Complex Fusion Magic (4)
I succeeded in combining Mana Block and Wind Chain into a single spell.
But the price was enormous.
“Ugh…”
My body lurched forward. There wasn’t any strength left in me to hold on.
“Grace!”
Valter rushed over and caught me.
“Stay with me! Hey!”
Mil hurried over too.
“Damn it…! His mana circuits have ruptured in several places! At this rate—”
Her voice was shaking.
I forced my blurry consciousness to lift my hand.
I held out the silver bead to Valter.
“Please… cast… this…”
I barely managed the words through my trembling lips.
“Are you insane…! You’re in no condition—”
Valter took the bead and clenched his teeth.
“Please…”
With the last of my strength, I grabbed his hand.
“This is… the last chance…”
Valter tightened his grip on the silver bead and nodded.
“...All right. You rest. I’ll handle the rest.”
He stood and looked up at the sky.
Kiieeeek——!
The wyvern was still circling overhead.
“Mil!”
“Yes!”
“Send messengers to every team. Tell them this is the final assault. Order them to do everything they can to draw that monster’s attention!”
“Understood!”
Mil hurried off.
Through my dimming consciousness, I watched Valter’s back.
Please… let it work…
And then everything went dark.
***
“Chief Valter! Grace has lost consciousness.”
“What?”
Mil quickly pressed her fingers to Grace’s neck.
“The pulse is… there. But it’s very weak.”
She let out a breath of relief.
“Move him somewhere safe, now!”
Valter ordered.
“But in this condition—”
Mil looked down at Grace’s ashen face with an anxious expression. It was smeared with blood that had run from his nose, mouth, and ears.
“There’s nothing we can do about that right now! Once the battle’s over, we’ll contact Vilheim and ask Roimdel for advice. For now—”
Valter clenched the silver bead in his hand and looked up at the sky.
Kiieeeek——!
The wyvern was still circling overhead.
“For now, we need to kill that monster.”
Valter looked down at the bead in his hand. The silver-glowing fusion spell.
The last hope Grace had forged at the risk of his life.
I can’t fail. That young man staked his life on this…
“Chief Valter! Every team is ready!”
A mage ran up to report.
“Good.”
Valter raised his wand and slotted in the silver bead.
“All teams, begin the assault at once! Draw that monster’s attention as much as you can!”
“Yes!”
The mage hurried off to send the signal.
Immediately, flashes of magic erupted from every direction.
Kwaaaang—! Kwaaaang—!
Attacks rained down from all sides at once.
Kiieeek——!
The wyvern grew confused and twisted its body this way and that. It seemed unable to decide which side to attack first.
Now.
Valter aimed his wand at the wyvern and took a deep breath.
That 0.5-second opening Grace talked about…
He had to catch the instant the wyvern folded its wings.
Kiieeek——!
As if it had made its decision, the wyvern began a dive toward the southern team.
It came in fast with its wings spread wide.
Fifty meters.
Forty meters.
Thirty meters.
Just a little more…
Valter’s eyes followed every flicker of the wyvern’s movement.
The beast opened its jaws, preparing to spew blue flames.
And then—
Whoosh—!
It folded its wings.
The 0.5-second opening!
“Now!”
Valter shouted and unleashed Blockade Constraint.
Fwooooosh——!
Silver chains burst from the tip of his wand. They were different from the earlier Wind Chain.
A gray membrane wrapped around the chains. The protective field of Mana Block enveloped the entire projectile.
As a result, the wyvern sensed nothing.
Its mana signal had been perfectly sealed away.
Whoosh—!
The silver chains reached the wyvern.
Kiiee—?
Too late, it finally sensed something—but by then it was already over.
Clack—!
The chains wrapped around the wyvern’s body. Its wings, legs, and torso were bound by an invisible restraint.
Kiieeeek——!
The wyvern thrashed violently, but the chains did not loosen.
Three seconds.
Only three seconds, but that was enough.
“All units, fire concentrated spells!”
Valter roared.
At the same time, he raised his wand high.
“Flame’s Judgment!”
Valter’s strongest 5th-circle fusion spell.
A colossal spear of fire formed and shot toward the wyvern. At the same time, dozens of spells poured in from all directions.
Fireballs, lightning, ice spears, wind blades…
Every attack converged on the bound wyvern.
KWAaaaaang——!
The massive explosion swallowed the sky, and the wyvern’s scream tore through the air.
Kiieieieiek——————!
Blue scales shattered and flew in every direction.
Its wings were ripped apart, and holes were blasted through its body.
Thud——!
At last the wyvern fell from the sky, and the dust kicked up by its impact spread everywhere.
“...”
“...”
Everyone held their breath and watched.
The dust slowly settled.
And what emerged was—
The wyvern’s unmoving corpse.
“...Did we win?”
One mage murmured cautiously.
“We… won.”
Another mage said in disbelief.
Then, all at once—
“Wooooaaaah!”
The mages of the Crown Magic Tower burst into cheers.
“We did it!”
