Up to You (2)

The volcano erupted. The earth's crust wriggled as if it was alive and breathing, and a gust of ashes filled the air. Gas and mana exposed to the atmosphere caused chain explosions.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

Would it look like this if the world were destroyed? The Demon Spirit Core that wrapped around the volcano made direct contact with the magma's mana and was fragmented, losing its function for a moment. Epherene's mana was too small to be of any help.

─!

A roar filled their ears as a torrent of magma rained down. The heat of the volcano's mana raged violently by. It was a disaster that would remain in history, marking the destruction of both Yuren and the Ashes.

For Epherene, these moments continued as if time had slowed. The explosions spread out, covering the world in ash and sending her ears ringing.

Beep-

"Help…"

In the midst of this, Epherene looked to Deculein. Perhaps even then, she was expecting his help.

"…"

However, the moment their eyes locked, Epherene lost hope. Transparent and blue eyes, the eyes of Yukline faced her. They said that she caused this and that it was a disaster for her to bear. It was a massacre caused by her greed and immature good intentions.

"Now, do you understand?"

Booooooooom-!

Magma swallowed Deculein. He was pushed away by the flood, and Arlos, a doll, was quickly melted.

"…Ah."

Watching them disappear, Epherene fell to the ground. Even the ground was so hot it burned her butt, but it didn't matter. She couldn't feel it. She felt vibrations from behind, accompanied by a sound like splitting ground.

Epherene looked back and shed a single tear

Rumble…!

Waves of magma rushed in. They reached toward the sky.

"Shit…"

Epherene clenched her teeth, swearing. This is damn nature. She felt like an idiot for being immature, stepping forward when she didn't know anything.

Epherene reached out her hand.

─!

At that moment, when the howling magma wrapped around her… Epherene put all of her mana and concentration into it. She quickly calculated the formula, formed a circuit, and implemented a magic circle. She poured out all the mana in her body to complete it.

…As a result.

Whoooong-!

A certain aura bloomed around her. It was a transparent membrane blocking the magma. Epherene's eyes widened as she poked at the shield.

"…Done."

This was a piece of 「Deculein/Luna Thesis」, manifested entirely by her strength. It was magic that utilized allotrope, the most basic characteristic of carbon. After synthesizing her mana into polymers, she connected them like a tiny hexagonal honeycomb to form a kind of membrane. Deculein would call it a nanotube.

There was no way that magma could pierce this invincible shield…

"I guess not!"

It did. A stream of magma flowed through the gaps in the magic.

"Gosh, it's hot!"

It quickly consumed Epherene.

* * *

"Aaaah—!"

On the couch in the office of the Head Professor at the Imperial University Magic Tower.

"Hot! It's hoooot-!"

Epherene suddenly screamed and thrashed about.

"Aaaah. Help me! Oh my, I can't even see. My heart."

Did she suddenly lose her mind? Or maybe she had another premonition. It was sudden, but it was understandable because it was Epherene. Deculein, who was recovering his mana in his office chair, looked back at her and asked.

"What's going on?"

"Ugh… huh?"

Epherene opened her eyes. She sat up and glanced at Deculein, then back down at herself.

"…Wow. Wow…"

Then, she laid back down on the couch with relief etched across her face.

"Get up. It's time to return to Yuren."

"…Professor. You made the Demon Spirit Core yesterday, right?"

"Yes."

The Demon Spirit Core was placed on Deculein's desk. Only then did Epherene realize that she had seen tomorrow's future.

"That's a relief…"

"Did the volcano erupt?"

Deculein asked. Surprised, Epherene answered honestly.

"Yes."

"Wasn't it blocked with the Demon Spirit Core?"

"…Yeah? That… I don't know. I just know why it didn't work."

Deculein nodded. She didn't explain clearly, but he seemed to understand roughly what was going on. He asked again.

"Did you realize?"

"…"

Epherene covered her face. The experience of burning alive was too vivid; she wasn't sure if it had been a prediction or regression.

"…Yes."

She realized it thanks to that: good intentions without power could sometimes cause worse results than malice. That the desire to save everyone could kill everyone. And…

"How did you know, Professor?"

Epherene was curious about that.

"What do you mean?"

"You decided we couldn't protect both places from the volcano before even making the core."

"I calculated it."

He stood.

"Concentrations of sulfur and mana in the atmosphere, the heat of magma, and examples and cycles of previous volcanic eruptions. Also, the performance of the Demon Spirit Core that I created. I just had to predict and calculate everything."

He was a really smart professor. However, with all those thoughts going on, Epherene found it difficult to follow. He didn't even explain it kindly.

"The conclusion is that the Ashes cannot be saved."

"…"

Epherene closed her mouth. That catastrophe, the scene of the explosion, still shimmered before her eyes.

Stomp-

Deculein approached the couch.

"Therefore."

Epherene looked up at him.

"Are you thinking of giving up?"

Her heart was still pounding, but this professor remained, as always, resolute. Even before he was washed away by magma, knowing he would be caught up in the eruption, he showed no sign of fear…

"I understood what you meant."

Epherene nodded.

"I will make that choice too, like you. If I have to give up either Yuren or the Ashes, I mean."

The Principality of Yuren, the country where Princess Maho and her innocent subjects lived. On the other hand, the Ashes were occupied by wizards and criminals who were not bound by law or ethics. It was obvious which of the two to choose. Even a three-year-old would choose Yuren.

"Of course, I will throw away the Ashes because they are meaner. Because they house the meaner ones."

Even to those words, Deculein did not respond. After swallowing, Epherene clenched her fists.

"But. That's a story for when I have to make a choice."

She looked up at the Professor with unshakable eyes.

"If there is a way to not have to choose-"

"Do you think there is a way to do that?"

