◈ Episode 80. The Dignity of a Chief (4)
Marcelo drew up his mana.
“Senior Bangrit and I will assist you.”
The conversation about the Quirnberg Machine Tower.
Thanks to that, Marcelo knew that I was a demon hunter.
Since a demon had popped out.
I suppose that meant my specialty was being acknowledged here.
For me, it was fortunate.
Just imagine if Marcelo or Bangrit stepped forward at full power. ‘Like that dust cloud earlier, even the scraps would evaporate.’ Crackle—!
A demon’s hand tore through space and appeared.
Aside from the fact that it was huge, its identity was still impossible to discern.
However, I could guess how strong it was. ‘Of course it’s stronger than a Demon King.’ This was a trap.
And a trap prepared for the senior mage of the Magic Tower, Bangrit.
Bangrit seemed to have realized that as well.
His mana was clearly wavering.
“Why would an elder mage……?”
Bangrit must have been thinking.
If he had been alone.
What would have happened to him by now?
As the expert, I could answer that for him. ‘You would have died, or been possessed and had your body stolen.’ The reason Bangrit’s judgment had been clouded by the elder mage’s words.
There was no doubt.
That had been an abnormal status effect.
Could one face a demon like that while under an abnormal status?
Even for Bangrit, that would not be easy.
But as you can see, Bangrit was not alone.
“I will not permit you to approach any farther. Inferior demon.”
There was me, whose mouth would probably float even if I drowned.
“Bangrit, now is not the time to be lost in such thoughts.”
And there was the chief mage, Marcelo.
I also drew up my mana.
And shamelessly said,
“Bangrit Tom.”
“I am listening.”
“Let this battle serve in place of your statement of grounds.”
“S-statement of grounds, you say……?”
“The regular conference was halted with only your presentation remaining. Prove before me, the presider of this regular conference, whether the Pure Mana Studies you researched is worthy enough for the conference to be resumed.”
“……!”
Yes, if it was pride that could not be avoided.
Then I had to make use of it like this……!
What I was aiming for was simple. ‘Interfere with Bangrit’s mana, just like before.’ With [Natural Enemy Relationship]
activated,
I had no particular shortage of mana.
However, everything was relative.
Because beside me were people who possessed truly monstrous mana.
Moreover, I had witnessed these monsters exchange magic. ‘And they weren’t even going all out.’ Their magic had not contained killing intent.
So no matter how much experience that thing gave,
if I stood around in a daze, nothing would fall to me……!
In the end, it meant I had no choice but to act miserably this time too.
Of course, there was no way such inner thoughts would show on the outside.
“As expected, sir, presiding over your first conference, you are better than I am.”
To bring up the conference even in a situation like this.
Putting aside the fact that I seemed bloodless and tearless,
how much of a grudge-holder would I look like?
But I had already steeled myself to become an even greater madman than that.
And yet.
“……
Thank you. I will be sure to prove it.”
Bangrit’s reaction was unexpected.
Though I didn’t know why.
To me, it was good news.
Because as he said that, Bangrit was already manifesting magic.
Woooooo—!
Yes, this time, magic imbued with killing intent.
Craaaack—!
If one were to rank magic solely by destructive power,
the magic of Pure Mana Studies would be counted on one hand.
The instant an interference that maximized destructive power was added to an enormous amount of mana,
a mana beam of terrifying pressure stretched toward the hand.
It was then.
Crack—!
The hand tore off a large chunk.
It raised that chunk as though it were a shield.
I could tell instinctively. ‘Leaving aside its power.’ Strictly speaking, that was a fragment of the rift.
In other words, a fragment of [『Anomaly』].
It was a shield formed by the fusion of two entirely different concepts.
In a way, Pure Mana Studies magic, which could be called the purest form of [Magic],
would not be able to pierce that shield of anomaly.
Sure enough, my prediction was right.
Rumble— The rift fragment and mana beam collided.
The mana beam scattered, and mana sprayed in every direction.
But what of it?
“Where did your initial vigor go? Worthless demon.”
From the very beginning, I had been aiming for this situation.
“Do you truly believe hiding behind a shield has any meaning?”
To be precise, the moment after Bangrit manifested his magic.
That vast scattering mana!
I did not hesitate.
“How utterly foolish.”
I immediately searched the surging, vast mana.
Interfered through a process more familiar than anything.
Manifested.
What appeared then were hundreds. No, thousands of Lights.
Bangrit stammered.
“……
In that brief instant?”
Was he surprised that I had boiled basic magic down to the bones?
I could not know the reason for his astonishment.
But what mattered was not Bangrit’s reaction.
Floating lightly— The basic magic of Pure Mana Studies.
