Lunia walked through the chaotic battlefield, holding the tilted scales.
Strangely, no one hindered her. The devils seemed oblivious to her presence.
She exited the building and headed towards the house where she had set up the rune.
Still, she encountered no interference, except for one individual who spotted her.
Elodie was a high-performing mage capable of excelling anywhere, but there was one thing she couldn't do:
Control her strength.
Although she could now manage her power to some extent using the armlet, its principle involved consuming a portion of Elodie's mana for purposes other than the intended magic.
This weakened the power of her magic by reducing the amount of mana she initially channeled. However, the same amount of mana was used as if she were casting a full-powered spell, it was just released as smoke.
Aster and his companions, who were unsure of the devils' full strength, didn't want Elodie's mana to be wasted in such a way.
Therefore, Elodie was tasked with capturing the devils fleeing outside.
"Oh, it's Lunia. Why did you come out alone?"
Elodie, who had been searching for a devil floating in the air, tilted her head in confusion when she saw Lunia exiting the building instead.
She was relieved to learn that Lunia had been rescued, but it was unsettling to see her moving alone. Lunia was an even purer mage than Elodie.
However, her relief was short-lived as her face contorted upon seeing the scale-shaped mana cluster in Lunia's hand.
"She's doing it again..."
The strange energy emanating from the scales...
Elodie briefly considered stopping Lunia but decided against it. It was already impossible to intervene.
'If she really reaches the divine rank by doing that, it'll be a big problem...'
The model for the scales Lunia held was undoubtedly Dike, the God symbolizing justice and balance.
Lunia was currently holding scales named after a similar item belonging to a God.
However, this in itself wasn't uncommon.
Even people other than Lunia often named things in this way, even non-mages.
In this world where Gods existed, tracing their origins and models to create imitations was something anyone could attempt.
It was common practice for blacksmiths to enhance the power of steel by feeding it the blood of other monsters, similar to the "Gram" said to contain dragon blood. ꞦÀＮộ𝖇Ę𝐒
Such completed weapons were often given similar names, like "Ingram."
'Giving a name imbues existence with meaning. In the case of magic constructs like Lunia's, the name holds significant meaning as it clarifies the direction and purpose of the magic.'
The scales Lunia was holding had nothing to do with the actual Scales of Dike.
Lunia had studied and learned from myths, explored the effects of items, and combined magic formulas to produce similar effects.
In other words, she wasn't replicating a God's item like Frondier's weaving or doing anything disrespectful like arbitrarily adding, removing, or altering things.
She had simply studied and learned from the myths, with no connection to the real items existing in those myths. It was something anyone could do.
It was like trying to recreate a similar taste after trying someone else's dish, through research and experimentation.
The problem with Lunia was that her talent was too exceptional.
She couldn't manifest destructive magic like Elodie, capable of altering the entire battlefield.
She lacked the necessary mana, and it was impossible to implement complex formulas with just her bare hands.
Instead, Lunia was unmatched in the delicate control of mana. The mana, manipulated like fine threads or tiny dust particles under her hands, made the effects of her magic incredibly 'precise.'
So, what would happen if she used a rune, named it after a God, and strived to replicate the effects of a God's item, not just by imitating it but by 'twisting' it slightly?
'It's not yet at the level of a divine effect, but it seems to be getting stronger every time I see it.'
The scales Lunia held, which Elodie could sense with her mana, no longer seemed easy to deal with.
Of course, it was still far from the real scales known as the divine scales, but if Lunia continued to improve, she might actually approach that level.
If magic that had no connection to the actual scales, but was merely inspired by them, became a viable substitute for a God's item...
That might be even more blasphemous than simply replicating it.
-...Rudra. What do you think?
Elodie called out the name of the God she was closest to among her own Gods.
-Is there a chance that Lunia's magic will cause the Gods to harm her?
Even as she asked, Elodie wasn't sure if she would get an answer.
Although she was close to Rudra, Gods were generally capricious and only intervened when they felt like it. At least, that had been Elodie's experience with all of them.
However, this time, it seemed Rudra was in the mood to respond.
Rudra seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.
-If it were me, I'd leave her alone. It would be amazing if she could mimic my storm. I like seeing humans put in effort. Whether it ultimately becomes a storm, a wave, or anything else, if she can surpass my power by using me as a reference, I'm fine with it.
It was hard to imagine, but if humans could freely wield Rudra's 'true' storm, it would be a walking disaster.
It wouldn't be a matter of Rudra's feelings being hurt; humans would be the ones who needed to worry.
The walking disaster then asked again.
-You saying you'd do that means other Gods might react differently?
-I can't know the personalities of all the other Gods. Dike is the God of justice, right? Whether she'd see a human using an imitation of her item as 'just' is uncertain. Plus, it's not an exact replica, and the effects have been altered to her liking. That's up to interpretation.
Dike might not be as magnanimous as Rudra. This would be especially true if it went against her sense of justice.
Suddenly, something occurred to Elodie.
-Then, does that mean the divine weapons Frondier creates might also be overlooked by some Gods...
Rudra interrupted her, which was unusual.