Chapter 70
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 070
Chapter Title: The Dead and the Black Mages (5)
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The Little Flame Grimoire's excited voice.
From listening to it, I could tell I was currently engulfed in flames.
But strangely enough, my mind felt at peace.
It was as if I were the only one left in the world.
Thanks to that, even after holding my breath for over a minute, my chest didn't feel tight at all.
"Fire is death and rebirth. Fear not. Smell your flesh burning. Hear the shell of your soul peeling away."
The Little Flame Grimoire spouting its usual cryptic nonsense.
But right now, it didn't grate on me at all.
It was miraculous.
Was this what they called immersion?
I just wanted to savor this serene moment a little longer.
But everything has an end.
Eventually, the time came to face reality.
"At last, you have become fire. Excellent. I shall watch with delight as you set the world ablaze."
The Little Flame Grimoire's words.
At the same time, my magic power surged.
The number was 175.
And information about a new spell began to flood my mind.
'Nice.'
The name of the newly acquired spell was Blaze.
It hurled a fireball the size of a person, turning the impact site and surrounding area into a scorched wasteland.
Its power was the strongest of any spell I'd learned so far.
True to that, its magic power cost was a whopping 250—more than any spell I'd picked up before.
On top of that, there was Burning Hands.
Because of its effect, the magic power cost for the fire spell Blaze had ballooned to 300.
It was an overwhelming drain.
'Magic power... I've got plenty.'
I had 125 magic power left.
Plus the 175 from reading the Little Flame Grimoire.
Combined, it was just enough—barely—to cast Blaze.
'One shot to end it.'
With that resolve, I unleashed my magic power.
The earlier calm was long gone.
In its place burned the thirst for victory.
Anyway, with that, my remaining magic power was... 0.
The rock where Heros had been hiding.
An enormous amount of magic power began gathering in front of it.
It was so massive that even mages with mediocre detection skills could sense it.
Naturally, every black mage active on the battlefield turned their gaze there.
Starling did the same.
Only Desmond, who wasn't a mage, seemed oblivious to the ominous shift.
"Everyone, take cover!"
The Nacherrs, reduced to just three after Desmond's spells, heard Starling shout that before he hurriedly put distance between himself and Desmond.
He yelled at the burly trio as well.
"Run! Get as far from here as you can!"
The three knights held their ground despite Starling's words.
Then, the tallest of the three shook off the ghouls around him and started pulling away from Desmond.
Seeing that, the other two burly men turned and fled in the opposite direction.
'Thank goodness.'
The moment Starling thought that.
Something ominous began unfolding in front of the rock.
It started with a small flame.
It grew in the blink of an eye.
Soon, it swelled to a size that could swallow a man whole.
But it wasn't the volume that captivated him.
The color.
Starling was entranced by the fireball's hue.
Whoosh!
An orange blaze, not red.
Different from the fire magic Desmond had used.
Even while fleeing, Starling couldn't tear his eyes from that beautiful shade.
And there was another peculiarity.
'Same flame, but the vibe is totally different.'
The fireball before the rock was smaller than the house-sized one Desmond had lobbed at Heros.
Yet the pressure it exuded was greater.
It felt like beauty harboring death within.
A spell you only wanted to admire from afar.
"My god..."
One of the Eremus black mages muttered.
Starling understood the reaction.
Any mage would be unable to look away from the spectacle unfolding before them.
It was that majestic.
Fwoosh!
After an eternity in seconds.
The fireball hurtled toward Desmond.
Starling snapped back to reality.
He accelerated his sprint.
'Need to get as far from Desmond as possible.'
That was the only thought in Starling's head.
Still, he glanced back at Desmond on the way.
Wondering what reaction he'd show.
"Urgh...!"
Desmond spotted the fireball.
He tried to flee, but the swamp-like ground held him fast.
His thighs were already submerged.
Escape looked impossible.
Had he realized it himself?
Desmond stopped struggling to free himself from the mud, thrust both hands forward, and let out a guttural roar.
The gems in his rings shattered in sequence, unleashing a barrage of spells.
"Arghhh!"
Chunks of rock flew, lightning bolts shot ahead, spear-shaped flames soared...
And more spells of every variety targeted it.
The target being, of course, the orange fireball.
Moreover, Desmond's arsenal included not just offensive spells but plenty of defensive ones too.
Rumble...
Thick plant stalks erupted before Desmond, forming a wall wrapped in a membrane of water.
Behind that, an earthen barrier rose.
And more defensive spells layered on after.
Magic barrage.
No other way to describe it.
Desmond was dead set on blocking Heros's attack with every trick he had.
'How many magic tools does he even have?'
As Starling marveled at Desmond's desperation.
