episode_0109

The lightning bolts that reached the sky fall in reverse and line up in front of Asel. Asel grabs the lightning bolt at the very front with his hand and roughly swings it as if shaking it off.

Drrrrrrrrack!!!!

The shaking lightning bolt glows madly and begins to resonate with other lightning bolts. Asel forcefully injects the magic of the Ice Peony into the wave of that magical power.

The magic item containing the freezing spell, Ice Peony. He not only extracts all the magical power charged within it, but also expels all the magical power that maintains the magic item’s spell and protects its seams.

Then the ring slowly began to lose its light. It was proof that it was returning to an ordinary ring.

It didn’t matter. Asel confirmed the presence of cold energy within the burning lightning and immediately shot out spears of lightning. The lightning bolts lined up in a row simultaneously dug into the ground and advanced, shattering the earth at the speed of light.

“Haha!”

A faint earthquake was felt due to the massive energy. The lightning that surged at a speed beyond perception pierced through Zerbil’s entire body.

But it didn’t have much meaning. As long as he was exerting 100 percent of his main body’s capability, Asel’s magic could not inflict a significant blow on him.

But Asel did not act impatiently. Reason, colder and sharper than ever, governed his brain.

Remaining magic amount. Zerbil’s behavior pattern. Magic pattern. Knowledge. Barrier. Environment. Weather. Clouds. Lightning. Seeds. Flames.

The optimal combat method considering everything emerged in Asel’s mind like a picture. He accelerated his body without hesitation and threw a punch at Zerbil. Zerbil felt puzzled by his sudden use of martial arts but didn’t pay much attention and stomped hard on the ground.

[cădáver párĭes]

Pwack!

An overwhelmingly large wall of corpses surged up from his feet. A wall filled with blood, organs, and rotten flesh. Human heads occasionally embedded on its surface screamed as if in pain and spat out acidic pus.

But Asel did not panic. Just before his body and the pus collided, he sharply erected a shield vertically and deflected the pus sideways. He wrapped his body in a spatial spell and passed through as if there were no wall in front.

“No?”

Seeing Asel pass through the wall like a spirit, Zerbil’s eyes widened. Asel immediately grabbed his jaw tightly and activated his magic.

[Fire Dragon Flame Fang]

-……Grrrk.

From where Asel’s hand touched, the low cry of a beast echoed tranquilly. In the instant Zerbil realized it was similar to the roar of a dragon.

Kwajik!

The massive dragon head that shot out from Asel’s grip bit and tore through Zerbil’s body and unleashed a breath attack powerful enough to split the clouds.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!!

Flames hot enough to scorch the space and burn the trees and grass of the forest with mere heat surged towards the sky.

A high-level flame spell that Asel personally revised and created. A penetration-specialized spell modified to ignore the opponent’s magical power and aura, affecting only the main body.

The amount of magical power consumed was comparable to its formidable power, but it was not a significant burden for Asel at present. However, the consumption rate increased quadratically the longer it was maintained, so it could not be used for long.

“Hoo-wook…!”

He exhaled the breath for about 10 more seconds before retracting the magic. At that moment, Zerbil, who had suffered full-body burns, was reflected in Asel’s eyes, seen smiling widely in the air. He gnashed his teeth and swept his hand down from above.

[Falling Thunder]

Kwaaaaaang!!!

A lightning bolt the size of a massive tree fell, erupting with a tremendous roar. A high-level spell with power so immense that Zerbil, who was in the sky, was immediately slammed into the ground. But Zerbil inversely used the speed of his fall to immediately reach Asel’s front.

“……!”

There was no time to perceive it. Zerbil, who approached faster than his senses could catch, placed his hand directly on Asel’s abdomen and muttered.

“corrúptus.”

Woo-oong…!

The evil energy that bloomed from Zerbil’s fingertips shattered Asel’s shields completely and invaded his skin and organs. Asel’s magic, which had been maintaining his life with electrical signals from the beginning, resisted his evil energy, but it could not completely extinguish it.

“Keoheok!”

The invading evil energy literally corrupted Asel’s organs. His large and small intestines rotted in real-time, and the functions of his liver and stomach weakened slightly. Asel vomited blood madly and glared at Zerbil with burning eyes.

“…You… son of a…”

“What’s wrong? If you don’t neutralize me quickly, you won’t hear news of your beloved master— Eek!”

Jjeo-eo-eong!!

Activated shock magic on Zerbil’s jeering face through multiple chants. Slammed him directly into a distant tree. He, stuck upside down in the ground after destroying dozens of trees, twitched his body, and Asel took a deep breath and collapsed onto the ground.

The pain was too extreme. The sensation of his organs rotting away was too vivid. It was fortunate that his lungs, heart, and brain were not affected, but he was not well enough to continue fighting either.

‘…There’s no choice.’

Ultimately, Asel took a drastic measure.

The sensation-killing learned through the battle with Birsha. Forcibly drew upon a part of it and blocked the pain receptors. Then the intense pain crushing his body disappeared like a lie, and his head cooled down.

“…Hoo-woo.”

Asel slowly raised his body, exhaling blood-smelling breath. Just then, Zerbil was also crawling out from the ground. It would have been easier to just break through the ground, but seeing him deliberately climb up revealed his bizarre nature.

