Chapter 84
Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Light and Dark, Good and Evil (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clearing his mind of idle thoughts, Canis glared at Shirone. His stomach churned at the sight of that pretty face, which had likely never known a day of hardship.
‘Hmph. You probably think I'm the villain. But…’
The power of darkness began to rise from Canis’s shadow. Though it was chipped away by the light magic, its regeneration speed was incredible.
‘To me, you are the ones who are evil!’
As the power of darkness surged forward, Shirone wiped the ground clean with a photon output. He then threw the Photon Cannon equipped on his right hand. Harvest blocked it, taking the hit with his body. As the Photon Cannon dug into his torso, Harvest’s body was flung into the forest with a thud. But far from being shocked, he wiggled his long fingers, taunting Shirone.
“Kekeke. Come on, come on.”
For a dark mage, the forest was home ground, but Shirone charged in without hesitation. He then fired dozens of photons over his head, from left to right, and right to left.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Over a hundred flares pierced the forest canopy and rose into the air. Nade and Iruki stared blankly at the sky, now as bright as day.
“That kid’s really fired up.”
“He must know it too. If Shirone can’t stop that guy, this is a losing game for us.”
Iruki slowly turned his gaze. Lucas was heading into the forest, following Shirone. Spotting gray smoke rising before him, he quickly threw himself aside. An Atomic Bomb detonated with a bang, and Lucas, who had instantly retreated ten meters, glared at Iruki with terrifying eyes.
“You bastard…”
“Don’t do anything stupid. We’re thinking the same thing you are. Just stand there.”
“How absurd.”
No matter how immature they were, for mere magic trainees to step up against a B-rank criminal was laughable. A soft, fluid sound rang out as Lucas drew his twin swords. The aura transmitted through his Spirit Zone shimmered like a heat haze rising from burning firewood.
While the range of physical enhancements possible with Schema was endless, most users stuck to proven builds, as failing to maintain balance could lead to severe side effects.
A lopsided build would ruin the body. For instance, excessively strengthening the nervous system would cause muscles to rupture, unable to keep up with the nerves’ speed.
The build Lucas was currently using was the Mitochondria Build, which enhanced the mitochondria—the energy factories of living organisms—to momentarily boost energy efficiency.
Though it had the drawback of rapid stamina consumption, its effect of simultaneously elevating all aspects of the body was appealing, which was why the majority of users had it as a foundational build.
‘This could be dangerous…’
Iruki checked on Nade. The cold look in his eyes as he watched Lucas reminded Iruki of a summer five years ago. The two had clashed on a day of torrential rain. It was a near miracle that Nade could smile now. He would probably never show that old face again. The face that resembled the person he loved most in the world was also the one he hated most.
“Be careful, Nade. That guy’s a Schema user.”
“I know. Let’s increase our firepower and take him down early.”
Lucas found the situation preposterous. The word ‘careful’ was for avoiding puddles or crossing rickety bridges, not for a situation where your head was about to be lopped off by a blade.
“Hah. Kids these days…”
Lucas, who had been scratching his head, blurred from sight. At the same time, a golden flash erupted between Nade and Iruki. The light of teleportation flashed, and the two reappeared ten meters away from Lucas. Iruki checked his chest. His clothes were cleanly sliced, and blood seeped from a line drawn across his chest.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s not a fatal wound. But he’s really fast.”
Even if magic was a transcendent power, a mage’s body was still fundamentally human. Excluding the effects of magic, their ability to react and respond to the movements of a Schema swordsman was bound to be inferior.
However, the reverse was also true for the swordsman. The power of magic was not something that could be withstood with Schema. Even student-level magic could be fatal if it landed a direct hit.
Nade and Iruki focused their firepower. A chain of Atomic Bomb explosions followed like a snake, and Nade calculated Lucas’s movements, firing predictively. But his movements were completely different from the mechanical patterns they had trained against at the academy, and they couldn’t land a clean hit.
‘Damn it! These brats are pretty good.’
Lucas’s situation wasn’t exactly comfortable either. Due to the nature of the Mitochondria Build, his stamina was dropping by the second. Pushing his energy metabolism to its maximum, his speed jumped dramatically. Instantly circling a wide radius, he leaped up from Iruki’s side and swung his twin swords. Nade, rushing in from the opposite side, thrust out both hands. An Electric Shock spell struck Lucas in the abdomen, and an alternating current vibration shook his body at a rate of sixty times per second.
“Iruki! Now!”
Iruki was already prepared. Gray smoke rose in front of the stunned Lucas’s face. Watching the detonation reaction unfold before his eyes, Lucas tried to move his body with all his might. But his muscles felt carbonized, refusing to take any strength.
‘Damn it! Damn it!’
To be on the verge of death at the hands of mere brats. No, was he really going to die? Faced with such an unexpected situation, he felt his sense of reality slipping away.
Iruki was certain it was over. A detonation reaction had occurred, so it wasn't a hasty judgment. But suddenly, his Spirit Zone vanished. Before he could even figure out why, his legs began to go numb. Someone else's shadow had connected to his from under his feet. He knew without looking that it was Arin's doing.
‘Damn it all!’
Lucas struggled out of the alternating current vibration with all his might. He then rushed at Nade, the one who had inflicted this humiliation upon him. His fury, having been to the brink of death, was at an all-time high, and his Evil Eye, saturated with emotion, flashed.
“Nade! Run!”
