Chapter 97: Can You Keep Up?
Chapter 97: Can You Keep Up?
The signal to begin was Shin Sangyong extending his left hand.
“Magic Square of Harmony.”
This was not the small-scale version he had shown before, but the Magic Square of Harmony used in earnest. The moment Shin Sangyong finished the short incantation, a three-dimensional magic square appeared above his left palm. Soon, the complete magic square—far clearer than the previous one—rose into the air, and Shin Sangyong and Jung Hayeon sent their prepared spells into it.
The spells of fire and ice, arriving at the magic square simultaneously, swirled together like a vortex and were sucked inside. From this point on, it all depended on Shin Sangyong's skill. He had to get the first step right to lessen the burden on Jung Hayeon and Ahn Sol, who would receive the baton next.
“—. —. —.”
Shin Sangyong didn't stop muttering, even as sweat poured down his face. His piercing gaze was fixed on the magic square; he must have been performing an incredible amount of internal calculations, controlling and arranging the elements. It didn't take long. Fortunately, he seemed to find the correct arrangement quickly, and his expression brightened considerably.
A moment later, the spell that rose from the magic square hovered in the air in an impossible form.
The spell they had created was covered in jagged, jutting ice crystals, and scorching flames swirled over their surfaces. It was a good start. With a slightly strained look, Shin Sangyong turned his gaze to Jung Hayeon and transferred control of the magic he was maintaining.
Receiving his signal, Hayeon watched the spell float toward her and wet her lips. It had been a long time since she had attempted a magical combination near her limit. The instant she took control of the spell, intense pressure surged into her body. It was still bearable. After observing the magic for a moment, she drew on every last ounce of strength and cast her prepared spell.
“Reverse!”
As Hayeon’s clear voice rang out, the magic they had created was once again enveloped in white light. The reversal she had selected was mana-position designation.
“Hngh…!”
Hayeon let out a strangely sensual moan. Because the magical interference was meant to maintain the mana rather than dispel the spell, a sharp dizziness rang through her head. The shock of the reversal had sent an enormous mana backlash into her.
However, she gritted her teeth and forced her way through it, perfectly succeeding in the magical reversal. The spell, now infused with Reverse, looked similar to its initial form, yet different. The change was that the flames now swirled inside the jagged chunks of ice.
Ahn Sol, who had been watching from the side, gasped in awe at the perfectly fused magic. At the same time, however, she felt a pang of anxiety. It would soon be her turn to take control of that spell.
But it wasn't over yet. Firing the spell as it was would have been powerful enough, but their opponent was a Gigas—a creature synonymous with magic resistance. The blood flowing in their veins was inherently predisposed to reject mana. That meant they needed to weave an even more powerful spell, one strong enough to shatter that resistance.
Clinging to her fading consciousness, Hayeon cast another spell.
“—. Target Designation… Shackles spell. Overlap.”
In a way, the Overlap spell was a type of applied magic quite similar to the Magic Square of Harmony. However, it operated strictly within the laws of magical affinity. While it couldn't ignore the rules like the Magic Square of Harmony, it was still undeniably a high-level applied spell.
The magic created by the first two flowed into the Shackles spell cast by Ahn Sol. The moment the divine spell and the magic touched, a brilliant white light flashed, filling the area. The process of multiple spells converging into one was, in a word, beautiful.
In any case, the baton had passed to Ahn Sol. They had done well so far, but if Ahn Sol, the final caster, couldn’t withstand the pressure, it would all be for nothing. Hayeon watched her anxiously.
“Ugh…”
Ahn Sol grimaced but somehow endured. Her current Magic Power Stat was 86, while Jung Hayeon’s was 87. Of course, Hayeon did not know their exact Stats. She would probably foam at the mouth if she learned them, but in the present situation, she simply felt proud of Sol.
Ahn Sol slowly raised her staff. She was a little intimidated by the immense concentration of mana, the likes of which she had never felt since coming to the Hall Plain, but it was also proof of the spell's incredible power. Yet, Sol was still hesitating.
…Can I really hit it? I-I have to do it quickly. What do I do…?
There were only three spells Ahn Sol could use proficiently: Shackles, Cure, and Protect. She could manage Detoxify and a few others, but she had not learned a homing spell. Regret was useless now. Noticing her hesitation, Hayeon spoke sharply.
“It’s fine. Just shoot.”
“B-But…”
“I said, shoot. If you keep holding it, the mana will backlash and the spell will just disappear.”
Whether Hayeon’s words served as the trigger, or her unexpectedly cold tone frightened her, Ahn Sol swallowed hard. She raised her staff and aimed at the Gigas. After hesitating a moment longer, she finally spoke in a trembling voice.
“Shackles…!”
And the moment Hayeon confirmed that Sol had fired the spell, she began preparing another one.
*
After a flurry of slashes in mid-air, I landed lightly back on the ground. Before me, a Gigas covered in long, crisscrossing sword wounds was panting heavily. It was certainly strong. Pitting a Gigas against a Basilisk, the Gigas would undoubtedly come out on top. It had put up a decent fight.
But that was all. It wasn't a boss monster, just a created one, and I had been certain of my victory from our very first clash. I had been planning to have a light warm-up before fighting the demon on the 3rd floor anyway, so in a way, I was glad this thing had shown up. Big, high-stamina opponents like this were perfect for warming up.
