Episode 1216
Episode 1216
'Has my magic grown stronger during this time?'
A mage's abilities could improve even during moments they weren't consciously aware of.
And most professors at Einrogard were powerful mages.
For such formidable mages whose only remaining level to ascend was that of an archmage, becoming stronger through ordinary training or research wasn't easy.
Their growth rate had become extremely gradual.
That's why breakthroughs through certain experiences or realizations were more common methods of advancement...
'I have been going through a lot of emotional turmoil lately.'
Images of friends, juniors, and students flashed rapidly through Professor Kirmin's mind.
This semester had truly been a brutal one filled with all sorts of incidents. What's worse, not a single person among those three categories would listen to him.
If his unconscious magical block had been released due to all this emotional distress, it made perfect sense.
It would mean there was still some order left in this world.
I'll kill you! I'll slaughter you! My domain! My palace! My slaves!
You dare wail about your domain burning? You never deserved to possess a domain in the first place.
"!"
The Yaksha King's fierce provocation no longer surprised him much, but something else certainly did.
'His domain is burning?'
"There was a separate strike force!"
The Einrogard professors belatedly realized the Yaksha King's strategy.
No wonder he had been acting so unnaturally composed - he had a separate force moving independently.
'Wait. Then who's leading the strike force?'
A question arose in Professor Kirmin's mind.
Which mage could possibly lead the strike force in place of the Yaksha King?
Hierdan tightly grasped the reins of the Yaksha forces using both carrots and sticks.
-Lord Hierdan. We've destroyed the Blood Mist Grave Basin.
"Excellent. As expected, the Yaksha of the Great Iron Ring Mountains are the most outstanding."
-Thank you! It's an honor for us to receive commands from such a great archmage!
Carrots for the simple-minded Yaksha.
-W-we took some casualties, but we've captured the Tower of Heart Thirst...
"You Yaksha of the Seventh Gold Mountain, return to your original positions. The likes of you don't even deserve to receive commands."
-...Please give us just one more chance! We swear by our true names we'll redeem ourselves!
Whips for the arrogant Yaksha.
Though not much time had passed, all the Yaksha, regardless of faction, had come to deeply obey Hierdan.
-We believe we've destroyed all areas where the evil god's power was strong. Do you think it's noticed yet?
"It will notice soon enough. But it doesn't matter."
Hierdan drew a brief sigil in the air. A spatial gate opened, and objects came pouring out from a subspace storage.
They were the evil god worshippers of the Sanguiros Cult captured by the Empire.
"Have these evil god worshippers drink these potions."
-???
-Understood!
Though confused by the incomprehensible order, the Yaksha obeyed nonetheless.
'Is he planning to use them as arrow fodder in battle? But they're too weak to be of much use.'
'He might be preparing them as sacrifices.'
The evil god worshippers were forced to drink the potions, yet nothing happened.
The utter lack of reaction left both the Yaksha and the evil god worshippers bewildered.
What in the world?
Ignoring their stares, Hierdan stepped before the captured evil god worshippers and spoke.
"Beg your Sanguiros to save you."
"How dare...! Our master will punish you with power beyond what a mere mage like you could ever imagine!"
"Good. Keep going."
"May you suffer a curse of blood!"
"Continue. What are you waiting for?"
Hierdan called the Yaksha.
The dumbfounded Yaksha who had been watching blankly asked in confusion:
-Y-yes?
"Stimulate them to keep begging," he ordered.
Hierdan seemed to think he had shown them enough, as he took a few steps back.
It felt as if he was saying, 'Now, try doing as you've seen and learned.'
The yakshas were bewildered but began moving anyway.
-You—your Sanguiros is nothing but a bug before the wisdom wielded by our king!
"You insignificant vermin monsters! The Fair Regent will never forgive scum like you!"
Fortunately, the Evil God Worshippers flared up at even the pettiest provocation, revealing their fanaticism.
The yakshas, who had been flustered at first, gradually grew more spirited.
-Kraaaah! I'll chew Sanguiros alive and devour his flesh!
"???"
"Hold on."
Hierdan, who had been listening from behind, called out the yaksha who had just spoken.
For some reason, the yaksha felt intimidated as he stood before Hierdan.
"Make sure your taunts are something the other side can understand. They're not sheep herded by a god—how is a metaphor about chewing someone alive and eating their flesh supposed to resonate with them?"
-My... my apologies.
"As long as you understand, that's enough. Try again."
The yakshas resumed their enthusiastic taunting.
Of course, Hierdan didn't just let it slide. Whenever a yaksha delivered a weak provocation, he immediately called them out and reprimanded them.
Had they received such scolding from the start, even their loyalty to their king might not have stopped them from rebelling. But the yakshas, already groveling before Hierdan, couldn't utter a single word of protest.
-We will keep that in mind. Please forgive us.
-We'll taunt them even harder!
The yakshas hurled insults with such intensity, it was as if they had met their mortal enemies.
Their fervor was so overwhelming that even the deranged Evil God Worshippers, who had nothing left but madness, were being pushed back.
'Just what is the point of all this?'
The leader of the yaksha forces from the Great Iron Ring Mountains found it impossible to suppress his curiosity.
They were doing as told, but he genuinely couldn't grasp the meaning behind it.
-Excuse me, Lord Hierdan. Why must we torment these weaklings?
Unable to hold back any longer, the yaksha finally asked.