He'd exhausted all the gems in his rings.
Then Desmond pulled out several parchments from his bosom, stacked them, and tore them vigorously.
Spells activated simultaneously.
In under thirty seconds, he'd burned through over thirty magic tools—an astonishing feat.
But it was all for naught.
Blaze (Lv. 1)
Boom!
Heros's fireball.
It plowed straight through the volley of intercepting spells unscathed.
Its path unchanged, speed undiminished, size unaltered—it flew on in its original form toward Desmond.
It reached the defensive wall.
Which failed to stop it.
Sizzle!
The water membrane evaporated with a hiss, and the thick plant stalks inside burned away.
The earthen wall behind fared no better.
The instant the fireball touched it, the wall boiled.
The superheated earth melted into liquid, slumping gooey and soft, punching a massive hole through.
Another obstacle cleared.
The fireball casually demolished every magical barrier in its path.
All defenses breached in a mere three seconds.
A pathetically anticlimactic end to such elaborate preparations.
"Heh... This is just unfair."
The fireball now right in his face.
Desmond gave a hollow smile.
Moments later, flames engulfed his body.
And.
Kaboom-!
A deafening explosion scorched Desmond's position to oblivion, sending a blast of heat rippling outward.
Starling froze mid-flight, staring blankly at his demise.
Where Desmond had stood.
Nothing remained but flames.
'This is as far as I go.'
After the battle ended.
I sat in place, surveying the surroundings.
The hard carapace that had encased me was long gone, giving me a clear view of the battlefield.
'Desmond's definitely done for.'
Desmond's magic tools.
The magic power signatures from them were gone.
They must have all burned up when he got hit by Blaze.
'What about the detachment?'
The twelve knights of the detachment.
Now I checked their positions.
They were breaking through undead hordes, steadily picking off the black mages hiding among them.
But they wouldn't get every last one.
There were just too many.
'Everyone's holding up well.'
I watched them for a moment, then stood.
No telling when an enemy might strike.
With my magic power depleted, I had no way to counter an ambush.
'Should I fall back first?'
The moment I thought that.
"Lord Heros!"
Bear's voice rang out.
Looking toward the sound, I saw the burly trio charging toward me, covered in wounds.
And unexpectedly, someone was with them.
Starling.
"Heros! You okay?"
Starling asked about my condition the instant our eyes met.
I'd thought he was a black mage, but apparently not.
As that doubt crossed my mind.
Conal chimed in with perfect timing.
"While you were inside the rock, this guy used the Nacherrs to attack the leader. That's why the spells aimed at you stopped."
"Ah!"
I'd wondered why Desmond suddenly halted his assault.
Mystery solved.
Starling had been keeping him in check.
"Thanks, Starling. You saved my life."
I expressed my genuine gratitude.
Without his distraction, the relentless spells might have taken me out.
"No, thank you."
Starling grinned sheepishly.
After that brief reunion, I turned to the wounded burly trio with a question.
I had some curiosities for them too.
"How'd you three make it here?"
Before I'd cast the hard carapace spell, they'd been fending off ghouls.
Even under black mage fire.
No spare time to reach me.
So I'd asked, and got an unexpected answer.
"After you blasted the leader with that fireball, the enemies started fleeing."
"Fleeing?"
I scanned the battlefield again.
Now that I looked, something was off.
No ghouls or black mages nearby.
Sensing magic power, I detected what seemed to be elites rapidly withdrawing.
They really were retreating.
Using the undead and their black mage handlers as bait to tie us down while they escaped.
Which meant...
"Did we just win the war?"
I could hardly believe my own words.
As I sat there stunned, Bear suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Beating back nearly a thousand troops with fewer than twenty? This victory will go down in history, Lord Heros!"
As Bear finished, Conal followed up.
"He's right. No hero in history ever overcame such odds to claim victory. Congratulations on this monumental feat!"
Bear and Conal beamed with joy.
Their bright, battle-incongruous smiles made me chuckle despite myself.
But this wasn't the time for laughter.
Realizing that, I calmed my elation and addressed the group.
"The war's not over yet. Let's clean up the stragglers first. We can celebrate after."
The elite black mages had fled upon confirming Desmond's death, but the grunts lingered.
We needed to deal with them.
Only then could we truly claim victory.
As I thought that.
"Woooaaahhh-!"
A cheer erupted from Chester's direction.
Looking over, I saw a contingent of soldiers marching onto the field.
Leading them was Earl Chester on his white steed.
He approached my position with his mounted nobles.
"Heros!"
Earl Chester arrived, leaped from his horse, and grabbed my shoulders.
His face alight with excitement, he declared,
"You are truly the hero of Chester!"