Chapter 24: Pandemonium (2)
by Afuhfuihgs“Hold your breath, Angela.”
“I-I’m holding it…!”
The space was filled with sleep-inducing powder.
However, Selena and Angela were still awake.
Part of it was due to their high magic resistance.
But more importantly, Selena’s quick judgment to wrap the barrier in wind saved them.
[2-star Magic: Gale]
Whooosh—
A powerful gust of wind blew, dispersing the fine particles that had filled the air.
As the dense powder scattered, the previously blurry vision returned to normal.
“Sis, we can’t beat him.”
“I know.”
Just looking at the energy radiating from him made it clear.
Even if she and Angela attacked with all their might, they wouldn’t be able to touch a single hair on him.
The only one who might stand a chance is that Master-level Luke Richter…
“Luke Richter, can you hear me?”
“……”
He remained frozen in place with his head down.
No matter how she looked at it, he didn’t seem normal.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“……”
“This is driving me crazy.”
“……”
No response, no matter how much she called.
Could he really have lost consciousness in that state?
But that doesn’t make sense.
A Master-level individual wouldn’t lose consciousness just from inhaling a bit of that low-grade sleep powder.
Then what is it?
Was he in bad condition today?
Or could it be…
Was it all just a misunderstanding from the start?
“It would’ve been better if you’d just fallen asleep peacefully. Always making trouble.”
“Shut up.”
“I’ll tear your mouth apart first, you wench.”
Gulp—
Selena’s throat tightened.
Why does someone with such power choose to act as a villain?
She wanted to demand an explanation, but this wasn’t the time for that.
‘I have to save at least one of them.’
If that man decided to, he could kill them all.
In that case, sacrificing herself to save the others would be the right choice.
I just need to buy time.
Then, create an opening to move Angela and Luke Richter out of here.
One persistent doubt kept gnawing at Selena’s mind.
‘Can I… really do it?’
Selena shook her head vigorously.
In a situation where life and death were at stake, there was no time to hesitate.
She forcefully visualized an image to manifest her magic.
Just as she drew up her mana throughout her entire body—
“Shh. It’d be troublesome if you made a fuss.”
The man placed his thumb over his lips.
Flash—
As if someone had flipped a switch, her vision suddenly vanished.
A distant, ringing noise throbbed in her brain, making her feel faint.
“…Damn it.”
She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear.
In the serene silence, the only sound was her own ragged breathing.
The overwhelming helplessness from losing all senses made Selena collapse onto the spot.
“Hmm, good. Finally quiet.”
Charon looked at the panic-stricken Selena and Angela with a satisfied smile.
He then started muttering to himself.
“So… this is the famous Necronomicon, huh?”
He caressed the Necronomicon in his hand.
Then, he began to open the book.
“To activate it… Open it, then infuse mana and imagine the concept, right?”
Wooong—
A heavy wave of mana surged from his fingertips as he placed his hand on the book.
The Necronomicon voraciously absorbed the surging mana.
Shortly after, a dark purple light burst out from the open pages, engulfing the surrounding darkness.
Fwoosh—
The light faded.
Thud—
Only the Necronomicon, lying on the ground, remained at the spot where they once stood.
A massive full moon filled the sky, its light caressing the earth.
However, there were two unusual aspects.
First, the size of the full moon was enormous, as if it covered the entire sky.
Second, its color was a blood-red hue reminiscent of crimson.
The eerie scene unfolding before them resembled a demonic realm.
Charon looked around, his body shivering.
“The Assembly…!”
The Forgotten Assembly.
A world where ancient beings, long buried by the passage of time, reside.
It is a world where demons and evil beings swarm, not much different from the commonly known demon realm.
The crucial difference is that ordinary monsters cannot exist here.
A world teeming with demons from the Abyss is too overwhelming for lesser monsters to endure.
Of course, this also applies to humans.
“Ah…! Aaaaah…!!!”
Charon ran his hands down his arms repeatedly, exclaiming in awe.
However, Selena and Angela’s reactions were entirely different from Charon’s.
“…Where the hell are we now?”
Just standing still made it hard to breathe, and her skin tingled painfully.
The oppressive, ominous mana filling the space made it nearly impossible to move.
An endless wasteland stretched across the horizon.
Twisted vines, grotesquely bent and reaching high into the sky, sprouted sporadically.
