Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Lion of Glory
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I scanned the faces of the reinforcements one by one before turning to Barundel.
“What happened?”
Elbert had mentioned reinforcements would come soon, but he hadn’t said they’d arrive this early.
According to schedule, we should’ve held out here for at least another couple of hours.
If their arrival was this advanced, Barundel must have pulled some strings.
And sure enough.
“Hoo... haa... I’m gonna die. Ah, yeah, you’re guessing right.”
Barundel caught his breath with difficulty and nodded in affirmation.
When I pressed for more details, he finally spoke.
“Right after the third rift opened, I sensed ominous demonic energy from it. It was intense enough to send chills down my spine, but for some reason, it felt familiar.”
“Familiar?”
“Don’t know why, but I kept getting this hunch that ‘that guy’ from the top floor of Aldeon was going to show up again.”
“...So you went straight to them?”
“That’s right. Once I explained the situation, they all came rushing over.”
Barundel turned his gaze toward Dershion.
“Looks like I was mistaken, fortunately. Phew.”
Barundel let out a sigh of relief, as if a weight had finally lifted from his mind.
Hearing the story, I could piece it together.
‘He sensed Baal’s demonic energy from the rift.’
Dershion was presumed to be demonized through Baal’s new authority.
That meant some of Baal’s demonic energy had to be lingering in Dershion as well.
Barundel must have sensed it and mobilized in a hurry.
Of course, normally, Barundel’s [Demonic Energy Detection] couldn’t pick up Baal’s demonic energy until it grew once more...
‘But he recognized it because he’d felt it before.’
Having experienced it once already, the situation was different.
With a trait like [Demonic Energy Detection], how could he forget that chilling energy?
‘...This is a total jackpot.’
It was cause for celebration on our end.
Barundel detecting Baal’s demonic energy essentially meant we no longer needed to evolve [Demonic Energy Detection].
It also meant our party was a bit safer from Baal’s threat.
‘No need to add more scouts. Who’d have thought that day in Aldeon would pay off like this...’
On top of my [Essence of Light] evolving, Barundel’s [Demonic Energy Detection] had effectively done the same.
I realized we’d gained a lot unexpectedly.
Sure, we’d nearly died that day, but the rewards more than made up for it.
And above all.
‘We’re out of danger.’
Thanks to Barundel sensing Baal’s demonic energy, we’d escaped the immediate peril.
With this many powerhouses gathered, even Dershion couldn’t do much now.
Sure enough.
“...Things just got complicated.”
Dershion’s attitude, murderous just moments ago, softened as if it had never been.
He must have sensed it too.
The dozen or so people behind me weren’t pushovers.
The tables had turned.
Cornered, Dershion resorted to a pathetic ploy.
“...You got lucky, Yoo Han.”
With a cringeworthy line, he turned his back toward the rift.
It was obvious he was trying to flee.
“Are you seriously running away right now? No pride at all?”
Calling out his sleazy move.
“...Don’t get cocky. You’ve only bought yourself a few days. After that, your fate ends there.”
Dershion scowled and spat the warning.
My words must have stung.
“Oh, really?”
Of course, separately from that, Dershion was mistaken about one thing.
Why on earth did he think he could just run away at will?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when.
“Heh heh heh.”
Someone let out a hearty laugh and stepped forward with heavy footfalls.
A middle-aged man with a burly build that defied his mage appearance.
It was Asion Gail, the Asion Gail Academy President.
And the very reason I’d been sure Dershion couldn’t escape.
“To think I’d get to see the ‘senile old man’ in the flesh? A pleasure. I’m Asion Gail.”
Whoooosh!
Asion Gail drew up his mana and smiled faintly.
In stark contrast, Dershion flinched at the introduction, his face darkening.
“...Asion Gail?”
Dershion clearly knew of him.
Well, who among this era’s high-ranking mages didn’t?
“I heard you taught light magic to one of our academy students... I’m truly grateful. Sadly, I won’t be able to repay that favor.”
Fwoooosh!
With those words, the mana Asion Gail had gathered spread out in all directions.
At the same moment.
“...Huh?”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Asion Gail’s mana forcefully pushed back everyone, including me.
I tried to resist reflexively, but the power was so overwhelming I couldn’t budge an inch.
The others fared no better.
Not even the council elders, Professor Jairen, the knight commander, Barundel, Shuhan—none of our allies could withstand Asion Gail’s mana.
“...It’s been a while since I felt this.”
“Still the same as ever.”
