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 180. Confrontation 1

“…Impressive.”

As Liliana’s magic activated flawlessly, halting the soldiers in their tracks, Hermes quietly expressed his admiration.

Her magic—[Stardust Inferius].

Its effect was as plain as day: granting a specific magical ability to all allies within its domain.

Though its form differed, it was undeniably a limited realization of her wish:

“For everyone to wield magic with true purpose.”

Even for him, who assisted in its development, the final form turned out undeniably beautiful.

…That said, it was far from perfect.

She could only use one spell at a time, and switching spells took precious moments. Most notably, its energy consumption was abysmal.

Even Hermes could only manage so much within the two-day development period—a first attempt at bringing someone else’s wish to life. Still, creating something functional at all was a success.

For now, these flaws could be addressed as future challenges.

More importantly…

Thanks to her magic, one of their greatest weaknesses—an overwhelming disparity in numbers—was overcome, enabling them to stall a massive army with a small force.

The current battlefield, at least for the moment, stood at a stalemate.

Liliana’s magic had forced their opponents into caution, preventing rash moves. Of course, this wouldn’t last long. Hermes was acutely aware of the high cost of her magic, knowing the domain could only hold for minutes at best.

Still, that was enough.

This fight was never meant to be prolonged.

Why? Because their enemies held an overwhelming advantage in information. Liliana’s efforts had created a gap in their foresight, but the larger situation remained under their predictive grasp.

Thus, the goal was clear—a swift and decisive battle.

Allowing no time to respond or strategize, restricting their actions to a single move, and defeating them before they could exploit their full power.

The plan was to settle everything during this fleeting equilibrium.

Thanks to Liliana, they’d successfully initiated the first phase.

From here on, their task was to confront the unstoppable. That is…

“…Well, here they come.”

From the enemy’s ranks emerged a young man and woman wielding swords.

Lucius and Nina—predictably, the siblings of the Frodaite family came to disrupt the balance.

Hermes muttered as he watched them approach.

From now on, with the armies held in check by Liliana’s efforts, the battle would shift to individual clashes—their bloodline sorcerers.

Nina, Lucius, and far behind them, the smiling Archbishop Johann.

It would be their responsibility to defeat them.

Resolutely, Hermes turned to the mages waiting behind him.

“—As planned. The Duke will oversee the battlefield and provide overall directives.”

“Understood. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.”

“Albert, support Lily-sama. She’ll be their prime target.”

“Got it. I’ll protect her no matter what.”

He called on the two responsible for maintaining the situation. Their dependable replies reassured him that they’d buy as much time as possible.

Next, Hermes addressed the remaining two—Katia and Sara.

“—Just as we discussed before. Let’s move out.”

“Understood.”

“Yes!”

Their mission was to break through Nina and Lucius and bring the blade to Archbishop Johann.

This task would be carried out by the three of them, following the plan discussed two days prior. Together, Hermes, Katia, and Sara launched forward.

◆

The first to charge toward Liliana, the domain’s ruler, was Lucius.

With extraordinary physical capabilities fueled by his highly refined bloodline magic, he leapt straight into Liliana’s range—

“…Hmph.”

—Only to be intercepted by a shadow.

Recognizing the figure, he called out in mild surprise.

“You? How unexpected.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

The woman, Katia, responded with a calm, dignified expression.

Even here, her graceful demeanor remained captivating, prompting Lucius to stand straighter out of respect. He understood the decorum of war.

“Not at all. To cross blades with the renowned Lady of Trakia is an honor. However—”

Lucius continued, his tone and aura exuding the confidence of one who fully grasped and embraced his own power.

“This is a battlefield. Ordinarily, raising my hand against a lady would be unthinkable for a knight. But here and now, I set that principle aside. …Are you prepared, Katia-sama?”

His words carried a clear implication.

Lucius had aimed to face Hermes, a worthy opponent for his strength. In his eyes, Katia was not yet a match for him but merely a noblewoman. To put it bluntly, she was not strong enough.

While courteous and respectful, he made no attempt to hide the harsh truth.

Understanding this fully, Katia laughed softly.

“…Heh.”

There was no denying it.

The man before her was an opponent even Hermes might not be able to defeat. For her, he was far beyond reach.

Even Hermes had given her a simple role: stall him. He had no expectation of her victory, and she appreciated his cold, realistic approach.

Still…

Katia had her pride, her resolve, and something she wanted to express.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m here fully understanding and accepting everything.”

With that, she began her incantation. Activating her magic, [Soteira Trivia], she summoned shades from the underworld one after another.

Fueled by her determination, her magic reached its full potential, driven by her admiration, her desire to catch up—

—And, though she felt it might be misplaced, another feeling.

“Honestly, I’ve been annoyed for a while.”

With those words, the number and intensity of the summoned spirits surged.

Before Lucius could react, their presence grew even stronger.

“I get it—El has more important things to focus on right now, and this is a critical moment. I know I can’t be selfish and distract him. I really do.”

If anyone from their academy days saw her now, they might’ve realized:

“Oh, this is just like during the interclass competition.”

Yes, she’d always wanted to say it.

“Pay attention to me, too.” She wanted to dote on and be doted on. She envied Liliana immensely. Even the lap pillow incident hadn’t fully satisfied her.

She knew this wasn’t the time or place for such feelings, but they had grown within her nonetheless.

Still, she had learned something important from those experiences. Suppressing those feelings only made them explode in strange ways, as they had during the competition. Instead, she decided to channel them properly—into the battle before her.

Thus, the Queen of the Underworld, commanding an unprecedented number of spirits, declared:

“…I’ll apologize in advance, Lucius.”

With an elegant yet terrifying smile, she added:

“I’m about to take out all my frustrations on you. …Are you ready for this?”

Lucius, sensing her formidable presence, broke into a cold sweat. Yet, with genuine respect, he smiled back.

“I see. Then I owe you an apology. …You are indeed a formidable opponent.”

With unwavering resolve, he raised his sword as countless spirits surged toward him.

And so, the first confrontation began—a clash worthy of the fiercest warriors, marking the start of a pivotal battle.