Chapter 2447 – 2447. Dark Moon
The ground where the thunderbolt struck was deeply cratered, and clouds of dust billowed up. The two fifth-tier spells synergized with each other. More precisely, the Ice Fog had amplified the power of the thunderbolt.
I glared at the dust cloud, gritting my teeth. I could sense his presence. The attack just now hadn’t killed Rahu.
‘Rather than defending, the barrier he was already wearing protected him.’
I glanced at the Vajra Guardian. Its body was unstable. I had pushed some of the burden from using magic onto it. Of course, I wasn’t in perfect condition either.
‘If I use magic continuously without rest now, my mana road will definitely break.’
If I took that risk and used magic, could I be sure of finishing off Rahu? I couldn’t be certain.
‘I’m not cornered enough to take such a dangerous gamble. What I need to do now is hold out.’
Behind me, Aisa was conducting the ritual. If the God of Magic did nothing when the ritual was complete, we were doomed, but for now, the God of Magic was our best bet.
‘If the God of Magic doesn’t help… I’ll have to throw in all my assets.’
The thick dust cloud thinned, and Rahu’s silhouette became visible.
“Know the mercy of the heavens.”
His voice echoed.
Light poured from the eye of the sun in the sky. A sunbeam that would burn everything to death.
Before the light could reach me, the Vajra Guardian stepped forward, picked me up, and dodged the light.
‘It’s not real sunlight. If it were, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge it and would have been hit.’
The wasteland touched by the condensed light burst into flames. The ground slowly vanished. Not even turning to ash, but complete annihilation.
The light chased after me. Fortunately, its speed wasn’t fast, so the Vajra Guardian carrying me easily evaded it.
“What is that light? It’s neither magic nor sorcery.”
“If it’s neither magic nor sorcery, there’s only one thing it can be, isn’t there? The power of Akar.”
“Wasn’t Akar the god of life and mutation? He shouldn’t be a god who uses such power.”
“And he is the god of mutation. Akar is a god who can do anything. That light won’t stop until you die.”
Crack.
With the sound of something being torn apart, the rocks embedded in the wasteland floated into the air. Then, they flew like rocks shot from a catapult. The target wasn’t me, but Aisa, who was conducting the ritual.
[Using Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 10]
I quickly wove a spell and used magic.
[Stone Wall]
A stone wall rose from the ground, blocking the flying rocks.
Clang! Thud!
The Stone Wall eventually collapsed, but it had blocked the flying rocks.
Crack.
Again, rocks from the wasteland rose into the air. This time, they were also aimed at Aisa, not me.
[Stone Wall]
I raised another stone wall to block them, just like before.
I noticed that his attacks were clumsy. I wondered if he was conserving his strength and trying to catch me off guard, but he was already exhausted.
‘Even if he’s hiding a trump card, it doesn’t seem like he intends to use it right now.’
A war of attrition continued.
He attacked, and I blocked. The sunbeam that burned everything to nothingness was still chasing behind me.
‘This isn’t good.’
Stone Wall. It was a third-tier spell with good mana efficiency, but just using magic was putting a considerable strain on me. Not to mention, I was also operating the Vajra Guardian.
I had enough mana to cast Thunder Bolt two or three times. But my mana road would break before that.
‘I can’t use Phase Shift either. The downside of Phase Shift is that it cancels any magic being maintained. The Vajra Guardian carrying me would disappear.’
I had to run on my own two feet to avoid the light and protect Aisa with magic. The situation was getting worse, not better.
Tingle. Cold sweat ran down my back. The overloaded mana road was sending a signal of pain, indicating it was reaching its limit.
‘Just one more time…!’
[Stone Wall]
The ground trembled, then stopped.
The magic failed.
The rocks flew towards Aisa without being blocked.
[Phase Shift]
I switched back to my original mana road. The Vajra Guardian disappeared, and the Vajra Mace floated in the air. I gripped the Vajra Mace tightly. Crackle. Electricity naturally sparked.
‘Vajra Thunder…!’
With all my strength, I threw the Vajra Thunder at the rocks targeting Aisa. The Vajra Thunder turned into lightning, pierced the rocks, and shattered them.
There was no time to stand still. I had to avoid the sunbeam falling from the sky.
Clank.
