Chapter 178: What Can Be Handled (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: What Can Be Handled (6)
The forest, once brimming with green, was now submerged in a deep, ashen darkness.
Though it was a season when the stars shone an exceptional blue, the dense forest revealed not a single patch of the sky. The heavens, barely visible between the leaves, would appear for a fleeting moment only to be hidden again as the wind rustled the foliage.
Just then, a blue shooting star fell, leaving a brief afterimage. But there was no one here to make a wish upon seeing it.
For one, the sky was not visible. For another, no one present had the leisure to look up in admiration.
Crack, crackle!
Instead, there was a lone mage who looked as if she had caught the tail of that fallen star in her hand. Wind gathered in the pooling violet mana, causing her floor-length robe to swell and flutter wildly.
Her eyesight was not keen enough to see far in the dark, nor had she learned any magic to enhance it. Yet, Euria’s eyes were fixed precisely on the direction from which her enemies approached. She could sense exactly where they were and how many were coming through the thin, vast web of mana she had spread across the ground.
“Two.”
There was no sound of hooves or the presence of a large animal, so they were undoubtedly running on their own two feet.
Even so, they were fast.
Sensing their speed, Euria smirked.
“Did a breath of forest air get you excited after nothing but sandstorms, you wolf pups?”
Not a shred of tension could be found in her words, gestures, or expression, but her eyes told a different story. Part of it was the unusual energy of the approaching foes, but the larger reason was that she had no idea how Arsen was faring.
Crack, crack!
The lightning that flickered in Euria’s hand gathered at her fingertips. Shining like a violet star brought down to earth, it gradually shrank until it vanished as if it had never existed.
Then, Euria extended her right hand.
From the tips of her long fingers, always hidden beneath wide sleeves, a thin bolt of colorless, lightless lightning shot forth. Beneath her feet, a soft, yielding sensation rose and fell in an instant. It was the movement of water.
Not long after she sent the invisible lightning and water toward her enemies, a violet light flickered at a distance neither too far nor too close.
And then, it began.
Boom! Kaboom!
The silently condensed water erupted from the ground in an explosion. Just as the two approaching warriors were completely drenched, the lightning she had dispersed into the air struck the water.
Bzzzzzt!
The electric current surged through the warriors, who were soaked to the bone before they could even raise their shields.
Having delivered a preemptive strike powerful enough to kill any beast in the forest, Euria teleported onto a thick tree branch far away.
It was a swift movement, executed without even checking the damage they had sustained. She knew all too well that they were not the type of warriors to die from a simple attack like that.
Flash!
Unlike Arsen, Euria did not engage in close-quarters combat with sword-wielding bastards. Her style was to rapidly relocate and bombard them with magic before they could pinpoint her position and close the distance.
Therefore, she had no intention of giving them the chance to run up and swing their swords.
Zzzzzzt!
Once again, she manipulated lightning. Gathering the mana she had dispersed into the air, she enveloped their bodies and unleashed a torrent of electricity.
With every flash that lit up the forest, the figures of the bastards, now much closer, flickered into view. Both held swords, and neither had any major wounds. She had failed to break the red shields they had quickly deployed.
Realizing her previous attack had been ineffective, Euria frowned slightly.
They can heal most things, and I can't call down lightning from the sky.
These opponents were different from the mob that had swarmed her and Arsen earlier.
Summoning storm clouds to call down lightning would render her immobile. Casting such large-scale magic without another mage for support was practically suicide. They would charge and run her through with their swords before she could finish casting.
So, she would just have to kill them another way.
Euria’s body vanished once more.
This time, she reappeared on a rock slightly behind them, in the direction they had just come from.
The ground was wet, and mana still lingered in the air. They had not yet found her, but she knew their exact positions.
Two spears materialized before Euria, resembling swirling torrents of water but with tips far harder and sharper than tempered iron. Different elemental mana wrapped around their surfaces, intertwining until she had created water spears crackling with violet sparks.
Euria did not hesitate.
Whoosh!
The spears of water and lightning—a feat only she could accomplish—shot toward them one by one. Seeing the dazzling projectiles hurtling their way, the two warriors raised their swords to deflect them, completely overlooking the fact that they were water spears.
Splash!
The moment they touched the swords, the spears lost their shape and splashed apart.
Crack, crackle!
The electrical power infused in the water traveled up the blades and into their hands. If their bodies were protected by shields, she just had to target the hands exposed outside of them. It was simple.
Hit by the electrical attack that shot through their bodies, they froze, unable to even drop their swords. It was a temporary paralysis from the shock.
