◈ Episode 451. It Is Not to My Taste (4)
As you would know if you have been watching, Grandfell’s temper stems, in any case, from lofty pride. He never retreats before the strong, but neither does he merely hold his head stiffly high before the weak.
“It is not to my taste.”
In that sense, this duel?
“At times, a change in perspective is necessary.”
The difference in class was far too great for me, Lee Hoyeol, to confidently call it a duel. Why, you can tell just from the fact that the majority of Transcendents do not even know about the Social Hall’s floors, can’t you?
From the lower floor to the upper floor.
From the upper floor to the top floor.
Climbing the floors of the Social Hall is no easy task.
If I say it is harder than being promoted from apprentice to skilled.
And from skilled to senior mage.
Would the difficulty hit home a little? ‘……
Of course, I was parachuted in on both sides.’ In any case, now that I possess the proper qualifications, isn’t that enough?
So I did not run my mouth while facing the five Transcendents.
Then, a youthful voice rang out.
“I don’t know what’s going on all of a sudden, but isn’t this a golden opportunity? He’s giving us a chance to escape. Even if that’s not the case, this is the only thing we can do.”
Rumble.
In an instant, dark clouds filled the sky.
Kwa-kwa-kwang.
Lightning poured down at the speed of light.
I believe he was called the Child of Lightning.
He certainly lives up to the name.
I looked at the thunderstorm and recited.
“To freely control a naturally occurring thunderstorm. It is a rare ability, one not easily found, but for that very reason, you tend to overestimate your own power.”
To be precise, I evaluated him.
“What? Overestimate? That’s absurd.”
Leaving behind the lightning brat, who let out a hollow laugh.
Goooo.
I raised my mana.
As you can tell from the fact that the Magic Tower has as many as four senior mages related to elemental magic, it is nearly impossible for a single mage to perfectly handle multiple elemental magics. ‘Elemental magics counteract one another.’ However, Grandfell, who possesses innate talent, is different.
Moreover, if in the past he had only been able to manifest things at the level of simple imitation, now the bottomless jar has been perfectly repaired. In other words, he is manifesting magic with no flaws in its logic or structure. ‘Mimic the structure of a lightning rod.’ And if I add my own shabby scientific knowledge, as Lee Hoyeol, and rebirth it through [『Anomaly』]……
Whether it is elemental magic or a natural ability distinct from magic.
Kudududuk.
It means they cannot even make a single hair on my head stand on end. By the way, our Lord Grandfell went one step further than I did and did not neglect the aesthetic element either.
The boy was aghast.
“Wh-what is that……?”
What rose from the ground was a statue holding a massive shield.
Knowledge concerning every mineral.
Thanks to that, I could reduce the search and interference process to the extreme. ‘Even if it is a complex statue modeled after a lightning rod.’ I can manifest it in a single breath.
Kwa-kwang.
The bolts of lightning that had been striking down were all absorbed into the shield.
At the very moment the lightning brat was shocked.
Someone rushed toward me at tremendous speed.
Sreung.
The Warrior of Sunrise.
As one could tell from that name, he was a man with an Eastern appearance, uncommon in Arcana. I had already crossed blades with a Transcendent who used a weapon.
The Sword Saint, Shegwin. ‘A Sword Saint and a warrior.’ I do not know who is stronger, but one thing is certain. The Lee Hoyeol who left everything to Gwicheol back then, got dragged around by it, and won a shabby victory against Shegwin no longer exists.
Jiiing.
The realm of becoming one with the sword.
Gwicheol at my waist conveyed its pulse to me.
It must be excited to meet a swordsman after so long.
But now is not the time, Gwicheol.
“This is not a duel, but discipline.”
The pride of our Lord Grandfell, who is strong against the strong and merciful toward the weak. That’s right. I was not truly engaging in a duel against the five Transcendents.
“Is this your sword path?”
“?”
“Not bad.”
What was the purpose of this duel in the first place? To beat up the Transcendents just enough that [Brainwashing] would be undone.
Of course, I did not forget the goal of thoroughly breaking their spirits. ‘That is why I called it discipline.’ Of course, it was also a preliminary verification ahead of the regular conference. Considering the expressions the mages wore as they left the Topaz Hall, my teaching would absolutely not be easygoing.