“...Tricky power.”
The reactions fell into two camps.
Either brushing it off like old times or glaring with wounded pride.
The latter made sense—they were all big names in their own right.
‘What the?’
Still not grasping the situation, I looked around and spotted Dershion and Asion Gail facing off up ahead.
Around them, the dispersed mana formed a translucent barrier in a circular dome.
Everyone else had been shoved out, leaving only Dershion and Asion Gail inside the translucent dome.
Only then did I fully understand.
‘A field spell?’
This must be Asion Gail’s unique field magic.
Of course, understanding it didn’t make it any less astonishing.
‘Did he develop this himself too?’
I was familiar with elemental field spells like [Ice Field] or Kayla’s [Blaze Field].
But what Asion Gail had cast was a completely new form I’d never seen.
As I stared in fascination, Professor Jairen approached and explained.
“[Asion Field]. It’s a spell the president developed right after reaching 8th circle. You could call it a variant spell.”
...[Asion Field]. His naming sense was killer.
“What’s the effect?”
“Simple. Once caught in it, you can’t leave until one of them dies.”
“Like a gladiator arena.”
“Exactly. It’s the spell that earned him the moniker ‘Lion of Glory.’”
“‘Lion of Glory’?”
Come to think of it, I’d heard Asion Gail called that before.
But I’d never pondered it.
“Why ‘Lion of Glory’?”
When I asked Professor Jairen, she replied matter-of-factly.
“He’s never lost once against countless powerhouses. The title honors that feat. Word is, the royal family bestowed it personally.”
“Hmm.”
I got the gist.
He must have racked up achievements with that spell plenty of times.
But one part still puzzled me.
“What about the ‘lion’?”
The descriptor tacked on.
Asion Gail was lion-sized in build, sure, but that alone wouldn’t explain it.
“That’s...”
As Professor Jairen opened her mouth to explain.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A twisting sound echoed from within the barrier, and a burst of pure white light emanated outward.
The source was Asion Gail’s body.
The light faded quickly, and no further explanation was needed.
Because anyone could see it—that was a lion.
“Whoa...”
His frame had grown several times larger, a white mane draping his neck.
Ripped muscles gleamed, massive fangs visible through slightly parted lips.
Even seeing it firsthand, it was hard to believe.
‘...No matter how much magic is involved, can a person really transform like that?’
Now I understood why Thompson had dodged my question about the president’s body-altering magic.
How do you even describe this?
Better to see it for yourself.
Then, suddenly.
“Wait a sec.”
A thought flashed through my mind.
If that was the final stage of body transformation magic.
‘...What will Uncle turn into later?’
The gray scaly skin that had sprouted on Thompson’s right arm flickered in my memory.
Thompson might end up in some embarrassing form down the line.
‘As long as it’s not too weird...’
Embarrassing was the last thing I wanted, but that wasn’t a worry for now.
I shelved the thought and refocused on the scene.
Zzzzzzt!
Dershion, looking utterly flabbergasted, drew up his demonic energy to the max.
Trapped in some unknown translucent wall out of nowhere and watching a mage turn into a lion right in front of him—how ridiculous must that feel?
Indeed, tension filled Dershion’s face.
The expression of someone racking his brain for an escape.
But for some reason.
“Ah...”
Dershion’s unease vanished in an instant, replaced by calm composure.
As if he’d found a way out.
‘Does he have a trick up his sleeve?’
It didn’t take long to figure it out.
“An honor to meet you, Sir Asion Gail. However...”
Crack! Snap! Rumble rumble!
A grotesque noise began emanating from the rift.
Growing louder as Dershion’s demonic energy thickened.
Everyone stared at the rift, unsure what was happening.
“It seems our clash wasn’t meant for now.”
The moment Dershion said that.
Shunk—crash!
A massive hand burst from the rift and smashed into Asion Gail’s barrier.
Shatter!
The field spell crumbled in a single blow.
For that instant, all of us, myself included, were stunned speechless.
“What in the...!”
A giant hand emerging from the rift was shocking enough, but destroying Asion Gail’s magic with one punch? Inevitable reaction.
“G-Get down!”
My reinforcements and I crouched to dodge the mana shards from the shattered barrier. In that moment.
Thud!
The hand that pierced the barrier snatched up Dershion’s body.
And just like that, dragged him back into the rift.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Those were Dershion’s parting words as he vanished with the giant hand.
We could only watch the scene in a daze, an awkward silence settling over the battlefield for a long while.