White Jackal.
He was a veteran Hero, close to retirement the last time I heard about him. His Ego was straightforward yet devastating.
Weapon Telekinesis.
To put it simply, it allowed him to control and manipulate anything that had the intent, design, and comprehensive shape of a weapon. No matter the object and their material.
It was hypothesized that with enough mental training, he could perceive anything as a weapon.
But as of the latest information, that remained mere speculation and nothing more.
The restriction to only weapons for his telekinesis also brought great benefits, however. The freedom and intensity of the telekinesis that his Ego provided were unmatched.
There was one recorded case where he sent a weapon to a district on another continent and called it back to him.
These giant weapons here brought him to mind. His arsenal was far more varied and bountiful, though.
But the idea was similar.
I wanted to see if I could replicate the inner workings of Weapon Telekinesis, simply by using magic circles and Demonic Essence.
"This sounds absurd.... Me having the idea and confidence to replicate a power I deemed unattainable back then, heh."
I mumbled it excitedly, grinning wide.
And of course, just as I began thinking for an assistance at understanding 'magic circuit', one of the fundamentals of creating a magic circle formation, Eli attentively come to the rescue.
『 Magic circuits are engraved language that bestows the will of the creator. Any method to convey function and purpose is valid, as long as the language holds the intended meaning and intention of the engraver, which will then be empowered by Demonic Essence to manifest in reality.
In Demon's case, we commonly use Yuthark for magic circuits, known as Universal Runes. You have seen them in demonic literature and even ordinary writing. 』
So that was the name of the runes that they used.
『 Of course, there is no rule limiting you to Yuthark alone. 』
I recalled the circles I had examined.
Hayja's demonization magic circle formation and Koil's teleportation scroll both used multiple concentric loops with separate circuits. They activated together when Demonic Essence entered into any of the starting points, or so I assumed from the magic circle on the teleportation scroll.
Do I need to make mine with layered circles like that? It seems that the effect would be weaker since they share the same injection point.
Plus needing a dedicated circle to harmonize them all, sounds like an extra chore.
『 It might appear less efficient in raw output, but the design lowers the minimum Demonic Essence required to activate the whole set. It also provides flexibility, letting various types of Demonic Essence trigger it. 』
I expected the lower requirement part, but the flexibility surprised me.
『 Not only that, my dear. Layered concentric circles further enable creation of more complex spells. 』
The teleportation scroll had twelve concentric layers, with each of them having more than five and up to twenty magic circuits for each layer alone. That showed just how intricate teleportation spe;; was.
But Hayja's demonization circle had something different.
Some magic circuits formed smaller complete circles within, where each circles had their own set of magic circuits.
What about those? Where a circuit is another magic circle.
『 Those are called 'magic nodes'. They follow the same principle of layered concentric circles for added complexity, but demand higher Demonic Essence to activate. Unlike concentric layers, nodes preserve full efficiency of each circuit.
They suits a specialized spells, like the demonization rituals you experienced 』
"Huh, that is a good thing to know."
Still, now that my comprehension inconfidence had been tackled, the initial issue still remain.
These giant weapons already carried their own magic circle formations. Adding new engravings would require removing the originals. Removing them meant losing the chance to uncover the full interconnected machination when everything combined.
Yet, seeing that the magic circle didn't cover the entire blade, especially the edges—a grin began to shape on my face.
"Does a magic circle always have to be a perfect round, closed, two-dimensional shape with no corners or edges?"
『 The reason why a circle is preferred is due to its lack of friction when flowing the Demonic Essence into its completion. An imperfect route with rough lines and corners might result in instability and higher requirement of flexibility, which is not all Demonic Essences have~
In your case, the Demonic Essence that resides in your heart possesses a great malleability in exchange of pure output. Of course, that can be fixed by creating a stronger magic circle and having denser Demonic Essence. 』
I should also assume that it was more comfortable and faster to simply draw a circle and evolve from there. The same goes for activation.
In a sense, 'magic circle' might be their modernized method after utilizing all sorts of shapes of magic formation in their magicraft. Just like how humanity began to prefer using long-range weaponry at certain points in history, due to the decrease in confrontation and friction of directly taking another human life.
Though that would change completely when the Ego phenomenon emerged.
In the end, all process of filtration toward efficiency stems from a simple, logical reasoning.
"If the Cosmic Savant says so, I will do it."
I started engraving on the edges of one giant sword, the blank spaces not occupied by the original formation.
And since this entire thing was an experiment, I used plain human language with the Latin alphabet instead of Yuthark.
Starting from the first to the last in clockwise motions, the magic circuits were as follows—
< The physical vessel bearing this inscription shall obey the following commandments without exception. >
< The will of the entity connecting Demonic Essence to the initial inscription shall be followed precisely. >
< The vessel bearing this inscription shall defy gravity's hold when will is imposed upon it. >
< The vessel shall proceed to the direction and position designated by the connected will. >
< The vessel shall maintain its inherent weight and generated momentum for every will imparted. >
After an intense session of engraving the magic circuits using Demonic Essence, I drew connecting lines outside the words, forming a closed loop.
"Nyeh, anything more than these might be overusing my Demonic Essence."
I could try using a better structure but that would be too much work and stress for a newbie like me.
In theory, it should qualify as a magic circle.
I collapsed to the ground afterward, breathing heavily, sweat dripping everywhere. As if I had sprinted a full marathon.
I stared at my crude creation on the blade side.
"Did I do it?"
It was just imitating the style from the teleportation scroll circuits. Obviously, mine was far rougher and unorthodox. Single loop, not circular, engraved with the alphabet—likely unheard of here, heh.
『 It is crude. But it qualifies as a magic circle in essence. Whether the spell functions... only infusing Demonic Essence will reveal. 』
"Yeah, no. I can't barely move my Demonic Essence to my current state. I'll do it later," I bitterly laughed. "Demonic Essence is no joke."
『 Since you engraved it with your own Demonic Essence during the process, activation requirements should be lighter for you. 』
I meditated another hour, refining my Demonic Essence further, before attempting to connect with my first ever magic circle.
It was time to find out.
I connected to my new formation. It accepted the injection quite fast—probably the simple design also helped.
"Now to activate."
I infused Demonic Essence along the loop, through each circuit in sequence, back to start.
It was just as Eli said, the non-circle shape made it harder to follow the route of activation. If not for the innate malleability of my Demonic Essence, I might have failed several times already.
After the successful activation, the engravings glowed faintly.
Joy swept away the weary despair of mediocrity, ascending my fool's gold spirit into a greater authority.
"Arise."
I commanded the giant sword to rise, unplanting itself from the ground.
It obeyed, soil shifted as roots of metal pulled free. Then it floated slowly, hovering in front of me.
『 Oh my. 』
Tears started to streak through my cheek, the single eye to witness any kind of supernatural achievement that I had been wishing from the bottom of my heart.
A great power of my own, something that I could use to shape the world I envisioned—the dream no longer cowering, a hope manifested.
"Well, this is only the beginning."