episode_0023

Fallen lightning covers the forest. The lightning dwells in the falling rain, electrifying various places and forming a type of lightning zone. It is a land of widespread slaughter where no one can survive, scorching and annihilating down to the cellular level. Ellen, who had taken Elena and fled the scene, let out a hollow laugh as she watched the spectacle. “……Unbelievable.” Ellen had participated in many labyrinth explorations and monster subjugation battles on behalf of her family. Thanks to that, she had seen quite a few mages, more than other nobles. But seeing high-level magic was a first. From the start, mages are much fewer in number than warriors. Among them, mages who can use high-level magic are mostly holed up in Wyhaim or active under some organization. Among wandering mages who work for pay, those who can use high-level magic were few enough to be counted on one hand. Therefore, Ellen had only seen explanations of high-level magic in books. Sure-kill magic capable of annihilating a large army with a single gesture and changing the terrain according to the mage’s will. Ellen felt an inexplicable sense of elation at the power of the high-level magic, identical to what she had seen in books. If even Fernan were directly hit by magic of that level, he wouldn’t be unscathed. She felt the electricity mixed in the air and forcibly raised her trembling arm. Elena, having recovered from her injuries, also raised her spirit and narrowed her eyes. “The smell of blood has grown strong. But…… this isn’t a situation to be complacent yet.” Elena was right. Ellen nodded and stared in the direction the lightning had fallen. Acel, standing unsteadily, and Fernan, bleeding from his entire body, were facing each other, raising their fighting spirit. The amount of blood flowing from Fernan’s body was considerable, but the depth of the wounds wasn’t that serious. They were of a level that could be cleanly healed quickly with just one recovery potion. But Fernan didn’t take out the potion in his pocket. To begin with, it had already been shattered into pieces by the lightning strike. Drinking it would be useless. “Huu…” As he exhaled, the lightning-attribute mana remaining in his body tore through his oral cavity as it moved forward. His tongue and palate were torn, and Fernan let out a grin as he spoke. “Lady Ena has a good disciple. To have grown enough to damage a Master’s body at that age. The elders of the Magic Tower would be drooling if they saw this.” “Thank you for the compliment.” “Isn’t this not a situation to be answering? You seem to have mana exhaustion, finish it quickly.” Fernan was right. Acel forcibly held onto his vision, which kept blurring, and grimaced at the pain felt near his heart. High-level lightning-attribute magic, ‘Lightning Strike’. It was the most intuitive, destructive, and formula with much room for revision, but the amount of mana consumed was also immense. It wasn’t to the extent that Acel couldn’t handle it, but simply activating the formula required sacrificing 50% of the mana within his core. He had stacked and embedded such magic, and while casting the formulas, he continuously activated other magic as well. As a result, he was able to activate magic of a power not yet allowed to him, but the price also returned steadily. If there hadn’t been dark clouds in the sky, it wouldn’t have ended with just mana exhaustion. ‘The speed at which mana refills is sufficient. But I can’t afford to be complacent.’ A completely empty mana core. Mana was slowly entering it, but it wasn’t enough to continue the battle. In this state, he could only use magic three times. Fortunately, there was a countermeasure. Acel spread his palm and summoned a small cluster of lightning above it. [Lightning Child (雷兒)] The lightning cluster, judging and moving on its own, rose as per the first command Acel had input. The cluster, glowing with dark blue light, orbited Acel’s surroundings. He watched Fernan, who was leisurely waiting for him, and activated the next magic. [Lightning Absorption (翕雷)] Above Acel’s hand, the lightning in the air gathered. The wandering mana without an owner was also helplessly absorbed into the lightning he had ignited. The enlarged lightning instantly seeped into the vicinity of his heart, filling the mana core with lightning-attribute