Chapter 150

The scene of chaotic battle.

But the center was eerily quiet.

No screaming or cursing. Even when reciting spells, she held her breath.

Whoooosh—

The wind blew and her nose stung.

Even those without Magic Eyes could feel the magical power converging. She watched the center of the battlefield.

The stakes continued to rise.

“Left flank, physical attack from the sky. Useless. Fel will deflect it.”

Just a few simple words, but it was a cold prediction analyzed through [Magic Eye].

However, the person who had to actually carry it out felt differently.

Regardless of the analysis, actually pulling it off wouldn’t be easy.

Especially when clearly at a disadvantage in terms of power.

Crash!

A boulder the size of a person was summoned from the blue sky and fell with a thunderous roar.

“Hyaaaah!”

Fel swung the Jack family heirloom, the Anti-Magic Spear, wide and stomped heavily.

Clang—!

The falling stone was struck by the spear shaft and barely deflected.

Colorful fabric fluttered in the air. Wooden fragments snapped and cracked, and the impact that shoved the ground sent shockwaves through the expedition.

Yuria’s ‘declaration’ had proven correct once again. But the process was far from easy.

“Urgh…”

Whether a crack had formed in his arm, Fel swayed from the sharp pain.

Shilo de Medissa’s combat unit didn’t miss that opening. This attack had been intended to take out Fel, the excellent close-combat specialist, from the start. Taking advantage of the confusion, one 4th Circle mage and two 3rd Circle mages charged at Fel. Whether they specialized in enhancement magic, they were as fast as Ki-blood mages.

Of course, even this masterstroke couldn’t escape Yuria’s eyes. Having already finished her hand signals, Yuria spat out another ‘declaration.’

“Hwarin will break their momentum and Magiro will push them back.”

Whoosh—

Hwarin, possessor of the Gift [Telekinesis].

Thousands of sparks flew up at her gesture.

The sparks, finely controlled by [Telekinesis], blocked the path of the three mages targeting Fel and created explosions.

Rather than exploding all at once with a bang!, it was a thoroughly calculated explosion like refined martial arts.

Sparks stuck to elbows and exploded, pushed against chests, and constantly aimed for nostrils and open mouths.

The three mages couldn’t get past the explosions Hwarin created. The <Connection> spell that Baek Jun-woo had taught her long ago was now blooming like this.

Through partial <Connection> with the Akashic Records, Hwarin experienced the limits of her Gift and elevated [Telekinesis] to uncharted territory.

But being outnumbered was still being outnumbered.

“Gah!”

A secretly fired throwing knife penetrated her defensive magical device and lodged in her side. She had focused all her attention on protecting Fel and missed the attack aimed at herself.

The Mage of Deadly Poison, Magiro, who joined belatedly, chased the enemies away. In the process, one 3rd Circle mage was poisoned and crawled on the ground. But the other two escaped. Both sides had lost one 3rd Circle mage each, but this side was one out of fifteen while the other side was one out of thirty-three.

How precarious it had been…

In any case, Yuria’s ‘declaration’ had been upheld.

“…I can still fight.”

Whether the knife had drained her blood, Hwarin’s side gushed blood.

“This is nothing…”

She even displayed the amazing skill of using telekinesis to connect blood vessels and stop the bleeding, but could she really pull her weight? No one thought so. They’d be fortunate if she didn’t die.

“Getting a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?”

Shilo de Medissa sneered.

But Yuria answered with another ‘declaration.’

“The next arrow will be 4-star when I shoot it into you.”

Was she insane? Or could she see the future? Anyone who didn’t know the situation would be scared out of their wits.

Shilo de Medissa reflexively asked back.

“Again?”

A mage who had just reached 4th Circle a few hours ago was going to become 4-star in the meantime? Had she already gathered that much magical power?

Crack!

Instead of an answer, the sound of Yuria’s joints twisting came. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Shilo de Medissa’s eyes sharpened.

“Don’t look down on me.”

What had blocked Shilo de Medissa so far wasn’t Monggu and Lytol. The decisive interference from Yuria at crucial moments had played a big part.

And now, not once but twice, she thought she could bluff?

