Chapter 49: Natural Disaster!
The rapidly falling meteor burned away the air, and even the towering academy spires were incinerated into sand by the powerful heat wave.
The flames produced by intense friction gradually enveloped the entire massive rock, like a fiery sun plummeting down.
[Fourth-tier Magic: Falling Sun]
The sky was scorched with a hole, light pouring down from it.
Viktor floated in the sky, looking down at the demon like a god.
The magical power of a fourth-tier mage could reach the level of a natural disaster, which was the origin of the title "Saint Mage."
In fact, this was also another name for fourth-tier mages, describing their profound and powerful magical attainment.
"...Disaster Mage."
Duke Levi, on the ground, looked up, the falling sun reflected in his eyes, as he murmured.
He suddenly widened his eyes, the shock on his face instantly turning to determination.
"Everyone! Form defensive arrays!"
At his command, the mage corps and knights immediately established an orderly human wall.
The mages and wizards chanted, and a golden city wall gradually appeared, surrounding the students and mages within.
The knights crossed their swords and shields, a white light gradually appearing on the silver blades. With a flash of strong light, several white magic shields instantly appeared, blocking in front of the knights.
The falling meteor's destructive force was world-ending. In an instant, flames spontaneously erupted on the surrounding rubble, the intense aura once again thoroughly shattering everything.
The combined barrier created by the mages and knights instantly wavered. Everyone present felt the scorching heat transmit from their feet to their brains.
The sky was utterly destroyed, deathly silent.
Smell, sound, at this moment seemed to be instantly stripped away by death.
People could barely be aware that they were still alive under this world-destroying magic only by the light of the blazing sun.
The meteor frantically smashed into the demon, its skin instantly bursting open, the sizzling flesh as painful and unbearable as if it were in molten lava.
"Ah——!!"
The powerful magic made no distinction between friend and foe.
The buildings near the academy were also swept by the intense heat wave, the townhouses vanishing into ash in the blink of an eye.
"Damn it! Fourth-tier magic is so terrifying!"
"Viktor! Aren't you the real demon?!"
These were the unanimous thoughts of everyone present, but they didn't dare to shout them out.
Just opening their mouths would let the heat wave rush in, making them feel as if their bodies were being incinerated.
As the intense radiance dissipated, the barrier in front of the crowd gradually broke and dispersed.
For a moment, dust filled the air.
"How is it? Has the demon been eliminated?"
"Under such powerful magic, the demon probably couldn't survive."
"Did we win!?"
Joy gradually appeared on everyone's faces, the feeling of surviving a catastrophe making them incredibly excited.
However, as the layers of smoke cleared, a massive black figure appeared before the people.
"Hehehe——"
"You are all just worms, worms!"
"What is that thing!?"
The people who heard the demon's voice were instantly dumbfounded. They couldn't imagine how the demon could still survive under that scale of magic.
"How can such a terrifying thing still not be dead!"
Once again falling from the peak to the valley, people wept uncontrollably.
The feeling of despair no longer needed to spread; it naturally grew in the hearts of those present.
It wasn't the first time demons had appeared in people's sight; there had been many incidents of demons hurting people before.
But most demons were just disgusting worms that bewitched humans and stole their power.
In many people's eyes, demons were more like more powerful beasts.
But such a terrifying demon before their eyes,
"Can anyone really defeat it?"
Duke Levi's expression was grave. Perhaps the only way to defeat this demon was to prepare war magic in advance.
Viktor's fourth-tier magic just now, although as powerful as a natural disaster, was still not as terrifying as war magic in comparison.
Moreover, this demon's power was gradually dissipating. No one knew when it would be weakened to the point where even they could defeat it, but for the outcome, it was still good.
If they could hold this demon off for a long time, and prepare magic arrays in advance when it was weak, then...
While Duke Levi was still thinking, a figure caught his eye.
It was Viktor.
He stood alone among the ruins, facing that astonishing demon.
His deep black cloak fluttered in the dusty wind, occasionally flashing with red patterns.
What did he want to do?
"So it didn't die after all."
A dangerous light flashed in Viktor's eyes.
In his gaze, a clearly visible red health bar floated above the head of this filthy demon.
To the right of the health bar, the demon's level was displayed — Lv45
Its level wasn't high, but as a boss unit, it was extremely powerful.
The demon's health had already dropped below half and was continuing to decrease, albeit minutely.
This indicated that the demon before them wasn't as unscathed as others thought.
It had managed to hold on until now entirely relying on the magical energy it had absorbed from countless mages at the academy earlier.
But!
'It's far from its peak.'
Yem, as the mid-game boss of the first chapter in the game, faced player raids, and Yem's defeat was more due to a necessary plot development.
Demons also have high and low, strong and weak. Demons without intelligence and emotions are the lowest level.
But Yem had a resounding name.
Primal Demon!
It was one of the top existences among demons.
Its name was — Greed.
Its strength was very high, far exceeding the attributes of players at that time.
So, when players teamed up to raid Yem, who had occupied the imperial capital, many NPCs would appear to help the players.
For example, Gwen, a year and a half later.
Viktor looked back. The injured and unconscious Gwen had already been protected by his magic in advance.
A year and a half later, Gwen first appeared in the battle to assist players, slaying Yem with astonishing strength.
