TERNLF Vol. 2 Chapter 4 Part 4

“Where the hell did he learn that…?”

He had just called Grassa a Duplicator outright.

Which meant Luchimada already knew she could use 【Duplicate】.

“She doesn’t look anything like that elf wannabe, either. Those idiots really are useless.”

From what Luchimada said, it sounded like the three stooges had originally been ordered to kidnap Grassa, not Cheki.

But how did Luchimada know about 【Duplicate】 in the first place?

In the royal capital, I’d hidden Grassa’s and Nikka’s abilities as much as possible.

To be honest, Nikka’s power had ended up getting out because she had healed a lot of people. I didn’t want to think about it, but it wouldn’t have been strange if word had leaked from somewhere.

But Grassa was different. I’d never let her use her power anywhere except in front of Nikka and me.

Even after we left the royal capital, I’d only told Vezzo about it.

“…Then was it earlier than that?”

I didn’t know what Grassa had been doing before she came to the royal capital.

Maybe she had used her power somewhere back then, someone had seen it, and the information had eventually made its way to Luchimada.

But if that were true, then a lot of people already knew about her ability… and yet throughout this journey, nobody had targeted her even once.

More than that, if someone had known about Grassa’s 【Duplicate】 before she reached the royal capital, there was no way she would’ve made it there safely. On the road to the capital, there would’ve been countless chances to kidnap her.

In other words, among the very few people who knew she possessed 【Duplicate】, the only one who could’ve leaked that information was—

Just as my thoughts were about to land on someone…

“You bastard! Get your hands off her!”

With that shout, Vezzo lunged at Luchimada, claws raised high.

For a split second, it looked like those killing claws had neatly shredded Luchimada’s face.

But…

“Gah!”

The next moment, with a single casual swat—like he was brushing away a fly—Luchimada sent Vezzo’s iron-tough body flying into the courtroom wall. A brutal crash rang through the chamber.

“Vezzo!”

Nikka cried out in anguish.

Vezzo had gone down in one hit… and Luchimada hadn’t even looked like he’d put any strength into it.

“The Progenitor Lineage… huh.”

Watching power beyond what I’d expected, I understood it all too clearly.

In this courtroom, the only one who could fight Luchimada was me.

But like I’d worried earlier, if we fought here, the dwarves trapped inside this court wouldn’t be the only ones caught in it. Nikka and the others would get dragged in too.

…Then I only had one option.

“…What are you talking about? ‘Duplicator’? I don’t know anything about that.”

While I hesitated, the exchange between Grassa and Luchimada continued.

“Duplicate—”

“!?”

“You can use it, can’t you?”

At those words, Grassa slapped his hand away and turned her face aside.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Playing dumb is pointless. I heard about your skill from a merchant.”

“A merchant… You mean the person who tattled that he found your bracelet?”

“Hm? Ah, right. That was the ‘setup,’ wasn’t it. Honestly, if those three hadn’t kidnapped the wrong target, I wouldn’t have needed this farce at all.”

Luchimada’s expression twisted slightly as he glanced toward the three dwarves trembling in the corner of the courtroom.

“W-We can’t tell humans apart!”

“We kidnapped the one who matched the portrait!”

“It’s that merchant’s fault for drawing like crap!”

Watching them make excuses with terrified faces was pathetic… and ridiculous.

“A-Anyway, I’m just a normal adventurer! I don’t know anything about skills!”

“Then either that merchant was lying, or you’re not the person he claimed you were… Fine. I’ll have him confirm it himself.”

Even though he clearly saw through Grassa’s clumsy lie, Luchimada deliberately exaggerated his gestures as he spoke.

“‘Him’? Where is he supposed to be?”

“He’s been here with me the whole time. 【Another Cancellation】.”

The Powerful Words left Luchimada’s mouth.

It was the same spell Theo the elf assassin had used at the Guild Home’s headquarters, and the one I had activated afterward as well—the spell that dispelled a subspace.

And then, appearing beside Luchimada—

“Ahh, I can finally get out. Luchimada, that was awful, trapping me in there all of a sudden.”

“I’ve no intention of apologizing, but I will say this was the best way to ensure your safety. More importantly…”

His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face, but he had to be the merchant everyone had been talking about—the man seeking asylum in the Volga Empire.

And yet, something about that figure felt familiar.

“Confirm it for me. Is this woman truly the Duplicator you spoke of?”

