Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Harmless Mage
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Glaktar looked at Astal, whose entire body was wreathed in hellfire, and smiled at the corner of his mouth. No matter what anyone said, this was the fighting style he had recommended.
Scorching pain, said to be among the hardest torments for a living creature to endure. Few opponents would dare to pick a fight with someone cloaked in Hellfire, a flame that, once it latched on, could never be extinguished.
No matter how much of a place Pseudo-Hollow was said to be where you couldn't die, rarely would anyone choose to live alongside a fire that wouldn't go out even if you doused it with water or cut off its oxygen with sand.
But,
"Surely you know my frenzy turns pain into power!! Astaaal—!!"
Astal's current opponent was none other than Glaktar, the very man rumored to be a madman even within this colosseum, and the co-architect of this very fighting style.
Through countless battles in the arena, Glaktar had forged a body that wouldn't lose consciousness or be rendered combat-ineffective by mere pain or injury.
It was a life lived solely for the sake of avenging his departed lover.
It was the desperate struggle of someone who flailed with effort, aiming to one day win this arena and utterly pulverize that bastard Dullahan up there.
"You're still too soft! If you wanted to defeat me, you should have brought other magic!! Didn't I tell you to try harder, to think more about killing your opponent!"
Glaktar shouted, unable to understand why Astal had chosen to use Hellfire magic of all things.
If it was out of pity for him, a deliberate attempt to lose, his warrior's pride wouldn't allow it.
Surely, after sparring with him, Astal knew about his frenzy and understood the characteristics of the hard-to-kill Pseudo-Hollow.
Why use a magic that could be somewhat countered by mere frenzy?
It would have been simpler to freeze his entire body solid and then slice him to pieces.
Thud—!
With a dull sound, Glaktar's fist pierced through the searing flames and smashed into Astal's face. He could see Astal immediately stagger, blood spurting from his nose.
Had he grown arrogant from using Hellfire magic?
If he had first seared his opponent's eyes, the fight might have flowed more favorably, but Astal was just meaninglessly throwing punches and kicks.
"If you're thinking of saving me and dying in my place! You'd better not!"
Truth be told, Glaktar also wanted Astal to live.
That's why he had even mentioned that if he froze his entire body and shattered it, or trapped him in a swamp from which he could never escape, it would be an instant disqualification loss.
Yet, seeing Astal deliberately holding back, Glaktar bit his molars hard, holding back tears that threatened to fall.
"This is an arena where you can't leave alive unless you kill each other! Didn't I say to at least give me a fight I won't regret!!"
Just moments ago, he had said he wouldn't show a fight he'd regret, but Glaktar intuitively sensed that Astal was scheming to save him.
p>Whooosh—!! Kwaaaang!!
Glaktar immediately grabbed the staggering Astal by the waist and hurled him toward the distant wall. A cloud of dust thick enough to obscure vision erupted, making the impact he suffered unimaginable.
"Wooaaah—!!"
"T-This can't be—!! Contestant Glaktar has thrown Astal, wreathed in flames, into the wall!! A simple, brute-force method, but effective against a fire that won't go out once lit!"
Everyone watching the match held their breath, and soon erupted in cheers, predicting Glaktar's victory.
p>Contrary to the hopeful words of Siren, the commentator, Glaktar's clothes and skin continued to burn, charring and oozing, showing just how severe his burns were.
'In the end, even Hellfire magic ends when the caster dies. He must know that. Astal….'
Glaktar clenched his teeth, enduring the pain enveloping his entire body. Surely Astal had told him to fight with everything he had, so no one could later say he held back.
If, after setting him on fire, Astal had taken to the air or chosen other delaying tactics, the advantage would have swung to Astal.
"Kehahahaha!! So this is the extent of the mage from the Hero's party!! To dare face me head-on, you've got guts!"
Now, Glaktar deliberately raised his voice, pretending to rally the crowd's cheers. He was giving his opponent a hint that he could win by opting for a war of attrition rather than a head-on clash like this.
