章節 212: Chapter 371
[Support me here:- https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
In the dark woods, the mages revealed themselves. This time, there were twenty of them, and beside them was Myla.
[Look at this! I knew it. If it were my sister, she would have hidden the seal of the tomb somewhere else. But it's obvious! The only place in the Wantaramo where she can hide the seal from my eyes is Red Lake!] Myla stepped forward and spoke with a newly found voice. She seemed to be out of breath, perhaps from hurrying to get here. The mages, too, had sweat-drenched faces.
'I was a little worried about the Spectres, but thankfully, only the Magic tower mages seem to have come. The 3rd Magic tower must have come in a hurry, so there wouldn't have been time to bring the Spectres as well."
The Spectre corps is the elite secret force of Zipfel and the direct subordinates of Octavia Zipfel, making it a force that the 3rd Magic tower wouldn't dare to summon.
'But still, they must have reported that I am in Wantaramo forest, so eventually, the Spectre corps will come. They even sent five last time to catch me.'
The plan was to kill them all before the reinforcements arrived, check the tomb, and then leave the forest.
[When I said we should ally with Zipfel for the sake of our kin, you ignored me, calling it nonsense! Runcandel? Not even Chiron Runcandel, but that powerless young boy! You will stick to him!]
Myla's body swelled temporarily as she screamed in anger. It was a phenomenon that occurred when a descendant of the Fairy tribe was excited or exhibited power.
[Is this the path for our kin that my sister talked about? No wonder everyone turned their backs on you. Where are you? Come out! Come out and say something at least!]
A moment of silence passed. Myla's determined breathing grew louder.
In the meantime, Jin and Valeria estimated Zipfel's approximate power, and the Majins of Vermont were also cautious, watching them closely.
[Ha, I got excited for no reason. Anyway, listen well, sister. I am giving you a final warning as your sibling. If you come out now and beg, I'll let you die without suffering. We have a bond of flesh and blood... Kyaaah!]
Suddenly, Myla screamed.
It was because her wings were grazed by Valeria's mana beam. She had concealed magic in her hand ever since the mages appeared.
[My wings! My wings, aaargh! It's hot!]
Screaming, Myla cowered behind the mages. The mages showed no particular reaction to Myla's injury.
[You couldn't even block this? Kill them all immediately! What are you doing, huh!?]
"Shut up. You dare to step forward fearlessly, and shout, who do you dare to blame and give orders."
One of the mages said with a contemptuous glare at Myla. Myla was silenced by his icy attitude.
"Greetings, Jin Runcandel. I am Drew Malaga, the vice-master of the 3rd Magic tower."
Malaga is one of the central families of the Lutero Magic Federation. Before taking over the 3rd Magic tower, he had been the second-in-command of the mage unit, White Night.
-Nice to meet you, Lady Luna. I am Maul Hensirk, the second-in-command of the White Night.
-'You'? It seems the second-in command changed without my knowledge?
-My predecessor Drew Malaga has retired…
-If it were Drew, he would have stepped down from those stairs before greeting me.
Jin recalled the conversation Luna and Maul had during the Holy Kingdom Incident.
"Good to see you, Drew Malaga. I heard you retired."
"Not long ago, I returned as the vice-master of the 3rd Magic tower."
"It seems the Lutero Magic Federation lacks talent."
"Didn't all of Runcandel's former Black Knights retire? Yet they are still unofficially on missions, aren't they? I have a similar situation."
"Compared to the former Black Knights, you seem to fall short. Is it excessive confidence, or do you not know shame?"
"That was an inappropriate remark. If it displeased you, I apologize."
Drew was not a person to succumb to provocation easily.
Having served as the second-in-command of the White Night and then being appointed as the vice-master of the 3rd Magic tower again despite his retirement, there was a reason for his selection.
"Jin Runcandel."
Drew spoke as he stroked his beard.
"Speak."
"I have a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"Just leave. Higher-ups are about to send reinforcements, and you can't handle it. Neither can I afford to lose my subordinates needlessly to stop you."
"You think you can stop me by losing your subordinates. How would you like my answer?"
