Clash of Extremes
A frigid frost storm and a blazing heat storm collided head-on. As beings of overwhelming power clashed in a contest of raw strength, every creature nearby halted their own fights and struggled simply to endure the aftershocks. Their battle transcended the limits of ordinary life; to anyone below a certain threshold, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.
"I'm—I'm flying!"
"Somebody help!"
"Where the hell did those monsters come from?!"
Mages with low circle counts and hired mercenaries whose mana was weak or undeveloped fled desperately to escape the storm's reach. Lesser undead, lacking any will of their own, had already been pulverized into dust. Even the paladins and black mages could do nothing more than brace themselves against the backlash.
In the heart of that maelstrom, I charged straight through the wind toward the serpent. Every time the gale slammed into me, I corrected my posture with the propulsion units and used the wind itself to propel me upward, leaping over its head. Twisting like a gymnast, I let fragments of my armor form a foothold beneath me. Planting my foot on it, I bent my knees and let a torrent of mana surge through my body and armor.
BOOM!
The platform crumpled under the force of my leap as I dropped toward the ground. For an instant I broke the sound barrier, but I ignored the sonic boom and drove my spear-sword downward. The barrier the serpent had conjured cracked like a shattered mirror where my weapon struck. At the same moment, Ruin and Runa burst through the storm and cleaved the fractured barrier apart in perfect unison.
"Nice timing!"
The instant I landed, I dashed inside before the barrier could regenerate. Spreading my stance and lowering my center of gravity, I gripped the spear-sword with both hands and swung it horizontally. The blade tore through the air and bit into the serpent's scales, sending a shower of sparks flying as it carved a deep gash.
The serpent recoiled from the impact, then seized the shaft of my weapon with one slender hand. Its sharp eyes locked onto me as it spread its other palm wide. Black mana gathered in its hand and fired in a clean line. Without hesitation I released the weapon and rolled aside. As I tumbled across the ground I reached out; fragments of my armor rippled like water and reformed into a longsword over my gauntlet.
"What now? Lost your weapon?"
"Doesn't matter. My real specialty has always been the sword anyway."
Honestly, I'm a little nervous. Still, I couldn't let the serpent's mocking provocation rattle me. I answered lightly and charged again.
In the blink of an eye we closed the distance. Dozens of exchanges flashed between us in the span of a single breath. During that time the serpent caught Umbra with one hand and hurled it away, then unleashed a mana shockwave that sent Ruin and Runa flying. I retreated to dodge a mana cannon blast from above and thought, Even if they're only barely at Gold rank, they're still Gold rank. When true talents like these attack together, the fact that we're only maintaining a precarious balance instead of overwhelming it is terrifying. I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to the expedition against the adult Nepentula without Owen.
Before I could close the gap, the serpent leaped lightly and appeared right in front of me, driving a fist into my abdomen. I barely managed to cross my arms in time, but the pain that shot through them was no joke.
That punch is ridiculously heavy...!
Instead of trying to endure, I let the impact carry me backward. I carved two furrows into the ground to bleed off speed, then quickly pulled a potion from my inventory and downed it as emergency treatment.
"What kind of species is that thing?"
The more we fought, the more my curiosity about the serpent grew. Its ability to petrify anything in its line of sight resembled a basilisk, while its life-draining power felt closer to a vampire or lich. The snake scales sprouting across its skin suggested basilisk, but was it some kind of chimera? If its hair turned into snakes, it'd be Medusa outright.
"Your arm must be hurting quite a bit."
"That's because you're ridiculously strong for a mage."
"I heard northern mages behave just like me."
"You feel more like a warrior who dabbles in magic as a hobby."
While I was correcting my stance, the serpent approached again and clenched its fist. Expecting another punch, I shifted my sword into a shield, but the serpent opened its hand instead and deployed magic. A magic circle formed in an instant, and black flames erupted from it—flames so intense they could melt the surrounding area. Even if it was only seventh-circle magic, the power was on another level, but I had no intention of taking it head-on like an idiot.
