Can you really do that? If I remember correctly, back when we first met, you told me that controlling the main consciousness was impossible for you if they resisted.

From the beginning, the only reason Basker had been able to do so much in Magnus’s mind—like seeing and interacting with the Command Console—was because Magnus had allowed them to integrate with his mind. For anyone else, such integration wouldn’t just be dangerous; it would be impossible. The main consciousness was far harder to manipulate than the subconscious. After all, the former was constantly in use, while the latter handled things most people never gave a second thought.

[That’s true; however, that applies to intelligent beings. Influencing the minds of sentient creatures, like humans, is difficult because they have the self-awareness to catch even minor manipulations. If I attempt anything significant with their main consciousness, they’ll know something’s off and fight back. Their ability to control their own minds surpasses my ability to influence them. That’s why I focus on the subconscious and dreams—areas most intelligent beings never think about or learn to control.]

In simpler terms, Basker relied on mental weakness. If the mind was like a muscle, the main consciousness was constantly being exercised, making it strong and resistant. Meanwhile, the subconscious was neglected, left weak and vulnerable. While Basker couldn’t wrest control of the main consciousness, the subconscious posed no issue. Unfortunately for him, he’d been unlucky enough to face someone like Magnus, who could actively control his mind through the Command Console.

So, because this thing was originally a monster, its main consciousness is weak enough for you to take over?

[Indeed. Even if it’s clever, it still relies heavily on instinct.]

Well, that’s useful. Why haven’t you brought this up before? It sounds like something I could use against monsters or mana beasts.

[Don’t forget, you placed a seal on me, Master. I exist within your mind and act in your best interest unless you say otherwise. I can’t leave your mind without permission. And, as I’ve said before, the risks are incredibly high. I only mentioned this idea because our opponent is functionally immortal.]

In all honesty, Magnus had almost forgotten about the specifics of the seal he’d placed on Basker. The memories only resurfaced once Basker brought them up. That aside, the second point Basker mentioned was something Magnus couldn’t argue with. All his abilities up to this point were the result of him, Basker, and the Command Console working together seamlessly. While Magnus managed the layout and execution of his abilities, it was Basker who served as the foundation that allowed any of it to function in the first place. The human mind, in its natural state, simply couldn’t handle the Command Console efficiently.

It had to be completely tamed, and Basker’s presence made that possible.

If you leave my mind… I might be able to use [Self Body Puppetry] a little, but everything else, aside from the passive loops I’ve already set up in the Command Console, will be impossible.

That meant he wouldn’t be able to use magic.

Using magic required his [Arcane Matrix], which relied on the Mind Simulation Space. While the Simulation Space was run and maintained by the Command Console, it also depended heavily on his memory and visualization skills. The Command Console worked around the limitations of his mind. As long as he could accurately recall something, that memory could be used to form a visualization with the Command Console. Without Basker, however, his memory would revert to being naturally flawed when he went to recall anything. Even though his memory would still be better than most, a single error in recalling the structure of a mana formation could cause the spell to fail even if the execution worked.

And that didn’t even account for how chaotic his mind would become without Basker’s stabilizing influence. His ability to fly would vanish too, leaving him even more vulnerable against the relentless Nullfang.

Dodging yet another one of the Nullfang’s violent aerial charges, Magnus noticed it was getting faster. After narrowly avoiding the attack, he dove straight toward the ground, appearing as if he were about to crash. At the last second, he made a sharp turn, flying just a meter above the earth. The scarred and shattered terrain beneath him served as a stark reminder of how chaotic this battle had become.

As he flew, his mind churned with ideas.

If I need to stay close to the Nullfang for you to pull this off… there’s no way I can do it alone. My body might be tougher now, but from what I’ve seen, its tail when frosted, doesn’t care how tough anything is. Its attacks just cut through.

[In which case, you’ll need to find a way to keep yourself safe until I’m successful.]

Magnus nodded internally.

Exactly what I was thinking.

The next moment, Magnus surged forward, accelerating as he sped toward a specific direction. He stopped the countless visualizations running in his head that had been creating attacks to distract the Nullfang. High above, the Nullfang quickly caught on. The moment it registered Magnus fleeing, it began its pursuit.

At this point, there was no telling what drove the Nullfang to keep fighting. It no longer needed to eat, nor was it truly alive. Perhaps it was anger or some deeply ingrained instinct. Whatever it was, it no longer mattered in its current state. One thing was certain—it wouldn’t stop until Magnus and everyone else were dead.

