What was magic?

That was a question Liandra had come to ask herself several times throughout the years she spent cooped up inside the Black Constellation’s grand library. 

Through her studies to deepen her understanding and mastery of her poison magic, she had scoured the library’s resources to an incredible extent such that even the contents of the most insignificant book had been committed to memory.

That was the reason why Ryuuko had been the only person who managed to breach her miasma shield ever since she achieved mastery of poison magic. Because Ryuuko was the only one who could.

Ryuuko was a person that this world had never seen before, capable of learning and mastering entire skillsets in barely any time at all. To top it off, she did it completely effortlessly, as if the knowledge had already been ingrained into her body and she simply needed to open a door in her mind to access it.

It was a prodigious ability that bordered on impossible. To her, magic was nothing more than a triviality that she could pick up and put down at any time she desired without consequence. Yet, no one else was like Ryuuko.

That was why the question occupied Liandra’s thoughts once more as she faced off against the magical behemoth that was Valencia Ignitia di Avesta, the Tower Master of Valgern Tower and possibly the greatest mage of the current era.

She thought she had already found the answer after becoming the youngest magician in history to ever fully master one school of magic. In that sole regard, she had surpassed Valencia already. This, Liandra knew.

Then why the hell am I struggling so much!? The thought ran through Liandra’s head as she winced from the impact of Valencia’s latest attack: a simple bolt of pure, condensed mana fired from the tip of her index finger.

For many mages, it was the first magical attack that they learned.This was true for Liandra as well. It was the simplest, most basic usage of projected mana that one could perform. A weak and ineffective attack against all but the weakest of enemies.

Yet, Valencia’s usage of the supposedly simple technique had struck with an incredible force that far surpassed even the great siege cannons of the Dwarves. 

It had taken all of Liandra’s strength just to reinforce her miasma barrier and deflect Valencia’s mana bolt. The last time she had to exert such concentration purely on defense was during her first encounter with Ryuuko, and technically speaking, Ryuuko’s strikes at the time hadn’t even struck with the same intensity as Valencia’s bolt had.

In other words, it was taking all of Liandra’s power to defend against Valencia’s weakest attack now that the Tower Master had gotten serious. That was the overwhelming difference between the two of them.

Yes, in terms of poison magic, Liandra had no equal. However, the vast gap between them was their fundamental understanding of magic itself. Valencia knew the purpose and intent of every mote of mana that she directed. The very core and fundamental laws of mana were completely under her control.

That was why even though Liandra was using poison magic to oppose her, Valencia wasn’t even fazed in the slightest. In the end, poison magic was just that. Magic. 

And in terms of magic, Valencia stood tall and proud above all others in the world.

Liandra grit her teeth as she stared up at the hovering figure of Valencia, her blazing crimson hair billowing behind her like a furious sun’s rays. Cool and aloof like twin moonlit pools, Valencia’s silver eyes stared down at Liandra like an indifferent god judging their creation.

Funneling mana into her miasma barrier, Liandra attempted to close the hole that Valencia’s mana bolt had opened up, but it was closing much slower than she would’ve liked, and Valencia’s hand was already raised toward her position once more.

The air around Valencia came alight with a brilliant blue hue as thousands of blue-white spherical motes of mana heeded her command, flitting about her hand as if a swarm of blue fireflies. There, they gathered before the tips of her fingers, forming five bright spheres that pulsed rapidly as Valencia forcibly compressed the mana under her control to infinitesimally small points.

Liandra’s eyes widened as Valencia unleashed her bolts of mana, all five of them bursting forth from her fingertips like blue-hued shooting stars. They left a glittering cerulean trail through the air, tracing an almost gentle curve toward the spherical shell of violet haze that Liandra had surrounded herself with.

BOOM!

The compressed bolts of mana unraveled as soon as they rammed into Liandra’s barrier, bursting with incredible force that dispersed the entirety of her barrier. Regardless of how thick it was, Liandra’s barrier was simply densely packed poison mist in the end albeit reinforced with mana to make it harden in response to physical attacks.

Shit! Liandra’s eyes flickered as she panicked. She was wide open. 

Attempting to re-gather the poison mist would take much too long, and it would be far more efficient for her to simply generate a new barrier, but doing so would deplete her mana reserves significantly.

Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue as she could simply sit behind her barrier and replenish any expended mana using the abundant ambient magical energy in the air, but that wasn’t an option here. Even the weakest of attacks from Valencia were capable of piercing through her defenses, and it was obvious that the Tower Master could simply blow her barrier away once more without exerting even the slightest effort.

