Chapter 90
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Declaration of War
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(3)
5.
Near the north gate of Arsen Academy.
A single luggage cart sat alone on the forest path. The laborers busily loaded goods onto the cart, and before long, the work was finished.
"Confirmed. Perfect."
After meticulously checking the luggage loaded on the cart.
A middle-aged man flashed a bright smile.
Then he bowed politely toward the girl with ash-gray hair standing before him.
"You've worked hard, Miss Syrphi."
The man's identity was Alond.
The butler who managed the Dermore Count's estate and the count's faithful retainer.
And today, he was the one tasked with transporting the luminous stones and spirit essence collected from the Mana Spring back to the estate.
"Ah, just to be sure, but you weren't caught using sorcery, were you?"
"No, I acted separately."
"Haha, well done."
Alond wore another satisfied smile at Syrphi's response.
"If your origins come to light, the master will be in a bind. Then we wouldn't be able to protect you anymore."
"......"
Syrphi clamped her mouth shut.
It was a fact she already knew.
Her birthplace was the southern desert. More precisely, the Desert Cult, which was currently at odds with the empire.
If her origins and identity were exposed, the Dermore Count would surely abandon her without a second thought.
'I probably would have done the same.'
She had heard that colluding with the Desert Cult was a crime second only to treason in severity. That was why Syrphi had hidden her identity so thoroughly.
"This is the reward from the master."
At that moment, Alond held something out.
A pristine white envelope. As she accepted it, he bowed politely once more.
"I'll contact you again by letter. Please stay healthy until we meet again."
With those courteous words as his farewell.
Alond climbed onto the cart and soon vanished beyond the forest. Left utterly alone, Syrphi let out a sigh and sank to the ground right there.
"Haaah."
It was the release of tension.
She sighed in relief once more and opened the envelope Alond had given her.
Inside were five gold coins.
An exorbitant sum for a student.
'Still, the more money, the better.'
Having failed her original goal of taming Rudric's kin, the white wolf that lurked in the mist, Syrphi's future was now profoundly uncertain.
So she intended to stockpile as much money as possible. To prepare for that opaque future.
'Ah, right.'
The thought of money jogged her memory of something.
Before coming here, the top-grade mana stone she had discovered in the third sector of the Mana Spring.
At the time, she had assumed it was something Professor Direk had placed there for his research.
'But looking back now......'
It was unlikely to be Direk's.
She had heard that he, too, was cooperating with the Dermore Count due to a lack of research funds.
'Yet he had not one, but six top-grade mana stones?'
It defied common sense.
Six top-grade mana stones could buy a three-story mansion in the empire's capital bustling district with plenty left over.
In other words, Direk was not the owner of those mana stones.
The moment that realization hit her.
She smacked her lips in regret.
'If I'd known, I wouldn't have said anything.'
Then she could have swiped them for herself.
Syrphi heaved a heavy sigh.
But the water was already spilled. She brushed aside the lingering regrets.
'Whatever. The job's done anyway.'
She needed to hurry back to the dormitory.
Fatigue was crashing over her now that the tension had eased.
As she quietly turned toward the dormitory.
A chill!
Goosebumps erupted across her entire body in an instant.
An instinctive terror gripped her, along with a suffocating sensation. An ominous feeling crept in as well.
Confronted by the sudden anomaly.
Syrphi whipped her head around.
Toward the source of the ominous vibe. Her eyes immediately widened in shock.
"......!"
Her gaze fixed on the south.
The direction of the Mana Spring, where she had just been. With her eyes bulging wide, Syrphi muttered.
"The sky......"
It had split cleanly in half.
And only the sky above the Mana Spring area.
Instinctively, she sensed it.
Something terribly wrong was happening.
6.
One of the six lords of the Abyss, a monster that freezes all surrounding mana with its mere presence, completely halting mana flow.
Halting mana flow meant magic could not be cast. That was why, in the original story, the Frost Dragon was known as the natural enemy of mages.
But that wasn't the point.
'What did he just say......?'
Noa's eyes trembled fiercely.
She stared at Ullan with saucer-wide eyes. It had been brief, but she had heard it clearly.
What Ullan had just shouted.
"Frost Dragon―!"
