Ch.317317. Sirah Relocation War (11)

After checking the operation reference map, Senia smirked, said she understood, and moved to her assigned position.

Since there was still some time before the operation began, I decided to check my physical condition once more.

Inspecting one’s body before entering combat was a natural procedure. Fighting recklessly without knowing you’re injured somewhere is a sure way to die like a dog.

The result of my assessment was:

‘As expected, I haven’t fully recovered.’

Just like when I attempted the Sirah transfer, the conclusion was that I hadn’t recovered.

Not my body, but my unique magic.

‘I couldn’t avoid it this time either, I suppose.’

Ever since I threw that magic spear at Ashpern, I could no longer create magic shields.

The reason was exactly the same as before.

My magic circuit was normal. There was no problem with my mana circulation, and the mana flowing through my body moved just fine.

Yet I couldn’t find an answer to this mysterious change.

The only clue was that Professor Denis’s words had proven entirely correct.

-That power is consuming your life force!!

The price I paid for ignoring her warning and throwing the magic spear at Ashpern was the loss of my unique magic.

Whatever the connection might be, the sequence of losing power had repeated itself just like before.

However.

-Crack!

‘Still. I don’t need to rely solely on that power anymore.’

As long as I don’t use it again, there would be no harm to my body.

That’s why I focused more on mana control, trained rigorously in martial arts, and poured countless hours into mastering Spell Break and magic armor control.

And finally, there was Anti-Cast, the weapon I’d possessed since the past.

There were plenty of alternatives to replace the magic spear and magic shield.

I could enhance my body by controlling mana with extreme efficiency, deflect attacks using the martial arts I’d mastered, and eliminate incoming spells with Spell Break or magic armor.

By continuously closing the distance, an opportunity would surely come.

My body was certainly fit for battle.

Even with difficulties using my unique magic, the mana circulation flowing through my body was backed by accumulated training, theory, and experience.

With this body, clearly different from the past, I just needed to prove myself.

Starting with this Ripol River battle, I would succeed in the Sirah transfer and ensure that the Principality wouldn’t follow the same path as before.

After checking my equipment, including the chain gauntlet, I started walking when someone who seemed to have been waiting for me appeared.

“Oppa.”

“…”

No. She had definitely been waiting for me.

This silver-haired girl with hair fluttering in the breeze looked somewhat troubled.

The reason… was probably me.

-Oppa… do you really have to participate?

Yesterday, she had asked me that meaningful question.

Why did I have to participate? Why did I have to take on the risk again? And why couldn’t she get involved?

That’s what she had asked.

So today, she must have come looking for me with a worried heart.

I approached Renias, took her hand, and asked:

“Are you worried?”

“Of course I am.”

If there was anyone I had roughly explained the upcoming operation to, it was Renias alone.

The Ripol River battle itself was a strategy devised by greatly twisting existing common sense, and the risk increased proportionally to how much that common sense was twisted.

That’s why she had asked if I really had to participate.

“Is it really impossible for me to take your place?”

“Yes.”

My answer was immediate.

Against the Principality’s army. Against the officials. And against Kelnur who tried to belittle and slander me.

I had to utterly crush them to ensure that as many people as possible would survive.

But there was something bothering me.

“Renias. Yesterday, as soon as I mentioned it, you said you wanted to take my place. Can you tell me why you said that?”

“Ah…”

I’d hit the mark.

Renias was worried about me because she knew something.

I tried to comfort her as she anxiously waited for me to be honest.

“Because I know… you’re using a dangerous power.”

A secret known only to me and a select few.

So Renias knew about it too.

“How much do you know?”

“…You used it during the time of Defornice III, right? Uncle Muniher and Aunt Denis told me. They suspected you might have used it against Shanberesh too…”

She vaguely suspected I might have used it against Ashpern as well.

Because every time I used that power, I fell into a long sleep. Looking at it with that assumption, everything matched up, allowing her to be certain.

“If that’s the reason, then you don’t need to worry at all.”

“What…?”

“I won’t be using the power you’re thinking of.”

My plan was merely to lure Ashpern and the monsters head-on, not to confront them directly.

“Watch and believe me. I’ll never make you worry, Renias.”

I reassured the anxious Renias.

“This is an operation I’ve already succeeded with once, and I’m just going to execute it again. If I want to brag to those people when I return, I need to prove myself, right?”

As if her anxious feelings had subsided a bit, Renias looked up and hugged me tightly.

“Come back without getting hurt, okay? Promise?”

“Of course.”

With a girlfriend like this.

How could I possibly get hurt and make her worry?

With just tens of minutes before the operation began, I recharged my energy with Renias’s warmth one last time.

***

Due to the prowess shown by two humans, Peltibourgos, who had been reborn through transformation into his brother’s power, was forced into a period of rest.

The sealing technique was much more robust than before, and Ashpern could not break it with his power alone.

He had to wait. Until his brother’s restraints were released.

But he couldn’t wait that long. Ashpern, born to completely erase humans from the Kempriton continent, had to lead the monsters to eliminate these world-devouring beings even now.

“Where on earth are they!”

