Episode 223
Episode 223
Even as he spoke those words, Lee Han carefully controlled the flames with utmost caution.
If he accidentally set the library on fire, given the Skeleton Principal's temperament, he might very well seriously carry out a burning at the stake.
Whoosh!
Flames condensed in various spots along the narrow passageway.
Though they were only large enough to burn the back of a hand, considering the destructive power of fire elements, this was more than sufficient.
'No point making the flames bigger anyway—it'd just make them harder to control.'
The flames chaotically darted through the passage, incinerating the wraiths charging toward them. Each time the flames exploded, the Shadow Wraiths writhed and tumbled.
Being incorporeal monsters with dark attributes, they were especially vulnerable to fire and light.
Moreover, the flames Lee Han summoned didn't disappear after burning just two or three Shadow Wraiths. Like an inextinguishable fire, they continuously drew mana and blazed fiercely.
-■■■■! ■■■■!
The Shadow Wraiths let out eerie shrieks as they desperately tried to break through the narrow passage, but Lee Han kept manipulating the flames.
No matter how overwhelming the wraiths' numbers were, breaking through such a confined space had its limits.
And when the mage blocking the passage could summon flames indefinitely without mana constraints? Even more so!
'We can hold them—'
Crash!
The moment he thought that, a sinister sound came from behind.
Perhaps the Shadow Wraiths had been relentlessly ramming into it—one of the bookcases, stacked high with tomes, collapsed, creating a new opening.
"Block it!"
At Lee Han's command, the students frantically hurled spells toward the newly formed gap.
"O flame..."
"Shoot forth..."
Magic Missiles and fireballs flew, creating the distinctive flashes of magic.
It looked fairly powerful, but Lee Han coldly assessed the situation.
'The gap is bigger than I thought!'
Unlike the narrow passage, the opening created by the collapsed bookcase was far too wide.
The Princess was directing her friends to pour spells into it, but Shadow Wraiths were already slipping through one by one.
Gritting his teeth, Lee Han swung his staff.
"Burn!"
Thanks to his action, the momentum of the Shadow Wraiths charging through the new gap slowed.
It had been a desperate choice—any later, and the situation would have devolved into complete chaos.
The problem was...
'They're coming!'
In the meantime, the Shadow Wraiths advancing through the narrow passage had closed the distance drastically.
Even if he attacked now, some were bound to collide with him.
He had already steeled himself. Lee Han channeled mana throughout his body, preparing for possession.
'The more mana, the stronger the resistance. Even if the Shadow Wraiths attempt possession, I should be able to shake it off relatively quickly...'
Lee Han trusted in his mana's resistance.
Given that he had shown considerable resistance to mental magic and poison, it was highly likely he could resist the possession of these wraith monsters.
After all, even Gainando Dodo had been possessed but somehow managed to break free, so Lee Han could also—
Thunk!
"?"
"??"
-?
A strange sound rang out.
It was the sound of a Shadow Wraith charging at Lee Han with full force—only to be repelled.
And not just repelled—it burst into flames as if struck by fire magic!
Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthunk!
The Shadow Wraiths didn't come one at a time.
Dozens of them, having squeezed through the passage, accelerated and crashed into him.
And every single one of them bounced off, bursting into flames.
"......"
"......"
The Blue Dragon Tower student assisting from behind stared at Lee Han with a horrified expression.
What the hell was that...?
Thudthunk! Thudthudthudthudthunk!
As dozens were instantly torn apart by failed possession attempts, the Shadow Wraiths behind them seemed to sense something was wrong.
They tried to slow down, but the ones behind them didn't wait.
Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthunk...
"Wraith... Wraith Crusher! Wraith Crusher!!"
"Stop giving me useless nicknames."
While such a title would be considered an honorable nickname for someone from the Empire to match such achievements, Lee Han didn't want his friends calling him something like "Wraith Crusher."
Especially if it was just for mindlessly mowing down wraiths like this!
Lee Han swung his staff and pushed forward aggressively. Now that he knew the Shadow Wraiths couldn't possess him, there was no need to fear them.
The Shadow Wraiths crowded in the narrow passage were literally being wiped out en masse.
"We came to help!"
"What? You blocked the passageway?!"
The students barricading the collapsed library gap were startled when Lee Han and his friends returned from the passage.
"It's a long story!"
"Wardanaz! Let's go!"
"?????"
The students were shocked when Lee Han and his friends, instead of using magic, suddenly charged straight toward the hole where Shadow Wraiths were swarming.
"What are they doing—"
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!
"...Good heavens."
"What the...?"
"I made up a title after seeing that! Wraith Crusher! Isn't it great?"
"Wraith Crusher... Oh..."
Ashan thought it was actually a pretty cool nickname.
A title like that seemed to suit Wardanaz, who was fighting so honorably over there...
'If I ever have to introduce Wardanaz in the future, I should use that.'
"Stop the nonsense and focus on magical support!"
At Lee Han's shout, the Princess, who had been nodding in agreement about the title, flinched in surprise.
In fact, it wasn't just the Princess—the other students had similar reactions.
"But did you ask Lee Han? Does he like it?"
"Of course he would. It's an honorary title his friends gave him to praise his achievements. He knows the value of honor."
"I don't think he likes 'Wraith Crusher' much..."
When Gainando muttered this, Yoner beside him let out a slight sigh of admiration.
Gainando had that kind of intuition?
"I think something longer would be better, like 'The Great and Noble Scion of an Exalted Bloodline, the Bane of Wraiths...'"
"Oh. That's actually pretty good?"
"......"
Yoner shook her head vigorously.
"Pile up, O earth!"
"Become hard as stone!"