Flash!
"Watch your back!"
I cast Blink in an instant, appeared behind the serpent, and swept its legs. As its balance crumbled I brought my sword down to finish it. The situation was extremely dangerous, yet the serpent twisted with practiced ease, supported its weight on one arm, and spun into a roundhouse kick that connected with my face.
The impact rattled through my helmet and shook my vision. For a moment I thought I might black out, but I forced myself to stay conscious through sheer willpower and staggered backward.
"We'll support you!"
"Fall back!"
If Ruin, Runa, and Umbra hadn't intervened, I would have taken a follow-up strike. I stopped moving to steady my wavering vision and gather my thoughts. Runa, who had sent the serpent flying with a knee strike while we traded blows, clicked her tongue.
"That thing is seriously annoying. Since when is that a mage?"
"It probably knows a mage's weaknesses and worked to compensate for them."
"For a black mage, it's awfully diligent."
"That's black mage discrimination!"
Neon shouted from behind after landing a tackle.
"Fall back! I'm unleashing the magic I prepared!"
He had been preparing something for a while, and it seemed he had finally completed a powerful spell. Watching for the perfect moment when the serpent was isolated, he and Shinshia joined hands and shared their mana.
"Cold and heat, mana and black mana—powers standing at opposite extremes, blended into harmony."
"Now shatter that harmony and unleash overwhelming chaos!"
An imperfect magic circle, created by mixing different magical systems into a circle spell, formed beneath the serpent.
"O Frost Giant! Lend us your power here and now!"
"O Hellfire Noble! Lend us your power here and now!"
The serpent noticed the circle and tried to flee, but the circle's axis had already locked onto it. Unable to escape, it abandoned evasion and shifted to defense. Just as it did so, Ruin and Runa's voices rang out in unison.
""Drive forth a storm upon the enemy before us!""
Yotun's frost and Bordan's heat gathered around the circle. The two opposing forces at their extremes collided and triggered a massive explosion.
BOOOOOOM!
The blast was so grand that even Yotun and Bordan, still fighting in the center, turned to look. I found myself clapping without thinking.
"That was an incredible strike! How did you pull that off?"
"Huff... thanks to the optimal conditions being prepared."
"Essentially, we forcibly linked two Mystery phenomena and caused an overload."
I was impressed by the exhausted mages' explanation. That level of power rivaled high-level magic above the seventh circle. What they had done was simply induce and overload Mystery phenomena, yet anyone with even a passing knowledge of magic would understand how absurd their feat truly was. Borrowing part of an owned Mystery phenomenon was already remarkable, but to incompletely mix them and trigger an overload for such a massive explosion? One misstep and the backlash would have reversed into the casters, leaving them coughing up blood and dying. Yet the two mages who had pulled it off raised weak thumbs-up from where they lay collapsed on the ground.
"Ugh... at least we pulled our weight."
"Fight hard enough... for our share too."
I returned their encouragement with a thumbs-up of my own as the paladins carried them away for treatment. In the midst of a chaotic melee, the mages had prepared a spell while accounting for the risk of friendly fire, and it had succeeded spectacularly. The warriors' morale surged at the sight of the two casters seizing their chance and landing such a decisive blow.
"Ruin, Runa, let's move northern style. I'll take the front."
"Got it."
"Understood."
The siblings nodded and lowered their stances, eyes sharp as predators eyeing prey. Umbra silently slipped back into my shadow.
"The legion's been cleaned up. Fighting directly really is the best."
"We'll join in too."
Right on cue, the princesses finished dealing with the ants caught in the storm and rejoined the battle. They manifested chitin armor over their bodies, their gauntlets twisted into vicious shapes, while Irregular Laserdons bared their fangs behind them.
With everyone capable of fighting the serpent in the storm now gathered, I smiled faintly.
"Good. The mages landed a big one. Time for the warriors to do the same!"
