Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Fusion of Darkness
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‘Success…….’
Repeating Erebos’s words, I stared at my fingertips.
Shoooo!
Darkness was still rising from there like a haze.
‘I know for sure it’s darkness, but…….’
It was deep and beautiful.
Erebos’s darkness felt entirely different from dark attribute magic.
“Enough spacing out. Now, try fusing it. Fusion is…….”
Erebos began explaining the fusion process.
It went on for quite a while, but in short, it boiled down to this.
‘Like combining attributes?’
Combining two attributes.
The process wasn’t all that different.
Only the target had changed to Erebos’s darkness.
‘Worth a shot.’
Confident, I attempted fusion the moment his explanation ended.
I floated dark attribute magic and Erebos’s darkness above my palms and brought them together.
Black currents and sparks immediately flew in all directions, triggering a fierce repulsion.
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
“Grrgh…….”
Even pain shooting up my arms.
I’d anticipated something like this, but not to this extent.
After all, both were ‘darkness’ attributes.
Since they were similar in nature, I figured they’d mesh well enough.
Of course, it was all my misconception.
‘……The repulsion is even worse than attribute fusion!’
Crackle-crackle!
The two powers thrashed desperately, refusing to mix despite being the same darkness.
I was trying to force them together by ramping up my control.
“……Contractor. That method won’t work.”
“What?”
“All darkness is more ferocious than anything else. Trying to dominate it with force will only lead to bad results.”
“Then what do I do?”
Crackle-crackle!
Whoosh.
Erebos brushed off the sparks that jumped toward him and spoke in a relaxed tone.
“Accept it as it is.”
“……What?”
“Your role as contractor is simply to clear the path.”
I looked at Erebos, not understanding, but he just stared back without further explanation.
His eyes seemed to say, ‘Figure it out from here.’
‘A little help wouldn’t hurt……!’
Who am I even doing this for……!
Such complaints welled up, but only briefly.
“Hoo…….”
I took a deep breath and refocused.
Complaining wouldn’t change anything.
Besides, if this were impossible, Erebos wouldn’t just sit idly by.
‘I can do this.’
With confidence, I slowly released my control.
The repulsion intensified.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Pop! Boom!
Now even small explosions occurring intermittently.
Yet, as Erebos instructed, I didn’t increase my control—instead, I lowered it further.
My mind was already prepared for injury.
‘……I won’t die, right? Let’s go all the way.’
With that resolve, I gradually diverted my power to open a path.
Exactly as Erebos had described.
The two abilities instantly collided in the widened passage.
Crackle-crackle!
‘My part is done.’
Now, all I could do was pray they fused on their own.
I glanced over, and Erebos nodded at me.
It meant I was doing well.
‘……Please.’
How much time passed?
After endless collisions, change finally began.
“……!!”
Suddenly, all repulsion vanished, and they started blending.
Like water and oil impossibly mixing.
“Erebos, this……?”
“Yes! Fusion is underway!”
Gulp.
A tense moment.
Silence hung for a while, broken only after about 30 more minutes.
“Ahh…….”
Erebos and I let out sighs of awe, staring at the same spot.
What lay before us was something neither of us had ever seen.
Not I, a 10-year veteran of [Devil Fantasy], nor Erebos, who had lived centuries in this world.
I cautiously brought my hand to the power.
Srrrr!
An unknown force flowed along my hand.
A thrilling shiver ran through me, and Erebos spoke in an elated voice.
“……We’ve taken one step closer to slaying Baal.”
Yes, just as he said.
We had drawn one step nearer to Baal.
***
“Huff, huff……!”
Kazandur’s dwarf training grounds.
A human man’s ragged breathing echoed there.
It was Thompson, in the midst of intense training thanks to Bagran’s generosity in providing the grounds.
“It feels like it’s within reach.”
His body was definitely signaling it.
Just one more step forward, and he could wield an even more perfect [Body Transformation Magic].
But taking that one step wasn’t as easy as he hoped.
No matter how much he practiced, it felt like a wall always blocked the way.
“Hoo…… Was it all just my imagination?”
It had already been three days of training.
Even Thompson was starting to doubt.
Whether he could really progress further from here.
Whether he had the skill to advance yet.
Such thoughts kept surfacing.
“I miss the Chairman. So much.”
Then.
“……Chairman?”
Mid-thought of Asion Gail, Thompson slapped his thigh as something clicked.
What flashed through his mind was a single piece of advice Asion Gail had tossed out before leaving Asteron.
