episode_0139

“Screech!”

The monster shattered into pieces.

But Skadia cast a new spell without giving it a single glance.

‘It never ends.’

The battlefield was a cauldron of chaos.

In the distance, Behemoth and Bruno continued their world-shaking battle, while here, they were busy defending against an incessant swarm of monsters.

Even though the academy students were in a relatively safe zone, casualties were constantly appearing, which showed how serious the situation was.

If Sara and Serlin, the supervising professors, hadn’t been dealing with large monsters, including ogres, they would have already been annihilated.

But even that had reached its limit.

─Roar!

A group of ogres appeared from the rear of the fortress.

Some of them managed to break through the knights’ formation and reached the students.

Skadia immediately activated her magic.

“Ice Spear!”

Above her head, cold energy gathered, instantly forming into a spear and shooting forward.

Whoosh!

The chilling sound of air tearing.

It was incredibly fast and powerful, but unfortunately, the ogre reacted to it.

It raised its forearm to block the spear.

Shatter!

The Ice Spear exploded the moment it struck the flesh, scattering cold energy. The condensed ice magic spread, freezing everything around.

Even the ogre’s forearm was momentarily engulfed in cold energy, its movement stiffening.

“Now!”

Seizing the opportunity, the students rushed forward.

Led by those with shields, they applied pressure from all directions.

However, unfortunately, it didn’t have just one arm.

The ogre swung its remaining arm, simultaneously knocking away the shield bearers and pouncing on a student who was preparing a surprise attack.

Crunch!

The moment it was hit by the fist, its limbs seemed to explode off its torso. With such force, its internal organs must have already been crushed.

Without even checking, the result was instant death.

“Noooooooo!”

Seeing that, Sara screamed and tried to help, but it wasn’t easy due to the monsters surrounding her.

The ogre truly began to rampage.

“Phew… As expected, this isn’t going to work.”

Realizing her lack of power, Skadia let out a small sigh and raised her concentration.

She brought her hands together, condensing magic.

Hummmm!

An immense amount of cold energy gathered and was compressed, smaller and smaller.

A simple yet more precise and delicate process than any other magic repeated, and finally, the cold energy was perfected as an ice crystal.

But she couldn’t stop there.

“I need to go one step further.”

When she first developed the ice crystal, forming one was her limit, but now that her proficiency had increased, she still had magic power to spare.

Skadia repeated the same process, creating a total of four ice crystals.

Now, she would weave them together.

Skadia created another unique spell, transforming the four ice crystals into butterflies.

The butterflies, made of beautiful ice crystals, were stunning but contained immense power.

Skadia’s brow furrowed.

“Why, of all things….”

It was a natural manifestation of what existed in her mind, but even so, she didn’t like that it was a butterfly.

Butterflies were a symbol of love and hate for her.

Her heart was already feeling unsettled after hearing that Ruan had gone missing just a few hours ago.

As Skadia voiced her dissatisfaction, her concentration faltered and the butterfly’s form distorted, so she quickly shook off the distracting thoughts.

For now, completing the spell was the priority.

Composing herself, she soon completed the perfect spell.

At the same time, the magic in her heart amplified.

Through the enlightenment gained from creating and synthesizing yet another new spell, she had finally reached the 6th tier.

Not only did her magic power explosively increase, but her control over magic also became much easier, achieving a further evolution in all aspects.

Skadia added details to the butterflies based on her amplified magic power.

Flash!

When she opened her eyes, which had been closed, an intense light burst from her cold blue pupils.

Skadia extended her hand.

“Go. Ice Butterfly.”

An ice crystal butterfly, hence ‘Ice Butterfly’.

Perhaps Skadia wasn’t pursuing efficiency, but simply had a disastrous naming sense.

In any case, the Ice Butterfly rushed towards the ogre with unpredictable movements, like a butterfly.

─A guttural roar!

The ogre, perhaps sensing the power within it, tried to stop it by swinging its fist, but the Ice Butterfly, gracefully rotating in mid-air to evade, landed directly on the beast’s chest.

Crackling!

At that moment, the ice crystal’s cold energy burst forth all at once, transforming the surroundings into an intensely freezing environment.

The ogre standing in the center was completely frozen, turned into an ice statue.

“It’s over.”

Skadia clenched her fist for the finishing blow.

Simultaneously, cracks spread across the ice with a *crack*, and it shattered into pieces along with the ogre.

─Cheers!

After a brief silence, the students’ cheers resounded throughout the area.

*

─Cheers!

With the cheers erupting from the rear, Sara let out a sigh of relief.

“Haa… What a relief.”

Thanks to Skadia’s efforts, they had safely overcome the crisis.

There were still many monsters, and the fighting would continue, but having experienced it once, she wouldn’t let the same situation happen again.

Thud!

Sara knocked down an ogre and looked around.

