Ch.174EP.41 – Until the Heart Beats (1)

The battle began with Ihan’s lion’s roar.

[━━!]

Whoooosh-!

The surge of energy that sent even the blizzard soaring skyward was more intense and thunderous than any lion’s roar Ihan had ever unleashed before.

Other mages felt not just their eardrums rupturing, but as if hammers were striking their heads, causing many to faint.

Such was the power of a lion’s roar at maximum volume.

However.

“Why do you refuse my offer? I don’t understand…”

Tyr remained perfectly calm despite taking a direct hit from the lion’s roar, and casually waved his hand.

“I would dissect you without pain, so why do you deliberately choose to suffer?”

Crash!

Each time Tyr waved his hand, the ground split and the wind shattered, engulfing Ihan and Lac.

Boom!

The pressure of enormous mass crashed down upon them.

There was no thought of dodging this.

The pressure bearing down from all directions was crushing them mercilessly.

“It’s ‘Distance Manipulation.’ I control the three-dimensional space within my sight. Quite interesting, isn’t it?”

Boom!!

Tyr was being kind.

He even went so far as to explain the attack they were experiencing.

Distance manipulation.

Simply put, it meant controlling the entire space within his field of vision, which was essentially the same as making imagination reality.

Everyone has tried at least once to grab or tap a distant mountain or cloud that’s out of reach, knowing it’s an impossible illusion.

But this impossible act…

“Now, I’ll strike from the side.”

Tyr made it possible.

For a man with ocean-like magical power who had researched countless spells for over 400 years, magic was no longer something activated by “incantations.”

With just the will to do something, Tyr’s imagination always became reality.

That was his “magic.”

Anyone witnessing this would say it was a miraculous sight, as if a god had descended…

Slash!

“Huh?”

Tyr soon had to prove he was not a god.

…A “small cut” appeared on his palm.

“No matter how monstrous he is, he needs a catalyst to affect the three-dimensional world. His hands or eyes likely function as that catalyst.”

“So we just need to cut them, then.”

“If we think simply… yes, that’s right.”

The two knights aimed their blades at the massive force bearing down on them.

Faced with an invisible, enormous mass, most people would be shocked, give up, and abandon all hope, but surrender wasn’t in these knights’ vocabulary.

Instead, they thrust their swords and swung their spears at the oncoming force.

“…Truly interesting test subjects.”

Tyr seemed more interested in their resistance than in the cut on his palm.

Everyone else who experienced this for the first time gave up, but these warriors with tempered souls were different.

To even counterattack…

Seeing this…

“I wonder if they can withstand this too?”

Whoosh!

Tyr moved to clap his hands together.

In his field of vision were the knights, and if they couldn’t avoid this, they would be crushed like ants.

Of course, there was nowhere to escape.

He had set traps all around the area within his sight.

If they tried to escape, that would be another matter…

-He hesitated.

“…Huh?”

Tyr blinked.

For good reason.

Crunch!

“He blocked it?”

Tyr’s palms couldn’t meet.

No, they couldn’t meet because an unusual resistance was blocking his clap.

“Nnnngh-!”

Ihan was withstanding Tyr’s clap with sheer strength.

Creak!

The power of doping was truly magnificent.

To put it simply, he was withstanding pressure equivalent to a giant hydraulic press with pure strength.

But Ihan wasn’t satisfied with just enduring.

Instead…

Crack-!

He exerted his maximum grip strength.

“…Wow.”

Not just cuts but flesh-gouging wounds began to appear on Tyr’s palms. Curious, Tyr clenched his fist as if conducting another experiment and…

Thud!

Brought his fist down.

It was essentially like having a boulder fall from directly above, but once again…

Crack!

“You blocked this too?”

Ihan crossed his arms and blocked the strike.

Though the ground shook and formed a crater, and something in Ihan’s knees and ankles made rupturing sounds, he managed to block it.

Tyr felt curiosity.

