Book 21 Chapter 8

202nd Episode

To the Land of Decisive Battle!

The City of Beginning and End, <Raphtas> Decisive Battle (6)

The red wyvern glided at high speed, piercing through the sandstorm.

The sandstorm possessed a supernatural sense of mystery… that mystery was the mystery of oppression that awakened a kind of repulsion.

Originally, the Dragon Legion advanced through this storm by forming formations of five or more, breathing out their breath ahead.

- But now there's no such formation, so we'll have to lend our strength.

The flames spewed by the red wyvern and Friede, Lin's electrical waves, and Shuan's divine barrier were standing against the sandstorm.

"Shuan, how much farther?"

In response to Friede's question, Shuan gazed at the artifact on his wrist.

"According to the coordinates, we'll arrive soon! Once we leave this valley, the western coastal area will unfold!"

Rista couldn't hide her admiration.

"To cover a month's journey in half a day, the power of the Dragonkin is truly amazing! Friede, should we rest a bit before arriving? Red Dragon-nim, you and Lin must be quite exhausted after half a day."

Friede snorted.

"Rest, what rest! We're not on a picnic right now. Time is of the essence."

It was then.

Suddenly, the sandstorm became several times more intense than usual.

At the same time, lava surged forward, past the flame barrier Friede had deployed on both sides of the wyvern's wings.

"Kies!"

It would have been extremely dangerous if Kies's multi-shot hadn't accurately intercepted the lava that flew in, piercing even the flame barrier.

"Hehehehehehehe… It's amusing that you broke through this sand and came all the way here in one go."

The sorcerer who appeared from beyond the sandstorm was a boy.

He could be seen as Toureina's age, but his facial features were similar to Zernix and Leje.

If one could have seen Zernix's childhood appearance, it would have been exactly like that.

"That kid, his aura is similar to Leje, who we saw last time…!"

Rista drew Shirpang and shouted, and Friede also clicked his tongue as he unrolled a scroll of psalms.

"Likewise, he's a manifestation of that jelly bastard! What that Leje woman said back then wasn't bluster. The King creates one avatar called Mauna Loa, and Mauna Loa, in turn, bears its own avatars. Something similar must have happened."

An avatar-level demon created three high-level demons, and each high-level demon created three low-level demons, so the total number of demons was thirteen.

"Yes, my name is Nix. I am the second avatar. I'll commend you for coming this far. But you can go no further than this."

"Hmph! Just by guarding this place, you're quite a catch. Go on, try to stop us. You didn't really think a mere clone like you could be our match, did you?"

"There's no need for needless worry, oracle. I only need to keep you all here. Can you truly break through? My parallel line barrier."

Ice Dragon Asrva clung to Rista.

Aerial combat with a sorcerer who controls spacetime is absolutely disadvantageous, but if permanent magic platforms could be used, the story would change.

Rista surged behind Nix in an instant, within a accelerated time zone.

'If I can devour his barrier with Shirpang, I can defeat him!'

Did he feel an eerie sensation?

The moment Shirpang's blade lunged, Nix's body dissolved into a dimensional shadow and reappeared on the other side.

A dozen verdant arrows immediately changed trajectory, persistently chasing their target.

"Hmph."

However, the moment Nix extended his palm, the parallel power forming the barrier rapidly intensified.

The arrows…!

They couldn't penetrate the lava and were sucked into the other side of the parallel line, incomprehensible to three-dimensional perception, disappearing.

'This guy, he's fast…!'

'And that barrier, it's several times more troublesome than before!'

'Since the original swallowed the King's power, Zernix, even an avatar of an avatar possesses this much strength…!'

Nix continuously appeared in front of the wyvern, blocking its path.

"Aren't the mage and the oracle stepping forward?"

He dodged the wyvern's flames and Rista's slashes with spatial leaps, and neutralized Kies's arrows with the parallel line barrier.

"Hmph, even if they stepped forward, they wouldn't be able to break through my barrier."

Toureina instantly condensed a 2-star spell with hand signs at high speed; it was a fire orb!

"Hmph, I wonder if you can still brag the same way after receiving this [Strongest]."

Rapid-fire 2-star magic is known among mages as something only a genius can do, but in a hero party composed of only the very pinnacles, it was truly cute(?) firepower.

Pyo-oo-ong~ Peong.

An extremely weak… fireball, whose power felt like an insult from Nix's perspective, touched the parallel line and vanished.

