Infinite Mage - Remake

Shirone stood in front of the brick house, which looked like something out of a fairy tale.

The fact that he couldn’t sense any killing intent only made him more nervous.

When he opened the door, a pleasant fragrance greeted him. A tidy living room unfolded before him, with potted plants decorating the space beneath the windows.

As Shirone stepped inside, he froze upon seeing a woman sitting on the bed.

‘Marsha.’

Her face was familiar, but the feeling was entirely different from when they had spoken before, when he knew nothing about her.

Marsha smiled and spoke.

Marsha: “You’ve come, Shirone. How have you been?”

“……”

It was a severe case of cognitive dissonance.

She was the leader of the Parrot Mercenaries and the one who had taken Yuna.

Yet, her warm smile was exactly as he remembered from their first meeting.

Marsha: “Why do you look so tense? Did you get home safely that day? Did you make up with your friend?”

Shirone swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.

She must have been watching him all this time. The reason she hadn’t handed over Yuna was clear.

Shirone: “You already know, don’t you? You must have heard everything.”

Marsha: “Why so serious? You’re not scared of me, are you? Are you mad? I’m sorry for deceiving you back then.”

As Marsha rose from her chair and approached, Shirone instinctively stepped back.

Marsha: “Hoo, you really are mad, huh? What can I do to earn your forgiveness? Should I kneel?”

Shirone: “…Please return Gis’s sister. That’s all we ask.”

Marsha: “His sister? Ah.”

Marsha pulled something out of her pocket.

It was an old necklace, singed and worn.

Marsha: “What should I do? This is all that’s left of her.”

Shirone’s eyes shook with shock.

‘Yuna…’

He couldn’t believe it, yet he couldn’t deny it either.

A mix of contradiction, betrayal, anger, and emptiness churned in his stomach, threatening to spill out.

Marsha: “Was killing her too much? I was so angry, I lost control. But you’ll understand, right? You’re a good person. Won’t you?”

Shirone couldn’t comprehend her words, nor did he want to.

Shirone: “Why did you do this?”

Marsha: “Oh, you’re really mad, huh? But this is all your fault. You kept getting in my way, so I got annoyed.”

“……”

Marsha: “How does it feel? Does the world still seem beautiful to you? Do you still want to help those in need?”

For the first time, Shirone thought that Marsha might be mentally ill.

And severely so, which was why he had been fooled so completely.

If she was sick, she needed treatment, but his gaze remained cold.

Shirone: “Are you that curious? About what I’m thinking?”

Marsha: “What?”

Shirone: “I’ll admit I misjudged you. This is your victory. But that doesn’t change how I feel. One person’s madness doesn’t make me see the world differently. Should I tell you what I think of you right now?”

“……”

Marsha glared at Shirone.

Her eyes looked uneasy, almost anxious.

Shirone: “I think…”

Marsha: “Shut up!”

Marsha’s expression twisted viciously.

Though she had never been swayed by others’ opinions, Shirone’s attempt to voice his thoughts about her was unbearably irritating.

Marsha: “You’re so annoying!”

Shirone felt a sharp, thorn-like Spirit Zone emanating from her.

‘A mage.’

The space was too cramped for teleportation.

Urban combat was tricky for mages.

It was like a spearman fighting in a dense forest.

‘What type is she?’

Shirone prepared a photonization spell, ready to move at any moment.

What kind of magic would she use?

Fireball? Wind Cutter? Lightning Bolt?

As countless spells flashed through his mind, Marsha suddenly widened her eyes and let out a scream.

Marsha: “Kuh!”

A deafening roar pierced Shirone’s eardrums, and his Spirit Zone trembled.

It felt like a needle had pierced one ear and come out the other.

‘Sonic cannon. She’s a sound mage. This is dangerous.’

Sound mages specialized in the study of sound waves.

Even without a human voice, vibrations in the air could create various waves. Among the representative offensive spells was the Sonic Cannon that Marsha had cast.

The sound pressure of the Sonic Cannon exceeded 150 decibels. At close range, it was powerful enough to rupture eardrums.

Though it was a directional spell, limiting its effect to a narrow radius, its invisibility made it one of the most difficult spells to counter.

Shirone thought: ‘This place is disadvantageous.’

