Chapter 324 - Eve of the Storm (3)
Chapter 324 - Eve of the Storm (3)
Kuaaaaaaah-!
Someone who saw the scene recalled it later.
...There was just light.
The Lairon Church borrowed this when they talked about the creation of the world, but this case was a little different. It was a heavy rain of light pouring down.
The light that was born from the process of collapsing the four elements simultaneously ignored the boundary between matter and non-matter, destroying everything. It was a huge physical blow to the undead. The doom knights’ bodies shattered, and the transparent bodies of the banshees exploded like jellyfish.
This was the great magic, Abraxas! Theodore had envisioned this spell after reaching the 7th circle, but he needed eight circles to fully reproduce the power. The opposing elements collided with each other, and the repulsive force was immediately maximized. It was a physically and magically impossible phenomena, but Theodore’s Sorcery made it enter the realm of the ‘possible.’
“Go!”
The light wave broke the corpses mercilessly. It was a pure destructive power that even the caster couldn’t control after it was launched. Besides, the terrible destructive ray wasn’t the only fearsome thing. This was an attack magic that was virtually nonexistent in this world.
It was rare for there to be any magic with ‘no attributes.’ No attribute could interfere with it, and it didn’t respond when pressed with pure force. Dealing destruction that deviated beyond the physical properties—this was the true power of Abraxas.
If black magic formed the rules of another world, then this would be a foul there. The undead were disintegrated by the terrible light. The necromancers couldn’t sustain the black magic, that was the foundation of their existence, against the power of Abraxas. It was the same for the senior undead. Under the light of Abraxas which destroyed even a lich that had a life vessel, one corner of the undead army collapsed at once. 30% of their total power was lost.
[It is up to here.] At that moment, a dark and eerie voice spoke out. Then darkness blocked the ray of light sweeping through the undead. Jerem couldn’t let any more troops be lost and finally revealed himself.
Kukukukung!
Light and darkness collided. The shockwave that occurred as a result destroyed thousands of undead in the area, but it was a drop in a bucket compared to Abraxas’ actual destructive power. Jerem used black magic of the 9th circle, creating a wall of imaginary space that absorbed the power from Abraxas. Theodore’s Sorcery might not be standardized, but it couldn’t overcome the fundamental differences between magic ranks.
[...You shouldn’t miss it.] However, Jerem groaned after stopping the attack as he realized that half his wall was destroyed.
Even if Jerem’s condition was incomplete, breaking the 9th circle magic till halfway? For Jerem, who had known Theodore a few months ago, this situation was completely unexpected. Jerem’s red eyes glared at Theodore. On the other hand, there was a faint smile on Theodore’s face.
――――――――Kwaaaaang!
Shortly after that, a supersonic storm pierced through the cracked void and aimed at Jerem’s body. It might not be as good as Abraxas, but it was a striking blow!
[Kuaaaaack!] Jerem’s robes were shredded, and he was thrown into the distance. Most of Abraxas’ power had been lost by destroying the imaginary space, but then a storm arrow tore at Jerem’s body. However, the shooter wasn’t Theodore.
‘Okay. You did it properly, Titania!’
-Of course.
As she spoke in a decisive voice, Theodore looked back at Titania’s position in the distance. Then he could see it. Theodore had not actually been talking about Titania but about something that was a few kilometers, maybe 10 kilometers, away. At a distance where he would seem like a single ant, Theodore looked up at the sky.
There was a giant. It had horns in the shape of a crown and a naked body, completely without clothes, that was as rugged as armor. Like the titans that appeared in ancient myths, the ancient elemental—Geros—looked down at the battlefield while holding a greatbow that matched his physique. The fragment of Zephyrus that had once been contracted to Myrdal Herseim. Unlike Mitra who hadn’t grown yet, Geros’ state was already close to perfect. Titania had been learning to use this form since Myrdal handed over the contract to her.
‘The disadvantage is that a lot of strength is consumed.’
Compared to Myrdal, Titania’s power was lacking. There was a limited number of times that Geros could fire his arrows. The reason was obvious. Even if Theodore had weakened the wall first, Geros’ attack was one which had broken the defenses of the 9th circle magic and damaged Jerem. If Geros could shoot those arrows endlessly, Elvenheim would win in half a day.
The ‘Hurricane Bow’ could only be fired three more times in the future. Theodore kept the number of times in his head as he directed the Elvenheim archers to fire. The undead formations had fallen apart, and their advance was stopped, so this was a chance.
“Shoot! Don’t leave behind any of these ugly things!”
“Aim for the head! Even if the undead are a by-product of magic, they can’t regenerate if the nucleus is destroyed!”
“Use normal arrows for the low-grade undead!”
The elven archers, on the ground and above in the branches, pulled back their bowstrings. Their vision was excellent, and they had delicate hands. The undead that didn’t even retreat were worse than training targets.
Pipipipiping! There was the sharp sound of arrows being fired. Arrows covered the night sky and struck the skulls of the undead. Of course, there were many undead that didn’t collapse from one blow. The dullahans survived using shields, the lich used defensive magic, and the senior undead survived with their own abilities. Then as one dullahan proudly advanced to the elves...
Pipipipit!
The baptism of golden arrows quickly turned the dullahan into a beehive.
‘The arrows of destruction look good.’
