NOVEL WEB Chapter 168
“The Master of the Yellow Square let out a small gasp.”
Naturally, I thought the magic was crafted by the Master of the Red Square, but turns out, nope.
“A girl from the enemy’s camp?”
Sure, I knew that. Being a candidate for successor means she had some talent, but was it really at this level?
The Great Magic—the explosion of the black spot flew at an unseen speed and hit the Disease, bursting upon impact. It displayed a power that was on a whole other level compared to the Great Magic she’d previously used.
Was she seasoned in that short time, or did she have some epiphany?
Not just the Master of North Wind, even her teacher Aster’s gaze was naturally on her.
The might of the Great Magic was nothing to scoff at. The Disease thrashed in agony as the earth cracked and debris soared. Finally, as the Disease’s mouth gaped open, Hong Yu-ri clenched her fists.
Her previously injured hand was now unblemished and in pristine condition. Dazed, Hong Yu-ri shook her head vigorously.
More pressing matters…!
“Al…!”
“―――!”
Finally unable to contain the pain, the Disease screamed as its mouth opened wide, and Hong Yu-ri called out the Wolf’s name, but her expectations were shattered into pieces.
Even with the Disease’s mouth wide open, the Alpha didn’t show up. Despite her tracking spells, she couldn’t find a trace of the Alpha.
—Had it already been killed? Eaten and died…?
Thinking that stirred a bubbling rage inside her. Something that had been flowing within her spilled over.
As emotions boiled up, her mind turned cold. It was as if she was not herself. Despite already having cast the Great Magic several times, she still had magic power left—thoughts like those flew out of her mind entirely.
Her chest felt tight, making it hard to breathe. And yet, a voice kept whispering for her not to stop. To keep going. To kill. Without resistance, Hong Yu-ri willingly raised her hand.
If she couldn’t save the Alpha, then at least she could take revenge. At that moment, what had overflowed finally filled her inside.
Now was truly the end. Just uttering one word would suffice. Standing before the line, taking just one step would usher in the transformation. Just as she was about to chant, something halted her.
It was the tail of something—
“Kyu~!”
It was the most beautiful tail she had ever seen.
***
Normally, the Disease would have retreated by now, but it hadn’t. The reason was simple. It still couldn’t kill the Wolf.
It certainly thought it had swallowed it, yet that wasn’t the case. Even while taking magical bombardment, the Disease clawed and struggled to find the Wolf but couldn’t locate it, resting within the Fantasy World.
What seemed to be missing enraged the Disease, and with just that, most of the magic dispersed, but as another crimson magic circle began to rise, the Disease ultimately had no choice but to make a desperate decision.
Its skin was falling off, bones exposed. It judged it could no longer continue, and the same went for the Square.
Perhaps they could kill the Disease like this raised a flicker of hope among the Mages. Humanity had never cornered the Disease this much before.
Being large meant it took longer to regenerate. Clearly, the increase in wounds was faster than the pace of recovery.
If only there was a bit more time, but as the Disease began to burrow deep into the earth, Aster clicked his tongue, disappointed.
“It’s getting away.”
Winter’s Master nodded in agreement.
Like a bug burrowing, it was rapidly diving underground. There was no way to stop it on this Floating Island. Even casting magic was pointless, as the creature would escape much faster.
If this continued, they’d have no means to pursue, and they’d have to give up. As the Disease began to retreat, the already scattered Plague started to flee as well.
As the Plague turned to escape, Aster asked cautiously,
“Are you able to buy some time?”
In place of words, a hand lifted. The Winter’s Master waved his hand, omitting even the final chant, causing snowflake-like ice crystals to glimmer, and cold winds began to blow.
As the Winter’s Master moved, the Mages followed suit, their hands rising like they were performing a concert.
The magic of the Indigo Square, prepared in advance. The water crafted by the successor and Mages began to flow down from the Floating Island like a waterfall.
As it met the ground heated by fire magic, it evaporated, quickly gaining momentum, creating puddles and filling the devastated city with streams of water.
Though injured and exhausted, the Plague was still the Plague. It couldn’t be easily overwhelmed by mere streams of water.
The Plague’s power, capable of rusting and rotting everything, was no exception, not even to the ephemeral magic. Even while flowing, the speed at which water and magic disappeared was alarming.
Not only from the Indigo Square, but also from the Yellow Square wielding thunder, and the Master of the North Wind, who prefers manipulating wind over thunder, their magic pushed the water to hasten its flow.
