Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Annihilate (3)
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A massive uproar erupted in the mage world.
The source of the commotion was the southwestern outskirts.
Word spread across the entire mage world that a tremendous surge of demonic energy had appeared there.
Naturally, the elders caught wind of it quickly as well.
The first to move was Linmel Marquis. He leaped through space in an instant, arriving at the site where the demonic energy had emanated.
Following right after, the 4th Elder Raymond appeared alongside him. Then the 1st Elder and 5th Elder and 6th Elder arrived simultaneously.
High mages and other wizards began showing up one after another under orders.
"What in the world happened?"
"I have no idea."
When Linmel asked the 1st Elder Offen, he shook his head while surveying the area.
"Indeed... the residual demonic energy lingers thickly."
He muttered with a displeased expression.
Why would demonic energy suddenly appear in the peaceful mage world?
The 5th Elder Luke leaped down to the site of what appeared to be a fierce battle. The 6th Elder Adelhart followed, while the others watched them.
Luke stared at the charred black ground and spotted what looked like a lump of coal—a corpse. Upon closer inspection, it was a human body burned completely black.
"There's a body here."
The word "body" sent murmurs rippling through the surroundings.
"From the looks of it, it's charred beyond recognition."
Adelhart remarked in a bored tone, as if appraising it.
"Traces of a massive mana discharge here."
At that moment, a mage examined a mana measuring device and reported to the elders.
Adelhart asked the mage,
"Not from a battle?"
"No. It's the most recent mana usage. Applied across the entire space."
"Across the entire space... Siegfried?"
Come to think of it, Siegfried hadn't shown up.
And it wasn't just him.
Simon, another outsider in the mage world like Siegfried, was also missing.
The 3rd Elder Serpent was nowhere to be seen either.
"...A burned corpse and space-wide mana usage. Did those two elders fight or something?"
"That's too simplistic, Adel."
"You won't know until you check."
"Unlikely. A clash between two grand mages wouldn't end with just this. Above all, it doesn't explain the demonic energy."
Raymond landed beside them, staring intently at the corpse. He approached it cautiously and extended a hand toward the face.
A green light flowed out, seeping into the charred skin, which then cracked like an eggshell.
Carefully brushing away the shattered husk with his hand revealed the original face.
"This is... Kennic Azir. An instructor at Phoenix Academy. A 5th-class mage specializing in magic circles."
"Why would a Phoenix Academy instructor be out here..."
"Could that damned old Serpent have made a pact with a demon?"
"Adel, don't jump to conclusions..."
Just as Luke opened his mouth to rein in Adelhart,
FAR FROM MAGE WORLD
A tremendous demonic energy pulsed from a location quite distant from the mage world.
The elders all turned simultaneously toward the source.
Linmel and Offen teleported there without a word, and the other elders followed.
Only Raymond, before leaving, commanded the gathered mages,
"You lot stay behind and prioritize defending the mage world!"
With that, Raymond's figure vanished.
The remaining mages exchanged tense glances before busily moving to carry out the order.
Jamie, Simon, and Siegfried all swallowed dryly at the same time.
Even hidden in the shadow world, its sheer terror made their skin crawl.
The rocky mountain they stood on vanished.
A gale whipped up, scattering large and small stone fragments into the air.
All that remained was a massive scar like the swipe of a giant tiger's paw.
No one could speak.
The shock was that profound.
"Wow~ Quick reactions, huh?"
A voice, presumed to be the demon's, rang out.
It was the playful tone of a young man.
"But why no reply?"
Siegfried and Simon were speechless.
They were overwhelmed by the demon's ferocious presence, which seeped even through the shadow realm.
Siegfried, who had become a grand mage at a young age, and Simon, who had reached the 8th class, couldn't even gauge the enemy's level.
It was a despair like standing before a dragon.
The demon grinned, its eyes curving downward, and spoke.
"But you think hiding there means I can't hit you?"
The demon exuded hostility and began gathering demonic energy for another attack.
In that moment, only Jamie reacted to the demon.
Leaving the two immobilized grand mages behind, Jamie activated his divine power.
At the same time, he peeled away the shadow of Beyond Avalon. There stood a demon strikingly similar to a human, with crimson skin and gray hair spiked like thorns.
"Popping out of nowhere?"
The demon muttered in surprise at Jamie's sudden appearance.
"You're tougher than those other two."
The demon glared precisely at Siegfried and Simon.
As it said, the two were still pinned by the demon's presence, unable to move.
So how could Jamie move?
It was a difference in experience.
The overwhelming gap from facing foes hundreds of times stronger than himself.
That was why Jamie could ignore the pressure and act.
"Yeah! Do something! Hahaha!"
The demon burst into laughter for some reason.