‘Then you’ll have to die.’

“Bankruptcy!”

Cough!

Lytol spat blood and collapsed.

Shilo de Medissa mocked him.

“Did a visualization mage not even know what was infiltrating his own Circle?”

A tiny explosion inside Lytol’s Circle. An imperceptible distortion. But that alone sealed Lytol’s magic. According to research, the pain was ten times worse than being kicked in the testicles. Lytol couldn’t even straighten his chest and writhed on the ground.

‘One annoying fly dealt with.’

Lytol. True to his epithet as Flash Mage, he had been bothering Shilo de Medissa with spell rapid-fire that even wizards would find hard to imitate.

Now one remained.

Shilo de Medissa’s eyes moved to Monggu.

“How convenient that it’s time for maturity.”

A knight whom magic didn’t work well on.

A mage’s natural enemy.

What was needed to break through that was pure power.

Heat haze gathered in Shilo de Medissa’s hands.

Suddenly the loud explosions of the battlefield became muffled like sounds heard underwater. A single strand of heat haze caught in Shilo de Medissa’s grip silently twisted and bent, even crushing sound itself.

“There’s no law saying <Debt> has to be used on enemies, is there?”

A spell that had accumulated interest for a full six minutes despite Lytol, Yuria, and Monggu’s fierce interference. Continued interference made it hard to gather more. Unlike when applied directly to enemies, some direct control was needed. But considering the cost of manifesting this much power, it was actually cheap. The power sacrificing 10 Morning had grown to exceed 10,000 Morning.

Shilo de Medissa charged at Monggu.

“It’s over!”

Reeeeee-aaaaaa—

But that’s when a brain-piercing sound rang out.

Shilo de Medissa’s body swayed to the side. His vision blurred as he blinked and shook his head.

Lytol, who had been trembling on the ground, had finally activated the ‘Siren’s Vocal Cords.’ Even with blood dripping from his bitten lips, Lytol smiled.

‘Mental attack? Using vibrations to strike the body’s interior?’

The masterpiece of Pan-Dalus that maximized siren abilities. Even Shilo, called the strongest 6th Circle, couldn’t immediately shake off the impact.

Seizing that gap, Monggu moved.

“Strategic weapon deflection!”

The technique of ancient warrior Bear Sergeant, who fought actual gods, was recreated through Monggu’s hands across eons.

Monggu manipulated thirty beam shields to strike the heat haze wavering in Shilo de Medissa’s hand. Thud thud thud—! High-speed beam shields collided with the heat haze and shattered, then shattered again, creating a strange rhythm. Twenty beam shields turned to powder like moths to flame, and the twenty-fifth beam shield shook the heat haze greatly, then—

Whoooosh!

Finally the twenty-ninth beam shield deflected the heat haze. The heat haze that left Shilo de Medissa’s hand only smashed an innocent tree before dissipating.

At this point, Shilo de Medissa couldn’t help but feel admiration.

‘Cold judgment. He knew he couldn’t penetrate my defensive spells anyway, so he only neutralized the attack spell.’

Even though the enemy was staggering defenseless before him, this might be worth attempting a direct strike, but this young knight didn’t get greedy. Like a seasoned warrior.

When Shilo de Medissa broke free from the siren’s influence, Yuria had already completed 4-star Ki-blood and was aiming her bow. Beside her, Monggu helped the crawling Lytol to his feet with ‘Fairy’s Tears.’

Back to square one.

Yuria spoke.

“Give up. You’ll end up talking with me eventually.”

You will talk with me.

Yuria repeated the declaration she had been making all along.

Shilo de Medissa let out a bitter laugh.

“Ha… really annoyingly interesting, isn’t it?”

* * *

The battle lasted a full day.

‘So… heavy.’

‘Hard to breathe…’

The 4th Circle mages tried to maintain composure, but the 3rd Circles couldn’t even breathe properly.

Had they ever been crushed by such massive magical power?

Their already overworked Circles felt like they were crumbling, and bodies exposed to excessive magical power began spitting sudden nosebleeds while elbows and armpits festered and collapsed.

Hwarin, Del, Horatio and other 3rd Circle mages who were already severely injured collapsed on the ground, convulsing.