Which was precisely why Magnus was now heading toward “everyone else” as he flew away from the relentless Nullfang.

A couple of kilometers away from where Magnus had dragged the Nullfang, Mia and the others had regrouped. Magnus’s sudden appearance—and the equally sudden disappearance of the Nullfang—had caught them completely off guard. While his actions had undoubtedly saved Gerald’s life, the group quickly realized what had happened and moved out of the open meadow surrounded by small hills where they’d ambushed the Nullfang. They climbed to the top of one of the hills, where, even from kilometers away, they could still watch the battle unfold by focusing their aura to enhance their vision.

At first, a heated debate broke out about what they should do. Unsurprisingly, Mia and Gerald both wanted to head over and help Magnus.

“We can’t let Magnus take that thing on alone,” Mia muttered, slumping forward before forcing herself upright. She tried to stand properly, but before she could, Marcos placed a firm hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

“No way. You’re not going anywhere in your condition.” Mia frowned and looked up at him, her mouth opening to protest, but before she could get a word out, Gerald cut in.

“He’s right. Mia, you know what overdoing it with your spirit requests does to you. Just leave it to me—I’ll go help the kid.” Gerald rolled his shoulders and glanced in the direction Magnus had disappeared with the Nullfang. His aura started to manifest, swirling faintly around him. But before he could take another step, Marcos spoke again, his tone sharper this time.

“You’re not going anywhere either.” Gerald turned to him, eyes narrowing.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Marcos crossed his arms, meeting Gerald’s confusion with a calm, unyielding expression.

“Do you two seriously not realize the state you’re in? Mia, you can barely stand, and I can’t even imagine what kind of strain your head is under after pushing yourself like that. And you,” he said, turning to Gerald, “I don’t care how tough you think your body is or how much stamina you’ve got. With your Aura Intensity where it is right now, even I could break through it and knock you out. And that’s not even talking about the Nullfang and the freezing effect on its tail.” His voice was low but firm, every word heavy with seriousness.

“If either of you tries to ‘help’ Magnus right now, all you’ll do is get in the way. You don’t need me to tell you that.” The weight of his words settled over the group, silencing both Mia and Gerald. As experienced knights, they couldn’t deny the truth in what he was saying.

They knew better than to act recklessly. Marcos let out a slow sigh, his tone softening slightly.

“I get it. What happened to Galven and Hazel has you both riled up, but don’t let that push you into doing something stupid.” At the mention of those two names, Mia’s face tightened, her hands balling into fists. Gerald’s body tensed, and he let out an irritated grunt. But after a moment, Gerald’s aura began to fade, dissipating completely as he lowered himself to the ground. Mia gave up trying to stand, allowing Marcos to guide her back into a sitting position.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It doesn’t feel right just sitting here while he’s fighting,” Mia muttered under her breath. Despite her low tone, both Gerald and Marcos heard her clearly.

“Agreed,” Gerald replied, his eyes fixed on the distant battle.

“Though, if it’s any consolation, from what I’m seeing, the kid’s on the winning side right now.” His gaze remained locked on the flashes of light and bursts of energy far off in the distance. Even without enhancing their senses, anyone within a couple of kilometers could see the occasional explosions or feel the faint tremors in the ground from the sheer force being unleashed.

Mia glanced toward the battle and saw that Gerald was right—Magnus did seem to have the upper hand, at least for now. It was enough to ease some of her tension, though she couldn’t help but flinch every time Magnus narrowly avoided the Nullfang’s absolute-zero tail or took a hit.

But as the minutes dragged on, something became painfully clear to all three of them. Slowly, both Mia and Gerald began to frown.

“He can’t kill it,” Marcos said, breaking the tense silence. What had initially seemed like a fight leaning in Magnus’s favor had shifted into a stalemate. The Nullfang refused to die, its attacks growing faster and more precise as it adapted. It started predicting Magnus’s moves and learning to counter newly introduced strategies. At some point, it even developed an immunity to Magnus’s primary magic—uncategorized mana construct spells. After that, Magnus was forced onto the defensive, careful not to let the Nullfang adapt to any more of his abilities.

That made the stalemate tilt further, with the Nullfang steadily gaining the upper hand.