mana. While Acel’s original mana was flexible enough to use any magic, his current mana consisted solely of destructive and violent lightning. Thanks to this, the magic he could use became limited to lightning magic, but such a limitation had no effect whatsoever. From the first time he used lightning magic until now, the magic Acel was most confident in and handled best had always been the same. He smiled, releasing the overflowing lightning outwards. Fernan smiled back. The next moment, the two simultaneously released magic and sword energy towards each other. KWA-A-A-ANG!! In the air, blue and gray lights clashed, and a loud roar erupted. The cluster orbiting Acel’s side burrowed into the gap. The cluster, which reached Fernan’s front in an instant, glowed and scattered lightning around. “Ha, I didn’t know when Lady Ena used it, but seeing it now, it’s quite bothersome magic.” Fernan dodged the lightning shot by the cluster with strange movements and cut the magic with his sword. Beyond the disappearing cluster. Two blood-red wolves were seen running with their mouths wide open. [Blood Flow Molding] [Blood Wolf Annihilation (血狼鬪滅)] The wolves leaped, each aiming for Fernan’s head and legs. Fernan severed the two wolves with a single sword stroke, then parried the battle axe flying in from the side. His body was pushed back by the axe heavily imbued with aura. Ellen, who slid closer, swung her fist. Swiiish! A fist extending rapidly, slicing through the air. Fernan lightly twisted his body to evade the attack. Then, after cutting the blood spear Elena had thrown with his sword, he swung his leg to kick Ellen’s body. [Spiral Shock (螺震)] Spiral lightning poured down, directly hitting Fernan’s leg. His muscles contracted momentarily, and Ellen exploited that gap. She spun her body and kicked Fernan’s temple with her foot. Fernan’s body fell over sideways as it was. A blatant opening revealed. Instead of pressing further, Ellen retrieved the axe she had thrown and approached Acel’s side. Elena, who had been riding on a blood-red wolf, also took a position beside him. Acel looked at Fernan, who was brushing off the mud stuck in his hair, and handed Ellen a potion from his backpack. “Drink it. It’s a Strength Enhancement Potion.” Ellen downed the potion without hesitation and casually threw away the empty bottle. Feeling the immediate increase in strength, she just rolled her eyes and looked at Acel. “The plan?” “Are you asking for my opinion?” “In cases like this, the answer a mage gives is usually the correct one.” “……Hmm.” Instead of answering, Acel drank a Mana Amplification Potion and narrowed his eyes. “There’s no detailed plan. Maximally, Ellen, you need to block Fernan’s attacks and create easy angles for Elena to attack. I’ll adjust the situation with firepower support from the back.” “Can you do it?” Acel nodded. He crushed the empty bottle with lightning and lightly slapped the backs of the two. That was the signal. Ellen and Elena simultaneously charged towards Fernan. Acel inhaled deeply from behind, raising his mana. Repeating contraction and expansion, his mana spread rapidly. Electricity mixed in his exhaled breath. The air was electrified with every movement. A lightning zone formed centered around Acel. Crack! The sound of lightning sparking was heard from Acel’s brain. He began casting magic. [Lightning Mist (雷霧)] Paaah-jijijijik!! Lightning, dispersed like mist, surged through the space, taking control. It was a wide-area magic impossible to cut down one by one. The magic advanced precisely avoiding Ellen and Elena, covering Fernan from above. Fernan grinned and coated his sword with aura. Sword Aura (劍罡) used for the first time in this battle. A grayish energy covered his blade, and Fernan swung his sword rapidly towards the sky. That alone physically dismantled the magic. Acel circulated all the recoil from the forced dismantling of the magic and activated a new magic. [Great Lightning Sprint Kill (太雷走殺)] Crack. A small lightning bolt sparked before Acel’s eyes. It resonated and combined with the lightning within the dark clouds, becoming a lightning bolt as thick as a house. At that overwhelming pressure, Ellen and Elena’s faces momentarily hardened, and Fernan laughed loudly, sweeping back his wet hair. “Haha! Disciple of Genesis! Just how far have