"This arrogant brat, now you!"

At that moment!

In that very instant!

The electrical barrier wrapped around the wyvern's body suddenly surged forth, weaving into a distinct form!

"Rune Engraving Alteration."

It was a chain…!

"Jesosehran-yeon."

It was such a sudden attack, carried out without even a moment for dimensional leap, that Nix tried to reinforce his barrier to defend.

'What is this chain…?'

It was a sound judgment.

If his opponent hadn't been the 11th Grand Archmage!

'It's breaking through the parallel line barrier as if it's natural…?'

The moment the runes and mathematical equations forming the chain touched the barrier, they disrupted the barrier's runes and mathematical equations… it was a divine technique that changed the structure of the opponent's magic.

'And this chain…!'

The chain instantly pierced through the barrier, lunging in and penetrating Nix's chest.

'Even the magic power in my body is disrupted… I can't use magic, no magic power is coming out!'

Dimensions…!

I need to cross dimensions…!

'Is it twisting even the brain's electrical signals? My body's movements are slowing down…!'

The holy sword's blade and verdant arrows are surging in, so if I don't cross dimensions immediately, it's dangerous…!

"Do you think I'd let you escape?"

Lin pointed at Nix, who was cornered, with his Golden Glow and said.

"You, all of you, are impurities that should not exist in this world. As a representative of mathematicians, I will apprehend every single one of you from this world and banish you to hell. Like the evil spirits you are."

Toureina couldn't help but be once again moved and deeply impressed by the grandeur of such a grand archmage!

"Wow, as expected of Master! You're so cool!"

Immediately recorded as the most important entry in the [Lin's Quote Collection]! It was a line to be replayed five times before going to sleep.

"This guy…!"

The moment Nix gripped the chain, dissolving it, and turned the lava forming the barrier into an offensive, aiming at Lin!

Auroral light (極光)!

The light of the holy sword and the verdant light rays brilliantly intersected, obliterating Nix, who was completely defenseless and exposed, without a trace! Master!

"The sandstorm has thinned out!"

Friede, seeing the hazy surroundings clear, shouted. Shuan nodded.

"That guy is only human in form, but essentially a demon! He's also a tool for spreading the King's authority, so it's natural for the sandstorm to intensify where they are! By the same principle, now that his existence has disappeared, the sandstorm also thins!"

With Nix's interference gone and the surroundings cleared, the red wyvern was able to exit the valley without difficulty.

"M-Master… H-how did you break through that? This is [something the strongest me is extremely curious about]."

BAAANG…!

Toureina sniffled with tears, a bump swelling on her forehead.

"I told you not to do that. Are you asking how to break through the parallel line barrier?"

Then Toureina nodded vigorously.

"It's not difficult at all. Its principle is simply to draw a virtual parallel line and prevent anything from crossing that parallel line."

"?"

"Then there's only one answer. Draw an arbitrary line segment and make the parallel lines non-parallel. With runes or mathematical equations."

Toureina made a puzzled expression, and Kies, who was eavesdropping, also tilted her head and shook it.

"What! You can't understand something this simple? Unbelievable. Kies is a dumb jock, so that's fine, but what about you? You're a science major, what are you going to do if you're like this?"

"Hing…"

[(ㅠㅁㅠ)…]

"This won't do. Give it here. Kies, give me that arrow."

Kies, though puzzled, obediently took out a small arrow from her quiver.

It was a gift from Jack, given by Lin.

Lin pricked his finger deeply with a quill pen, then meticulously wrote runes and mathematical equations on the arrowhead with the seeping blood.

"Here, use this."

[?]

"When the time comes that you want to break through a parallel line barrier, shoot this. Kies is a genius type, so once she understands how her magic power transforms, she'll grasp it instantly."

"W-What about me!"

"You, you need to learn properly, you blockhead! Kies is an arts and sports type, so if she doesn't know, I tell her to memorize it!"

[(ㅠㅁㅠ)]

Friede chuckled, taking the pipe to his mouth.

"If it's just those two, there'd be no boredom even at the bottom of hell."

Rista let out a laugh, "Pfft," and nodded.

Thus, the brief peace ended, and soon below… the kingdom of sea, sand, and pillars unfolded.

Its grotesque and incomprehensible outline, the kingdom of pillars violently surging skyward, was transforming reality into a vivid nightmare.