"I can't help it. Just one more question, who is that mage next to you? I hear they use forgotten magic...?"
Drew knew about Valeria being a record mage from what he had heard from Myla on the way here.
'Since Myla used the Magic tower master staff to call them, they came without any information. Drew didn't know from the start that there was a record mage here. But even if I kill all the mages, the information that I accompanied a record mage will likely reach Zipfel.'
As Jin had thought, Drew Malaga had already sent a letter to the Zipfel main house informing them of the existence of a record mage as soon as he heard it from Myla.
Myla's betrayal was an unexpected event, so it couldn't be helped.
In the instant before Jin was about to snort, Arya unexpectedly stepped forward and spoke.
"You deal with the Majins, Jin Runcandel."
You're going to face twenty of them alone?
Jin didn't bother asking such a question and simply nodded. If his teacher said so, it meant she could handle it on her own.
"Be careful."
As Jin began to unsheathe his sword to face the Majins, Valeria eyed the mages.
"Listen well, you Zipfel dogs."
Valeria removed her hood, revealing her face. Her mana-infused silver oak staff illuminated her face.
"I am a mage who will erase the name Zipfel from this world someday, a descendant of those trampled and vanished at the hand of Zipfel, a sibling of innocent gray owls who were killed by Zipfel. My name is"
Valeria Hister!
As she finished her words, Drew's pupils dilated. And Jin could only feel considerable shock.
'Teacher revealed her real name?'
She hadn't revealed her real name yet, even to Jin.
While fighting the Majins, Jin kept his focus on Valeria.
The reason Valeria had revealed her name was none other than to signify her intent to kill every single one of the mages in front of her.
"There's no way you'll be able to return alive."
She was certain she could do it.
"...Watch the ground!"
As soon as Valeria's staff moved, Drew shouted suddenly.
In the blink of an eye, without anyone realizing, chains of lightning attribute had spread across the ground beneath them.
'Did she set up the spell while revealing her true identity...!'
It was a shocking spell casting even for Jin to comprehend.
Even Jin, who was right next to her, didn't notice that she was channeling mana. It was unlikely that the 3rd Magic tower mages would have realized it either.
"Kraaaah!"
"Argh!"
The mages who hadn't managed to dodge the lightning chains cried out. Blood was already pouring from their mouths, noses, and ears, and the ones who barely shielded themselves were left with a chilling feeling running down their spines.
"Ahhh...."
The mages entangled in the chains writhed, and the five of them were soon soaked in blood, coughing up foam as they met their end.
In an instant, twenty percent of the Magic tower's force had been wiped out.
However, the misfortune of the 3rd Magic tower mages didn't end there. The lightning chains, even after killing five of them, continued to writhe like living entities, attaching themselves to the protective shields of the remaining mages.
Those chains didn't just exert pressure on the shields; they also blocked the mages' line of sight, maximizing their sense of dread.
"I'll buy us some time! Stay calm and respond, or we'll be swept away by the mana backflow!"
Drew indeed demonstrated the qualities of the second-in-command of the White Night. He continued to provide excellent commands to prevent his startled subordinates from falling into the backflow.
However, Valeria was expecting Drew to be capable of dealing with that level of situation.
Therefore, she intended to kill them in a way that surpassed their expectations.
Kaga-gang!
Suddenly, a dimensional portal opened in the air, as if summoning a phoenix.
Valeria had completed a summoning spell. However, the portal didn't open near Valeria; it opened "above" the heads of the Magic tower mages.
Crash, clang, clank!
What emerged from it were hundreds of sharp icicles. Like the overlapping teeth of sharks, these icicles shattered upon hitting the protective shields, but immediately regrew and continued their assault.
The mages whose protective shields had been broken met their deaths with gruesome wounds all over their bodies. The fallen flesh and entrails had turned into charred remnants still emitting sizzling sounds, consumed by the lightning chains.
The mages of the 3rd Magic Tower had never expected to be attacked in this manner. Despite having learned magic at Zipfel, and considering Zipfel's library to be a repository of all the world's magic, they were completely unprepared.
