Blessing of Universal Erosion

The Blessing of Universal Erosion

"He's probably exhausted too, so keep pushing him!"

Nadia's shrill voice rang out, veins bulging on her neck.

"Goddess, withdraw the Polar Night."

"Hohoho, show me what new power you've obtained."

The darkness receded.

A barrage of multicolored energy projectiles filled my vision.

The offensive from the Arme Rouge players, led by Nadia Cassel, surpassed even the bombardment the Black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Network had unleashed.

These guys had prepared thoroughly.

Divine power concentrated in my eyes.

The authority of the false constellation that interfered with all creation manifested through the medium of sight.

I could see it.

A deeper law of the world than what the Thousand Eyes had shown me.

I even understood the structure of the magic bullets filling my vision.

A sharp pain lanced through my head.

"Ugh."

A short groan escaped me. The flood of information from my eyes caused an overload, triggering a headache.

"Are you all right, my partner?"

"It's bearable."

I was only surprised because it was my first time using the Blessing of Universal Erosion. This level of pain was nothing.

While rapidly digesting the information flooding my vision, I interfered with the spells.

I unraveled the mana tangled like threads.

It worked on a similar principle to how the Temple of the Void Beyond had nullified magic.

The incoming spells vanished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one by one.

Without a sound.

Like an eraser wiping away scribbles.

My heart pounded harder, pushing out mana in a steady stream.

Simply erasing already-manifested magic with the Blessing of Universal Erosion alone wasn't enough. Universal Erosion was the key that unlocked the lock. Just as one needed to apply force to open a door, mana supply was required.

Because of the sheer volume of the magical barrage, mana drained away like a flood.

The sight of spells being nullified simply by being observed left Nadia wide-eyed.

"Why are you maintaining the barrier over there?"

"N-no, ma'am. That isn't the effect of the formation. That human is doing it!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Nadia's denial was understandable. It was an ability bordering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the miraculous.

Why? Because you're on the receiving end of the same trick you used?

I couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"That laugh again."

Nyx's sigh overlaid my smirk.

The eyes of Nadia and the rest of the Red Army turned toward me while the Black Network quickly reorganized their formation.

"Let's overwhelm him in one go."

"That wouldn't be very cost-effective."

Nullifying magic just by looking at it was a cheat-level ability. The problem was the enormous mana consumption during the nullification process.

Just blocking the Red Army's assault for a few seconds had drained about a quarter of the mana stored in the Primordial Dragon Heart.

"It seems you've already thought of another way."

"Well, I don't know if it'll work."

Baal was a false constellation modeled after Baal, the ruler of Pandemonium. The Blessings of Universal Erosion and Greed had something in common: they both corrupted something else.

In that case—

I first interfered with the rearranged mana. Instead of dismantling it with my own mana, I activated the Blessing of Greed.

The Blessing of Greed eroded through the eyes—more precisely, it overlaid Baal's power upon the Blessing of Universal Erosion.

Two blessings of similar origin began to intertwine.

Even if their origins were similar, they were fundamentally powers of different constellations. It was a dangerous attempt that could cause an explosion.

"You're doing something quite risky so casually."

Nyx immediately grasped my intent.

Don't worry. I've devoured the essences of time-related constellations and even brought about the miracle of regression. Entangling blessings of similar origin is nothing.

The Blessing of Greed draped over my eyes seeped into Universal Erosion.

Nyx let out an admiring "Oh?"

The preparations were complete.

I infused the mana of the projectiles I'd read with the Blessing of Universal Erosion into the Blessing of Greed.

If nullifying magic was like unraveling a thread, then the Blessing of Greed dyed the thread itself in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my color.

The Blessing of Greed seeped into the mana structure of the incoming Dark Missile, amplifying its power.

The change didn't stop there.

The attacks flew according to the user's will. I erased that will and overlaid my own thoughts with the Blessing of Greed.

The dark arrows reversed direction and flew back toward their original owners.

"Kuh!"

The magic-class player who had fired the Dark Missile let out a dry scream.

Reversing the magic they had released was quite the feat.

Not bad, right?

I interfered with every spell that entered my vision and sent them flying back toward Nadia Cassel.

"Nullify them with the effect of the Void Beyond!"

"Impossible. Dark mana-based magic cannot be neutralized by the barrier's effect."

The branch of Harab Serapel spoke urgently.

Nadia clicked her tongue.

"Intercept them!"

The magic-class players unleashed the spells they had finished rearranging.

These had originally been prepared for the next wave of attacks.

The Blessings of Universal Erosion and Greed had successfully created a variable.

Now, shall we check the difference in power between the reflected magic and the original?

The mana spheres that collided in midair canceled each other out.

The total mana was roughly equal. Since they had received their own attacks back and the preparation time was similar, there shouldn't have been much difference in power.

Or rather, there shouldn't have been.

"No way……"

Someone's scream was swallowed by the canceling sound of the colliding spells.

The magical barrage that pierced through the hail of fire fell downward.

It was the magic I had reflected.

Anything eroded by the Blessing of Greed could be strengthened according to my will. Just as I always overlaid the Blessing of Greed on the Metal Reflection Armor to push its defensive power beyond its limits, I had interfered with the mana structure rearranged by Universal Erosion, reversed its direction with the Blessing of Greed, and maximized its destructive power.