A voice that boomed across the battlefield like thunder.
Ullan had clearly shouted that.
At the same time, Noa's mind snapped into sharp focus.
She was so stunned that even the fear surging with the Frost Dragon's emergence melted away.
And it was no wonder.
Until the Abyss Gate opened far in the future.
To the people, the "Abyss" was little more than a mere legend. The most they might recall were Abyss worshippers.
'But......'
How in the world did he know about the Frost Dragon?
He shouldn't know at this point in time?
Questions surged wildly. Noa's mind tangled into chaos in an instant. Her gaze toward Ullan grew equally bewildered.
Meanwhile, around that time.
Ullan furrowed his brow.
The Frost Dragon's appearance was fine, but a sense of incongruity hit him upon closer inspection.
'Why is it so small?'
The Frost Dragon he had faced in his past life had been colossal beyond imagining. The kind of size that tricked the eye into thinking a massive mountain was on the move.
In contrast, this one wasn't quite that enormous.
If he had to compare, it was about the size of the auditorium building from the entrance ceremony.
Not anywhere near mountain-scale.
'Ah, come to think of it......'
A piece of information suddenly surfaced.
Facts he had learned amid repeated battles with the Frost Dragon in his past life.
Among them was the reason its body had grown larger with each encounter. Nodding as if it all clicked, Ullan murmured.
'I see. It hasn't molted yet?'
The Frost Dragon had the trait of enlarging its body and amplifying its power through repeated moltings.
In fact, whenever it fell even slightly disadvantaged in battle, it fled to the Abyss, molted to grow stronger, and returned.
'That's why we could never subdue it.'
After countless moltings, it had grown too powerful to handle. In his past life, they had never managed to slay it.
'But this time is different.'
The Frost Dragon had only just emerged into the world.
In other words, it hadn't molted even once yet.
Which meant it wasn't anywhere near as formidable as the one that had given him such grief before.
The moment those thoughts aligned.
He finally grasped what needed to be done.
'Today, I slay it right here.'
No matter what it took!
Vermilion eyes etched with iron resolve.
Without hesitation, he kicked off the ground.
To fulfill the hero's mission he had failed to complete in his past life.
But then, interlopers appeared.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
The sound of wings slicing through the air.
Dozens of monsters poured from the rift in the Abyss amid fierce gusts. Creatures that looked like miniature Frost Dragons.
Frost Dragon minions. Slightly smaller than the Karkus from before.
Literal dragons that flew through the skies.
Their raw power matched that of higher-tier kin, but they were trickier opponents.
'Because they never come down from the sky.'
They soared high overhead, unleashing their frost breath to freeze everything below.
They almost never descended to the ground unless compelled. Dealing with them required snipers like Sven or Dilia.
'But......'
Impossible now.
No Sven, and Dilia's mana was on the verge of depletion. Even if she had mana left, the Frost Dragon's presence would block all magic anyway.
But at that moment.
Suddenly, the Flying Dragons dove toward the ground.
As if with purpose. Ullan immediately realized their target.
'Aiming for Dilia?'
Just like in his past life.
The Abyss lords had an unusual fixation on Dilia. More precisely, it seemed their goal was to seize the "one beloved by mana."
'Then this time......'
Noa would be targeted too.
No sooner had the thought formed than the lead Flying Dragon lunged at Noa, claws extended.
Of course, it failed to achieve its goal.
Thud! Crunch!
The Flying Dragon's head shattered into pieces.
The result of Ullan closing the distance in a flash and swinging his axe. Nor was it the only one. The others met the same grisly end.
And the outcome of that.
The surviving Flying Dragons took to the skies once more.
Likely sensing the threat after witnessing their kin fall. Against foes soaring so high, there was nothing Ullan could do.
It was then.
"W-Watch out, Ullan!"
Noa cried out in warning, her face ashen.
As if she had spotted something dire. Soon enough, the source of her alarm revealed itself.
Craaaack!
All the Flying Dragons gaped their mouths wide.
Mana surged forth as frigid breath, pouring straight toward Ullan.
A vexing ability that freezes all creation.
In his past life, dodging was the only solution. But now was different. Instead of evading, he drew his axe and swung.
Booom!
