AIA 15

Chapter 15

Silence fell over the workshop.
All eyes were focused on one point.
Shion casually manifested a spell—the Fire Lance.

“W-what…?”
Bash stared at Shion’s magic, his voice trembling.
“Why… why is the magic working?”
“I know, right.”

Shion shrugged and continued.
“How is this even possible?”

“Th-this…”

It wasn’t just the three thieves surrounding them who were shocked.
Lumia and Serentia, who had come with Shion, were equally stunned.

“N-no, how…?”

Before Lumia could even voice her question, Bash kindly shouted out the answer himself.

“Impossible!”

“What is?”

“Th-this… this is the power of the Magic Slayer! The cursed criminal who hunted countless high-level mages… this is his power!”

“So I’ve heard.”

Shion responded nonchalantly to Bash’s words. Naturally, he knew of Lotheus, the Magic Slayer.
But not much was known about Lotheus.
Whether he was a mage, and if so, what level of mage he was, remained unclear.
The only thing known for certain was that he hunted mages.
Not just weak mages—Lotheus hunted even high-level mages of Circle 6 or higher.
Eventually, the council realized the severity of the situation and issued a death warrant, barely stopping him.
As a result, anything Lotheus had used became taboo.
Yet, some of it still circulated secretly on the black market.

The power Bash was confidently displaying now was probably acquired through such a route.

Still, Shion remained unaffected, and the reason was simple.

[Well, that’s thanks to me.]

Akasha subtly boasted.

[As a hyper-advanced AI and the most powerful magical artifact ever, even surpassing ancient relics, I, Akasha, was able to reverse-engineer the mana patterns of that thief’s artifact. That’s why this was possible.]

“…….”

Shion chuckled softly. Truly, Akasha was dedicated to self-promotion.
But boasting aside, it was a fact.

“Well done.”

The Magic Slayer’s artifact worked perfectly.
But Akasha was an AI that learns on its own and grows continuously.
It quickly learned the Magic Slayer’s artifact and devised countermeasures.

Shion smiled faintly.
“Looks like it’s defective.”

‘Is he saying our magic level is defective?’
Lumia and Serentia, quietly observing, couldn’t help but think this.
Considering Shion’s personality, it wasn’t even an unreasonable suspicion.

“N-no, n-no! You’re just bluffing, right? Y-yeah! It’s probably just some kind of illusion!”

Bash’s words weren’t entirely baseless.
There were still ways to cast magic in this situation.

“Y-yeah. You used a magic scroll, right? Even the mages of the Tower might have a scroll or two!”

When Bash shouted this, the surrounding thieves nodded, thinking it plausible.

“Well… sure…”

If you think about it, there’s no way to cast normal magic without verbal incantation, unless you’re a Circle 7 or 8 mage.
Bash knew that even Tower Lord Lumia wasn’t at that level.
He hadn’t seen Shion use a scroll, but it was clear some trick had been used.
That was the only way it made sense.

Battle is all about momentum.
Giving a mage time is essentially suicide.

Bash shouted desperately.
“You idiots, why are you hesitating! Obviously, he used a scroll! We’ve got the numbers! Attack!”

Magic scroll attacks have limitations.
They’re extremely expensive.
Only nobles or wealthy merchants could afford them, and the declining Tower certainly wouldn’t stock so many.

‘It’s a bluff!’
Bash, confident, glared at his men.

The thieves rushed forward at his command. There was some logic to it, after all.

“Thinking that way, huh?”

Shion smirked and hurled the Fire Lance he was holding at the thieves.

Whoosh!

“Ahhh!”

The thieves struck directly by the flame screamed as they burned.
“…Huh?”

Seeing their companion charred, the remaining thieves froze.
But Bash shouted again.
“He used magic! There’s almost no scrolls left! And there’s no way he has another scroll that powerful!”

“R-really?”
“You idiots! Are you just going to die? Even catching and selling just these guys will fix our situation!”