-Thompson, the answer to Body Transformation Magic is always within you.
‘……Within.’
A vague statement, but from Asion Gail, the creator of Body Transformation Magic.
It couldn’t have been idle chatter.
‘What does “within” mean? My inner self? My heart?’
Pondering the words, Thompson methodically sought the answer.
After a long while.
He finally reached his own conclusion.
‘The answer lies in my body.’
The Chairman’s words referred to his own flesh and blood.
The simplest interpretation, and the one that fit [Body Transformation Magic] best.
“Sip.”
Seated in lotus position, Thompson closed his eyes and focused on his body.
If his guess was right, he’d sense some issue within.
And as expected.
‘……Found it!’
Soon, Thompson discovered a critical problem in his body.
The cause was none other than his ‘heart.’
‘Body magic is ultimately about strengthening the body.’
To strengthen it, blood flow speed was key.
His massive frame required blood to circulate rapidly.
This was precisely why Thompson couldn’t advance to the next stage.
‘Blood flow is too slow compared to the goal.’
His circulation was optimized for the previous stage.
That’s why he couldn’t move forward.
‘……Then.’
The solution was clear.
‘Speed up the blood flow!’
Thompson dove straight into it.
Accelerating blood flow wasn’t as hard as he thought.
Mages could regulate blood speed with mana.
Of course, the process itself wasn’t simple.
‘I can do this.’
Thompson had prior experience with something similar.
From when he first learned Body Transformation Magic.
‘It’s not much different from back then.’
Hummmm!
Channeling vast mana through his body, Thompson cast the spell.
Pushed by mana, his blood flow accelerated.
Gray hide sprouted across his body, and his form began to change.
First came the now-familiar rhino shape.
But Thompson’s transformation didn’t stop there.
Crunch, cruuunch!
His body rapidly expanded.
Arms, legs, torso—even the two horns on his face.
Far larger and tougher than before.
Nearly twice the size, Thompson snorted excitedly in his heightened state.
Snort!
He instinctively sensed another change.
‘Magic…….’
He could use it.
With that thought, Thompson drew up mana.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Rocks soon covered his entire body.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
A rhino-shaped golem.
On the third day of training.
Thompson’s Body Transformation Magic neared completion.
***
Clang-clang-clang!
Roooar!
The [Forge of Flames] buzzed with noisy metal clangs and searing heat.
Clunk.
“Hm?”
A red-haired woman arrived there.
Kayla, the fire attribute mage who had come at Barundel’s advice.
“Who’re you?”
Forge owner Igheim tilted his head at the unexpected visitor.
‘A human……?’
A human in Kazandur.
Not a common sight.
And she wasn’t here for ordinary reasons.
“I was referred by Barundel.”
“Ah, I heard that rascal’s back. What, here to commission gear?”
“No. I want to work with fire here.”
“……Fire?”
Not for gear, but to handle fire?
Igheim was naturally baffled.
He’d never encountered anything like this.
But in contrast.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart raced wildly.
He had desperately believed such a moment would come someday.
‘……A chance for me too!’
Igheim recalled a similar story from his youth.
‘About 100 years ago, I think.’
Word was, a human mage had once visited the [Forge of Flames].
To learn how to wield fire.
Humans and dwarves were close allies then, so Igheim’s ancestor gladly obliged the mage’s request.
The mage mastered everything about fire in the forge and, in gratitude, spread word of Kazandur and dwarven greatness far and wide.
That marked the start of the [Forge of Flames]’s boom.
‘All races went mad for dwarven gear, they say.’
Of course, 100 years ago.
Dwarven gear wasn’t as popular now.
Despite quality having improved since then.
It meant it was time to remind the world of dwarven greatness once more.
And……
‘An opportunity.’
This was it.
A golden chance to proclaim dwarven supremacy through this mage, just like before!
Lost in thought.
“Ah…… I guess it was a silly request after all. Sorry.”
Perhaps from the long silence.
The red-haired woman bowed and turned away.
“W-What!”
Panicked, Igheim dropped his hammer and grabbed her.
“W-Where you off to!”
“……Isn’t it a bother? You looked upset.”
“You got it all wrong! I’m in the best mood I’ve been in ages!”
“……Really?”
Kayla tilted her head, but Igheim pressed on undeterred.
He couldn’t let this perfect opportunity slip.
“Yeah, you want to handle fire? Just say the word! I’ll teach you everything I know!”
“…….”
Kayla nodded with a stunned expression.