Chapter 133
Chapter 133
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Slaughterer Godehardt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seven figures, engulfed in a teal light, collapsed to the floor in an instant.
It was thanks to his physical abilities, excessively enhanced by his reaction to the Narrow Path.
A remarkably quiet and clean result, with no chaos whatsoever.
It wasn't any grand magic. All he did was fire a [Mana Bullet] as he passed.
But Uwe was no pushover.
He had sensed something was amiss and put up six layers of shields in front of him while creating distance.
‘Shallow.’
Loan's bullet failed to pierce through all of his shields.
“Hmm.”
Considering the outcome, it would have been natural for him to be flustered, but Uwe remained largely unfazed.
In fact, he was almost too calm. A glint shone from within his deep-set eyes.
His heart was just as composed.
The Command Chief of Brien.
Uwe, who ranked fifth within the group, tried his best to understand Loan.
It was clear that the Union member before him was different from the common mages he knew.
He knew because he had once walked the path of a mage. He also knew because he had once been called a genius.
Disappointed that magic was treated as an outdated and stagnant relic, he had stumbled upon the path of black magic. Here, there were many who sought to pioneer a new way.
He actively embraced, researched, and accepted it.
His interactions with Le Tell, who focused on descents and possessions based on demonic power, became a groundbreaking moment that shifted his perspective.
He had worked hard to reach his current position.
Maintaining a cooperative relationship with Le Tell and continuing to expand the possibilities of black magic was his role as Command Chief.
Thus, Loan was both alien and familiar to him. And a very vexing existence.
“You are different.”
His assumptions about Loan had been empty.
How on earth did he accumulate so much mana at that age?
And his movements...
He'd heard he was a mage, and he was certainly using magic.
But it was impossible to follow him with the naked eye.
Even as a swordsman, he would be considered to have reached a considerable level.
Therefore, he had to bring out his ultimate technique. He needed to summon the most suitable opponent for Loan.
The spell he had been preparing since the moment Loan cast his area-of-effect magic was, therefore, a very fitting choice.
And it now manifested.
‘He’s no ordinary man.’
Loan admired Uwe's situational awareness and defensive power, watching as purple smoke began to rise from his arm.
To be precise, it came from a complex magic circle etched onto his gaunt wrist. The unfamiliar movement of mana made him hesitate to attack.
It was as if there was an invisible pocket in the air, and he was stuffing mana into it.
As Loan focused, Uwe's voice reached his ears.
“It seems you can certainly maintain your sanity even within dark mana. It’s a kind of immunity, and there are those who mistake that for talent.”
Words that could be ignored.
But his curiosity about Uwe's magic and the way he manifested it grew.
It seemed he was about to command a specific entity. His expression and gestures were so sharp that it was difficult to move or act rashly.
Just as he was thinking, *So this is what experience looks like*.
Dozens of blurry phantoms appeared around the purple mist and began to cross paths rapidly.
“Come forth, Godehardt the Slaughterer.”
And then a figure appeared.
A large man holding a unique longsword that grew blunter toward the tip, his face was entirely grayish-white.
His appearance was no different from a corpse.
His insides, on the other hand, felt as though they were meticulously crafted from the purest dark mana.
For now, he stood motionless as a statue, but Uwe could command him to attack at any moment with a mere thought.
A chill ran down the back of his neck.
Loan marveled at the tension he hadn't felt in a long time.
“Oh…”
Uwe was once again perplexed by Loan's unexpected reaction.
His attitude in front of an enemy was unfamiliar, yet somehow not unpleasant.
He found himself speaking.
“Godehardt was a powerhouse of a past generation. I personally excavated his spirit from his tomb.”
“Isn't it a prerequisite for the spirit you summon to remain in a magic tool, even as a lingering thought?”
“Hoh, you have some knowledge in this area?”
Uwe showed his curiosity.
Loan was not stingy with his answer.
“Not really. I just came across the concept in a book while looking into lost summoning magic. In any case, it seems similar to drawing in a third entity. And I suppose the greatness of the being you draw in depends on the caster's ability.”
A satisfied smile spread across Uwe's face as he listened quietly to Loan.
Whether a mage or a dark mage, being talkative was a very good thing.
Thanks to that, everything became a lesson for each other.
Both had a strong desire for knowledge, so the current situation was satisfying.
That feeling was slightly stronger on Uwe's side.
Hadn't his opponent just subtly praised his abilities?
Uwe said.
“Yes. A good point. The excavation of the subject is indeed based on the caster's luck and skill.”
“He looks quite strong. That must require a lot of mana to back him up.”
“Necromancy consumes an excessive amount of the caster's mana. The stronger the spirit, the more it consumes. However, for me, who has mastered the Mana Absorption Art, there is no need for such worries.”
The Mana Absorption Art.
He knew what it was without needing an explanation.
It was what Uwe had been doing from the start: using the mana of the demon Decara.
A direct curiosity arose about Uwe, who, like himself, used external mana.
It was because Decara's mana had obscured Uwe's inner workings, preventing a proper look.
What was the principle that made the Mana Absorption Art possible?
“Is your heart also spinning?”
“...What are you talking about?”
Seeing that he didn't understand immediately, he probably wasn't using Circles.
“Did you misspeak? Shouldn't you be asking if my heart is beating, or something like that?”
“Is that so. I suppose I misspoke.”
Loan quickly corrected himself, but Uwe believed that a creature like a mage would never speak idly.
Especially not in a situation like this.
