Opening Battle

A chill ran down Zeef’s spine.

‘I didn’t detect him at all.’

Only after being wounded did he realize Cargoras had appeared.

‘How?’

He controls all the wind in this area.

Even if one hides their body with mana or demonic energy, they’re detected the moment they touch the wind.

‘He was hiding in the sand. That sand holds demonic energy from above 9000 meters altitude and didn’t wash away even after killing Royal Guard.’

Zeef’s eyes widened.

‘Don’t tell me…!’

He’d felt nothing of Cargoras’s demonic energy before he revealed himself.

Only after standing on the sand did he sense Cargoras’s unique demonic energy.

There’s only one answer.

Cargoras can match demonic energy wavelengths.

‘He synchronizes his body to the demonic energy wavelength. That creature can hide his form in anything containing demonic energy. But is this even possible? How can he parasitize demonic energy!’

A major incident that would turn the academy upside down if published.

Even that duke of the Rakis Empire, called the greatest Magus today, couldn’t do such a thing.

But the shock was brief—Zeef spread his mana widely.

‘The moment you revealed yourself, you have nowhere to run!’

Wind imbued with mana constricted Cargoras’s entire body.

Cargoras chuckled lightly, then kicked the ground gently.

BOOM!

Sand surged up, erupting with high-density demonic energy from above 9000 meters altitude.

The earth touching the sand began eroding.

‘Demonic energy invasion!’

The instant he detected the scheme to make this entire area the same environment as the mountain range, his hands moved quickly.

Wind washing away sand and condensed blades rushed together.

Cargoras opened his mouth wide.

Thinking he was taking a deep breath, he absorbed all the rushing wind.

“…!?”

Even Zeef’s mana blanketing the area was devoured by Cargoras.

Cargoras refined it again into demonic energy, raising his physical capabilities.

Bang!

In the blink of an eye, Cargoras was trying to rake down his claws.

If not blocked by a wind barrier, Zeef’s body would have been torn to shreds.

‘Exceeds a level 7 physical enhancement mage.’

Demonic energy assimilation.

Mana absorption.

But that’s not all.

Something else is mixed into this abnormal physical enhancement.

The moment only alarm bells rang in Zeef’s head—

“Kugh!”

He heard knight order members’ gasping sounds.

Because Cargoras turned this place into above 9000 meters altitude, the members struggle without adapting.

In contrast, the twelve of the Royal Family cut through this dense pressure like fish in water.

Their movements keep accelerating, while members’ casting speed drops markedly as if wearing heavy lead weights.

Zeef swung his staff widely to sweep away the area’s sand.

‘He kept meaninglessly deploying Royal Guard to create this environment. The cause of this thick demonic energy is the Royal Guard’s sand. If I just eliminate this, the situation reverses.’

Though Zeef’s judgment was made quickly, Cargoras’s response was also executed skillfully.

Clang!

As soon as he tried to carry the mana wrapped around his staff on wind, it was absorbed.

Cargoras grinned as if knowing what means Zeef would choose in this situation.

That smile rushed before his eyes in an instant.

His speed was still so fast that only afterimages could be seen.

‘I see.’

After two clashes, Zeef grasped the cause of this bizarre movement.

‘This creature doesn’t just absorb mana. He makes even the magic dwelling in mana his own.’

But he only uses fragmentary parts of absorbed magic.

For instance, the form of absorbing wind to increase his body’s acceleration.

“You vermin!”

However, thinking his magic was being toyed with by Cargoras, Zeef’s rage soared to the heavens.

Woooooong!

For the first time, Cargoras withdrew from Zeef.

Zeef’s tremendous mana was extremely compressed, wrapping wind around his body like armor.

Endlessly circulating wind would tear his innards to shreds undigested if absorbed.

BANG!

Condensed wind poured forward.

It was like a storm contained in a small orb—Cargoras didn’t dare touch it and devoted himself to evasion.

The tip of Zeef’s staff trembled.

