NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81
A desperate struggle woven together by magic.
The Frozen Field cast by the magician brought me an unexpected joy that made me chuckle, but it seemed to have quite the opposite effect on Shurika right in front of me.
[‘Frozen Field’ extinguishes Shurika’s trait ‘Dry Firewood’.]
[‘Frozen Field’ halves the effect of Shurika’s trait ‘Flame Affinity’.]
[The ‘Frozen Field’ applies slow and delayed regeneration effects to the caster’s enemy until the duration ends.]
Glancing quickly through the rising system messages, I thought that even with a three or four tier difference in stats, it was worth a shot.
No, it’s not that it’s worth a shot, I’m definitely going to win.
All I have to do is get rid of the Evil God’s tentacles and threads clinging to Shurika.
‘Will she return to normal after getting rid of that? If so, should I kill her or save her as a victim being controlled…? I guess I’ll decide after I finish what I need to do first.’
Cough!
“Eek! Hey!”
“Yo! Are you okay?! Open your eyes!”
“I did my part. I did everything, so please make sure to save me and take me…”
Thud.
With a commotion behind me, I slowly turned my head while keeping my eyes on Shurika.
Just half-turned enough to react to sudden movement, I immediately grasped the situation thanks to the clearer Chaos aura.
Blood pooling on the floor and her face smeared with it. Along with her face going completely pale.
‘I may not be a magician, but I can tell that casting magic that transcends hierarchies is a risky endeavor worth at least risking one’s life.’
Well then, it’s my turn to repay that sacrifice.
“Phew… Let’s go!”
The me who had been dodging and rolling until now was gone.
If she’s not coming over here, then I’ll go over there first!
Thwok!
Gathering my mana, I pushed off the frozen ground.
As I charged, Shurika finally started to move, bright eyes flashing as she readied a fiery whip to counter.
Swoosh!!!
The end of the whip darted towards me, piercing sharply while tearing through the air with a menacing sound that broke the sound barrier.
It was definitely fast, yet it felt slow. It sounds contradictory, but that’s how it felt.
Whoosh.
I had to break through the increasingly stronger downpour that was enhanced by the applied slow effect, so it couldn’t help but feel sluggish.
Evading before the whip reached me was, to put it lightly, a piece of cake.
Bam!! Whoosh!!!
I ran. My legs kept moving nonstop.
Rolling and tumbling? The me who dodged so dangerously didn’t exist anymore. There was just me, shifting my body with the thinnest margin.
—Grah!!!
Before long, I reached right in front of Shurika, and the technique I’d seen during the five-minute resistance. A fire lion charged at me.
What it failed to account for was that this was a water-logged area.
I stopped and focused my mind.
In that brief moment, I envisioned a path from the grip to the tip of the sword in my mind, and used the Frozen Frost with the hand gripping the sword.
“Here, eat this!!!”
I swung my sword.
It started as a normal slash. But the weak chill of the transcendent’s blade changed the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Droplets of water struck by the blade turned into ice crystals in an instant, forming a distinct trajectory.
Fwwaam!!!
At a glance, one could consider it a slash made of wind and blade, slicing cleanly through the fire lion’s body in one go.
The flames dispersed, unable to maintain the lion’s form, and were extinguished right away.
Shurika’s eyes widened in surprise. Was that her own reaction, or was it the Evil God’s response controlling her body?
“Ha—!!!”
I finally made contact! Just one!
Slice.
“How can a mere mortal inflict damage on my true form?!”
As I cut one of the tentacles entwined around her arm, the Evil God’s voice sprang forth.
‘What a spiteful little thing. Having thrown a fit over causality, you still haven’t left, huh? Well then, let’s see who dies.’
Realizing I could affect her true form, the Evil God began to manipulate Shurika’s body even more precisely.
Throwing away the whip, Shurika entered into hand-to-hand combat.
Her mane radiating red, fierce flames flickered as she swung her fist.
Avoid? No, I was just taking the hits!
Boom!!!
“Oof, heh heh.”
It was about time to take a hit.
It hurt. But compared to the pain felt by Shurika, who was playing around as the Evil God’s toy, and the pain felt by adventurers burned to death by spirits!
“This is nothing!”
Slice!
I cut one down.
Bam!!! Boom!!!
“Hahaha!”
Slash! Ping. Ping!
Then I cut three more.
Right now, I was in a state stacked with strong fire resistance, strong jungle resistance, increased weak defense, and gradually increasing recovery from the blessing of water.
All that the Evil God could do in an attempt to stop me was to stare at the severed tentacle stumps and the cut threads while throwing meaningless punches and kicks.
“Why?! Why aren’t you going down?! Compared to this human, my level is much higher, so why am I not collapsing?!”
Bam!!!
“Cough… Damn, you pathetic excuse for a god.”
Ping! Slice!!
“All you can do is whine like a ten-year-old kid? Huh?”
Ping. Ting—!
‘I’ve cut all the threads. Just a little more!’
At that moment, the finish line was in sight.