Salko and his group of students erected barricades at the front.
From beyond the barricade of mixed earth and stone came loud thudding noises. The wraiths must have gathered in considerable numbers.
"One's coming from the side!"
SWISH!
Nilia shot an arrow straight through the Shadow Wraith trying to flank them.
In such chaotic circumstances, such precise marksmanship was worthy of praise, but Nilia's expression remained grim.
The other Black Turtle Tower students felt the same.
"Doesn't... it feel like their numbers aren't decreasing?"
"This is bad."
Lee Han might have been confident he could handle them as long as no variables appeared, which was why he had set up in the passage, but the Black Turtle Tower students weren't reckless enough to try that.
Instead, they had built barricades at various points in the passage to hold their ground.
It would have been a decent strategy if the number of Shadow Wraiths hadn't increased beyond a certain point...
Unfortunately, things didn't go that way.
The ceiling lights weren't getting any brighter, but the number of Shadow Wraiths kept growing.
"The other areas must be in chaos too..."
Nilia trailed off, lost in thought.
What if students from the Blue Dragon Tower got possessed by Shadow Wraiths and came this way?
'...If Wardanaz gets possessed, it'd be truly terrifying...'
"It's Wardanaz!"
"N-no, don't!"
"??"
Ratford beside her gave Nilia a strange look.
"What shouldn't happen?"
"Ah... it's nothing."
Nilia hurriedly rushed toward the barricade.
Fortunately, Lee Han wasn't in a state of being possessed by a Shadow Wraith. He looked perfectly fine.
"Thank goodness... ???"
"??????"
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!
The Blue Dragon Tower students were charging forward with Lee Han at the front like some kind of battering ram.
Every time the numerous Shadow Wraiths collided with Lee Han, they let out screams and exploded.
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower students were so shocked they were at a complete loss for words.
After casually sweeping away the Shadow Wraiths with a few swift turns, the Blue Dragon Tower students declared with dignity:
"We'll consider your gratitude as already given."
Truthfully, they had come to stop students from other towers from going berserk after being possessed, but even so, the Blue Dragon Tower students still believed they had acted honorably.
After all, they had come to help!
"But why aren't those guys saying anything?"
"Right?"
The Blue Dragon Tower students hesitated, waiting for a response, but when none came, they grumbled and left.
Don't they even know how to say thank you?!
However, the Black Turtle Tower students weren't staying silent out of ingratitude.
Only after they had left did one of the students finally speak up.
"Wh-what the hell just happened back there????"
The Phoenix Tower priests reacted similarly.
Except their passageway was blazing with fire.
After casting Lesser Flame Resistance, Lee Han swept through the Shadow Wraiths.
Priest Nigisor of the Afha Order greeted him warmly with words of gratitude.
"Thank you, Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
"Glad I wasn't too late."
The Phoenix Tower students were actually in the best situation.
Unlike the Blue Dragon Tower, whose walls had collapsed, creating new entry points, or the Black Turtle Tower, where Shadow Wraiths had piled up, their area was relatively stable.
It seemed Priest Nigisor's Fire Magic had been quite effective.
Lee Han tilted his head in curiosity.
"Did you cast wide-area Fire Magic across the entire passage? How did you avoid burning the shelves?"
He wondered if it was some secret technique of the Afha Order.
Since they specialized in fire, perhaps they had a method to cast large-scale spells without setting the surroundings ablaze.
'If that's the case, I'd really like to learn it.'
Priest Nigisor, however, just cocked his head in confusion at Lee Han's question.
"I just fired it off?"
"...Ah. R-right."
Lee Han took an involuntary step back.
This was what true madness looked like.
He just unleashed a wide-area spell in the library without a second thought?!
"Wardanaz. Let's go help the White Tiger Tower guys."
'What a pain.'
He had stepped in because things would get troublesome if others got hurt, but after running around so much, he was starting to feel exhausted.
Priest Nigisor said admiringly:
"You're doing truly noble work, Lee Han of the Wardanaz family. If you'd like, I could even assist—"
"...No. I can't rely on others for a matter of honor."
Lee Han felt momentarily tempted but resisted.
...This time, they got lucky, but who's to say the next place wouldn't turn into a sea of fire?!
Watching the students trudging out of the library with exhausted, disheveled expressions, the Skeleton Principal smiled in satisfaction.
They must have studied hard.
The students ignored him.
Not because they didn't want to please the Skeleton Principal, but because they were too exhausted to even respond.
Annoyed at being ignored, the Skeleton Principal floated over when he spotted Lee Han.
This particular student was fascinating—he both wanted to praise him for his outstanding performance in the dungeon raid and scold him for making it boring.
Did you study hard?
"Yes. Thanks to you."
You're the type who acts indifferent but secretly has a strong competitive streak. You even took down a Rock Drake. The other professors were impressed.
"...Excuse me?"
Lee Han froze.
Aside from the misunderstanding about "taking it down," the fact that the Skeleton Principal had been watching startled him.
Not that it was that surprising.
It was common knowledge that the Skeleton Principal's eyes were everywhere in the school, and given his personality, of course he wouldn't miss such an entertaining spectacle.
But still—
"Other... professors were there?"
Indeed. But honestly, wasn't this expedition a hassle for you? How about fighting alone next time?
Ignoring the Skeleton Principal's nonsense, Lee Han suppressed his rising dread and asked:
"Which professors were present, by any chance?"
Hmm. So many came and went... And you know I'm not the type to remember such things.
"Was Professor Bagrak there?"
Bagrak was. That one has a knack for ruining my fun, so I remember him.
Lee Han's face twisted in sorrow and agony.