In any case, I was preparing to leap again, intending to end it. I wasn't sure what the others were doing, but judging by the way the Gigas occasionally flinched and twisted its body, they seemed to be following my orders faithfully. And though I had ordered them to act as keepers, Vivian had smartly focused on restraining only its right arm, not both. That alone was more than enough for me.
“Time to end this.”
I muttered to myself and drew up my mana. I was about to raise my sword high, planning to cleave it from head to toe.
Fwoosh!
Just then, I heard a spell being fired from behind me. It began flying toward me and the Gigas at a terrifying speed. I had just bent my knees to kick off the ground, but I froze.
What is that? I had sensed the mages chanting something in the back, but the spell currently hurtling toward me gave off a feeling that even I wouldn't want to be hit by it. I’d rather just cut it down. The angle was awkward, and I considered dodging, but as if reading my mind, the spell immediately changed its trajectory and shot toward the Gigas’s left arm.
“A target designation spell, I see.”
Jung Hayeon’s handiwork? It seemed my little taunt earlier had worked perfectly. I decided to wait for a moment, a faint smile on my lips. It wouldn't be polite to finish the monster off before their painstakingly crafted spell could hit, would it? Besides, I was a little curious.
The Gigas, which had charged me so arrogantly at the beginning, was now pale-faced after I had thoroughly thrashed it. I really hate it when monsters act all high and mighty, so I admit I might have deliberately smacked it around with the flat of my blade instead of just cutting it.
A brief lull fell over the battlefield, and I felt the others retreat quickly. Man, these kids. One moment they got on my nerves; the next, they did not. If only they were always like this. With every battle, Ahn Hyun and Yoojung were growing in their own ways.
As my assault paused, a flicker of relief crossed the Gigas’s face. But it was only a momentary reprieve before death. I planned to finish it off right after watching the spell, so I slowly gathered mana at my feet. I had to control the output; if I jumped too high, I might just crash through the ceiling.
Soon, the Shackles spell, glowing with white light, flew past me and rushed toward the Gigas’s left arm. The Gigas, however, didn't make any significant move. It was just trying to catch its breath.
It seemed to make a slight attempt to twist away, but with Vivian firmly restraining its right arm, it must have decided to just take the hit. It stood there, panting heavily, completely unaware that its magic resistance trait would be the very cause of its defeat.
The spell that brushed past me and flew upward was astonishing, if only for a moment. It seemed to have been built on Shin Sangyong’s Magic Square of Harmony, just as I had hoped. I wanted its detailed information, but before I could activate Third Eye, the chunks of ice covering it opened like jaws and bit deeply into the Gigas’s left shoulder.
And the sight that followed was, in a word, spectacular.
Faaash!
The Gigas’s left arm was dyed in white light, likely Sol’s spell. As the light wrapped around its arm, the creature flinched, its movements becoming noticeably sluggish. And in that instant of flinching…
CRUNCH! CRACK!
The ice spikes bit down hard on the Gigas’s left arm once more, from above and below. Simultaneously, chunks of ice spread across its entire arm. This seemed to surprise even the Gigas, as it frantically tried to swing its left arm, but Sol’s spell was still active, preventing it from shaking the magic off.
And so, the spell reached its climax with what appeared to be Shin Sangyong’s final contribution: a mass of flames. The ice spikes that had dug into the Gigas’s tough hide were acting as channels. As if from a syringe, the fiery energy that had been trapped inside the ice was injected straight through those channels. In other words, they had projected magic directly inside the giant’s body. It was the most vicious method imaginable.
Boom! Kaboom!
“HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
A series of massive explosions erupted from within the Gigas’s left arm, causing its skin to bulge grotesquely. No matter how strong its magic resistance was, there was nothing it could do against a spell injected directly into its body. The Gigas let out a deafening scream. Hearing the explosions, I figured it was a Burn Flare spell. That must hurt.
I had watched each step unfold, but the entire process had taken place in a mere two or three seconds. A new appreciation for the three of them dawned on me. A spell of that caliber would be effective anywhere. Though it looked like three distinct spells, it was clear they had applied far more magical processing within it. Of course, there was no way our Sol had come up with this; it was probably Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong.
Either way, they were smart. Their magic was looking two, no, three steps ahead. They sent an explosive spell into the body to burn the blood in its left arm. Of course, since the blood itself carried magic resistance, it wouldn't all be incinerated, but it was more than enough to weaken the resistance in that arm.
As proof, Sol’s Shackles and Jung Hayeon’s ice magic, which had been weakening, began to recover their strength. This was what the spellcasters had aimed for. Rather than choose direct damage, they had created a momentary opening for me. Vivian restrained the right arm, while the other three spellcasters successfully bound the left.
And with both of its arms bound, the Gigas before me was nothing more than a meal served on a platter. It had displayed the highest health and defense of any monster I’d faced so far, but even that had been significantly depleted by the combined assault of my party and me. If I missed this moment, my authority as leader would be undermined.
I had already been preparing to jump, and I kicked off the ground with force. A cool wind rushed past me as I soared into the air. The monster’s left arm was already in tatters, resembling a shredded rag. Normally, it would have swung both arms to block my approach, but it couldn't do that now. Especially after being hit by the ice magic, any forceful movement could cause its arm to be torn right off.
A myriad of emotions flickered across the Gigas’s face. Futility, anguish, shock.
I jumped just high enough for my head to graze the ceiling, then pointed my sword straight down to use the force of my descent. I lowered my head. The monster’s head was also tilted up, tracking my movement.
The moment my eyes met its. I dropped like a stone, swinging my sword down toward its head.