The shackles on my ankles stopped my movement. The shackles made of rock were connected to the ground.
“I knew you’d reveal an opening if I targeted Aisa.”
“Rahu…!”
“Having something to protect is troublesome. Even if you can’t protect it, nothing much changes.”
I summoned the Vajra Thunder. It quickly returned to my hand, and I threw it at the shackles. Naturally, the Vajra Thunder shattered the shackles. But in that gap, new shackles appeared and grabbed my legs.
‘Damn it. If it’s come to this, I’ll use proper magic…!’
I used magic, risking damage to my mana road.
“…?!”
The movement of my mana road was smooth. It felt like something that had been blocked had been released. The sunbeam that had been approaching me also disappeared.
The world began to darken. I looked up at the sky for a moment and saw that the sun had disappeared, and the night sky had taken its place. A night sky full of countless shining stars. I felt a presence there. A presence so great that, paradoxically, it didn’t feel great. That presence was definitely looking at me.
‘Did Aisa succeed in the ritual…?’
I swallowed.
The mana that filled this space. The elements. The magic. I could feel it.
There was no need to break the earth shackles holding my legs.
I gripped the Vajra Thunder and used magic. The spell was completed at a speed that was incomparable to normal.
‘This isn’t a spell cast with a formula, but a feeling that the formula followed when I cast the spell.’
A magic circle appeared right in front of me. I briefly smeared blood on the blade of the Vajra Mace, then placed the Vajra Mace on the magic circle.
[Railgun]
The Vajra Thunder had broken the sound barrier and reached Rahu.
The Vajra Thunder was struggling against the translucent earth barrier protecting Rahu. Normally, it would have lost its power and fallen, but the Vajra Thunder wasn’t just a projectile for the Railgun. There was also additional magic I had placed on it.
Crackling!
The Vajra Thunder released lightning to break through the barrier. Rahu frowned and took out a necklace from his pocket.
A necklace very similar to the one Aisa had. The Necklace of Calamity.
“…To make me take out my master’s item. I don’t like it.”
Snap!
One of the three stones broke.
The lightning being emitted from the Vajra Thunder weakened. I could see the power of the Vajra Thunder rapidly decreasing.
At this point, I activated the magic I had prepared in advance.
[Blood Lightning]
Crimson lightning erupted. It was a much more powerful output than I had expected. Dozens of streaks of red lightning pounded the barrier.
Crack!
The Necklace of Calamity he was holding completely shattered into dust. The barrier and the Blood Lightning disappeared at the same time, and the weakened Vajra Thunder fell to the ground.
“Finally, the thick shell is off.”
Hah.
Sparks of lightning crackled from my exhaled breath. All the conditions were met.
“You…!”
Rahu glared at me, then startled, looked up at the night sky.
[Thunder Break]
A massive bolt of lightning struck down towards Rahu. A shockwave erupted as if a large bomb had exploded.
One more.
[Thunder Break]
KABOOOOOM!
Just as the belated thunder began to boom, the last bolt fell.
[Thunder Break]
Crackle, crackle….
The lightning that had fallen didn’t disappear but lingered, burning the ground. I chuckled as I looked at Rahu, who was kneeling. Rahu was still alive, his entire body charred black.
“That was a Thunder Break with enough power to wipe out a small hill. You survived three of those in a row? You have an absurd amount of durability. Did you become a rock after using rock sorcery?”
One more.
I could do it now. I was about to use magic again. Rahu’s body cracked open, and a large eyeball popped out. The eyeball stared at me. And the world changed.
The ground pulsed and writhed as if it were alive. Flesh trees were planted here and there, and eyeballs were embedded in the sky. Guts crawled around, and blood gushed out. The nauseating stench was a bonus.
It was a space where even breathing was disgusting.
‘…A hallucination? No. The moment I made eye contact with it, I was forcibly transferred. Is it a god? It’s done something absurd.’
Thump, thump.
The ground shook, and something popped out.
A brain over 30 meters in diameter.
Tentacles emerged from it. The eyeballs at the end of the tentacles looked at me. Just looked.
“…What are you trying to do?”
-You are bait. If you are what that detestable thing cherishes… it will surely come looking for you, even if it has to overexert itself.
It spoke. The thought directly burrowed into my head. It was a very unpleasant feeling.
Squirm, squirm.