Seizing the moment, Euria swiftly raised her arm. As if in tandem, the earth vibrated, scattering dirt in all directions as the power of water burst from the ground.
Roar!
Two pillars of water, imbued with an incredibly sharp energy, swirled up and trapped them. Simultaneously, spears of blindingly bright lightning shot repeatedly from Euria’s hands.
Trapped inside the rapidly spinning vortexes, their bodies were cut and shredded. If the tips of her water spears were as hard as iron, the currents of the water pillars were as sharp as honed blades.
Even so, the warriors did not die.
Caught in the surging pillars and subjected to the lightning, their bodies began to glow red. Their healing abilities had kicked in.
Boom! Crash!
Two bolts of lightning crashed down into the center of the water pillars.
Amazingly, one of the two managed to raise a barely movable arm and swing his sword. With a low, vibrating hum, a red aura coated the blade. With that single strike, the violently spinning pillar of water was sliced clean through.
“Oh.”
A soft exclamation of pure, meaningless admiration escaped Euria’s lips. She had never seen anyone break out of her water pillars on their own before.
A look of deep interest flickered in her eyes.
Illuminated by the flash of lightning, the man’s green eyes stared straight at her.
Thud!
Without a thought for his companion, still trapped in the other pillar, the man kicked off the ground. Reaching Euria in an instant, he raised his sword and slashed diagonally, determined not to give her time to teleport.
Clang!
The blue shield that blocked the strike shook violently, and in that same instant, Euria vanished. Having lost his target again, the man gritted his teeth.
Reappearing atop a tree, Euria extended her arm.
Whoosh!
A spear of mana, carrying both water and lightning, shot toward him. Having learned what would happen if he tried to block it, the man twisted his body to dodge.
The spear grazed the waist of the other warrior, who had just escaped his own water pillar, before embedding itself in the ground and vanishing.
“Ugh!”
The warrior, whose shield had not yet reformed, gritted his teeth. The electricity seeping through the wound sent a vivid jolt of pain through his entire body.
Without a moment to spare for his companion, the first warrior rushed toward the direction the mana spear had come from.
The distance between them closed in an instant.
Clang!
His leaping sword strike slammed into her shield once more. Rapidly restoring it, Euria blasted a formless mixture of lightning and water at his abdomen—or rather, at the red shield protecting it.
Boom!
With a roar loud enough to shake the massive trees, the leaping warrior was thrown to the ground. The heavy impact made him cough up blood.
Shifting her gaze, she saw the other warrior, his body radiating the red light of healing, leaping toward her.
One was on the ground coughing up blood, the other was charging at her.
A split second, two choices.
Dodge, or not?
Making a swift decision, Euria formed a cherry-sized droplet of water at her fingertip. It was beautiful, with a condensed violet spark nestled in the center of the transparent sphere.
She had condensed lightning to the size of a fingernail, then encased and stabilized it with compressed water. Activating her own unique magic—one she had never used on a human before, one that didn't even have a name—Euria flicked her finger.
Whoosh!
The droplet shot downward at high speed, straight into the open mouth of the man struggling to push himself up from the ground.
Gulp.
Seeing him swallow the droplet, unable to avoid it, Euria kicked off the tree and launched herself into the air.
Thud!
Almost simultaneously, the charging warrior’s sword struck the branch where she had been standing just a moment ago. Euria had already vanished.
And then, the magic inside the man on the ground began to take effect.
The water droplet that went down his throat lost its shape, unleashing the lightning hidden within directly into his body.
Even the powerful shield enveloping him could not protect his internal organs. The electricity clung to the delicate lining of his stomach, tearing through him from the inside out.
Crack, crackle, crack!
Euria’s lightning did not dissipate.
Violet sparks spilled from his mouth. No sound came from his throat; his vocal cords had already been burned away. Sparks even leaked from his clouded, sightless eyes. He writhed and resisted with all his might, but the lightning trapped inside him would not vanish until it had completely incinerated his insides.
After some time had passed…
Thud.
The hand of the man who would never breathe again dropped to the ground. Thick black smoke billowed from his mouth.
Witnessing his companion’s horrific death, the remaining warrior gripped his sword tighter. He charged once more at Euria, who stood at a distance, launching lightning spears at him.
Or rather, he tried to charge.
He wanted to rush her this instant and mercilessly wring the neck of the mage who was said to bring absolute death to all her enemies.
Freeze.
But his body would not listen.
As if crushed by an immense weight, as if his feet were bound to the earth, as if his body had suddenly multiplied tenfold in mass, he could not move a single finger.