"Kies, is this it?"

Lin asked.

Kies frowned.

'This place… No, it's not raining, and something's different. It's somehow different from the mental landscape Serwebon showed me.'

However, the bizarre and outlandish aura emitted by those pillars was merely a part of this fallen kingdom (亡國).

The true monstrosity was elsewhere.

A monster that distorted the very concept of perspective… with supernatural enormity, something was seen effortlessly lifting megaliths and stacking them to build stone towers.

"Building a tower for the mas-ter!"

"Soon, depravity (悖惡) shall arrive!"

The hero party felt a violent shiver run through their minds at that moment.

'Immense malice…!'

'More than Kiral, who we saw last time…!'

'Then is that guy also an ancient demon revived by Zernix as a minion…!'

The forms of the pillars were anomalous, and their arrangement itself displayed a maniacal grotesqueness, yet they were ordinary compared to their builder.

It was twin-headed (雙頭).

Its height, approaching at least 30 cheok (roughly 9m), already bore a violent characteristic, yet it had two heads.

"Everyone, be careful! I've seen it in documents dealing with Senior Sarandis. That one is the Twin-headed Oukan Goltavir! The younger brother is as dull as a troll but incredibly strong, and the older brother has no control over the body but is skilled in sorcery… they called it the first and last Oukan sorcerer!"

"That monster, so it wields power stronger than a normal Oukan AND uses sorcery?"

"Red Dragon-nim! Circle back and lower altitude! We'll handle that one!"

Goltavir detected the presence of these unwelcome guests in the fallen kingdom around that time. It turned its massive body to look up at the Red Dragon.

"Are you trying to dis-turb the mas-ter?"

"All riff-raff disturbing the master shall be slain!"

"All those who dis-turb the mas-ter, shall die!"

"Eternal reward shall descend upon us!"

Goltavir crushed the megalith it had just been stacking for the stone tower into pieces with both hands… then hurled them at incredible speed.

"Kill-ing!"

If they were mere megaliths, gravity would normally impose a load on their speed due to their weight, but in this case…!

It was truly a barrage (彈幕)…!

A barrage unfolded, as if hundreds of catapults had simultaneously launched stones into the air…!

"Friede, Kies!"

Rista shouted.

Kies immediately shot verdant arrows, and the Red Dragon and Friede simultaneously spewed flames along their landing trajectory.

"What are you going to do with mere stone fragments? Seriously, I don't know. The red wyvern's fire, which melts even rocks, is protecting us."

However, the moment Goltavir's second head began chanting a wicked spell… the stone fragments began to melt.

'No.'

No, they transformed into lumps of lava.

'This can't be.'

The King's lava practically has no boiling point, making it impossible to burn away unless it's the flames of a Divine Dragon or True Dragon.

"Everyone──!"

Hundreds of fragments of lava, having pierced through the flames, ravaged the dragon's body!

"───Behind me!"

In that instant, only Rista moved.

If Rista hadn't stood in front of her companions, defending them and deflecting the lava fragments with her holy sword…

The party might have been annihilated far too easily in that moment.

"What in the… this crazy… Muer-nim, Muer-nim!"

Friede shouted urgently.

Red Dragon Muer, whose flight path was twisted and whose brain and central connection were severed.

Unable to control its massive body, it crashed into the middle of the megalithic city.

"He's dead…."

Shuan, who had placed his hand on the Red Dragon's body, shook his head with a devastated expression. Friede bit his lip roughly and turned to Goltavir.

"This bastard…."

There was no time to recover from the impact of the crash.

The ground didn't just shake with Goltavir's footsteps; their bodies were temporarily lifted into the air and fell back down.

Meanwhile, Lin, who had crashed next to a pillar… tilted her head at the ominous aura emanating from it, then flinched and backed away.

"The stones making up this stone tower, don't they somehow look like human faces?"

Friede and Shuan placed their hands on the stone tower and were startled; they could feel souls.

"That crazy bastard… he'd been turning living humans into stone and piling up these kinds of towers!"

In other words, this looks like a pillar, but it's not a pillar.

It is a bone tower (骨塔)!

Goltavir pulled out another megalith from the bone tower, crushed it with both hands, and chattered with its two heads.

"Humans who pol-lute the mas-ter's king-dom, all shall die."

"Our master shall rejoice!"

"Kill-ing, kill-ing them all!"