[Lifespan Remaining: 22 days, 9 hours, 43 minutes.]
’How the hell did he dodge my [Seismic Sight]? Is it that weird mana protecting him? Still, I’m outmached...’
Even if Faust was known to be not the greatest in terms of magical talent, he was still a whole two advancements above Noct, being a 3-Star Sorcerer. And with that weird eye, whatever the hell that did, thing were not looking too hot.
There was no time to figure out why he was doing all of this. At this point, Noct knew for a fact that Faust only wanted to do one thing—
Permanently get rid of him for good.
Without warning, Noct pulled out the same spellbook once more and tore through the pages, seaching for anything powerful enough to force Faust out of the way.
Defeating him was never the goal. Noct only needed an opening to escape.
His eyes landed on somethiing, and with just a single glance, he understood the formula.
[Light’s Mercy has been added to Known Spells]
Noct snapped the book shut and held out a single palm, chanting the spell’s activation sequence with all his might. "O light of the heavens, descend and carry out judgement in my stead!"
?Magia Lux — Loi Miserere?
[Lifespan Remaining: 19 days, 9 hours, 42 minutes.]
A concentrated pillar of light tore through the hidden passage, causing the entire cavern to be engulfed in white.
Thousands of mana crystals caught the sudden burst and reflected it in every direction, multiplying its radiance and causing light to ricochet around like a field of lasers.
Pain tore through Noct’s chest as blood started dripping from his nose freely, but he couldn’t afford to stand still. Yet as Noct charged into the light, avoiding his own attack to hopefully make it past Faust.
But the man simply stood there.
Water surged from behind the entrance in a violent current before gathering around Faust’s left eye. The dark-blue surface rippled, creating a thin layer of water to materialize in front of him without an incantation at all.
Countless beams of light struck the water’s surface. But instead of breaking through, light curved around Faust before scattering into the cavern walls, leaving dents whenever they made contact.
At first, Noct thought he had gotten away with it. But just as he ducked low to try to squeeze through Faust and into the caverns outside...
"Found you."
Noct could barely perceive what he said before a hand emerged from the light and closed around his throat. Faust carried him several steps before throwing him outside, back into the main cavern.
CRASH—!
His back crashed straight into a cluster of crystals, shattering it into a million pieces scattered throughout the floor.
"Gahhh—!"
But before he even got the chance to breathe, Faust was already on him, grabbing Noct by the collar once more. However, this time, Noct was prepared for it.
?Ars Flare.?
Noct let the spell rip directly in front of Faust’s face. A detonation appeared between them, forcing Faust to let go of Noct and allowing him to roll away to create some distance. Steam filled the cavern, created by the heating of water vapors.
’It worked—’
A chunk of ice cannonballed through the cloud of steam, slamming straight into Noct’s body.
"Gghhhhk—!"
His vision spun as he crashed against the shore, just where water reached his clothes. Faust emerged from the steam without a single burn.
A thin coating of dark water covered his face and clothes. Wherever the flames had touched, the liquid hissed before repairing itself.
"No incantation...?" Noct muttered to himself.
"Still trying to understand it?" Faust touched the moisture clinging to his cheek. "Some things are beyond even your precious talent, little brother."
Noct tried to reach toward the spellbook that had fallen out of his grasp, but the moment he did, Faust stomped down on his hand.
KRRRRRKKK—!
〔The following STATUS EFFECTS have been added.〕
[Broken Bones Lv. 4]
[Hemorrhage Lv. 4]
"You know, I always hated that look."
Faust said, kicking the spellbook away. It slid across the stone and dropped into the underground lake, sinking slowly before disappearing beneath the surface.
"That expression you make whenever you think you’ve figured everything out."
He drove his foot into Noct’s stomach.
"Kughhh—!"
Noct folded around the impact, coughing as blood spattered across the cavern floor. Before he could recover, water materialized into what looked like chains, lifting him into the air.
He hovered above the ground, sprawled out like a prisoner in a torture chamber.