At Luchimada’s words, the merchant turned his face toward Grassa.

A few seconds of silence.

Grassa’s face twisted in shock when she saw him… but my mouth moved before hers did.

“Lakkra! So it was you!!”

That man’s name was Lakkra.

He was the one who had created so much misery in the royal capital—only to be “erased,” supposedly, by the noble he’d been working with.

“Hii! Why are you here!?”

“That’s my line!”

Why had Luchimada known about Grassa’s Duplicate?

I’d suspected Lakkra might be involved. But I’d also thought he might have been killed to keep him quiet, so I couldn’t be sure.

…So it really was him.

“So someone got you out before Duke Bafel moved.”

Which meant the one who had saved Lakkra—when my magic had turned him into a solid lump of packed earth—was likely a dwarf. In other words, someone under Luchimada.

Because an ordinary mage couldn’t break apart a hardened earth lump created by my spell.

But a dwarf skilled in earth magic could.

And after being rescued, Lakkra had decided to sell Grassa’s information in exchange for help with his escape and asylum.

Grassa’s 【Duplicate】 was a cheat-level ability that could replicate even something that existed only once in the world.

Of course, she still had limits to her mana, so it wasn’t as if she could copy anything and everything—but even so, the uses were endless.

And if Lakkra was here, then the beastkin kidnappings were probably Luchimada’s and Lakkra’s doing too.

“L-Luchimada! That’s him! He’s the guy!”

Hiding behind Luchimada as if to flee my gaze, Lakkra pointed at me with a trembling hand.

After betraying his friend, deceiving that friend’s daughter, and bringing misery to countless people… he still wanted to run from punishment and sell Grassa again?

I glared at that pathetic excuse for a man with killing intent in my eyes.

“Hii! P-Please help me, Luchimada!”

“Lakkra. Were you not listening to what I said?”

But Luchimada answered Lakkra’s plea in a quiet voice steeped with anger.

“M-My lord?”

“I asked you whether this woman is truly the ability-user you described.”

“Hii—!”

Luchimada grabbed Lakkra by the scruff of the neck, lifted him effortlessly, and shoved him right in front of Grassa.

“Guh… Y-Yes. No mistake.”

“Hm. Then I’ll leave you and this woman alive—and wipe out the rest of this country.”

“W-Wipe out!?”

“Obviously. From the beginning, once my business was done, I intended to slaughter every last one of these tunnel-dwelling moles.”

Looking down at Lakkra’s ashen face, Luchimada announced the massacre he was about to commit as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing that, the dwarves surged toward the exit again—the same one that still wouldn’t open.

“Haa… Not a single one of you even tries to rise up and take me down. You truly are a hopeless race.”

At this point, the only ones still standing in the courtroom—aside from those unconscious—were the four of us, King Grenga, Luchimada and Lakkra, and Cheki.

And then I noticed something.

Cheki wasn’t choosing not to move.

She couldn’t move.

“…”

I’d been so focused on Luchimada and Lakkra that I hadn’t realized sooner—careless of me.

He had used some kind of spell to seal Cheki’s movements. As if bound by invisible restraints, she remained frozen in the exact posture she’d had when she attacked him earlier.

“What excuse should I give the Demon King…? Perhaps I’ll say the elves tried to interfere with our dwarf appeasement by using the Mole Tunnel to launch an assault, and the dwarves lost control.”

Saying that, Luchimada walked over to Cheki, grabbed her head, and forced her gaze up into his red eyes.

“The crystallization of elf-dwarf trust… How detestable.”

“!”

With naked hatred, Luchimada shoved Cheki away.

She collapsed to the floor, and when he looked down at her, his red eyes held unmistakable killing intent.

“Why… why do you hate dwarves and elves that much!?”

That question was one everyone here wanted answered.

But no reply came from Luchimada.

All I saw was a deep shade of disappointment flicker through his eyes—though maybe that was just my imagination.

“You must pay for your sins.”

As he spoke, Luchimada extended one hand toward Cheki as she lay on the floor.

Mana gathered rapidly into his palm, and a mass of flame formed.

“I’ll start with you—die.”

“No! Aaaah!”

The next moment, the flames flared violently.

“Gyaaaah!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Let us out!”

Screams and furious shouts churned through the entire courtroom.

I threw myself between them on instinct and kicked Luchimada’s arm upward.

“Guh.”

An instant later, with a thunderous boom, sparks scattered across the courtroom.

“Hah… That was close.”

