Chapter 24

“Magic interference, hah!”

The branch chief’s mocking laughter echoes. I understood that mockery.

The method of using magic interference can be summarized as ‘using the same type of magic when another magic is being cast.’ However, the detailed principle is far more complex.

To use magic, you need three things: magical power to serve as the material for the magic, the will to cast it, and a magical formula to give shape to the magical power.

Magical power is emitted by will and solidified by the magical formula, ultimately completing the magic.

This is precisely why you must use ‘the same type’ of magic when employing magic interference.

Just before magical power completes its transformation into magic, it exists in an optimized state for that particular magic type.

For example, if a magician is creating an ice projectile, they must gather magical power at a certain external point to form ice. This magical power contains the magician’s will for ‘ice.’

So, what happens if someone casts a blizzard spell elsewhere while this uncompleted ice-attribute magical power lingers in the air?

A portion of the prepared magical power meant for the ice projectile gets stolen by the blizzard magic. Ultimately, magic interference is a technique where you utilize your opponent’s magical power for your own magic.

Thus, the faster the speed from emitting magical power to completing the magic, the harder it becomes to interfere with it.

Moreover, for large-scale magics, it’s common practice to prepare slightly more magical power than the minimum necessary to account for various contingencies. The more powerful the magic wielded by a skilled magician, the exponentially harder it becomes to interfere with it.

In a case like the large-scale self-destruct formula prepared by Blasphemia’s branch chief, one might as well beg Heaven for mercy.

Unless you’re an elder of the Ten Towers or Carisia…

And above all else:

“I can’t use magic.”

The only magic I can handle are magic seals or artifacts imbued with magic from the start.

Though, if it’s not a mass-produced magic seal but rather an expensive one, it’s not impossible to cause magic interference.

High-end custom-made magic seals have an auto-recharge option that absorbs external magical power to compensate for activation needs.

‘It seems this kid has mistaken this for a custom-made magic seal…’

That branch chief has been misunderstanding things since earlier. This is yet another misunderstanding.

Activating magic through a magic seal and then chanting additional spells might increase the chances of successful interference due to multiple attempts.

By about 0.1%?

I don’t gamble with my life for such odds.

Almost closing my eyes, I focus on that sensation.

I activate the senses I’ve sealed away one by one, lifting the heavy eyelids.

And look.

Before my eyes, the cable connected to the branch chief transforms. Instead of a smooth metallic body with flowing magical power, I see a line-shaped diagram made of letters.

The letters are irregular in size and distorted in shape, resembling random scribbles by a child.

Yet, my overworked brain instinctively interprets these diagrams.

Lumina-Magnetros Alloy. Optimal magic circulation rate 1854 ma/s. Maximum circulation rate 3000 ma/s. Magic formula loading…

Shifting my gaze, the branch chief encircled by cables appears as a human figure formed from clusters of characters.

I discern prominent information amidst the chaotic jumble of letters: Name Nardanit. Birthplace Elysion. Result of experiments enhancing magical abilities by implanting mental issues.

The components of all surrounding beings are injected directly into my brain as information. A chaos akin to grinding my head in a pulverizer invades me.

Clearly, even details like which mine the door behind my unseen crown was extracted from, to the fact that this train is named Charlotte and its maintenance base lies at the end of the abandoned railway, become apparent.

The longer I keep my eyes open, the wider the range of information I absorb grows. I must hurry.

An overwhelming overload of information. My brain’s processing time slows infinitely under the weight of too much data.

Right now.

In this infinitely slowed world, I can see the magical power gradually taking the form of magic.

The moment when magical power, tuned by the magician’s will, flows through the formula to finally complete the magic. One thread of the self-destruct magic formula extends to the blade embedded in the pipeline.

And when the magical power reaches the tip of the blade, I activate the magic seal.

***

A perfectly precise meshing without a single error. The incomprehensible technique of inserting another formula between existing magical formulas.

