Chapter 229 - Reversal (5)

CRUNCH!

His ugly mug was exposed as [Bone Armor] broke away yet again. His face was filled with nothing but panic.

In my experience, that expression was as good as a sign that this long battle was nearing its end.

But just as I was about to bring my mace down with all my might...

WHOOSH!

An oddly chilly breeze brushed past me from the side.

「Erwin Fornacci de Tersia has sustained damage exceeding the permitted limit.」

「[Spirit Form] is dispelled.」

My body suddenly grew lighter. My rocklike skin had already returned to normal.

My hearing sharpened, like an alarmed animal pricking up its ears.

THUD.

I heard something collapse behind me.

"Erwin!!"

Daria's frantic shout followed a moment later.

That was enough to piece together what had happened. Someone had taken Erwin down, ending Elebaba Mode.

But what on earth had caused it?

I saw the answer before I could even turn fully toward the direction of that first gust.

"Ho ho, young Necrapethor. You're quite a sorry sight yourself."

Thick white hair, a beard gone completely white, and kindly features. An aging mage who looked like the very picture of his profession.

'The Scholar of Destruction.'

He was here.

'How is he here already? What happened to Kyle?'

Countless questions erupted the moment I faced that fact.

But...

I forced them aside and continued moving my arm. It was a split-second, instinctive decision.

'If not now...'

There would be no other chance. Elebaba Mode was over. I could no longer block the poison damage, so if I missed this opening, I would have to face the Clown and that old man at the same time.

So...

"In such a hurry."

Motherfucker.

The strength drained from my left arm, and the mace in my hand fell to the ground.

THUD!

A red beam had pierced my wrist before I knew it.

I was seriously going to lose my mind.

'What the fuck kind of basic attack...?'

There had been no casting time. That meant the spell he'd just used was no different to him than the basic attack spell Mana Unit.

But a basic attack could punch straight through me? Even though Elebaba Mode was over and my Mana resistance should have returned?

'No. Think later.'

I pushed the questions aside again. That wasn't what I needed to be doing right now.

I'd dropped my mace? Then I'd just fuck him up with my shield.

Wasn't that the Korean barbarian spirit? If you had no teeth, chew him up and swallow him with your gums.

THWACK!

The instant I lost my mace, I slammed my shield down into the Clown's face. One hit wouldn't kill the fucker, so I followed it up.

THWACK!

Two wasn't enough to put my mind at ease, so once more.

WHOOSH!

I was just about to deliver the third blow.

"What an amusing fellow."

My body stopped. It felt as though something invisible were pressing down on every inch of me with tremendous force.

"Didn't I tell you? You're in such a hurry."

Moving only my eyes, I looked to the side. The Scholar of Destruction had his gaze fixed on me.

His face was largely expressionless, yet he somehow looked entertained, as if he had discovered something that piqued his curiosity.

"What is your name?"

Right. Now he was curious about me.

"You reduced young Necrapethor to that state. Surely you're not some nameless explorer."

There wasn't the slightest malice in his voice.

["Don't tell me he's already there...!"]

Just then, Melter Fend's voice came from the message stone. The Scholar of Destruction frowned, displeased at the interruption.

Yes, that was all he did.

["Just hold on. I'll be there as soon—!"]

The message stone at my waist exploded.

BANG!

What kind of fucking mage was this?

He hadn't swung a staff or a wand. He hadn't even made the distinctive hand motions used to move mana.

Just what rank was this old man? I'd heard he had been rank three before his exile.

"Are you not going to answer?"

"Bjorn, son of Jandel."

I hurried to answer first. Melter Fend would soon arrive with the main force. I needed to buy time with conversation until then.

"Your epithet?"

"Little Valcan."

"Hmm. I've never heard the name. What rank are you, then?"

"... I was promoted to rank five a few months ago."

"Rank five? Now I'm even more intrigued."

A curious gleam entered his eyes as he looked at me, and he waved a hand as if manipulating mana.

SHHHHH!

Multicolored light rose from the ground.

Oh, I knew this spell too. The exclusive rank-five spell, Memories of the Earth. It replayed events that had occurred in the area.

'He can just casually use another school's exclusive magic too, huh.'

Memories of the Earth was exclusive to the Earthrin School. And according to my research, the school the Scholar of Destruction had belonged to before his exile pursued an entirely different branch of magic.

"Pfft."

The Scholar of Destruction, who had been staring into the air as though watching the replay, let out a little laugh.