Swish.
“It is sword aura as bright as sunrise.”
But that is all.
I evaded the sword aura emitted by the warrior with the minimum movement.
This time, again exercising my aesthetic sense, I drew a sword.
Kududuk.
A statue emerged from the ground.
In a kneeling posture.
I raised the sword the statue was holding up.
I could hear murmuring.
“Even at a glance, that looks like some terrifying holy sword, doesn’t it?!”
Judging from the huge bag he was carrying…… that must be the All-Things Merchant, Pokom? Well, it could look that way. Why, even in reality, people mistook this for Excalibur. ‘It’s just a sword I roughly pulled out with enchantment studies.’ The sword’s performance is proportional to my knowledge of enchantment studies. Even if it has attack power comparable to most unique items, it cannot compare to Gwicheol, a legendary item.
That is why I chose it.
“A switch is sufficient.”
Chang.
Soon, the warrior’s sword aura and mine clashed.
I warned him in a calm voice.
This is not the time to grit your teeth and be stubborn, warrior.
“Your sword path is clear, but it lacks flexibility.”
“……!”
“If you endure, you will break.” ……
Pat!
Sword energy deepens on the boundary between life and death. Even if he had held a sword longer than I had, surely he had not crossed as many brushes with death as I had? ‘I’ve even died several times.’ It seemed he realized my words were not a bluff.
The Warrior of Sunrise put a considerable distance between himself and me. Then he exchanged looks with the Child of Lightning, his face turned as white as a sheet, and he muttered as if to himself.
“Impossible. To have reached the realm of transcendence in both sword and magic.”
If that is what you are talking about, it is still too early to be surprised.
Do not underestimate my desperate struggles.
Among my many forms of insurance, all I have shown is magic and sword energy.
Only two of them.
Let’s see. ‘Has their will to fight already been broken?’ Is it because the two Transcendents were crushed miserably?
Or is it because they cannot even see an opening in me?
The remaining three stood frozen in place without moving an inch.
The All-Things Merchant, who had been rummaging through his bag.
“I surrender, my lord.”
Pokom outright declared his surrender. ‘Then.’ Have I achieved the goal of breaking their undeserved confidence?
What remains is to undo [Brainwashing] through shock therapy.
That, too, is not difficult.
I released appropriate mana.
I manifested black magic.
There is no need to inflict direct damage on the Transcendents’ bodies. [Brainwashing] is a status abnormality that acts on the mind.
A short, intense shock to the mind should suffice. ‘It was worth leafing through those magic books.’ This is why people need to learn.
They don’t say that if your head is bad, your body suffers for nothing.
Of course, the body suffering isn’t mine, but the Transcendents’ bodies. ‘In any case, a moment is enough.’ What I manifested was high-level black magic, [Endless Nightmare].
Endure it for just a little while, even if it hurts.
I will undo [Brainwashing] all at once. [The status abnormality, “Endless Nightmare,” occurs in the Child of Lightning.] [The status abnormality, “Endless Nightmare,” occurs in the Warrior of Sunrise.] [The status abnormality, “Endless Nightmare,” occurs in the Rotten Shaman, Yuraia.] ……. * ……
What is this all of a sudden?
The five Transcendents thought within the darkness.
High-level black magic, Endless Nightmare.
An illusion effect that makes the target see and feel what they fear most.
Every human being has lived a different life and different years.
Naturally, what they fear must also be different.
However, at this moment.
All of them were seeing the same sight.
It was endlessly deep darkness.
They opened their eyes, then closed them.
They opened their mouths, then shut them.
They even tried moving their hands and feet.
They could fully feel the sensations of their bodies. However, they could not see their own bodies, let alone even a single speck of light. In that darkness, the only thing they felt was. ‘……
It feels as if my body is sinking!’ An irresistible pressure.
Their bodies kept trying to collapse.
An irresistible force made their legs give out.
And made them bow their heads.
Gritting their teeth, they tried to recall the last scene in the arena. ‘Darkness wrapped around us.’ ……
Clack.
The Warrior of Sunrise drew his Sunrise Blade and struggled desperately to drive away the darkness. However, his body could not endure it. In the end, he sank to his knees on the floor.
