Episode 683
Episode 683
What a Waste
"What a waste,"
-muttered the Duke of Pride.
Unlike lesser demons solely obsessed with slaughter and destruction, demons of ducal rank typically possessed dignity and intelligence intertwined with their goals.
The Duke of Pride was no exception.
Rather than slaughtering every mage present, he was a collector who desired to harvest their souls.
That was the Duke of Pride, Garisaima.
For Garisaima, the current situation was an overlapping stroke of fortune upon fortune.
When would another opportunity like this arise—where he could freely unleash his power to subdue the mages and forcibly impose contracts upon them?
Mages were truly cunning creatures; when contracting with powerful demons, they invariably laid all sorts of traps.
Such chances were exceedingly rare.
Especially the young mage before him, who had contracted with the Thunder King—he was truly covetable.
'Like a gem!'
Among the souls displayed in the Duke of Pride's collection, one like him would be hard to find.
However, sensing that the Thunder King shared his greed, the demon was burning with resolve to kill the mage rather than face defeat.
This made it impossible to subdue the mage and force a contract afterward. Regret piled upon regret as the Duke of Pride steeled his resolve.
"What...
-can...
-I do...
-Thunder King...?
-This grudge...
-I'll repay...
-later—!"
"He's coming back!"
In an instant, an immense surge of mana erupted behind the Duke of Pride, beginning to corrode the surrounding space.
Having once witnessed the Frost Giant King reshape space to his will, Lee Han wasn't startled.
What surprised him was something else.
'The attribute of this mana...?!'
A mana of an unfamiliar attribute was writhing before him.
"A demon duke wields his own unique attribute. Be careful! It's likely different from other elements."
Neither Dark Element nor any other known element—this alien mana enveloped the Duke of Pride.
This nullified the mage's advantage of analyzing opponents in advance through accumulated knowledge.
"Do you know anything about its properties?"
Sensing the ominous mana, Lee Han asked. Perkuntra answered immediately.
"You don't need to know!"
"Huh?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Duke of Pride launched his attack.
Unlike his earlier attempt to subdue, this time, a palpable killing intent aimed to annihilate Perkuntra.
'Fog...!'
The Duke of Pride transformed into a crimson mist, attempting to envelop Lee Han. Objects within its range crumbled into dust and vanished.
"!"
Lee Han shuddered at the bizarre attribute—neither erosion nor decay.
Yet Perkuntra remained utterly confident.
'I'll show you lightning, you wretch.'
Thunder Incarnation!
In that moment, Perkuntra—fully synchronized with Lee Han—became lightning itself and moved.
A single streak of lightning pierced through the space dyed by the Duke of Pride's mist.
But it didn't end there. Perkuntra pressed forward relentlessly, driving the Duke of Pride back. With each movement of the lightning, the demon's domain shrank further.
"Thunder King...
-You're...
-quite spirited—!"
"If you're jealous, why not borrow some mana yourself?!"
Though the Duke of Pride had crossed the dimensional gate without restrictions, his power still flowed through that connected gate.
In contrast, Perkuntra—directly fused with his contractor—could amplify his strength limitlessly based on the contractor's skill.
The Duke of Pride had no choice but to acknowledge that the Thunder King was no pushover.
'I don't know how his contractor is enduring this, but...'
"Mages...
-truly are...
-fascinating—"
"But, Lord Perkuntra," Lee Han asked, puzzled.
The Thunder Incarnation spell could now be considered a form of Transformation Magic.
A spell that allowed one to become lightning and dominate the surroundings—simple in concept yet absurdly difficult to execute.
"Are you sure I'll be fine even if I use this?"
"With that much mana, why ask such a stupid question?!"
"No, it's not about mana. If I use magic beyond my level like this, wouldn't it strain my body?"
Just as powerful Enhancement Magic puts strain on the physical body, other types of magic were no different.
'If I transform into lightning to strike and retreat, will my body be okay afterward?'
-"That too will hold together without collapsing because of your abundant mana."
-"Really? No muscle soreness or anything?"
-"That might happen...-......"
-"Facing the Demon Duke, muscle soreness would be getting off cheap!"
Perkuntra protested indignantly, as if wronged.
'Well, he's not wrong.'
Lee Han had no choice but to admit that.
The Arrogant Duke drew a black-and-red sword and grinned fiercely.
Good.
-Good.
-Continue.
-Let's try.
-Thunder King-!
The moment the words ended, the Arrogant Duke vanished.
Like a pitch-black night sky, the Arrogant Duke's mana enveloped the surroundings. Within that mist, the Arrogant Duke moved freely, baring his fangs.
Perkuntra responded with a battle-ready thunderclap, transforming into a bolt of lightning. With each swing, his lightning spear tore through the mist and clashed with the Arrogant Duke's sword.
In less than five seconds, the two collided nearly hundreds of times. The Arrogant Duke spoke in an excited voice.
Even most.
-demons.
-when trapped here.
-sing like.
-canaries-!
'Do you plan to keep transforming into mist? Such mist won't defeat my lightning!'
Though the moment one touches the Arrogant Duke's domain, they suffer massive damage, Perkuntra resisted with his sacred lightning imbued with his true name.
If the mist's power doesn't work, it's just a flimsy net.
That.
-you'll only.
-know.
-if you.
-try it.
-no matter how.
-cunning your.
-contractor is.
-eventually.
-you'll fall.
-so-!
"That's enough. Demon, step away from my junior! Unless you wish to be imprisoned in Einrogard's Infinite Abyss!"
How dare.
-you.
-threaten me-?!
'Does such a place even exist?'
