Chapter 313
Chapter 313
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 313
>Chapter Title: A Night of Falling Snow
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Rumble—
Thunder echoed across the snow-covered plains.
The clouds that had swept away the snow-laden ones now hung like hazy smoke.
No, it was smoke.
Rustle...
Pale gray ash drifted down to the ground. Unlike the pure white snow, these murky flakes settled heavily on the earth.
Plop, plip.
One, two. As the piles of ash accumulated on the ground, Aster and Holland stared at each other in silence.
It wasn't long before Aster's gaze lifted to the sky.
“......”
Whoosh, crackle...
Was it his imagination?
Amid the dark clouds shedding ash, a faint red glow flickered through.
Like clouds before a lightning strike, a crimson shimmer rippled between the billowing smoke.
After watching it for a moment, Aster glanced at Holland.
That's when something red began plummeting from the sky.
Plop, plip. Plip.
Whoosh...
Incredibly, the smoke clouds were spewing bright red flames.
It defied the laws of nature, but Aster didn't flinch. He raised a barrier to block the flames. Imbued with the essence of crimson fire, they scorched the barrier, but he paid it no mind.
His eyes fixed on Holland.
Bloodied Holland was grinning. His teeth, stained red with blood, flashed as his cheeks twitched. He looked thrilled beyond restraint, his clenching fists popping with the crack of knuckles.
Even amid it all.
Crackle, pat.
The flames kept falling.
Fwoosh.
The ground was ablaze.
Whoooosh...
When the wind blew, the flames engulfing the earth fluttered like flags. Yet the two facing each other didn't budge.
It wasn't long before the smoke clouds belched out an enormous fireball.
Fwoom...!
It plummeted like a meteor from legend, the blazing mass twisting with the air currents.
Each strand of flame writhed and danced, drawing closer to the ground.
For a brief instant.
The two men's line of sight was obscured.
The fireball slammed into the earth with a dull explosion. With a 'boom!', flames surged toward the sky.
That was the moment.
“...Gasp!”
Holland sucked in a breath as Aster's form pierced through the flames, charging straight at him. He crossed his arms in defense, inhaling sharply.
And...
Thud!
A bone-rattling impact.
“...Kuhk!”
Holland felt his body lift off the ground as he exhaled. It wasn't just a feeling—his body actually floated a full foot into the air.
He barely regained his balance when Aster's second strike followed.
Craaack...!
How could flesh and bone clash to make such a sound? His bones must have been damaged, no doubt.
Holland groaned in pain while manipulating his mana.
‘Your body... outclasses mine!’
Incredibly, his opponent wielded a physique rivaling a knight at the pinnacle of mastery. Holland had no idea how that was possible, but after trading blows in close combat several times, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
So, he had to counter accordingly.
The falling flames from the sky, the burning earth—that was his response.
Fwoosh—!
Flames on the ground whipped up by his will, swirling like a vortex toward a single point.
That point was, needless to say, Aster.
“......”
Aster had been unfolding a Collision Formula for his third strike, but he deployed a barrier against the encroaching inferno and fell back.
At that moment, Holland couldn't help but marvel once more.
A barrier that fit his body like a glove. Holland could do it himself, but not this effortlessly in the heat of battle.
It was mastery of mana manipulation incarnate...
But regardless, Holland smirked.
Because.
These were flames infused with the essence of crimson fire.
They burned barriers on their own.
A perfectly fitted barrier was efficient, even wondrous in itself—but before crimson flames, it was nothing more than prey.
Sizzle—
As expected, the flames devoured Aster's barrier and engulfed his body.
The flames themselves weren't especially hot or destructive, but that was enough.
The destructive power could always ramp up.
Snap!
A crisp finger snap.
...Boom!
The ensuing explosion.
Of course, he didn't expect it to kill. But it would buy enough time to recover his shattered bones...
That was as far as Holland's thoughts went.
Fwoosh—!
A dazzling light burst through the explosion's heat. Simultaneously, Aster erupted from the flames.
“Wh-what... monster!”
Holland gaped at the unscathed Aster, then broke into the widest grin.
Fear? Not a chance.
What was there to fear?
“Gasp...!”
Boom!
Another fist shattering his guard.
At the same time...!
Boom! Boomboom, boomboomboom!
Explosions erupted everywhere. They weren't large, though—the crimson flames had consumed every direction.