Even while caught by the Evil Eye, Nade generated electricity in both hands. Lucas spread his twin swords and attempted a pincer attack. The moment the blades cut through the air and charged in, two unexpectedly thick pillars of ice shot up on either side of Nade.
With a clang, the twin swords lodged into the ice. Lucas’s eyes wavered in shock. His swordsmanship could split boulders. Yet now, it was blocked by mere ice, unable to cut through.
Slowly turning, Lucas’s eyes fell upon a familiar face. It was the woman, the instructor, whom he had thrown off the cliff just a short while ago.
“Ms. Shina!”
Nade cried out, his face brightening. But Shina remained silent. With emotionless, impassive eyes, she stared only at Lucas.
* * *
“Hah. Hah.”
Leaning against a tree trunk, Etella’s knees were bent as if they would give way at any moment. She had been in a chase for a full thirty minutes. Even so, she hadn’t been able to completely shake Arcane.
‘The poison is spreading. I can’t delay treatment any longer.’
Sitting down, Etella tore the waist section of her monk’s habit. Black blood was flowing from a wound that ran above her navel. It was a wound from a Poison Cutter. She had been using a breathing technique to stop the poison from spreading, but it was only a temporary measure. She needed to suck the poison out of the wound, but it was in a spot her lips couldn't easily reach.
Etella placed both hands behind her, grabbed the tree trunk, and locked her fingers. As she lowered her head and bent her waist, a cracking sound came from her spine. When she stretched her spine with her erector spinae muscles, her hips lifted off the ground, and her waist bent sharply. Curling her body into a spiral, her lips finally reached below her navel.
Etella pushed all the toxins that had seeped into her body toward the wound. Then, filling her lungs with air, she sucked hard on the injury. The moment the poison was drawn out, a pain like being seared with fire washed over her. Wincing, she threw her head back with all her might. When she spat the poison out, black blood fell onto the grass. In an instant, the grass withered.
Life began to return to Etella’s face. She took off her crooked glasses, threw them to the ground, and wrapped the cloth she had just torn from her habit tightly around her fists, striking them together.
“Phew. That’s much better.”
Her wavering Spirit Zone regained its durability, and the surrounding energies were transmitted through her synesthesia. Her eyes widened, and she kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. From the ground, dozens of black hands shot up as if squeezing out ink.
‘He’s already this close…’
The fact that he could relentlessly pursue a master of tracking like a Zoner proved just how agile a grand dark mage could become when enveloped in darkness.
“It seems you’ve dealt with the poison. The more I see, the more I like you.”
Arcane emerged, parting a curtain of darkness. But Etella no longer needed to run.
“It won’t be so easy from now on.”
“Ready to get serious? In that case, I shall enjoy this without reservation.”
As Etella pushed power into her fists, the true power of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist filled her to the brim. Arcane quickly noticed the change in her. She had completely abandoned her Spirit Zone.
Mages wield the Spirit Zone, and swordsmen wield Schema. But monks train in both simultaneously. The purpose of a monk is not to ascend to great heights, but to embrace the world with the broadest of hearts.
Arcane didn’t like that. If she had focused on a single field from the start, there would be no one on the continent who didn’t know her name.
‘How pitiful. Why would a talent capable of standing at the world’s peak choose the path of enlightenment? Then again, it’s a foolish question to ask someone who doesn't even think of climbing.’
Arcane extended a hand and chanted an incantation. Against an opponent who could use Schema, he had a countermeasure.
“Familiars of Darkness.”
Countless spiders crawled out from the forest’s shadows. The sight of the swarming spiders, each the size of a human head, was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
Groooowl!
But the true horror of the Familiars of Darkness was yet to come. Next to Arcane, a Dark Golem over three meters tall rose to its feet.
Its face was buried in its shoulders, and its torso and limbs were swollen as if wrapped in yarn. Its arms were long, its legs short.
Familiars of Darkness was a spell that summoned shadow minions, converting 100 percent of one’s mental energy into physical force. It was qualitatively different from the Power of Darkness, which absorbed energy from external sources. While not immune to light like magical creatures, there was no more powerful combat weapon at night when the sun had set.
“Go, my familiars.”
The Dark Spiders opened the attack. Their already large numbers became a tangled mass, making it impossible to even tell how many were moving.
Etella threw jabs, sending spiders flying in all directions. She then threw a straight punch into a cluster of spiders, and with a bang, the shadows scattered.
Graaaaaah!
The Dark Golem charged through the dispersing spiders. Just as Etella launched herself like a flying squirrel, its thick arm slammed into the ground. The earth rippled like water and, unable to withstand the impact, finally exploded. The force, comparable to the earth magic Eruption, made Etella’s face turn pale. The grand mage’s mental energy had been fully converted into physical force, so its strength was beyond imagination.
The golem, with both hands planted on the ground, twisted its head. Then, swinging its arms in an arc like hammers, it attacked again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Faced with a continuous assault of windmill-like punches, Etella was forced into a frantic retreat. The Dark Golem was the ultimate weapon, possessing speed, flexibility, and destructive power.
Knowing she couldn't retreat forever, Etella finally stomped on the ground at the end of her flight and confronted the Dark Golem.
Graaaaaah!
Leaping into the chest of the Dark Golem as it rose like a wall, Etella drove her fist into its side.
Poof!
The massive golem staggered. An equal exchange occurred, and the shockwave slammed into Arcane’s mind.