Storms burst from all directions, engulfing the sand.

‘I’ll blow it all away like this.’

He confirmed Cargoras couldn’t respond to highly compressed mana.

If he just clears this mountain range-like environment, he judged Cargoras could be eliminated very easily.

And that was Zeef’s complacent thought.

“…!”

Zeef’s staff wavered.

The sand that should be blown away clung to the wind and wouldn’t fall.

‘This is…’

Mana domination.

Astonishingly, Cargoras was trying to devour the mana condensed with high-density demonic energy.

‘Where did he learn this?’

Shocking situations erupted consecutively.

BAM!

Cargoras began pounding Zeef’s wind armor.

“You’re… not the one…”

Cargoras’s limbs aren’t severed.

Before he knew it, he’d wrapped wind similar to Zeef’s around his limbs.

Cargoras simultaneously covered the wind and mana Zeef condensed with demonic energy while gradually absorbing it.

He simultaneously drew it into his own body.

The method of dominating mana using demonic energy and devouring power without direct absorption was a bizarre practice even Zeef had never seen in his life.

“Still…”

Scrape!

The moment burning sensation touched his cheek, Zeef increased the armor’s rotational force and shook Cargoras off.

Cargoras licked Zeef’s blood beaded on his hand blade and grinned.

“…Delicious.”

Then, Zeef was swept by indescribable emotions.

An old emotion he’d never felt even after becoming Magus and flaunting power in the palace.

The fear called death.

The moment one warning shook his arrogance—

Woosh-!

Zeef bombarded a storm of blades forward.

Cargoras evaded lightly, finding minute gaps as if he could see the wind’s shape clearly.

Simultaneously trying to cover wind and mana with demonic energy to absorb—

“…?”

This time it wouldn’t be drawn in.

Zeef had classified Cargoras as Magus-level and devoted all efforts to the mana domination battle.

Kekek.

Cargoras plunged into close combat as if daring him to try.

While lowering the opponent’s special ability activation with mana domination, he even deployed close-range combat.

Though more than three techniques unfolded simultaneously, Zeef and Cargoras executed all techniques perfectly without an inch of error.

Shreeek!

Wind that had slipped to Cargoras’s rear returned.

Though wind pressured from front and rear, Cargoras flowed past all with grotesque movements while advancing.

In the blink of an eye, Cargoras’s jet-black claws tried to strike down on Zeef’s crown.

That moment, a whirlwind surged before Zeef.

Even deflected wind gathered together creating fierce rotation.

He thought it a trap to drive Cargoras to death, but—

Bang-!

Cargoras’s claws tore through the wind, blowing Zeef away with his staff.

Zeef landed using wind as a cushion and wiped blood flowing from his lips.

Even enhancement-type mages would be torn by wind the moment trapped in the whirlwind.

But Cargoras entered and exited wind like his own home without any wounds.

‘The mana wrapped around his body is condensing more and more.’

The Royal Guard Knights also waged fierce confrontations one by one while going back and forth with the twelve Royal Guard.

‘However.’

Zeef spread his palm wide.

‘You overlooked it, greenhorn.’

He’d installed wind like traps everywhere while clashing with Cargoras.

When he burst them all at once, all the sand here exploded in all directions.

The oppressive feeling like reaching 9000 meters altitude disappeared.

Zeef stood while wiping blood flowing from his lips with the back of his hand.

Woooong!

His mana still overflowed.

“Press forward!”

The knight order also escaped mana poisoning and resumed bombardment toward the twelve.

“…”

Cargoras was blankly looking around.

Zeef sent three blade winds.

Cargoras absorbed two and had his arm cut by one.

‘Without demonic energy, your absorption ability also drops markedly.’

Zeef also kept the twelve Royal Family in mind.

If the condensed demonic energy contained within seeped into the sand, this situation could reverse at any time.

It was then, as he prepared new wind intending to blow them away the instant Royal Family died.

“Kekek.”