Even so, those blasts were more than enough to pulverize flesh. Overkill, even.
But Holland slapped together a barrier to block the explosions, then sank his teeth into Aster's shoulder instead of his flailing arms.
Splash!
The hot blood spraying his face burned hotter than the flames. At least, that's how it felt to Holland.
Spit, ptoo!
“Pfft, was gonna go for the throat.”
“......”
Gibberish nonstop. Holland babbled excitedly without pause, but Aster kept his lips sealed.
To Holland, this battle was a game, a deadly frolic. To Aster, it was a duty.
“First things first, let's see that face.”
Holland resented Aster's intact mask mid-fight. He figured it was distracting the man.
Soon, Aster staggered under a brutal blow to the face.
That was when Holland's arms wrapped around Aster's neck like a noose. With his limp arms squeezing tight, he yanked Aster's head back. And...
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The mask shattering.
But even firmly gripped, it cracked without fully falling away.
A few more hits, and...
Blood trickling down his forehead, Holland grinned savagely—right then.
Thwack!
“Guh...k!”
A heavy blow between the legs. Holland gasped. No matter how transcendent the archmage, biological weak points remained. Aster swiftly pulled away and swapped his mask while Holland reeled in daze.
A surprise attack might've yielded better results, but the reason he didn't was simple.
Aster's target had never been Holland.
Life at the academy.
Relationships.
Everyday routine.
And... the tower.
In this situation, exposing his identity meant all of it crumbling.
He'd pondered Sha-in's advice to step into the light, but revealing himself like this was impossible.
Perhaps that's why.
“You bastard...”
Holland glared at Aster, staggering. Rage blazed in his bloodshot eyes, impossible to hide.
Why such fury?
Because Aster had fought dirty?
No, no.
In a battle dancing on the edge of life and death, what did decorum matter?
The survivor won, dirty or not. If death came, justice was meaningless pageantry.
Normally, he'd have laughed in delight.
Because it meant his opponent was giving his all.
But.
“What the hell are you doing?”
On the burning plains, Holland spat his rage.
If it were him, he'd have seized the advantage with that opening moments ago. Or at least gained the upper hand to steer the fight.
But his foe had ignored the battle to fix his broken mask. As if it were the most natural thing.
“I'm right here in front of you.”
Aster gave no reply. He kicked off the air, unleashing transcendence. Instantly, a pillar of fire erupted beneath Holland's feet.
Holland glared at Aster from within the horrific blaze that even devoured crimson flames, endlessly summoning more crimson fire to counter it.
Aster's magic was horrifying.
...Like the fires of hell.
But.
The one wielding those flames was no demon. Those eyes trembled too much for a devil.
The quiver was faint, nearly imperceptible, but Holland—wholly focused on Aster—caught it.
“You weren't even looking at me.”
Then, what was he seeing?
Holland knew the answer.
...The Second Black-White Slums.
The orphanage.
Right—from the start, he'd lured him with that bait. Of course the bastard would carry it in his heart during the fight.
But.
Amid the roaring flames, Holland's eyes burned with rage, the agony of flames devouring his flesh unfelt.
And he thought.
Worried? About the Second Black-White Slums? The vermin crammed in that orphanage? The relic of a bygone era called Muspellun? Those laughable mages named Sakwol?
Yeah, he'd want to cross this plain ASAP and check on them. Sure he would.
But what now?
This body of mine has no intention of letting you go.
Holland surged his mana. The crimson flames enveloping him swelled, shoving back Aster's magic. The moment the blaze weakened, he launched himself skyward.
Holland, wreathed in fire, resembled a demon bursting from inferno. Aster met his boiling gaze.
Aster's eyes were icy cold by contrast. Like winter itself embodied.
No more tests of strength.
Boom—!
Flames surged with Holland's fist, primal force unleashed. Aster's blocks were instinctual.
Flames devouring mana scorched barriers, mana flows of annihilation dominated space.
Blue lightning tangled wildly with red fire, devouring each other.
Fists met fists.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Gushing blood vanished, sometimes swept in flames, sometimes in lightning.
Bone-shaking blows.
Soul-scorching spells.
No mages here.
Just two beasts lunging for each other's throats.
A snowy night.
Vast grasslands.
Fire rained down relentlessly at the center, the earth blazed. Lightning surged, space screamed.