Collapse, Showdown, the Spell for Crossing Worlds – Part 10

Then, Hikaru realized something.

Why?

Was his life about to end in a matter of minutes? If the Cyclopes took their time, maybe he’d last ten. But he was definitely dying today.

One of the Cyclopes slowly bent down, reaching out to grab him.

For some reason, I feel your presence nearby.

Hikaru’s lips parted. His voice finally escaped, calling out her name.

“Lavia.”

There was a crackle. It sounded like the giant had stepped through thinning stone pavement, or maybe a monster had shattered some ice.

But that sound… Hikaru knew it all too well. He couldn’t mistake it. The sound of crossing worlds.

Beyond the rift was darkness. The Cyclopes froze, startled by the sudden appearance of the fissure. It was a small crack, just an eerie anomaly in space.

But then, the darkness wavered. Again and again, it rippled. Eventually, like plastic melting under intense heat, holes appeared in the darkness, revealing another world beyond.

He couldn’t believe it.

“Hikaru!”

Her figure was blurry, but that voice—the one he had yearned for—cut through the haze.

“Lavia.”

Even without seeing her clearly, he knew it was her. Lavia had fought, struggled, and poured everything into perfecting the spell for crossing worlds. That much was obvious.

“Fire Breath!”

Lavia’s spell, though basic fire magic, packed the power of an intermediate spell in the hands of a prodigy like her.

The flames struck the rift and scattered, and the crack gradually widened. Hikaru had never seen anything like this before. He was stunned that the rift remained steady.

I get it. The soul-powered attack from the Man Gnome village weakened the magic covering this world.

Soaarunay’s reaction confirmed it. The web of mana blocking the spell for crossing worlds was tied to the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. Since the core magic of the labyrinth had lost most of its power, the spell was working again. Hikaru’s wish had been granted.

And Lavia’s magic was also key. Even if the tear was small, it could be forced open wide enough to pass through. Lavia must have figured out that directly attacking the rift with fire magic was the most effective way to widen it.

“Fire Breath! Fire Breath! Fire Breath! Fire Breath! Fire Breath!”

She cast the spells in rapid succession, skipping incantations. The air around Hikaru grew hot and stifling. The rift groaned as it continued to widen. The Cyclopes took a step back, unsettled by the strange atmosphere.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Sweat dripped from Lavia’s forehead as she bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath.

Lavia had a vast reserve of mana, but casting back-to-back spells without rest was taking a toll. It was like sprinting multiple 400-meter laps with only five seconds to recover.

Hikaru’s emotions were torn. He wanted her to take a break, but he also hoped she could hold on just a little longer.

Ah. I was ready to give up just moments ago. But hearing Lavia’s voice makes me believe in hope again.

Maybe it was the warmth surrounding him, or maybe it was the hope he felt, but Hikaru’s fingertips twitched.

After a small breath, he heard her begin another incantation.

“O’ Elementals, heed my call. A raging fire is what I desire. Fire to burn down all living things, all creation, the laws of the universe.”

The rift had grown nearly a meter wide, crackling as it continued to tear through space.

Even from this side, Hikaru could feel the thick presence of magical energy. The Cyclopes sensed the danger too and took another step back.

On the other side of the rift—in Japan—a bright light began to emanate from the floor around Lavia, spanning about three meters in diameter.

Lavia’s hair stood on end, and a sound like a distant scream echoed from the other side.

Hikaru didn’t know it, but this scene was being witnessed by scientists worldwide through a video conference. Some clung to their screens, some screamed, and others raised their fists in triumph.

“Dance, Elementals! I offer you my mana, so sing, Elementals! Take back our once pure world and burn everything down to ashes.”

A massive magic circle appeared above Lavia’s head, and from it emerged a gigantic ball of fire.

“Flame Gospel!”

With a thunderous roar, the enormous fireball crashed into the rift. Crack! The fissure tore open, reaching far into the sky. The fire shot through, snaking over Hikaru’s head, incinerating several Cyclopes and Chimeras as it blazed past.

“Haah… haah… haah… haah!”

Steam rose from the surrounding heat. Lavia slowly walked toward him. Every step she took was careful, yet also fearless.

How long did this short distance feel to both Hikaru and Lavia? It seemed endless.

“Hikaru.”

Finally, Lavia stepped onto the stone pavement of the labyrinth, entering Hikaru’s world.

“Hikaru!” She broke into a run.