With this, he secretly hoped Astal could defeat him,
end this hellish arena fight, and that he could meet his lover again.
"…Who said I was facing you head-on?"
As if responding to Glaktar's expectations, Astal, who had risen in the distance, was creating a huge magic circle in his hand.
A massive magic circle like a giant tangle of threads, seemingly capable of swallowing the entire arena.
Seeing it, Glaktar immediately realized Astal had been aiming for this from the start.
The mana in the air compressed endlessly, heat gathering within the interwoven threads of the magic circle.
"A magic that endlessly compresses mana to create and drop a burning star…. Supernova. With this, even you will turn to ashes. It took some effort to cast…."
Originally, using the magic circle unraveled like threads was thought to be most effective when applied to a human body. He had never dreamed it could be utilized like this.
"…Yes, this is the Astal I know."
Seeing Astal recreate the magic once used by the Phantom Dragon using the unraveled threads of the magic circle, Glaktar wore a hollow smile.
Bwoom! Kwaaaaaaa—!!
A massive explosion and heat that filled his entire field of vision.
He thought no living creature could survive being hit by this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The epithet 'Harmless Mage' was the ideal I aspired toward.
After losing all the villagers in the past due to my own arrogance, it was a conviction filled with the belief that I would never let anyone die before my eyes again.
'If the timing is off by even a little, Glaktar will truly turn to ashes and burn to death.'
I reaffirmed that epithet in my mind, thinking about the parts of my pre-planned scheme that required the utmost care.
It's an epithet imbued with an overly naive ideal.
But precisely because of that, making that ideal a reality is more appealing than anything.
The Hellfire magic was already burning his body, and if I finished him with Supernova, no spectator would raise an objection.
After all, the inextinguishable flames of hell and the supernova explosion capable of blowing away this entire arena were no mere illusions.
'But, with the talent I possess, I can do it….'
Using the magic circle unraveled like a thread had the advantage of allowing me to use magic or effects I normally couldn't.
The fact that I could recreate Supernova—a magic so powerful even the mana-rich Phantom Dragon found difficult to use, powerful enough to be swept away by the shockwave—was proof enough.
I reached out toward Glaktar amidst the explosion.
I canceled the pre-cast Hellfire magic, calming the flames scorching his body.
With injuries of this level, a simple potion or healing magic should suffice later. That's also why I deliberately avoided vital spots like the eyes.
As if already acknowledging his death, I could see Glaktar within the explosion, his eyes gently closed and his weapon lowered.
I didn't use any magic to protect myself within the explosion. Instead, I cast a time-acceleration spell on myself, solely to save Glaktar, who had trusted me.
Then, draping the protective-magic-infused thread I had prepared over him, I used the same method I had employed last time to cross dimensions to reach the Holy Kingdom.
This way, the audience, swept up in the instantaneous, massive explosion, would think Glaktar's very existence had been annihilated. All they'd find would be the ashes of his burned clothes.
'…Thunder Lord.'
I clapped my hands, turning my entire body into living lightning once more, and moved with tremendous speed, carrying Glaktar.
And,
after transporting him near Wilhelm in the Holy Kingdom, I performed the incredible feat of returning to the arena unnoticed.
My original epithet is the Harmless Mage.
I couldn't let all of it—the name given because I harm no one—be rendered meaningless by a mere trial like this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "…Only one person is visible in the arena! C-Could it be…!! Contestant Glaktar's status is unconfirmed!!"
After the shock and light of the Supernova I cast subsided, Siren couldn't hide her shock, her voice trembling as she looked at me standing alone in the arena.
"T-Then…, the, the winner is—!! The Mad Mage, Astal Caesaro!"
Looking at the monsters and demons who still referred to me like that, I raised a faint smile and lifted my fist toward the sky.
"Astal! Astal! Astal!!"
With this, Dullahan might think that, for the sake of avenging my parents, I even killed a close friend, and rejoice inwardly.
"…No, I'm the Harmless Mage."
But the reality was nothing like that.
I will not become like the madman who killed his comrades to survive or gave up being a Hero.