"But you haven’t figured anything out."
With Faust giving him a chance to breathe, Noct was finally able to compose his thoughts as he looked at his brother.
’This is bad...’
He coughed up another mouthful of blood while searching for a way out. His spellbook was at the bottom of the lake while Faust had all of his limbs bound.
But Noct noticed something, a potential escape route. Now that he was this close to the lake, his mana sensitivity was just barely able to pierce through the water.
And what he found...was the key to survival.
The lake itself was only a few meters deep. Beneath it, however, Noct sensed open air. The entire lakebed was suspended above another chamber, likely through some magical phenomenon. He even managed to find his spellbook resting at the bottom, soaked but otherwise intact.
’A gamble...’
He also noticed the water magic that bound him. It was more like an extension of the veil of water that surrounded Faust, and less of a spell of its own.
Noct didn’t need the spellbook, as he already knew a perfect spell to deal with this scenario. But...while he was at it, maybe he could get his brother talking.
Faust clearly wanted to gloat, so Noct only needed to give him the right questions.
"You..." He coughed, blood running down his chin. "How are you so strong?"
"..."
A quiet chuckle escaped from Faust, gradually growing louder until he threw his head back and laughed maniacally. "You—the great Noct de Arcadia? The prodigy everyone wouldn’t stop praising?"
Faust pressed a hand against his face, his laughter becoming more unhinged by the second. "And now you’re asking someone as mediocre as me?"
’Mediocre...’
Noct had chosen the correct question. This guy clearly had an inferiority complex and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
"Talent is such a ridiculous thing, isn’t it?" he asked. "Something granted to people before they’ve done anything to deserve it. One child is born with everything, while another can train until his hands bleed and still be called inadequate."
His smile gradually disappeared. "But then, just as easily, that talent can be taken away."
"What do you mean?"
"When we were children, I did everything they asked of me. I studied every grimoire my tutors provided. I practiced until I couldn’t feel my fingers, all so I could advance to the next class a few months earlier."
"But it was never enough."
His face scrunched up in disdain. "Always another sibling who was better, more competent. And then...there was you."
The water surrounding them began trembling with his voice.
"You were younger than me. You could barely leave your bed without someone carrying you, yet every mage who visited the estate called you a once-in-a-century genius."
Faust leaned closer, whispering softly. "Do you know what it’s like to spend years learning a spell, only to watch your sickly little brother reproduce it after seeing it once?"
"So yes, I envied you. More than anyone else in this wretched family," he sighed. "I even believed that if I took your talent for myself, I would finally be recognized..."
"Take...my talent?"
Faust’s feverish smile slowly returned as he realized what he had allowed himself to reveal. But rather than withdraw, he stood and spread his arms.
"Do you think Elaine really found out about that ’cure’ for your sickness all by herself?" Faust asked. "I planted every lead exactly where she would discover it!"
Noct’s eyes widened, understanding the implication of it all. ’So it was really Faust?! He was the one who turned the original Noct into a monster?’
But that left out a single detail: How does that help him steal Noct’s magical talent?
There was a motive, yes. But no, process...
"That was where I went wrong."
Water rose behind Faust, forming several enormous tendrils that twisted toward the cavern ceiling. "I still believed that talent was the greatest gift a person could possess."
That was when he touched the unnatural eye. "But why should I bother stealing a single spark—"
"...When I could claim the power beyond mortal understanding itself?"
The entire underground lake began to churn.
Noct felt it then, the mana flowing through Faust definitely wasn’t his. It was too vast, something a 3-Star Sorcerer should never be capable of having, or controlling for that matter.
Faust looked down at him, triumph and madness mixing across his face. "You could survive for another hundred years. You could advance all nine classes and master every spell ever written."
"And you would still never become what I am now."
"But..." he sighed, feigning grief as he raised a hand, mana coalescing around it. "You won’t have another hundred years."
"Because your life is forfeit, right here—"
"...And now."