Chapter 257: Video Call

Holy crap, she actually did it...mad respect. Sure, I hoped that it was possible, but a big part of me didn't actually expect it to happen... 

"Hate to admit it, but you really are a genius, Eloli." 

"Must you call me that? But yes, I have to say, this one was quite the challenge, more so than any of the other spell suggestions you have given me in the past," She replied with a tired sigh, before adding with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes, "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to sleep for at least two days..."

"Sure, see ya later," I replied, before turning and adding, "So...you're here pretty often, huh, Az?" 

"I, uh...was called over to help with the spell. It really was a complicated one to create," He replied, averting his gaze...I'm willing to bet that that's only half-true. 

"Heh, yeah, when I got the idea, I didn't actually expect it to get made...let's test it out!" I suggested eagerly.

"Okay, sounds good...I may already know how it works, but after putting in that much effort into making it, I want to see it in action." 

"Cool, then I'll head back to my place and activate it, you stay here, since...well, you know," I replied with a suggestive smirk. 

"...please don't start. And fine, that works, so get going," He sighed in response. 

I used a teleportation spell to get back to my place quickly, since I was eager to test out the spell. This spell was a huge upgrade to the Call spell that Elina had created a while ago, it was going to be a massive game changer for sure. 

"Hey, Kuro, welcome back," Greeted Persia, wrapping her arms around me from behind as I sat on the couch. 

"Hey, Kitty Cat, I'm home...I was just about to test out this new spell, wanna see?" I inquired with a grin. 

"Okay...what does it do?" She asked curiously. 

"Heh...you'll see." 

I then ran my Mana through the Spell Scroll...yeah, since this spell is so complex, the Spell Cards were too small, so they had to use Spell Scrolls to create it instead. As I activated it, a square barrier formed around Persia and I, the walls kept anyone outside the barrier from seeing inside. And on the inside, the wall right in front of me was reflective, like a mirror. 

However, it didn't reflect me...let me explain what this spell does, just like the Call spell, when one side runs Mana through the spell parchment, the other spell that's linked to this one starts vibrating, and the two are connected when the second one is picked up by the user and they run their Mana through it. When they do, a barrier just like the one around me appears around them too. 

In other words, Az was currently inside an identical barrier to the one Persia and I were in. Now, the two barriers are linked, and the front wall of both are reflective...the both take in the reflection of the person or people in front of them...and then reflect them in the opposite barrier. To put it simply, Persia's and my reflections were visible to Az, and Az's reflection was visible to us. 

So, yeah...video calls had just been invented, since transmitting sound had already been invented with the regular Call spell. And now, transmitting video was also possible. I came up with the idea while thinking about watching anime, since I spend most of the three months during which I was comatose watching anime from my old memories...and then I thought, what if the concept of mirrors and reflections were implemented into a spell? 

This could possibly give us a counter against Belia's Observation Magic too, hopefully...though we have no way to prove whether or not she can use it to view the inside of the barrier...either way, this spell is gonna be huge...not just with Adventurers, but with civilians too. The Call spell is fairly popular among regular citizens, so this should be even more popular. 

"Huh...this is pretty surreal, I can see you two clearly. Can you hear me?" Remarked Az, looking a bit awestruck...even though he'd been one of the two who made this spell. 

But I guess it's not surprising, even black and white TVs were revolutionary, and this spell transmits the image of the person you're contacting so clearly that it looks like a 4K Ultra-HD display. This is fucking amazing! 

"Yup, we can hear, and see, you perfectly well," I replied with a grin. 

"Wow, this is incredible...it's almost like you're right here in front of us," Added Persia, her tail swaying as she looked on with fascination. 

"This is definitely the most difficult spell I've ever worked on, but now that I'm actually using it, I feel like it was worth the effort," He replied, looking like he was still having trouble believing it. 

"That's right, you played a direct and significant hand in making this spell, you're probably gonna be in the history books for future generations!" I laughed teasingly. 

"You'll probably be mentioned more than I will in future history books," He countered with a stifled yawn. 

"Yeah, that's true, I guess...anyway, you look pretty exhausted, man, get some rest, you've earned it."

"Huh, this might be first time I've been told to get more rest...usually people complain that I rest too much." 

