Chapter 25
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Avalanche
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My proposal to Dorothea was to trigger an artificial avalanche by causing a massive explosion at the mountain’s summit.
She, taken aback by the unexpected idea, asked for a more detailed explanation. I then introduced my supposed specialty as Patrasche, the fifth-tier mage:
“Non-attribute magic?”
“To be precise, it’s magic utilizing the artificial element, aether.”
I gave Dorothea and Eva a brief overview.
It wasn't complicated.
Use incredibly powerful magic to trigger an avalanche, and let the cascading snow bury the human fortress.
That was the plan.
If it worked, it would inflict significant damage, and we had nothing to lose.
It was worth a shot, now that we were here.
With the ultimate decision-maker present, my plan was immediately adopted, and I began preparing to cast the spell.
Whirrrr
My virtual mana furnace began to rapidly absorb mana from the atmosphere.
Aether was both an artificial and a natural element.
This might sound contradictory, but aether was essentially highly compressed mana, without any elemental conversion.
Those who adhered to the traditional four-element theory criticized aether-based magic, calling it a strange and heretical art. However, as was often the case, "heresy" simply meant "something they didn't understand," and the new generation of mages didn’t care about such criticisms.
The aether magic I had developed was quite unique.
Aether typically repelled the four traditional elements.
Therefore, it could only be layered once with other elements, and most mages accepted this as a limitation.
But I approached it differently.
If aether could only be layered once because it repelled other elements, why not create magic using only aether?
That was how I developed my non-attribute explosion magic.
A spell layering pure aether, without any other elemental interference.
By repeatedly layering the highly compressed artificial element generated within my body, I created a faintly glowing white sphere in the sky.
From this distance, it looked about the size of a basketball.
Dorothea, who had been watching me cast the spell, tilted her head.
“Nothing’s happening.”
“Just wait a moment. I need to prepare something.”
I handed Dorothea and Eva the sunglasses and earplugs I had just created using transmutation magic.
Eva, intrigued by the unfamiliar objects, held up the sunglasses and asked,
“What are these?”
“These are called sunglasses. Special glasses that block sunlight.”
Dorothea immediately put on the sunglasses.
“Ooh! Amazing! Everything looks dark!”
I told Dorothea, who was reacting like a native encountering modern technology for the first time, to put on the earplugs as well, and then I put on my own set.
Eva, seeing what we were doing, also donned the sunglasses and earplugs.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
I channeled fire-elemental mana into the white sphere floating in the sky.
This was the fuse.
The trigger to detonate the aether bomb, packed with an immense amount of mana.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another sun appeared in the sky above the Vulcan Mountains.
The blinding white light burned, greedily devouring everything it touched.
It was magic refined to its purest form of destructive power and functionality.
Dorothea, who had witnessed the snow-covered mountain peak crumble at the sphere’s touch, exclaimed with a look of delight,
“Kyahaha! What was that?! Intense! I love it!”
Her voice, filled with excitement, was like that of a child receiving an unexpected gift.
“Patrasche! What was the name of that spell?!”
I shrugged and replied,
“Little Boy.”
***
Rumble!
The ground trembled.
With a loud crack, like lightning striking the earth, the perpetual snow on the mountain summit began to collapse.
The cascading snow gained momentum as it slid down the slopes.
Ruuuuuumble!
A deafening roar echoed through the mountains.
Thousands of tons of snow hurtled downwards at over 80 miles per hour.
Like muddy floodwaters after a heavy rain, a white torrent, originating from the summit, swallowed the entire Vulcan Mountain Range.
An avalanche of unprecedented scale.
Before the wrath of Mother Nature, humans were mere insects.
Hunters out on expeditions were swept away.
Soldiers training in the forest were engulfed.
Blissfully unaware of the catastrophe about to strike, families remained in their homes until the earth swallowed them whole.
One spell, one explosion, and the world shattered in ways no one could have imagined.
The avalanche tore through everything. Trees fell. Structures collapsed. People and animals disappeared as if they had never existed.
Snow, in its sheer mass, was a force to be reckoned with. No living creature could survive being caught in its path.
Standing at the summit, I coldly assessed the damage.
A section of the fortress’s southern wall has collapsed.
That wall was supposed to be indestructible, reinforced with countless magical enchantments. Even for the Demon Lord’s army, breaching it would have required immense effort and time.
But against the sheer force of the avalanche, even the strongest walls were helpless.
The fortress walls, which had stood unbroken for over a hundred years, finally had a breach.
This was an unprecedented opportunity.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Dorothea, leaning against a rock with her sunglasses perched on her nose, muttered with amusement,
“We might actually be able to break through.”
Eva, her adjutant, agreed.
“Judging by the scale of the damage, it won’t be repaired in a day or two. It will take at least a week to restore it to its original state.”
“And it will require the assistance of numerous mages to restore its defenses.”
We had originally planned to withdraw our troops temporarily in preparation for next year.
But now, the situation had changed.
We might actually be able to win.
That thought took root.
It wasn't entirely impossible.
Our enemy, who had enjoyed the immense advantage of their fortified walls, had lost that advantage.
It was common knowledge that attacking a fortress required a force three times larger than the defending army.
But the demons, with their slower reproduction rate, couldn't meet that requirement. This avalanche had changed everything.
With the playing field leveled, it would become a war of attrition.
Survival of the fittest.
We began our descent.
There was no time to waste.
Strike first, before they can prepare.
The basics of military strategy.
***
The middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a Kaiser mustache, known to those around him as the Margrave of Hamburg, groaned at the sight before him.
A sudden, inexplicable phenomenon in the sky.
A blinding white sphere of light, like a second sun, had filled the blue sky.
Those who looked directly at it were temporarily blinded, while others suffered hearing loss from the deafening roar that followed.
The Margrave himself had been working in his office when he saw the blinding light through the window. He had gotten up from his chair just as the deafening roar struck, and his ears were still ringing.
BEEEEEEEEEP
This is going to kill me.
It had been a while, but his ears were still muffled.
He would have to ask the cleric from the church to examine him tomorrow. The Margrave looked down from the remaining section of the wall.
“Hey! Be careful!”
“Over here! Help!”
“Someone get a stretcher!”
It was chaos.
While the phenomenon in the sky hadn't caused any direct damage, the avalanche that followed had swept away everything on the eastern side of the Vulcan Mountains.
Even he, who had lived here for over forty years, had never seen an avalanche of this scale.
Fortunately, the village where his people lived was located further back than the fortress and had been spared the worst of it. However, the soldiers who had been training in the forest, the hunters out on expeditions, and a few families who had been granted permission to build homes in the area were all buried under the snow.
About three hours until sunset.
The temperature in the Vulcan Mountains would drop further at night.
Even if there were survivors, they would freeze to death without a way to build a fire.
While he wanted to recover their bodies, he wouldn’t have time once night fell.
The vile demons would surely be drawn by the scent of death.
He had to rebuild the damaged wall and prepare for an attack before then.
He couldn’t bear the shame of having the kingdom’s shield, which had stood unbroken for over a hundred years, breached under his command.
I miss you even more today, Rachel.
The Margrave turned away, his thoughts on his bright and capable daughter, who had joined the Hero’s party.