The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Vestment: Thor’s Hammer!”

“As terrifying a spell as ever.”

“All Up!”

“Aren’t you relying too much on borrowed power?”

“Hmph!”

“No matter how much you enhance your physical abilities, you will never be a match for me. When will you realize that?”

“Shut the hell up! Take this!”

Repeated collisions of powerful punches echoed through the air.

As before, Asley attacked Lucifer in response to the latter’s defense.

Lucifer showed a sense of ease, seemingly unimpressed by the lack of variation. However, everything Asley did was part of a plan to execute the Lucifer Break spell.

“Your struggles are futile! I am not someone who would fall to such sluggish attacks!”

“Instant Transmission!”

“Oh! So, you’re relying on the Instant Transmission spell after all! Are you sure you should be doing that?”

“I still have plenty of Arcane Energy! Instant Transmission!”

Using the Instant Transmission spell, Asley launched multiple attacks on Lucifer. However, none of them landed.

As the two landed on the rubble of Regalia Castle, there was a decisive difference between them.

“Ha ha hah… Ngh…!”

“Humanity’s symbol of hope… Pathetic, isn’t it, Asley?”

On one side, Asley, gasping for breath — and on the other, Lucifer, not even expending much arcane energy.

It was an insurmountable and despair-inducing gap between them. Lucifer smiled, seemingly looking forward to the living hell that awaited Asley.

At that moment, Asley disengaged his Ultimate Limit.

It signified that Asley’s preparations were complete. However, Lucifer remained unaware of this, but it was only natural for him to find Asley’s actions suspicious.

“Are you plotting something?”

“Do you think anyone would come at you without a plan?”

In response, Asley retorted with the obvious answer — a display of further resistance against the Devil King.

And indeed, it was something Lucifer naturally anticipated.

“Well then, I will stop you with all my might.”

“Hmph!”

Asley’s expression became even more stern.

Lucifer, having learned from past experiences, was aware that Asley’s devised strategies were something to be feared when he let his guard down. Despite the seemingly insurmountable gap between them, the fact that Asley’s attacks could reach Lucifer demonstrated a harsh reality.

“…Man, I sure would appreciate it if you could stand still, but I guess that’s too much to ask for…”

“If your attacks actually hit, even someone like me would suffer severe injuries. It is only natural to be cautious.”

“Damn it… You really are a difficult opponent!”

“Hah!”

As Lucifer kicked up debris, he approached Asley.

Immediately afterward, Asley shouted,

“Earth Control!”

A massive earthen wall, a spell used by beginners and seasoned mages alike — Asley, exhibiting a blinding speed in his Circle drawing, created a monumental wall to block his opponent’s path.

Faced with this barrier, Lucifer declared,

“Is this supposed to stop me!? Hmph! Breaking through it requires no effort whatsoever!”

With unyielding momentum, Lucifer effortlessly pierced through the earth wall, surpassing the hardness of steel released by Asley.

“What…?”

It was within Lucifer’s understanding that Asley was, undoubtedly, behind the earthen wall.

It was no doubt due to Lucifer’s arcane energy enveloping Asley’s arcane energy behind the wall.

…However, that turned out not to be the case.

Asley was nowhere to be seen.

At this point, Lucifer emitted a powerful wave of arcane energy. He suspected that Asley had cast Invisible Illusion. This instantaneous responsiveness was truly the work of a Devil King.

Yet, even so, Asley did not reveal himself.

[This can’t be… Asley’s arcane energy has vanished? There is no way he could be within my aura and go undetected. Even if he were to use the Invisible Illusion, he should reveal himself with the current arcane energy wave… Did he underestimate me, thinking I would overlook his petty trick? No. Absolutely not!)

Indeed, Lucifer had been observing every move Asley made without a hint of complacency, just as he had forewarned. There was something puzzling about the Earth Control Asley had triggered. Lucifer, well-versed in Asley’s combat and arcane art techniques, noticed it precisely because of his familiarity.

[When he was preparing that Earth Control, Asley did not vocalize his absurd chant… However, the drawing was unmistakably executed. A complex magic formula like that for Earth Control? Unthinkable… But the earthen wall did manifest. It was the caster’s vocalized activation, akin to Swift Magic…]

The staff that Asley had thrust into the balcony — the Infinite Hope — was supposed to have been buried in the debris of the collapsed castle balcony.

However, Asley had repurposed it for a surprise attack. The staff, transported by a Magic Table, was not buried in the rubble but rather placed conveniently near Asley as he landed… Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Asley had landed where the Magic Table was.

[That Earth Control was invoked with the staff’s Swift Magic. Asley’s Circle was an incredibly intricate and complex magic. What kind of magic was that, then–]

Suddenly, a dull pain ran through Lucifer’s back.

“Gwoh–!?”

It was the moment Asley’s powerful blow landed.

“All right!”

With a resolute voice, Asley manifested himself, gripping his fists tightly.

It was a clear signal to the Duodecad on the battlefield that he had successfully inscribed the Lucifer Break spell.

Naturally, Lucifer, who had yet to notice, harbored strong suspicions in his mind towards Asley.

Landing amidst the scattered rubble, Lucifer suffered no significant damage.

However, if he were to be hit with another one of that, it would pose a genuine threat to him.

“Ngh…! It’s not Instant Transmission, is it? I was sure you disengaged your Ultimate Limit!”

“Hehe… I guess I can tell you what it is…”

Lucifer’s eyes widened at Asley’s smug response.

Until now, Asley had maintained strict secrecy regarding his arcane arts, especially when it came to words spoken to the Devil King.

[…So, even if he told me, there would be no way to defend against that magic?]

Asley’s accomplishment undeniably brought about this misunderstanding in Lucifer’s mind.

Asley needed to buy time. After everyone had completed the preparations for Lucifer Break, after Lucifer Break had fully activated, Asley created the time needed for his survival.

“Then tell me.”

For Lucifer, it was to confirm the threat of the magic spell. For Asley, it was to buy the necessary time.

Both craved the obtained information and the time that came with it.

“So… before I went to the Magic University…”

“What?”

Lucifer’s question was a reaction to the angle of Asley’s narrative.

However, Asley continued without concern, ensuring that everything would not go to waste.

“…I was researching a particular magic.”

“…And that is what this is?”

Asley nodded silently.

“I’d eventually achieved some results after starting school. It was limited, but it was definitely a success. But to make it fully operational, I needed an unimaginable level of magic invocation technique, arcane energy, and… above all, time.”

“Time? It’s ironic that you, of all people, need it.”

“Well, yeah, it took me five whole years! Which was the shortest time it’s ever taken me to complete such an elaborate spell, but yeah, you get the point…”

“Consequences of having an aptitude for the martial arts, I presume.”

Asley had quite a strong reaction to the words of Lucifer’s assumption.

“Heh, you could tell?”

“Gaspard went wherever the arcane energies led him — to Tūs and Minerva, among others. However, as you know, despite how much he traveled, he never crossed paths with you. In other words, you were meant to be a warrior. I suppose that was why I never found you no matter how hard I searched when I manifested in this world…”

“…You speak of Gaspard as if he’s someone else.”

“Yes. Only because that is the case.”

“…I see.”

Asley began silently drawing another Circle, opting not to pull any petty tricks this time.

In that Circle, Lucifer indeed saw something reminiscent of an Invisible Illusion formula.

“…! So that is what it is!?”

“Rise, A-rise, A-rise! Perfect Invisibility!”

It was the invisibility spell the Eternal Fool had started researching right before the beginning of his long journey — now in its complete form.

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