It might seem ridiculous, but it was possible because it was based on the confidence that he could win even by acting like that. Asel had not yet reached that realm.

“Let’s go for round 4!”

Zerbil shouted, extending his optic nerves like caterpillars beyond his empty eyes. It was a gruesome sight, making one wonder if he could really see, but Asel paid him no mind.

He must not be mistaken. Although he had erased the pain, his body was still rotting. If he didn’t receive treatment like this, his organs would stop functioning and he would die just like that.

He absolutely did not want such an end. Asel spat out pieces of rotten organs that were surging up and walked towards Zerbil. Zerbil also chuckled and slowly moved his steps towards Asel.

Still quite a distance.

“Tell me where my master went.”

“I’ll tell you when you realize your unique nature.”

“…Crazy bastard. Why are you so obsessed with my unique nature? What does me reaching the 7th Hierarchy have to do with you?”

“It has nothing to do with it.”

Mid-way.

“But I have personal interest. Just how far a mage with talent unprecedented in history can go. I’m so curious I could go crazy. That’s why I’m trying to raise you to the 7th Hierarchy. It would be even better if you reached the 8th Hierarchy.”

“…Are you trying to be my master or something?”

“If you want to get technical, yes. Well, if you wish, you can serve me as your second master.”

“……”

Now quite close.

“I have no intention whatsoever of becoming a villain’s disciple.”

“Do you think Lady Ena is some kind of pure and innocent person? How many lives did she kill in war?”

“At least she isn’t as twisted as you are.”

“You’re leaving me no room for argument.”

Eventually, they reached a distance where each other’s faces were clearly visible.

Zerbil’s face full of burns is reflected in Asel’s right eye.

Asel’s crumbling face is reflected inside Zerbil’s optic nerves.

“Time remaining until your body collapses, approximately 1 minute.”

Zerbil spoke first.

“Time remaining until your organs stop functioning, approximately 1 minute.”

“……”

“This is regrettable. Even if my body collapses, it seems impossible to avoid death. Though if you realize your unique nature, it might be a different story.”

“Zerbil.”

Asel said in a calm tone.

“Where is my master.”

“…He wasn’t someone who couldn’t communicate to this extent, really.”

Zerbil said that with a deep sigh, then looked up at Asel and shrugged the shoulder he had left.

“Alright. Let’s just have a killing spree for 1 minute. Are you ready?”

“Thanks to you.”

“Huh?”

The moment Zerbil blinked and asked at the unexpected reply.

“I bought time.”

Asel lightly tossed a small lightning spark towards the sky. Immediately after, he activated a magic item. The magic that was corrupting his organs was forcibly dismantled, analyzed, and then inversely launched towards Zerbil.

A magic item of a form he had never seen before. The instant Zerbil realized the bracelet was an item from the Witch’s Council.

Ku-rung.

The sky rumbled.

“……!”

Ena’s magic should have definitely disappeared, but for a moment, a magic power chilling enough to make one shudder brushed past Zerbil’s consciousness.

He instinctively lifted his head and stared at the sky.

That’s how he saw it.

“…Huh…”

The center of the desolate mountain range. Above the sky where Asel stood at its center, dark blue lightning twisted like dragons. Asel tilted his head back and gazed at the sight.

“It is a realm not yet permitted to me.”

The number of dragons swimming in the sky gradually increased. They dyed the clear weather dark blue as if multiplying and blocked out the sunlight. Nevertheless, the ground was filled with light. Because thousands, hundreds of millions of lightning bolts filled the sky.

“But absorbing my master’s magical power and the inspiration that surged while fighting you told me how to realize the magic I had only theorized.”

“…Haha.”

“However, it required time to cast. I had to use all the remaining magical power and also form hand seals.”

“Were you continuously forming hand seals until now for that?”

Zerbil asked with a cheerful voice. Instead of answering, Asel swept back his hair with a weary expression.

“The power to control nature is not permitted to humans. But for a Great Mage, it is not impossible. Because it is possible to defy the laws of nature.”

Pajijik.

The lightning filling the sky slowly began to increase in size.

“And a part of that, I forcibly imitated and manifested. Investigating the power and knowledge contained within my master’s magical power, I degraded the magic I had created but couldn’t use under various conditions and brought it down upon this world.”

“The reason you’re telling me this?”

Zerbil asked with a slight smile. Asel replied, letting out a long breath.

“If the question is obvious, the answer is obvious too.”

“……”

“Because that is one of the conditions for activating the magic.”

“Hahahaha!!”

As if his prediction was correct, Zerbil burst into cheerful laughter and glared at the sky. Asel ignored him, clasped his hands together, and quietly muttered.

“Pungpyojeon’gyeok(風飇電激). Pungchijeonche(風馳電掣). Sinnwaepungnyeol(迅雷風烈).”

The sky responded to Asel’s incantation. In a place without a single cloud, the sky of dark blue lightning, spread out like a sea, calmly emitted electricity, waiting for Asel’s will. Zerbil let out a snicker at the tingling electrical shocks pricking his skin.

And.

“Supreme Magic.”

Asel slowly opened his one remaining eye and gazed at Zerbil.

“Noecheondorae(雷天到來).”

The moment he uttered it.

Ppajijik.

The sky violently twitched, and then hundreds of millions of lightning bolts began to strike down towards the ground all at once.