Chapter 82: Living Grimoire (2)

Gellion Archland.

One of the four heroes who, alongside the first saintess, defeated the Demon King in the past.

Known as the Living Grimoire, he is also regarded as a pioneer who ushered in the age of magic.

He was a mage who had already proven the principles and created artifacts hundreds of years ago—artifacts that are still conveniently used in modern times.

His legends are well-known.

However, if there’s one thing that’s hard to accept, it’s why a figure like Gellion would side with the false goddess.

He is, without a doubt, a legendary figure.

Once at the pinnacle of magic, he possessed immense magical power and knowledge of spells that could even overwhelm the dragon, said to be the ancestor of magic.

He was also known for his noble character.

If the records are true, Gellion had absolutely no reason to side with the false goddess.

It’s also strange that a mage of his caliber would be unable to resist mental attacks like brainwashing.

The old man, clad in shabby robes, even had dirt and grime on his face.

To an outsider, he might look like a beggar.

But Wolfgang knew better.

She could feel it clearly—the immense magical power emanating from the old man. At the very least, it was on par with Black, if not stronger.

Moreover, Wolfgang was certain that the mage Gellion before her was not acting under coercion.

He was doing this of his own will, by his own choice.

What on earth is he after?

Wolfgang’s head began to ache, but she had no time to ask questions or waste resources figuring it out.

She immediately pulled out the crystal orb from her pocket and prepared to use it.

“Sorry, but whatever your reasons are, they’re none of my concern.”

“You’ve always been like that. The type to use your trump card without hesitation.”

“…?!”

“That’s why I prepared in advance.”

But the moment Wolfgang tried to use the crystal orb, she felt something was off.

The orb didn’t respond at all. Not even communication was possible. Had he tampered with it?

“How could I not prepare when facing a hero like you? Don’t you think?”

“I see. You’ve set up a barrier.”

“Oh? You noticed my barrier? Your instincts are sharper than I thought.”

“I’ve dealt with plenty of people who pull similar tricks.”

From the Wendigos to the fanatics who followed them, they often set up traps like this, waiting for their prey.

Most of them were dealt with by the Vendetta Corps.

Thanks to that experience, Wolfgang could easily sense the situation.

The uncomfortable, prickling flow of energy. The barrier was cutting off all connection to the outside.

Well, he is called the Living Grimoire, after all.

This much is probably nothing to him. The only surprising part was that he could set up such a barrier without any warning.

‘If I let my guard down, I might get caught.’

“How about we have a little chat?”

“…A chat? Suddenly?”

“It wouldn’t be a loss for you, would it? You’ll need to break this barrier to call for help.”

“If we talk, you might figure out a way to break the barrier. Even if not, there’s no need to waste unnecessary energy.”

Listening to Gellion’s words, Wolfgang felt herself being gradually persuaded by his seemingly logical reasoning.

For a moment, she even considered agreeing. But she quickly snapped out of it.

At the same time, she didn’t miss the sense of unease she had felt earlier and continued to question his motives.

Why would he suggest a conversation?

Wouldn’t it be better to kill me or drive me out?

This connected with the unease she had felt when she first learned about this temple.

Gellion’s behavior, as if he wanted to keep her here, and the fact that the temple had been completed long ago.

“I see. Your goal isn’t to kill me or drive me out. You want to keep me here.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I heard this temple was completed at least a year ago. That means you must have planned this long before. But isn’t it strange? The Winter King was still alive back then.”

“Shall I guess? You need to keep me here for a reason. For example, what you really want isn’t to resurrect the Winter King. You have another goal.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, they say.”

The calm magical energy suddenly began to boil.

Feeling the immense threat pressing against her skin, Wolfgang swallowed dryly. It felt as if she had angered the master of this world.

“Now you’ll get to confirm that statement.”

What should I do now?

Magic follows formulas. It’s as simple as the proposition that 1 + 1 equals 2.

For example, fire is hot, and ice is cold—these are universal truths and, at the same time, sources of power.

Magic is the force that directly manifests these truths.

In other words, something like cold fire or hot ice cannot be created through magic—at least, not by ordinary mages.

But Gellion can twist these fundamental truths and manifest them through magic.

He can create hot ice or cold fire, and he can distort other truths to use them as he pleases.

That is Gellion’s magic.

In other words, as long as his magical abilities allow it, anything is possible.

Wolfgang clicked her tongue and fiddled with her eyepatch.

[By the way, didn’t you say that releasing the seal would make you stronger?]

“That’s right.”

[Then release it now!]

“Wasn’t he one of your followers?”

[If a child goes down the wrong path, a true parent disciplines them. They don’t just stand by and watch.]

“I’ve been trying my best since earlier. But it’s not working.”

The moment Wolfgang thought Gellion had revealed his true colors, she quickly tried to remove her eyepatch.

She had been thoroughly beaten by Monica before, after all.

But the attempt failed.

“The eyepatch won’t come off. It’s as if it’s become a part of my body.”

[It’s magic. Gellion has cast a spell on it.]

“If this is possible, why go through the trouble of casting such a spell…?”

“To instantly kill your opponent? That’s correct. Most of the time, it’s possible.”

Gellion didn’t deny Wolfgang’s words. He could have immediately twisted this small world and forced an utterly irrational scenario upon her. At least, that’s how it would have been before Wolfgang.

But now that Wolfgang had entered the dimension Gellion had created, Gellion felt a sense of panic for the first time in a long while.

For some reason, his magic had no effect on her.

For example, he couldn’t change her breathing to that of a fish’s gills to suffocate her.

Nor could he block the light entering her eyes to blind her. None of his spells worked.

In fact, her mere presence in this space made it impossible for him to use the spells he had always wielded as easily as breathing.

But Gellion soon realized the reason.

‘I see. Her existence is too vast for my magical formulas to keep up.’

The formulas that include Wolfgang Leonhardt in their calculations are all malfunctioning, unable to apply properly.

In other words, her existence is too immense and complex for the formulas to process.

This was the first time something like this had happened, and Gellion was quite taken aback.

But what needed to be done hadn’t changed.

He had to use whatever tricks he could to suppress her from releasing the seal.

Then, he would use magic to slowly accumulate damage and wear her down.

While he couldn’t use formulas that included her, he could still use formulas that didn’t involve her.

‘Damn it, I didn’t think the leaked information would come back to bite me like this.’

When the seal was released, Hyde had been easily subdued.

But because the information had fallen into their hands, from Monica to Gellion, they were now struggling continuously.

However, there was no time or luxury to dwell on past mistakes.

Wolfgang immediately ignited her flames to block the white flames that had appeared around her.

But the moment her flames clashed with the white flames, Wolfgang’s flames vanished as if they had never existed.

Her flames had been overpowered before, but they had never disappeared without a trace.

Even Wolfgang, who had experienced countless battles, couldn’t help but be startled.

This was a spell Gellion had specially crafted for Wolfgang—a countermeasure using cold flames.

“Negative and positive cancel each other out when they’re equal.

At the very least, I’ve calculated the output of your flames in your sealed state.”

In other words, this was the only way to counter her.

Barriers, shields, summoned creatures—none of them would work against her all-consuming flames.