Chapter 21. Partus (5)
One of the 36 Heroes, the "Sword Queen" Charlotte Tate.
The greatest among the six surviving demon lords, the demon king Partus who had lived the longest.
They stood at opposite ends of the spectrum, yet in truth, both desired the same situation.
'I need to buy a little time.'
'......I have to drag this out.'
For Charlotte Tate, it was essential to maintain this standoff as long as possible. Until Arnaud Duré, Andrey Ilyin, and Lee Dojin analyzed the rift centered around the Han River and carved open a path to the outside. Until the heroes waiting beyond, led by Seo Yeon-hee, could join the fray.
She had to stall for time until then, no matter what.
It was obvious, but Partus's intentions differed from Charlotte Tate's. He had descended into this world with a clear purpose, and the reason he thought he needed to take it slow was tied to that very goal.
'It must be somewhere nearby...... but it's not easy to pinpoint.'
The traces—or fragments—of the vanished god. He knew they lingered within the rift's boundaries, but locating them precisely was proving difficult. Was it hidden in a specific spot? Held by someone? Or had that power taken on a life of its own and was moving independently?
Such details eluded him, and he needed time to scatter his demonic energy and search.
'If I go looking myself, it might just hide.'
To draw it out naturally through his demonic energy, he needed someone to keep him occupied in battle. Charlotte Tate was the perfect piece for that role. Strong enough not to arouse suspicion of deliberate stalling, yet not quite enough to truly threaten Partus himself.
'The three of them aren't combining their strength—seems they each have their own agenda, but it doesn't matter.'
They were probably up to something with the rift, but it wasn't worth worrying over. No matter how much they schemed, a handful of human mages couldn't unravel it in such a short time. Finding the god's fragment himself would be faster anyway.
And that was the decisive difference between Demon King Partus and Hero Charlotte Tate. She prioritized stalling—even against an invading enemy she should defeat—as her best outcome. He could end it whenever he wanted but chose to lock the situation in place according to his will.
Their power gap revealed itself from the very first clash.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Black demonic energy collided with pure white mana, dyeing the world gray. But it was only for a moment.
Swooooosh......
The gray was gradually turning black. Not because it was night. It was because Partus's demonic energy significantly overpowered Charlotte Tate's mana.
Charlotte Tate frowned for an instant before swinging her hand again.
Paaaaah!
Kwaaang!
The light mass pushing toward her, now nearly black, met her freshly unleashed mana. Boom!
It couldn't withstand the clash of powers and finally exploded.
'After two exchanges, am I slightly ahead?'
Gauging it in her mind, Charlotte Tate clenched her right fist and then flung it open with full force.
Viiiing—
Among the mana she had projected outward—still under her control—a portion formed tiny sword shapes again, splitting into over a dozen blades.
Pew!
Shuuuuaaa—!
Kerrrk! Graaah!
The sound of multiple swords slicing through the air. The screams of monsters pierced through necks, hearts, and heads by those blades.
Glare locked on Partus, who hadn't moved a step from his spot, standing leisurely. Charlotte Tate shook her hand.
Viiing, viuuung—
Magic circles flickered around the demon king and her—above, below, front, back, left, right, every direction.
Kwaang!
Kicking off the mana supports she had formed, Charlotte Tate soared into the air, positioning herself above Partus in an instant.
"Shot!"
Kuaaaaaang!
Mana bullets poured from ten magic circles overhead, targeting Partus. At the same time, the circles below activated.
Hwaaaaah—!
Mana constructs blazing with azure flames surged upward, blocking Partus's retreat.
The ensuing explosion. Boom!
Mana bullets and flames merged, incinerating even the finest dust.
And it wasn't over. Charlotte Tate finally clapped her widely spread arms together in front.
Viiiiing—
All the magic circles encircling Partus transformed into swords. They shot toward the demon king at speeds far exceeding the sound barrier...
"[Truly insignificant power.]"
With those low words, every attack scattered as if it had never existed. Mana bullets, flames, sword strikes—each powerful enough to kill an average Awakener in one blow—yet they left no mark on Partus.
The demon king looked up at the hero with contemptuous eyes and casually extended a hand upward.
Thuaaaang!
A tiny wisp of demonic energy from his hand. As it hurtled toward Charlotte Tate, it rapidly expanded. One meter, five meters, ten meters. Now the size of a multi-story building, Charlotte Tate hurriedly kicked off the air before it.
Kwaang!
Piyuuuung—!
She rocketed skyward, pursued by the black demonic energy. She zigzagged left and right to evade, but the energy freely mirrored her path.
Realizing evasion alone wouldn't work, Charlotte Tate gathered her power.
Thung!
Cupping her hands to block the demonic energy, her body was shoved upward dramatically. Less than a second of leeway. Charlotte Tate hurriedly channeled mana into her fists and detonated the demonic energy.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
Hundreds of meters up, a brilliant light show like fireworks erupted.
The recoil was no joke; as Charlotte Tate gritted her teeth, Partus was already upon her.
[I shall grant thee one last chance.]
With those cold words, the demon king thrust his fist.
Thwack!
The downward punch shattered Charlotte Tate's defense, hurling her to the ground.
