Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: El Karsum
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“There... there’s my dad...”
Renila was pointing at the mages bound atop a massive magic circle. Covered in golden fur rising from the ground, they thrashed about, so they clearly hadn’t lost consciousness.
The Shamshir—those lunatics—had said the sealing of El Karsum was nearly complete. From the circumstances, the entity buried beneath must be El Karsum.
But that’s...
Seal.
It meant closing off or confining an entity, space, or piece of information to block external access. Unless my knowledge was wrong, that was the general definition.
However, this magic circle wasn’t made for sealing. Hazy waves obscured the view, but up close, it wasn’t hard to discern the magic it held.
Amplification...
It resembled the amplification circle I’d seen at the Hajar branch, but a refined version. Spiraling runes amplified the mages’ mana, channeling the boosted power through the golden fur into the underground.
“Lumia... I can’t go back. I have to save my dad... so you head back first.”
The reckless girl wasn’t begging for my help. Even someone as young and thoughtless as her fully grasped how perilous the situation was.
‘Plant them in the four cardinal directions. The wider the better.’
As Renila and I peered down at the massive circle, I recalled the elf’s words from before we left Hajar headquarters. She’d handed me the mana shards while saying that. Even peering through the Mystic Sight of Arcana, I couldn’t easily guess at the magic contained within the four shards.
I’d asked what spell they held, but the elf hadn’t answered. She’d simply stared silently at the mana shards.
For now, I could only assume they were for some large-scale attack magic or a teleportation circle. They were precious items that might save my life in a pinch, so I couldn’t just hurl them anywhere recklessly.
After a moment’s deliberation, I rose to my feet.
“If I save your dad... we leave right away?”
“L-Lumia?”
“I’ll help you.”
I’ll help you. I had no idea how much inner turmoil it took to utter those words. The storm of emotions churning inside made me nauseous.
It’s dangerous.
I know.
I might die.
I know.
But why? Why go this far for a girl I’d met just days ago?
I didn’t know. I just...
My heart was telling me to.
“Lumia. You’re... you’re an outsider. You could just go back...”
If she’d clung to me sobbing, I might have said something else. Instead, I steadied my breathing and spun up the mana circle in my heart. Plenty of Shamshir prowled the circle’s perimeter—most were mana users.
What to do...
The enemies stood motionless in place, ignoring the battles raging everywhere else. It was as if guarding the magic circle was their sole duty.
At that moment, an old man stepped into the circle. His aura felt utterly alien. I hadn’t noticed when, from where, or in which direction he’d approached.
He moved with perfect naturalness toward the golden fur clump, as if he’d been standing nearby from the start.
A mage...
The hazy waves clouded my vision, but I immediately recognized him as a mage. Renila, staring at the old man, swallowed hard.
“Th-that’s him... the Shamshir’s leader...”
“You sure? He’s a mage.”
“Yeah... the Shamshir move without question at his command.”
His personal realm wasn’t that high. Renila’s father could surely defeat him. Yet her dad was bound like that because of those pitch-black ropes that could momentarily sever a mage’s mana.
I was still pondering how to resolve the situation when...
The old man atop the golden fur clump raised both arms and opened his mouth.
“The time has come. Right here, I shall eternally seal El Karsum and end this cursed desert’s scorching heat...”
As the old man’s voice droned on, a colossal dread wrapped around my entire body. I couldn’t let this continue. The moment my instincts whispered that, my body moved on its own.
It’s insane...
I knew it was insane, yet my movements held no hesitation. My mind screamed I was marching to my death, but my instincts whispered this was the path to survival.
My instincts had always guided me right. This time wouldn’t be different.
Believing that, I landed on the ground.
—Who are you?
The old man’s question drew countless gazes my way. No time to answer. The moment the guards around the circle spotted me, they drew their swords and charged.
I gritted my teeth and stomped the ground. Mana surged through my body and into the earth, raising countless rocks around the magic circle.
Rumble—!
The circle warped, its amplification magic vanishing in an instant. The old man glared at me in bewilderment.
—Wh-what is this...!
Behind his murderous glare, razor-sharp blades hurtled toward me. I stepped back, ramping up Gentle Wind’s output. The fiercely swirling wind barrier seemed to part for a split second, but the blades halted just shy of my skin.
I couldn’t repel them, but they wouldn’t touch. I’d poured my entire mana circle into Gentle Wind. Even the starlight etched in my eyes flickered faintly, its presence fading.
“It... it’s not touching...”
“What...”
“He can’t hold out long! Keep pushing!”
Whoosh—!
Panicked voices scattered on the wind. I was fending off over ten swords alone. To foes enhanced by mana, it must have looked absurd. I glanced upward and shouted.
“Renila!”
As if she’d been waiting, sharp spears of sand rained down from the sky onto the magic circle.
Boom—!
—Y-you vermin...!
The old man’s flustered voice erupted from the billowing dust. Within, a massive mana began to swirl.
Rumble—!
A harsh quake swept away the dust cloud. What emerged was a towering sand spire surging like a wave. It didn’t rise alone—a middle-aged man in an orange robe stood atop it, hands clasped behind his back.
“Dad!”
Renila’s cry burst out the moment her father—Ordan, freed from his bonds—swept the area with a sharp gaze and raised both arms. In that instant, enormous sand erupted from underground, crashing like waves and swallowing every Shamshir swinging their blades.
Not even the foes I’d been holding back escaped the deluge. The sudden crimson sand wave swept them away in one fell swoop.
Splash—!
Astonishingly precise magic control. The wave hurtled in at blinding speed without grazing a single ally. Catching my breath, I rode the wind back to where Renila hid.
Whoosh—!
“Lumia...!”
“Renila.”
This time, Renila didn’t shy from my touch. The moment her hand met my outstretched one, I pulled her into my arms and ascended the wall on gusts of wind.
Behind us, massive explosions rocked the air as scarlet sand erupted everywhere.
—Th-this can’t be...! It was almost... almost over...!
That’s when Renila and I reached the surface. A deafening roar like tearing the sky itself exploded from the dark canyon depths.
“Ugh...!”
“Ugh...”
Just hearing it felt like it would shatter our eardrums. Renila and I clutched our ears and collapsed to the ground. Barely steadying my shaking vision, I looked beyond the canyon—space twisted everywhere as it began to crumble.
From the fissures, it emerged, blazing with mana. Its body resembled a lion’s form. But sprouting from its hide weren’t hairs, but writhing bundles of serpentine tentacles.
Its insubstantial, quivering tail incinerated mana, spiking the desert heat in an instant. Sand near its body melted and flowed like liquid.
“E-El Karsum...”
Renila had said it didn’t exist. But what was this living creature right before our eyes? The overwhelming presence it exuded rivaled even the colossal beast I’d faced with Durel.
In that moment, I remembered the mana shards in my bag—the ones the elf had given me for the four directions. I shot to my feet and tore the glider from my airboard.
“Renila! Don’t move from here!”
“Lumia? Where are you—?”
“Just stay put!”
I kicked off the ground. Gentle Wind propelled the glider’s unfurled wings, launching me skyward. In midair, I pulled out the four mana shards.
‘As wide as possible...’
I didn’t know what they did, but now was the time to follow her instructions. High in the sky, I wrapped the shards in Magic Missile and fired them toward the ground.
Swoosh—!
The shards struck true in the four cardinal directions.
—An unexpected development... but.
A familiar voice drifted down from above.
—No problem.
At the same instant, colossal mana erupted from the shards.
✨ INNER WORLD MANIFESTATION ✨
Platinum Palace
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