The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 210: Encounter (3)
Every second counted.
Oscar raced through the mountains, guided by Wind Archive.
‘The Five Calamities said to exist in the Red Mountains.
Of course, he knew of them.
He had even fought some of them before.
Back then, he was Level 8—things had been very different.
‘Ever since I reached Level 9, even those so-called Calamities avoided me.
Recalling those glory days, Oscar clicked his tongue.
He was only Level 6 now.
Right now, he couldn't possibly defeat any of the Calamities.
‘But that doesn’t matter.’
Winning wasn’t the point.
Depending on the target, simply holding out was more than doable.
The one he was after now—“Mountain Eater”—was no exception.
Obviously, that thing wasn’t a god or a semi-divine being like the World Tree.
It was just a giant tree.
‘Which means, of course, it has weaknesses.’
Its roots spanned the entire mountain range, but the main body was located at the fifth peak.
Naturally, the further a root was from the main body, the weaker it became.
‘In other words, its power is strongest at the fifth peak and weakest near the first.’
And this was the second peak.
The roots here were notably slower and weaker.
That’s why Oscar had come up with the idea to use the thing.
‘Here, I can lose it.’
All he had to do was outmaneuver the roots and make it to where the others were fighting.
If he stirred up the battlefield enough, an opportunity to escape would naturally present itself.
Whoooosh.
The wind that had been chasing him slowed and began to swirl in place.
Oscar’s eyes sharpened as he looked toward the spot.
‘Found it.’
A red root jutted out from the ground.
It looked thin and brittle, but there were probably thousands more nearby.
‘Let’s gauge its speed before we begin.’
Once provoked, there was no turning back.
It wasn’t the type of enemy to spare anyone.
Oscar poured magic into the Illusion Bracelet on his left arm.
“......”
A clone identical to himself appeared, nodded once, and charged forward.
The moment it stepped on a root—
Thud!
The earth flipped, and hundreds of roots exploded outward.
Terrified, the clone desperately tried to flee, but—
Thwack!
Its chest was pierced by dozens of roots, and it vanished into a puff of smoke.
“Hm.”
That was enough to estimate its speed.
Oscar nodded at the roots slithering back into the earth.
‘At that speed... yeah. I can lose it.’
He exhaled deeply, then fixed his tense gaze on the roots.
Crouching low, he readied himself to launch forward at any moment.
Vrrrrm!
Six magical circuits flared up, heating his body rapidly.
Jet Booster, Slip Stream, Wind Archive
Speed-boosting magic and air resistance reduction.
With all preparations complete, Oscar murmured:
“...Find the optimal route back to the others.”
At his command, Wind Archive began guiding him.
Of course, Oscar had no intention of following the path.
“Not yet.”
BOOM!
As he stomped the ground, the sound of a gunshot echoed.
CRACK!
A tree root snapped under his foot and went berserk.
WHOOOM!
Hundreds of writhing roots burst from the ground like tentacles.
Oscar gulped at the sight and muttered,
“...Recalculate the route.”
The original path was now meaningless.
With the landscape in chaos, Wind Archive quickly computed a new route.
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
Oscar flung himself toward the only escape path.
The swarm of tentacles surged after him.
“...Huff.”
The wolf, Yuribe, finally let out a ragged breath.
A clear sign of fatigue.
But he wasn’t anxious about it.
“This is fun.”
Because his enemies were in far worse shape.
Oran Quil coughed up black, dead blood with every breath.
Kaya Lockwood’s left arm hung limp and broken.
And Sasha Maestro’s condition was worse than both.
“Hahh... hahh...”
Even after unleashing her ultimate spell, “World Liberation,”
she failed to stop even a single berserk demon.
She would bear that failure alone.
She bit her lip hard.
“You all look like you're about to collapse.”
Yuribe chuckled and slowly approached her as if out on a stroll.
Naturally, Kaya and Oran stepped in front of her.
His beast-like eyes arched mockingly.
“Seems you don’t learn.”
With a blink, Kaya and Oran’s silhouettes vanished—
And so did the beast's massive form.
CRASH!
Twelve rapid exchanges in an instant.
Yuribe’s movements, despite having no demonic energy, were blazingly fast and heavy.
“Gahhhh!”
Kaya took a punch to the right side and spewed blood.
And then—
CRACK!
His massive foot slammed down on the back of her head, driving her into the ground.
“Bow before me, you insects.”
Yuribe’s body trembled with ecstasy.
The law of the jungle—survival of the fittest—had been etched into him since birth.
He experienced incomparable pleasure every time he confirmed he was the strongest.
That’s why he developed the habit of breaking his enemies before killing them.
“Senior!”
Oran quickly moved both hands, casting a wide web of invisibility.
Heavenly Net.
Threads covered the sky and ground, enveloping Yuribe.
Yuribe smirked at the dense, gapless net.
“No need to dodge this.”
SHRRIP!
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
He grabbed the threads with both hands and tore them apart.
“You’ve got to be kidding...”
Oran’s face contorted in disbelief.
“No, you did well.”
Sasha caught the momentary opening and unleashed a gust of wind.