This knight had an intense hatred for demons; she wanted to kill all the demons in the world.
The reason was also very simple.
Gwen's elder sister, whom players had never seen, Kevla Delin, died at the hands of the Demon of Greed.
If nothing went wrong, the demon Kevla came to the capital to seek Yem.
The final outcome, naturally, goes without saying.
The demon once again spewed ink from its mouth, gradually enveloping the entire academy. In an instant, tentacles began to extend from under the ink, frantically dancing.
This time compared to before, unrecognizable organs began to form on the tentacles, emitting a sound that stimulated people's inner greed.
Seeing the demon release such powerful force again, many mages couldn't help but tremble, collapsing to the ground and begging for mercy.
Viktor was drawn to the demon's commotion. He faced Yem, standing motionless in the storm.
Allowing the demonic sound to enter his ears, Viktor's heart remained as calm as a lake.
He softly uttered:
"Vega."
"I understand!"
Vega was so excited it could hardly contain itself, its feathers all standing on end, its eyes brimming with blue light.
Magical power, like a gushing spring, poured into Viktor's body all at once, making him instantly feel incredibly powerful within.
Moreover, compared to last time, it was even more violent!
"Is it because Vega has recovered some power?"
Viktor quickly realized the source but didn't dwell on it.
From his body, countless shimmering red crystals flew out. These were the drop crystals that Gwen had collected for him from the magical beasts earlier.
Now, they came in handy.
One by one, the crystals embedded themselves in the ground, and an exquisite red array appeared in the sky above.
The red crystals gradually began to crack, floating in the air, reflecting intense red light.
The crystals in the corners burst forth with red chains, forming crystals between the chains that gradually enveloped the demon.
These dropped magical items could enhance the power of Viktor's magic, not only simply increasing the magic's power but also imbuing it with many attribute effects.
Soon, Viktor's hands were gradually enveloped by runes, and magical power also continuously emerged from between those runes, transmitting to those crystal chains.
"A thousand demons' magic exhausts all."
"The prison of ten thousand years, maddens gods and confuses minds."
.......
As Viktor chanted each sentence, those chains released a blood-red light. In an instant, countless souls burst forth from within, floating in the sky.
Misery, resentment, anger — emotions flashed out from the array in an instant.
Under the sky, blood-red light exploded.
Correspondingly, with each chant, Viktor's magic storage would rapidly decrease by a large amount.
"What does Viktor want to do!?"
The mages present looked up at the blood-red souls flying constantly in the sky, their hearts filled with fear.
They suddenly realized that the feeling of greed within their bodies had completely dissipated.
A red thread appeared on their bodies, connected to the chains.
At this moment, all the mages had a bad feeling.
He wants to use all of us as part of the array!
"Damn you, Viktor!"
This was what all the mages present thought, without exception.
The demon also gradually went mad, its final giant mouth even swallowing its own head whole, instantly exploding and turning into a sky full of black raindrops, corroding everything present.
Rubble dissipated, the air turned acidic.
Even the gloom in the sky was corroded by half, partly clear and partly dark, incredibly strange.
Viktor pinched his fingers together, muttering:
"Evil-binding array, intensify manifold."
He waved both hands, and the chains instantly became restless, the links striking against the red crystals, echoing with a crisp sound.
The demon's magical sound was gradually suppressed, completely sealed within the chains, and powerful magical energy burst forth from within.
White magical energy instantly devoured everything around, enveloping the sky, completely engulfing the entire academy like a nuclear explosion.
The demon, within the white light, widened its eyes in disbelief, shouting finally:
"You can't kill me! Viktor! I'll remember you!"
Because demons exist within carriers, even if it revealed its true form, the actual fatal damage would only be transferred to the carrier.
But suddenly...
Under the vast whiteness, it was as if a bridge connected Viktor and the demon.
In this strange space, both parties could only see each other.
The demon couldn't understand. At this moment, the outside world seemed frozen as if time had stopped.
Viktor connected to the demon's spiritual world. He stood before the demon, his voice as calm as water, slowly ringing out:
"You know, Yem, I'm quite good at dealing with demons."
The demon was instantly stunned. At this moment, it felt as if countless shackles controlled its spirit.
When someone utters a demon's true name, the dominance of the deal transfers from the demon to the person who uttered its true name.
So, Yem had to agree to Viktor's deal.
"Well, you've had enough fun."
"It's time to go back to work, Henie."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yem felt the power deep within itself continuously draining away.
It began to panic, shouting loudly:
"No! No!"
"Little girl, don't leave me! I can help you get revenge! I can give you more power, I can do more!"
"Don't... go..."
Its pleas had no effect. The huge body was peeled away layer by layer as if shedding skin and flesh, gradually revealing Henie inside.
Tears seemed to flow in her fluorescent yellow eyes, as if she had lost all strength and collapsed out of Yem's body.
It was as if she was falling from a great height.
But the next second, she fell into a solid embrace.
Henie wanted to hug the other person tightly, even if just for this brief moment of clarity.
Zing——
White light burst forth, seeming to tear apart the entire space, the surrounding violent force about to destroy everything around.
It devoured Yem, devoured everything within range.
The surrounding sounds seemed to fall completely silent.
Only one voice remained, clearly falling into Viktor's ears.
"Professor."
"I missed you."