An explosion erupted on impact.
The situation shifted in a heartbeat.
Shaaaa!
The moment it touched the axe, the frost breath dissipated with pathetic ease. And not just that—the mana composing it was sucked away without a trace.
Devours all existing mana with ravenous greed.
Thanks to the Gluttony Axe, Gula.
[―――!]
Flustered by the abrupt spectacle?
The Flying Dragons all snapped their jaws shut.
As if they had no intention of breathing forth anymore.
They circled the skies, glaring down at Ullan warily. Ullan was equally pinned in place.
'Can't leave those two alone.'
With magic and shamanism sealed away.
Noa and Dilia were not exceptional mages—they were merely defenseless girls.
If Ullan stepped away, they would be snatched up by the Flying Dragons in the blink of an eye.
'If only the others were here......'
His comrades from his past life.
Even just Sven would have let him entrust this spot and charge the Frost Dragon. Ullan keenly felt their absence.
But there was no time for prolonged thought.
The Flying Dragons were diving at the ground once more.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
This time, they split into two groups.
One swarmed Ullan from all directions, while the other targeted Noa and Dilia.
'Shallow ploy.'
Watching the gaps steadily narrow.
Ullan activated his Master's Domain once again. A merciless slaughter commenced.
Crunch! Slash! Thud!
Heads exploded, torsos were rent asunder.
The enraged axe spared no prey, delivering certain death to the Flying Dragons.
But in that instant.
"......!"
Ullan's eyes widened.
He had spotted it too late.
Beyond the reach of his domain.
Three Flying Dragons with maws stretched wide.
Frost breath came pouring out.
Kagagaga!
Their target: Noa and Dilia.
Ullan frantically tried to retrieve his axe to block it, but the Flying Dragons blocked his path.
'No—too late!'
The breath breath was a hair's breadth ahead.
Still, there was a way to block it.
A technique exclusive to heroes who transcend time and space.
He could barely block it with that.
It would consume vast amounts of Spirit and burden his body immensely, but it was still better than losing Noa and Dilia.
As he took that half-step forward.
In a flash, a razor-sharp gleam pierced through.
The flash sliced through his domain, the frost breath, and even the Flying Dragons themselves.
Slash!
Preceded by that eerie sound.
The three Flying Dragons were diced into dozens of chunks.
Clean cross-sections, as if carved by the sharpest blade. As the severed chunks tumbled across the ground.
A familiar voice rang out.
"Felt a nagging unease, so I came to check."
A calm, deep baritone.
Soon, a middle-aged man with blue hair and a bushy beard stepped into view.
"Good thing I hurried."
Seoric Al Gorpant. One of the empire's five masters.
One of the empire's five masters.
The Loyal Sword, Seoric Al Gorpant.
Noa's eyes bulged at the arrival of such steadfast reinforcements.
"H-How did you get here......?"
"Heard students were isolated in the second sector. Thought I'd swing by to rescue them since I had time......"
Mid-sentence, he trailed off.
He narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the distant Frost Dragon.
"......From the looks of things, I'll have to fetch Dean Deplin after all."
The instant he spotted the Frost Dragon.
Seoric intuited it.
Fighting that monster meant certain defeat.
The first tension he had felt since attaining the master realm. As his body stiffened and he readjusted his grip on his sword.
"I've got a favor to ask."
Ullan suddenly addressed him.
With a gravely serious expression, he said.
"Take those two and run."
"......What?"
Seoric echoed a beat late.
Of course, he had planned to flee regardless. He had zero intention of battling a monster with no path to victory.
But Ullan's words struck him differently.
To confirm he'd heard right, he asked again.
"You're planning to fight that monster?"
"That's right."
An answer devoid of even a hint of hesitation.
It left him momentarily speechless.
Ullan surely knew it too—the odds against that beast were vanishingly slim. With concern, Seoric pressed.
"Even for you......"
"He's right, Ullan!"
Noa cut in abruptly.
Her face drained of color. Clutching Ullan's arm, she cried out in remonstration.
"Fighting it alone is suicide!"
"For now, let's pull back."
Dilia urged retreat as well.
Her eyes held an inexplicable desperation.
Yet Ullan shook his head.
"No. I can't do that."
