Ch.366361 – Ice Witch

[Simple Casting: Demon King’s Horn]

I can see the flow of mana.

I see gentle streams, raging whirlpools, and infinite oceans.

Humans cannot defy nature, but nature cannot push humans away either.

That’s why humans carved mountains, dammed rivers, and built ships to cross oceans.

Was this possible thanks to explosives, dams, and sailing ships?

No, it was possible because explosive reactions, dam construction techniques, and ship design technology improved day by day.

Craftsmen who cannot see the essence have no right to choose their tools.

[Composition: Bose-Einstein Condensate – Spin Cloud]

The air freezes cold and all atoms passing through the magic circle slow down.

As I chant in runic language, Larsson raises his greatsword high and begins charging at a fierce pace.

No need to aim.

I stretch my arm forward through the magic circle and firmly grasp the bluish mana cloud.

The cold flowing between my fingers is a somewhat nostalgic sensation.

[Cast: Glacies Ion Trap]

“What the…!”

A massive ice hand erupts from beneath Larsson’s feet and grabs his body.

Crack-crack-crack!

I can hear the sound of the mana particle barrier breaking from here.

As if refusing to allow any more impact, Larsson spins Mistilteinn once to destroy the ice hand.

I step back three or four paces and duplicate another magic circle.

[Chain Cast: Glacies Ion Trap]

“Haaaaaah!”

Breaking through the strongly resistant mana flow, I bring both hands together in front of my chest in prayer.

A clear clapping sound rings out.

Boom!

Two massive ice walls swirl around Larsson’s sides and charge fiercely toward each other.

Crash!

The ground instantly freezes, and hard sand fragments scatter.

Larsson jumps high into the air to avoid the walls trying to crush him.

A clear mistake – this was my perfect opportunity.

I immediately release the ice walls and merge two magic circles to expand the dimension.

[3rd Circle Cast: Glacies Ion Trap Catellus]

I rotate the vertically positioned magic circle horizontally and fill its 16 edges with 1st circle runes.

Sixteen ice chains fly from different directions at Larsson’s feet and attach to his body.

I immediately pull all chains taut, slamming the bound criminal to the ground.

Boom!

The impact creates a crater.

It must have dealt significant damage not only to the mana particle barrier but also to the subparticle barrier.

An arm emerges from the pile of ice.

Barely escaping his tomb, Larsson kneels and catches his breath.

I raise my eyebrows and give him a smile, causing confusion to appear on his face.

Larsson readjusts his weapon and says:

“Haa haa… you’re pretty skilled? Don’t think this is over. The moment I catch you, you’re finished.”

“That’s not something you should say while trembling. Besides, I just need to not get caught, right?”

“You little!”

Clang!

Larsson forcefully stabs his sword into the frozen ground.

[Cast: Heat Transfer – Conduction]

The magic-circled Mistilteinn glows red-hot, sublimating the ice into vapor.

The ground becomes like a slushy swamp.

Larsson surrounds his feet with aura to increase his speed.

‘I can’t let him do as he pleases.’

[Composition: Superfluid – Helium]

[Cast: Glacies Vortex]

Cold rises from the floor.

Recalling his earlier mistake, Larsson chooses to ignore it rather than jump.

But the superfluid, moving like a single colony, grabs his ankle.

The suddenly expanding slime washes over Larsson like a wave.

“Aaaaargh!”

I don’t miss the opportunity while he’s flustered and prepare a combo.

[Composition Formula Release]

[Cast: Viscosity Coefficient Adjustment]

The fluid becomes increasingly sticky.

I firmly fixed the slime holding Larsson to the ground.

His desperate attempts to cut free with Mistilteinn have pitifully little effect.

I slowly approach Larsson, whose body has become rigid.

“Shall I let you go?”

“…”

“I can give you one more chance.”

“Get lost.”

Larsson grits his teeth and draws in all his aura.

Crack-crack-crack!

Blue lightning ruptures the slime interior, and with his hands freed, Larsson escapes the swamp.

Mistilteinn returns to him with a whistling sound.

He glares at me fiercely with an expression even more distorted than before.

Strategically speaking, Larsson has retreated to the far end of the arena.

I give him a light smile and gesture with my finger to come at me if he dares.

Red mana swirls around the greatsword, followed by blazing flames engulfing the blade.

[Innate Magic: &^@᧌#@%]

A magic circle with a structure I’ve never seen before – probably a family’s innate magic.

Lightning strikes and the sword absorbs energy like a lightning rod.

He runs straight at me with the sword emitting purple sparks at his waist.

‘Going all in, huh.’

He shows not even the slightest effort to dodge or counterattack.

A reckless charge based on his belief in aura heart output superiority.

I launch several ice spears, but they don’t penetrate the strange shield that forms in front of him.

Then I have no choice but to use magic that can forcibly stop him.

Freezing magic must be viewed separately from general water-based magic.

Water is water magic, and ice, though ambiguous, is still water magic.

Then what is freezing magic?

Only ultra-low temperature magic that defies the laws of physics at room temperature can be called freezing magic.

[Composition: Iron-Arsenic]

[Cast: Superconductivity Phenomenon – Meissner Effect]

Whoosh!

I create a powerful repulsive force in front of Larsson, pushing him back.

And then double casting.

[Cast: Glacies Ion Trap Catellus]

With the magic circle in my left hand, I forbid approach, and with the magic circle in my right hand, I mercilessly wield ice chains.

Bang!

Each time I strike down with the chains, a loud explosion occurs.

Wherever he steps, I lift his body with superconductivity and repeatedly strike with chains.

