Chapter 212
Contact with Eltima was cut off in an instant.
"We, we have to go save Eltima right away, but what do we do?"
Seeing Herote, who was flustered by Eltima's shocking state, Milia clicked her tongue.
"Doesn't the device you handed Eltima have a forced summons function?"
"... I never once thought I'd lose my magic, not even once."
No matter how much a mage prepares for every contingency, it would be hard for even Herote— a great mage of 10th-tier— to imagine that she would suddenly become unable to use magic.
Milia let out a sigh and spoke as she touched the Dimension Core.
"Can you at least get her location?"
"I think I can calculate the coordinates."
At Herote's reply, Milia closed her eyes and focused on the Dimension Core.
"Call out the coordinates."
"So..."
Herote quickly calculated the coordinates and recited them to Milia, who then took a deep breath.
― Perfect Control
Up until now, she had only transferred people within a certain range from herself.
But this time, it needed to be a much wider area—perhaps the whole continent.
Clench!
"Young lady..."
With veins bulging on her forehead and her teeth gritted, Milia's frustration was clear, and Isella looked at her anxiously.
Bzzz!
Just then, her Dimension Core glowed.
"!"
Pop!
Moments later, a blood-soaked Eltima and Zeritz appeared inside the laboratory.
"Huff... Huff..."
"Young lady!"
Milia, panting for breath, collapsed to the ground, and Isella supported her.
"Eltima..."
Herote approached Eltima with a devastated expression.
Eltima looked at her with blurred eyes.
"Miss Herote... Did you... defeat the Devil of Wisdom?"
Even in this state, Eltima asked this, and Herote's eyes welled up.
"Yes... Luca defeated it."
"I see... haha..."
Eltima gave a faint smile.
Then she looked at Herote again.
"I... I can't feel any magic power..."
"... Yes."
"There must have... been much sacrifice..."
Eltima's voice grew quieter and quieter.
Zeritz, panicking, spoke quickly.
"Eltima! First, you must rest!"
"I have... driven the feathered spear into the guy... now is our chance..."
She had lost an arm and a leg, yet risked her life for that one attack.
The Spear of Victory was still piercing the Devil of Power.
"Before his... wound recovers..."
"Is there no way to save Eltima? Or at least take her to a hospital!"
Zeritz was desperate, but Herote only bit her lip.
"You can't expect a regular hospital to deal with corruption caused by devilish power."
"That..."
Zeritz had cut off Eltima's arm and leg tainted by devilish power.
But the corruption had already spread to her torso.
It was eating away at Eltima's body.
"If it's Ben Dwight, that man might be able to do something!"
"We can't send a signal to him from here right now! It's an ancient magic— I simply can't activate it in my current state..."
Herote's communication device was made with a special ancient magic that couldn't be tracked by any other spells.
And so, there was no one here who could activate it right now.
"Then... am I..."
Zeritz had chosen Eltima's life over Vandello's death.
But now, facing the reality that he couldn't save her, he despaired.
Just then, Luca Traverse, who had been silent in the back, stepped forward.
"Don't die yet, hero of the continent."
"?"
Luca Traverse draped something like a blanket over Eltima.
"What's this...?"
It was a banner embroidered with an angel blowing a trumpet.
Luca Traverse spoke flatly.
"You've earned the right."
― Shinryu Dominion
Fwoosh!
A blazing burst of golden light filled with holy energy erupted.
Under the sacred radiance spreading in a circle around Eltima, grass and garden flowers began to grow.
At the same time, the devilish power gnawing at Eltima receded.
"Wh-where did you get such a thing...?"
Herote's face showed shock, but Luca Traverse only shrugged.
"That's not what matters, is it? Before this woman's sacrifice is wasted, shouldn't we choose someone to kill the Devil of Power?"
"!"
Eltima had risked her life to create this chance.
They couldn't let it go to waste.
"I'm no help in my current state... Maybe your master, Luca?"
The only person she could think of was Kryphi.
As a Grandmaster–level powerhouse, Kryphi would surely be a great help.
"Even with Eltima's spear still embedded, I'm not sure that the guy and I can actually beat that monster."
Zeritz spoke up, his expression grim.
Having faced the enemy himself, he knew.
With just his own strength, he could never kill Vandello.
"If Luca joins you, can't you manage? You have the power of the sky, don't you?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Luca Traverse.
He answered calmly.
"I can't use the power of the sky."
"What do you mean...?"
"... I see."
Some accepted it, others clearly didn't.
But at this moment, the fact was that Luca Traverse couldn't use the power of the sky.
Thus, he made no effort to persuade anyone otherwise.
"Also, I'd like to let 'this body' rest. I've pushed it far too hard."
"..."
No one could really deny that Luca had pushed himself.
With everyone glancing at each other, Luca Traverse spoke in his usual dull tone.
"But if it's in a different body, I can still help."
"...?"
"A different... body?"
This time, everyone except Ottbo wore uncomprehending expressions.
* * *
"What, you say we have to use it right now?"
Luca Traverse and Ottbo visited Strethel again.
At their words, strethel looked flustered.
"It's not fully calibrated yet!"
