Chapter 82 – God of Magic

God of Magic

An enormous flame that made one feel as if a small sun had appeared engulfed Milene.
Her figure disappeared, wrapped in flames, and of course, the surrounding area was literally scorched.

The surrounding landscape, where not even a blade of grass remained and everything had turned to ash, came into view.
“”Urgh….””

“Men, are you alright?! …Damn it! Those who still have the strength to stand, support the fallen members!”
The situation wasn’t good on our side either.
I ended up with just slight burns, but the others weren’t so lucky.

The captain was in a relatively better state, but more than half of the members were incapacitated. This was the case even though I had layered several barriers.
…It’s essentially friendly fire, so I can’t complain, but who told them to interfere here?

Still, it seems no one died, so I decided to let it slide.
Milene’s figure was not visible due to the smoke created by the aftermath of the magic.

Even if she had fused with the Demon Lord, if she took a direct hit from magic of that magnitude, it would probably be difficult to survive…
“Ah, Lady Ariel has defeated the demon!”

…Just as I was thinking that, one of the knight members who hadn’t lost consciousness yet uttered a magic incantation.
“Kyahahat! I’m alive?! I guess I’m quite sturdy!”

As if words had power, when all the smoke cleared, Milene was there to greet me, perfectly alive.
No, she wasn’t perfectly fine.

One pair of her two pairs of wings seemed to have burned away completely, and one of Milene’s arms was also gone.
…She could no longer fly, it seems, as she landed on the ground.

‘To survive in those flames, it’s unbelievable.’
It’s truly an incredible survival ability.

After confirming that she was alive, I immediately pointed at the captain who was still in a decent state and said,
“Your name… anyway, you! Quickly take your subordinates and leave this place.”

“Bu-But…”
“Hurry!”

Perhaps he read the desperation in my expression. Hearing my words, the captain gritted his teeth and shouted to the members behind him.
“…Understood. I order the members! Those who can still move, support the others, and quickly leave this place! Hurry!”

It would have been good if Milene had let them leave this place quietly… but of course not.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”

She used her remaining arm to draw a magic circle in the air.
‘Crazy woman.’

Wind blades shot from the magic circle, tearing through the air as they flew towards the knight members.
Zing.

As I immediately countered with the same wind attribute magic, an unpleasant friction sound like scraping metal rang out.
After a moment, the wind blades that were struggling against each other in mid-air lost their power and scattered into a gentle breeze.

“They’re gone. What a shame.”
“…Just leave them alone, I’m your opponent.”

“Oh? Are you upset because I’m not paying attention to you?”
“Not at all.”

I checked Milene’s condition again.
Little by little, Milene’s body was regenerating.

…Even her arm that had turned to ash was growing back, and her wings were also returning to their original form.
It probably wouldn’t take long for everything to regenerate.

‘If a game boss monster was designed like this, it would receive a barrage of complaints.’
Facing this in reality, I was at a loss for words.

Compared to her who was continuously regenerating, I was a bit tired from the recoil of casting magic just now.
“Hmm. Successful product, you’re tired, aren’t you?”

“…Don’t be ridiculous.”
I tried to act as nonchalant as possible, but it seems I couldn’t fool Milene’s eyes. She looked at me with a grinning smile and said,

“You know. If I kill you, will this empty feeling like there’s a big hole in my chest disappear?”
“No, it won’t.”

“Kyahat. Is that so? Then. Maybe it’ll be filled if I kill all humans.”
After this short conversation, we stared at each other again.

‘…When are they coming?’
About half an hour had passed since Milene and I faced off.

Judging by the fact that those knight guys found this place, it seems the chaos in the capital has been somewhat resolved.
…If so, it means they should be arriving soon.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as they say.
…As I was facing off against Milene, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Ariel! Step back!”
As soon as I heard those words, I sensed the intention and moved away from Milene.

Boom!
Immediately after, a formidable sword energy rushed to where Milene was standing. A sword energy qualitatively different from what the knights had emitted earlier.

Unfortunately, she noticed the signs and retreated, but clear scars from the sword energy remained where Milene had been.
The ground was deeply gouged as if struck by a giant axe.

…There’s only one person in the world who can release such sword energy.
I looked in the direction the sword energy came from and spoke as if for them to hear.

“Aren’t you a bit late?”
Two people approached me, their light green and silver hair fluttering.

“Sorry we’re late, Ariel. We were delayed a bit cleaning up the chaos.”
“I’m sorry too. It took time to pinpoint the location.”

It was Marian and Riste.

After Marian and Riste joined, the balance between Milene and me tilted completely in my favor.
Originally, even though I was slightly overwhelmed on my own, I could more or less match her.

