Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: A Mirror at the Edge of Hell 2
How much time had passed since then?
I couldn't even react to Thanatos's one-sided offensive.
My entire body ached as if it would shatter, and every time I exhaled, it hurt like being stabbed with a knife, but...
"You can't even react to this level of speed? It's surprisingly not satisfying to beat you..."
I couldn't die here.
Since I had no physical body, neither shock from pain nor excessive blood loss could happen to me.
"Hahaha!! Your eyes are still alive. Good, let's see how long that pathetic fighting spirit of yours lasts."
A similar environment to fighting in Durahan's Arena.
I could only glare at the other version of myself in front of me and repeat these words.
"Spare... spare me..."
"Yeah, it's about time you started saying that. You don't even know how time is passing. Getting beaten to death continuously would drive anyone insane."
"...Spare my comrades. I don't matter."
With the rationality I was barely maintaining even while biting my tongue, I was asking him to ensure my comrades' safe return.
After all, no matter what, this guy was Astal Caesarius.
If he killed the Demon King Ergothum and still chose to be stuck in this underworld to obtain a god's position, I judged he must have some other goal besides just venting his anger.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to contact me through transformation and entrusted me with another Idea called Eidos.
'Besides, if not this, there's not even a shred of hope to save Victoria.'
Even if it was a thread-thin hope, right now I had no choice but to cling to this possibility.
"Are you fucking insane...?"
Upon hearing my words, Thanatos's face twisted violently, and I felt a disgusting gaze as if he was looking at something vile.
"You little shit...! You're asking me for such a favor even though your comrades were all slaughtered by the Demon King because you were lacking?!"
Kwaang─!
With a single punch from Thanatos, I was sent flying far away, crashing into a transparent wall.
A barrier that prevented outside help from reaching me and Thanatos.
I finally figured out where it was.
"Yes, I think you'll grant my request because you are Astal Caesarius."
Even in pain, I deliberately put on a confident smile to provoke him.
Thanatos could be said to be the polar opposite of me.
You could tell from the arrogance of considering himself a genius and his dismissive attitude toward human life.
If I hadn't met my comrades during the Demon King subjugation or hadn't been saved by Victoria, I might have become twisted like that too.
"...Yeah, keep thinking that by yourself for the rest of your life."
Thanatos spat out those words and approached to torment me again.
'The stride of his approaching step is large, and his breathing is rough from anger.'
I kept analyzing Thanatos's habits and behavioral patterns.
If I couldn't react to the magic he used, I just had to read it in advance and dodge or counter it.
Astal, if you ever face an enemy too strong for you to handle, I want you to deal with it like this.
The way of fighting taught to me by my master, the Blue Tower Master, Charlotte Snowrain.
The pattern of your opponent's breathing, the tells before they attack....
Grasp everything: fingertips, gaze, habits.
Unlike the Red Magic Tower, which focuses solely on magic power, strength, and victory,
Magic is originally an academic discipline of failure.
Someday, those failures will accumulate...
and lift you to success.
It was a combat method known only to mages of the Blue Magic Tower, who viewed magic as the study of failure.
'...He's Astal, just like me. Then his weaknesses must be the same.'
Just before Thanatos's Eidos struck my body again, I spread my hand on the ground and used magic.
The chronic weakness of a battle mage who abandons rear support, steps to the front, and primarily uses fists.
That is, if the ground they're standing on becomes unstable, they can't throw a punch.
"......!!!"
Kwaga-gaga-gak─!!
Ripples formed on the transparent, water-like floor, and a giant ice-like spike shot out, causing Thanatos's balance to tip backward.
"This is getting interesting...! What's this, I thought you'd be begging on your knees, pleading to save your comrades."
Yeah, I actually thought about doing that too.
But that wouldn't be cool.
If the comrades who lent me their strength to defeat the Demon King were watching this fight...
I didn't want to do anything that would tarnish their faces.
"I plan to do that after punching you once."
"How do you plan to beat me? You can't even use Idea properly now."
"Well..."
What I needed was magic he didn't know.
Magic I created solely for my comrades, magic I created to save Victoria.
Unlike me, who fought alongside comrades because I wanted to save everyone, his habits formed from fighting alone had made his vision and actions extremely narrow.
So...
"Elemental Transmutation..."
A blind spot outside his line of sight.
If I strike a gap he can't see, then I have a decent chance of winning.
"Lord of Thunder, Thunder Lord."
Pajijijijik─!!
Commonly known as elemental transformation magic.
The magic I used when I went to the Holy Kingdom to save Victoria, which transforms the body into an element.
My whole body felt painfully hot as if burning, and my consciousness threatened to fade as if my very existence was vanishing, but...
I couldn't collapse here.
"You used elemental transformation magic on yourself? Trying to go for a speed battle, I see. That kind of trick won't work."
If I could just defeat him here, if I could just create a chance for negotiation...
Then maybe I could save Victoria and my comrades.
"...Well, let's see if that's really true."
I smiled at Thanatos and added another piece of magic.
"Elemental Transmutation. Lord of Flame, Fire Lord."
"......!!!"
I transformed half my body into flame again, using the emitted heat to reduce friction with the air.
"...If I can't save everyone and return from hell, the epithet 'Harmless Mage' would be too embarrassing."
