The Messiah Rod.
That’s what Veronica-san named this staff.
As the name suggests, it is truly a weapon to save the world.
A staff made exclusively for me, one that only I can wield.
“Changing the staff won’t change the outcome—Receive this, Odin Hammer!”
Forse unleashed a magic bullet of purple energy.
A giant orb of light, dozens of meters in diameter, bore down on them.
The shockwave alone from its energy pulverized the ground into a massive crater, causing the surrounding atmosphere to become plasma and explode.
“Guh…”
“Kyaaah…”
The raging shockwave slammed into the fallen members of the Fourth and Seventh Squads, eliciting screams from various directions.
If this continued, everyone would be caught in the crossfire.
I absolutely wouldn’t let that happen!
“Messiah Rod, Mode One—Plasma Shell!”
In response to the keyword incantation, multiple lines of light streaked from the tip of the staff.
At these lines, a portion of the arrowhead-shaped tip separated.
Four parts in total, each in the shape of a triangular pyramid.
They became four sub-units (bits), each with its own propulsion, milling chaotically around me.
“Magic Power Maximum Acceleration—React Sphere!”
The light beams extending from the sub-units connected, forming a pyramid-like shape.
The energy ball unleashed by Forse was effortlessly repelled by the light pyramid and scattered.
“It bounced off!? Impossible—”
Forse, who had always maintained an unperturbed demeanor, voiced his shock for the first time.
—This newly developed Messiah Rod by Veronica-san is equipped with a mechanism to withstand my magic power.
That was the four sub-units from earlier.
Each sub-unit contains a magic amplification circuit, the same as the main body of the staff.
In essence, the magic power that was previously amplified solely by the staff would now be amplified using the staff and the four sub-units—a total of five magic circuits.
This reduced the burden on each part to about one-fifth of the original.
It seems the cost became ridiculously high due to the use of such complex mechanisms and five magic circuits, which Veronica-san complained about incessantly—
Regardless, a dedicated staff that could withstand my magic power was finally completed.
“Hmph, then with this!”
Forse unleashed more attack magic.
The light bullets, cast with Silent Incantation, numbered over a hundred.
It seems he had lowered the rank of his spells and opted for quantity over quality.
Even so, the orbs of light, which likely possessed power close to top-tier spells despite their reduced rank, descended from all directions, tracing an irregular trajectory through the air.
“But—it’s useless!”
The shining sub-units whizzed around me.
The light shields they deployed repelled and annihilated Forse’s magic bullets and orbs of light, one after another.
If he came with a full-power attack, I would connect the sub-units’ energy to defend.
If he came with continuous attacks, I would use the sub-units independently to deploy multiple defensive walls simultaneously.
Either way, it wouldn’t work on me anymore.
“Wh-what in the—!? Impossible…!”
Forse groaned in evident agitation.
“Hmph, my magic can’t even reach someone like you…”
“The tables have turned this time.”
I held my staff ready, without letting my guard down, and declared.
“Your magic won’t work anymore.”
“…I see. You are indeed strong.”
Oh, is he ready to surrender?
“Why?”
But what came out of Forse’s mouth was a bitter groan.
“Why, with such power, do you oppose us?”
“Why, you ask—”
“The Magatsu Empire’s doctrine is singular: ‘A world where mages manage and rule over non-mages.’ Such a world will undoubtedly bring peace and tranquility to all people.”
It was an impromptu speech.
Frankly, it sounded exactly like an evil empire—
“What do you think of this world?”
Forse gazed at me.
“Wealth and prosperity are concentrated in only a few nations, like the Six Great Nations. The majority of people in most countries starve and die, unable to even feed themselves for the day. This is all because they are exploited by the wealthy nations.”
“We were also born and raised in such small countries,” Lilmid interjected. “We were sold off as slaves by our parents, abused even there, and were on the verge of death from exhaustion before—we were taken in by His Majesty the Magatsu Emperor.”
“To trample on others and sacrifice them for one’s own happiness—all people are obsessed with satisfying their own desires. If the world is left to such individuals, it will only lead to a bifurcated world—one of those who satisfy their desires and those who are exploited for them.”
“But we mages are different. With our supernatural powers, we can fairly manage those without power. His Majesty the Emperor can do it.”
“…Um, so basically, the current society is divided into winners and losers, and you’re attacking us because you’re upset you didn’t become winners?”
That was my summary.
“You!”
“How dare you mock us!”
Forse and Lilmid were furious.
“Mocking?”
But I was just as angry.
“I just said that what you’re saying is the logic of fanatics.”
I remembered.
How these two had tried to slaughter the people of the Royal Capital with destructive magic.
Fortunately, Beatrice-san’s intervention prevented it, but—
If the same situation arose again—they would do the same thing without hesitation.
Calmly.
Without even a twitch of their brows.
“My answer is simple. There are undoubtedly many unpleasant and wrong things in this world. But there are people and things I cherish and want to protect. That’s why I won’t let it be destroyed.”
I raised my staff towards the two of them.
“I will stand against those who try to destroy it with all I have. And—I will defeat them.”
“Defeat us?”
Lilmid scoffed.
“But your attacks won’t work on us either.”
“We’ll see about that—”
I grinned and spun my staff.
“Messiah Rod, Mode Two—Break Edge!”
In response to my incantation, the surrounding sub-units connected and reattached to the staff.
The tip of the staff had transformed into a shape resembling the head of a giant spear.
I held the Messiah Rod, which had changed into a shape that was neither quite a sword nor a spear with an unusually long hilt, in a guard stance.