Originally, a magical formula is constructed within a magician’s mind. While the gathered magical power can be inferred from particularly dense areas or the residual traces of completed magic, this is why magical formulas are treated as secret transmissions within magic towers.

High-ranking magicians may be able to reverse-calculate formulas from the flow of magical power, but that requires time and resources.

Ortes himself calls this technique “formula overwrite,” where he attaches a different magical formula to a specific point of the original at the exact moment magical power flows through it, deforming the magic into something monstrous.

A skill that would be impossible without eyes capable of recognizing the mental image. The bizarrely refracted flow of magical power caused by the forcibly joined formulas eventually goes berserk.

At the end of the twisted formula, the magical power that failed to fully mature into magic went wild.

“Keeh─”

Nardanit, the user of the magic, noticed the anomaly first. The self-destruct magic was supposed to explode simultaneously and perfectly around the entire train.

However, magical power leaked at a certain point in the formula.

Right here.

An immature explosion erupted with a flash. From the place where Ortes had plunged his high-frequency blade, undulating flames surged upward.

The seeds of explosion scattered wildly throughout the engine room, detonating upon contact with anything—floors, furniture—tearing apart the space.

Ortes stood at the center of the explosion. His high-frequency blade, engulfed in flames, had transformed into a fiery pillar spewing white explosions.

Nardanit calmly assessed the situation. The self-destruction had failed. He needed to switch targets. At the very least, he had to pass this individual’s information to his comrades. If lucky, he could aim for mutual destruction or assassination.

First, he needed to assess the inspector’s abilities. Somehow, the inspector had disrupted the casting of magic.

No. It was more than that.

The engine room, overflowing with flashes and booms, had turned into a battlefield. Nardanit raised his magical power to block the heated air first.

The temperature in the engine room had reached a level where breathing alone could scorch the lungs, and the room filled with noise and smoke, making it impossible to track the enemy’s movements through sight or sound.

It was a counterattack.

‘Where is he?’

As soon as the inspector activated the magic seal, he moved without hesitation. The activated magic was likely a special technique for eliminating inspectors.

Nardanit infused his hair with magical power. Super high-density hair made of biological fibers spread out like an invasion across the room.

Piercing through the heat and smoke, the hair searched for the enemy’s position. If even a single strand was touched, magic would be discharged toward the inspector.

Meanwhile, he transmitted data through his auxiliary brain. Data transmission via cables directly connected to his nervous system.

A warning that the secret inspector had caught onto a clue. The information transmission order given to the central processing unit of the magical engine would alert his comrades to the danger.

Focusing on the vibrations transmitted through his hair, Nardanit realized something was off. Data transmission shouldn’t take this long.

Unless it was video data, he had merely sent the text ‘Ortes. Secret inspector. Caution.’

‘Why hasn’t the transmission finished yet?’

***

Sassak.

A metallic spider smaller than a fingernail was moving along the cable.

As soon as Nardanit revealed his true nature and connected with the engine room’s cables, Ortes released the spider given to him by Arabel.

Upon receiving the signal, Arabel connected to the spider drone and saw Ortes standing half-fused with machinery somewhere unknown.

She was bewildered, but her task was simple. The strange distortion on the screen was undoubtedly caused by an extremely high density of magical power.

Each time the cable connected to the strange figure creaked, the screen wobbled. The source of magical power was that direction. A cable releasing enough magical power to distort the screen just by emission?

It was a power line connected to a magic core.

Naturally, there would be a magic core at the end of the power line, connected to control devices and databases.

Arabel’s spider began hacking into the central processing unit by crawling along the train’s power lines.

During the process of breaking through the information firewall, a piece of data tried to be transmitted from inside this branch. Arabel blocked the transmission.

Whatever the data was, it was information being sent by Ortes’ enemy.

Intercepting the data mid-transmission, Arabel displayed its detailed information in a corner of the Ethereal Space.

『Ortes. Secret inspector. Caution.』

…?

What is this? What’s happening?

Arabel fell into confusion.

***

‘Damn.’

I didn’t expect my sword to melt this much.