Episode 684

The wizards snapped back to their senses at those words.

Now that they thought about it, they couldn't understand why they'd just been standing there while the boy fought alone.

'What a nuisance—'

'These bastards—!'

As dozens of spells began preparing alongside incantations, the Arrogant Duke frowned.

Wizards were always troublesome beings—not necessarily because they were strong, but because of their cunning.

The spells they were casting now were no different.

Having realized it was difficult to deal direct damage to the Arrogant Duke, they were layering debuff spells across the entire space—<Light of Demon Banishment>, <Resistance Against Evil>, <Strike Against the Infernal Connection>, and so on.

Individually, such debuffs wouldn't do much damage to the Arrogant Duke, but the story changed when dozens stacked in succession.

Moreover, some among them were preparing grand spells.

Though it would take considerable time, once completed, they would deal significant damage even to the Arrogant Duke.

'Getting nervous, huh? Won't you retreat now?'

Perkuntra, as if sensing the Arrogant Duke's thoughts, sneered and made the suggestion.

From the start, in a situation where neither side could easily claim victory, dragging things out favored not the Arrogant Duke but Perkuntra.

The Arrogant Duke might have been relying solely on the open gate behind him, but Perkuntra had a contractor no less—no, even more formidable than that.

The Arrogant Duke, having failed to anticipate this, had essentially lost from the very beginning.

'An Einrogard—'

'wizard, huh—'

'Didn't—'

'see—'

'before—'

'Their skills—'

'have improved—'

'Hmm. That's...'

When the Arrogant Duke looked at Lee Han and overestimated the skill level of Einrogard students, Perkuntra hesitated.

That was a statistical error akin to including the Skeleton Principal when calculating the average skill level of Imperial wizards.

'Fine—'

'Fine—'

'I shall—'

'retreat—'

'Today—'

'I—'

'admit defeat—!'

At the opponent's declaration of surrender, Perkuntra grinned and whispered to Lee Han.

"Congratulations! You won!"

"Huh? Weren't you going to imprison him in Einrogard's Infinite Abyss?"

"......"

Perkuntra was stunned by this bold first-year student.

"How do you expect to imprison the Arrogant Duke like that! Do you think he's some nameless demon?!"

"Can't you imprison named demons too?"

"That's only possible when a demon is tricked after failing to overcome its own greed! Normally, it's impossible!"

"What about the Headmaster—"

"Are you that bastard?"

Lee Han hesitated, wondering if he should bring up the Wardanaz family, but decided against it. It didn't seem like a good example.

"The Arrogant Duke has clashed with Gonadaltes before and knows about Einrogard. Don't underestimate him! It's better to send him back while he's behaving civilly. If he goes berserk, how many do you think will die here?"

"Understood."

Indeed, if the opposing demon knew about the Skeleton Principal, it was unlikely he'd be imprisoned in the Infinite Abyss.

In that case, he'd just self-destruct and resurrect in the demon realm!

'Wizard—'

'I wish—'

'to know—'

'your name—'

"Osu of the Gonadaltes family!"

"......"

The Arrogant Duke, Perkuntra, and even Diret all stared at Lee Han in disbelief.

Lee Han belatedly realized his mistake. 'He said he'd clashed with the Headmaster before—how could I make such a blunder!'

While thinking of a wizard whose name would cause no issues even if a powerful demon harassed him, the Skeleton Principal's name had naturally come to mind.

"Vible of the Verdus family—"

'Enough—'

'Wizard—. It seems—'

'you don't—'

'wish to—'

'give your—'

'name—'

The Arrogant Duke chuckled darkly.

'But—'

'Innate—'

'power—'

'calls upon—'

'fate—'

'Just as—'

'we met—'

'today—'

'we shall—'

'meet—'

'again—'

'without fail—!'

'What nonsense is this bastard spouting?' Lee Han grimaced in disgust.

"Demon Duke, do you really think you can wreck the surroundings like this and return safely?!"

One of the wizards preparing a grand spell shouted furiously.

The Arrogant Duke scoffed as if the question was absurd.

"You fools—"

"Who were so engrossed—"

"In watching—"

"A mage's battle—"

"What right do you have—?"

The mages collectively flushed red.

It was undeniably true.

"Today—"

"Be satisfied—"

"With merely keeping your souls intact—"

"Where else would you find such luck—?"

As soon as the words ended, the Arrogant Duke opened a new Dimensional Gate.

Despite the original gate being sealed and its power weakened by Diret's magic, he effortlessly tore through space with his remaining strength.

With an elegant bow, the Arrogant Duke vanished beyond the gate. Once the Dimensional Gate fully closed, Perkuntra released his fusion.

Well done. I'll take my leave now!

Thud!

Lee Han collapsed forward. His body refused to move.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...Lord Perkuntra... I can't... move my body...?"

Hmm! Must've overexerted yourself. Rest well, and you'll recover. You still have mana left.

"But earlier, you said it was just muscle pain..."

Perhaps feeling awkward, Perkuntra quickly bid farewell and retreated to his domain.

Lee Han, still sprawled on the ground, cursed Perkuntra inwardly.

'Ugh, spirits are so unreliable!'

"Junior, are you okay?! Say something if you can!"

Diret rushed over in a panic.

Seeing his junior, who had just fought a Great Spirit, collapse from exhaustion—how could he not be worried?

"Any pain? Burning pain? Like lightning scorching your—"

"I just can't move my body."

"Nothing else? Just that?"

"...Just that?"

Lee Han's voice carried a hint of hurt.

A person collapses, and all you say is just that?