‘There are many injured.’

While not comparable to the knights or soldiers, every academy student had sustained injuries, both big and small.

Among them, a considerable number had suffered severe injuries and collapsed.

This was all because of the Demonic Energy.

If they were ordinary wounds, they could have been healed with potions, but the monsters of the Demonic Realm had mutated due to Demonic Energy, so each attack was a fatal blow that was impossible to recover from.

All the holy water had already been used, so they had no choice but to rely on the priests’ healing.

‘Damn it!’

Sara cursed inwardly.

She had quit her mercenary work precisely because she didn’t want to experience such situations again, but fate had presented her with a harsh reality.

She found herself thinking, without realizing it.

‘If only I had Ruan’s semen….’

It was a face she now hated to recall, but the strange purification and healing power of his semen was still impressive.

If she had it, not only the students but also others could have been healed instantly.

Of all times, he had to go missing.

“Ughhhhh!”

While she was expressing her regret, a student sustained a fatal injury and collapsed.

It was a long stab wound extending from the shoulder to the abdomen.

“J-just hold on a little longer!”

“Damn it!”

The priest frantically drew upon divine power to heal the wound, but the student’s eyes closed faster than the wound could be purified.

Ultimately, the student stopped breathing and grew cold.

Watching that scene, Sara once again found herself recalling that hateful face.

‘If I had his semen, I could have saved them.’

If she just endured a little humiliation, if she just ignored her guilt towards Verdan for a moment, she wouldn’t have to lose any more students.

Such thoughts wouldn’t leave her mind.

Standing before a great temptation, Sara repeatedly pondered before suddenly letting out a wry laugh.

“What useless thoughts.”

Ruan was highly likely dead.

There was no point in agonizing over this now.

Sara barely managed to shake off the distracting thoughts.

*

“It’s a very good body.”

My lips moved on their own.

Alfred, having taken control of the body, checked its condition, then nodded and swung his sword.

Then, the Taegeuk in the middle Dantian opened very naturally, and flame magic instantly burst forth from the sword.

Slash!

The flame slash cut through the parasitic monster.

That was the end of it.

The creature, severed by the power of purity, vanished into nothingness.

The party, who had been fiercely fighting the creature, were bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

Paying no mind to their gazes, Alfred swung his sword towards the ceiling once more.

Tear!

The ceiling ripped open, revealing the sky.

Through the gap, the sounds from outside were transmitted, and an enormous roar could be heard.

“Are you ready?”

“-…Please put on a mask.”

“A mask?”

“-Yes. I don’t like being the center of attention.”

“I see. Alright.”

Alfred, who accepted my request while tilting his head, raised his hand and swept it across his face, and a mask made of flames formed.

“-And please refrain from using flame magic in front of the party.”

“You certainly have many secrets. Alright. Then, can we go now?”

“-Yes. By all means.”

“Good. Then, let’s go finish the unfinished mission.”

Alfred lightly kicked off the ground.

It was an unremarkable step, but the moment his foot left the ground, my body flashed and emitted light, soaring into the sky in the blink of an eye.

It was as if I had become light itself.

“-That’s incredible.”

“Haha! Is it? Thank you for the compliment. More importantly, there’s the fellow.”

Alfred pointed at the fortress.

─A deep, rumbling roar!

Just in time, Behemoth, who had been going back and forth with Bruno, let out a roar.

Its body was covered in injuries.

It was still regenerating, but the new wounds from the striking lightning were more numerous, so it held little significance.

Alfred alternately examined Behemoth and my body, then came to a conclusion.

“In this state, it seems difficult to fight. Even if I draw out all my divine power right now. I should just go for a single strike.”

“-A single strike?”

“Yes. After all, that fellow over there is blocking him, so there’s no need to fight him head-on. You, if nothing else, have an immense amount of magic power, which is perfect.”

Alfred, smiling with satisfaction, immediately raised the silver longsword to the sky.

“Mock Sun Sword. Activate.”

Hummmm!

The moment Alfred used his authority, an enormous amount of flames began to be drawn into the sword, enough to completely empty the Taegeuk.

His divine power also enveloped it, helping it condense properly within the sword.

Even the pouring sunlight seeped into the sword’s blade.

A moment later, the silver longsword was enveloped in blazing flames.

The blade of flame, at first glance, seemed warm and cozy, but the power hidden within it held immense destructive force, capable of incinerating and annihilating everything.

Alfred marveled at his own technique.

“Huh! Amazing. It’s more powerful than when I used it in my lifetime. This is truly the power of a divine beast and a dragon. I’m quite envious.”

“-It’s certainly an excessive power for me.”

“Haha! Don’t say that. You’ll be able to utilize it well enough. Then… shall we put an end to this!”

Mock Sun Sword.

Finishing move.

Annihilation!