Ominous demonic energy flowed from Cargoras, who began laughing like a child.

It melted the severed arm into a handful of water, making it seep into the ground.

Scrape!

Zeef’s wind butchered Cargoras mercilessly.

“Krkrkrk!”

Even in a state where his body became like fragmented pieces, Cargoras with only his head remaining laughed.

‘Fearsome survival ability.’

But he’d blown away everything except the head.

Cargoras would spend endless years trapped in a barrier like before.

‘No matter how dangerous, he’s ultimately a demon beast. Just mince and crush him to stuff back in.’

It was when he tried to lift Cargoras’s head to execute the kingdom’s command.

RUMBLE!

The mountain range began shaking violently as if erupting like a volcano.

As Zeef broke into cold sweat at the rapidly expanding demonic energy, Cargoras shouted.

“Right. No need to think hard.”

Soon, numerous clumps of earth erupted from the mountain range’s summit.

They didn’t descend to the ground but seeped into dark clouds.

As the clouds turned pitch-black like night, all directions lost even a single point of light.

What fell was only rain.

Rich rain containing the mountain range’s soil.

Drip. Patter-patter!

Rain poured like a downpour from clouds covering even the castle.

When raindrops touched his body, Zeef’s skin stung.

“You dragged me to a place favorable to humans.”

High-density demonic energy was mixed into these raindrops.

“Since you brought me to your homeland, I too…”

Cargoras grinned.

“…will change this place into my homeland.”

The downpour showed no signs of stopping and didn’t allow even a handful of wind.

In an instant, rain engulfing both battlefield and castle dyed the soil black, creating new nature beyond what human power could handle.

Though humans had brought demon beasts to this place—

The gentle earth transformed into new terrain before disaster—

This place is no longer humans’ sanctuary.

It’s a region eroded and hardened like rain from the mountain range’s soil.

Patter-patter-patter!

Before disaster, the Magus’s wind all washed away—

Rainwater gathering and completing as Cargoras’s body—

Cargoras, who made heaven and earth into the mountain range, smiled brightly and shouted.

[Awaken.]

Learning isn’t humans’ exclusive domain.

* * *

It was when Rio was organizing supply materials.

Drip… patter…

Untimely rain began pouring from the sky.

“Move materials to tents so they don’t get wet.”

“Yes!”

They must deploy the supply unit to the battlefield before the third wave descends from the mountain range.

But suddenly a downpour.

Seeing murky rain like sewage, supplies to deploy to the battlefield become troublesome.

If the ground becomes muddy like a quagmire, transport by wagon would be impossible.

“Hallam…”

It was the moment Rio turned his head to hold a strategy meeting with mages.

“Urk.”

“Uwek.”

Several people began retching and kneeling on the ground.

They were all level 3 or lower mages.

In contrast, guards and workers stood with nonchalant expressions.

While Rio observed that difference, Hallam rushed over urgently.

“Advisor! Demonic energy! Terrible demonic energy is blanketing the castle!”

“Demonic energy?”

“This rainwater is all high-density demonic energy! Definitely demonic energy that should only be seen above 8000 meters altitude, why…!”

That moment, Rio’s eyes widened.

His gaze turned toward the demon beast material workshop.

Demon beast materials Pernok had brought two weeks ago remained inside, unprocessed due to war preparations.

And the moment rainwater flowed in there, wrapping around like mud—

BOOM!

Bursting through iron doors, those demon beasts leaped out.

“That… that’s…”

Torsos and arms not perfectly repaired.

But rainwater containing demonic energy wraps around demon beast materials, accelerating demon beasts’ regeneration.

“Rapoxy?”

Hallam’s flustered voice is swallowed by rainwater.

Soon, rainwater pouring on the castle digs into buildings’ tiny cracks, spreading demonic energy—

Bam-boom-bang-bang!

Explosive sounds echo from all directions.

It was the signal of resurrection from demon beasts that mercenaries had hunted.