Realizing his blunder, Diret awkwardly explained.

"N-No, I mean—when you forcibly draw out a spirit's power or fuse recklessly, there's usually backlash. Mana depletion, the spirit's power burning your flesh... None of that, right?"

"No."

Diret let out a sigh of relief.

He had feared the worst, but it seemed they'd avoided it.

If it was just exhaustion and loss of bodily control, they'd gotten off cheap.

"Thank goodness..."

"Thank goodness right now?"

"You misheard. Don't worry. This kind of exhaustion is easy to recover from."

Diret propped his junior up, adjusted his posture, then took out a potion and let three drops fall into his mouth.

"White-haired Elder's Elixir. Don't force yourself to move. Slowly circulate your mana and focus on regaining sensation in your fingertips and toes. When exhaustion hits hard, you must revive sensation first."

"There's a better way."

Yukveltire suddenly interjected. Diret nearly smacked his friend's face with the potion bottle in surprise.

"What is it?"

"The mansion I'm staying at has excellent Healing Mages. Diret, wouldn't it be better to leave this to specialists rather than first aid? Don't you think that's preferable?"

"Ah! Then—"

Diret brightened.

A wealthy friend was truly convenient at times like this.

"Mind if we impose?"

"Of course."

"It's been so long since your wealth was actually helpful!"

"Naturally."

When Diret praised him for the first time in ages, Yukveltire nodded in satisfaction.

'That didn't sound like praise...'

Lee Han thought to himself but couldn't respond as he focused on circulating mana and regaining control of his body.

"Then let's go—wait."

Diret, about to carry his junior to Yukveltire's mansion, suddenly paused.

Something felt off.

'Since when did Yukveltire care so much about people?'

It reminded him of the time he'd seen the Skeleton Principal skillfully coax a demon into a contract...

"...Yukveltire."

"What's wrong?"

"Why did you ask about this junior's family earlier?"

Lee Han felt something was off from the icy tone of Diret's voice.

Yukbelithel answered calmly.

"I'd heard stories about the Wardanaz family's freshman."

"Why did you ask about him studying Black Magic, Alchemy, and Enchantment Magic?"

"Likewise, I'd heard those stories. Why are you asking such pointless questions, Diret?"

"Just answer me. What exactly were you planning to do with this junior after taking him to your mansion to recover?"

"Naturally, my research—"

"...Get away from him, you trash like Professor Verdus!"

Diret swung his staff while hurling insults.

Yukbelithel looked wounded.

"Do I look as stupid as Professor Verdus to you? Take that back, Diret. I can't understand why you'd say such a thing."

"You're just as—no, if not more—wicked as Professor Verdus, aren't you? Hey! Someone pull this guy away! He's trying to kidnap this mage!"

"!"

The mages who had been inspecting the surroundings and checking for any dimensional rifts rushed over in a panic.

Who in their right mind would try to kidnap the young mage who had summoned a Great Spirit to protect them...?

"...Ah, no. Lord Yukbelithel..."

"Lord Yukbelithel was trying to kidnap him?"

Realizing things weren't going well, Diret poked Lee Han sharply.

"Junior. You say something too."

"......"

"Hurry! Whose junior are you?"

Strictly speaking, since Lee Han had studied both Black Magic and Enchantment Magic, he could claim either. But knowing his Enchantment Magic senior wouldn't be much help, he chose the Black Magic senior.

"That person was trying to kidnap me..."

"!!!"

"Lord Yukbelithel. Come with us!"

"There seems to be a misunderstanding. I merely intended to take him to my mansion to help him recover—"

"And then forcibly drag him into your research!"

"That's just kindness."

At the Princess's retort, the mages seemed to grasp who the worse offender was.

"Come with us. I won't ask twice!"

"Are you foolish mages really going to ruin my artifacts and interfere with my next research too? How regrettable."

Yukbelithel left, thoroughly grating on the mages' nerves. Only then did Diret finally relax.

"Someone call a Healing Mage over here. I did emergency treatment, but professional care is needed."

"Don't worry. We're preparing it now!"

The mages who had attended the Exchange Meeting bowed respectfully in gratitude.

Considering what the young mage had accomplished today, no magic would be too good for him.

In fact, the Healing Mages were gathering all their reagents to prepare the most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠potent healing spell available.

"Since we used Tears of Alhazard, no matter how severe the mana depletion is, we can restore him immediately—"

"Ah. His mana's already fully recovered, so just focus on physical recovery, please."

"?!"

At Diret's words, the mages exchanged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bewildered glances.

The summoned Healing Mages, unconvinced, came over to check for themselves.

"Apologies, but Healing Magic doesn't work by skipping steps! In situations like this, mana recovery is the priority. We must restore his mana first—"

"Just check his mana."

Diret replied wearily.

Having cast so much magic today, Diret was running low on energy to explain.

The Healing Mages, still skeptical, checked Lee Han's mana.

And then they stumbled back in shock.

"Wh—wh—wh—how...?!"

"Now that you understand, let's skip the mana and focus on other recovery, please."

"Y-yes, understood. Wait, but..."

"What now?"

"By any chance... are you Diret?"

At the Healing Mage's words, the surrounding mages perked up.

Now that they thought about it, they had heard Diret's name earlier.

"That's right! By any chance, how is your research on the pseudo-perpetual engine using demonic mana progressing? I was truly impressed by the concept..."

"......"

Lee Han stared at his senior in horror at the ominous-sounding research name.

Diret, forgetting to hide his identity, hastily defended ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠himself.

"The name sounds bad, but the research approach is way more peaceful than you'd think!"