One thing was certain. The magic Valeria was unleashing was of something they had never seen before. In fact, the magic she employed was a variety that had undergone numerous transformations, making it nearly impossible to trace back to its original form.
As a result, they were utterly helpless in responding. Although they had believed they were well-versed in almost all forms of magic the world had to offer, the eerie and unfamiliar spells that Valeria wielded were causing their comrades to burn and be impaled to death. The sight was a true embodiment of terror.
Shoo!
In the midst of this confusion and panic, a faint sound of something being unsheathed was heard. It wasn't Bradamante.
It was the sound of Valeria's dagger being drawn from the sleeve of her robe.
Thud, thud...
Valeria began approaching the mages with deliberate steps, not particularly fast.
Her eyes were stained with bloodlust. Until Valeria came into close range, the mages were too preoccupied with surviving the lightning chains and icicles to pay attention.
The chains that lay on the ground were forming a path following Valeria's steps.
The icicles pouring from the portal above their heads also avoided the direction Valeria was walking in.
From then on, it was a literal slaughter.
Like a grim reaper, every time she moved her dagger amidst the mages, a life was snuffed out. Thuk, thuk. Valeria stabbed the mages in their throats and hearts with a cold, detached expression.
Gradually, she headed toward Drew Malaga, who was protecting his subordinate with his shield.
Drew had already accepted defeat and death before Valeria even stood before him. Since the first surprise attack that had killed five of his subordinates.
Even when Valeria stood right in front of Drew, he had no energy to retaliate or push her away.
Without stabbing Drew, Valeria met his gaze for a moment.
"Among the mages who slaughtered the Grey Owl Mercenaries, there was someone named Holden Malaga."
"Is he?"
"Seems like you're of the same bloodline."
Drew remained silent, avoiding Valeria's gaze.
"Are you afraid of your own brethren dying too?"
Schlick!
As Valeria slashed Drew's throat, the lightning chains and icicles finally breached the protective shield that had been barely holding against them, swallowing up Drew's subordinates.
Amidst the chaos of blood and screams, Valeria fired another mana beam to sever the wings of Myla, who was trying to escape.
章節 213: Chapter 372
[Support me here:- https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[Aa, aaah! This damn... my wings, it hurt! It feels like my whole body is burning! I'll kill, I'll definitely kill you! You!]
Myla, sprawled on the ground, screamed while hurling curses of all kinds at Valeria.
The heat from the Chain Lightning was still lingering on the ground, causing Myla to experience excruciating pain throughout her entire body.
Amidst the continued screams, Valeria confirmed that Myla was in a state where she couldn't escape, then leaned against a tree and took a breath.
The corpses were everywhere.
The mages of 3rd Magic tower that had come to the Wantaramo Forest were all met with death, without exception. And it was done by a girl who had barely turned seventeen, to the point of being utterly crushed.
No one would believe it. Even Jin, who had personally experienced Valeria's previous life and witnessed this battle, was left dumbfounded.
'I knew the teacher was a monster, but I never imagined she'd be this strong at seventeen. No wonder she was never caught until now.'
Naturally, Valeria's mana was far from enough to match the twenty mages of the tower.
Drew Malaga and his subordinates were by no means weak.
However, the overwhelmingly decisive victory was due to Valeria Hister's overwhelming talent and unexpectedness.
Just as it had been in their past lives.
To Jin, it felt as though he was glimpsing a new horizon of magic from his teacher once again.
'When I first met the teacher in my past life, I wondered what I believed in and acted so haughty. I felt dizzy thinking about it now.'
Suddenly, Jin remembered the time when Valeria taught him how to use lightning magic and felt chills down his spine.
Sizzle...
Valeria took out a crushed cigarette from her pocket and lit it up.
It wasn't for her to smoke. She expelled the smoke left in her mouth when she lit it, and placed the cigarette in the center of the dead mages.
It was a cigarette to commemorate the Grey Owl Mercenaries. Valeria stared blankly at the cigarette for a while.