He struggled to find the hidden meaning in the words ‘heart is spinning.’
Looking at his opponent's deeply furrowed brow, Loan finalized his resolve.
Godehardt's sword was aimed at him, so he couldn't move rashly, but he couldn't stay like this forever.
“You can think after you're dead. Wake up that ghost of yours. I'm curious.”
Was he annoyed by a riddle he couldn't solve?
The provocation worked better than expected.
Godehardt, who had been standing still as a statue, suddenly began to swing his sword with a *whoosh*.
As he did, a heat haze began to rise from the sword, looking quite threatening.
A spirit that could emit Aura. It was quite surprising.
“Before you realize why he is called the Slaughterer, your body will be torn to shreds.”
Following the stale prophecy, Godehardt moved.
The moment he registered it, Loan's heart spun with a roar, and his mana circulated rapidly.
Because the sword had a blunt tip, its trajectory felt unique. Moreover, it was incredibly fast.
For a moment, he imagined his head being cut off.
His body moved, skipping the process of thought. He didn't dodge. His instincts told him to dive into the man's embrace.
A speed that might have been impossible until yesterday. But now, having fully opened the path of circulation, it was possible.
He slid forward and simultaneously activated his Domain.
The tip of Godehardt's foot twisted strangely. In that instant, Loan adapted.
Just as he had applied physicality to the Narrow Path, he did the same to his Domain.
The moment he sensed frost blazing up from the tip of the man's foot—
Twelve Shevilles and six strands of Convection poured into the man's body at once.
With a flash, the blunt sword met them.
CR-CRASH!
It was just a single sword strike.
But the Aura that scattered in all directions like sunlight neutralized all eighteen attacks aimed at his joints.
Truly immense power.
“A monster…”
The highest praise one could give an enemy.
Words that slipped out because he was stronger than anyone Loan had ever met.
‘This isn't enough. I have to be faster.’
His desire naturally became his will, stimulating his body.
His heart spun more fiercely, and like interlocking gears, the two paths of circulation once again surpassed their full power.
It felt as if mana was rampaging throughout his entire body.
Fortunately, Uwe was pushing the demon hard enough to make it possible for Loan to draw that much mana.
It was likely to control Godehardt, but it was a good thing for Loan too.
‘This is my chance.’
The path for the horizontal circulation of mana was open.
He just had to overcome one more hurdle.
What he needed was the inspiration he felt when he faced the human tree.
To recreate the epiphany he had back then, when he wove the image of circulating mana into his heart.
Therefore, this was the perfect moment.
A powerful foe, the likes of whom were hard to come by.
One who could take his life in an instant. An opponent who could prove that his death five years from now was, in fact, nothing but a dream.
Steeling his resolve, he dodged the man's sword.
The process of his muscles and bones containing mana and unleashing power without straining his body was incredibly smooth.
Godehardt's sword narrowly missed Loan.
But the Aura that spread like a ray of light in that instant tore his clothes and seared his flesh.
Feeling the scorching heat rush up to his face, Loan urged his heart to spin even faster.
As mana entered and exited, spreading through his body, he felt a heat boiling up from within.
But he couldn't stop.
Clang—Clang—!
CRASH—!
Dodging, clashing, and all the while unleashing another attack.
He continuously pushed himself beyond his limits.
Godehardt's sword grew hotter and hotter, and Loan's insides heated up as if they would explode at any moment.
A feeling of being torn to shreds from the inside out.
It was just like that time.
Excruciating pain. This feeling. He remembered.
Back then, despite his young age, he hadn't felt this pain because his will had dominated the limits of his body.
The one inspiration he needed.
I want to win. I want to defeat him. I want to advance to the next level, right now.
SHIIIIING—!
The sword flashed as if to butcher his entire body.
The moment he urged his heart to spin a little faster to dodge it.
Loan thought of the word 'desperation,' and at the same time, a change occurred within him.
As if to overcome the absurdity of a single rotation being responsible for two circulations.
A ring, strikingly similar to the violent horizontal circulation, bloomed alongside his heart, poised to catch up.
As if it were a condensed version of the horizontal circulation itself.
The second Circle.
Woooooooo—
Kiiiiiiing—
A very natural change, where one Circle now led one circulation.
And yet, there was no strain in the flow of mana as they interlocked.
In perfect harmony, Loan looked at the blade rushing toward his neck.
It should have been an instant, but it was incredibly slow.
The expansion of his subjective time meant his senses had risen proportionally.
It also gave him the leeway to make more assumptions and run more thought experiments.
He watched.
He judged.
Thought becomes will.
Will becomes conviction.
Swish—
He caught the approaching blade between two fingers and snapped it.
“Hic!”
Uwe gasped as if hiccupping.
Without faltering, he spread his hands toward Godehardt's body.
Just like that time he shattered the mana core inside the golem.
Fondly recalling himself from that time, which felt so long ago but was not yet a full year.
A mass of mana, without flesh and blood.
He intervened in the powerful will-form that held it together.
KWAAAAANG—!
An explosion that shook the space.
The powerhouse of the past, who bore the nickname 'Slaughterer,' disintegrated into particles and scattered.
“…”
Through the dissipating particles, Loan's and Uwe's eyes met.
Uwe desperately cast a spell.
One layer, two layers, three layers...
Loan aimed his finger at the eight shields that had stacked up in an instant, surpassing Uwe's limit.
Crack!
A [Mana Bullet] pierced through the space between Uwe's eyes.