“You bastard…”

I hadn’t expected Luchimada to try to kill Cheki this quickly, and it made me a half-step late.

“Sleeve got scorched, didn’t it.”

Thanks to that, I’d ended up burning my one good outfit, but I’d still made it in time. Stroking the charred fabric, I looked straight at Luchimada and demanded—

“Do you even realize how absurd what you’re saying is?”

“You petty human. Staring down at us from that dais really made you feel big, didn’t it?”

Luchimada slowly lowered the arm I’d kicked up.

“Then I’ll start by disposing of you fir—”

“Luchimada!”

I deliberately talked over him. Just as I’d expected, irritation plainly surfaced on his face.

“You said you’d kill everyone, but there’s no way a nobody like you can pull that off.”

“A nobody… you say?”

“Yeah. I’m saying a third-rate vampire like you can’t kill anyone. Or did the words go over your head?”

I pulled Cheki up by the hand and stepped forward with a light, taunting gait.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Save it for later. Cheki, fall back to where Grassa and the others are.”

After telling her that, I turned back to Luchimada and met those crimson eyes head-on. Then, to change the situation where a fight here would drag innocent people into it, I spoke.

“If you’re not third-rate, then beat me fair and square in a one-on-one.”

“One-on-one?”

Maybe he couldn’t process the provocation. Luchimada echoed it back in a dull tone.

“Yeah. I’m saying we fight one-on-one somewhere nobody can interfere.”

Pointing right at his face, I made it crystal clear.

“You… have you lost your mind?”

“I haven’t. It’s just that you’re weaker than me.”

To my immediate answer, Luchimada suddenly laughed.

“…Ku-ku-ku.”

As if he’d just seen the world’s most ridiculous fool, his laughter echoed through the courtroom for a while.

“You’ve already forgotten that your magic didn’t work on me.”

“…”

“And yet you’re asking for a one-on-one? If you haven’t lost your mind, then what is this?”

At his sneering tone, I shot back without missing a beat.

“That spell wasn’t my full power, so even a nobody like you could erase it. Don’t get cocky over something that unimpressive.”

“What did you say?”

One of Luchimada’s eyebrows twitched. He still wore a confident smile, but it was obvious my words had gotten under his skin.

“Ridiculous. Maybe you were strong among humans, but if you truly think you can beat me, one of the Progenitor Lineage—”

“—You were going to say ‘then you really have lost your mind,’ right?”

I gave a small shrug, keeping my face carefully contemptuous as I continued to needle him.

“But it’s true. If I cut loose here, people who have nothing to do with this and my companions might get hurt. That’s why I held back earlier.”

I turned the palm I’d been pointing with upward, and in that hand I partially constructed a spell, only halfway, letting it take visible shape.

“So let’s go somewhere no one can interfere, and this time we’ll try to kill each other for real.”

I thrust the half-formed spell toward him as if to say, Well?

“Hmph. So a mere human can wield that spell. I can see why you’d get arrogant and start confusing yourself…”

As he spoke, Luchimada raised his palm the same way. In a low voice, he uttered 【Powerful Words】, then partially constructed the same spell, half-formed and visible—just like mine.

“Very well. I’ll kill you first, exactly as you wished!”

The moment those words left him, the two half-constructed spells drew together between us and overlapped, releasing a blinding radiance. At the same time, the scenery wavered with the light—and the cramped courtroom flipped into an entirely different landscape.

It was a grotesquely misshapen place.

It looked like some foreign settlement, but every house had been smashed to pieces, left in a pitiful state. Some buildings seemed to have burned; even now, thin smoke still rose from the wreckage.

When I shifted my gaze away from the demolished homes, beyond the village stretched a green grassland. But it didn’t resemble the plains in the subspace where I’d once imprisoned Theo’s band of assassins.

Normally, a beautiful green field would spread out, a forest would lie in the distance, and if you looked up, a clear blue sky would arch overhead. But now, patches of reddish-brown sand pocked the land like rot-eaten holes; even the distant forest looked half-withered. And when I lifted my eyes to the sky, it was covered in a heavy, dim gray that dragged the mood down.

While I looked around with wary curiosity, Luchimada merely swept his gaze across the area once and muttered—

“So this is 【Mixed Space】…”

“Isn’t your subspace a little too gloomy?”

That was right. This was 【Mixed Space】—a blend where the subspaces created by both me and Luchimada coexisted.

