Book 16 Chapter 21
The strongest black magic organization of all time!
Clash, Seven Souls (10)
Kishua of Blackfire (黑火), the leader of [Seven Souls], confirmed the demise of all his members through the disappearance of their presences.
'Your deaths were not in vain. By merely driving those guys deep into this royal capital so they could never escape, the cornerstone of victory has been perfectly laid.'
Kishua was sitting on the throne in the palace of <Horusen>.
The imperial court, where ministers should have been standing, was filled with censers crafted in ancient Albrazm style.
These censers were burning incense not with flames, but with lava.
The carvings on the surface of the censers depicted only the Reptilians of the ancient Lizard Kingdom brutally massacring humanity.
"Right here, right now, I connect the power of the abyss with the volcano beyond the sea."
Kishua deeply cut his palm and sprinkled the blood onto the largest censer.
"Do ze bas Neigalras! Oh Mother of the Burning Desert, Master of the Eternal Volcano! Show your power here and now!"
Lava bubbled from the censer and began to overflow. Even more intensely, lava began to surge up from the floor of the underground tunnel.
The people of Hosen were conscripted for labor precisely to connect the underwater tunnel between the Akrad continent and the Adrion continent.
Through this underwater tunnel, the power of the Lizard Lord, the 'Immortal Lava,' would be transmitted, transforming this royal capital into a burning desert.
"Yes, is this the power of immortality (不滅)?"
The subject of that awakening was Kishua himself!
He feels a power boiling within his body with an infinite, explosive momentum. The [King's Flesh] is merely a catalyst to accept this power.
At this very moment, by connecting the transgressions (悖惡) between the two continents, he has become a wizard comparable to the ancients of the mythical era.
"Please wait a moment, Great Lord Zernix. Your loyal first subordinate, Kishua, will complete the long-cherished wish of [Seven Souls] and return."
* * *
"Tell me!"
Rin was finally caught by Lista.
It was absolutely impossible for a wizard's physique to outrun this monster.
Rin, dangling in the air with the back of his neck held by Lista, decided to exercise his right to remain silent.
"Just tell me honestly! Is that so hard?"
"……"
"That thing, that kind of thing, did it really get that good?"
Lista said with eyes that looked as if she might cry.
It sounded like a question of whether something as childish as [The Strongest Wizard] was really that good. It also sounded like she was telling him to grow up.
But here, he had to speak honestly, not exercise his right to remain silent. Only then would she be able to understand him in the future.
"……It didn't get good."
"What?"
"I've liked it ever since I dreamed of being a wizard. It's not just liking it, I love it. I might seem strange, but I hope you can respect me."
Lista was utterly shocked by that answer.
Ah, so that's it…
Rin must have somehow seen Leonia during his vagrant days in the slums. That's when he fell in love at first sight.
"Rin… so you wanted to become the strongest wizard because you wanted to be a man worthy of a kingdom's princess?"
"?"
"I want to understand, I want to respect, but still, still… it's too much! It's too, too, too much! To think that joining our party was just to get this far!"
"???"
"Rin is a fool! You're bad! You tricked me! Liar! Just as Friede said, you were a 'swallow tribe' wannabe!"
The context of the conversation felt strange, and just as he was about to correct it… a breathtaking heat surged up from underground as if exploding.
"!"
"!"
Slowly rising, squirming like a swarm of living parasites, was ancient lava. The ground screamed and was swallowed whole by that lava.
Clang…!
Chaaang…!
Geumyeongjang and Shürfen rang violently at the same time, warning that this was an extremely dangerous product of the abyss.
"No, what in the world happened?"
Lista's dazed mumble was a soliloquy, yet there was a being who answered her words.
"It is the abyss of Naigalras, the Lizard Lord, one of the <Forgotten Kings>."
That guy, clad in a robe so splendid and majestic it couldn't be compared to any [Seven Souls] they had encountered so far, was walking in the air.
More precisely, lava was forming wherever his feet touched, creating temporary steps.
His appearance was so cool that Rin immediately added it to his mental [Strongest Wizard Bucket List].
"How did that get here…? This isn't just a level where one country is ruined, it will have an enormous impact on the entire continent!"
Lista shouted.
The man replied with a sneer.
"It is what I desire."
"!"
"I am Kishua of Blackfire (黑火), the chief of [Seven Souls] and the loyal subordinate of the Great Black Church's second pillar. This place will be your grave, Lista's Party."
Kishua of Blackfire, could a nickname be so cool?
