"And how do you know that? Assuming that I do know the future, that is." I replied cautiously. "It's a pretty big claim you're making if you have no evidence."
"I trust you recognize what this is, then?" Roswaal held up a book that he took from his jacket, and although I couldn't recognize that pattern and designs, I knew what it was.
"An imperfect copy of the Book of Wisdom, I suppose? Beatrice has one of those, too."
"And why did you just expose yourself?"
"I simply have no reason to hide that ability anymore. Your Gospel thing probably told you anyways." I said, exasperated.
"I wonder, what is your goal, for one who knows the future?" Roswaal asked me, genuinely curious this time.
"I seek the truth of this world. The true truth." I replied, determination filling my voice.
"And could you specify?"
"For example, the fact that the Great Waterfall is not the real 'edge of the world'."
"Hmm... and what makes you think that?"
"I think the raven-haired boy beside us there and I myself are enough evidence."
"I see... this changes things. Without a doubt, you would definitely be a vital part in my plans. Well then, I would like to form a contract with you." Roswaal states, and I was quite shocked. Not as his action itself, but more at the 'why' component.
"Hmm... I do not wish to be controlled by anyone, just so you know, that's why I don't like contracts from a very scheming person. On what terms should I agree to sign a contract with you?" I said, awaiting his response.
"I have seen your mana usage, and in my honest opinion, you have much greater potential than the Subaru boy behind you. And I believe that developing that potential to a higher stage is the best for this country."
For this country? Bullshit to the core. He only wants this for his own benefits. However, since I'm already going into Arc 3, I should be able to sever this contract after I arrive in the Sanctuary anyways. I just need to hope that the Witch of Greed is truly willing to help me by then.
"Fine. But on one condition." I said at last. "I wish to duel you. I want to see for myself how strong exactly is the strongest mage in Lugnica. If you win, you can name the terms of the contract. If I win, I will name the terms of the contract. Deal?"
Timeskippu*
Roswaal found us a clearing in the middle of the forest after we transported Subaru back to fight, and I was checking my Authority right before he appeared from the sky using Flying Magic, and descended onto the field as he gave me a slight smile.
"Shall we begin?"
"Anytime you like." I said, and readied the short sword that I kept on myself before coating it with helium hydride, before I charged at the mage who just readied his spells.
Four orbs of different colours gathered in Roswaal's hands, and the four spells Goa, Huma, Fura, and Dona were simultaneously shot out before I blocked it with a thin layer of Boron, which helped stopped the impact. I leapt away from the spells' trajectory as they swished past me after breaking through my temporary barrier.
I formed the Boron into spikes and began to throw the metalloid shards at Roswaal while he's forced onto the defensive, and I shouted the spell I knew first in the Yang category. "AKRA!" I yelled as I boosted my speed, and thrusted my sword, gleaming with acid towards Roswaal.
"Ul Dona." A dome of earth coated Roswaal, but Cahya and Alchemis were already on the move.
"El Jiwald!" Cahya's spell destroyed the dome, and Alchemis followed immediately.
"Ul Goa!" The volley of fireballs rained down as I plunged the sword into my target, but when I pulled it out, it was already broken in half.
"Quite impressive, I must say." Roswaal said as he suddenly started combining elements for a spell. "But I suppose it is time to take it up a notch for now."
"Threefold Magic." Roswaal said as I suddenly realized the danger of that spell, with three different coloured fireballs forming on either side of him, rotating in an ominous manner before shooting themselves at me.
"Beryllium Mirror: Total Reflection!" I yelled as my elastic force stretched the beryllium before it perfectly formed into a solid, and successfully reflected the threefold magic before Roswaal cancelled it out.
Damn it! Now I'm on the defensive here. Although the threefold magic is really no joke. The Divine Protection of Sorcery is really doing its job. If it was a stronger spell, Beryllium Mirror would've shattered.
And Roswaal proceeds to break my mirror. :(
"Fourfold Magic." Roswaal said as I saw an additional fireball form with an ominous energy, and I knew what to do.
"Alchemis, Cahya, retreat formation! Diamond Dome!" I yelled as I protected both myself and the spirits from the insanely strong attack, and right before Roswaal finished preparing his insanely bright spell, I was protected from the outside world as one of the hardest substances in the entire world shielded me from the damage.
"Fivefold Magic." Roswaal seemed to continue raising his stakes as I noticed the bright pillar of light in the sky as I knew that this was impossible to evade, but I noticed that I could still reinforce the surrounding area to avoid it getting damaged too much. I used all the first six elements as they created a barrier, and I shot the concentrated beam of the molecule with the first six elements fused together as they shot towards one of the strongest spells in existence.
The fire beams shot down as they pierced through even the Beryllium Mirror, and I quickly added strength to my carbon-diamond dome, before it began to wear away at the force of all the slashes of wind and pellets of earth.
The onslaught of magic shredded all my structures before finally stopping. Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the last fire beam pierced through the diamond, having been heated to its extremes as I jumped back, but it was not possible to evade it.
Shit! Roswaal! Don't you know how to control your powers a bit? Even I'll die if I get hit by a 4500 Celsius fire beam! No way... am I... going to die?
Just as the word 'die' came out from my thoughts, the invisible panel of elements only seen by me popped up, and a voice took over my head and my body was put under someone else's control as I heard the voice that almost turned me into a killing machine.
"CRITICAL OVERLOAD- HAYWIRE WARP"
The fire beam that was about to pierce my chest disappeared as I noticed a tiny fragment of space-time being ripped apart right in front of me, and the beam struck into the tear as it vanished, and my head felt horrible as I saw plumes of hydrogen and helium, balls of acid, spears and tendrils of diamond, boron, lithium, and beryllium sprout from the ground as they went towards Roswaal, and I was knocked out for a few seconds before Vacuum Trigger brought me back.