An ordinary subspace was a spell that its caster could freely enter and exit, and could also use to imprison others inside. If you were trapped in someone else’s space, the only way out was to shatter the space with power greater than the caster’s, or wait for the caster to die.

But if a subspace was constructed by more than one person, things changed.

Everyone who helped build it gained the authority to freely enter and exit that space. And unless everyone who created it dispelled it—or died—the space would persist.

A subspace formed that way was called 【Mixed Space】.

Depending on how you used it, it could be convenient, but it came with a flaw.

The scenery each caster tried to create ended up blending together.

That was the warped landscape spread out before us.

“You were called Toa, wasn’t you? Your world is awfully laid-back.”

“Your world is way too desolate. Where even is this village?”

I asked while eyeing a village so thoroughly destroyed it wouldn’t have surprised me to find corpses lying everywhere.

Luchimada didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared for a while at one chunk of ruined building as if it had stirred a memory. Then, in a voice steeped in a kind of sorrow I’d never heard from him before, he said—

“This village… is one I failed to protect.”

“Failed to protect?”

The grief in his eyes made me ask despite myself.

“Yes. And it was a village that the dwarves and elves destroyed.”

My throat tightened, and words failed me.

“Do you want to hear the details?”

His tone carried the faintest hint of invitation.

“…No. If I hear it, I might hold back, so I’ll pass.”

No matter what his reasons were, what he’d done wasn’t forgivable. And if there was some reason that might make me sympathize… then hearing it might make me hesitate.

And if I lost, even by some slim chance, the next ones to die would be Nikka and the others.

So I wouldn’t listen.

I didn’t want to.

“—I see. Sensible.”

Luchimada shook his head slightly, looking just a little disappointed.

Had he wanted me to hear it?

“You want to talk about it?”

“No. If I can help it, I’d rather not remember. Besides, if we waste too much time, people outside the courtroom might come barging in.”

I had no idea what was happening outside the courtroom. But they were probably monitoring what went on inside, considering the king was present. Which meant the longer this took, the higher the chance someone would notice something was wrong. Luchimada likely had his own people mixed in among them, but even deception had its limits.

…Should I have let him talk, just to buy time?

The thought crossed my mind, but in the end, the outcome didn’t change unless I defeated the man in front of me.

“Then let’s get this started.”

“Agreed. I’ll kill you and return from this space.”

With a confident smile, Luchimada raised his mana.

“Don’t worry. Your companions will follow you soon enough, all except the woman called Grassa.”

“Wow. How considerate.”

“Let’s start with a warm-up—【Blessing Tinder】.”

A massive fireball—far too dense with mana to be called 【Blessing Tinder】—came roaring toward me.

“I gave you the first move and you’re still calling it a warm-up? You sure you’ve got time to act smug? 【Dispel】.”

There was no way a spell like that would work on me.

“What!?”

—Shun.

With nothing more than a casual flick of my left hand, the fireball vanished in midair.

“Dis… Dispel!? No, that can’t—”

“—You were going to say, ‘No way a human can use 【Dispel】,’ right?”

“…!”

Shock flooded Luchimada’s eyes. The relaxed expression from a moment ago vanished, replaced by grim focus as he began constructing a new spell—stronger than before, packed with several times the mana.

I’d expected him to keep underestimating me longer, but he was sharper than I’d given him credit for.

“Yeah, of course. You wouldn’t expect a human to have more mana than you, one of the Progenitor Lineage.”

The one who taught me 【Dispel】 was a demon woman named Deeston, whom I met at the frontier fortress. She was one of my mentors, and she trained me primarily in how to increase and strengthen my mana capacity.

But as a human, I hit my limit here too, almost immediately.

It couldn’t be helped. I hadn’t been given any special cheat ability when I reincarnated.

Mana was the foundation of magic.

Even with the same spell, the more mana you poured into it, the more powerful it became.

Even a spell anyone could use would grow vastly stronger if you crammed tens of times more mana into it, enough that you could even overpower enemies using higher-tier magic.

But with a human body that had no cheat advantages, no amount of training could make my maximum mana capacity rival that of demons or elves.

So I thought.

There had to be ways to increase mana besides just training the body.

And I searched for ideas in the only power I’d been given as a reincarnator: memories of my previous life.

A fantasy story I’d read at a manga cafe after collapsing from overtime, stranded with no last train. Old game memories from back when my parents were still alive, when I’d bought a used copy…

The hints were there.