This was not the violet-haired mage’s method. She summoned lightning from the sky and made water erupt from the ground. She had even killed a man with a single transparent bead. But she had never attacked like this.
For all her scurrying around like a rat, she had never been able to bind a charging warrior’s feet, had she?
What is this?
He tried with all his might to move, but his body wouldn’t budge. He wasn’t paralyzed; he was just impossibly heavy. Turning his gaze to find the cause, his eyes caught sight of something he had never seen before.
A small, scarlet sphere was flying toward him from afar. Perhaps because it knew he couldn’t dodge, its speed was incredibly slow.
My shield!
He deployed his shield to block the incoming sphere, enveloping his entire body in the thick, powerful barrier that had blocked Euria’s lightning and protected him from the water pillars.
Tap.
Approaching as slowly as a child tossing a pebble, it touched his red shield. At the tiny, unthreatening sound, a laugh escaped him despite his immobility.
What? It’s nothing.
It’s just red…
Slide.
Just as he thought, the sphere did not destroy the shield.
To be precise, it didn’t have to.
It simply passed through.
It passed right through his thick, powerful shield and entered his personal space. Only then was the sphere’s true form clearly reflected in his eyes.
It was a tiny sphere, about the size of a human eyeball, that looked as if scarlet lava was swirling frantically inside a glass marble. There was only one person on the continent who used such a thing.
Ah…
The one who manipulated gravity at will.
The one who wielded magic of a heat so intense its temperature was impossible to gauge.
He knew who that person was, and consequently, what this sphere was.
A belated realization struck him.
He felt the gently moving sphere lightly touch his fingertip. The warrior of the Great Desert felt a profound sense of regret that it had touched his hand first.
Why did it have to be his hand, and not his heart?
Why did he have to possess healing abilities?
It was that kind of regret.
A regret born from the knowledge that the fire would start at his fingertips, slowly burning through his entire body before finally consuming his heart at the very end.
Whoosh!
And so, the quiet, cruel fire of Alan Manasil consumed the warrior’s body.
* * *
The shoulder wound was severe.
Even without looking, Arsen could tell by the smell of the blood.
Looking at Arsen’s pale face, now tinged with blue, Calian turned his head toward the forest and spoke.
“Raven.”
With the low clatter of hooves, a black horse that would never lose its elegant grace trotted toward Calian. Calian stroked Raven’s neck a few times, then pointed to the saddle and spoke to Arsen.
“Go to the royal palace using the magic circle. My brother has probably already called for Hina, so you’ll be treated right away.”
Hearing this, Arsen’s face filled with confusion.
It wasn’t that he questioned the need for treatment; his shoulder throbbed with excruciating pain. Nor did he question who the “brother” Calian referred to was, as he already knew it was Franz. And there was nothing questionable about Franz calling for Hina.
The confusion on Arsen’s face was solely because Calian’s words made it sound as if he was supposed to ride Raven.
“Are you telling me to ride Your Highness’s horse?” Arsen managed to ask, despite his dizziness.
Tearing a long strip from a robe tied to Raven’s saddle, Calian began to wrap the wound with practiced hands. “It will be dangerous if you delay any longer,” he replied calmly. “You probably can’t even feel it by now.”
Besides, who else but Raven could run fast enough without jarring the wound open, and safely deliver Arsen to the palace even if he fainted?
Calian had made the best possible decision.
“I mean…!”
Arsen was about to protest that the pitch-black beast before him didn’t look like the type to let anyone else on its back, but he stopped mid-sentence and grimaced. Calian had pulled the end of the makeshift bandage tight to tie it off.
What a cruel twist of fate that Arsen had injured his left shoulder, of all places, and Calian was the one administering first aid.
Pushing aside the memory of having personally severed his own left shoulder when it was damaged beyond repair, Calian spoke in a quiet voice.
“Go. Quickly. I’m a bit angry right now.”
It was a warning: don’t anger him further, just do as you’re told.
Raven, reading Calian’s mind perfectly, let out a soft snort. Stop the useless chatter and get moving, it seemed to say.
Arsen threw caution to the wind, grabbing Raven’s saddle with his one good arm and mounting.
Thud!
Stamping a hoof once to show that he was tolerating this despite hating it, Raven set off before Arsen could even bid Calian farewell. There was no need to kick his flanks or even hold the reins. He simply went on his own.
Calian watched Arsen’s retreating figure for a moment before turning around. There was still business to handle.
Walking over with light steps, Calian nudged the unconscious mage lying on the ground. When the mage barely managed to open his eyes, Calian spoke.
“Hello.”
And then, he smiled, ever so beautifully.