As Perkuntra and the Arrogant Duke's battle began, the mages calmly assessed the most urgent tasks at hand and prepared to act...
Except they didn't. Instead, they watched, utterly mesmerized.
They should have quickly isolated this training ground's space to prevent unforeseen damage and prepared a high-level spell effective against demons!
But there was no helping it.
Mages were, by nature, seekers and pilgrims of the arcane.
With a once-in-a-lifetime, breathtaking duel unfolding before their eyes, how could they possibly rise from their seats?
'Incredible!'
Every time Perkuntra swung his lightning, the mages gasped softly.
They could sense that this lightning was on an entirely different level from ordinary Lightning Element.
A Lightning Element refined through unimaginably complex and profound processes!
If they could observe and learn even a hundredth of that lightning's power, the mages present would gladly offer up their limbs.
Amidst this, Yukveltire was focused on something else.
'How is he enduring this?'
Contracting with a Great Spirit and summoning it wasn't all that surprising.
It was ultimately a matter of luck and aptitude—not unheard of among successful mages.
But enduring while the Great Spirit freely displayed its power? That was astonishing.
Suddenly, Yukveltire recalled rumors he'd heard about a first-year student from the Wardanaz family.
According to the rumors, this student was simultaneously excelling in multiple schools of magic while assisting seniors with their spells.
Given that he got along with Ilendil and had close ties with Black Magic students, he was likely an eccentric with a narrow and less-than-harmonious social circle.
'Could it be...?'
Yukveltire wondered, looking at the junior who seemed friendly with Diret.
"Yukveltire, help me. We need to sever the connected dimension."
"That junior—is he from the Wardanaz family?"
"Huh? Yes. But that's not important right now."
"Is it true he's studying Black Magic, Alchemy, and Enchantment Magic simultaneously?"
"Are you going to help or not?"
Diret glared at his friend with irritation.
His creation was literally creating hell before their eyes, and here he was spouting nonsense.
"Fine, I'll help. How do you plan to restrain them?"
"First, we need to sever the Dimensional Gate."
Beings from other dimensions were inherently greatly restricted when manifesting in this world.
Because they could only wield a fraction of the power they possessed in their own dimension.
The reason the Demon of Pride could rampage like this was that the Dimensional Gate behind it remained open, continuously supplying it with power from its home dimension.
If we severed the gate, even the Demon of Pride would have no choice but to hesitate.
"There seem to be a few obstacles. A demon that powerful would notice the moment we interfere with the Dimensional Gate. Then it'll target us instead of that spirit."
The Princess calmly laid out the situation. Diret nodded with an expression that said he already knew.
"I plan to interfere without being detected."
"Is that possible?"
"It'll be difficult, but we have to try."
From Diret's words, Yukveltire realized his friend had been researching advanced magic even he wasn't aware of.
With that realization, Yukveltire revealed a faint trace of satisfaction and praised him.
"Impressive, Diret. I was worried you were too busy looking after underclassmen beneath your level, but you've been focusing on your magic too."
"Hey. Shut up. It's not like you, who couldn't even make a single Artifact and caused a dimensional incident."
"That wasn't my fault. It was other mages' mistakes. Though trusting those idiots was definitely a mistake."
"Noticing is part of competence. That underclassman noticed from a distance, didn't he? You should've listened. Stubborn as always."
"......"
The Princess, struck where it hurt, fell silent.
There was no denying that a first-year student had noticed what she hadn't.
"I was careless."
"'Careless,' my ass. That's exactly what failures say. 'I was careless before the exam,' 'I was careless before the assignment.'"
"Don't compare me to those idiots, Diret."
"No."
"I'm not like those—"
"Enough. Hey. Help me."
Geometric magical runes had risen along Diret's arms and pale face.
Yukveltire realized Diret was borrowing power from a demon he'd contracted.
"When did you make a contract with a demon?"
"I got the headmaster's permission and borrowed one imprisoned in Einrogard."
The Demon of Pride was hypersensitive to a mage's magic, but it would react more sluggishly to a demon's power.
Diret planned to use the demon's power to make contact with the Dimensional Gate and sever its connection.
"You can conceal this, right? If you can't, you're worse than Coholti."
"......"
At the insult, Yukveltire's eyebrow twitched slightly as he grabbed Diret's hand and began chanting.
A power distinct from ordinary mana, the demon's energy, slithered through space like a serpent and began coiling around the Dimensional Gate.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice...
Borrowing the demon's power made Diret break out in a cold sweat. Even though he'd paid the appropriate price for the contract, the backlash was no joke.
'...How the hell is he fighting like that?'
Ahead, the underclassman had outright transformed into lightning and was battling. The sight of the Demon of Pride's mist being torn apart by lightning was surreal.
The other mages just stood there, entranced. Diret wanted to curse them all to hell.
"Trash."
"Agreed."
Yukveltire concurred with Diret's words.
Not doing what needed to be done, just standing there watching...
No matter how mythical the battle was, this was ridiculous...
"Hey! Focus!"
"......"
Yukveltire was startled to realize she'd made a mistake while observing the fight ahead.
'Me... making such a trivial mistake...?'
"You've sunk to Coholti's level now."
"No, I haven't."
"The hell you haven't. Focus. ...Got it! That's far enough. Demon, get away from the underclassman! Unless you want to be sealed in Einrogard's Infinite Abyss!"
At Diret's shout, the entranced mages snapped out of it.
"Th-the Dimensional Gate's been sealed!"
"Why didn't we think of that...?!"
'I really want to kill them.'
"Wait, isn't that Sir Diret!?"
Diret quickly pulled his hat down low and shouted.
"You're mistaken."
"Huh?"
"Attack that demon already!"