Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: The Erased Name (6)
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Hamel was no mere senile figure occupying a seat of power. The church would never have appointed someone like that as the archbishop's proxy in the first place.
From the moment he received Galen's report about a suspicious mage entering the city, he'd been on standby for hours. The second he heard tracking had begun, he mobilized every available person at his disposal.
Hamel arriving alone at the scene was simply because he was the strongest—and thus the fastest. The rest of the church members were chasing after the target for all they were worth.
After finishing emergency treatment on Galen and briefly leaving the battlefield, Hamel returned to his subordinates.
"Your Excellency!"
"We'll talk on the move. Any word from the city guard?"
"Yes, sir. They're sealing the gates immediately. The guards should arrive soon."
The senior priest, who usually served as his aide, summarized the report as concisely as possible. Hamel nodded.
"Link up with them the moment they arrive and seal off the western district's outermost sector. Evacuate all residents."
"Pardon? What do you—"
"No time to explain. It's plague-related. Drag them out if you have to."
"Ah, under... Understood!"
"Hurry as best you can. I'll be back."
With that, Hamel launched himself away, vanishing swiftly into the distance.
The plague mage was sensitive information even within the church, so his underlings had no clue what was unfolding.
But they trusted Hamel without question. They simply carried out their orders to the letter.
"This way! Over here!"
"You there, get out now!"
"B-but our belongings..."
"No time for that—move!"
Fortunately, the evacuation went more smoothly than expected.
Galen and the armored figure hadn't clashed with earth-shattering noise, but the aftermath of a clash between Gem mages was impossible to hide. In the quiet night streets, the commotion spread far and wide.
Residents near the open square, who had witnessed the magic firsthand, had fled long ago. And they certainly hadn't kept their mouths shut.
In short, the sector Hamel had ordered sealed was already in chaos. The sharper residents were fully tuned into the outside developments.
Then the church sounded trumpets from every direction, deploying not just priests but monks as well—prompting everyone to come bolting out in a panic.
The response was textbook perfect.
"Cough, cough!"
"Urgh..."
"B-blood!"
"Someone help over here!"
"P-plague!"
But even that couldn't contain the Abyss of the Forest that had already spread.
Every place the armored figure had passed was effectively poisoned.
Though the western district residents had likely inhaled less of the toxin than Galen, who had pursued relentlessly, the weak among them began collapsing first.
"Patients this way!"
"If you're symptomatic, don't mix with the others!"
"Sister, look here, please!"
Still, the chaos didn't spiral out of control. Hamel returned once more to steady the ship, allowing the priests to handle things methodically without panic.
"Thank goodness... for now, at least."
Hamel muttered softly to himself as he hurried back to the battlefield.
From a quarantine commander's perspective, containing it at this level was a godsend.
The armored figure had been spotted by Galen the moment he entered the city, allowing early surveillance and preparation time—while minimizing the toxin's spread.
Had he roamed undetected all day, spraying poison freely, the casualties would have been dozens of times worse.
Of course, if Galen lost, it would all start over—a disaster merely postponed.
"You've returned?"
Watching Galen's calm demeanor somehow put Hamel at ease.
"Sorry for working you like this."
"Nonsense. I feel bad you're not focused on healing."
Hamel firmly rejected Galen's words.
With only one body but two critical tasks, Hamel was resorting to emergency measures: heal Galen, briefly direct quarantine efforts, then return for more healing, repeating the cycle.
Fueled by holy power to sustain his frail body, swift movement, Galen's treatment, and resistance to the lingering toxins—it was honestly taxing.
But he couldn't show it in front of Galen, who was facing the armored figure head-on despite his injuries.
Psssh! Pssssh!
Even now, the two mages' mana clashed wildly.
It was a battle between fog expanding its domain and waves desperately blocking it.
Hamel placed a hand on Galen's back, invoking the miracle of healing once more. Assessing the patient's condition, the old man clicked his tongue.
"I wasn't gone long, yet it's worsened again. What kind of poison is this?"
"This is much better than before. How's the outside?"
"Not many, but patients are appearing."
"As expected."
"The sector's sealed, and evacuation's nearly done. This area's clear of civilians, at least."
"Good. No need to worry, then. Things might get rough."
"We'll manage."
Expecting no damage from a Gem-on-Gem fight in the city was wishful thinking from the start.
"But what method do you plan? You're not thinking of flooding the whole sealed sector...?"
"If this weren't a city, maybe."
"...You could actually do that?"
"Never tried, but yeah. Water assault's a tactic, right?"
Water assault meant damming rivers then bursting them to flood targets—artificially recreating a flood.
The idea of doing it solo on open ground was terrifying. Hamel was reminded anew of how monstrous Gem mages were.
"Cleanup would be a nightmare, though... And I doubt it'd kill him anyway."
"Armored up, he can't swim, right?"
"That damn fog cheats too much."
Galen swung his right hand lightly.
Shwaaaaa!
The waves, defensive until now, surged aggressively.
All the water that had wrecked the surroundings during the fight rose up, crashing toward the armored figure from every direction.
Enough to fill a massive aquarium in the square engulfed him at once.
"Hmm."
But Hamel, with enhanced vision, saw it clearly.
The water barely breached the fog's screen-like boundary around the armored figure.
Galen grumbled on.
"Even squeezing with all I've got, it only leaks a bit. Drowning him normally? He'd just walk out."