Hikaru felt her hand touch his cheek, surprised by how close she was. Even through his blurred vision, he saw her tear-streaked face and realized that he was crying too.

“Lavia, your beautiful hair’s a bit singed.”

The air was thick with the smell of something burning.

“I’d trim my hair if it means I get to see you.”

Her straightforwardness was almost embarrassing.

“Just hold on a moment,” Lavia said.

She looked around. The Cyclopes were hesitating between fleeing and retaliating for their fallen comrades. In the distance, a few flying dragons and giant birds were clearly focusing on them.

“Rest for now.” Lavia gently laid Hikaru down and grabbed a wand that had fallen from a nearby backpack.

It was the Five-Color Crystal Magic Wand that Hikaru had found in the labyrinth, though Lavia was unaware of this. She channeled her mana.

“Don’t… push yourself,” Hikaru managed.

He could only say so much before the darkness began to close in on him, a result of the tension breaking when he reunited with Lavia.

---

Lavia was calm. Her greatest wish—to be reunited with Hikaru—had come true, but they were now surrounded by vicious monsters. She had no idea where they were or what was happening, but it was clear they were in a dangerous situation.

The rift created by the spell for crossing worlds was slowly closing. If she tried to carry Hikaru through it now, they would be overrun by monsters. Besides, Lavia didn’t have the strength to carry him and run.

Yet, despite all of this, despite nearly exhausting her supply of mana, Lavia remained composed.

“Phew.”

To be precise, it wasn’t composure; it was a burning anger that kept her from feeling fear. She was barely holding herself together.

“Who did this?” Her voice came out deeper than she expected. “Who hurt my Hikaru?”

She assumed the monsters had attacked him. It was the only explanation that made sense to her.

“Well, it’s not like they can understand me.”

With each breath, mana surged through her body.

There was no magical energy on Earth, leaving Lavia’s body starved for it. Now that she had returned to this world, where the atmosphere was thick with magicules—disrupted by the Starwhite Wedge but not depleted—she drew in magical energy with every breath.

The bluish-white glow of mana, like steam rising from her, was visible even to the monsters.

“I’ll eliminate anything that threatens him.”

Lavia raised the staff set with a large gemstone toward the sky and unleashed her magic.

“Flame Gospel!”

The light that burst forth was far more powerful than before. Even though she hadn’t recited the incantation, she forced the spell through, unwilling to waste even the smallest of time.

The stone pavement lit up for several dozen meters around them as an enormous magic circle formed in the sky.

---

Selyse, who was climbing back up the cliff after receiving Paula’s healing, noticed the new light, distinct from the sun.

A blazing ball of hellfire appeared within the magic circle.

---

Granryuk’s group, about to enter the emergency passage back to the Man Gnome village, turned around.

“Wh-What is that?”

As a fellow mage, Serika immediately sensed something was off. She had never seen a magic circle of this size before.

---

“What the heck is that?!”

Jarazack’s reconnaissance team, observing from a hill, was also stunned. As battle-hardened fighters, they often underestimated magic, relying more on physical combat. But even they felt fear at the sight of the enormous magic circle and the ball of raging fire.

“Is… Is that magic? Could a single mage really do something like that?!”

No one could answer their captain’s question.

---

Lavia hadn’t just cast a spell; she had created a small sun, a ball of flames that moved slowly forward.

“Eat this!”

The flames surged ahead, engulfing the Cyclopes with incredible speed. Most of them had already begun to flee, but many were still caught in the blaze.

“Haaah!”

With both hands outstretched, Lavia guided the flames using mana, sweeping it across the ground toward two Chimeras watching from a distance. One Chimera was consumed as it tried to escape.

“Haah!”

Then, she hurled the fireball into the sky. The flying dragons and monstrous birds that were circling above tried to flee, but when the fire burst near them, they were caught in the blast and fell from the sky.

The horde of monsters fled. Every single one. All the threats to Hikaru’s life were gone.

“Phew.”

Lavia’s staff clattered to the ground. The flagstones were scorched black, and smoke from the burning monsters drifted in the wind.

“Hikaru.” Lavia turned and plopped down beside him. “Hikaru, Hikaru, Hikaru.”

She touched his cheek with trembling hands, then felt for a pulse at his neck.

“Thank goodness. You’re alive.”

She held Hikaru’s hand tightly to her chest.

“I’m so, so glad,” she spoke softly to the unconscious boy. “I’m back, Hikaru.”