Paaaaang!
The already turbulent river waters exploded upward. Charlotte Tate, slammed into it, vanished from sight. Partus quietly gazed downward, waiting.
Kieeek! Grrrk, grrrk.
Monsters continued pouring through the rift even now. Not a full legion like an S-rank rift, but a hundred or so was easy. Under the lord's command, they headed for the surface, met by hunters fighting back.
Amid it all, Charlotte Tate still hadn't emerged from the river.
[This can't be all thou hast.]
Partus murmured as if addressing her. From memories of the past, the woman opposing him now wasn't defined by such petty tricks. Her true power dominated far more profoundly, even interfering with the essence of mana itself. She wielded such might, albeit faintly.
'Has she grown afraid, perhaps?'
That wasn't what Partus wanted. If she was hiding, he'd force her to fight.
Decision made, he slowly descended. To awaken Charlotte Tate by force if needed.
And at that exact moment.
Kugugung—
The broad Han River's waters began roiling wildly. Like a storm, the waves converged in one spot. Thousands, millions of tons of water gathered, fusing into an unbelievable phenomenon.
The riverbed, exposed as if parched by drought, gleamed with a sword radiating blue light at its center.
A blade born of water and mana united. Gripping it, Charlotte Tate declared softly.
"Now it gets real."
Earth, air, moisture—everything infused with mana fell under her dominion. A superpower extending beyond her own mana to influence nature and physical laws themselves. That was the true power of the Immune Body wielder, Sword Queen Charlotte Tate.
Sensing the hostile aura from the air enveloping him, Partus smiled faintly.
[Excellent. Far superior to twenty years ago. Hadst thou another century, thou might have reached a realm equal to mine...... Humanity's short lifespan is a pity even to me.]
"A century? Don't make me laugh."
Thud.
Feeling the chill bite of the blade in her hand vividly, Charlotte Tate continued.
"Thirty minutes is plenty."
The longest-lived demon king. History's strongest Immune Body wielder. At last, their true battle began.
"We have to hurry as much as possible. Let's go."
Arnaud Duré urged. Far off in the sky, Charlotte Tate and Partus clashed fiercely, while hunters battled the monsters spilling from the rift.
Before heading to the rift's outskirts, I gave Lee Sea my final instructions.
"I'll be back soon, bro. Stay inside—it's dangerous."
Charlotte Tate had said to watch her fight, but whatever. Lee Sea replied curtly, without argument.
"I...... wanna go too."
"No. It's dangerous, and too many people will just make it worse. I'll really be quick, so don't worry."
Lee Sea's face clouded with sadness. She knew she couldn't follow, but sending me off alone was unbearable.
Jin Yu-ri looked equally grim, but Yoo Hae-bin forced a cheerful tone.
"I'll keep an eye on these two so they don't wander off. Professor, fighting!"
"Yeah, thanks."
That was the extent of our leeway. Arnaud Duré, Andrey Ilyin, and I left the shelter without looking back, moving at top speed.
Our destination: the rift's outermost edge. We had to analyze the barrier blocking external intrusion and create a connecting passage to the outside.
We soon reached a desolate, pitch-black clearing devoid of people. Nothing around but distant echoes—the roars from hunters and monsters clashing, shockwaves likely from Charlotte Tate and Partus's battle.
Arnaud Duré extended his palm forward.
Thung.
At the rift's black wall, his hand couldn't advance further.
With steely resolve, he declared.
"Let's begin."
Viiiing—
A highly complex mana construct appeared before Arnaud Duré. I recognized it instantly: the theory he'd researched in secret. A construct to handle rift emergence and properties.
"Jin, calculations are yours. Andy, nothing tough—just supply mana steadily so the flow doesn't break. It might run low. Alright, let's do this."
As he spoke, the mana construct slowly rotated, emitting light. The glow touched the wall dividing rift interior from exterior. Arnaud Duré promptly asked me.
"Circuit 7: lineage, attribute, power adjustment."
"Reflection. Earth attribute, needs at least ten times the current mana. Purity as high as we can concentrate."
"Mm......"
Andrey Ilyin grunted low, supplying mana. Arnaud had said it was easy, but maintaining such high-purity mana wasn't simple. The heroes outside hadn't breached it yet, after all—not a trivial task.
Shuuu......
The construct shifted form slightly. Arnaud Duré followed up: which circuit, how to channel mana.
I answered rapidly, maxing out Peeping Eye, my senses, and insight. Andrey Ilyin kept supplying accordingly.
A change emerged.
Viiiiing—
The spherical construct formed a triangular pyramid—exactly like the rift confining us.
Arnaud Duré shouted in delight.
"Yes! Now if we reverse-engineer the structure for neutralization—"
But the next moment.
"Ah......"
As we should accelerate the latter phase, Arnaud Duré let out a soft sound and glanced back.
Not at me beside him. His gaze fixed on Andrey Ilyin.
"Arnaud, what's up?"
"No, nothing. Keep going."
Dismissing my question, he stared intently at the pyramid construct. I subtly heightened my aura sense to probe behind.
Andrey Ilyin stood silently, staring at Arnaud Duré.