Liandra gritted her teeth as she desperately threw up another barrier made simply of condensed mana. She doubted that such a shoddy defense would actually hold up against any of Valencia’s attacks, but it would soften the blow at the very least.

Except Valencia’s next attack never came.

“Already floundering, child? How disappointing,” Valencia scoffed. “Surely this is not everything you have to offer me after rejecting my offer in such a grandiose fashion?”

Liandra stared at her, grimacing. Right now, she didn’t even have the luxury to think of a retort. A bead of sweat ran down her cheek. If Valencia didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought it a tear of defeat.

Four spheres of blue-white light orbited above Valencia’s head, a deadly halo of mana that was ready to be launched at a moment’s behest. Had Valencia chosen to fire those spheres of mana now, Liandra would undoubtedly be torn to shreds.

Instead of concerning herself with Valencia’s verbal barb, Liandra focused on the reserves stored inside her mana core and the ambient mana around herself.

...If I’m fast, I could blind her with light magic and then teleport—No, that’ll never work. Then, what if I... No, that won’t work either. Liandra bit her lower lip as she stared at Valencia, not daring to let the Tower Master out of her sight. Her mind scoured desperately through the volumes of knowledge she’d accumulated throughout the years, but to no avail.

Dispassionately, Valencia gazed back, thoroughly unimpressed. It was the gaze of a forlorn god who looked upon their creation with scorn and regret. 

A gaze that said Liandra was utterly disappointing.

Under this withering glare, something in Liandra clicked. It wasn’t about upholding her promise to the first person who had recognized her, nor was it about facing off against the person who was considered the strongest mage of her time.

At last, she understood what she should have been fighting for at the very start. Right here and now, she and Valencia were engaged in a battle of magical prowess. 

It wasn’t something that should have been characterized by strategy or technique.

That was why Valencia had only been using the simplest of magical attacks. She wasn’t holding back against Liandra, nor was she looking down on her. To Valencia, that was what this was all about: a display of pure magical power.

And it was then that she finally arrived at the answer to the question that she had been asking all along.

It’s so simple now that I think about it... What is magic? It doesn’t matter. After all... Liandra closed her eyes, releasing Valencia from her gaze at last. A sense of utter calm settled over her. Like the last drop of morning dew evaporating into the air, serenity washed over her mind and removed all traces of doubt that still lingered in her heart.

...Magic is just... the realization of my will!

Liandra’s eyes snapped open, their violet hue shining brighter than ever before, glimmering like twin amethysts that radiated the light of the sun. She brought her hand up toward Valencia, her palm splayed toward the crimson-haired goddess of magic.

Come!

The ambient mana in the air responded immediately to Liandra’s will and gathered to the center of her outstretched hand at her command, forming an incredibly dense sphere of mana. Although simple, it was a feat that required immense concentration and impeccable control over every mote of mana in the air. Yet, right now, it was effortless for Liandra.

Valencia smiled. At last, the light of interest and intrigue had returned to her brilliant silver eyes, shining brightly like two full moons. She thrust her hand out to meet Liandra’s, a similar sphere of mana forming in the center of her palm. Yet this time, the sphere was dyed a bright red, overwriting the natural blue color of mana.

For a moment, Liandra’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly realized that this was already something she should have expected from a woman who was hailed as the most powerful mage in the world.

Mana Domination, huh... 

It was a technique that only the most powerful of mages could accomplish, exerting their will over the mana that they wielded and completely overwriting its properties to create magical energy that was capable of breaking even the laws of causality. In other words, it was an act that defied natural law and the heavens themselves.

An expression of a mage’s true power over reality.

It was an ability that was reserved for only the most powerful of mages, and the number of mages who were capable of even manifesting Mana Domination could be counted on one hand. In essence, it was the mage’s equivalent to a warrior’s enlightenment.

Can I really...? 

Liandra shook her head as an inkling of doubt began creeping into her mind, focusing on the mana gathered in her palm.

No. As I am now, even I... Even I can...!

The two spheres of mana unraveled.

Blue pitted itself against red.

Like flowing blood, Valencia’s mana consumed all that stood before it, swallowing the dwindling blue that dared stand against it...

...But only that which remained blue.

A beautiful purple blossomed from the edge of the blue sphere of mana, spreading through the entirety of its body. Slowly, it began pushing the wave of crimson backwards, its amethyst hue standing proudly like a violet in a field of roses.

And then, there was only light.