Ascension Of The Failed Mage

Chapter 46 The Rebound Effect [Pt 2]

?"You know what I mean! Escape... how did you escape?" The man in the shadows respondedv impatiently.

It made no literal sense. Noir's abilities had just been analyzed. He shouldn't have been able to nullify that Magic, and yet—!!!

"It's simple, actually. You underestimated my abilities," Noir answered smoothly, drawing closer to the shadowy figure.

"That's impossible. I made sure to gauge you accordingly. I left no margin for error!"

"Exactly. While it's true you analyzed and discovered the limits of my abilities, you never considered it within the realm of possibility that the 'Noir' you saw might not be all the Noir there is."

The man in the shadows was quiet. He was probably just confused by what he heard.

"Simply put... I am much more than I was a few minutes ago when I was facing you."

"How did you, or rather, when did you realize it was a dream?" The malefactor asked, trying his best to maintain his strong, charismatic personality.

"You're quite a curious mastermind, but fine... I'll tell you," Noir replied nonchalantly.

"I always knew. I even knew when the whole thing started."

"That can't be true. I made sure to..." The man tried talking.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Immediately I won the battle against your Doll—Morbius—and gazed into that eyeball... the Spell was immediately activated, thus putting me to sleep."

This discovery was spot on! But, how could it have been possible? Noir had already been observed after the incident, and his dream dictated he was none the wiser.

"Before I slept, however, I said those words to you. That I would see you soon. It was because I had already realized what was happening."

"But you were unaware of the entire dream until you came to the realization." The man argued.

"Yep, that's just because little old Noir's processing ability, or rather, all of his abilities, have been greatly nerfed thanks to [REBOUND]."

Upon hearing this new and completely novel description or name, the man in fear and shock and no choice but to ask.

"RE... BOUND?"

There was silence for a short while. No one spoke, they just stared at each other. Noir broke the silence by smiling, and then laughing.

"Ow, my jaw. It hurts. Must have been a long while since I really laughed like this. Hehe."

"Is that all you can say in this situation? You're facing off with the mastermind of this entire game. I would expect you to be a bit more cautious. Do you mock me?" The man responded, cautious rage boiling in his brightly lit eyes.

"It's interesting how you still use darkness to cover yourself in this place when you never expected me to make it this far... or so you wanted me to think. You must think of yourself as a clever one, but I'll tell you this... I am vastly superior." Noir's voice calmly echoed as he began advancing closer to the man.

"Y-you sure about that?"

Noir simply shrugged, unrelenting in his approach.

"Well, there is one thing I am sure of concerning you... You're not 'him'. You're just another Doll, most likely with already-imputed thought patterns and algorithms, making your responses sound very human-like. But... they are just pre-programmed ideas and thoughts. Even your expressions right now... Sigh, how pitiful." Noir said slowly, his azure eyes glowing in the darkness.

"W-what the hell are you talking about?"

"Hmmn, then let's try this... PIG. GOAT. BANANA. CRICKET." A simple statement was made.

The man to whom the words were directed made no response.

"Oh? What about. BLIND. WHITE. MONKEY. PAST. WHEAT." Noir continued.

The man remained silent.

"See what I mean? Did you get any of that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" The man, now being revealed to be a Doll, responded.

"Such obvious tricks. That was the exact same response you gave me ten seconds ago. There's just no helping your Logic Circuit."

The man fell silent once again.

"I see. There's no program for this kind of response, huh? Pity. I'm sure there's some sort of Magic Circuit that links you to whoever made you. But, unlike other puppets, since you are autonomous, I'm sure the link only goes one way. That is, the transfer of all information experienced by you to the mastermind."

"Seems you got it all figured out, don't you?" The man suddenly spoke in a much more malevolent tone.

It could only mean one thing!

Suddenly, light shone in the room, and there it was... the humanoid doll acting as the mastermind.

The room was filled with various materials used for experimenting and data analysis. It looked like a small part of a much larger workshop.

"I guess this is where the guy does his dirty work," Noir whistled slightly, taking a good look around him.

"I made this Pre-Recorded message, just in case you made it this far. To be honest, I highly doubted that, but you keep surprising me, Sir Noir. This however, is where we say our farewell. When we next meet... I'll face you seriously, and then I'll have what I want." A warped voice came from the Doll.

Noir ceased his playful expression and seriously stared at the doll in front of him.

"You might ask... 'why is this person so interested in me?' Don't worry, you'll know soon enough." The voice buzzed and cackled, before finally ending.

Noir sighed, shaking his head in response to all he had heard. His target was definitely extremely elusive.

"Beep. Beep. Beep." The Doll started sounding, showing its impending self-destruction.

"Predictable," He instantly murmured.

As the doll approached its self-destruction, the only human around—Noir—didn't appear fazed. In fact, he seemed to be deep in analysis.

"I won't let it end like this and play this game on your own terms." He confidently began to move toward he Doll.

He touched its overheated body which sizzled as it made contact with Noir's skin, but the man—if he could even be called that, at this point—remained unfazed.

"[Null]: [Stage 2: BREAK]"

Suddenly, the beeping sound stopped, and the heat cooled down.

'Not yet...' His hands were still on the unconscious doll, and something else appeared within his mind.

"[Null]: [Stage 3: BEND]"

Suddenly, the Doll glowed, and then a Red Magic Circle appeared. A gust of wind blew, and the red light shone brighter and brighter.

"I told you already..."

Suddenly, Noir vanished with the ever-growing light, leaving the Doll, the entire facility, and dust behind.

"... I'll be seeing you soon."