you reached!” “I don’t know. But as I said before.” Acel smirked and shot the lightning bolt forward. “I just do what I can.” KWA-A-A-A-A-A-ANG!! The lightning that advanced with a massive roar brought immense mass and energy with it, pressing forward as if to annihilate everything in its path. Fernan condensed his aura to the extreme on his blade and swung his sword down from above. Screech! At that moment, just before the sword cut through the lightning. The giant lightning disappeared, and a blue line flew from beyond it. [Lightning Line (雷線)] Magic forged by compressing lightning into a line shape wrapped around Fernan’s wrist and electrocuted him. As the output was increased, the line glowed and seared Fernan’s skin. While it was originally powerful enough to sever a hand, a Master’s body did not allow for such loss. It didn’t matter. A momentary rigidity was enough. Crackling! The lightning erupted the rainwater drenching Fernan and traveled upwards, contracting the muscles of his entire body. Ellen and Elena exploited that momentary gap. Ellen swung her axe wide horizontally, and Elena formed hand seals with her eyes stained blood-red. [Blood Flow Acceleration] [Red Blood Eye (赤血眼)] An ability awakened that could arbitrarily designate parts of the opponent most likely to cause significant bleeding. [Blood Flow Molding] [Blood Lake Life Grasp (血湖貪生)] A pool formed from blood beneath Fernan’s feet. Fwoosh! A long red arm shot out from the pool and grabbed Fernan’s face. In that state, the hand opened, and a sharp tongue shot out from inside, aiming for his shoulder blade. “Your coordination is smooth.” His voice was heard from the face covered by the red hand. “But still clumsy.” The moment he spoke, a powerful aura surged from Fernan’s entire body. With just that, Ellen’s axe was pushed back. Elena’s ability was forcibly dismantled. A massive gust of wind violently pushed the two back. “Ugh!” “Kehk!” Rolling on the ground and slamming into trees, the two gasped for breath. But Fernan did not look at them. Instead, he looked at Acel and gripped his sword in a reverse grip. “Do you know the characteristic that Masters and Great Mages have in common?” “……” “It’s being able to release the image they hold into reality. They challenge reality with their own tiny world by manifesting the world they each possess into reality.” He continued speaking, recognizing the three pairs of eyes glaring at him. “I’ll show you.” Fernan grinned and plunged the sword held in a reverse grip into the ground. He pressed down on the pommel of the embedded sword with his foot and murmured. “Image Opening.” Kooong! An invisible energy swept through the entire forest and advanced. Along with that, a gray moon rose in the sky. Pale moonlight shone upon the ground. Just looking at it felt like an illusion of being cut all over. His breath was automatically choked, and his mind screamed to get out of here immediately. But his body wouldn’t move. Overwhelming. Body and mind were overwhelmed by the moonlight. The brain couldn’t give proper commands, and the mind trembled as if it would scatter at any moment. The image of the one who had reached the position of Master with a single sword was that imposing, that terrible, and also beautiful. “Come.” Fernan reached out his hand into the air. A pale sword blade floated above his hand. He pointed the sword tip at Acel and smiled. “This single blow will end the test.” “……” “Endure.” Fernan gripped the sword with both hands and pulled it towards his side. At that sight, Ellen held out her axe as if to protect Acel, and Elena formed a curtain of blood. Acel gritted his teeth and began casting the most powerful magic he could currently unleash. Gathering all the mana in his core, he drew a magic circle. He melted his image into the blade. The magic circle that rose behind Acel resonated with each other and rotated. The moon that rose behind Fernan was reflected in the blade. He extended his hand. He swung the sword. [Nature Resonance] [Formula Expansion] [Mana Amplification] [Formula Overlap] [Lightning Pillar Falling Earth (雷柱落土)] [Setting Moon] A pillar of lightning fell from the sky with the force to cleave the earth. The swung new moon advanced as if to sever everything. And so, the lightning and the moon clashed. KWA-A-A-A-A-A-ANG!! The world flickered.