“We have to do something. Even if Magnus’s mana reserves are at Master-level, there’s no way he can keep this up,” Mia said, her voice firm. This time, Marcos didn’t argue. She stood, and though she was still far from fully recovered, she had regained enough strength to move without much trouble. Knights, after all, recovered far faster than normal people, and while she wasn’t back to one hundred percent, it was enough. At the same time, Gerald, who hadn't really been injured in the first place but was simply too worn mentally to focus his aura and willpower, seemed better as well as he jumped to his feet.

The time Magnus had spent fighting had given him a chance to refocus his thoughts.

“No more sitting around, then. Let’s hurry up and go help-” Gerald started, but Marcos held up a hand to stop him.

“Wait.”

Gerald turned, irritation flashing across his face.

“Oh, what is it now? I'm telling you I'm fine.” Marcos shook his head, pointing into the distance.

“No, not that. Look—Magnus. He’s stopped fighting the Nullfang… and he’s coming this way?” His words trailed off, ending in a question as confusion set in. Sure enough, Magnus was flying toward them at high speed, effortlessly breaking the sound barrier.

“Huh? Is he retreating?” Gerald asked, tilting his head.

“He probably realized the situation and wants to regroup with us,” Mia replied.

“We should get ready. We’ll need to figure out how to hold off the Nullfang and deal with it together.” In just a few seconds, Magnus closed the distance, his speed defying what should have been possible as he slowed down effortlessly, almost ignoring the laws of momentum. His eyes quickly scanned the ground until he spotted Mia, Gerald, and Marcos atop the hill. Without hesitation, he descended, landing and plopping onto the ground.

“Magnus, are you alright?” Mia asked, her tone filled with concern. Magnus nodded immediately.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You did good holding that thing off as long as you did, kid,” Gerald said, his voice steady with an edge of admiration.

“Honestly, with the number of spells you were pulling off, I’d think you were already a Master-level mage. But don’t worry—we’ve got your back. We just have to come up with a plan.” His aura began to flare back to life, more solid and vibrant than it had been before, as though his resolve had reignited.

“Unless he already has a plan,” Marcos interjected, his sharp eyes fixed on Magnus.

The statement hung in the air for a moment before he followed up, “Do you? Have a plan, I mean.”

Magnus met his gaze and let a small grin tug at the corner of his lips.

“Of course. I’ll need all your help, but I’m pretty sure I can take it down.” Both Mia and Gerald froze, their faces briefly registering surprise. They’d assumed Magnus had retreated because he needed help, but not because he had already worked out a plan to kill the Nullfang.

Still, their shock didn’t last long.

“What do you need?” Mia asked directly, determination lacing her voice.

“We’ll help however we can.” Gerald and Marcos both nodded in silent agreement.

Magnus blinked, momentarily surprised by how quickly they got on board. Then his grin widened, and he began explaining everything.

"Well, pretty much, trying to deal with the Nullfang physically is pointless. We've all figured that out by now. Even magic or Aura techniques aren’t reliable—they’ll either slip right through or lose their impact. Eventually, it becomes immune to those too. So, instead, we’ll attack it mentally." No one seemed all too surprised by Magnus’s plan to use mental magic. It was a common skill for Adept-level mages, and Magnus, nearing Master-level, was no exception.

Still, Gerald raised a question.

"But are we sure mental magic will even work on that thing? I mean, it’s basically dead, isn’t it? Does it even have a mind to affect?"

Magnus nodded.

"I’m pretty sure it does, based on what I’ve analyzed. The real problem is that the spell I plan to use will leave me vulnerable. I won’t be able to use any magic—or my gift."

"I see. So, it’s like what happened in the magma chamber?" Marcos asked, referencing the time Magnus had cloaked the Command Console’s Debugging Protocol as a sensory spell.

"Exactly," Magnus confirmed.

"Except this time, I’ll need to stay close to the Nullfang while the spell takes effect. Which means you’ll have to keep it busy and keep me near it... all while it’s trying to kill us." His voice wavered slightly. He knew how much he was asking. The Nullfang was already fast and deadly. While the four of them were quicker, the real issue wasn’t dodging it—it was fighting it. Getting close was the only way to engage it effectively, especially since it could render long-range attacks useless.

Now they had to do all that while protecting Magnus and keeping him close to the Nullfang.

"This is going to be tough," Marcos muttered, half to himself and half to the group. His expression showed the gears turning in his head as he tried to assess the plan's feasibility.

"Yeah, I know," Magnus admitted with a sigh.

"But it’s the only option I’ve got." Gerald crossed his arms and let out a low hum before shrugging.