"Because you used to be, well, lazier. Wait a sec...the word lazy...can't be spelt without Az!" I suddenly realized. 

"Wha-...oh, you're right."

"Woah, I just realized!" Persia exclaimed, sitting up with a start, "If you rearrange the letters that spell Azyl...you get lazy!" 

Holy crap, she's right. 

"...I, uh, think I need to go have a talk with my parents," Groaned Az, after his eyes widened for a moment. 

"Do you think it was intentional?" She asked, stifling a laugh. 

"That's what I want to find out...well, I'll see you two later," He replied with a sigh, before stopping and adding hesitantly, "Actually, Kuro...I'd like to ask a favor."

"Dude, why so formal? Just ask." 

"Right, well it's just...after this last battle, I think I need to get stronger. So, you know...mind training with me?" He asked awkwardly. 

Huh? What did he just say? 

"W-woah...did I just hear that right...Az, you're actually voluntarily suggesting training...in the past, we practically had to force you to join in during training sessions...aw, man, I'm getting all emotional, it's like you're growing up right before my eyes-."

"Sh-shut up, stop acting like this is such a big deal! Anyway, I'm going now, I'll contact you later about when and where, okay?" He replied while averting his gaze in embarrassment, before cutting the call. 

"That was...pretty surprising, huh?" Remarked Persia, after a brief moment of silence. 

"Yeah, no kidding...but it also says a lot, the fact that he came to the conclusion that he's not strong enough after fighting Belia. Even I couldn't kill her for good despite being at full-power and aiming to kill with every single strike...but she's not unbeatable, we just need to force her to use up her Divine Magic and she'll cease to exist...the problem is, exactly how much Divine Magic does she have left?" I muttered with a frown. 

I knew from the start that defeating her was never going to be easy...after all, she's a being that's been around for over fifteen centuries, her level of experience and knowledge was likely far beyond what any of us could even fathom...whatever her next plan is, I have little doubt that she's already set it into motion... 

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Point-of-View: Belia Lasmodeus

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"Where are we!? Who are you people!?" Exclaimed the blonde-haired man, reaching for his sword warily. 

"We mean you no harm, please be at ease," Remarked Aguil, stepping forward with a smile, "Allow me to explain and answer your questions..."

The story that we were going with was that the Rustlands is a nation that's being controlled by an evil being, referring to Kuro of course, and they oppressed Silvland, killed all their Adventurers and then set monsters loose inside the walls. And after that, Kuro did the same to Platinberg and took over the nation for himself. 

Because of all that, myself and the four 'Angels' descended in order to keep Silvland from being wiped out. That's the story I'd told Aguil to give the summons. 

When I first explained the plan to summon warriors from another world, the Silvland idiots had been skeptical, so to convince them, I said something along the lines of...'we should kill the heathens with heathens of our own, we pretend to hold them in high esteem to convince them to work for us, and then we just let the heathens kill each other off' or something like that. 

And it worked like a charm, they were creepily excited and enthusiastic about the whole idea after I put it that way. Basically, whenever I stroked their egos by bringing up the 'fact' that they're special just because they believe that something as ludicrous as 'God' exists. Divine beings do exist, of course, but there's no such thing as an all-powerful omnipotent being that can do absolutely anything it wants to. 

Samsara is probably the closest thing to a 'God' from all the beings linked to this particular world, and just look at him now, he barely has enough power left to continue overseeing the process of reincarnation. 

Anyway, as Aguil finished pleading his case to the six that I'd summoned, they began muttering amongst themselves with skeptical and uncertain looks on their faces...I better take matters into my own hands and handle this myself, humility and diplomacy isn't exactly the strong suit of the Silvland representatives. I stepped forward and cleared my throat... 

"I understand that you are all understandably indignant at being summoned so abruptly, I do apologize as I am the one who cast the spell, but I would not have done so if our situation was not so dire...if I may, I would like to talk to all of you in private," I said to the blonde man, who appeared to be the leader. 

"Hm...fine, I guess we might as well hear you out," He replied, after briefly making eye contact with the other five. 

Impressive, he's clearly a leader with the respect of his team...I can't wait to make them my pawns in this game of chaos... 

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