The nature of the matter wasn’t different, be it in the East or West Continent. Still, Theodore sighed with relief.
He didn’t know how frustrated he would be if the things he had spent weeks making became useless. He had made around 100,000 arrows containing the strength of the mantra. It wasn’t enough to remove all the undead, but it was effective when targeting only senior undead.
The undead started to feel the danger. The senior undead didn’t die in one blow, but there was a limit if they were facing 10 or 20 blows. They couldn’t stay fine.
“It has been good so far, but... is it a little lacking?” Theodore looked around the battlefield while floating in the sky.
The number of undead was still huge despite having been hit by Abraxas. There might be more undead being created somewhere. If this became a war of attrition, Elvenheim would have the disadvantage.
“Veronica!”
“Huh?”
“I am going to use more great magic. Do you have enough magic power?”
“I only fired one breath, so I’m fine. Theodore, will you be okay? That previous magic consumed an absurd amount of power...”
Veronica’s words were right. One drawback to Abraxas was that it was a huge burden.
Despite having twice the magic power of a magician of the same circle, Theodore was breathing harshly after using it. If he used it three times in a day, his circles would be overloaded. Using it continuously would cause him to self-destruct before beating the enemies.
However, Theodore’s complexion was the same as before. “It is okay. I’ve thought of a shortcut.”
‘Shortcut?’ Veronica made a questioning sound, but she knew there was no time to explain. So, she just raised her magic power and shared it. Simultaneously, Theodore activated his circles, and 16 circles revolved, causing the mana in the area to vibrate.
Kukukukukung!
The undead were astonished by the thunderous sound coming from the sky. In particular, the intelligent lich and other senior undead knew the consequences of this sound. It was the sound of at least five 7th circle spells being used. This was unbelievable. It couldn’t be avoided. Since defense and evasion were impossible, the undead chose to intercept it. If they could stop the magic spells in time, the situation could be resolved somehow.
“This is rotten.” As Theodore continued preparing the magic bombardment in the sky, he sensed the flow of power on the ground. It was the precursor to attack magic to stop him and Veronica. Of course, it wasn’t at a level that could injure the two people. However, their purpose was to stop the magical bombardment. It would be enough to open a gap.
“Do you think I will let you act freely?”
However, Theodore had no intention of allowing it.
‘Ellenoa, now.’
-Yes, I understand! Ellenoa’s strong reply was transmitted through Ratatoskr’s neural network.
What was it now? The answer came flying from the rear of the Elvenheim front lines. Something flew up in a smooth arc and dropped down.
[Mist of death... Bite the flesh… um?] The lich was concentrating on chanting a spell when it noticed a shadow, and its body was crushed by a huge rock.
Kwaang! Kuwang! Kwang! Kukwakwakwang!
It wasn't just one. Hundreds of rocks fell like a rock shower, crushing the undead. Of course, that power wasn’t enough to destroy the senior undead. However, it was sufficient to stop the formation that was preparing the interception magic.
[Ruler… command...! Throw… hard as… possible!]
[Rock… heavy! One more...!]
A little way from the forefront, the ents were throwing the rocks with their hands.
The large objects that were over 10 meters big weren’t comparable to those thrown by catapults. These flew as fast as arrows and fell like bombs. The low-grade undead were crushed, while the senior undead couldn’t ignore the attack, forcing them to go on the defensive.
The elves used the earth elementals to make the rocks for throwing, then the ents threw them regardless of how many of their branches were broken. Meanwhile, Theodore and Veronica completed their spell.
Kururung! Kurung!
The materialized magic power was red and evaporated the nearby air. This was the two great magcians’ magic bombardment that was designed only for destruction! The lich’s jaws snapped shut as they intuitively sensed destruction, while the doom knights and undead forgot to defend. What was the point of struggling when they would just die anyway? Then at that moment...
[Boring,] a voice rang out from the border of the Red Plateau and the Great Forest. Just like the roar of a lion or a tiger, it caused everyone to shiver. It had a big impact. Theodore and Veronica stiffened just as they were about to fire their spells. Their perfectly configured magic formulas were scattered.
“Kuok...!”
“N-Nídhöggur? In this phase?”
The power that he could exert in this material world was limited, but Nastrond’s king was still equivalent to a god. Theodore didn’t know about the tribute Jerem had prepared, but it he knew it wasn’t that big. Otherwise, they would have already been killed without being able to resist.
While Theodore was busy thinking about this, Nídhöggur declared, [Don’t disappoint me, Follower.]
At that moment, something eerie rose up. It was a power that rose from an unknown abyss, a strength that Theodore’s eyes couldn’t see. Nastrond, the dimension ruled by Nídhöggur—its power of darkness and death flowed into this material world.
“I will follow your will, great evil dragon.”
Four shadows floated a few hundred meters in front of Theodore. They were Jerem and the four horsemen. Jerem had recovered from the damage caused by Hurricane Bow, and his torn body now looked exactly as it had before.
“Hrmm, do they want to try a tag match?”
“...Probably.”
Theodore faced the enemies with Veronica. From now on, it wasn’t a fight between armies but a fight between leaders. It was the battle between the strongest powerhouses of each army. As they listened to Titania’s words flowing through Ratatoskr, the two magicians’ red robes flapped aggressively.
As the Red Tower’s 8th commandment stated, a good warlock was a dead warlock.