NOVEL WEB Chapter 291
Chapter 291. The Moment of Death
The explosion unleashed the pitch-black magic of Emelgias, spreading it everywhere.
Did it work—!? Before I could even think, it began swirling like a whirlwind.
“【Ogiiaaaahhhh—! Nbaaaaahhhh—!!】”
It was spinning while screaming… a black hole? No, what is this? A tornado made up of wriggling magical energy…?
“【Nyo-ko-seeeeeee—! Yo-ko-seeeeeee—!!!】”
It seemed to be indiscriminately trying to suck up the surrounding magic. It’s too strong for a ghost… I can’t even sense a complex will. It feels more like a ‘phenomenon.’
Anté, what the heck is this?
‘I don’t know… It resembles the remnants of Emelgias’s soul…’
Anté was equally confused as he saw this for the first time.
“What the heck is this?”
Suddenly, Liliana rushed over, frowning as she watched flowers wither around the turbulent Emelgias.
“Me and Anté have no clue; we’re both puzzled.”
While keeping my guard up with my bone shield, I responded. What a start for our first conversation after Liliana’s self-awareness returned…
“Anyway, it feels like if we leave it, it’ll disappear… Should we poke it?”
Liliana infused her hand with light magic. Indeed, just as she said, the strength of the whirlpool seemed to be slightly waning. It still had significant force, but I felt I could shove it away with a holy attribute punch.
“Hmm. We should get rid of this fast.”
Anté broke from my body, materializing as he spoke.
“I don’t know the details, but it seems to be a manifestation of Emelgias’s obsession and lingering attachment, the leftover scraps of his soul. It will naturally dissipate if the surrounding magic is depleted, but there’s a high possibility that the magic absorbed from Leila and you will also return to nothingness.”
!?
“That’s important, isn’t it!!”
If we get rid of this, then the stolen magic might come back…?!
“You might not understand, but it seems the very essence of Emelgias is twisted, connecting to the absorbed magic like branches. Right now, those branches are withering first.”
“Alright, let’s annihilate it before Leila’s magic disappears!”
“Wait, wait! It’s not that simple. If we carelessly blow it away, even Leila’s magic might vanish. The whirlpool surrounding it is the absconded magic; Emelgias’s essence is at the center. We need to minimize the external whirlpool damage and either destroy the roots accurately or with another method.”
Liliana and I exchanged glances.
“Such hassle…”
“It really is hassle…”
That damn guy won’t stop even after dying!
“Fortunately, it seems that what’s consuming magic right now isn’t yours or Leila’s, but likely magic stolen from the demon race…”
“…Shall I shoot it?”
Liliana transformed the light in her hand into a bow.
“Yeah…”
Liliana’s light arrows have enough power. Surrounding damage should be minimal, so I should leave it to her—
“【Yoko-seeeaaaaahhhh—! Uwaaaaaahhhh—!!】”
Looking closely, countless tiny hands stretched from the surface of the tornado, attempting to gather magic from the surrounding space. Even in death, they desire—it’s a scene evoking both pity and disgust in equal measure.
Should it be called a magical pull, it constantly felt like my hair was being yanked, bringing an uncomfortable sensation. Correction, it’s more like 80% disgust…
—Right.
“If we can destroy the roots, that should work?”
“Exactly.”
“Is it fine if I do it?”
If possible, I want to be the one to send this thing off.
“Of course, but what do you plan to do?”
“Well—”
As I succinctly shared my idea, Anté nodded in understanding.
“Interesting. If you fail, we can leave it to Liliana.”
“So, just get ready, Liliana.”
“Leave it to me!”
With a huff, Liliana readied her light bow. It looked like she was wagging her tail happily, but that might be disrespectful at the moment—
I stepped closer to the chaotic whirlwind.
“【Woooooooaaaaahhhh—!! Chi-ka-raaaaaaaa—!!】”
Having sensed the approach of magic, all the tiny hands reaching from the tornado abruptly turned toward me.
“【Yoko-seeeeeee—! Chi-ka-raaaaaaa—!!】”
Fine by me.
I channeled magic into my hand. A silver light.
“If you want it that badly, I’ll give it to you!”
I released control over my holy attribute.
Even now, I subconsciously resisted the magic’s absorption. But for the holy attribute, I consciously stopped resisting. The silver light from my hand was stripped away and sucked into the whirlwind—
“【Nohhhh Chi-ka-raaaaa—! Chi-ka-ra-daaaa—!!】”
The whirlwind cried out in joy.
Yet, like spilling paint into water, the silver light melted into the pitch-black tornado, swiftly dyeing the whole thing silver.
A bizarre sound echoed, reminiscent of boiling water.
“【…Ngyaaaahhhhhhh—!!】”
The whirlwind screamed as it flailed, spasming violently, spewing smoke everywhere.
“That’s the power you’ve always desired. Go on, try it out… if you can handle it!”
The massive magic I had taken was now entirely converted to holy magic, enveloping the core—Emelgias’s soul.
Holy magic possesses a property I can call ‘infection’ whereby, once activated, it instantly dyes the surrounding magic into holy magic.
I cannot count how many times I charred myself before mastering the art of creating layers with a magic membrane.
And Emelgias—just like Leila’s breath or Barbara’s swordsmanship.
They might take the power, but they can’t take accumulated technique.
As I merrily stripped the holy attribute, swirling magic around became a purgatory, igniting the very soul.