Come to think of it, the demon baron Leeta he'd encountered in Uptown had reacted similarly.
Demons were like that. If they deemed you weaker, everything became a game.
In this demon's eyes, the three grand mages were mere toys. It had the power to treat them as such.
The demon shouted in a voice brimming with amusement.
"My turn first!"
"Young master!!"
Siegfried desperately reached for Jamie's robe.
But his hand fell short.
Jamie had stepped forward just out of reach.
"Brave little thing?"
The demon made a big fuss and laughed over such a minor movement.
Letting out a creepy "kehkehkeh," it swung the thick nails of its right hand.
That was it.
The attack that had turned their massive mountain to dust in one blow.
"Can you block this too?"
Humans don't take ants seriously, no matter what they do.
They'd just laugh at an ant trying to fight back.
The demon was exactly like that.
The only slight mercy was that instead of stomping it like an ant, it was swatting with its hand.
That was a pity. If it had treated him more like an ant and tried to crush him underfoot,
'It would have let its guard down even more.'
But that was greed.
Expecting carelessness from the enemy was carelessness on your part.
You don't get careless against the strong.
Don't wonder why a count-level demon appeared here.
Right now, throw all caution to the wind.
Yes. To survive, no holds barred.
"Keep everything from here on out a secret."
Jamie spoke to the two while eyeing the descending nails.
He unfolded a new ego in his tightly gripped hand.
Immense power emanated from the nails cloaked in demonic energy.
Jamie channeled his best single-strike sword technique into the blade.
And clashed.
An enormous force pressed in.
The sword seemed about to shatter any second.
Jamie maxed out All Might's output.
All physical impact vanished as if by magic.
At the same time.
Ziiing—
Demonic energy began flowing along Scud's blade.
The demon's eyes widened.
The moment sword met nails, it hadn't doubted the blade would break. Yet something wondrous unfolded.
'It's absorbing my power?'
The demonic energy was being sucked into the human child's sword as if merging with it.
The demon realm was full of those who stole others' power for their own. Annoying foes, but it knew well how to deal with them.
Its eyes narrowed sideways, lips curling into a long arc.
"Let's see you try to swallow this!"
Overwhelm power absorbers with more than they could handle.
They'd self-destruct on their own.
This human child would burst even easier. Physically impossible for that tiny frame to contain its vast demonic energy.
Then the human child smiled.
"I've been waiting for you to do that."
What if it was clever?
Even the weak sometimes stayed cautious. He'd been bitten by such types before.
But this demon had consistently underestimated from the start. Meaning it had never been bitten by the weak.
So it tried to crush with brute force now. No consideration for "what if."
'That's why it'll get bitten by me.'
Hard against the weak, harder against the strong.
The blade infused with demonic energy.
Leviathan, enhanced by Darkness, reeled in the demon's power.
The force was so immense his shoulders tensed instinctively.
Even ignored by All Might, the shock was this great.
Truly, comparing it to Leeta was an insult to this powerhouse.
Thus, the backlash on it would be several times greater.
Purple light gleamed in Jamie's eyes.
Darkness Reversal
Draw in all. Repel back.
"You bastard!"
For the first time, an emotion other than amusement crossed the demon's face. Clear bewilderment.
The darkness-clad sword began pushing back the nails, hand, and arm.
Using its own demonic energy!
'Not mere absorption?'
Demon Velias frowned as it felt itself being steadily pushed back.
He'd thought it an ant, but it was a slightly superior beast.
An immature human, so nothing special, and its felt power was baron or viscount trash level.
'Interesting?'
Getting nipped by the weak wasn't bad.
But any further was nonsense.
"I'll only let you have this once."
He had two arms.
"For peeling my 'shell,' I'll kill you in one go."
His left arm rose.
Double—no, triple the demonic energy in his right.
"Die in peace."
Smirking again, he swung down his left arm.
"I'll hear your story later. Later."
In that instant, Velias's arm hit an invisible wall. It wouldn't budge, as if trapped in space.
Child's play. A sandcastle he'd crush with a bit more force.
Until golden flames poured into that space.
"You'd better explain well, Jamie Welton."
Simon Count unleashed his prepared spell.
"7th Elder. Hold it tight."
"Rage freely."
Golden flames far exceeding the sun's heat exploded within the isolated space enclosing Velias's left arm.
The confining space shook violently as if about to shatter, but Siegfried poured his power with bloodshot eyes.
Velias's eyes widened briefly at the loss of sensation in his left arm.
Jamie didn't miss the opening.
"I'll explain everything after."
Single Strike Sword Ver. All MightDragon King's Breath with Velias
A long sword wound slashed across the chest of Velias, the half-dragon half-demon heir to dragon blood.
It was a true slash forged from its own energy.