Just as Shirone and Amy’s strengths and weaknesses varied depending on the situation and environment, a confined space was the optimal battleground for Marsha, who specialized in sound magic.

Shirone thought: ‘I need to get outside…’

Shirone used his Spirit Zone to detect the door at the back.

If it wasn’t fully closed yet, he could teleport through it without taking significant damage.

As Shirone’s body, enhanced by Photonization Magic, began to glow gold, Marsha’s lips curled into a smirk.

Marsha thought: ‘Still a rookie.’

Space was time.

Revealing one’s movement in front of a mage was akin to handing over one’s future.

Marsha’s eyes gleamed.

Marsha thought: ‘There!’

The moment Shirone activated teleportation, she fired a Sonic Cannon toward the door.

BANG! The door was blown outward.

Marsha thought: ‘What?’

Shirone was gone.

In that fleeting moment, Marsha recalled a flash of light passing by her.

Marsha thought: ‘He went for my blind spot.’

Abandoning the exit and choosing to subdue Marsha was the right decision, but it wasn’t a judgment just anyone could make in an instant.

Marsha thought: ‘Either he has extensive combat experience, or…’

An insight comparable to that.

Marsha chuckled softly.

As Marsha twisted her body, Shirone’s Photon Cannon grazed past her and struck the wall.

Watching her calmly dodge the consecutive flashes of light, Shirone realized something.

Shirone thought: ‘Sonar.’

The advantage of sound magic was its detection ability.

While it was far more effective underwater, it could still perform precise detection in the air, much like a bat.

Marsha finally turned around and spoke: “The Sonic Cannon isn’t much… but this? I like this.”

Shirone felt a sense of unease.

Regardless of skill level, it was rare for someone to belittle the magic they had learned.

Before Shirone could fully process his thoughts, a murderous intent flashed in Marsha’s eyes, and he immediately activated teleportation.

He split the 10-meter teleportation range into 1-meter increments, darting through the confined space in a complex pattern. Yet, Marsha simply watched the flashes of light with a calm smile.

Marsha said: “A good choice, but…”

As Marsha’s sound magic, Side Looking, activated, the entire structure of the building was imprinted into her senses.

Marsha continued: “You picked the wrong opponent.”

Sonic Cannons erupted from all directions, causing Shirone’s Spirit Zone to ripple violently.

Shirone grunted: “Kuh!”

Though it wasn’t enough to break his concentration, the sheer force was enough to disrupt his teleportation.

Shirone thought: ‘This is really dangerous.’

While the Sonic Cannon itself wasn’t a finishing move, sound-based magic was akin to anti-magic in its ability to disrupt a mage’s focus—the most crucial element for spellcasting.

This only deepened Shirone’s confusion. Based on what he had heard from Marsha and Tess, the likelihood of Marsha having received formal magical education was low.

Shirone thought: ‘Sound magic is a specialized field…’

In reality, sound mages spent their entire lives researching and collecting sounds.

Even with a stroke of luck, creating a spell formula without a foundation in basic magical theory was nearly impossible.

As if reading Shirone’s thoughts, Marsha spoke.

Marsha said: “That’s quite the expression. Annoyed that a non-magic school graduate like me can use high-level magic?”

Before Shirone could respond, Sonic Cannons fired from all directions.

Shirone covered his ears with both hands. At this moment, it was the most effective method, surpassing any spell.

Shirone screamed: “Aaaah!”

The cacophony of countless deafening sounds was something Shirone had never imagined in his life.

The shockwaves pierced through his hands, causing his legs to tremble uncontrollably.

Marsha approached.

Marsha said: “You’re such a rookie, you don’t even understand the basics. Even if I didn’t go to a magic school, I can still handle sequence formulas.”

According to magical society classifications, Marsha was indeed a non-magic school graduate, but she was also a veteran who had taken down countless mages on the battlefield.

It was no exaggeration to say she had learned the essential theories through experience.

Marsha whispered: “Banshee’s Scream.”

Marsha’s Spirit Zone rippled like waves, and a strange scream echoed.

Shirone’s eyes widened, but his vision was pitch black, as if he had gone blind.

Shirone thought: ‘I can’t see.’

Sound mages collected all kinds of sounds from the world, and among them, the Banshee was a winged humanoid monster from high-altitude regions that emitted a special high-frequency sound to blind its prey before devouring them.

