Chapter 166: The Girl with the Forbidden Touch

At this moment, the world changed colors before Regis’s eyes.

He looked at his companions and saw the determined expression on their faces.

Pandora erected mana barriers and focused on defense while Killian was dual wielding a steel sword in his left hand and the blue lightning sword in his right hand.

He was prepared to hack at the skeletons that would get near them.

Aurelia also seemed to be in the motion of throwing the ball-shaped object on her hand.

Regis curiously glanced at the object, ’I wonder what that does.’

After all, they had also encountered the demonized griffins, but Aurelia didn’t use it back then.

He also noticed the sickly expression on Alaric’s face as he used all of his strength to stand up.

His right hand was clutching the wound on his chest while his left hand was raised in the direction of the Shard of Tinateria.

Regis saw the wounds that littered both Killian and Pandora’s bodies.

They each had healing potions in their storage pouches, but they weren’t able to heal because of the black miasma.

The only thing the potions did was to slow down the worsening of their injuries.

"I guess I really didn’t have time, huh?"

Realization dawned upon Regis’s face, thinking that if he had stalled any longer, their situation might have become worse.

"Let’s get this done and over with."

He muttered under his breath as he unsheathed the Shard of Tinateria from his back and dashed toward the lich.

The resplendent brilliance of the shard was the only colorful thing in this otherwise black and white world.

As he was running...

Ba-dump— Ba-Dump— BA-DUMP—!!!

"There it is again."

Regis’s heart thumped loudly as a foreboding sense of dread assaulted his being.

Frankly, the reason why he took so long before choosing to use Lux Aeterna was that no matter how hard he observed, he couldn’t sense anything around the lich.

There was neither a hint of tainted mana nor demonic power, making him overthink his actions.

"Tch, it doesn’t matter if I choose to wait or not. It’s disadvantageous to us either way."

The doubt in Regis’s eyes was replaced by pure determination as he leapt up, brandishing his Shard of Tinateria in mid-air.

He could feel it as he got closer to the lich.

The ever-growing bad premonition that seemed to permeate throughout every fiber of his being.

Still, he did not stop.

[Weakpoint Creation]

With a word from him, a miniscule red dot appeared on the lich’s skull.

Weakpoint Creation is the gift Regis obtained by awakening his aura. The red dot it creates depends on the "gap" of power between him and the designated target.

This meant that the smaller the red dot, the stronger Regis’s enemy was in comparison.

At this moment, the weak point in the lich’s skull seemed almost invisible to the naked eye— like a speck of dust.

However, this did not faze Regis at all as he thrust the Shard of Tinateria with all his strength.

His eyes did not leave the red dot as he stared intensely, determined to see his weapon pierce through the lich that made them feel despair.

And for a while, everything seemed to be going as planned.

Despite the Shard of Tinateria’s sharp end being infinitely close to the red dot, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

The world was still at a standstill, with no abnormalities to be seen.

And things happened just as they were meant to be: the Shard of Tinateria pierced the lich’s skull through the weak point.

The lich, which was standing with his withered wooden staff planted on the ground, wasn’t able to do anything.

"I wonder at what realm I could comfortably use this aura art..." Regis breathed heavily.

When he was at the Middle Stage of One Star Realm, he could activate Lux Aeterna for less than a minute despite being at tip-top shape.

Now, with his Early Stage Two Star Realm, he was able to maintain it for close to two minutes despite spending most of his aura on killing the undead army of the lich.

However, he had now run out of aura.

As Regis was immersed in his thoughts, the world slowly returned to its original color.

’Is it finally ove—’

SHUICK—!!!

His thoughts came to a sudden halt as his blood red eyes shook.

"What...?"

Seeing the bone spike that pierced through his chest, Regis felt speechless.

At this moment, the grating voice of the lich sounded again, "You almost got me there, kid. Unfortunately for you, I won’t die as long as we’re in this swamp."

The white-haired boy glared at him, making him chuckle, "Don’t even try to move, that magic spell is something I’ve specially created after decades of research."

"I’ve mixed in countless magic formulas, as well as curse spells that would render you unable to move for eternity."

"Now, the only thing I need to do is to offer you to my maste—"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It was then that explosions after explosions resounded and shook the area, making the lich turn his head in its direction.

