A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 123.1. Imitation

At the same time, in front of the barrier surrounding the school building, Katia widened her eyes.

“What… is this?”

The school defense battle centered around her had been going relatively well.

The attacking monsters were undeniably strong, and the battle had intensified even more than before — yet, the morale and abilities of her allies were exceptionally high, managing to barely hold the line.

But at that moment, something completely unexpected happened.

The bat-like monsters that had been flying around suddenly swarmed the larger monsters nearby,

and then, as if engulfing them in blackness, they transformed into something grotesque — black, bell-shaped creatures with eyes all over them. And not just one, but several.

It didn’t immediately affect the front lines.

The defense wasn’t broken.

However, the sheer eeriness of the scene was enough to shake the students’ morale.

“Calm down!”

If this continued, the fragile line they were holding would collapse.

Sensing this, Katia raised her voice to steady them, thinking at the same time… why had this phenomenon occurred?

The cause, naturally, was clear to her.

It didn’t take long for Katia to figure it out — she glanced momentarily in the direction her servant had gone and muttered,

“I don’t know what happened, but… I’m counting on you, Herm…!”

With the certainty that an intense battle was happening or would soon happen there,

Katia turned her focus back to the battlefield.

◆

“……”

The black monster was born from the bats consuming Clyde.

Its body writhing grotesquely, Hermes watched it closely without averting his gaze.

Now, how will it attack?

As soon as he thought that, it froze.

The tentacles extending from its sides suddenly flickered.

“!”

Following his instincts, he leaped backward.

A split second later, a tremendous crash echoed from where he had just been standing.

Cold sweat ran down his back as he looked — and, just as he thought, the ground had caved in where the elongated arms clung to it.

It was an attack as expected from its appearance, but… its speed was far beyond his estimation.

Even just that could pose a threat greater than the dragon he had just defeated in one strike.

While analyzing this, Hermes called out to the girl beside him.

“Sara-sama. Did you see that last attack?”

“…I’m sorry. I could barely keep up with its shadow.”

“I understand. Please step back and support us with the barrier as much as you can.”

He wasn’t able to finish outlining his strategy.

Because from another tentacle of the black monster, a sudden, massive wave of searing heat emerged.

(Magic──!)

It was a force comparable to Bloodline Magic.

Sensing that, the flames were released without hesitation.

He managed to counter it with his sword of violet flame. He succeeded in neutralizing the attack, but the unexpected power left his hand slightly numb.

However, just as Hermes thought this level of attack could be overcome, the sight before him ridiculed that confidence.

“…No way.”

The multiple tentacles of the monster, each one housed a different form of magic.

One held a tiny storm, another emanated frigid cold that warped the air, and another sparked with violent purple lightning.

It was clear at a glance that each of these magics surpassed even the strongest bloodline spells.

Then, all at once, they were unleashed.

“!”

“[Theur Gy]──!”

Realizing he couldn’t defend with his sword alone, Hermes quickly canceled the spell and activated general-purpose reinforcement magic to buy himself a split second.

In that time, Sara cast her own spell. Her Bloodline Magic barrier absorbed the blast after his reinforcement magic was shattered instantly.

Yet, even that barrier cracked in mere seconds.

Hermes swiftly re-summoned [Theur Gy], layering the barriers and barely managing to fend off all the attacks.

“This is… bad.”

“…”

Hermes muttered grimly, Sara beside him wearing a pained expression.

It was overwhelming.

In terms of physical power alone, but more so… the magical abilities.

It didn’t make sense. The bats should only have been capable of magic that shared information. Even if it could handle multiple spells with Clyde’s enhanced magic abilities, there’s no way it should be able to wield such high-level, multi-attribute magic simultaneously.

Something was going on here.

Thinking along those lines, Hermes quickly concluded.

The multiple bat monsters they had encountered before.

The information-sharing magic.

And now, the trait this monster displayed of ‘absorbing others.’

All of these point to one, absurd yet undeniable conclusion: the worst possible scenario.

“Could it be… it’s sharing the magic of the other monsters…?”

His prediction was soon confirmed by what he saw outside.

The bats were consuming other monsters there as well.

And if that were the case, then the situation was dire.

The creature in front of them could theoretically use all the magic of the monsters attacking the school.

Moreover, if that was true, there was no way to counter it.

If its power source lay elsewhere, they couldn’t destroy it. The only possible strategy was to analyze and replicate the bats’ magic to create a jamming spell, but…

(…It’s impossible.)

To do that, they would need to surpass their enemy in either magic output or control.

In his previous fight with Aster, he had greatly outmatched him in both, which allowed him to seize control of Aster’s magic.

But this time, the former was equal, and in the latter, Hermes was likely at a disadvantage. Being a magical creature, the monster wielded its magic with perfection.

The conclusion was clear: there was no way but to fight it head-on.

Just as Hermes reached this realization, another grim sight unfolded before his eyes.

The monster, holding several potent spells in its hands, suddenly seemed to come to a realization.

With a clap, it fused two spells together.

“No──”

It combined fire and wind magic. The result was a flaming storm far more powerful than before, which the monster launched without hesitation in Hermes’ direction.

“Hermes!”

From a distance, Sara quickly raised a barrier.

But the firestorm tore through it easily, engulfing Hermes.

Sara let out a scream, but a moment later, a shadow burst from the flames, landing next to her.

“Hermes! Are you──”

“I’m fine, just minor burns.”

His clothes were slightly singed, and he had a few light burns, but thanks to his quick retreat, he wasn’t seriously hurt.

This could be treated with his own general-purpose magic without needing to use [Ars Paulina].

As he healed his wounds, however, Hermes still wore a grim expression as he looked at the monster.

“…That thing…”