Chapter 91: The Beastkin (2)

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Riley’s Grimoire. A weapon unlike any other.

It consumes the breath of living creatures and imparts special knowledge to its owner.

Cedric had made sure that Riley would not be able to use it until he had grown enough. It consumed too much magical energy, causing the body to break down. Once the body’s magical pathways are damaged, recovery is difficult.

Additionally, the chant time. The spell is too long, and there are few opportunities to properly use the grimoire in real combat. Riley would often use a shortened version of the incantations, but that would prevent him from unleashing its full power.

Now, having become an adult, Riley had overcome the large consumption of magical energy to a certain extent. The more magic he used, the more his internal magical capacity increased. It was similar to how physical training increases one’s strength. With this training and his now fully developed body and magical pathways, Riley was in his prime.

That left only the disadvantage of chant time.

Was there a way to overcome this drawback?

Having foreseen this issue, the Guardian had already found the answer.

************

Under a sky heavy with dark clouds.

Riley, holding the book, quietly opened his mouth. Words, like breaths, flowed out and dispersed into the air. The incomprehensible language, barely audible, caused the grimoire to respond, it emitting a gloomy light.

“ —- — – …”

The Beastkin, with ears perked, bared its teeth. The cute girl had now transformed into a monster, and she lunged toward Riley.

Riley caught the monster’s wrist as it flew toward him. Even when he let go of the book, it floated by his side, effortlessly.

Riley frowned at the unearthly hardness, something that couldn’t be described as human.

Still, it didn’t matter. A magician, too, is someone who transcends the limits of humanity.

Riley twisted the wrist he had caught, pulling her close to him. His knee struck the monster’s abdomen as she floated in the air, her body jerking sharply in response

Then, just as he was about to throw a punch, the Beastkin let out a roar and twisted her body, sending her leg toward Riley. Her sharp claws grazing his shoulder. His clothes tore, blood welling up, but Riley didn’t flinch.

In fact, Sugar, who was watching, almost leaped into action but Cedric stopped her. Meanwhile, Riley continued silently reciting the incantation from the grimoire.

Riley immediately threw the Beastkin away and drew his staff.

“Icicle.”

Multiple sharp ice spears shot toward her. As she landed on the ground, she quickly charged at Riley again. The ice spears cut through the air, but the Beastkin skillfully dodged, narrowly missing them.

“Icy Road.”

In response, ice quickly formed beneath the Beastkin’s feet, spreading over a wide area and freezing her legs to the ground.

To make sure the ice held, Riley cast a freezing spell. The Beastkin’s limbs began to freeze, her breath turning to frost that collected on her nose and lips.

Still, she seemed amused.

With a howl, a burst of heat erupted from her. Her body temperature spiked rapidly, causing the ice to vaporize and steam to rise. Her scales began to glow red as her body heated up.

“… This is strange.” Sugar muttered to herself.

“What is?”

Cedric, who was casually wrapping bandages, asked her.

“It’s strange.”

“Is it? Well, there are people who make things like that and play around with them.”

“Really? Anyway… that’s true, but Riley.”

Sugar was watching Riley, who was facing off against the monster. He had a remarkably calm expression as his lips moved.

That was strange.

While chanting the magic from the book, he was continuously casting other spells.

It wasn’t the typical “multitasking” that normal magicians do, where they recite several incantations at once. Riley had used “acceleration, flight” before, for example, which was an example of multitasking.

That method involves finishing multiple incantations in the mind before releasing them all at once, but what Riley was doing now was different.

While preparing one spell, he was releasing completed spells one by one.

To put it another way, he was performing “dual incantation.” He was drawing different symbols with each hand, as if casting two different spells at once.

Sugar stared intently at him.

At that moment, cold droplets of water touched her skin.

The drops, one by one, soon began to pour down in a heavy downpour. Cedric led Sugar farther from the battlefield, creating a protective shield.

Dragged along, Sugar looked up at the sky, now covered in dark clouds and then turned her gaze back to the front.

The droplets hit the Beastkin’s red scales and a sizzling sound echoed as steam began to rise. The monster, now emitting steam, charged at Riley.

A sphere made of raindrops blocked its path, trapping it inside.

Riley sent an ice spear toward the struggling monster. It pierced through its body, and the water sphere became clouded with blood.

–Krr, Kyaaa!!

The Beastkin screamed, and once again, heat erupted from her. The water trapping her began to bubble and boil. Her wounds healed and her eyes burned with intense fury.

Riley quietly glared at the monster. His icy blue eyes were like frozen glass, filled with hatred and murderous intent. Until now, he had maintained a calm demeanor, but now he was letting his emotions show.

The sound of thunder clashing against the clouds was heard from the sky. It seemed to signal the time had come to act.

The magic in the forest churned heavily.

The Beastkin instinctively flinched, then struggled. She melted the ice spear that had pierced her body and tore through the Water Realm to escape.

Her single-minded goal was clear: Eat that man first.

