Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Mage Heroine (5)
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When he looked at Is, Ruin always had two thoughts at the same time.
The first was that the guy was an unlucky weakling. The second was that he was weak, but not wrong.
But the moment Ruin acknowledged him, his entire life would be denied.
So, even knowing he was wrong, Ruin turned a blind eye.
It was something a Hero—as the son of the Goddess—should never do.
Thus, Ruin confessed to his mother in the heavens.
"Confession." His horizontal slash toward the sky carried his apology. His vertical slash carried his bold refusal to bend his convictions, even so.
When the two harmonized, a massive golden cross formed.
This was Ruin's faith.
The attack containing everything Ruin had engulfed Is.
"This is ridiculous—"
With words like some third-rate villain, Is was struck by the cross, and as a result...
💥 IMPACT! 💥 -THUD!
Is's blackened armor reverted to normal, and he plummeted straight to the ground.
"...Cough!"
At the same time, Ruin vomited blood and dropped to his knees.
Ariana rushed over in a panic.
"Is!"
To Is, not Ruin.
Watching her, Ruin thought she was steadfast... but also...
'Damn kid, I'm so jealous.'
He envied how purely one had to live to end up like that.
Ruin could never be like that.
While Ariana fussed over Is, checking his condition, Ruin dragged himself toward Is with all his strength.
'...This thing's heavy as hell.'
Feeling a bit weighed down by the two lumps of fat on his chest, Ruin kept crawling toward Is.
-Thud.
Soon, he placed his hand on Is's helmet.
"I... won, you bastard..."
-Thump.
With those final words, Ruin collapsed sideways.
His eyelids grew heavy, so he blinked repeatedly.
-Plop.
'What the hell is this...'
As Ruin slumped over Is, something shook loose—a small Rosaria tumbled out from between Is's armor plates.
'Rosaria's pretty old... Ah, whatever. Hurts so much, and I'm sleepy...'
Ruin wondered briefly since it seemed too aged for Is's possession, but the backlash had him on the brink of death, so he gave up thinking and closed his eyes.
-Shhh...
Seizing the moment, a peculiar Holy Power seeped from his body, as if it was time to go—like a dragon ascending, it soared into the air toward the fallen Rosaria.
-Shhh...
Soon, the Holy Power touched the Rosaria, and an immense light burst forth from it.
"Kyaa!"
Even Ariana, the Saintess, couldn't comprehend it; she let out a short scream and covered her eyes. The light lasted over ten minutes.
Fortunately, it slowly faded with time.
Only then did Ariana uncover her eyes and regain her vision.
"Huh?"
Ruin's appearance had changed.
His long black hair was now short, his curvaceous female body replaced by a sturdy male one.
The two fat lumps on his chest had long vanished.
Ruin had returned to his original form.
"No way..."
Ariana eyed the Rosaria beside Ruin and Is intently, then sprang into action.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Striking lightning. Smashing stone. Pouring torrents. Crumbling balance."
"Striking lightning. Smashing stone. Pouring torrents. Crumbling balance." Quadra casting, surpassing even double casting.
Frellia gathered verdant mana at her staff's tip, continuing to chant spells.
Half-human, half-elf, she possessed exceptional magical talent and wielded spells far beyond ordinary humans.
But her opponent was no pushover.
The being before her was a monster who had lived centuries, growing strong by devouring countless lives.
⚙ REVERSE ⚙ "Reverse." No matter how many spells Frellia cast or how powerful, one "Reverse" flipped it all back at her.
Black magic at the pinnacle of unfairness.
But Frellia knew this well.
Her life's work—most of it—had been researching revenge against that reversal.
Of course, she hadn't found a way to counter the Reverser's black magic yet...
"...Snipe Casting."
She'd long since found the answer to hurting her: speed.
She held her staff horizontally, resting it lightly on her shoulder.
Verdant mana gathered at the tip again.
"Memory of Silence." 💥 DIRECT HIT! 💥 -PEW!
Her spell shot out at speeds incomparable to before.
"Ye—"
Before the Reverser's chant could finish, Frellia's magic struck her forehead precisely.
"..."
Hit by the spell, the Reverser opened her mouth but made no sound.
"To land a spell on you, I concluded nothing else matters but speed. So I threw every research material and scrap of knowledge into jacking up my casting speed like crazy."
She fired another spell. Hit again.
No chant this time.
"Store a spell once like this, and you can fire without rechaining. I splurged on a top-tier staff just for you—no room for failure."
Frellia's smile twisted further.
"Even improved this Silence spell for your quiet self. So die already. White Memory."
"White Memory." 💥 CANNON FIRE! 💥 -BOOM!
Far more mana gathered than before.
Frellia aimed at the Reverser's head once more and fired.
The spell rocketed forth with a cannon-like roar.
Before the Reverser could take a step, it had already hit.
But.
'Crazy bitch...'
Frellia could only click her tongue and turn away.
"Truly perfect. Crafting spells like this already. With you, my plan will proceed smoothly."
The Reverser spoke as if nothing had happened.
No wounds from her magic. Instead...
"Now, Sister Frellia. I've brought a way to counter your spells. Try blocking this one."
Mouths had formed on both her palms.
Her facial mouth stayed shut, the two palm mouths speaking calmly.
Frellia glared in disgust, then flashed a bright smile.
"Ahahaha! You're so gross! Never saw that coming!"
"Just life's wisdom. A technique I learned from my foes. The one who used it was a mage from the Golden Tower—he made it to fix people's disabilities and rake in cash."
Not even asked, the Reverser blabbed on.
"But why charge money for such fine magic, Sister? So I stole it. Put it to good use instead. Turned down-lookers' eyes into seven each, gave foul-mouthed adventurers mouths on their hands so they couldn't grip swords."
"...You psycho— Hahaha! Totally lost your mind, huh?"
"Perfectly sane. Now, I trust you'll show more spells, Sister."
"Even without you saying..."
Frellia aimed her staff again.
"I'll show you plenty!"
💥 PEW! 💥 After a prolonged exchange of blows...
"Is this the end, Sister?"
"Haaah... Haaah..."
Frellia, with her elven blood granting vast mana reserves, was nearly depleted.
The reason was obvious...
"A shame if it ends like this... But I can teach you up close. With your talent, you'll craft magic reaching the heavens someday."
Before her stood the Reverser—with seventeen eyes, thirty-two mouths, eight noses, and limbs beyond counting.
Frellia had inflicted damage with every spell, but the Reverser multiplied her body several times over to compensate.
She had blocked every avenue.
No paths left.
'One remains, but...'
It was impossible in this state.
"...No helping it."
As if steeling her resolve inwardly, Frellia used her staff to stand.
"Right? You want my growth."
"Yes, Sister. Precisely—I want you to profane even the heavens."
"...Then behold. My ultimate magic."
"Oh? A hidden ace after all?"
"Yeah. Nearly finished, but I wandered... Then met a boy I like recently and completed it."
Frellia inverted her staff, gripping it like a sword.
"Got the inspiration watching over him. Take a look."
Her remaining mana blazed up like fire from her body.
"...Oh?"
The Reverser showed interest.
Vowing to crush her arrogance, Frellia chanted.
"Return Light Reflection."