"You're even more amusing than I thought. To say such things to young Necrapethor."

Such things...?

I wasn't sure whether he meant the comments about his looks or the one about being "small." But what did it matter either way?

"What happened to Kyle?"

Since he seemed interested in conversation, I asked what I wanted to know too. Unexpectedly, he answered readily.

"He's alive. He's far too promising to die here."

"... You mean you deliberately spared him?"

"He has achieved a great deal through the emotion of vengeance. If he could cast aside even his human emotions, he would reach greater heights."

His delivery was fluent and precise, as one would expect of a mage, but I couldn't make any sense of what he was saying.

How was that a reason not to kill him? If an enemy had outstanding potential, wasn't that all the more reason to kill him?

I hadn't said any of that aloud. But perhaps my eyes conveyed the question.

"Individuals or groups, enemies or allies—what does any of that matter?" the Scholar of Destruction said. "As one who seeks to see the ultimate limits of magic, I am simply curious. What magic will he leave to this world when he reaches those heights?"

"Even if it could kill you?"

"Don't worry. To reach those heights is to discard everything unnecessary, again and again. By then, he won't have anything as trivial as human emotions left anyway."

I decided to give up trying to understand him.

People said he was an old man so obsessed with magic that he'd ceased to be human. They were right. His entire way of thinking was different.

But precisely because of that...

"Well, let us end our conversation here."

I found myself hoping. A faint hope that his way of thinking might save my life today.

"I've overexerted myself a little today."

Only then did I notice the bloodstains in his beard. He seemed to have wiped it off, but traces remained.

'... So this bastard isn't in good shape either.'

Whatever happened, that was a positive factor.

Just as I was thinking that...

"It's been a long time since I enjoyed myself like this."

The Scholar of Destruction spoke as though bidding me farewell.

"I still have need of young Necrapethor, so I'll be taking him now."

The Clown's body floated into the air, half senseless from the blows of my shield. Unable to move a muscle, I could only watch.

Conflicting emotions washed over me. I'd really only needed a little more time.

Was this how it ended?

No, if he was going to let us go, this might still be a pretty good deal—

"Now, then. Die."

Right. Of course he wouldn't.

He smoothly opened his hand toward me. Ominously scarlet mana gathered above it.

I swept away every last lingering regret. There was nothing new about this now. It had always been this way.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

I had to fight.

To live.

「The character has cast [Gigantification].」

The warrior's body grew once more, as though wringing out its last reserves of strength.

CRACK, CRACKLE, CRACK.

As I poured strength into my legs, I heard what sounded like the invisible mana enveloping me breaking apart.

I'd more or less expected that. Mages were the very definition of efficiency, weren't they? Since he wasn't in good shape, he would have used only as much mana as necessary.

My body finally free, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

Away from the enemy...

"Jandel! I can see Jandel!"

Not toward the allies running over in the distance.

I drove off the ground, toward the enemy.

"Hmm."

The Scholar of Destruction regarded me curiously. He was probably wondering why I wasn't running now that I'd broken his crowd control.

But that only made sense from his perspective. How long could I last on the MP I'd recovered in less than ten minutes?

'Twenty seconds at best.'

Then [Gigantification] would end too. So this was the best thing I could do right now.

I pushed off, closing the distance and pressing right up against the Clown as he was dragged away.

The reason was simple. That old man, who seemed interested in nothing but magic, had just said:

["I still have need of young Necrapethor, so I'll be taking him now."]

He still needed the Clown. In other words, he couldn't use his magic if I stuck close. That was probably why he'd tried to pull the Clown away first in the first place.

"Wise of you."

The red mana still gathered in the Scholar of Destruction's hand, but he didn't aim at me.

However...

"It would be a waste of mana to simply discard it."

His open palm turned elsewhere. Not toward me, but toward my companions.

A flash of light erupted, and a red sphere shot from his palm.

At that instant...

"Barhatun Wiar."

A dozen or so stone walls rose along its path. Raven's magic. So that was why she'd been silent all this time. She must have been secretly preparing a spell.

But it didn't accomplish much.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The red sphere sped onward, smashing through the stone walls with ease.

"Get down!"

Just as I had done earlier, Mister Bear covered our companions with his body and even summoned a black bear on top of himself.

And in that instant...

KABOOM!

The sphere exploded in midair, spewing thousands of separate flames.

It was halfway between me and my companions.

No, more precisely...