"Yeah!"
Without needing further words, we leaped forward. The serpent's figure emerged from the dust. Its clothes were reduced to rags, and its scales were cracked in places, exposing raw flesh beneath. Though clearly injured, it ignored its wounds and thrust both arms forward. Black mana flowed along its limbs and transformed into dozens of venomous snakes that surged toward us.
I cut through the charging snakes with my sword and closed in, taking a deep breath before plunging straight into the serpent's guard. The black mana cloaking its body corroded my Ikelos armor and even the defensive gear beneath, but I didn't retreat. This was my chance—while it was still wounded. I had to end it before it regained its senses, or the fight would drag on endlessly.
Embracing the corrosive black mana with my entire body, I thrust my sword forward. The serpent clicked its tongue and began preparing magic, but before it could finish, Ruin and Runa appeared from the side to interfere. At the same time, an Irregular Laserdon charged like a tank and swung its forepaw. It was the northern way—give flesh to take bone. As long as you survived, priests and potions could handle recovery, so it was a common tactic in dangerous situations like this.
The Laserdon's forepaw shattered the hastily erected barrier in one blow and aimed for the serpent's head. The serpent clicked its tongue again and raised a leg brimming with black mana, knocking the paw aside.
"Kuuuuurgh!"
"Kh!"
The Laserdon's forepaw was reduced to pulp from the recoil, but the serpent's leg wasn't unscathed either. Seeing its grotesquely bent limb—clearly broken—I frowned and charged again. Exploiting its reduced mobility, I swung my sword. The serpent brushed its hand irritably and fired a mana cannon at point-blank range.
"Khaaaaaah!"
Instead of dodging, I endured the blast with my body and closed the distance. My reckless display finally cracked the serpent's poker face, revealing a look of genuine alarm.
"Have you finally lost it? Taking that with your body?"
"I'm perfectly sane! And if we want to catch you with this many people, we have to be ready to trade some flesh!"
After tanking the mana cannon, I swung my sword at extreme close range to prevent it from casting. While its attention was focused on me, the princesses—who had been waiting for an opening—shot their threads. The living threads instantly bound the serpent's arms. The princesses and Ruin and Runa split to either side and held the threads taut. At the same time, Umbra burst from my shadow, transformed into chains, and wrapped around its body.
With its entire form restrained, the serpent's gaze darted left and right, searching for an escape angle. I snorted and spoke.
"The threads binding your arms are from an adult Nepentula—extremely precious material."
"They were spun by a being on equal footing with you, so forget about corroding them before you die."
"And since magic is being resisted, don't even think about escaping with Blink."
It was checkmate. The serpent's instinctive thoughts were exactly what we had described. It still had strength left to fight, but as the others said, corroding adult Nepentula threads would take time. With its mana flow sealed, Blink was impossible. To break free it would need to stall for time, but after fighting us this long, we weren't about to give it any.
"......Damn it. To think I'd die to something like this."
"Battles are often decided by a single moment's mistake. You underestimated us, and we took you seriously. That's how this outcome was born."
In truth, the plan had succeeded thanks to the princesses and Laserdon communicating through their taming bond, and Ruin and Runa catching on quickly to the "northern style" hint. Still, the serpent's carelessness had been the decisive factor.
I caught the spear-sword Ruin tossed to me, dismissed my half-destroyed armor, and looked at the serpent. Covered in wounds, it glared at me, spat out a mouthful of blood, and spoke.
"You know nothing—the arrogance of the gods and the sins committed by the ancient empire."
"Not enough to spare your life, no matter how much bait you drop."
The empire was already on the brink of collapse anyway, and the gods had shown no interest until the Holy Kingdom turned into a mess. Whatever atrocities they had committed in the past, what mattered now in the North was Magranas's invasion in a few years. Without hesitation, I slit the serpent's throat. If it held truly important secrets, Ruin and Runa would bring them back from the Academy anyway.