The tentacles wriggled. As if admiring.
-To not go mad even after seeing me, despite being a lowly thing. Truly, you are worthy of being chosen by that thing. Will you not serve me?
“…What’s the price? I’m curious what a god can give me.”
-Evolution. You will evolve in the direction you desire. If you wish, you could even become a god.
I held back a laugh that was about to burst out. To become a god with the power of a god? Even if I somehow became a god, I would clearly be under this guy.
“I refuse. I don’t want to become a disgusting god like you.”
-Insolent thing.
Akar swung its tentacles.
Slow.
I could respond.
I opened my astral and my mana road….
‘Mana… is gone?!’
Mana was gone.
The mana inside me.
The mana that should have been in the atmosphere.
It was as if the concept of mana didn’t exist in this world.
It was then, while I was panicking.
A translucent barrier enveloped my body, blocking the tentacles.
Magic. But it wasn’t magic I had used.
-It has come…! Meltes…!!
I could feel Akar’s hatred.
I turned around. At that moment, my consciousness was forcibly pulled. I tried to resist, but since I didn’t sense any malice, I complied.
It was a half-destroyed palace. Shining stars could be seen through the gaps in the ruined palace.
‘The night sky…. No. Is this space?’
I looked straight ahead. I saw a woman sitting on a throne.
Blonde hair and golden eyes.
Her hair and eyes seemed to shine on their own.
She was wrapped in a white cloth that covered her beautiful and voluptuous body. Clothes that looked like they would slip off with the slightest movement. Similar to ancient Greek attire.
Her neck, ears, wrists, fingers, and ankles were adorned with extravagant jewelry. It was clearly excessive, but it suited her as if it were natural.
“Mortal, there is no time. I propose a deal. I will save you from Akar, so you must save me.”
“What’s the price?”
“…Didn’t I say I would save you?”
“According to my calculations, it’s not a good deal. And it doesn’t seem like I’m the one in a hurry.”
Actually, I was the one in a hurry.
If Meltes hadn’t helped, I would have been dead for sure.
But I couldn’t back down here. The difference between Meltes saving me and me saving Meltes was clearly incomparable.
“…All magic.”
“That’s a price I like. What do I have to do to save you?”
“There is no way for now. But an opportunity will arise someday.”
“I don’t like vague words…. Why are you so sure? Can you see the future or something?”
“I cannot see your future. That is why I know.”
“One last thing. Why did you give me your blessing?”
She quietly looked at me. Her golden eyes were calm.
“I wanted to know.”
After finishing her answer, she took off the blue ring she was wearing on her left index finger and threw it to me. I was surprised by the sudden throw, but I managed to catch it.
“What’s this?”
“You will know when you wear it.”
With her words, I returned to Akar’s world. Akar was still in front of me.
-Meltes…! Her presence has disappeared…. Did she abandon her apostle and run away…!
It felt like I had talked to Meltes for about 2-3 minutes, but in reality, less than 10 seconds had passed. The god in front of me hadn’t even noticed.
‘Even among gods, there are different levels.’
I held the blue ring in my hand. I put it on my left index finger, just like Meltes had worn it. I naturally understood the ring’s ability.
The ability to store three spells.
Any spell could be stored and activated without any conditions. What was amazing was that it could also steal spells if the conditions were met.
‘I’ve received an absurd advance payment.’
I also naturally knew the three spells stored in the ring. I activated one of them. The ring flashed blue.
-…Did you just use magic? You, in my domain?
“The magic stored in this ring that I received from Meltes can be activated without any conditions. Even if this is a world without mana, where the existence of magic is not allowed.”
-Unpleasant.
The sky brightened.
Akar’s consciousness and my gaze turned to the sky.
A blue meteor was falling.
It was bursting all the eyeballs embedded in the sky, very spectacularly.
[Meteor Strike]
-Meltes!! That thing I want to chew up…!!
Akar roared in anger and raised thousands upon thousands of tentacles from the ground. The giant tentacles tried to block the meteor, but they burned and disappeared the moment they touched the blue light surrounding the meteor. It wasn’t an ordinary meteor.
Just before the meteor hit the ground, I used the second spell embedded in the ring.
[Dimension Warp]
=Meltes!!!
With Akar’s will full of hatred as the last thing I heard, I returned to the original world.