Withered, gnarled trees resembling skeletal remains stood as if symbolizing death itself.
It was truly the Abyss.
Selena let out a sigh, overwhelmed by the crushing despair wrapping around her body.
“Hahaha… hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”
In contrast, Charon threw his head back and laughed madly.
The group that worships evil—the Pandemonium.
To them, this place was nothing short of a sanctuary.
“I… I have entered the Assembly…!!!”
Charon trembled with ecstatic joy.
The thrill of stepping into the realm of the gods as a mere human.
That strange, electrifying sensation completely devoured his sanity.
“You should be grateful. If it weren’t for me, you filthy insects would never have seen a place like this in your entire lives.”
Being dragged to a place she never wanted to visit and then being told to be grateful?
Selena stared coldly at him, her eyes icy.
Shortly after, Charon grabbed his face with both hands.
“W-Wait a second…!”
Suddenly, he began squeezing his own face and screaming.
“N-No…! Letting filthy insects into the sanctuary…!!! This is blasphemy!!!!”
“Crazy bastard.”
The very existence of this place itself was blasphemy.
Watching Charon spew nonsense, Selena clicked her tongue in disdain.
“Filthy insects dare!!!!!!”
“Just shut the f—”
Boom—!!
Before Selena could finish her sentence, a heavy wave of mana swept across the ground.
A few seconds later, a colossal magic formula appeared in the sky, covering it entirely.
“f*ing brats…”
Highly compressed mana burst forth from Charon’s fingertips.
Soon, the magic formula in the sky vanished.
[7-star Magic: Dark Thunderstorm]
Dimensional rifts tore through the sky, covering it with holes.
From those rifts, overflowing dark mana gathered at the center, compressed to the point of imminent explosion.
“…This is ridiculous.”
There’s no way to dodge this.
Even if I try to block it, I’d be lucky to last a second.
Seeing the overwhelming flow of mana emanating from the spell formation, Selena’s resolve completely crumbled.
“Damn it…!”
This was completely unexpected.
Why the hell is a monster like him in a place like this?
Feeling a sense of helplessness she’d never experienced before, Selena bit her lip hard.
Angela, too, could only stare blankly at the spell formation floating in the air.
Crackle—!!
From beyond the rift, jet-black lightning surged toward the ground.
The streaks of electricity floating in the sky were almost beautiful—a deceptive illusion in such a dire situation.
“Die.”
Boom—!!!
A carpet bombing that engulfed the ground.
It was beyond what any mere academy student could withstand.
Yet, Selena and Angela survived the destructive onslaught.
Completely unharmed.
[9-star Magic: Absolute Field]
A spell formation etched on the ground.
An invisible mana barrier in the shape of a dome surrounded Selena and Angela.
“…How is this possible?”
“Sis, look at the ground.”
The structure of magic formations follows a fixed formula.
The outer ring contains runes that represent causality.
Mana circuits efficiently transmit the magical power.
And the grade of the magic is indicated by the pentagrams within.
The spell formation on the ground had a central pentagram with…
“…Nine… stars…?”
No way… A 9-star magic?
Is that even possible? Could such a realm truly exist?
‘Come to think of it… Breathing has gotten easier.’
When they first arrived here, it was hard to breathe due to the overwhelming surge of ominous mana.
But within this dome, no oppressive mana could be felt.
Rather, the pure mana made breathing more comfortable.
“Sis, look over there.”
Following Angela’s prompt, Selena turned her head.
She saw Luke Richter confronting the villain.
There was no doubt.
This unbelievable protective magic was Luke Richter’s doing.
The villain was yelling furiously at Luke, his gestures wild and violent.
However, as if the space was completely isolated, not a single sound reached them.
And at that moment—
Luke Richter raised his hand toward the sky.
————————————————————————
[8-star Magic: Plasma Strike]
[8-star Magic: Dimensional Rift]
[8-star Magic: Ice Age]
[8-star Magic: Infernal Hellfire]
—————————————————————————
Four spell formations emerged, suspended in midair.
Each of them displayed eight stars.
“……”
“……”
A Master-level mage?
Is it even right to categorize that kind of power as a mere level?
“This is insane.”
Meteors fell from the sky.
A blinding white light enveloped the entire world.
The terrifying wave of mana froze the entire landscape.
Simultaneously, a catastrophic explosion melted and scorched everything in its path.
Doomsday had arrived.
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