"Well, if it’s our only option, then there’s no point overthinking it. We either make it work, or all of this is for nothing." It wasn’t the most reassuring statement, but Mia seemed to agree.

"Right. No point worrying about the odds now. Besides, it’s already here." As her words hung in the air, everyone turned in the direction Magnus had flown from earlier. Sure enough, the skeletal figure of the Nullfang came into view. It bounded through the world, leaping from one spot, disappearing, and then reappearing as if swimming through the fabric of reality. It was closing the distance at breakneck speed.

"Marlos, you’re the least fatigued and, given the situation, the fastest. You’ll grab Magnus once he casts the spell," Mia directed quickly, her tone firm.

"Magnus, give us a signal when you’re ready. Gerald and I will focus on keeping it contained." All three of them nodded in agreement.

"Got it," Magnus said as he floated into the air, his eyes locked on the Nullfang. Taking a deep breath, he mapped out his trajectory in his mind and then shot forward, accelerating toward the creature.

At the same moment, the others sprang into action. Their figures blurred as they broke off into three separate directions—Mia veering to the right, Gerald to the left, and Marcos trailing behind Magnus, ready to act the moment he was needed.

Seeing Magnus heading straight for it, the Nullfang didn’t slow down. Instead, it bounded out of the ground, its body spinning through the air in a fluid front flip. Its tail sliced through the air with precision, perfectly timed to intercept Magnus and cut him clean in half as if he were nothing more than scattered fragments waiting to happen. But against Magnus, catching him mid-flight required more than just speed—it demanded surprise.

Magnus’s flight wasn’t based on propulsion or momentum. He moved his torso along an invisible trajectory in his mind, like a train following tracks only he could see. There was no maneuver too sharp, no shift in speed too drastic for him to execute. Trying to predict where he would go was a futile effort unless you caught him off guard—or moved faster than he could think. But only Adept-level knights and above could pull that off.

In a blink, Magnus twisted his path, narrowly dodging the slash. The icy chill of the attack brushed past him, freezing the air itself as he surged forward toward the Nullfang.

The Nullfang, having fought Magnus before, instinctively nulled its state of interaction, preparing to evade whatever attack Magnus had planned. But this time, that defense wouldn’t save it.

Do your thing, Basker!

There was no audible response, but Magnus’s command triggered something. From deep within his mind, the entity known as Basker shifted states. To everyone else, it appeared for just a fleeting moment—a shadow, no, a living mass of darkness, flowed out from above Magnus’s head. It seemed to funnel from an impossibly small hole in space, arcing through the air like a rope and shooting straight toward the Nullfang’s head.

For an instant, it was as if a tether had formed between Magnus and the Nullfang, the shadow slipping into another invisible hole. Magnus felt the change immediately. His mind, which had always been precise and orderly, suddenly felt lighter. Basker’s familiar presence vanished, and in its absence, chaos erupted in his thoughts. The mental visualization that kept him airborne crumbled, and reality quickly followed as he plummeted from the sky and called out to Marcos.

Marcos reacted instantly. With a powerful step, he launched himself into the air, catching Magnus with outstretched arms. They landed heavily, skidding through the grass as Marcos absorbed the impact.

Meanwhile, the Nullfang, realizing Magnus hadn’t attacked, stopped nulling its interaction with the world as it landed with a heavy thud. The ground cracked beneath its weight, flattening the grass around it. Its attention immediately shifted to the thin, black line extending from Magnus’s head to its own. With a flick of its tail, the Nullfang tried to sever the connection, but the line passed through the movement like a shadow, completely unaffected.

"Did it work?" Marcos asked, glancing down at Magnus in his arms.

"Ye- Yeah..." Magnus replied, his frown deepening as he tried to steady his breathing. It had been so long since he felt like this—his mind clouded by rogue thoughts, the creeping dread of failure clawing at the edges of his consciousness. The way it latched on, tightening around every idea and fragment of clarity, was as invasive and disorienting as ever. Yet, to his surprise, it wasn’t as overwhelming as he remembered.

Maybe he’d grown used to it, or maybe his mind had changed over time thanks to Basker. Either way, while the fear was still there, it felt... manageable. As his gaze shifted to the Nullfang, its massive skeletal form creaking against the ground, the fear lingered.

He knew the stakes—if he got injured, there would be no healing. He wouldn’t recover.

He would simply die.

Even so, the fear remained something he could keep under control. His thoughts drifted instead to Basker.

They should have entered the Nullfang’s mind, right? I wonder what’s happening now.