At that, the thieves’ eyes wavered.
Their lives were uncertain anyway.

Driven by greed, they rushed at Shion.

At that moment…

<Bind>

Suddenly, the charging thieves froze in place.

“Huh? W-why… can’t I move?”
“J-just a sec, th-the scrolls are almost gone…”

The thieves tried to smile and mock Shion, thinking there were few scrolls left.

But…

<Illusion>, <Slow>, <Blind>…

Magic rained down again.
Illusions, spells to slow their bodies, and block vision.
The thieves could do nothing.

Bombarded by relentless magic, a thought crossed one thief’s mind.
‘Are these really scrolls?’

Finally, one thief answered the question aloud.
“T-there are no scrolls!”

“……?!”

Shion wasn’t using scrolls.
This meant he was casting purely on his own ability—without incantation.

Faced with the onslaught, the thieves could only acknowledge it.
He was casting magic.

Confusion spread among the thieves.
“W-without incantation magic?”
“Th-they said we only had to catch incapacitated mages!”
“I-insane…”

The workshop quickly filled with screams.
Some panicked and tried to open the only locked exit to escape.

But…

“Ahhh!”

As a thief reached for the handle, Shion’s flaming arrow pierced his throat, killing him instantly.
Silence fell again.
Shion’s magic had answered their assumptions perfectly.

“If you lock something, keep it locked. Opening it when convenient isn’t fair.”

“W-what…?”

Bash trembled, muttering.
‘I-insane… no incantation?’

Bash wasn’t a mage, but he knew enough about magic to understand.
To cast that level of magic without incantation meant only one thing:
This boy in front of him was not just any “high-level mage.”
He was a mage of at least Circle 7, rare even across the continent.

‘Damn… I shouldn’t have said anything!’
Bash gritted his teeth and stepped back.

“Your Excellency, there’s been some misunderstanding, we weren’t really going to—”

Before he could finish, Shion’s magic bound him and sealed his mouth.
Bash’s eyes darted wildly.
‘Not normal…’

He realized Shion was accustomed to killing.
Meaning, Shion had no hesitation in slaughtering them.

Shion looked at Bash like a larva, whispering softly.
“No need to keep everyone alive.”

“…!”

The thieves quickly understood.
“I-I know everything! I’ll tell you, please spare me!”
“N-no, I know more than him! I’ll be more useful, Your Excellency!”

The workshop became a stage for self-promotion.
Lumia and Serentia could only stare in disbelief.
“What… what is this…?”

When they first heard “Magic Slayer,” they thought it was over.
It was notorious, after all.
No wonder the council declared it taboo and tried to eradicate it.

But now it had been completely countered.

Serentia scratched her head.
“U-uh… sis, what is he really?”
“Exactly…”

Both had grown as mages hailed as prodigies, yet they couldn’t grasp his talent.
It was unfamiliar territory.

“Annoying.”

Shion snapped his fingers, and silence enveloped the room.
The thieves didn’t stop talking voluntarily—their voices literally disappeared.

Shion scanned the thieves.
“These scum thought they could rob a proper tower. No need for mercy.”

Even when Shion was Altair, such people always existed.
Before he unified the continent’s workshops, rogue workshops run by thieves were common.
Shion crushed them and elevated the ethical standard of workshops.

He was willing to give them one chance.

“Who here knows how to make Circle 3 magic scrolls? That one lives.”

“…!”

One thief timidly raised a hand. Shion removed the magic sealing his mouth.

“Speak.”

“If you make a scroll with Circle 3 magic, you first need mana crystal powder as a medium… mix the powder with a substance to preserve the mana…”

“I see you know something.”

The thief looked desperately at Shion.
“I-I could…”

“Die.”

“W-why… aah!”

Shion snapped his fingers lightly, and the thief was engulfed in flames, reduced to ashes.

Shion stared coldly at the spot.
“This one knew enough, yet used it for thievery. Worse crime—he dies.”