Thud.
The warrior, who had the greatest physical ability among the five Transcendents, could not withstand it. Naturally, the Child of Lightning, who had the body of a boy, could not either. Everyone knelt and bowed their heads before the endlessly deep darkness.
Except for one person. ‘I will not submit.’ The one left alone was the Rotten Shaman, Yuraia.
Before Matisse established black magic studies.
On the Arcana Continent, black magic had also been called profane sorcery.
Because of that, Yuraia was able to discern that this was black magic. ‘It is nothing more than a simple illusion.’ My fear has merely emerged as an illusion.
The pressure being applied to my body is also nothing more than a phantom.
Just as Yuraia was trying to reassure herself. ‘……
Wait.’ Suddenly, she sensed something was off. ‘I, Yuraia, am afraid of darkness?’ As stated, what she could see was only endlessly deep darkness.
However, Yuraia was accustomed to such darkness.
A land of death forsaken by the sun in the sky, and even by the moon and stars in the night sky.
That place had been her homeland. ‘This is not simple darkness.’ And so Yuraia opened her eyes wide. To grasp the true source of the fear pressing down upon her body in this endlessly deep darkness.
And she witnessed it.
“!”
Silver hair fluttering.
Because it was more radiant than anything, she recognized it at once.
It was the silver hair of the man she had faced in the space-time duel arena just moments ago.
But…….
For it to be his hair, it was far too long.
She struggled to raise her head in order to confirm that face.
But Yuraia’s obstinacy only went that far.
Because a voice reached her.
“□□ □□ □□□□ □□□.”
Why?
It seemed like the language of the Arcana Continent, yet she could not understand it at all. However, because she had forced herself to raise her head, she was able to see the falling lips.
From the shape of the lips’ movements, she understood the meaning.
—I did not permit you.
Did not permit me. ……
To do what?
The moment Yuraia fell into doubt.
“……!”
For an instant.
Her pupils expanded once, then contracted again.
And soon, the effect of the “nightmare” vanished from everyone.
“Haa.”
The first to speak was the Child of Lightning.
How had he ended up going through such a horrendous ordeal?
That’s right, the root cause of this entire situation was that bastard.
“If it weren’t for that bastard Oxidin……! Huh?”
No matter how hard he had tried, he had been unable to say it.
Yet Oxidin’s name came out as if it were nothing?!
The Warrior of Sunrise also spoke the name after him.
“……
Oxidin.”
He did not know what had happened.
But it seemed Oxidin’s dirty trick.
And its aftermath, had vanished from him.
The All-Things Merchant, Pokom, drank down a tranquilizer and said.
“It looks like that gentleman freed us from Oxidin’s control, doesn’t it? Perhaps that was the reason he dragged us into the arena in the first place?”
“Heeh? No way. For that, he sure played around with us.”
“If he had wanted to kill us, we would be finished.”
“That’s true, but…….”
If Pokom’s words were true, then they owed the man a great debt.
In that case, they would have to repay it.
The Warrior of Sunrise rose from his seat.
The experience of kneeling and bowing his head had not been pleasant. ‘Only by telling him everything will the accounts balance.’ The humiliation had been an experience more beneficial than disgrace, for it had broadened his insight, which had been no more than a frog in the Social Hall. He had just stepped forward to tell him about Oxidin and the Transcendent Alliance.
“……
Huh?”
Only then did he realize it.
One, two, three, four—that was the end.
The Rotten Shaman, Yuraia.
“Tacky hyung, we’re missing one person?”
The fact that she had vanished without a trace....
At this moment, what I felt was not pride at having overwhelmed five Transcendents. Nor was it relief at having identified Oxidin, the root cause of this situation, through them.
I, Lee Hoyeol, was afraid. [Understanding of Darkness].
And as the proficiency of [Sole Sovereign Under Heaven] rose.
The complete abilities and personality of Grandfell were growing denser.
I asked Grandfell, who was, as always, still in his usual posture.
My understanding is only four-tenths.
That means six-tenths remains.
What are you still hiding, Grandfell? ‘Are you really going to be like this between us?’ ... [Victor: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo] [Defeated: Rotten Shaman, Yuraia] [Disqualified: Child of Lightning and 3 others]