Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Red Lightning Omen
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Angular face, reddish-brown beard, stocky build.
“Drurung, drurung…….”
Yet the owner of a physique so perfect it was anything but laughable.
Barundel Damascus.
“Guhk……!”
Today, as always, he had collapsed spread-eagled in the training hall after an intense session, only to jolt awake at his own snore.
“Urgh…… this damn snoring.”
Propping himself up with a bored expression, Barundel instinctively checked the time first.
3 a.m. The hour when everyone should be lost in deep sleep.
“Sleep really is best on a soft, fluffy bed.”
As he gathered his clothes to head home for more rest, he suddenly fell into thought.
“Come to think of it…….”
It had been two months since he’d started this grueling training regimen. And that was also how long it had been since he’d last seen that black-haired monster of a mage guest.
‘……He should’ve come back by now.’
The promised deadline had long passed. So why hadn’t he shown?
For a moment, Barundel harbored an ominous thought.
‘……Because of me?’
Maybe he’d pushed him too hard.
That could absolutely not happen.
He’d resumed training after ten years, all for the sole purpose of making that kid stronger—and now it might all be for nothing?
But fortunately, that anxiety vanished quickly.
On reflection, he hadn’t pushed the kid at all; if anything, the boy had abused his own body far more often.
Barundel still couldn’t forget the venomous glint in his eyes.
‘Hmph, not the type to burn out on his own……?’
So why hadn’t he returned yet?
After mulling it over, Barundel reached a conclusion.
‘Must be some circumstances.’
On his last day here, the kid had clearly said he’d be holing up in the magic tower for a while.
Something unavoidable must have come up there, keeping him from the training hall.
Magic towers were hotbeds for incidents, so it made perfect sense.
That’s when it happened.
“Kyaaak!”
“Wha—what…….”
A sudden scream made Barundel flinch. A scream that loud at 3 a.m.?
Sensing something dire, he flung open the training hall window in a hurry.
Drreek!
3 a.m., a time when the streets should be empty save for the watchmen.
Yet the streets were teeming with people right now—all in their nightclothes.
For some reason, they all stared pale-faced in the same direction.
Barundel followed their gaze naturally, instantly understanding their expressions.
“……What the hell?”
Swooooosh—!
A gray spire soaring skyward like it would pierce the heavens. Black storm clouds swirling and gathering around it.
Krummble! Flash!
A booming thunderclap—presumed source of the screams—and crimson lightning slicing through the darkness.
And then.
Thud thud thud thud!
“Hey! Move it!”
“Clear the way!”
“What’re you doing? Don’t dawdle—run!”
“Yes, sir!”
Guards and mounted knights racing toward it in a frenzy.
It was obviously no ordinary matter.
Barundel even felt an eerie sense of déjà vu as he puzzled over why—and then he recalled what it meant, his spine turning ice-cold.
“…….”
He’d seen it before. Crimson lightning just like that.
No doubt about it……
“……Demons?”
It was the harbinger of demons appearing. And not just any—it only showed when a massive horde was coming.
Barundel’s panicked expression hardened coldly.
“……Gotta check it out myself.”
It had been ages since he’d armored up so seriously, but experience didn’t rust, did it?
Clank, drreek, clank!
In seconds, he was fully geared in dwarf-exclusive equipment and bolting toward Aldeon without pause.
There was one reason for his desperation.
The faint chance that his precious disciple—the one who might become a big shot someday—was in there.
‘Please, don’t let that tower be the place……!’
Barundel’s earnest plea trembled through his tightly gripped hammer.
***
Tssstsss!
The moment I saw the rift gape fully open, my mind genuinely went blank.
I never imagined I’d face something like this before mastering even a single proper skill.
A dream?
‘……Get a grip.’
I bit my lip and reined in my floating thoughts. Panicking wouldn’t improve a damn thing.
Right. Stay calm.
And do what I can.
I turned to the brown-haired mage.
“Hey, Rief.”
“……Yeah.”
“This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”
“Keek…… Talking like that in this situation—you really are insane.”
Despite his words, resolve hardened in Rief’s eyes.
The man who’d lost his family to Aldeon.
“I never thought my resolve would be tested so soon…….”
His ultimate goal was Aldeon, but demons weren’t absent from his list of vengeance.
“This time…… I won’t back down.”
Swaaah.
Gray light gleamed in Rief’s eyes.
Hot-tempered he might be, but he was still a mage who’d survived the brutal competition of Cheonui.
The mana aura he unleashed with grim determination was razor-sharp.
This level—he could handle the fight from here on his own.
I shifted my gaze elsewhere.
“What about you lot?”
There stood the eight noble mages I’d grown close to over two months of shared trials.