A pure sphere of mana, Light.
That sphere of mana could be manifested into any kind of magic.
Of course, the amount of mana consumed according to that interference process was beyond imagination.
That was also why Pure Mana Studies focused on relatively simple interference that maximized only destructive power.
However. ‘Not me.’ Yes, I did not have only 『Magic』.
Because I had not dug only one well,
there was a [Stat]
I could make use of. [Aesthetic: Low] [Adds aesthetic sense to all things.]
A shortcut key, macro, or perhaps the divine art of copy-paste.
It was more troublesome than not using it,
but with the press of a single button,
[Aesthetic] produced several times, even dozens of times the output.
『Magic』 and [Stat].
This, too, was the fusion of two entirely different concepts.
In other words, this too was [『Anomaly』].
But even if its efficiency was outstanding,
the targets of interference were as many as thousands of mana spheres, Lights.
Is this for real?
I could feel my mana draining away in real time.
At this point, it wasn’t draining away……
It was leaking out like a bottomless jar, wasn’t it?!
“Racking your brains behind a shield is useless.”
Of course, I could not show it.
From my neck down to my spine,
my posture was held ramrod straight.
In an unwavering voice, I continued.
“For deciding the method of the hunt is also my authority.”
The method of the hunt meant the type of magic.
That’s right.
I activated the effect of the Aesthetic stat.
From thousands of Lights, I manifested different magic from each one.
Which magic would be effective against it?
Rather than waste time pondering that, it would be more efficient to slam every magic that existed and every magic that didn’t into it. Truly, it was a manifestation very much like me, ignorant to the extreme.
Still, perhaps because aesthetic sense had been added to it,
“As expected……!”
What unfolded was a spectacle magnificent enough to make even Marcelo marvel.
Flame, water, ice, lightning, wind……
All sorts of attributes.
A scene where magic from every field was intermingled.
Among them were some that took the form of sharp weapons.
Some took the form of soldiers holding those weapons.
And some magic took the form of horses carrying those soldiers.
I gave my impression of it.
“Still immature.”
The reason I said that was simple. [Aesthetic: Low]
The Aesthetic stat was still at “Low.”
Even now, it was so dazzling it looked like a painting.
If it later improved to Middle or High,
what kind of magic would I be able to manifest?
“H-how can that be immature?! In what part, exactly!!”
Bangrit, who had no way of knowing the truth, cried out almost like a scream.
He must know nothing about the Aesthetic stat.
Well, it might look like an incredibly amazing magic.
For starters, since it was flashy, it had that much going for it.
Charge— Soon, those thousands of spells surged forward.
As expected, what shone was aesthetic sense.
Like an army truly moving alive,
they circled around the rift fragment raised by the hand,
and began inflicting damage on it. [Exorcism Ritual]
had been active since earlier.
How did magic infused with aesthetic sense appear to that thing?
I didn’t know for sure, but I could guarantee one thing.
Compared to what Bangrit was seeing,
it would look far more dazzling as it ran wild.
Soon, a message appeared before my eyes. [‘Severance’ occurs on ???.] * The Seven Deadly Sins, Envy, screamed.
“Daaaaaamn iiiiiiiit!!”
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
“My arm!!!”
The severed arm did not grow back.
What that meant was simple.
The one who had taken this arm was a demon hunter.
Once Envy realized that fact, things began to make sense.
“So that’s what happeneddddd!!”
The Seven Deadly Sins, Greed.
The Demon King Decarabia.
At last, Envy understood why their existences had been hurled into hell.
Yes, they had been done in by that fellow.
By that insolent wretch who had just taken Envy’s arm!!
That the fellow was a demon hunter.
Envy had realized it the instant they faced each other.
Because the fellow had abruptly invited Envy into a ritual.
This body, one of the Seven Deadly Sins and called a great evil, dared to be……?
Originally, Envy had been aiming for the body of that mage bastard.
But a demon hunter did not seem bad either.
Above all, it seemed it would be fun.
The Holy War.
The expressions on those demon hunter bastards’ faces there had truly been worth seeing.
But it was strange.
From the moment Envy, a great evil, was called into the ritual,
the fellow’s mind should not have been able to remain intact.
“Inferior demon.”
For some reason.
The fellow was perfectly fine.
Was he resisting with great difficulty?
No, Envy could not sense even the slightest sign of that.
“Where did your initial vigor go? Worthless demon.”
“Do you truly believe hiding behind a shield has any meaning?”
“How utterly foolish.” ……
How was such a thing possible?
The fellow’s mental strength did not waver in the slightest.
As if that were not enough, he was approaching Envy.