Seeing his clothes becoming increasingly tattered, I almost feel sorry for him.

“Won’t you give up?”

“Haa… haak… huaaa…”

He seemed too busy catching his breath to answer.

Larsson used unfamiliar magic to try to turn the unfavorable situation around.

[Cast: Arc Disch-]

But,

[Disruption: Arc Discharge]

With triple casting, I predict the formula and disrupt it during casting.

“…!”

“Only I can use magic here.”

Only then does Larsson charge at me like someone who has lost his mind.

“You monster! Aaaaargh!”

I’m not even sure if he’s thinking while fighting anymore.

“This is boring.”

It’s not easy to find interest in an opponent who has lost the will to fight.

Look at him now. Full of openings.

Larsson, finally able to close the distance, raised his greatsword high.

The sun’s light reflects in all directions, emitting radiance.

I step forward instead,

slightly bow my head,

and draw all my mana to the tip of my black horn.

[Composition: Niobium]

Wheeeeeeee!

A tone that cannot be heard in nature shakes the space.

Water vapor turns to frost upon contact with the black horn.

A space generating powerful electromagnetic force is created,

and finally, the compressed mana to its limit causes a powerful explosion.

[4th Circle Cast: Glacies Astra – Railgun]

Bang!

“Ugh.”

Ah, I forgot to cover my ears.

A shockwave that deafens the ears spreads in a circle.

Mana that has crossed the Necessity critical point perfectly follows the properties of particles.

The mana projectile, having acquired perfect linearity, sends the man flying about several dozen meters to the opposite side of the arena.

He might have screamed while flying, or maybe not.

When I raised my head again, Larsson had lost consciousness after being hit directly by the railgun.

Everything is quiet.

I take a big yawn, and my muffled ears clear up.

“Prince Larsson!”

“Your Highness!”

The dome curtain opens, and bodyguards in black clothes jump out from beyond the fence.

I didn’t notice when I was in the arena, but a very hot wind suddenly blew in from outside.

Of the twelve bodyguards, half ran to check on the prince’s condition, and half surrounded me.

“Huh? Why? Do you want to fight me too?”

Didn’t they just see me fighting?

When I say something, they slowly back away.

“This must be a dream.”

Harald, the bear-like coach who arrived late, muttered with a lost expression.

That’s right.

The prince of a small country who would disappear with a flick of my hand, trying to teach me?

I should always be the one giving lessons.

* * *

Prince Larsson suddenly opened his eyes in the shade of the arena waiting room.

It felt like waking from a long sleep, but his body didn’t feel refreshed at all.

When he turned his head, the ice pack on his forehead fell to the floor.

“Are you conscious, sir!”

“Where am I…”

“You fainted during the duel!”

“Duel? I…? Ah!”

As his memory returned, his head throbbed and his entire body ached.

“Urgh!”

“You shouldn’t move. Your knees and shoulders could dislocate again.”

“Again means they’re already… Aagh!”

The temporary healing magic circle working hard.

Prince Larsson wanted to ask for anesthetic magic but couldn’t bring himself to do so because of his pride.

‘Still at the arena?’

His eyes, now adjusted to the light, moved around to assess the situation.

Prince Larsson realized that he had been defeated by a 9-year-old child without landing even one effective hit.

If Katsuhata Emika was like being hit by a dump truck, dueling with NoName felt like being hit by a supersonic fighter jet.

Just thinking about it made his solar plexus hurt more.

“Ugh! Could I get some anesthetic magic…”

“What? You’re already under partial anesthesia. To go stronger would require full anesthesia or sleep anesthesia.”

“This is with anesthesia? Damn it…!”

“Please bear with it for 10 minutes. I’ll heal you soon.”

While Larsson turned his head to secretly shed a tear, a familiar girl’s voice was heard.

“10 minutes? That ends faster than I thought. If I’d known the medical team was this skilled, I should have hit harder.”

“There were several dangerous attacks, but fortunately they missed vital points.”

“Missed? I deliberately missed them. Whatever. Elias Larsson, since you’re under anesthesia, I’ll give you feedback on our duel.”

“Urgh, now? Can’t you see what state I’m in?”

“Hmm… you look fine to me? Are you in too much pain to listen? Hmm, is it that bad?”

“No, go ahead. Do it!”

“Why are you so spineless for a prince… Anyway, get up. I just got the video from the coach.”

‘It hurts to even breathe, and she’s telling me to get up?’

Prince Larsson hesitated.

Pride doesn’t put food on the table, so he decided to humble himself a bit.

“Can I just lie down…”

“Hmm.”

“My body still hurts.”

“Yes, go ahead. Listen while lying down. Now I see you have a bit of a sense of entitlement, but since it’s your culture, I’ll understand.”

Larsson, born into royalty who even voluntarily gave up his royal title.

Being told by someone that he had a sense of entitlement was a first in his lifetime.

“Now this part. Breaking the ion trap with your sword and escaping here was textbook perfect. But why did you suddenly jump up at the second trap? By my common sense, it was a truly incomprehensible decision – you clearly knew it could be broken with your sword before, and everyone with a brain knows that blocking is much safer than jumping into the air. What were you thinking when you jumped? Do you have vampire ancestors who might sprout wings?”

“Wh-what?”

Larsson couldn’t gather his thoughts amid the barrage of criticism.

“Tell me quickly. What were you thinking?”

NoName, crouching beside the prince, frowned.

With her slightly downward-looking dissatisfied gaze, one raised eyebrow, and furrowed brow, she wore an expression of contempt as if looking at a fool and an idiot.

Faced with the cold feedback of the 9-year-old ice witch, Larsson was speechless for a while.