Valeria, gazing at the gruesome corpses and the cigarette burning desolately, and Myla struggling and cursing, created a scene of confusion.
And the Majins perceived that she was in a vulnerable state.
Indeed, she had helped the Felinoid tribesmen to create the passages and had nearly exhausted all her mana due to the recent battle.
Splatt!
The Majins all rushed towards Valeria at once. The scimitars stained with aura aimed at Valeria.
Of course, their strikes never reached Valeria. While their physical abilities had improved significantly compared to when they were human, they weren't as fast as Jin had missed.
As Bradamante and two scimitars collided, sparks flew. Jin attempted to use his scissors technique once more, but as if not willing to fall victim to the same move again, the Majins defended each other's back, deflecting the scissors to both sides.
"Do not disturb the mourning."
Fissst-!
Bradamante moved in a trajectory and slashed Rick's chest. Though it would've been a fatal wound for a human, the wound was swiftly healing.
Jin used scissors once again and examined the spot where the dead Majin's body was.
As Valeria explained, the deceased Majin had already oxidized, leaving only black residue behind and completely disappearing.
'I need to control my strength well. To leave evidence without any difficulty.'
It seemed challenging to capture them alive due to her regenerative abilities. Additionally, the Majins were weaker compared to Jin, but weren't so weak that they could be bound with ordinary tools.
'Regeneration, physical reinforcement, oxidation to prevent information leaks, and sanity. Is that about right for now? Ah, one more thing. The level of combat power."
Rick Helter.
When he was human, he was the leader, making him much stronger than the other imperial guards. However, after becoming a Majin, he showed no difference from the others. Whether an ordinary guard or Rick, they now possessed the same level of combat prowess.
The significance of that fact was enormous.
'The transformation magic for becoming a Majin might not require elite imperial guards, but rather individuals with some level of skill. Or perhaps even ordinary people could be turned into Majins with this level of combat prowess...'
Considering he had managed to kill three during their transformation, if all six of them had completed their transformation into Majins, Jin wouldn't have been able to handle them so effortlessly.
'If transformation magic can be applied to ordinary people, and if Vermont controls more than just a few Majins... the power balance of the world could completely shift.'
Jin had already experienced something similar in his past life.
Using the "Mirror," Colon's artifact, Zipfel had mass-produced 7-Star mages, solidifying their dominance on the world power. Jin had witnessed it firsthand, how they had further established their dominance.
'I need to leave the Majin' body as evidence and thoroughly investigate. I have to find out how far the Majin transformation magic has been developed. The reason it hasn't been mass-produced yet is probably because it is incomplete.'
Kagang! Jin increased his speed, forcing the Majins to shift on defense.
Even though they had become stronger through the transformation, the initial gap was too large. Despite the element of surprise, even if the Majins' weapons struck Jin, they fell short of piercing his Shadow Force Armor and dealing fatal damage.
'Considering their response to the scissors, it seems they have a learning ability, but it appears they don't retain memories from their human days.'
If the Majins had retained their memories from their time as imperial guards, they wouldn't have aimed for Jin's throat while sacrificing their bodies.
Thunk-!
The scimitar was deflected by Jin's Shadow Force Armor and rebounded. Taking advantage of the recoil, Jin swung Bradamante and slashed Majin's waist.
The blade enveloped in shadow force silently passed through flesh and organs. The dull sensation of a spine being severed transmitted through the blade, and Jin swung his weapon again, cutting the mine into a cross.
Despite being split into several pieces, the wriggling body segments seemed to possess enough regenerative power to recover.
However, the Majin chose oxidation over regeneration. It was a clear indication of the creator's intent: to leave no evidence behind.
Now only one remained, the Majin once known as Rick Helter. He too was about to fight until the end and then oxidize.
Whooosh...!
Suddenly, sparks of blue flames flickered around Bradamante.
Tess's power, blue flames. As that energy gathered, the Majin's weapon noticeably slowed down.
It was the power of "Heavy Pressure," suppressing him to the point where he couldn't move properly. Even when he could exert his full power, he wasn't a match for Jin. All the Majin could do was oxidize at this point.