With the two of them joining, it naturally tilted more to our side.
As a result, we were able to subdue Milene without much difficulty.

“You guys are really strong.”
“This one, it’s the one who attacked Ariel’s house.”

“…The demonization has progressed completely. I don’t think we can consider her human anymore.”
Currently, Milene was completely incapacitated, bound by several layers of binding magic, with Riste’s holy magic added on top.

I approached her and casually spoke to her one last time.
“…Milene. It’s not too late yet. Stop here.”

You might say, “What are you talking about after nearly dying several times fighting her?” But I still felt sympathy for her.
…That sympathy, indeed, stemmed from a sense of kinship.

Hearing my words, Milene seemed to ponder for a moment, then spoke to me with a bitter expression.
“No, Successful product. It’s already too late.”

Rumble!
With those words, the mana around Milene began to violently fluctuate.

“What is this…?!”
“She’s deliberately causing her magic power to go berserk!”

Milene’s magic power is becoming extremely unstable. As if it could explode at any moment.
‘Don’t tell me, she’s trying to self-destruct…!’

Milene has magic power comparable to the Demon Lord.
Even though she consumed magic power while fighting my companions, she could still cause an explosion capable of blowing away the entire capital.

I never thought she would choose self-destruction.
“Hey, Ariel. Can’t we just kill that thing now?”

“…If we do that, it’ll explode right away.”
‘What should I do.’

Even if I scraped together all my remaining mana to surround her with a magic barrier, it was obvious that it wouldn’t withstand and the surroundings would be devastated.
I also thought of forcibly teleporting Milene somewhere but dismissed it. It’s not a scale that could be resolved by such means.

The option of just teleporting ourselves as far away as possible to save our lives was out of the question from the start.
Because I know better than anyone that we’re not the kind of people who would want that. Moreover, there’s also the issue of the children who should be in the capital now.

…If so, there’s no other way but this.
“Ariel?!”

“Ariel! It’s dangerous!!!”
Ignoring my companions’ attempts to stop me, I approached Milene, who was going berserk, and gently embraced her.

What I’m trying to do now is, if I had to compare, similar to calming a wild horse with bare hands.
…The difficulty is incomparable, though.

A technique that only someone like me, with a deep understanding of mana and the computational power to back it up, could even attempt.
Unintentionally, it was a moment when the knowledge forcibly crammed into me at the magic tower shone.

Boom!
I grasp all the mana flows raging inside Milene’s body and overlay each one with my own mana.

A tangy liquid flowed from my eyes and nose. My body, unable to withstand the overload on the magic circuits, was screaming in protest.
I endured the extreme dizziness that made me feel like I would collapse at any moment by clenching my teeth so hard they might break.

…Then, I suddenly had a strange experience.
I could feel Milene’s unstable mana flow, the mana flowing inside my body, and even the sensation of each mana particle dispersed in the surroundings.

It was a sensation as if I had reached some kind of state.
It might be an illusion felt due to extreme concentration on something, but I sensed it intuitively.

…At this moment, I was standing closest to being the god of magic.
“The mana flow is subsiding…!”

“…Ariel.”
Whether my efforts paid off, Milene’s mana flow finally started to return to its normal orbit.

At the same time, I felt nauseous and vomited something. A tangy taste lingered in my mouth. It was blood.
I noticed that I was coughing up blood from my eyes, nose, and mouth. I must look terrible.

I could easily guess from the tear-filled faces of Marian and Riste who were worrying about me.
“…It’s over.”

Milene, who had stopped going berserk, didn’t try to attack us again.
Instead, Milene’s body was slowly turning to ash and disappearing from the extremities.

Her body, which had overloaded, finally started to collapse.
Milene quietly muttered with unfocused eyes.

“Mom….”
…What is she thinking now? I tightened my arms around her.
Hoping that my warmth would reach her and provide even a little comfort.

Not long after, Milene completely turned to ash and disappeared.
It was a lonely death.

After she disappeared, I too slowly collapsed to the ground.
“Are you alright?! Ariel?!”

“Her magic circuits are completely damaged, we need healing magic immediately…!”
Thud. I understand in my head that my body has fallen to the ground, but I can’t feel anything.

I’m just sleepy. It’s a similar sensation to when I died before.
‘Am I dying?’

“You can’t die! Ah, there’s still so much we haven’t done!”
“That’s right! Ariel! We haven’t even gotten married yet! Us!”

I can vaguely see the tear-filled faces of the two people.
I’m not sure if it’s an appropriate sentiment, but they both look pretty even when crying.

“…Then, let’s get married.”
What did I just say?

In my increasingly hazy consciousness, I quietly closed my eyes.