After Peltibourgos was sealed by those two extraordinary humans, Ashpern had been unable to track human movements because he was busy injecting the power of oblivion into those two.

As a result, he had been searching for a long time.

None of the monsters could use language. All they could do was see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and run with their feet.

Even if they tried to track traces, the monsters could only smell blood.

That’s why there were no results despite days of searching.

Of course, there were ways. Just as humans could use detection magic to sense mana flow or magical power, there were monsters with such abilities.

However, unfortunately…

They were all dead.

It was only much later that Ashpern realized Muniher and Jake, who had sealed Peltibourgos and been erased by the power of oblivion, had eliminated all the detection-type monsters.

“Brother. Wake up soon!! We promised to return all humans in this world to nothingness together!!”

The humans—or more precisely, the Objects—had erased their traces. No matter how many monsters Ashpern led, it would take ages for him to pinpoint their location alone.

Now the only way to find the humans’ location was for the sealed Peltibourgos to wake up as soon as possible, forcing the dragon-man to waste days.

“Damn it.”

Just as he was cursing like a human…

-Boom!

Human magic began raining down.

“Foolish creatures. Coming to die on their own!”

Ashpern had been anxious because there was no way to find the humans. But now the humans appeared first? It was truly a windfall.

-Kyaooo!!

As the monsters howled and tried to attack the humans who had suddenly appeared, Ashpern immediately began controlling the monster army.

“Don’t kill them, drive them into a corner!”

Having seen many humans, he knew.

Humans are much weaker than monsters, and even strong humans cannot face monsters head-on without fighting together.

Therefore, they tend to retreat when weakened, and after depleting their strength, they try to recover and regroup with other groups.

There were exceptions where some sacrificed themselves, but they were few, and the rest all behaved this way.

In other words, he would not kill the humans who had suddenly appeared but would only drain their strength to discover the location of the entire Principality army.

Rather than satisfying his hunger with the prey right before his eyes, he decided to hunt down the hidden prey—the Principality army—by exposing their position.

‘This time I won’t let them escape!’

To erase all humans, the impurities of the Kempriton continent, once and for all.

Ashpern created a spear of magical energy and stepped forward himself.

‘What… that human is…!’

Then, a certain being suddenly caught his eye.

“Plan B! Don’t get surrounded, fall back!”

There was no mistake.

A man swinging a chain attached to his gauntlet, with jet-black hair fluttering.

That man was.

Undoubtedly the being who had made Ashpern feel the crisis of death for the first time.

Even now, recalling that moment makes his entire body shudder.

From the moment the magic spear touched him, it felt as if the skin covered in magical energy was being torn away.

But…

‘It’s empty?’

No longer was there a massive whirlpool of mana swirling around his body like before.

In other words, he didn’t seem capable of drawing the same power as before.

If that was the case.

“Kuk!”

-Clang!

The risk factor was gone. No more sense of crisis.

Isn’t that what it meant?

Facing him directly, Ashpern could tell more clearly.

He had weakened. Compared to then, Junon’s power had weakened considerably, and Ashpern rejoiced.

“You’ve grown weak, human. Haven’t you?”

“Hah. Disgusting that a monster like you speaks human language.”

“Kuk. Kahahat! Yes. I can clearly feel it. Your body no longer possesses the power to draw out that strength!”

“Kuk!”

“Now that you’ve grown so weak, I have nothing more to fear!”

“You talk too much!”

Ashpern exchanged several blows with Junon.

But at this moment, the dull dragon-man failed to notice.

The fact that Junon, unlike before, didn’t seem rushed at all. The blind spot that Junon, who used to charge in like a moth to a flame using any means necessary to strike his enemy, was no longer doing so.

-Rumble.

Earthen walls rose from the ground, blocking the monsters’ view.

Since this magic was the first step humans took when fleeing, Ashpern unhesitatingly ordered the monster army to chase the humans.

The monsters chased and chased the humans.

These beings with robust bodies could not be outrun by human forces.

Thus, the distance between the monsters and humans narrowed, and narrowed further.

“So this is where…!”

The humans’ habit of uniting whenever they faced monsters remained unchanged, and Ashpern, having anticipated this, finally reached the Ripol River and encountered the front line they had established.

Perhaps they hadn’t recovered from the damage of the previous battle, as their front line seemed sloppy. There weren’t many soldiers, and all they had was a river with a weak current.

“Tear them all apart!!”

The only advantage the humans might perceive was the height difference created by deeply dug trenches. It was obvious that this advantage would disappear if the monsters simply crashed into the ground and gradually destroyed its foundation, so there was nothing to fear.

-Bang! Crash! Boom!

Following Ashpern’s orders, the monsters, one by one entering the river, began pounding the base of the rock where the humans stood, amidst the long-range magic raining down from the sky.

Just tens of seconds after these dull collision sounds echoed.

From somewhere, the sound of something truly massive bursting was heard.

‘Where, where is it?’

Ashpern immediately tried to find the collapsed foundation, but there was none to be found.

“What? Then that sound…”

-Swoosh!!

“Wh-what…!”

And.

By the time the question began, it was already too late—he realized this only upon seeing the fierce current rushing toward him.