Although only his arm had been severed, the Majin showed signs of oxidation. He was turning into ash like other dead Majins.
Normally, oxidation happens very rapidly.
However, the heavy pressure was affecting not just the Majin's movements, but also delaying his disintegration.
"Valeria, now!"
As Jin closed in on him like an arrow, he cut off both arms of the Majin and shouted. As Valeria asked, Jin gave her a signal before dealing the final blow to Majin. It was time to act on her words.
Despite the pressure slowing the rate of oxidation, with each second, the Majin's body segments were noticeably shrinking.
Phwooosh-!
A single thread of mana, imbued with the freezing attribute, flew from behind. As the mana touched the Majin's body, it swiftly formed a seal of ice barrier magic along with a melody sound.
Fortunately, the completion of the magic seal happened faster than the process of oxidation.
The seal, which had fallen to the ground, produced a dull thud. It took the shape of a sphere, containing only the head and chest of the Majin within.
Jin had already cut the two arms in advance, and the rest of the body had already turned to ash in the air.
"If you had been a little late, we might have missed it."
Jin wiped his forehead as he looked down at the magic seal. Valeria approached him and nodded.
"If it wasn't for the power of blue flames within your sword, it would have been much more precarious. I could barely manage to seal about half of the head."
"Anyway, you did well. Now, all that's left is to visit the tomb before additional reinforcements arrive."
For a moment, the two of them stood silently, gazing at the seal containing the Majin's head and chest.
"Jin Runcandel."
"Yes."
"You told the Majins not to disturb my mourning. Why did you do that?"
"It's hard to think about anything other than mourning when you're lighting a cigarette you don't even smoke. Plus, you told Drew about the people trampled by Zipfel and your siblings who were killed."
Actually, Jin knew Valeria's actions were for tribute due to the memories from his past life, but answering like this wouldn't be strange either.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't seem particularly surprised by the fact that I used a dagger."
"Among mages, there are those who train their bodies and martial arts. Your dagger skills were quite impressive. It's a shame you couldn't use aura."
"It was the first time I have revealed my real name, and you casually called me Valeria a little while ago."
He barely suppressed a flinch.
"Is that strange? I don't really know what you're trying to say."
Valeria shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, it doesn't mean much. I was just curious why you did it."
"You revealed your real name when I was listening means I've gained that much trust from you. I liked it, so I thought I'd call you by it."
Valeria stared intently at Jin.
Jin met her gaze calmly, waiting for her next words.
[Aaah! Aaaah!]
The sound that came first was not Valeria's response but rather the screams of Myla still rolling on the ground.
"…First, we need to ask the queen of descendants of the fairy tribe how to deal with that."
"I agree, Valeria Hister."
***
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Wantaramo Forest.
Two mages with puzzled expressions were searching for their horses.
They were mages from the 3rd Magic Tower who had accompanied Drew Malaga to the Wantaramo Forest.
Originally, their purpose was to track down Jin. However, Drew had instructed them to report to the Zipfel main house as quickly as possible.
The content of the report was about the presence of a mage using "Record Magic" within the Wantaramo Forest.
"A record mage... Things are going to be chaotic for a while."
"Just by reporting this, my promotion is practically guaranteed, and I can raise my library access level..."
Thunk!
The mage who was answering suddenly slumped forward.
"Hey, you! What's wrong? Are you okay...!"
The remaining mage couldn't finish his sentence either.
A long stinger, from an unknown source, had pierced right through the middle of his throat. The two mages didn't even realize the fact that they had been "killed" until the moment of their deaths.
"Hmm, hmm-."
And behind their two steps, there was a woman humming a tune.
The woman cheerfully rummaged through the belongings of the deceased mages, and amidst them, she found a letter with the name of her beloved youngest brother written on it. She smiled broadly as she looked at it.
"Well, my youngest brother has a sloppy side, it seems. Hehe."
It was Yona.
After picking up the letter, she said.
"I was wondering what to do and have fun during my vacation. Maybe I'll spend it killing those guys who came looking for my youngest brother?"
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
51 推薦票 
段落評論