Despite her injuries, she could heal, so it didn’t matter what happened to her body. The strong survive in the end. The strong get to feast. It was a simple rule she had grasped with her primitive mind.

Riley pointed his staff at her. The Beastkin grinned, as if waiting for this moment.

Two claps. Clap clap.

In an instant, her form vanished, and she reappeared behind Riley. Her claws slashed toward his neck, eager to drink his blood, and she bared her teeth in delight.

But strangely enough.

Why did their eyes meet?

Riley had already turned his head and was pointing his left index finger at her.

“The one who rules the Sea of Clouds—”

Magical detection was Riley’s specialty.

“—The Wrath of the Dragon.”

With a deafening roar and a blinding flash, the forest was engulfed in light.

The lightning, tearing through the sky, struck the ground and pierced the Beastkin, incinerating her with the fury of the dragon’s wrath.

Amidst the remaining electricity, where the heat had nowhere to go and surged like a storm, the beast screamed in a voice that was not human.

Riley stood calmly, endlessly gazing down at the thrashing body in pain.

A way to compensate for the long imprisonment.

The man decided not to rely on tricks but to overcome it through training, so he found the answer in ‘mental strength.’

While moving, fighting, and even chanting another spell.

The mental strength to recite the incantations from the grimoire without stopping. The unyielding will that does not falter, anywhere, at any time.

In other worlds, the grimoire was calm because its owner soothed it daily by spilling human blood, but the grimoire here was starved and enraged. Even if its owner just stood quietly and recited the incantations, it would make the head throb.

Yet, Riley managed to endure this much. Through his experience trained under a guardian, he could complete the incantation perfectly. Who knows how many remote places he had traveled.

When the owner of such a grimoire looked down at the ground, the movements of life stopped, and a new page appeared in the book.

“Ah. I should’ve said not to kill them in advance.”

While Cedric, who had witnessed all this, calmly muttered to himself, Sugar stared blankly with her mouth open.

Her arms and legs were bandaged, the first-aid treatment completed. Of course, since flesh had been torn away, proper treatment was needed. Cedric, glancing at Sugar, murmured, “I guess it wouldn’t have mattered if I told him.”

“Since she has a recovery characteristic, it was judged that capturing her alive would be difficult. But at least the corpse is left, so it’s fine, right? Do the autopsy.”

“Did you hear that? But it seems like they were planning to turn her into a lump of charcoal from the start…”

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

Riley, brushing dust off his body, approached. He placed the grimoire in his space and tucked the staff into the inside pocket of his cloak before standing before Sugar.

He gazed down at her silently, looking even more stern than usual as he stared intently.

Sugar awkwardly lifted her head.

“Riley. That… was awesome. You were amazing. When did you become such a great magician?”

Totally embarrassing… Ah, maybe that’s not quite right.

Sugar hesitated and blurted out nonsense, but Riley merely looked at her. He mostly focused on the areas wrapped in bandages.

Then, suddenly, he picked Sugar up. It was the so-called princess carry. His hands touched the delicate back and legs of Sugar.

“W-wait. I can walk on my own…”

“Quiet.”

As Sugar tried to hide her flushed face, Riley muttered dismissively.

Even after just using magic, Riley gave off an intense, sharp presence. If she focused on it, she felt like she’d be swept away. With her heart pounding, nestled in his arms, the sound of his heartbeat was so vivid.

Sugar felt strange. Had she been swept up in Riley’s pride? Her heart beat faster for no reason. Gripping her chest, she burrowed further into his arms.

Her face was filled with shyness.

“Hey…”

“Why?”

“Thank you… and I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“Just… in many ways.”

‘You’re so strong and reliable, but I feel so lacking.’

Hiding her disappointment in herself under her shyness, she spoke.

“Don’t say things like that. I… don’t deserve to hear it.”

Sugar’s eyes widened slightly.

“Why would you say that? That’s not true.”

“You got hurt. I was right next to you, but in the blink of an eye…”

“This much is fine. My arms and legs aren’t ruined, and it’s not a serious wound. Besides, you got out of it safely.”

“You even got hurt on your head? I saw your bones. You idiot.”

“…”

Riley spat the words out, and it was pitiable. She realized why his response was oddly cold.

Sugar hesitated but then pressed her face to Riley’s shoulder wound.

Soon, she showered that area with kisses.

Smack, smack, smack— her lips moved busily, making a cute sound.

“Hey…! What are you doing…?”

“Complimenting you.”

Cedric started grumbling from behind, “Oh, come on…”

Still, Sugar didn’t stop. She couldn’t express it in words.

How should she express her gratitude? How should she comfort the man who felt guilty about her injury?

‘What should I do for you, who cares for me so much?’

Even her ‘weak heart’ was being stirred and running wild in the midst of it all. Every time she was held by him, every time she smelled his scent, her heart pounded without any awareness.

Sugar sighed, feeling upset and her chest aching.

Her heart, which couldn’t get what it wanted, formed an unknown plan.

Though the situation had settled for now, it had been a day full of things to think about.