“Yeah. Good! After all, the apostle who paid an enormous sacrifice is already dead, and the remaining host is about to leave my grasp.”
Slice!
Only two tentacles remaining!
“Listen, mere mortal. I will definitely kill you!”
Gwaaaaaaaahhhh!!!
The horrifying flames that melted my armor and destroyed Lehagan erupted from the depths.
No matter how the Chaos slowed down the world… I couldn’t avoid it.
Including all the remaining power of the Evil God and Shurika’s body, it was a truly desperate strike.
I couldn’t escape; the burst of flames overwhelmed me first.
“■■■■■■!!!”
It felt like someone was sawing off the fuse in my brain.
My body was tormented by an intense searing heat, like frying in bubbling hot oil, and the sound of thunder crackling in my head burst out in a way that couldn’t be translated into proper human language.
A beast’s howl, that was the only way I could express it.
Still, I couldn’t give up.
Monks burned beyond recognition. The twin whose entire body was rotten. Asan, who lost an arm and was crippled. Dozens of adventurers, trampled by elephants and gutted by hoofs, turned to ash.
I couldn’t let their sacrifices make everything worthless.
“Damn it, you bastard!!!”
The tip of my index finger clicked and moved.
Then it was the fingers.
From the hand to the arm. From the arm to the torso. From the torso to my whole body.
Was it due to some unprecedented energy that surged from elsewhere?
No, it could just be a phenomenon created by my will. Whatever it was, it was important that my body was moving.
Even while being burned, I held onto the hilt of my sword. Totally unwilling to let go, as if it didn’t matter if I was shattered.
I remembered something from Asan’s light steps and steadfast sword path.
Thud.
“Move, huh?”
My eyes remembered.
The clear sword ki that reflected light in his aura.
Swish—
With half of my consciousness gone, I performed an unnamed action, moving my magic.
Operating? Formulated movement? I didn’t have the strength to think of such things, nor did I need to.
I just did. Simply, as my heart willed it, I raised the sword.
…Flash!
It was faint. That gray flame burned so lightly, it resembled a tiny candle ready to extinguish at any moment.
Yet strangely, I felt an inexplicable certainty.
Click.
I was sure I could finish him off with this.
“…Two.”
In that fleeting moment, I swung my sword.
From bottom to top.
Slash!!!
“No, please! If it is cut here, I—”
And then.
“One.”
Slice—
“—I can’t be forgotten like this! I’ve only just let you into the city! How the hell did I get here!!!”
Clunk.
With my last downward stroke, my strength finally drained away, but I barely managed to kneel and hold on.
“How does it feel to lose to a lowly mortal you looked down on?”
A dark purple aura—not even worthy of being called aura—poured out from Shurika’s body.
“No. I don’t need to know how the feeling of defeat is. Just quietly disappear, you damned Evil God.”
“I may perish like this! But the other gods won’t stay still! Just wait, mortal!!!”
A so-called god, and yet they’re saying “Just wait” after everything is over? I couldn’t help but snicker—it’s such a clichéd villain trope.
“It ends so futilely…”
Thud.
As Shurika’s body fell forward, I still knelt down and caught her.
‘Is it over?’
I no longer heard the Evil God’s voice, nor did I feel anything from her body.
The most certain thing was the status window.
────
[Shurika Blaze]
[Strength: B] [Agility: B+] [Durability: C]
[Stamina: B-] [Magic: B+] [Luck: C-]
[Traits Held] (Fold)
Awakened Bloodline
Advanced Spirit Magic
Intermediate Manipulation
Contaminated Magic
Extinguished Firewood
Flame Affinity
Scarred Soul
────
The accursed physical and soul contamination had vanished, and things had changed significantly.
It all changed for the worse; her mana dropped from A- to B+, which seemed like a huge blow, but that wasn’t the important part right now.
‘For now, I’ve separated her from the Evil God, but should I save her? Or just kill her now?’
I didn’t know. With the overwhelming noise from Sena or the fighting sounds from the spirits in the back all ceased, it seemed everything had come to an end.
Let’s take a break. If I lie down and rest, she’ll come back to me.
Whether the battle had completely finished or it was just the duration expired, I didn’t know, but as the rain stopped, the ground was beginning to thaw.
Thud.
Lifting Shurika somewhat awkwardly, I fell back onto the ground flat.
“Shouldn’t I be sleeping? …Ugh, I’m so tired. If I had to come back once more for some circus act, I’d be less than human— I’d be a dog!”
“Hmm? Uh?”
Did the Evil God disappeared and woke her up? Upon realizing she had landed in my embrace, Shurika met my gaze as she regained her senses.
“Don’t even think about going anywhere now that it’s all over. Got it?”
‘Sorry, but there are too many people dead to claim she’s just a victim controlled by the Evil God.’
“Yes, yes. Um, thank you for saving me. If it wasn’t for you, I…”
It was a bit awkward to respond, so I simply nodded slightly.
“Hey!!!”
Survivors were coming.