The scene happened way too quickly that it took me several minutes to process after Vacuum Trigger brought me back. I still have no idea how that ability worked, and its mysteriousness only was increased after the drawback it did to my body. I probably won't be able to properly fight in a few days.
I walked out from my giant dome, now in shambles. I then turned my head towards the forest, and seeing that it was unharmed, I smiled at my achievement before I turned towards Roswaal, who is currently bind by the tendrils that I shot out during the weird Critical Overload phase, and thankfully, it seems that he's out of mana as well.
"You managed to protect the environment around you while fighting me. Commendable." He said as I regarded him with a glance that only had suspicion. "Oh, don't worry," He said, as if reading my mind. "The Gospel already foretold my loss, but thankfully it did not change the path of my plans."
"Then... I take it as my win, then?" I asked him, and he nodded reluctantly.
"Well then, let's form our contract." I told him as he held out his palm towards mine the best his could. "I don't exactly know how it starts, so you can start it."
"Well then..." Roswaal said as he muttered something. "I hereby state that Y/N L/N and I, Roswaal L Mathers shall go into a temporary contract. May he state the terms."
"Roswaal L Mathers will teach me magic and help me strengthen myself, while I will provide him some information on the future that helps us both, and I might help him carry out goals only if it aligns with both our interests." He looked at me incredulously, and I smirked. I never said the one stating the terms has to provide an equal amount of help, so that should leave this scheming clown a bit more passive now.
"If I break this contract... may my soul be destroyed." Roswaal said as he stated, and I didn't know what to say after that. So, I went with my gut and said the same things he did.
"... may my soul be destroyed as well. And that seals the contract, does it not?" I asked him, and Roswaal replied with something that would only be said in a comedy show.
"Yes... but, uh, mind getting me down from here?" Roswaal said as I looked at him, still bound by the tendrils of combined elements.
"Sorry, but it seems that my stamina has ran out."
"I thought Witch Factors don't consume stamina, do they?"
"Maybe not for the others, but mine does. Hey, why are you in such a hurry anyways?"
"Well, despite the fact that I'm a great mage, I still have to go to the toilet-"
"Ya, I'm gonna stop you there." I started walking away.
"Wait. Don't tell me that you're going to leave me here like this. My-"
BEEEEEEEEEEEP
Timeskippu*
Roswaal POV
As the boy sat down and began recovering his stamina, Roswaal thought about a memory from long ago, when his teacher was still alive, 400 years ago.
"Roswaal, I'm going to meet with a friend, okay? Please take care of Beatrice and Ryuzu in the time being."
"Okay, teacher, but who are you talking about? Who's your friend?"
"It's a fellow colleague of mine, you could say. To be specific, she's a witch as well."
"The Witch of what, though? You haven't met with them in ages!"
"Well, this one only came to our tea party twice, so the others don't have a very good memory of her. However, I am on quite good terms with her, considering our interests."
"Who is she, then?"
"One might call her the Witch of Elements, since the majority of the world knows her as that. However, she also had many titles. But among us, the Witches of Sin, we know her as..."
Frakinedottir. The Witch of Deceit.
Name: Y/N L/N
Authority(ies):
Authority of Deceit (Commonly known as Authority of Elements):
-Vacuum Trigger: An innate ability stored within the tesseract-shaped Deceit Witch Factor, allowing the user to spring themselves from unconsciousness when the mana fluctuations around them changes drastically, as a built-in self-defence mechanism of the body.
-Critical Overload: A mysterious ability that protects the user of the Deceit Witch Factor, causing them to unlock their true potential while their actions are coordinated by ?, helping them avoid certain death. This ability only triggers when the user is about to die and has a 15 minute cooldown.
- Haywire Warp: A variation of Critical Overload that allows the user to warp the attack that will kill them, creating a tear in space-time to absorb the attack. Meanwhile, the abilities of the elements are unleashed and they will defy the chemical laws before the user decides to cancel their existence.
Elemental Masteries:
Hydrogen Mastery: Stage 1, 1300/2000 complete. (Spells: Hydrogen Gas Formation, Hydrogen Gas Wall, Hydrogen Gas Mist)
Helium Mastery: Stage 1, 1240/2000 complete. (Spells: Helium Gas Formation, Helium Hydride Acid Creation)
Lithium Mastery: Stage 1, 695/2000 complete. (Spells: Lithium Hydride Solid Formation, Lithium Pellet Bullets)
Beryllium Mastery: Stage 1, 725/2000 complete. (Spells: Beryllium Solid Creation, Beryllium Mirror)
Boron Mastery: Stage 0, 750/1000 complete. (Spells: Boron Metalloid Creation, Boric Acid Creation)
Carbon Mastery: Stage 0, 900/1000 complete. (Spells: Carbon Creation, Coal Creation, Diamond Creation and Manufacturing)
Spirits: Alchemis- fire spirit (Elder Spirit, turquoise), Cahya- yang spirit (Great Spirit, white)
Magic Spells:
Goa- shoots a small ball of fire from the tip of the user's index finger when imbued with mana.
El Goa- manifests three fireballs around the user, and shoots them towards the opponent at high speeds.
Ul Goa- The user fires a large amount of powerful fire bullets. A powerful flame scatters when the bullets land.
Akra- A yang magic spell that allows users to enhance their physical abilities as well as sharpen their senses.
Jiwald- fires heat rays from the user's fingers.
El Jiwald- The user fires several rays from their fingers which are then brought down in a claw-like motion.