"When will it be?"
"I don't know! I haven't even run a test operation— how should I know? At the very least, we need to transfer a spirit and check if it even works..."
At this, Luca Traverse stepped forward.
"Then let's do the transfer right now."
"What?!"
Strethel shook her head in panic.
"No! I haven't engraved drive magic on that heart, so there's no vitality flowing through the entire body yet."
"I'll try the drive magic. I've seen ancient drive magic before, so I can at least try to imitate it."
"R-really?!"
Strethel's eyes went wide.
Ottbo hesitated for a moment.
"I've researched the differences between our family's drive magic and ancient drive magic, but... this will be my first time actually doing it. I'm not confident, but—"
A firm resolve showed in Ottbo's eyes.
"But now is the time."
"..."
Luca Traverse gazed at him a moment, then looked to Strethel.
"Just do it. We're out of time."
"... Why is it so urgent?"
"We have to kill a devil. The strongest devil, at that."
At the mention of killing a devil, strethel pulled a pained expression.
"What are you talking about...?"
"Just think of them as bad guys. They used the Kimberly ducal family to attack your village."
At Luca Traverse's words, strethel froze.
Then, in a suddenly cold voice, she said:
"How do you know that?"
"What difference does it make?"
"I don't want to suspect you, but... you could be connected to all that."
Strethel's hostility returned.
But Luca Traverse remained indifferent.
"So what difference does it make if you know?"
"..."
"Either way, I'm going to kill the devils. If you get in my way, you can forget about revenge or saving your younger sister. Will you still try to stop me?"
There was a kind of coldness to those words.
But for some reason Strethel felt her hostility toward him subside.
She wasn't sure if it was because of what he said, or because, seeing her own reflection in his eyes, she felt somehow foolish.
"... Fine. I'll get it ready."
So Strethel brought forth the strongest body.
Luca Traverse was taken aback when he saw it.
This was his first time seeing it in person.
"... Can the appearance be changed?"
"It's hard to quickly change the physique. But maybe I can tweak the hair color and face a little?"
"Physique... is difficult, huh..."
Luca Traverse's eyes flickered for an instant.
Strethel, wearing a puzzled look, gave a little gasp as though realizing something, and hurriedly added:
"W-well, it can't be helped! I made this for my younger sister, after all!"
It had a female form.
With a devastated expression, Luca Traverse looked down at it.
Strethel quickly brought over a magical tool and said:
"I can't do anything about the body now, but I'll make the face look as much like you as I can! Besides, your face is pretty androgynous anyway."
"..."
He seemed even more displeased by that, but Strethel didn't notice.
It didn't take Strethel even five minutes to change the face of the strongest body.
She managed to make the face look nearly 99 percent like Luca Traverse's, and was quite proud.
"All done!"
"... Haaa."
Staring at the strongest body—a female form with his own face— Luca Traverse wore a grief-stricken expression.
But soon, as if firming his resolve, he reached out toward it.
"Now you have to use drive magic!"
At Strethel's cue, Ottbo took a deep breath.
Luca Traverse glanced at him.
"Nervous?"
"... Yeah."
Ottbo nodded, making eye contact.
"Another Luca. Do you trust me?"
Luca Traverse was silent for a moment, then turned away.
"If he trusted you, then I will too."
"... Thank you."
At that, Ottbo smiled gently.
He reached out his hand.
― Drive Magic
Zzap!
With drive magic infused into the golden heart, vitality surged through the entire strongest body.
Simultaneously, Luca Traverse transferred his consciousness into it.
Flop!
"L-Luca?"
Luca Traverse's old body collapsed.
While Ottbo panicked, the strongest body's eyes snapped open.
"Hm."
"W-woah?!"
The most surprised was Strethel.
She had believed in her research, but to see it actually work was something else entirely.
"Hmmm..."
Luca Traverse tried moving the body.
It felt a bit awkward, but was otherwise functional.
"Not bad."
Thanks to the golden heart, the body's performance was better than he expected.
He felt even more strength than in his real body.
"Are you okay, Luca?"
Ottbo checked on him.
Luca Traverse nodded and looked at him.
"This should be good enough to fight."
"I-is that so."
Ottbo averted his eyes for a moment.
His face flushed slightly.
Luca Traverse looked puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
"... I think you'd better wear something."
"Ah, I'll get clothes!"
It was less striking when motionless, but now that the body was moving, being undressed was quite a shock.
Strethel hurried to get clothes, and Luca Traverse glanced over his own body before clicking his tongue with a curt expression.
"Tsk. Anyway, I should warm up a bit."
"Warm up?"
Ottbo looked puzzled.
Climbing down from the table, Luca Traverse replied:
"Yeah. The time has finally come to fight that man."
* * *
Knock, knock!
"Come in."
Kryphi heard the knock and immediately knew who it was.
'Ottbo the student and... hmm...?'
He recognized one but was unfamiliar with the other.
He was making a puzzled expression when the door opened, and, seeing who came in, Kryphi flinched.
"Luca... uh..."
Kryphi hesitated, then spoke cautiously.
"Miss Luca...?"