The Battle Between Master and Disciple
"... Macht." Duncan looked at him silently.
"Duncan, I'm leaving this place. Frieren is ahead, right?" Macht asked calmly.
Why do you ask that?
"I plan to kill everyone I know in this area, and then start over somewhere else. The fewer people who might disrupt my plans, the better."
"Next time I'll definitely --"
"Macht."
"I knew long ago that you couldn't restore Golden Land to its original state, but I still held onto a sliver of hope."
"I can never forget Mr. Macht, who was so devoted to Weise." The old man recalled himself in the study, reading a magic book, with Macht standing beside him and his beloved always smiling at him.
"But if you intend to leave, there's no reason for you to continue living. I must personally eliminate the threat to humanity."
"... Mr Duncan, are you serious?"
"Of course, the reason I haven't fought you so far isn't because I'm afraid of you, nor because I can't beat you, but because I hope the story here can have a better ending..."
"Although my reason tells me that this is just unrealistic fantasy."
The old man lowered his head, looking somewhat forlorn.
"Excuse my bluntness, but you're making it sound as if you can defeat me."
"Whether I can defeat you or not, we'll only know after we fight." Duncan stood holding his staff. "I've made many preparations for this day that will eventually come. It's strange, isn't it? I thought I had long since abandoned this homeland, yet I lack the magical skills to hone my abilities."
Duncan could already clearly see Macht's magic.
Much more than myself.
"It's been so long since I've felt so close to death. Unlike before, now I'm acutely aware of the gap between you and me."
Even so, I still feel like I can seize that sliver of a chance to defeat you.
"It seems I'm more stubborn than I thought." The old man raised his staff, pointing it at Macht.
"You've always had this kind of personality," Macht said with a smile.
The Killing Magic struck Macht. As the smoke cleared, Macht appeared behind Duncan and slashed at him with his broadsword. Duncan dodged at High-Speed Movement; this move had been repeated countless times.
"I recall the time we conducted combat exercises together, Duncan."
"Me too, I've seen your routine countless times."
A honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic appeared beside Duncan, protecting him from Macht's magical attack.
"Truly astonishing... He actually dodged that slash?" Macht thought. In the past, he had slowed down this movement countless times.
Hmm, every attack seems to be hitting my weak spot.
It actually forced me to use a perfect Defensive Magic.
Both in terms of skill and control over magic, Duncan is now a completely different person.
"Mr. Duncan, I admit I underestimated you."
Right now, I genuinely feel the joy of battle.
It's such a shame.
I cannot stand by and watch Frieren be taken away by the villagers and flee to the Empire's territory.
The empire's borders are not only protected by a defense barrier, but also guarded by Magical Special Forces.
Even if Solitär and I join forces, it will be no easy task to dismantle the defense barrier while fighting.
That's truly a pity.
Duncan, let's end this...
What?
Macht looked at his left hand, now Goldification, and at Duncan in the sky, surrounded by faint black magic, and seemed to smile slightly.
"I never expected you to use this trick... How interesting."
"Although you can obtain a kind of magic... even if this 'Curse Reversal Magic' is very useful in actual combat, it's not really fun," said the golden-haired elf on the throne.
"Duncan, what do you want to do with this magic?"
Duncan's eyes were half-closed, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"Oh, I see. Well, that's fine then. It's not a bad option."
The golden-haired elf lazily rested her bare feet on the armrest of the throne, casually making her promise.
"To learn the 'Curse Reversal' magic, one needs at least a hundred years of training; this is a type of magic that humans absolutely cannot learn under normal circumstances."
"However, with my 'transfer' magic, it's naturally different..."
"In this way, you can use the fruits of my century-long cultivation, the 'Curse Reversal' magic, for your own purposes."
"But learning this magic doesn't mean everything is fine. Maintaining this magic requires immense magical power, much like deploying Defensive Magic from all directions. While I can maintain this state, you can't."
"You must cast this spell at the very last second before the curse is cast. The curse is invisible and shows no signs of being cast. How do you plan to deal with it?"
"... No problem."
"I do know when my teacher casts spells, Teacher Macht."
Even if you can't sense the trajectory of magic or observe the fluctuations of magic.
"I am also your disciple. How many years do you think we've known each other?"
"Of course I know that you can undo your Goldification."
"Let's continue."
Duncan floated in the air.
Macht smiled.
The joy of battle!