His eyes kept darting nervously, fearing Hierdan might punish him in anger.
Contrary to his worries, however, Hierdan kindly explained.
"The faith they send is directly connected to the Evil God. That means if we corrupt that faith, we can also deal a blow to the Evil God itself."
Though the awakened Sanguiros had boasted that he no longer needed faith, the power of belief from his followers was still connected to him.
If he truly didn't need it, he wouldn't have created this domain or built this place in the first place.
Even before coming here, Hierdan had already worked with the Skeleton Principal to capture the Evil God Worshippers alive and prepare alchemical potions to feed them.
-You mean it's possible to corrupt faith?!
"You're overinterpreting the word 'corrupt.' If it's hard to understand, you can think of it as 'confusion.'"
Temporarily amplify the power of the followers' souls and muddle their doctrine.
For example, in the case of the Sanguiros Cult, their core doctrine was sacrifice.
'Offer sacrifices and gain power'—that was the central tenet.
But what if, instead of sacrifices, they were confused into thinking it was prayer?
The concept of offering prayers to gain power wasn't too difficult to implant, making it easy to sow confusion.
"A normal divine being wouldn't care even if their doctrine changed—they don't consciously track how their power functions. But this Sanguiros is different. Every time the nature of his power shifts, he'll suffer from the confusion."
-Astonishing!
"Normally, I wouldn't have told you this, but the yakshas of the Great Iron Ring Mountains are the most exceptional, so I couldn't bring myself to hide it."
The yaksha leader looked at Hierdan with deep admiration.
This mage truly had a discerning eye!
-You've judged us perfectly!
"Then, within the remaining time, you should be able to provoke the other Evil God Worshippers like that, no?"
-O-of course!
The Yaksha chieftain was slightly worried, but he couldn't bring himself to show weakness in front of others, so he let out a hearty shout instead.
Let's do this!
'We can do this. There's no way we can't, right?'
"Then go ahead. I'll summon new Evil God Worshippers—make sure they pray fervently."
As he watched the Yaksha chieftain rush off with renewed vigor, Hierdan fell deep into thought.
If the yakshas slowed down again, he would need another way to provoke them.
'I should prepare in advance.'
What would be the best method?
The Evil God howled in pain unlike anything it had ever felt before. It lashed out in all directions, but the agony refused to subside.
Ahead of it, countless enemies drove chains and shackles into its form, flooding it with alien sensations, while from afar, an unknown foe shattered its domain and corrupted its worship.
This was an infuriating battle. Never once had it imagined that a fight against mages would unfold like this.
It had expected a straightforward clash—blood spilled, hearts targeted—but this...!
Move aside!
Despite its roar, the Yaksha King didn't budge. The wounds dripping with blood rapidly closed, and instead, a vajra came flying straight at the Evil God.
It wanted to break free and slaughter every last mage, but this was the state it was in?!
With another howl, the Evil God focused its power. Its immediate goal was to break through this encirclement.
But then, time slowed.
The Evil God instinctively realized that something—or someone—had seized the flow of time around it, dragging it to a crawl.
Thi—?!
Enraged, it searched the surrounding magic to restore time's natural flow, but the others didn't let it.
The Yaksha King and the Death Knights rushed in, driving their attacks deep into its torso.
A few knights were reverse-summoned by the Evil God's frenzied outburst, but it did nothing to turn the tide. The Evil God only grew angrier.
GGRRAAAAHHH!!
In an instant, the Evil God's massive form split into multiple fragments. By any reasonable logic, this was nonsensical self-harm.
It needed to gather and condense its power just to hold on—so why would it disperse itself like this?
Even worse, forcibly splitting like this dealt damage to its own power. This wasn't just pointless self-harm—it was actively detrimental.
-What is it thinking?
-Is it trying to break through by splitting up? Stop it! It's already weakened by dividing itself.
The Death Knights were puzzled but moved regardless.
Countering wasn't difficult. These were the same warriors who had endured the main body's rampage by striking and retreating. Fragmented, weakened clones were even less of a threat.
-We're heading to the professors' side!
-Doesn't matter. Anyway...
The knight who had been about to say, "Anyway, Professor Voladi will handle it," suddenly stopped.
Something felt off.
'Is the professor being pushed back?!'
The battle between the clone and Professor Voladi was clearly one-sided—in the clone's favor.
Instead of the sharp, precise movements he usually displayed, the professor was barely holding on, defending desperately. The knights were stunned.
Was this some kind of trap to lure the enemy in? It didn't seem like it.
What the hell was going on?
-It seems the bastard's pulled some trick. Reinforce them! If Professor Bagrak falls, Professor Kim will be in danger too. Send word to the King as well!
The Death Knights signaled to the Yaksha King, who was gleefully pummeling one of the Evil God's clones with golden fists.
-Your Majesty! Assist the professors!
But the Yaksha King didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed the clone he'd been beating and crushed it as if wringing it dry.
At that sight, the Death Knights burned with fury.
'That damn yaksha brat!'
They'd always found him suspicious—was this him finally showing his true colors?
-Your Majesty! Don't ignore us!
I've already prepared everything, so don't interfere. Right now, I need to crush the life out of this clone.
-What preparation...?!
KWA-RRUM!!
As lightning crackled and the clone near the professors shuddered violently, the knights belatedly remembered—there had been a student here all along.