It was rare for him to be injured at all, and in his 400 years of life, he had never seen a warrior engage in a strength contest against distance manipulation.

It was refreshing.

That was Tyr’s impression, and growing excited…

“Well, can you block this too?”

Tyr wildly moved his fists and hands.

Sometimes he swung his fists or palms, sometimes he blew strong winds with his breath.

Other times he clenched his fists or blew powerful breaths.

Crash!

Boom!

Each time, the ground shook violently as if the foundation might collapse.

“Aaaagh!”

“R-run…!”

“T-Tower Master?!!”

It was a natural disaster caused by what looked like mere playful movements, and the Tower’s mages were in chaos—unable to stand properly or vomiting blood from the shockwaves.

But Tyr couldn’t hear their screams.

What mattered now was seeing how well this test subject—no, this “new toy”—could endure.

Sure enough.

Thud!

Crack!

Ihan blocked everything.

Whenever a fist or palm came at him, he appropriately drew his sword to cut it or kicked it away.

Thanks to the doping, even his knee and ankle injuries recovered quickly, and gradually his reaction speed to Tyr’s attacks became faster than the rate at which he was getting injured.

“─!”

Since a small mistake could lead to disaster, Ihan frantically moved his body without even proper time to catch his breath.

Striking, deflecting, blocking.

Ihan’s performance of these three actions without mistake was “desperate.”

“Aaaaaaah!!”

His battle cry seemed like he was testing his own limits.

Struggle.

A life-or-death struggle.

Each movement conveyed desperation and intensity, and Ihan gradually advanced forward.

To survive, he instinctively knew he had to kill Tyr, and his body responded to his will, taking one step at a time.

An infinitely small but magnificent step.

The distance between Tyr and Ihan was about two hundred paces.

Though blood poured out and bones cracked with each step, Ihan persistently moved forward.

A knight who knew no retreat.

This image of someone who didn’t know how to step back was truly that of a Turtle.

Though he had chosen his surname casually when first becoming a knight, looking at Ihan now, it was clear he had chosen a name that suited him perfectly.

“Hahaha! What is that!”

While some might be moved to admiration by Ihan’s desperation, Tyr laughed.

As if mocking, “Do you really think you can reach me?”

Suddenly, Tyr…

“I want to see you despair.”

Like a cruel child, he made a different hand gesture.

Whoosh.

The moment Tyr’s palm made a scooping motion as if shoveling sand…

Rumble!

…the earth flipped over.

An absurd situation unfolded as heaven and earth inverted, and when Tyr’s hand lightly flipped…

…!!

Ihan’s body fell into the deep earth and tumbled.

“…You monster.”

Ihan wore a horrified expression as he saw the massive amount of soil and snow crashing down on him.

Crash!

– Earth Flipping.

It was an unbelievable, terrible power that seemed impossible for a single mage to achieve.

But what was most terrible was that as the ground flipped, Ihan was buried along with it.

Not only was he buried under massive amounts of soil and snow, but Tyr relentlessly pounded the ground with his palms and fists as if confirming the kill.

Bang! Boom!

Still not broken? What about now-? …Like a child playing out of curiosity.

He had been delighted to see a rare test subject, but now he was already destroying it so terribly.

This showed why he was called the Tower’s greatest madman.

Therefore.

Slash!

Drip…

“Ah, that’s right, you were here too.”

Having been so focused on playing with one “toy,” Tyr had forgotten about the other toy and showed no particular emotion even as blood flowed down his cheek.

Even though he was bleeding…

Swish.

“All healed up?”

“……”

“Tsk, your reaction is boring.”

“……”

“Hmm, aren’t you worried about your friend who might be dead? People usually die when buried like that.”

“…He’s not my friend.”

“Is that so? I thought you were close.”

Whoosh!

“Let’s have a chat…”

Ignoring Tyr’s opinion, Lac’s spear attacks continued without pause.

If the tank had done his job by taking the hits with all his might, the dealer’s role was to pierce the monster’s neck.