The roaring flood was no longer just a flood. It transformed into a tsunami that inevitably reached the Plague, and as if waiting for that moment, another chant began.
“―――.”
The Winter’s Master’s chilly words resonated, unheard by the beast’s howls, yet the magic came to completion.
As the flowing tsunami engulfed the Plague, it seemed to freeze, and time began to slow down.
No, it wasn’t that time was slowing down, but rather it appeared that way. The freezing magic that encases everything, summoned as if longing for an eternal winter, caused the tsunami encasing the Plague to instantaneously freeze into an iceberg, and the surrounding atmosphere couldn’t escape its grip either.
As if the concept of heat had vanished from existence. Everything was frozen, and even from the Floating Island hovering hundreds of meters high, a chill could be felt.
The marvelously true-to-essence magic restrained the hands of disaster, yet it wouldn’t take long for it to move again.
The frozen ground—yet it too was decaying and rotting. The ice cracked and shattered, and the vile green smoke oozing through the gaps melted and shattered what had just been summoned.
It was a well-established fact that even Great Magic couldn’t kill the Disease.
As that filthy spring began to arrive, the expressions of the Mages hardened.
—Once again, a failure.
The Disease, on all fours, looked back at the Floating Island. Even from hundreds of meters away, it seemed to mock the Mages.
Far from the distance, a group welcoming the Disease made the Mages grind their teeth.
Even if injured and exhausted, they couldn’t chase the Disease. The Floating Island was slow, and the Disease was far too fast.
If they lowered the altitude of the Floating Island or chased it directly, they’d rot away or become one of that group. Even after burning and freezing it, the green smoke continued to ooze out and settle.
Chasing the Disease while it rampaged was impossible.
In the end, they had let it slip again.
Hiding among the group, the Plague would recover, as it always did, and gnaw at humanity once more.
To know that and yet be forced to stare blankly was their deep-seated agony.
—That was the state of the Mages.
One by one, everyone’s gaze turned towards the sound of fluttering wings.
Gradually, an increasing number of them appeared from somewhere.
Weak, oh so weak beings. Tiny creatures that still didn’t quite deserve the title of dragon. Their flapping wings barely caused a breeze, but as they gathered endlessly, they slowly began to push away the green smoke.
A parade of illusions. Just as a large dragon suddenly appeared in the frontmost line, the Mages were rendered speechless. Following it, tiny dragons flitted about chaotically, their chirping creating a delightful melody that echoed in their ears.
While they were entranced by the stunning spectacle, utterly out of place, the fairy-dragons finally landed on the ground, and the Mages let out a deflated sound.
—In an instant, they would turn into a splash of blood. No, even that blood would vanish, resulting in death.
Contrary to those thoughts, the smoke had no effect on the dragons. It didn’t rust or rot. In fact, the illusionary dragons frolicked happily, devouring the pollution. To the fairy-dragons that dined on the filthy, the pollution was merely food.
The large dragon flapped its wings, and a tempestuous wind blew, dispersing the green smoke completely away.
The emergence of dragons. It was astonishing and unexpected. Clearly fortuitous, yet it changed nothing.
Ultimately, unless they could kill the Disease, nothing would be different.
As the Mages thought this, only Hong Yu-ri let out a relieved sigh.
The beautiful tail draped around her neck—this fairy-dragon being here meant that the Alpha was still alive.
Before long, light began to shine.
As the long night passed and dawn began to break, a low wail echoed from somewhere, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.
At that, the girl from the enemy camp wiped the tears that had gathered in her eyes and smiled.
They kept their promise.
The dragons of the Fantasy World had set out on their distant journey just as he wished and arrived here.
The Mages banded together, driving the Disease to flee and dealing deep wounds to the Plague.
Now, it was time to conclude it all. It was time to fulfill the promise.
An injured beast. The Plague, attempting to flee on all fours, suddenly froze in place.
Why? Because it couldn’t see ahead. That was truly strange. Even though the dim dawn had arrived, what lay before the Plague was still shrouded in thick, dark night.
“――――――.”
As a low wail resonated through that darkness, and something glimmering red caught its attention, the Disease finally realized.
This was not night.
Shimmering shadows and slithering mists evoked a darkness reminiscent of night despite the light of dawn.
In the ruined city, the two beasts howled at each other.