Long, fang-like objects soared into the sky.

A pinkish glow shimmered along their edges.

Highly compressed mana bullets were fired, blocking all the returning spells.

"Making me bring this out… impressive."

Nadia Cassel ground her teeth and mounted the Pin Fang.

Yes. Those blades were Nadia's true ability—the Pin Fang.

Remote-controlled orbs. Or something similar to Enrique's Kimbaya Relic. Their output was dozens of times greater, so it was only the operational structure that was similar.

As Nadia slowly ascended into the sky aboard the Pin Fang—

"Everyone, assist Sir Yu."

John Doe's voice cut through the battlefield noise.

The usually leisurely old man had raised his voice.

The Black Network players, having finished reorganizing, launched a counterattack.

The branches of Harab Serapel and Gaagsheblah couldn't hide their bewilderment.

"Because Bael's Eye was reverse-summoned, the formation's functions—!"

"We can no longer summon more Purgatory Guardians."

The reverse summoning of Bael's Eye had dealt a heavy blow to the formation as well.

Heh. You won't have things your way anymore.

"I'll handle him. Take care of the rest of the rabble."

Nadia Cassel gave the order in a chilling voice. A far more vicious killing intent than before surged from behind her.

"Good. Let's have the leaders fight, shall we?"

"Your arrogance ends here, Easterner."

With a single shout as the signal, Nadia's figure rapidly closed in.

* * *

Jinho looked down with arrogant eyes.

Nadia clenched her teeth.

'How insolent.'

Only one person was allowed to look at her with such eyes—her beloved lord, Rene Davis.

"Pin Fang, shoot him down."

Following Nadia's gesture, the Pin Fangs soared into the air.

Each unit's output exceeded that of a Gold-rank magic-class player.

Mana bullets formed at the tips of the cylindrical horns and fired in straight lines.

Jinho watched the scene unfolding from the Pin Fangs with a calm gaze.

'This one can't be reflected.'

Nadia was certain. She hadn't grasped the principle behind combining the Blessings of Universal Erosion and Greed. What she focused on was that he had reflected projectiles.

The Pin Fang's attacks fired beams in straight lines. To reverse their direction, one would have to distort the entire mana flow, which was impossible. Even if it were possible, she could simply manipulate the Pin Fangs to readjust the beams' direction.

Sinister crimson wings engulfed Jinho's entire body.

Dozens of Pin Fangs poured out firepower, but they couldn't penetrate the dark aura forming the wings. As the mana beams clashed with the pitch-black feathers and canceled out, new dark aura quickly filled the gaps.

An overwhelming difference in output.

'All of those wings are aura…'

Nadia quickly analyzed the Dragon's Wings. She was inferior in both mana quantity and power.

'I won't fight a battle I can't win.'

Her opponent was a monster who had even defeated Bael's Eye, summoned through the effect of the Temple of the Void Beyond. Nadia's chances of winning in a head-on fight were zero.

Her goal was to tie down Jinho's feet. Even if the Black Network had reorganized, they were still one step below her enhanced subordinates who had received the baptism.

'If we defeat the Shadow Puppeteer, victory is ours.'

Nadia planned to turn this battle into a war of attrition. Jinho's combat ability far exceeded expectations. Even so, as a human, his limits were clear. Mana, stamina, and internal energy were not infinite.

After wiping out the remaining Black Network forces, they could switch to a rotating attack with the support of the Temple of the Void Beyond and win.

The waiting Pin Fangs concentrated mana at their tips.

Aura surged upward. While pouring out beam bombardment, sixteen Pin Fangs approached Jinho and simultaneously moved to pierce through the dark aura.

'Now!'

Nadia precisely controlled the Pin Fangs that had dug into the Dragon's Wings.

Ziiiiiing!

The tips of the Pin Fangs served as vertices, forming a sixteen-sided barrier.

Originally meant to block enemy attacks with a defensive formation, Nadia instead used it to trap Jinho inside the barrier and prevent him from releasing his power.

The Pin Fangs that had been bombarding from outside the Dragon's Wings moved in the same way. The remaining thirty-three also circled the Dragon's Wings, deploying barriers.

A flawless defensive formation enveloped Jinho.

'I'll buy time like this.'

The Pin Fang's Barrier Mode boasted fortress-level defense. Its output was equivalent to fifty Gold-rank players connected in series to form a barrier.

Even Rene would take about three minutes to break through a barrier deployed by the Pin Fangs.

'The mana consumption is severe, but I can do this up to four times……'

At that moment—

"Did you think you could buy time against me?"

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

The barrier split apart.

A vivid aura blade five meters long surged upward. The black blade aura fell toward Nadia's crown.

An absolute power that could not be resisted.

'I need to restore it quickly.'

Nadia calmly controlled the Pin Fangs. The small mana cores linked to them. If she filled the cracks in the barrier and blocked the trajectory of the aura blade, she could endure.

But—

'It won't restore.'

As if something foreign had gotten in the way, the recovery speed of the once-torn barrier was sluggish.

A powerful technique that even Rene Davis couldn't break.

Nadia couldn't believe the reality before her eyes.

"How!"

"It's a trick I've already experienced."

The pitch-black aura blade poured down as it was.