above him, and sure enough, he saw that Asley was there, about to land a hit on his head. He defended against the blow with both his hands.

“”Ngh–!””

Although Lucifer took a great deal of impact, Asley was disappointed that his attack had failed.

Lucifer grabbed Asley’s arms and tried to restrain him, but the latter somehow slipped away and appeared behind Lucifer again.

Lucifer, despite being one step behind, managed to turn around and intercept the next attack with a backhand swing.

Gradually, Lucifer’s expression changed from one of surprise to hostility — now he was seeing Asley as an actual enemy. The Devil King had to take this seriously.

Nothing seemed right — not this speed at point-blank range, not his supposed failure to restrain Asley, and…

“…I saw it. I HEARD it.”

“–!?”

…Not Asley’s startled reaction. Asley proceeded to put up his guard.

“Each time you disappeared, your mouth moved. I was sure I had grabbed your arm — but then you disappeared. At that moment, your mouth also moved. And I knew I heard it — the words rang in my ears.”

He saw through that ‘change’ in Asley — and realized how he had been unable to avoid those attacks.

“…Right…… I almost forgot. You are in the Ultimate Limit state. Hehehe…!!”

Going by his voice alone, one would think Lucifer was laughing. His eyes and arcane energy aura, however, suggested that he was not one bit amused.

“…Instant… Transmission…”

“Shit!!”

“…That was what I heard.”

Lucifer spent a moment looking up at the sky, then he looked down.

“…Well, well… so you managed to complete it.”

The following moment, he directed his sharp glare at Asley, his anger and bloodthirst intense.

“Instant Transmission… the ultimate magic spell that even I could not master. Yet YOU were able to use it…”

“S-so what!?”

“Oh, nothing. It simply UPSETS me…”

Devil King Lucifer, surrounded by an eerie aura, proceeded to mumble something to himself.

There was no way that Asley, in his current state, could let this opening pass him by.

He invoked the Instant Transmission spell again and moved directly behind Lucifer’s range of sight — right in the middle of the Devil King’s blind spot.

Asley, battered and bruised from the countless clashes, still had power in his fist. Packing it with immense arcane energy, he prepared to strike.

However…

“!?!?”

The immediate threat turned out not to be Lucifer in front of him, but something else behind him. Feeling a chill down his spine, Asley was informed of that threat  — and as such, he invoked Instant Transmission and moved away from Lucifer, landing at a distance he deemed safe enough.

After the teleportation, Asley saw that the spot behind Lucifer, where he had been just moments ago, had been pierced by countless lances of fire that seemed to have fallen from the sky.

“What!? Fire Lance Convergence…?”

It did not take long for him to realize exactly what spell it was.

But there was one thing that Asley could not wrap his head around.

“I knew you would question my choice. However, I have never expected to bury you with just one spell…”

[He’s invoking his stuff way too quickly!]

Indeed, that was what Asley could not understand.

“What do you think is the most troublesome part of invoking magic spells and magecraft?””

Lucifer suddenly asked.

“…The time between the spell’s completion and invocation.”

Asley answered, believing that he would find the answer he sought within that question.

“Indeed. As you know, magic is not something that is invoked immediately upon completion. The time between completion and invocation — that is quite troublesome. It requires careful adjustment. Although the time each magic spell takes to be invoked is minimal, there are non-negligible differences. That is why mages have devised a certain method to overcome it since ancient times.”

“…The verbalization of the magic spell’s name by the caster.”

“By uttering the name of the magic spell, the caster ensures uniformity in the invocating time — a fundamental aspect for mages. This eliminates the need to memorize the subtle differences through training. In this era, however, there seem to be incompetent mages who do not even know that much…”

[Yeah, right… the verbalizing of spells’ names — and the incorporating of verbal invocation into the formula — is common practice, as far as the Magic University’s current teachings go. And since it’s applied to all magic spells, not many people question the process itself. But does that matter now? Why is Lucifer bringing up this topic?]

Asley looked for an opportunity to attack, but Lucifer did not show any openings.

“Next question, Asley: What is the advantage of Ultimate Limit?”

“You can invoke magic and magecraft simply by verbalizing their names — no need to draw Spell or Craft Circles.”

“Exactly. The Ultimate Limit state allows the caster to internalize a complete formula and merely verbalize the invocation. While it is impossible to perform for casters who lack the amount of arcane energy you and I do, for those who do, it expands strategic possibilities and enables them to possess significantly higher power. They still would not be able to repeatedly cast so many Sancta Boundaries, unlike the man who defeated me last time, however…”

“What are you implying!?”

“One last question, Asley.”

“What?”

Lucifer focused his sight on Asley and muttered a single word:

“Transcendence…!”

In an instant, a pitch-black aura of arcane energy erupted from Lucifer.

Asley — and the entirety of Eddo — was engulfed by the darkness, which soon dissipated like mist.

As the darkness surrounding Lucifer vanished, Asley’s knees trembled. There was in fact no fear in Asley’s heart, but his body involuntarily reacted — to the unmistakable anomaly before his eyes.

[W-what did he just say? Transcendence…? Not Ultimate Limit?]

The path from question to answer was within their conversation thus far — that was what Asley had believed. And as the answer began to take shape, Asley nervously swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Now, Asley, the question…”

“Ngh–!!”

Asley lowered his stance, preparing to handle any incoming attacks.

“If someone could activate magic spells and magecraft at will, without the need to vocalize their names, what should that person be called?”

“!?”

Suddenly, countless magic spells and magecraft appeared before Asley’s eyes. 

Lucifer, with his arms crossed, looked down at the flustered Asley.

“Damn it!! Instant Transmission! Instant Transmission! Instant Transmission! Instant Transmission! Instant Transmission!”

Asley narrowly evaded all the magic spells, but the moment Lucifer shifted his attention to Asley’s new location after teleportation, numerous large-scale magic spells were unleashed upon him again. 

The attacks were relentless — and all the while, Lucifer did not utter even a single syllable.