Her unique magic—Winding Wind.
WOOOOOSH!
A gentle breeze, not strong at all, flowed toward Yuribe.
“...!”
Having seen that spell used many times in this battle, Yuribe instinctively crouched.
He squeezed out the last remnants of his demonic energy to shield himself.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
The slicing wind clashed with his demonic energy—but couldn’t break through.
“...Haa.”
“...Ah...”
Yuribe endured it.
Sasha failed to cut through.
Seeing this, Yuribe’s protruding snout curved into a grin.
“To be honest... I’m out of demonic energy now.”
He revealed his weakness for one reason only.
"But that goes for you too, doesn’t it? That powerful spell you used just now must have drained an enormous amount of mana. I doubt you can cast it again, right?"
"You're free to believe what you want."
Shasha replied without even blinking, but his guess was close to the truth.
Currently, maintaining the One Thought Pure Land was consuming a staggering amount of mana every second.
If she were to use Surging Wind even one more time, this world would no longer hold.
‘...That would be bad.’
The reason Yuribe hadn’t charged in recklessly and had only been countering her attacks so far was because this world, the One Thought Pure Land, was constantly eroding his demonic energy.
‘If this world collapses, his power will start regenerating again.’
When that time comes, the real hunt would begin.
Gulp.
Shasha's throat bobbed heavily.
She tried to estimate how much time had passed since the battle began.
‘Only... about nine minutes?’
Unbelievable.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Hundreds of exchanges had passed, and the four of them were entangled in a storm of immense magic and demonic energy.
And yet, only nine minutes had gone by.
Shasha bit her lip hard at that realization.
"Hoh."
Yuribe, noticing something, formed a meaningful expression.
The once crystal-clear and pristine sky—
That part of the world was beginning to shatter and disperse.
He looked beyond the crumbling realm, toward the dawn breaking over the horizon.
"It seems the outcome has been decided."
"......"
Shasha’s pupils trembled slightly.
She had done her utmost to maintain the world, but it had already reached its limits.
Crack, crackle.
The sky collapsed, the White Tower faded, and the earth began to change color.
Like an ephemeral spring dream—
The warm illusion faded, revealing the cold, harsh reality.
"Sigh."
Yuribe let out a quiet breath.
With each inhale and exhale, his demonic energy recovered more rapidly.
"It's been a while since I’ve had this much fun. I think I’ve played enough."
Step, step.
Yuribe began walking toward Shasha to end the battle.
The sight of her small frame drenched in despair delighted him.
"White Tower Master! Snap out of it!"
Oran, who rushed to her side, shouted to wake her.
Hearing that, Yuribe suddenly paused and tilted his head.
"White Tower Master...?"
Demons were usually uninterested in human culture or systems.
But there was one thing they knew very well—
The colors of the Four Great Magic Towers.
Especially the White Tower—
There wasn’t a demon alive who didn’t recognize it.
"So, you’re the successor of Oscar Sage... the White Mage?"
Two emotions briefly flickered in Yuribe's eyes:
Relief, and disappointment.
‘So, the Great Emperor’s wish was fulfilled.’
The previous Great Emperor had struck the White Tower just before his death.
The result of that attack was the woman now standing before him.
She had taken the seat of the White Tower Master, but compared to Oscar Sage, she wasn’t even half as strong.
‘Why does the new Great Emperor hesitate so much?’
Yuribe was now certain:
There was no longer any obstacle among humans to stand in the demons' way.
If the current White Tower Master’s strength was this lacking, there was nothing to worry about.
"If the late Oscar Sage saw this, he would weep in regret."
He was the most feared mage in history,
The one who killed the most demons and struck terror into their hearts—
The idol and object of reverence for all demons.
But now, it seemed that fear could finally be laid to rest.
‘O Great Emperor, the White Tower... has fallen.’
This wasn’t something he learned from reports or interrogated slaves who had surrendered.
He had confirmed it with his own two eyes.
"Looks like I’ll have good news to report to the new Great Emperor."
Yuribe grinned and began stepping toward Shasha again—
When—
BOOM!
"...?"
A strange sound echoed from the base of the mountain.
Yuribe narrowed his eyes and turned his head just in time to see it.
『Blink』
Space split apart, and a man appeared: Oscar Crucian.
"......"
With a calm expression, he scanned the battlefield quickly and sighed in relief.
‘No one’s dead yet.’
They had kept their promise.
They managed to hold off an 8th-level demon for ten full minutes.
Now, it was his turn to uphold his end.
"You actually came back."
Yuribe stared at him with genuine curiosity.
"But I don’t get it. Did you suddenly wish to die or something? Your presence changes nothing."
"That might’ve been true if I came alone. But I brought reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?"
In this vast Red Mountain Range?
Reinforcements in just ten minutes?
Could he have brought a few imperial border guards?
Yuribe scoffed, ready to mock him—
But then he sensed something.
"Wait. This aura... You... don’t tell me...?"
Yuribe's body flinched, and he quickly turned his head.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Suddenly, the mountain slope was filled with the sight of thousands of tree roots climbing upward, filling his entire vision.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

Comments

Loading...