'Kukuk, I'm turning black… I can legally use lines like that, can't I!'
In other words, that guy is serious.
Given that he insisted on such a cool presentation and nickname, he seemed like someone who was one step ahead of Rin himself.
If so, they had no choice but to give their all too.
"Let's go, Rin… This might be the last time we fight together, but let's still do our best!"
Lista left those cryptic words and leapt. With a speed that truly 'crossed time.'
Kishua moved.
All he did was take out four talismans from his pocket, but their power blocked Lista's blow, which would have split even the earth's crust (地殼) the next moment.
"This is…!"
It was a massive lump of lava that enveloped Kishua's body, its two eyes shone brightly, and its flicking tongue was also a collection of lava. It was an imugi…!
"This one's name is Yeonmang (炎蟒, Flame Python), a secret art of the Rivendell school, and a summoned beast that only the chosen can control."
The summoned beasts forged by lava were not just that.
A hawk flapped its colossal wings above his head and flew towards Rin.
While a fox cast an illusion with the heat of the lava, deceiving Lista's five senses, a toad shot out its long tongue, attacking Lista who was airborne.
"Their names are Yeon-eung (炎鷹, Flame Hawk), Yeon-ho (炎狐, Flame Fox), and Yeon-seom (炎蟾, Flame Toad) respectively. They are the summoned beasts known as the Four Guardian Beasts of Rivendell! But since these ones originate from lava, not flame, it would be better to call them Yongmang (鎔蟒, Molten Python), Yong-eung (鎔鷹, Molten Hawk), Yong-ho (鎔狐, Molten Fox), and Yong-seom (鎔蟾, Molten Toad)."
Rin, who blocked the hawk's attack by deploying a barrier, felt all the playfulness that had been in his head just moments before completely disappear.
'Wow.'
'Strong, heavy…!'
'Such a strong attack, this is the first time since I fought Ken Sermann last time. No, it's even stronger than that.'
The texture of the magic itself is different.
Should this even be called magic?
He thought that if one could wield the abyss like magic, it would feel something like this.
"I was originally a loser, chosen by none of those Four Guardian Beasts, but it doesn't matter now! With this power that he found me and shared with me, I can now create Four Guardian Beasts that surpass the originals! Brace yourselves, Hero Party!"
The imugi dove into the steadily rising lava, then surged out, almost doubling in size, and lunged at Lista!
A clear light (淸光) blocked it!
The light of the World Tree, flying vertically through the air, was bright and intense enough to block the overwhelming force of that lava. Secret Technique, Cheon-aeng-sal!
[~(ㅇㅅㅇ)~]
An archer, positioned in the royal castle tower with a clear view of the pit below, was aiming his bowstring here. Archer Kies!
"What, an illusion? But illusions don't work on me at all!"
Then, roaring red flames engulfed the fox that had been making Lista see her vision completely inverted. The illusion vanished!
That wasn't the end of it.
Around Friede, who appeared riding a broom, a holy scroll unfolded long and dazzlingly, unleashing the power of Genesis.
One of the Seven Chapters of Genesis, The Hymn of the Bright World!
That power imposes the shackles of providence, that is, the constraints of time, several times greater on all beings that defy the providence of creation. In short, it could be called an area-of-effect slow.
"Friede!"
As the imugi's offensive slowed down due to that power, Lista was able to regain her posture.
"Pipit!"
Then, the Sun Parrot, leaping with wings of flame outstretched, frantically flying around Rin, intercepted the hawk that was scattering lava! Rin also gained some breathing room!
"Gyugyung!"
The Snowflake, hidden within Rin's body to avoid Lista's anger, appeared, extending its fist from within his arms!
It hadn't done a single thing in the previous situation, so he didn't know why it was striking a pose, but it was cute, so it was fine!
This situation, in short, could be called the Hero Party's rally.
"As beliefs towards justice gathered one by one and became one like this, that is our Lista's Party! You could also call us Lista's Four Guardian Beasts!"
Rin tilted his head at Lista's words.
"Aren't Four Guardian Beasts a bit… not it?"
The shaman Friede raised an eyebrow.
"You're calling us beasts? That's too much. Should we go on strike?"
Even Kies had a negative reaction!
[6(ㅎㅅㅎ);;]
Hero Lista ignored all those rebuttals and shouted, pointing the tip of her holy sword at Kishua.
"Now, can you stand against us like this? You'd better brace yourself, Kishua of Blackfire!"