Deculein asked. Epherene glanced at the Demon Spirit Core; it was wiggling on the desk.

"The Demon Spirit Core is still not enough."

"I know. But, with my help, it will change."

"…"

Deculein frowned.

"I realized it. The most difficult and important part of the thesis. Oh, look!"

Epherene showed him a paragraph from the paper.

[…This form in which the atoms of a polymer are woven into a honeycomb-like hexagon, I define as a nanotube. These forms can be found especially in carbon or can be artificially synthesized. The approximate length and diameter ratio of nanotubes is as follows…]

"This nanotube. I didn't understand what nonsense it was at first, and honestly, not even now. Length and diameter ratios just felt like a lot of numbers."

"…"

Deculein shook his head.

"But."

These were also known as Mana Nanotubes. Of course, it was a dream, but she had already experienced it once. Magic was always like this. It was incredibly difficult at first, but once you did it once, it was easy from then on.

"Look."

Epherene closed her eyes and activated the mana in her body.

Whooong-

A tube-shaped membrane rose from Epherene's grasp. However, Deculein shook his head.

"It's incomplete."

"…I know it too. It was pierced by magma. So."

Epherene continued as she got up from the couch.

"Please tell me."

"…"

"What am I missing? I read the thesis every day, but I don't know with just that. If you don't tell me, I won't eat."

Deculein tilted his head for a moment and let out a sigh.

"You need to first clearly understand the definition and keep it fixed in your head."

Snap-!

He snapped his fingers and started writing on the blackboard to organize his schedule.

"'Allotropes' are basic substances with the same constituent elements. However, even though they are the same element, they appear to have completely different properties due to the arrangement of atoms and different bonding methods. The most representative examples are graphite and diamonds."

He showed Epherene the pencil on the desk and the Yukline tie pin, respectively. The pencil was graphite, the tie pin was a diamond, but both were allotropes of carbon.

"Graphite and diamond have the same properties. However, they have little alike. Graphite is cheap, and diamonds are expensive."

"I know."

"…These are called allotropes. Think of them as different shapes of the same elements."

"Yes."

Epherene answered while taking notes.

"By the way, the nanotube here is a polymer allotrope found in this carbon. A polymer is simply a form of innumerable connections between very small molecules."

[Innumerable connections of very small molecules = polymer]

[There are countless, so poly is added. It is hard because a lot of very small things are connected.]

"Carbon nanotubes are very hard because these almost infinite carbon atoms are combined in hexagons. It can also be said to be an allotrope of carbon like diamond and graphite."

"Aha."

"But it's okay to forget about carbon if you only understand the structure of the thesis."

"…Huh?"

Epherene frowned. Deculein calmly explained.

"I am only explaining all these properties with the element carbon. There are elements on this continent that can have infinitely more allotropes."

"…Like what?"

"Although carbon can become graphite or diamonds, it can also become fibers. It can become fire, it can become wind, it can become water, sometimes it can become steel, and it can become the sun. Of course, it depends on the attributes and skills of the caster."

Deculein paused for a moment and looked at Epherene. She felt goosebumps rising all over, unknowingly corrected her posture, and then finished the thought for him.

"…Mana."

"Yes. We call that element mana, and when a human accepts mana, it becomes magic power."

These weren't considered elements in the Magic Tower. The element classification method of the traditional magic tower, except for Yuren's own, was quite primitive.

"Magicians do not think of mana as an element. They see it as a miracle given by nature or the result of their strength and effort. They do not want to interpret their mana as science, and such an interpretation would be an insult."

"…"

"That stubbornness is their limit."

Epherene nodded.

"Now, you think of mana as a particle independent of you and treat it as such. But mana is the power that can become anything, and it is something that can be observed with science."

After a brief lecture, Deculein approached Epherene and sat on the couch. He kneeled and placed his hand on Epherene's shoulder, meeting her eyes.

"Epherene. That distinction of attributes is meaningless to you. That is your talent."

"…I see."

Epherene filled her heart with determination as she grabbed the hem of her robe.

"I think I can do it."

"…"

Deculein stared at Epherene with suspicion.

"It'll erupt in twenty-four hours."

"It is possible. I will do it."

"Can I believe in you?"

"Yes, I did it once. I just have to make changes based on what I have already done."

Epherene was already contrasting her notes with the thesis as she spoke. Deculein pointed to the remaining pages of the paper.

"It seems that there are quite a few parts in the thesis that you still do not understand."

"Then please teach me a little more! For the rest of the time we have."

Deculein frowned slightly, but Epherene pushed on with confidence.

"I will work hard. If it still doesn't work, if you won't believe in me, then I'll give up on the Ashes."

"…"

She would believe it was possible and try as hard as she could. The Professor shook his head, having nothing else he could do.

"Don't even think about sleeping."

"Absolutely. But!"

Epherene cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows.

"Before that, let me congratulate you."

"Congratulate?"

"Fufu. Yes. To become an elder of the Round Table, you must be a wizard who created their own school or did something big like that, right?"

In simple terms, being an elder of the Round Table meant you were the head of an official School of Magic. However, even now that Deculein had invented a new magic theory, making it natural for him to become an elder, there was a clear reason why he was still far from becoming one.

This was because the Deculein/Luna theory couldn't be implemented or verified by Deculein himself. Beyond that, there wasn't a single wizard on the continent who could realize their theory.

"But now I am here. Dealing with magic that you can't handle. Fu. Fu. Fu."

"…So?"

Deculein stared at her, and Epherene pointed at herself with her thumb.

"Congratulations on becoming an elder- ouch!"

A great flick landing against her forehead interrupted her.

Oouch- Ooouch-

Epherene screamed.

"Don't get excited. You still have too much to learn. It'll be worse than cramming. Still, it's funny and tragic that you've always been so arrogant…"