"What did you say?"
"The Frost Dragon falls here."
"Ullan!"
They pleaded repeatedly, but he wouldn't budge.
Meanwhile, Seoric, who had watched silently, suddenly spoke up.
"Then answer just one thing."
His eyes intensely earnest.
His lips parted.
"Why are you so dead set on fighting?"
There were reasons aplenty to fight.
To complete the hero's mission left unfinished in his past life.
And the conviction that slaying it before it could molt would make the future far easier.
'But......'
That wasn't the answer Seoric sought.
He wasn't a hero.
So Ullan silently gripped his axe.
Aimed it at the Frost Dragon, then offered a more fundamental reply.
"Simple reason."
The dragon in the Abyss rift stood utterly still.
Ullan glared at it, fueling his blazing will to fight.
"Because there's a monster right in front of me."
His eyes seemed to declare as much.
Seoric wore a stunned expression.
The answer was far simpler and clearer than expected.
"That's just like you."
With a soft chuckle.
He nodded mutely.
"Understood. Leave the rest to me."
"Much obliged."
The moment he heard the response he wanted, Ullan spun on his heel. His face shed all hesitation and attachment as he kicked off the ground.
Whoosh!
He charged across the battlefield.
He heard Noa and Dilia shouting something, but paid it no mind. Right now, the Frost Dragon was the only thing in Ullan's sights.
[―――!]
Meanwhile, the instant Ullan departed.
The Flying Dragons circling overhead lunged at Noa and Dilia as if they had been waiting.
But there was no need to look back.
The man now at their side was a master acknowledged by Ullan himself—one of the empire's Five Swords.
The result was a foregone conclusion.
Slash! Crunch!
Seoric's sword strikes flashed like lightning, grinding the Flying Dragons to pieces.
To the rhythm of rending flesh and snapping bone, Ullan pressed forward without pause.
'Frost Dragon!'
The battle unfinished from his past life.
To seize this second chance and put an end to the accursed fight once and for all.
As Ullan's eyes blazed fiercely.
Whoosh! Kagagagaga!
A gale-force wind abruptly whipped up like a tempest, slamming into him with a brutal shockwave.
Power enough to scatter even pebbles.
As his body staggered for that split second.
【A worm crawling on the ground like you.】
⟨ FROST DRAGON'S VOICE ⟩
A bone-chilling voice echoed—not in his ears, but directly in his mind. The Frost Dragon's voice.
【Dare you defy me, bereft of sturdy scales, razor claws, or even the gift of flight?】
Mockery thick with disdain.
But Ullan did not react.
He simply faced the wind it conjured head-on and advanced steadfastly.
【Feel the gulf in our ranks, mortal.】
The beast flapped its colossal wings again.
This time, a storm of chill winds raged forth. A freezing blow that encased all in ice. Yet even that failed to halt Ullan.
Crunch! Crack!
Shattering the ice clinging to his skin.
He finally closed the distance to twenty paces.
"Finally reached you."
In one burst, he reached the edge of his domain and seized the Frost Dragon's tail. He twisted his lips into a sneer.
"No escaping this time."
As if vowing never to release it again.
Had it understood? The Frost Dragon's nine eyes twitched.
【Escape? Me?】
The Frost Dragon let out a scoff.
As if the very notion was absurd.
Moments later, it exuded a grotesquely menacing killing intent and bellowed in fury.
【A mere worm, ignorant of its place―!】
The Frost Dragon twisted its body at once.
Intending to whip its tail—the one gripped by Ullan—and smash his head flat.
But strangely.
The tail wouldn't budge. As if pinned beneath a colossal boulder.
【What―.】
Its eyes rolled in their sockets.
What entered its sight: Ullan, pinning the tail down with his massive foot. And Ullan stared straight back.
"I told you clearly."
The calm voice that followed.
Ullan's eyes gleamed with chilling menace.
"You can't escape."
The moment the unequivocal declaration left his lips.
He swung both axes without mercy.
Pouring every ounce of strength he had nursed since infancy.
With all his might.
And the result.
Kwaaaaaang!
A deafening roar devoured the battlefield.
The mountain-like colossal Frost Dragon hurtled through the air and crashed into the far corner.