If the battle continued even a little longer, they would never survive.

Around that time,

The fighting suddenly stopped.

“Really tenacious…”

Shilo de Medissa glared at Yuria. A woman who didn’t bat an eye even as her comrades died.

‘She doesn’t care about her comrades? Like me?’

That wasn’t it.

Even in this situation, Yuria was confident of victory. Shilo de Medissa recognized this.

Why? For once, Shilo de Medissa wanted to talk more than usual.

“I’m surprised. I never thought I’d witness the knights’ secret weapon that I’d only heard about.”

Yuria had finally created 5-star Ki-blood. When Shilo de Medissa had been determined not to fall for it a third time and targeted her weakness, what greeted him was the Coin of Rebellion that Monggu used. An ancient relic that absorbed even a wizard’s ultimate technique.

It wasn’t just Monggu.

Lord-class knight Evan with one leg destroyed.

Lytol who had collapsed and couldn’t get up after overusing [Time Acceleration].

Magiro who had fainted with both eyes burned out. Just before collapsing, he had spread poison mist and finally poisoned the Wizard of Blazing Heat.

Each feat achieved by Yuria’s expedition far exceeded the common sense of ordinary towers.

And so,

Out of Yuria’s fifteen-member expedition, seven mages survived including the wounded.

Out of Shilo de Medissa’s combat unit of thirty-three, twenty remained.

A bloody battle that consumed a full day.

But coming this far, the tide of battle seemed to be tilting.

“But you. That left eye. You can’t see, can you?”

Shilo de Medissa asked. Of course, he ultimately hadn’t laid a finger on Yuria. Instead, Monggu, who had protected her front, had become a rag. After the Fairy’s Tears ran out, he couldn’t even heal his wounds, yet somehow he was still moving… Even Shilo, who had no interest in human anatomy, wanted to dissect Monggu.

In the end, Shilo de Medissa hadn’t been able to harm Yuria as she had declared.

Instead, Yuria had gnawed at herself.

Yuria’s current level: 4th Circle 5-star.

Having suddenly accepted massive magical power, her body couldn’t possibly be intact. The [Magic Eye] she had maintained all along was the first to suffer, with all the blood vessels in her left eye bursting so the pupil was invisible.

Declarations piled up and now even breathing was difficult due to magical power.

Shilo de Medissa didn’t know this, but at this moment, Yuria was dizzy. Shilo de Medissa looked hazy like mist, and she had to struggle to focus.

-Nooooo@#ㄷ[email protected]ㅁ#$!!

Iron Blood had been silently repairing Yuria’s body but had been shooting out mental waves for hours now. It seemed to be telling her to stop and run away.

But Yuria smiled instead.

Despite the dizzying rush of magical power, she aimed at Shilo de Medissa with steady hands. In an unwavering voice, she asked.

“You. Getting scared yet?”

Ha!

Shilo de Medissa laughed inwardly.

‘Scared? Me?’

It was the opposite.

Shilo de Medissa’s heart had been pounding madly for some time now.

No matter how he looked at it, he was at an advantage. Yuria’s expedition had collapsed to the point where continuing combat would be difficult, and Yuria herself seemed to have reached her limit. But Shilo de Medissa was still going strong. Though tired, he hadn’t suffered any significant injuries.

And yet…

‘I don’t feel confident that I’ll win.’

That fact thrilled Shilo de Medissa.

‘This is the first time I’ve had such an interesting game!’

Hiding his true feelings, Shilo de Medissa spoke.

“But if we fight any more, calamities will swarm in, won’t they? No matter how much the Seonang Stairs’ barrier covers this place… we’ve been too wild.”

For the first time all day, he took a step back.

Yuria’s eyes sparkled.

“So? Are you finally in the mood to talk?”

Shilo de Medissa dusted off his sleeves as if exasperated.

“After coming this far, I should at least listen to what you have to say. Fine. What exactly do you want to tell me?”

And Yuria’s answer.

The first to react wasn’t Shilo de Medissa, but Evan Petrov.

“Are you insane?! Don’t tell me… the Divine Mage put you up to this? That bastard gave you these orders?!”