Shirone thought: ‘I can’t pinpoint her location.’

His eyes were useless, and the reverberations of the sound waves made it difficult to grasp spatial awareness with his Spirit Zone.

In reality, Shirone had lost over 90% of his senses.

Marsha reached out toward Shirone’s ears.

At this distance, a direct hit from a Sonic Cannon would stop his brain functions before he could even feel the pain.

Marsha thought: ‘Farewell, Shirone.’

The moment Marsha’s Spirit Zone touched Shirone’s face, his brow furrowed deeply.

Then, his Spirit Zone began to emit a golden light, as if it were about to explode.

Marsha thought: ‘What’s this?!’

Marsha hastily retreated as a violent curtain of light expanded, pushing away all the equipment in the room.

Marsha thought: ‘A defensive spell?’

The speed at which the objects were pushed away showed just how fast the expansion was.

Meanwhile, the Banshee’s scream continued to echo, forcing Shirone to devise another plan.

Shirone thought: ‘The enemy’s location is…’

Shirone activated a laser spell and quickly rotated it, pinpointing Marsha’s location.

It was an improvised use of the Laser Radar spell, a spell that clearly existed.

Shirone thought: ‘There!’

As Shirone turned his body precisely, Marsha hastily leaped behind a desk.

Marsha thought: ‘Sonar and lasers…’

Both were excellent detection spells, but in close quarters with obstructed vision, sonar had the advantage.

Marsha thought: ‘He shouldn’t be able to find me.’

Marsha used sonar to check Shirone’s condition.

When she confirmed that he was aiming a Photon Cannon directly at her, her heart sank.

Marsha thought: ‘He shouldn’t be able to see, though?’

The Banshee’s scream was still echoing in the confined room. How had he found her?

Marsha thought: ‘Could it be…?’

Marsha recalled the laser sweeping through the room.

Marsha realized: ‘…He disrupted the sound.’

The Banshee’s scream was a phenomenon created by a special high-frequency sound. If the sound waves were even slightly disrupted, the effect would vanish.

In other words, Shirone was now watching her with his own eyes.

Marsha exclaimed: “Damn it!”

As Marsha leaped like a flying squirrel, a Photon Cannon exploded.

BOOM! The sphere of light shattered the wall in front of her.

Freeman’s subordinates clearly had no idea how valuable magic bullets were.

They fired them recklessly, reducing the surrounding forest to a wasteland.

Amy gritted her teeth as she sprinted through the forest.

Amy thought: ‘These lunatics.’

Even as she ran, dozens of magic bullets whizzed past her, exploding all around.

Amy hid behind a rock and calculated the trajectory to locate the enemy’s position.

Her self-image memory allowed her to pinpoint coordinates accurately, even in chaotic situations.

Amy thought: ‘Two over there.’

Suddenly, Amy emerged from cover and cast Fire Strike toward the far side of the forest.

She fired two shots within a 1-degree angle, and seconds later, screams echoed from the distance.

Amy thought: ‘Got them!’

Without a moment to celebrate, she repositioned herself as dozens of magic bullets struck the rock.

Feeling the intense vibrations through her back, Amy kicked off the ground and fled.

The rock shattered, and explosions followed her path.

Amy panted: “Huff. Huff.”

Hidden in the forest, she steadied her breathing and calculated.

Based on the number of successful snipes, there were likely 5 to 8 enemies left.

Amy thought: ‘Is Freeman among them?’

Amy shook her head.

Given the average skill level of the Parrot Mercenaries, a high-ranking gunner like Freeman could easily dodge a Fire Strike.

Amy thought: ‘To hit Freeman, I’d need faster projectile speed.’

A shout echoed from deep within the forest. The enemies were panicking after losing their comrades.

Enemy shouted: “Damn it! Where are they shooting from? If I catch them, I’ll burn them alive!”

Of course, this was a perfect opportunity for Amy.

Amy thought: ‘Coordinates are…’

Amy’s Spirit Zone extended hundreds of meters, thin and long.

In Sniper Mode, the range of her senses was extremely narrow, but as she rotated her body left and right by 1 degree, she clearly sensed the location of the cursing subordinate.

Amy thought: ‘There.’