“【Gaaaahhhhhhh—! Uwaaaaaahhhh—!!】”
In the center of the silver-glowing whirlwind, a grotesquely distorted humanoid, still not entirely silver, could be seen thrashing about.
Its outline gathered dust, crumbling apart rapidly—
…I was going to extract information about the Izanis Tribe, but…
“Well, that’s fine.”
Such a fitting end for you.
“【Aaaaahhhhhh—! …Aahh】”
With a satisfying crackling sound, the soul burned away.
The gust of magic surged. The stolen magic was released, scattering in all directions. I also felt a bit of magic returning to me.
“…Did it come back?”
I lit up the tip of my finger with silver light. Look who’s back! The holy attribute wavered like a welcoming dance. Welcome back.
Now, in the center where the tornado vanished—there remained the burnt remnants of Emelgias, a charred, lifeless entity. The head had disintegrated, and the body was mostly bone, but the Bon-Daze serpent leather remained intact. Truly durable—
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the burnt remains stirred.
No way!? It’s still alive in this state—then out slithered a long-haired, serpent-like woman. Her body was covered in scales yet somewhat translucent, lacking a lower half.
Is she the demon inside Emelgias!? To finish it off, I raised Adamas—
“Wait… I want to talk one last time…”
No mercy!
“You’re the contract demon of the 4th Demon Prince.”
But before I could swing my sword down, Anté stepped forward.
“Ah… So it was indeed you. I am the Demon of Jealousy, Zyria. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Antendeixis.”
“Hm? Have we met?”
“Only once… But back then, I was still just a little demon.”
She made a small gesture indicating her size with her fingers.
“Hmm. You’ve made the contractor suffer quite a bit.”
Anté remarked while observing the burnt husk of what used to be Emelgias.
“Yes… Human tenacity is terrifying. I’ve been reminded of that after so long. Such desire is beyond what we can muster.”
Zyria nodded with a profound expression. By the way, why are these two having a normal conversation…? I lowered my sword, still ready to deliver the final blow if necessary.
“Surely, your soul no longer retains much of its original form?”
“It was in tatters. Originally, when I poured my abilities to the limit by choice, the vessel broke, and I had to forcibly suppress it to restore my consciousness.”
“Was that really the case… I thought you might’ve used some secret technique.”
With an exasperated expression, Anté seemed to lose interest at the same time.
“Embarrassingly… I distorted my powers to absorb magic from my subordinates, and before I knew it, it spiraled out of control…”
The serpent woman smiled wryly, yet like Emelgias, she too started to disintegrate from her fingertips.
Her elongated pupils turned toward me.
“…That child must be jealous. You’re incomprehensibly powerful. It’s not just magic; the nature of your soul is remarkable. And a contract with the Forbidden Great Demon… what kind of sins have you committed…”
As her upper body disintegrated, she could no longer even support her neck.
“It seems to be reaching its limit.”
“Yes… Then… until we meet again…”
“No, by the time you awaken, I’ll have already become a concept.”
“Is that so…?”
Eyes wide open, Zyria murmured, “So, that’s how it is…” before vanishing.
“…What do you mean by ‘again’?”
She gave off a vibe like she might revive! Hey! Information!
“She’s like me, a split body.”
Anté shrugged nonchalantly.
“She’s probably a great demon on the verge of becoming a demon god; for someone of her rank, fully descending into this world would be challenging. Having depleted her power, she might have reverted back to a normal high-ranking demon… But do not worry. It’ll take her hundreds of years to regain her consciousness in this world. By then, whatever form we take will have settled.”
That’s… true. It’s longer than my lifespan…
Still, I’m a bit curious about Anté’s notion of “conceptualization”…
“…Is it over?”
At that moment, I heard Liliana’s voice from behind.
“Yeah. Somehow…”
Before I could turn around, I felt a soft sensation on my back.
It seemed like Liliana had hugged me.
“……..”
I couldn’t find the words. —Because contrary to her spirited demeanor just a while ago, her body was trembling pitifully.
“I’m sorry… just a bit longer, let me stay like this…”
The fact that she regained her ego meant she also recovered all her memories.
There’s no way she could boldly charge in! She must have been terrified the whole time.
“…Thank you, Liliana.”
All I could do was express my gratitude. I placed my hand over her hand resting on my shoulder.
“…Yeah.”
A delicate reply. As I felt her smooth fingers, an overwhelming urge to cry surged within me.
“Um…”
After a moment, a dragon-shaped Leila peeked in from outside the fortress.
“Did it end…?”
“Yeah, it’s over! Leila, your magic returned too!”
Thank goodness!
“Yes! I just regained my power, so I was wondering if it had resolved… Barbara-san, it seems it’s finally over!”
Leila said a word or two before turning and, cautiously stepping into the flower field of the hall, transformed back into her human form.
“Wow, so beautiful…”
“What about Barbara?”
“She said she wants to be outside and ponder for a bit.”
“Ah, I see.”
…That could be true, or maybe she can’t step into this barrier because she’s undead. I’ll go fetch her the moment Liliana calms down.
“Liliana! Your limbs have returned!”
With a beaming expression, Leila ran towards us, carefully circumventing the remnants of Emelgias.
“I’m glad you’re safe, Alex…!”
“Leila… I truly owe you so much. Thank you.”
When Liliana raised her face and smiled, Leila looked taken aback.
“Whoa, you spoke!?”
Of course, I can speak!!!