**Chapter 53: Defeating Cedric**
Rest and Cedric had arrived at the forest where they once trained to combat monsters. It was also the very place where Cedric had taken the Rosemary Sisters out, putting them in danger.
“Uoooooohhh!”
With a beastly roar, Cedric charged at Rest, using Body Enhancement.
“Too slow. It’s almost laughable.”
“Guh!?”
Rest also enhanced his strength through magic and delivered a punch to Cedric’s face. Cedric’s Body Enhancement was impressive, though he had failed the exam. Still, it was clear he was praised as a genius for a reason.
“But… your fighting sense and experience in combat are utterly lacking. You’re worse than I was before I became a disciple of my teacher.”
“Y-you…!”
“If you have time to groan, then get your stance ready. Also, your Body Enhancement has worn off.”
As he spoke, Rest delivered a low kick to Cedric’s shin.
“Ah…!?”
“Here’s another one for your face.”
Grabbing Cedric’s hair, he pulled him closer and delivered a knee strike to his face. Blood gushed from Cedric’s nose, and fragments of broken teeth flew out. Next, Rest seized Cedric by the collar and slammed him down onto the ground.
“Guguh…!”
“Having studied hand-to-hand combat, I realize anew just how weak you are, Cedric.”
Though he was rumored to have the highest magical talent among his peers… that was all there was to it. His martial arts were lacking, and his spellcasting speed was slow. Honestly, the gap in their abilities was so vast that Rest felt he could win just by relying on Body Enhancement alone.
“Y-you… filthy trash…!”
“Heal.”
“Wha…!?”
Rest cast healing magic on Cedric, mending his injuries. Cedric, unable to comprehend Rest’s actions, furrowed his brow and shouted back, biting out his words.
“You… think you can pity me!? Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, you worthless failure!”
“Pity? No, you’re mistaken.”
Rest smirked coldly and unleashed his next spell—Fireball—at Cedric.
“Gah!”
“This isn’t mercy. If I were to repay you for everything you’ve done to me, you’d probably die immediately. So, I’m just healing you.”
Once again, he cast healing magic to restore Cedric.
“Repay me… for what…?”
“Seventy-five… do you know what that number signifies, Cedric?”
“…………?”
A question mark appeared on Cedric’s face. As expected, he didn’t understand.
“Since being taken in by the Ebern Viscount House until serving the Rosemary Marquis House… that’s the number of different spells you’ve cast at me over four years.”
And at the same time, it was the number of spells Cedric had taught him. Thanks to experimenting with magic as Rest, he had significantly increased his repertoire.
“Wha…!”
“I don’t remember how many times I was attacked with each spell, but I’m surprisingly the type to hold a grudge. I’ll make sure to repay you in full.”
“Guhuh!”
Next, Rest struck Cedric’s abdomen with the Sand Ball spell. Cedric curled up on the ground, coughing up the contents of his stomach. After healing him again, Rest prepared for the next spell.
“Now, get up. There are still seventy-three types left. Let’s finish this before dawn.”
“Stop…!”
“Water Sphere!”
“Gueh!”
After that, Rest attacked Cedric with spells for as long as time allowed.
**Fireball**
**Sand Ball**
**Water Sphere**
**Wind Ball**
**Thunder Ball**
**Poison Ball**
**Fire Blade**
**Water Cutter**
**Wind Cutter**
**Earth Blade**
**Fire Spear**
**Wind Spear**
**Earth Thorn**
**Water Spear**
**Burst**
**Explosion**
**Wind Control**
**Stone Bullet**
**Water Burial**
**Poisoning**
**Magic Bullet**
**Mud Bullet**
…
…
…
By the time Cedric had become a mere puppet, only able to groan in agony, the barrage of seventy-five spells finally came to an end.
“…I must say, revenge isn’t as refreshing as I thought it would be. Honestly, I got bored halfway through.”
Even though he had repaid all the wrongs done to him, it hadn’t been enjoyable. There was nothing to gain from bullying someone weak. It had turned into a mere task, and he had mechanically cast spells to attack Cedric.
“Well, perhaps it wasn’t a farewell ritual to that house. Thanks to this, I can forget about the Ebern Viscount House and move forward as a new person. You’ve been somewhat useful for scraping off the rust. Thank you.”
“……eh?”
“……huh?”
“I won’t forgive you… absolutely… no matter what, I will get my revenge…”
“…………”
Even while rolling on the ground, Cedric glared at Rest with a look of deep hatred. Despite having been beaten so thoroughly, he still had the energy to utter his grievances… in a way, it was commendable how deranged he was.