And with the incomplete Idea I used alone, I created armor covering my entire body.
Armor to prevent my comrades from being caught in the recoil of Idea.
I only left my legs and feet exposed, concentrating the propulsion created by lightning and fire into my lower body.
'This is my maximum speed.'
Paaaaaang─!!!
The space distorted for a moment, and I transformed into an element of fire and electricity and began attacking Thanatos.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thanatos realized Astal's true worth after his sudden change and used magic, but he was a little too late and ended up with a wound on his cheek.
"Tsk, I didn't expect you to pull this kind of trick..."
The blood dripping drop by drop.
Feeling the warm sensation flowing from his cheek, Thanatos laughed in disbelief.
Astal had just wounded a divine body.
Whether it was a conscious act or not, his ability to awaken in a crisis was unrivaled.
"......"
However, to kill the being hiding behind the Demon King, this level was insufficient.
Even Astal from another worldline, Thanatos, who succeeded in killing the Demon King Ergothum, couldn't do it, which is why he was stuck in this underworld cultivating his power.
Yes, this level of power was woefully lacking.
"Eidos (είδος)."
With Thanatos's single word, a three-dimensional crimson magic circle rose and rotated above his palm.
A magic diametrically opposed to Astal's.
A peerless effort built up alone, without borrowing his comrades' strength, was perfect enough to kill the Demon King.
"But no matter how clever the idea, a cheap trick is still a cheap trick."
Thanatos tried to subdue Astal by using this magic again, and...
That moment of carelessness created a tiny, tiny opening.
"......!!!"
Splat.
At that moment, blood splattered from somewhere, obscuring Thanatos's vision.
Of course, the culprit who splattered the blood was the blue-haired Astal. One of his own weaknesses was his heavy reliance on the eyes that could see mana.
Since it was a weakness known due to Astal's own ability, he was using it very well.
"Fuck, I can't see...!! You froze the blood right after splattering it...?!"
Thanatos tried to wipe his eyes with his hand but failed. He was astonished by the ice made of blood that wouldn't melt even with fire.
Was transforming his body into lightning and flame and charging in also a feint to obscure his vision?
Thanatos immediately tried to form Eidos into armor for defense.
But besides armor, there was one more thing the three-dimensional magic circle could create.
"...Yeah, it's a pretty crude method, but. I'm going to use my own body as a weapon."
Paaaaaat─!
Astal changed the form of the armor on his body, which had reached its maximum speed. A sharp, pointed weapon.
That form, like a divine lightning bolt, was...
"Perfect Astraphe...!!!!"
It pierced through the armor Thanatos was wearing, sent him flying, and slammed him into the transparent wall.
Pakang,
Paga-gaga-gak─!!!
As if glass was shattering, the cracked wall surface began to crumble.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "The idea was good, but.... With just that level of magic, you can't kill me, or even land a solid hit."
Thanatos, who took my attack head-on, staggered to his feet, steadying his breath.
It didn't work after all.
It seems without magic that has reached the divine realm like Idea... I can't inflict a fatal wound on a being like him.
Since my tactic of enduring his violence while looking for openings has been exposed, the same trick won't work anymore.
"...So, I'll stay here in hell. Please save Victoria and the other comrades. Is that so hard?"
I spoke to Thanatos, pouring my last hope into persuading him, and...
As if the heavens responded to that hope...
"Excuse me, everyone... Shouldn't the fighting be about enough by now? Let's stop."
A mysterious figure wearing black knight's helmet and armor appeared through the wall I had broken.
"Whew, good thing that strange wall is gone. Even I couldn't break through that... you know!"
Kwaang─!
The figure immediately swung down a giant greatsword, splitting apart Thanatos's Eidos that came flying.
"Who are you? Seeing as I can't see your soul, you don't seem to be from this world."
Even Thanatos, faced with that overwhelming martial prowess, asked for his identity.
"Hmm, how should I say it to make the rumor spread well.... Yes, I'll introduce myself like this."
The mysterious black knight, who had been looking at the floor in thought for a moment, suddenly raised his voice.
"...The Pure Love Black Knight."
"......?"
"I am the man who will become the Black Knight protecting pure love across the universe. Like my grandfather, you see."
After a moment of silence came a baffling answer.
No matter how much I thought about it, it was a statement impossible to comprehend.
"It's a joke, a joke."
The black knight showed an awkward smile toward me and Thanatos, who had momentarily blank expressions.
"My name is Lord Grancia. Please call me Lord. Mr. Astal."
Paaaat─!
Lord scooped me up and, avoiding Thanatos's eyes, moved somewhere.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Mr. Astal, I came after hearing Miss Victoria's earnest prayers. To put it simply, I'm a helper who came to aid you."
On the other side of the underworld.
In a place where countless souls screamed in agony and suffered, Lord said that.
"...Is that true?"
"Yes, her prayers, which reached even to a different outer universe, were so earnest and heartfelt, offered every day for a year."
"......"
"Let's go find the souls of Miss Victoria and the other comrades first. That's the priority, isn't it?"
The golden eyes visible through the visor. The pupils shaped like a wolf's were burning with more hope than ever before.
"If the opponent is a god, then let's gather our comrades and fight them once."