Chapter 147
Within that hand, bundles of light gathered, the open palm capturing the energy as it sprang out of his body, the circle amplifying it and maintaining control over his output.
Mana similar to blue lightning crackled all over him as the light grew larger and larger, the sapphire arcs feeding into the glowing mass in his hands. Orbs of light spontaneously appeared and vanished within his hands, the phantasm of an image forming above his mortal flesh as his hands spasmed, the effort required to project something on the scale of Secace unprecedented for him. It was a big step up from projecting heaters and wrenches in his dingy shed.
Feeling his entire body start to burn up from the immense amount of energy coursing through his body, he steeled himself against it, keeping his mind and body wholly focused on the task at hand, regulating the energy flowing through his Circuits as well. It was no worse than when he mistakenly made his nerves into Circuits before, the sensation of having a burning iron rod in his spine was something that he wouldn't be able to forget for the rest of his life.
Caster looked on in disbelief as she saw the energy bend and twist around his body like lightning, contained by the circle though it was. The formation she had designed and drawn out on the dirt was now lit up in the same neon blue that the energy around him was like, resonating with the magecraft he was trying to perform as it drew out suitable amounts of energy from the leyline below to supplement the pitiful amount of energy he was only able to produce with his newfound Circuits.
The information about the sword sifted through his mind faster than sand in an hourglass, the grains of knowledge racing through it like a race car drifting through the streets. It felt like his head was going to split at the seams, promising a headache later on after the spell, but for now all he could do was bear it and shove as much information as he could into the image he was creating, copying everything he could onto a blank mold. Pieces of information fractured, unable to be recovered, or they slipped past him, leaving blanks in the image he was trying to create.
Yet in the end, he was able to form something recognizable, an imperfect sword, but an imitation all the same.
The lightshow reached a crescendo as Caster felt the leylines surge in energy towards the circle, Shirou giving one last push to make the image into reality. Energy and mana gave way, bending to his will to create the transparent outline of a sword in his outstretched palm, then more energy rushed to fill the container, casting the weapon out of his imagination, supported by what he had learnt from 'grasping' Secace.
A rush of wind blew back Casters bangs, her gloved hands raised up to block the bright flash of light, and then the sudden gust subsided, the darkness of the night reasserting itself save for the gentle glow of the circle that persisted.
Nestled in Shirou's open palm, faintly glowing under the clouded moon, was the sword Secace, right above the Secace resting on his lap.
Caster breath caught in her throat as she saw it, two swords of the same shape and appearance, but deeper than that, with the same Mystery surrounding it.
Well, she wouldn't go so far as to exactly say that they had the same amount of Mystery, since she could obviously tell which was real and fake, but to be even recreate a portion of it, even just a tenth, was already an impressive feat for an experienced mage with medium ability, let alone an amateur mages who just had his Circuits opened last night. Opening her mouth, she forced aside her surprise and spoke to Shirou.
"Can..can I see it?"
The exhausted Shirou could only nod, lifting the short sword up as she extended her staff, a strong gust of mana laced wind sending the weapon tumbling out of his hands, and into the waiting barrier created to catch it.
Levitating the barrier closer to herself, she lifted the sword out of the barrier and dispelled it, taking a closer look at the projected Secace.
The edges, the hollow middle, even the small ridges on the handle just barely peeking out under the leather wrapping around it, everything was exactly the same, appearance wise. Lifting it slightly, she could tell the weight was also the same, or the difference was so small she couldn't even tell. But the real test was whether it retained its effect. Which was something she couldn't really test since the effect was also quite dangerous if unleashed, though it wasn't quite on the level of blowing up the lake like Marmyadose.
Still, she could tell it had a certain level of Mystery in it, at least on par with a solidly made Mystic Code that a magus with a decade of experience and training under their belt could create. It also felt solid enough to be used as a physical weapon, as it was meant for.
Gently, she tapped it against Chastiefol, the staff in her other hand.
Right away, the spot where she tapped it on chipped away, the blade missing a small piece after she drew it back upon hearing a small 'chink!'.
In a matter of seconds, cracks spread across the blade, spider webbing through the entire edge, then it shattered.
The pieces of the blade fell to the ground, vanishing into the mana it came from in the first place before it hit the dirt. All that was left in her hands was the hilt of the blade, and in the blink of an eye, that was gone too. All that was left was empty air, and a few wisps of blue mana that quickly disappeared like morning dew under the sun.
Shirou was able to recover enough to look up at the exact same moment that the sword broke, and his face dropped slightly, disappointed at the sword for barely lasting more than a minute.
"Shirou, I think that this, whatever you're doing, is definitely the right track for you. I need to perform more tests on you later to figure out how you can do this, but for now let's take the chance to try and do it again."
She could perform divination to check what his origin and alignment was, like how her mentor Merlin had done for her, but she was uncertain if it would work or not. Regardless, it wouldn't hurt to try.
For Shirou, he decided it was going to be a long night as he once more closed his eyes and concentrated, touching the sword on his lap and performing Structural Grasping as hard as he could to try and completely fill in the blueprint in his head, covering up the blanks he had last time, dedicated to replicating it down to the last detail.