“It’s not just you… those women who abandoned me will pay too…”
“Those women… you mean Viola and Primula?”
Upon confirmation, Cedric’s swollen face twisted into a sinister grin.
“Those women… I’ll kidnap them and trample them down… I won’t allow them to be happy… I’ll violate them until they’re nothing but rags…!”
“…………”
“No matter how much you try to protect them, it’s useless… I will definitely violate them… It’s all your fault, having a failure like you around…!”
“…Enough. Be quiet.”
“Ugh…!”
Rest splashed water, conjured by magic, onto Cedric’s face, forcibly silencing him. Truly… it was astonishing how he could be called a genius.
“To be able to make me feel this uncomfortable, you must have a natural talent for it… my desire to forgive you has completely vanished.”
In the first place, Rest had felt relieved the moment Cedric failed the entrance exam. Had Cedric not attacked him, he wouldn’t have had to go this far.
“But… you mentioned Viola and Primula. You’re trying to involve them in our issues…!”
It wasn’t a matter of whether Cedric’s planned revenge would succeed or not. Mentioning the names of the Rosemary Sisters in front of Rest was a crime worthy of death.
“Hyahhyahhyah… just wait and see… tremble and sleep…!”
“You’re the one who will.”
“Huh…?”
Rest raised his right hand. A black sphere appeared at his palm. It was a sphere that reflected no light, a pitch-black orb. It looked as if dark matter had materialized, a deep, stagnant dark star.
“W-what is that… what kind of magic…!”
Before the abyssal fear of the dark star, Cedric’s previously mocking expression twisted in horror. He tried to crawl away, but of course, Rest had no intention of letting him escape.
“Bind.”
“Hygiih!”
With chains of magic, Rest bound Cedric, keeping him in place. Then… he looked up at the dark star hovering above his hand.
“Do you know what the highest honor for a magician is, Cedric?”
“W-what…?”
“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you. It’s not being appointed as a Court Magician, nor is it becoming a noble… the highest honor for a magician is the ‘development of new magic.’”
Rest spoke calmly to Cedric, whose face twisted in fear.
“There are one thousand and seven spells officially recognized in this world, recorded in the Magic Encyclopedia. The names of the developers are preserved in the annals of magical history alongside their spells.”
In this world, there existed an organization known as the Sage Council. A transnational, extralegal group, its members were all powerful enough to influence nations. Creating new magic recognized as ‘new magic’ by the Sage Council was the ultimate honor for a magician.
“If one could develop new magic, the king would grant them a status higher than that of a viscount, perhaps even an earl… though, such a level of magician hasn’t appeared in this country for over ten years.”
Even the most powerful magicians, the Court Magicians, found it difficult to develop new magic. They could create countless mediocre spells, but producing a new spell that surpassed existing ones was nearly impossible. Globally, a new spell recognized as ‘new magic’ by the Sage Council appeared only about once every five years.
“But, well… it’s something to aspire to. After all, since being taken in by the Rosemary Marquis House, I’ve been trying to create new magic myself.”
“…………!”
“And… what I created is this.”
Rest looked up at the dark star, a sardonic smile on his face.
“I managed to create a spell that works somewhat as I envisioned, but to be frank, it’s a defective product. Just maintaining it consumes an enormous amount of magical power. It’s incredibly inefficient.”
This magic would never be recognized by the Sage Council or recorded in the Magic Encyclopedia. A clumsy, defective spell that consumed a thousand units of magical power to produce a single effect. Without Rest’s boundless, infinite magical power, even a group of Court Magicians would find it impossible to activate.
“The name of the spell is Star Devourer.”
A spell far too trivial for Rest, who had been labeled as Magicless. Its effect was… the annihilation of all things. This black sphere… the Dark Star could erase anything that came into contact with it from existence.
“It’s a spell that only I can use… but now, I can finally choose what to erase. If I’m not careful, I might even erase the atmosphere or space itself. As the name suggests, I could end up devouring stars.”
“No way… there’s no way you could create new magic…”
“Thus, it’s a defective failure… well, it’s more than enough magic to deal with someone like you.”
No matter how much magical power he expended, his infinite magical power would never run out… but still, having his magical power drained by the dark star was not a pleasant feeling.
“Well then, goodbye.”
“Wha…!”
“Star Devourer!”
Rest brought the dark star down upon the rolling Cedric. The black sphere engulfed Cedric’s body.
“This is the end… forever.”
In that moment, the enmity with Cedric—his brother-in-law—came to a close. Cedric could no longer harm Rest or take anything from him. He had become incapable of doing so, forevermore.