“……Demons again?”
“Yeah.”
They’d all endured the same catastrophe.
“Then we can’t sit this out.”
“Finally time to show what I can do.”
“……Ugh, why am I shaking like this?”
“Don’t lose your nerve. We’re not the same as we were two months ago.”
Their reactions varied subtly, but fighting spirit burned in their eyes—they wouldn’t retreat.
Encouraging each other like this was a far cry from their previous fear-stricken selves.
It felt like proud parents watching well-raised kids.
‘……Two left.’
I glanced to the opposite side last.
The burly middle-aged man and the blond were already staring my way, as if they’d anticipated it.
“You’ll help again, right, Uncle?”
“Of course, top student. Anywhere you go, I follow.”
“……You’re not even asking anymore?”
“Handle it your way.”
Thus formed our twelve-man suicide squad.
Sturdy, sure—but objectively, still far short.
I urged the elder once more, who was still dithering uncertainly.
“This is your last chance, Elder.”
“I…….”
Unfortunately, no time to hear the Second Elder’s reply.
Kieeeek—!
Grraaaar!
With body-numbing demonic energy, demons began spilling from the rift.
“……Battle stations!”
I shouted and eyed the rift.
More precisely, beyond it. The endless procession of the demon legion pouring in.
No one could say who’d live or die in this.
***
An hour into the battle? Or two?
Bottom line: we were holding better than expected.
These twelve were already skilled, and two months of mad cramming and light magic practice had bumped everyone up half a realm.
“Die—!”
“Revenge for Allen!”
Zing! Boom! Zing! Boom……!
Relentless light orbs and lasers.
Add the artifacts Aldeon had prepped, and the demons were helpless.
Of course, the elders had the biggest impact on this dynamic.
Dershion leading, Second Elder, Third…… down to Seventh Elder Oli Didan.
The faction leaders assembled into a magic tower elder party.
[Surge forth.]
Thud thud thud thud!
They proved their elder status, unleashing high-tier spells on the demons.
Illusions from refracted light sowing chaos in the demon ranks, invisible orbs from [Invisibility] magic exploding mercilessly.
Kie—ek!
Gurgle……
Demons spewing purple blood midair, unable to even advance properly.
Yeah, we were holding better than expected.
To outsiders, we even looked dominant.
……For now.
“Urgh! How long are these bastards gonna……!”
“……Damn it! My mana’s almost tapped out!”
It started with the disciples, but one by one, exhaustion set in.
And on closer look, the demon lines had crept closer.
Somehow, we were yielding ground bit by bit.
It was inevitable, as foretold.
Demons’ real terror wasn’t individual power, but sheer numbers.
“Outta the way!”
Kwaang!
“……Thanks, blondie.”
Roan shot back ice spears without a word, returning to position after Thompson’s gruff thanks.
The only ones still looking fresh were the elders—and that kid, barely.
‘Mana pool must be insane.’
The guy who’d edged me out for first in mana capacity eval—who else but Roan.
Makes sense—with all that money, chugging elixirs would bulk up his mana easy.
But elders’ mana and Roan’s wouldn’t last forever.
Endless-wave defense games only end in defeat.
And besides.
‘Baal might show.’
He’d surely heard it.
Dershion’s blatant taunt of a spell.
Lucky for us, the guy didn’t want to wreck the human realm yet, so no sign of him……
But who knows when he’d change his mind.
Best bet now: close the rift.
But easier said than done.
‘Need time.’
Closing an open rift demanded deep ritual understanding—and a ton of time.
Understanding? With [Prodigy of Magic] boosting learning, I could manage.
The issue: time.
Specifically, strong hands to hold while I analyzed the hexagram ritual.
Someone to cover my spot in the fight.
That’s when I realized.
“What a stroke of luck.”
An elegant silver aura lanced before me.
Slaaash!
One aura wave decapitated dozens of demons.
I turned to its origin—and there stood a familiar face.
Radiant silver hair, gleaming silver plate, pupils stained dull.
The man born clutching genius and the incurable mana deficiency.
The one who’d kept me on edge since entering District 6.
‘Shuhan……?’
Shuhan Philedia.
And.
“Phew…… finally caught up.”
“Why do you keep tailing me, runt?”
“What’s the harm in tagging along? Nearly got lost in that tower and turned into a stray!”
From clashing blades firsthand, the true powerhouse of District 6—not outmatched by that silver-hair at all.
Burly dwarf.
Barundel Damascus.
“More importantly, all these demons…… no, Yoo Hanes? You’re really here?”
With his arrival, a reversal glimmered.
“Yoo……Hanes? That guy?”
I wasn’t sure if I could control this monster knight glaring daggers my way.
But it was worth a shot.