He was instead trying to hunt this body, one of the Seven Deadly Sins and a great evil! ……
Dangerous.
No, I, this body, am in danger?
Yes, this was fear toward a natural enemy.
It was enough to awaken a sensation Envy had forgotten as a great evil.
The Seven Deadly Sins, Envy, thought coldly.
Yes, this was an unforeseen accident.
A sensation like this?
A demon hunter?
This body is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, a great evil.
If only those mage bastards were not beside him, that fellow would be nothing……!
Just as Envy gnashed their teeth like that,
“The method of the hunt is also my authority.”
A chilling voice rang out.
At the same time, something could be seen beyond the gap.
What rose into the air was a single host.
“!”
Where did that come from?
It was an enormous army whose numbers could not be counted.
Thousands, no, it seemed to be tens of thousands.
Soon, the army began to surge toward Envy.
Whooooo— Had fear broken Envy’s senses?
Scorching heat.
Freezing cold.
Tingling electricity.
All kinds of energies began to be felt.
The broken senses warned endlessly.
Evade it.
But that charge was so swift that it could not be avoided.
Just like the magic of those mage bastards.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Envy collided with something unknown, whether it was an army, magic, or whatever it was.
The result was the present.
Envy was fleeing after losing one arm.
“Damn it! Why?”
Just what was he, when he was only human?
“A mere humaaaan!!”
How.
Could he possess
such mental strength.
Such comrades.
Such an attitude?
Envy began to surge.
No, not only that.
Thinking that, something came to mind.
“……
Could it be?”
The recent shift in the state of the Arcana Continent.
The cause had been the demon hunters’ decisive weapon.
At first, Envy had simply thought it was the work of the dwarves.
With the Akshan base annihilated,
and the demon hunters extinct,
the only ones who could operate that decisive weapon
would be the dwarf bastards who had created it.
Envy had thought it was actually for the best.
The fact that they had operated that decisive weapon?
It meant the dwarves had leapt out from their hiding place onto the continent.
If Envy only followed their traces, their hiding place could be found.
But contrary to expectations,
no traces of the dwarves had been detected.
In such a situation, Envy had encountered that fellow.
A demon hunter.
What that meant was simple.
“That was his doing too?!”
Envy seethed.
“How dare a mere humaaaaaan!!”
It meant that fellow had crossed between dimensions.
Freely enough to operate the decisive weapon.
Even Envy.
No, no great evil whatsoever
could interfere with another dimension to that extent.
“……!”
The instant Envy realized that, a chill ran down their spine.
A sensation briefly forgotten while seized by jealousy.
Fear awakened once more.
“Could it be that he exists in a higher realm than I do?”
It could not be admitted.
But if Envy did admit it……
Everything fell into place.
The fellow’s gaze, as though looking down on Envy from beginning to end.
The battle with him, which Envy’s senses had struggled even to follow.
The fellow’s deeds that transcended dimensions.
And finally,
the warning directed at Envy as they fled.
“Demon who has lost your right arm. I have remembered that fact.”
The fellow was a demon hunter.
The right arm taken by him could never be regenerated.
If they met again,
the fellow would certainly recognize Envy, now one-armed.
After that……?
“Will I, this body, be thrown into hell?”
Would Envy’s very existence vanish, just like Greed’s?
Thinking that, the fear did not easily subside.
Envy was made to understand their place.
“……
This wound is enough for me.”
Yes, Envy would be satisfied with the Arcana Continent.
Envy would never even think of crossing into another dimension again.
At least while that demon hunter’s eyes were wide open……!! * [Broken Dimensional Rift] [Appropriate Level: Lv.900] [Rift Collapse Rate: 51.2%]
The rift collapse rate was rising sharply.
In the midst of that, a change occurred in the appropriate level as well. [Appropriate Level: Lv.900~Lv.1000]
The appropriate level was a staggering one thousand.
The players shouted one after another.
“I can’t even crack a joke about this. Brothers!!”
“What the hell is going on? What in the world is happening inside……!”
“……
Lee Hoyeol is all right, isn’t he?”
Hoyeol and the Magic Tower’s chief mage, Marcelo.
Several hours had already passed since the two entered the rift.
And yet, not only was the rift collapse rate skyrocketing,
the rift’s appropriate level had also shot up.
It was only natural to be worried.
However, as always,
their worries did not last long.
A wavering figure from within the rift.
A sound reaching their ears.
Click— Hoyeol appeared.
Without so much as a scratch, nor even a speck of dust on him.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes focused on Hoyeol.
“!!!”
However, as always,
Hoyeol declared coldly.
“I will not take questions.”
The reason was exceedingly concise.
“It is an internal matter.”