"What kind of ridiculous magic...?"
Hamel groaned.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't the pure effect of Annihilation Mist.
Its essence was debilitation—excellent for support, but not defense. Weakening foes wasn't the same as shielding.
Yet it showed such insane prowess, surely due to the armored figure's Revision World.
Like evolving "debilitation" to the extreme into "deletion."
Galen, who had acquired Annihilation Mist via his status window, suspected as much but saw no point telling Hamel. Unless the foe released it himself, it was useless info.
"I planned a war of attrition earlier, but that was before knowing about the poison. Now, the quicker the end, the better."
"Didn't you just say magic won't work easily?"
"Yes. Water magic won't."
Galen's lips twisted.
"So I'll use something else."
"...I must've misheard."
Perfectly enveloped, invisible from outside, but beneath the helmet, Urth's expression was frozen solid.
"...Damn it."
A growl leaked through the armor's gaps.
He didn't fear defeat or death. He'd never planned to return from the start. He'd rampage until exhaustion led to defeat. Inevitable.
But not now.
Not only had he failed to surpass his past achievements from seven years ago when he was far greener—he hadn't even truly begun before getting snagged. He hadn't escaped the southwest yet. What a disgrace.
Urth glared at the cause: Galen, was it?
A Gem mage too young for Gold, dubious even seeing him.
More than his own presence neutralizing the church's response, Galen's existence had shattered all their plans.
"No... not yet."
A sinister voice echoed gloomily. The fog's mana sharpened anew after a brief falter.
He couldn't comprehend—and regretted—how the one tainted by the Abyss survived.
But his magic was undeniably weaker now. Not dead, but far from full strength.
Then kill him directly. Priest or no, touching death's fog meant no survival.
His exposure to the church was unwelcome... but unavoidable.
Recalling the squinting man who died pathetically yet would reappear unscathed, Urth exhaled a breath laced with abyss.
That was when it happened.
Sluuuurp!
The water prison crushing the fog suddenly collapsed.
Not Urth's doing. Though gnawing at the foe's mana along the boundary, he hadn't pierced the full prison like before.
The opponent released it himself.
Judged pointless to maintain an ineffective spell?
Or mana strain? Even for a Gem, the fog's erosion was no joke.
Shwaaaaa!
But the foe went beyond dissolving the prison—he cleared the water entirely?
The waves receded smoothly, vanishing somewhere. As if abandoning the assault.
No more blocking the fog? Or retreating altogether?
Intent unclear. Urth furrowed his brow slightly.
In that instant.
Kaboooom!
Flames exploded right in front of him.
Strictly, not quite—outside the phantom domain, protected by fog.
The blast's shock didn't penetrate.
But it wasn't once.
Boom! Kaboom! Kaboom! Boom! Kaboooom!
Explosions hammered from all directions, relentlessly. Flames engulfed everything.
Pressure and fire didn't touch the fog directly, but heat seeped through. Temperature skyrocketed, winter turning to summer.
"..."
Cold light gleamed in the visor-hidden eyes.
That magic. The one that killed Squint-Eyes.
He'd rationalized water magic somehow twisted within the Revision World.
But explosions touching fog confirmed mana contact: utterly different from water mana. Another type. Power and speed screamed at least Gold.
So the question: when and where had this Gold hidden to jump out now? Another mage tailing secretly undetected?
Incomprehensible, but Urth shelved it, ramping mana higher. Breathing grew hard amid the inferno.
Hiss!
Fog extinguished flames on contact. Far weaker than the wave-embedded mana, easy to erode.
Clearing space effortlessly, yet the surrounding blaze showed no sign of waning.
Roooar!
As if intent on torching the district clean—buildings, trees, everything visible burned.
Flames towered so fiercely, he couldn't see Galen or Hamel's spot, let alone the landscape.
No reason for a water mage like Galen to stay; surely fled.
"Petty tricks."
Buying time, Urth figured.
But experiencing it, this Gold-level magic was annoyingly persistent. Heat and smoke hindered casual passage.
Irritated, Urth stepped forward.
No madman would burn the whole city, even for a committed fire assault.
Shhh!
Fog expanded further, extinguishing flames ahead.
Kaboom! Boom! Kaboooom!
Explosions impeded progress, but only slowed his steps briefly—no real effect.
So he thought.
"...?"
Vision blurred by darkness and shadows, flames blinding eyes, blasts deafening ears.
Urth spotted the colossal presence rising behind him far too late.
Sensing the unmasked shadow at last, unease hit. Glancing back instinctively, he froze.
"Wh... what?"
A towering earth mound loomed over him.
No, not a mound.
He mistook it for one because nothing so massive could be otherwise.
Realizing it vaguely humanoid the moment he grasped that.
Creeeak—
The colossal clay golem bent slowly toward him. Massive arm creaked.
Confirming it moved, instinct screamed danger. Urth maxed mana output.
Full-power fog surged at the golem.
Shhhhh!
Thankfully, the golem's mana was sparse.
Like forcing size without density? Its scale was unimaginable, sure.
Confirming vast mana flowing from earth, then severed by fog.
The golem halted dead.
"...Phew."
Urth sighed in relief. Cold sweat trickled down his back.
That instant.
Kraka-ka-ka-boom!
Serial explosions erupted at the golem's base.
Legs shattered easily; the giant toppled forward.
An avalanche engulfed the street.