A blinding light filled Lloyd's vision… But this time, the pain never came.
Had he died too quickly to feel it?
No. That wasn't it.
Lloyd's eyes opened slowly. Somehow, against all logic, he was still alive.
"What..." Reinhart's eyes widened, confusion twisting his face. "That's impossible… You took years to awaken your grimoire! How the hell are you using magic now?"
Lloyd glanced down at his hand. His arms were still extended, and a mark glowed faintly on the back of one.
The tattoo had changed—the simple line was now an eye, glowing bright violet.
"Did I... just use magic?"
"Maybe it's because I pushed you to a life-or-death situation..." Reinhart muttered, half to himself.
The redhead still didn't see Lloyd as a threat. He was stronger by far—Lloyd was just an anomaly in his worldview. A puzzle, not a danger.
That worked in Lloyd's favor.
He took a slow, deep breath, pushing aside pointless thoughts, focusing on just one thing: that strange, intangible feeling from before.
"Let's think this through. I reincarnated as Lloyd Noir—the useless son of a wealthy bourgeois, who awakened a defective grimoire."
"He only got into Eldrich Academy because of his family's influence, not his talent. Nobody respected him."
"But Reinhart turned back time after Lloyd almost killed him… That means he can't actually be useless."
"His grimoire was labeled defective because of its name: 'Nothing.' But maybe that's the point. Maybe its magic is about that very concept."
"He said magic was all about imagination, right? Good. I've got plenty of that. If my grimoire is 'Nothing,' then maybe I can nullify things—erase them. Not that I can probably just blink Reinhart out of existence, though."
Lloyd focused, trying to recall that sensation again—the invisible energy that surged through him just moments ago, shooting out of his hands.
He was sure it was the same power that had healed him before. Something beyond words.
"If my power is nothingness… can I shape it? No, absence isn't something you can measure… or maybe you can."
"Okay, simplify. In math, nothing would be zero, right? No—here, that doesn't fit. I erased something, so maybe it's more like negative… a minus."
"Yeah, it's like a negative symbol. If there's a five, my grimoire creates a -5 and cancels it out."
"That makes sense. From what I know about grimoires, they create tools to embody their concept. Like, someone with a grimoire of 'Destruction' could manifest ways to destroy."
"I can't just erase Reinhart—not even sure I can mess with his memories. I need some way to fight back."
"If I use '-' times '-' equals '+', maybe there's something there. Like, if I cancel out a state of 'nonexistence' from something 'unreal'—I could create something. The inverse process."
"Though let's be honest, with my experience, that's like trying to paint the Mona Lisa with stick figures."
"I have to simplify more… I don't need to create something, just the effect. Yeah—that's it. An effect without a cause."
In just a few seconds, Lloyd had formed an idea—and started acting on it.
The feeling didn't come from his grimoire exactly—it welled up from deep inside him, from his chest outward. Slowly, he rekindled that energy, guiding it into his arms.
He didn't overthink it. He just pushed that force forward, picturing the shockwaves Reinhart had unleashed.
"Trying something?" the redhead sneered.
Too late.
"Eat this!" Lloyd shouted.
A wild, unstable surge of power exploded from his fingertips. The invisible blast was so strong the recoil sent him crashing backward through the door.
"Pathetic." Reinhart merely flicked his glowing sword, effortlessly redirecting the blast into a nearby column. "Did you really think you could beat me with that crap? Don't make me laugh."
A mocking smirk spread across his face. Lloyd groaned, clutching his head; he'd taken more damage than Reinhart.
A wave of exhaustion hit him—apparently, using a grimoire wasn't free.
"Any last words?" Reinhart asked, pointing his sword of light at him.
His cold gaze locked onto Lloyd's, sending a chill down his spine.
"Am I really going out like this?" Lloyd thought bitterly.
Then a crack echoed through the air.
Lloyd's eyes snapped open. Reinhart's reckless attacks had torn through the structure. There was no way this old factory could withstand that.
It was about to come down.
"'Nothing,' huh? Guess that suits someone like you," Reinhart mocked, oblivious to what was about to happen.
Lloyd smiled faintly. With one last push, he blasted the air from his palms and shot upward.
"Still trying to run? Fine, I'll—"
But Reinhart never finished his sentence.
Because in the next instant, the entire factory collapsed on top of him.