“We really did it!”
“We did it! We actually did it!”
An eight-hour battle.
At last, victory.
Valter lowered his wand and let out a long, heavy breath.
“...Grace.”
He looked back toward where Grace had collapsed. Mil was still guarding Grace’s side.
“How is he?”
Valter asked as he approached.
“He’s still unconscious. The pulse is… slightly more stable now, but the damage to his mana circuits is severe.”
Mil answered, her expression tense.
Valter knelt and looked down at Grace’s face.
Pale skin. A robe stained with blood.
“...You saved us, Grace.”
Valter said quietly.
“If it hadn’t been for you, we would all have died. The Crown Magic Tower, the hundreds of thousands of people in the north…”
His voice trembled.
“You have to live. Understand?”
***
They were in the middle of mopping up after the wyvern that had emerged from the dimensional rift was slain.
The total death toll was twelve.
Most of them were mages who had been struck directly by the wyvern’s blue flames.
There were more than thirty wounded, and plenty more mages who had exhausted their mana and could no longer move.
“Move the dead to the tower’s mortuary, and send the wounded to the temporary infirmary!”
Mil moved quickly, directing the mages.
After things were somewhat under control—
“...Chief Valter.”
Mil called him.
“Yes. The damage is severe… but thankfully, this much is a miracle. For it to end at only this level of loss is a blessing.”
Valter nodded heavily as he spoke.
He looked toward the wyvern’s corpse. The enormous blue-scaled beast had finally gone still.
“If it hadn’t been for Grace…”
Valter’s words trailed off.
“Chief, what are you going to do about Grace?”
Mil said, still looking at the unconscious Grace.
“...”
Valter thought for a long time.
Somehow, he had to save Grace. But how?
With his mana circuits shattered and his consciousness gone, there wasn’t much he could do.
“I’ll take Grace to the capital myself.”
“What? You’re taking him personally? Chief, you’ve already exhausted almost all your mana…”
“I’m fine. I can endure this much. And besides… that young man risked his life for us. I ought to do this much.”
“...Yes.”
Then Valter added,
“And tell Vilheim’s chief, Roimdel, about Grace’s condition and ask for advice on treating mana circuit damage.”
“...Yes, understood.”
He carefully lifted the unconscious Grace.
“It’ll take about a day and a half by high-speed carriage to reach the capital. I’ll accompany you.”
Mil said.
“No, you stay here and clean up the tower.”
“But—”
“That’s an order, Mil. Restoring the tower is the more urgent priority. If it’s you, you can handle it.”
Mil hesitated, then lowered her head.
“...Understood.”
Valter started walking toward the carriage, holding Grace in his arms.
***
The capital, Kassim Empire Imperial Palace.
Chief Imperial Mage Arkanus’s office.
“Continue the report.”
The white-haired old man stood by the window and said. His voice had far more force than his age would suggest.
“Yes, Lord Arkanus.”
The middle-aged mage in a black robe unfurled a sheet of parchment and continued his report.
“The Blue Rose Magic Tower has been completely destroyed. The tower master was killed, and thirty mages survived.”
Arkanus’s expression hardened.
“Elena… continue.”
“The Moonlight Magic Tower also fell. Tower Master Silvia was killed in battle with the ice monsters, and only fifteen survivors remain.”
“...”
“Vilheim Magic Tower succeeded in defeating the Crystal Golem, but its barrier collapsed and thirty mages died.”
The middle-aged mage took a brief breath and went on.
“Solaris Magic Tower repelled the lava monster, but suffered twenty deaths. The Astral Magic Tower also drove off the shadow monsters, though Tower Master Serena sustained grave injuries.”
“And Crown?”
“The Crown Magic Tower also defeated the flying monster. Twelve deaths were reported, and Chief Valter is unharmed.”
Arkanus let out a deep sigh.
“One of the five great towers has fallen… and the dead number in the hundreds.”
“Yes. The achievements of the Fusion Magic Tower’s Grace were significant. At Vilheim, he played a decisive role against the Crystal Golem, and at Crown, he was instrumental in the defeat of the flying monster.”
“Grace, was it…”
Arkanus’s gaze deepened.
“That young man went that far?”
“Yes. According to Chief Roimdel’s report, he created a four-attribute fusion magic circle in forty minutes, and at Crown, he managed to produce a complex fusion spell by combining two fusion spells.”
“A complex fusion?”
Surprise crept into Arkanus’s voice.
“That’s… something that exists only in theory…”
“Yes. But he reportedly succeeded. Thanks to that, they were able to kill the flying monster.”
The middle-aged mage read the next line on the parchment.
“However… during the process, his mana circuits were severely damaged, and he is now unconscious. Chief Valter is personally escorting him to the capital.”
“...”
Arkanus fell silent, gazing out the window.
“An interesting young man. From a third-rate mage to a 4th Circle mage in only a few months, and now complex fusion as well…”
Slowly, he turned his head and looked at the middle-aged mage.
“I’ll treat that young man myself.”