Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: I Can Do It
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I can do it
"Raphael."
"Yes."
"How come you've only done it right once? You said you could do it if you just set your mind to it. Is setting your mind to it that hard? That difficult?"
"Heh. Seong-hoon, think about it. Is it easy to set your mind to something?"
I couldn't respond to Raphael's words. She's right. If it were easy to set my mind to it, I wouldn't be here in the first place.
"You sure know how to talk."
"Call me the Lee Seong-hoon specialist. No, the Lee Seong-hoon expert silver-tongued debater."
"I admit it."
Idiots? That's harsh. We were having a serious conversation. I looked at Raphael, meaning right?, and the blonde nodded.
What's wrong with the situation? We're just flying through the air on the wind. It's so relaxing.
"The sky is my homeland. Feels nice and comfy."
"Yeah. I could almost pass for a Heaven Realm native. It's so pleasant."
"Shall I put in a word with God for you?"
What are you grinning about? It was a joke. Don't let your eyes sparkle like that.
That aside, how long are we going to keep flying like this? If we go any higher, we'll reach the peak and then plummet.
Thinking that far, I looked down below. Then back at Raphael.
"Raphael."
"Yes."
"I've had pretty good luck lately, right?"
"You've had good luck from the start, Seong-hoon. I've been by your side, after all."
No, seriously. I got to come to the Maldives, got a black card from Rosaline, and summoned an incredibly powerful spirit.
That thing looks like a high-ranking spirit or even a Spirit King at first glance, doesn't it?
"I thought it was all thanks to the elixir."
"What do you mean? I don't get it if you don't explain properly."
Yeah. What I mean is...
Suddenly.
Our windborne flight came to a halt. Anyone could tell what that meant.
"A person's innate luck doesn't change that easily."
At those words, Raphael looked anxious and reached out to me. Thinking she wanted me to grab her hand, I reached out too, but...
Suddenly, she hugged me tight. When I lifted my face from her embrace, her expression said—
I won't let you die alone.
"I can't even bring out my wings, you know?"
She grinned. Not the smile I'd seen lately, but her usual playful one.
"How about the one who spins and gets squished first sacrifices themselves?"
"Say something that makes sense!!!"
I tried to push her away, but the blonde gorilla's strength was overwhelming. Her fragrant scent filled my nose thanks to the hug, but that wasn't important right now.
My current situation was—
"Ah."
With a short cry.
Potential energy turned into kinetic energy from the fall.
Why are you screaming like you're dying?
There's an old saying: no one just keeps dying endlessly. People can't have bad luck forever.
"Th-thanks."
"I believed in you, Seong-hoon. I knew you'd find a way somehow."
"What was that about the one who spins and gets squished first sacrificing themselves?"
"That was insurance. If you die, I'll collect your soul. Don't worry."
"If I die, you're done for too!!"
"That's why I said I believed you."
She giggled and scratched the back of her head. Not cute. Not cute at all.
More importantly, when is this going to let go? I looked at the thing holding my body. A black hand. A black hand made of mana had caught us as we fell.
Black shadow mana. I knew who it was without looking. Raising my head, I saw a black-haired woman.
The woman in almost the same clothes as when we parted at dawn.
"Wh-what happened? I saw you flying and came running."
"Isia. Listen without panicking."
The hand released us, and we landed on the beach. I could see Isia swallow hard.
This feels just like one of those scenes revealing the world's secrets. I thought I was the mastermind at first, but turns out I was the puppet.
"If we're splitting hairs, our personalities are similar enough."
Shut up. For real.
There's not much to explain, really. I just had bad luck. Still, I phrased it as vaguely as possible. Because I tricked an ancient spirit, got the catalyst from it, and what came out was a spirit that knows the truth.
So it's rampaging. And it's all my fault— I couldn't say that.
Right?
It's not that I don't want to take all the blame myself. More like, how does she know?
Ah. The ones nearby.
I smacked my forehead at the realization but kept talking without pause.
"So that spirit is rampaging. We flew up to stop it."
As I finished, Isia nodded like she understood. I ignored the mutters from the side like 'It's all our fault, right?' and 'We don't have the money to compensate for that, nya.'
"Th-then what do we do? We can't just let it run wild."
That line just proved people can't have bad luck forever.
I was planning to ask Isia anyway. Raphael can't use her wings, and even if she could, one shot would kill her.
Isia lacks raw power but can control it. Meaning, she can weaken that spirit without sending it back to the spirit realm.
Yeah. I haven't. Word must have spread in the spirit realm by now. Watch out for that trash one.
Summoning another would be the same. If the result's inevitable, better to crush it from the start.
If we can't make a contract, we'll force it.
"Isia."
"Yes?"
She answered my call. I approached and grabbed her shoulders. It was embarrassing, but now wasn't the time to care.
"What are we?"
"H-hero candidates?"
