I was Reincarnated as the Youngest Child of a Villainous Noble Family Who Controls the Kingdom from Behind the Scenes

When Lilysha's body was engulfed in flames and she reappeared, her entire body was ablaze with a fiery red glow.

I recognized that form—it was as if she had become an incarnation of flames.

This was...

"This is the Magical Apotheosis... the ultimate form and pinnacle of a magician's journey!"

The Magical Apotheosis. It is achieved when a magician fully comprehends the essence of their magic.

The forms it takes vary, but some, like Lilysha, undergo a transformation into something beyond human.

In this state, their magical power multiplies severalfold, even dozens of times, and they gain unique abilities.

"Magical... Apotheosis...!"

"Letitia, step back. Lilysha is dangerous right now."

"Alphiss , reaching the Magical Apotheosis... Lilysha truly is a genius."

"That may be, but this isn't a good thing. Just get out of the field."

I pushed the reluctant Letitia out of the safety field.

Lilysha, now a being of flames as if her entire body had turned into magma, smiled as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"Alphise, how about it? You can see the difference in our levels now, can't you? You, with your petty tricks, can't compare."

"Yeah, you're a genius."

"Hehe! Ahahaha! That's what I wanted to hear!"

"Are you happy?"

"Yes! I've been looking forward to making you, the one who humiliated me for the first time in my life, submit!"

She's clearly under the influence of a magical overload from the excessive power she's wielding.

The immense magical energy coursing through her body is amplifying her emotions, keeping her in a state of constant euphoria.

In other words, she's extremely dangerous.

Lilysha has reached the Magical Apotheosis due to some reason.

This is a trap for magicians.

When a magician pushes themselves too hard in their training, they sometimes hit a wall and believe they've grasped the ultimate truth.

They think they've worked hard enough.

So, they feel they deserve a reward.

In their extreme fatigue and stress, they set their own limits.

And thus, they complete the Magical Apotheosis, locking themselves into a fixed limit of their magical potential.

Lilysha now believes this is the ultimate pinnacle.

What a fool.

The danger lies in the fact that by setting her own limits, she can no longer grow beyond this point.

Lilysha believes that this is the limit of her abilities as a magician, and as a result, she will never grow further.

In short, the Magical Apotheosis is a double-edged sword.

There's no way Branmud, the current head of the Persifam family, doesn't know this.

"Hey,Alphiss , you really did a number on me last time. Even though we're in the safety field, I'm going to make sure you suffer."

"Are you satisfied with just that?"

"I've reached the Magical Apotheosis. That means I've essentially mastered magic as a magician."

"Good grief, what a troublesome young lady."

I drew my demon sword.

Honestly, thanks to the Magical Apotheosis, her magical power surpasses mine.

But battles aren't so simple that they're decided by raw power alone.

"Enough of your insolence! Die!"

Lilysha's hands transformed into flames, spreading out like a fan.

By becoming fire itself, she can create an infinite number of attack patterns.

"Dark Smog, upgraded to Blind."

The dark magic "Blind" simply envelops the area in darkness.

Unlike Dark Smog, it has a wider range and should affect more opponents, but...

"Ahahaha! What is this?!"

"Tch, she has resistance, huh?"

Strong opponents like her often have resistances to such spells.

I remember she didn't have much resistance to darkness before, but the Magical Apotheosis must have boosted her resistances.

Yes, this is Lilysha, but it's better not to think of her as the same Lilysha.

Next, I enhanced my demon sword with magical energy and slashed at her.

"Too slow!"

Lilysha dodged my attack with speed that surpassed mine.

I barely managed to block her counterattack with my demon sword, but a burst of flames was closing in from behind.

"It's over! Explosion!"

"Shadow Entry."

Explosion after explosion, and with Lilysha herself becoming fire, there was no escape within the field.@@novelbin@@

If I took a direct hit, I'd definitely die.

The only place to escape was Lilysha's shadow.

"He disappeared...!?"

"Dark Needle!"

I fired Dark Needles from directly below, grazing Lilysha.

But most of the needles were turned into flames and deflected.

This is Lilysha's current ability.

While she's in her flame form, damage is nullified.

Even if I try to swallow her flames with my demon sword's darkness, only a portion of the flames can be extinguished.

The only time to strike is when she's in her human form.

"What the hell...! Using such underhanded dark magic!"

"Don't say the same thing as those thugs from before."

I tried to appear calm, but the heat was overwhelming.

I needed to end this before the heat got to me.

"Then let's   try it again! Explosion!"

"Using high-level magic in rapid succession is brutal..."

I slashed through the explosion in front of me with my demon sword, burying it in darkness.

As for the explosions coming from the sides and behind...

"Black Hole."

A black hole appeared around me, sucking in the explosions like a vacuum.

But it was only a localized effect, so it couldn't completely block them.

The explosions still managed to hit me, dealing damage.

"Hmm, dark magic has quite a few tricks, doesn't it? But in a straight-up battle of power, it seems to fall short."

"Everything has its strengths and weaknesses."

"Fire magic is simple, but its power is unmatched among all attributes. Speed goes to lightning, defense to earth, and versatility to wind and water. Dark magic... it's just a bit underwhelming. Even my father doesn't think highly of it."

"Seriously? Branmud must not have seen truly terrifying dark magic, then."

"...What did you say?"

Lilysha's red face turned even redder as she visibly lost her temper.

I smirked.

I had considered using the power of destructive waves, but she wasn't worth that much effort.

What stood before me was just an immature fool drunk on her own power.

"Hey, young lady. What do you imagine when you think of darkness?"

"Dark, dull. What else is there?"

"Magic is often influenced by imagination. If you see fire as just fire, and water as just water, then that's all it will ever be. But darkness, when you change your perspective, can be many things."

"Then show me! Explosion!"

Once again, Lilysha unleashed a barrage of massive explosions.

The deafening blasts caused the watching students to scream in terror.

"He's gone... Shadow Entry again! How predictable! You always come out in the same place!"

"Dark Needle."

"There you are!"

Lilysha easily dodged the Dark Needles emerging from the shadows.

But what emerged from the shadows wasn't me—or rather, it was me, but not entirely.

"Eh... what? A black... human?"

A shadowy figure, completely pitch black, stood there.

I emerged as well, standing beside the shadowy figure in front of Lilysha.

It was time to get a little more serious.