"No!"

It was right where Erwin had fallen when [Spirit Form] ended.

As if that had been his target from the start.

BOOOOM!

Countless flames scattered like CGI fireworks, exploding again and again.

WHOOOSH!

A fierce, hot wind swept across my skin. Through it all, the Scholar of Destruction's expression remained unchanged as he murmured serenely:

"That young lady was born with more destiny than anyone here except you."

I had no idea what he meant. But one thing was certain. He really had been aiming for Erwin.

My teeth ground together. My jaw hurt. It felt as though someone had struck the back of my head with an enormous club.

Was Erwin really dead?

THUMP!

Blood surged into my heart, paralyzing my reason.

But the worse it got, the more I focused on one thing. What did I have to do to protect those who remained?

'At least this bastard has to die.'

I reached for the Clown's head, trusting our approaching allies to somehow handle the Scholar of Destruction.

This bastard, at least.

THWACK!

My shield slammed into the Clown's face once more. But was he still conscious?

"Pffft!"

The Clown spat blood into my face, as if expelling what had pooled in his mouth.

HISSSSS!

I heard sizzling.

There was no pain, but even through my dulled senses, I could feel something continually running down my face. I managed to open my eyes, but everything was blurry.

'Venom Hydra.'

It was his passive skill. Its effect resembled [Acidic Bodily Fluid], but its potency was on an entirely different level. He'd probably modified the suicide-bomber corpses using his own blood too.

Of course, none of that mattered.

I reached out into my darkened field of vision and gripped tightly. By luck, I'd caught his hair.

Okay. Now he couldn't get away.

My teeth ground together. With my left arm too weak to use because of the hole through it, I used my teeth instead, tearing into him like an animal.

"Aaaaagh!!"

Soft cartilage crunched between my teeth. Was that an ear?

"Ptui."

I spat it out and lowered my jaw a little farther. What I wanted was his neck.

If I bit through every blood vessel leading to his brain, even this bastard would—

"You truly are a beast."

His voice was filled with disgust.

SLASH!

Something sharp sliced through my right arm. For the first time in a very long while, it hurt.

Maybe that was why the corners of my mouth rose.

"I think I understand why they call barbarians savages. Every last one of you is profoundly broken somehow."

The Scholar of Destruction asked:

"Do you not fear death?"

He knew nothing about barbarians.

They weren't beings who knew no fear. They had simply learned how to overcome it and keep moving forward.

Because they had no choice.

Smiling, they took the only option they had. People called them savages for it.

They called themselves those who fought.

Warriors.

「The character has insufficient Magic Power.」

「[Gigantification] ends.」

Just then, [Gigantification] ended.

"Gah!"

With nothing left to hold on to, I was hurled backward. My body rolled over and over.

Maybe I'd been in too many dirty brawls, but getting back to my feet came naturally even without being able to see. The problem was that I'd lost my sense of direction.

"Impressive."

Right. There you are.

I dashed toward the voice.

SHUNK!

Something pierced my abdomen. But at that moment...

SHHHHH!

A warm energy enfolded me. It was Divine Power.

"Jandel! Save Jandel!!"

I also heard the voice of Teterud, the dwarf I'd sent to help Melter Fend earlier. He was quite close.

["Velvev Luingenes!!"]

Kyle's magically amplified voice rang out too. Brimming with rage, he was shouting the Scholar of Destruction's real name.

BOOM!

Something exploded in front of me. Had he stepped back to evade it?

"So he made it here too, in the end. Had I known, I wouldn't have stopped to talk."

The Scholar of Destruction's voice was a little farther away.

"You know, I wasn't trying to take my time. My calculations were simply off for the first time in a long while. I thought that would be enough time."

His tone remained serene.

"Then again, it was like that from your very arrival. I didn't think anyone would make it up here."

His voice grew more distant and faint.

"Congratulations on becoming the sole victor."

That was the last I heard of his voice. At that moment, my cloudy vision turned black.

My retinas couldn't detect even the faintest light. It felt as if I had been left alone in space.

I sensed someone approach my side and instinctively swung my severed arm to attack.

TAP.

It was blocked midway. But the counterattack I feared never came.

"It's me."

I heard Teterud's voice.

"My friend... it's all over..."

Ah.

"So... rest now."

Ahh...

'What happened to Erwin...?'

There was something I had to ask, but my voice wouldn't come out.

THUD.

This day had been far too long.

That was the last thing I remembered.