"Right. So there might still be people who haven't escaped down there. Right?"
"Y-yes."
"Then what do we do?"
"Uh, huh?"
"We go in before the heroes arrive and suppress it. Right?"
In reality, waiting for them is smarter. But Isia will say yes. She's changed a lot, but her strong sense of justice remains. Definitely.
"Yes."
Don't say that. It makes me look like I'm tricking Isia into doing this.
No, it's not.
"D-do we really have to do it like this?!"
"Yes. You planning to use Parallel Chant on that thing? Trying to get yourself killed?"
"Not that, but..."
"Just memorize the chant. Leave the rest to me."
On a Maldives rooftop that hadn't been blown away. Lee Seong-hoon stood there. Even from a distance, the wind from the spirit whipped his hair and robe.
In his arms was Isia. The classic princess carry, her arms around his neck as they glared at the spirit.
Their plan was simple.
Cast magic on the spirit. Pure magic without Chant Cancellation.
If it fails, retreat and wait for the heroes. Simple, yet dangerous. With one special addition.
"Can I really do this?"
"Just follow my lead. You can do it."
"Just following the chant doesn't make the magic fire off!"
"You can do it."
The limit for an ordinary mage is 6th-circle magic. Same for Isia. 6th-circle Gravity was her ceiling.
But Lee Seong-hoon was demanding she cast 7th-circle magic. Firmly insisting she could.
Where did that confidence come from? How could he trust her so completely? Isia couldn't understand, yet her chest tickled with excitement.
She gripped his neck tighter.
Her face was red, but her eyes were steady. Her task was clear.
"Let's go!!"
At Isia's words, Lee Seong-hoon shouted at the spirit. It turned toward them. Wind blades flew from afar.
They never touched him. His Agility stat, now at (High), made it impossible. Plus Raphael's Blessing.
Lee Seong-hoon dashed freely across the rooftops; the wind couldn't reach him.
Even AoE attacks were futile. Attacks aiming to obliterate his position entirely.
Hyper Sense and Lachesis's warnings let him evade ahead. Slipping into the Reaper's Robe ended it.
He emerged from the shadows onto another rooftop. Untired thanks to the blessing, he began the chant.
"That name is the twin of light." "The unharmonized one, the unmingled one, the ominous one repelled." "..." "..."
⟨ Twins of Light ⟩
The 1st verse rang out. In her shaking vision, Isia's narrowed eyes widened.
The 2nd verse followed, then 3rd, 4th. With each word from his mouth, her pupils dilated further.
Her already large eyes grew impossibly wider.
It was only natural. A chant she'd never heard. No way to know the formula, hard to even remember.
Yet it felt strange.
The ring on her left ring finger sparkled.
Verse by verse, as the chant filled her ears, the formula drew itself in her mind.
Maximizing power with minimal mana. Like sketching blueprints on blank white paper.
A new formula formed in Isia's head.
It was miraculous. His words stirred her mana. Her mouth automatically recited along.
By the 6th verse, she chanted in unison. She already knew the 7th.
Amazing.
Her heart pounded. It thrilled her. Learning new magic was always exciting. Of course it would.
But it felt different.
Unlike any previous thrill of learning magic. Held in his arms, cool wind on her face, chanting in harmony.
Was it the situation? She couldn't tell.
"“Then hate. Deny.”"
The cool wind felt wonderful. Being in his arms was comfortable, secure. Chanting together felt like becoming one; a smile bloomed naturally.
They passed the 7th verse. Isia extended her arm. He'd said 7th-circle, but instinct told her.
This magic exceeded 7th-circle power.
The completed magic circle glowed. From the massive circle, beyond human size, jet-black light poured out.
Fun.
Just chanting magic, yet it was fun. An old sensation. One she hadn't felt since childhood.
The joy of learning something new. A forgotten feeling.
The magic activated. Endless mana drained from Isia.
Two hands emerged. Enormous hands. They reached for the spirit. Then clashed.
That alone unleashed unimaginable destructive power. Shattering, crushing.
The raging storm vanished like a lie. The ear-splitting wind noise fell silent.
To others, an awe-inspiring sight. But Isia's gaze wasn't on it.
Only on the man she held with her arms. Their eyes met, and he smiled.
"I told you."
He grinned. A joyful smile she rarely saw. First time today.
"You could do it."
Isia's face heated. Her heart raced wildly. Then she realized.
It's because of him.
Her change, beating Lucy, this joy. All of it.
Because he said she could. Believed in her. Taught her.
Her dramatic growth as a mage in half a year. All thanks to him.
"Everything..."
"Hm?"
"Is thanks to you."
The final gust whipped their black hair like a last resistance.
As her hair blended into the darkness, Isia smiled.
From joy? Gratitude?
Both, but another reason.
"Thank you."
She'd realized her arrhythmia was because of this man.