Aurelia was currently throwing ball-shaped objects from the dress of her pockets that exploded immediately upon contact with the undead.

Each explosion shook the ground, a testament to how lethal it was.

Soon enough, Pandora, Killian, and Aurelia, who were focused on defending themselves, noticed Regis’s situation.

"Brother!!" "Boss!!!" "Regis!!"

Killian and Pandora moved in unison while being covered by Aurelia.

[Lightning God’s Descent]

Yellow lightning erupted from Killian’s position as a chant left his lips.

BZZZZTTTTT—--!!!!

All that could be seen was a yellow streak as the embodiment of lightning himself reached the lich in an instant, while his sword made of blue lightning, was thrust towards the undead’s skull.

However, a barrier materialized, stopping the blue lightning without any difficulty.

"Annoying." The lich’s grating voice had a tinge of impatience as he waved his staff.

A giant bone spike extended from the ground, piercing Killian’s body along the way. It only stopped once it was three meters tall.

Regis’s pupils constricted as blood flowed from his lips.

"Don’t be so angry, Boss. My only role was to buy a few seconds." Killian’s blue eyes remained bright even while his body was penetrated by the bone spike.

"We’ll... surely... survive thi–"

The lich laughed, "Don’t make me laugh. I’m a mage that has lived for over a hundred yea–"

At that moment, a surge of mana alerted him.

Tears fell from her ruby red eyes as Pandora raised both of her arms towards the lich as two different magic circles materialized in front of her.

[Double Casting]

[High Rank Magic: Ice Beam] [High Rank Magic: Rain of Fire]

The two magic circles of opposing elements forcefully merged, following Pandora’s actions.

[Magic Combination: Glaciothermic Cannon]

The blue and red combined, creating a pure white beam that instantly arrived in front of the lich.

It was the forcefully compressed energy of the opposing elements of Ice Beam and Rain of Fire, which resulted in a beam of energy that would cause a devastating explosion upon contact.

"Amazing."

For the first time, Regis heard the lich utter a word out of pure admiration.

And it was true— the lich was indeed amazed, "To think that such a talented human was born in this era..."

"Unfortunately, I’m a Master Magician who has lived for over a hundred years. I, also, am a once-in-a-century talent of my era when I was a human."

"And signing a contract with my great master has only made me more powerful."

The lich’s grating voice resounded throughout the swamp.

However, Regis and his companions could clearly see that the white beam remained suspended in front of the lich.

It did not take long before the white beam shattered into particles of light.

The lich spoke again, "Still, such a feat is something to be proud of. That kind of magic combination where you fuse not the overall magic spells themselves, but only the formulas in order to create more terrifying magic can only be achieved by those with potential to reach the pinnacle."

"Don’t worry, little girl. I’ll speak to my master to make you a servant of his too. Together, we’ll pursue the pinnacle of magic!"

The lich laughed, his grating voice echoing in their ears.

Pandora, who was gasping for air after she had cast her most powerful spell to date, felt hopelessness surging within her body.

The magic spells she casted were what she copied from Count Orpheus.

Meanwhile, the magic combination she did was a result of the enlightenment she gained through the burst of emotions she had when she saw Regis’s state.

"C-Can I really not do anything else...?" Pandora hated herself.

She hated the fact that she couldn’t do anything when everything was about to be taken away from her.

"No! Not yet!"

Aurelia shouted as she kept throwing the ball-shaped objects from her pockets.

BOOM— BOOM—

"Ugh, you’re too annoying." The lich said impatiently as he waved his staff.

SHUICK—!!!

Aurelia’s face turned aghast as she saw her left arm being sent away by the bone spike that pierced her shoulder.

"Haha– HAHAHA" The lich crazily laughed as the blue flames in his eye sockets flickered repeatedly.

He then turned his head to Regis, "Hmmm, except for you and the other devil’s spawn, I don’t really have a use for the others."

"I guess it’s better to just kil–"

In that instant, the lich’s gaze shifted, as if drawn by an unseen force, locking onto the girl in the black dress standing in the distance.

"No..."

Aurelia muttered as she bit her lips until they bled.

The memories she had while travelling with her group of friends flashed before her eyes.

Alaric, who had been kind to her, was now standing behind her despite having fallen unconscious some time ago.

No, she was just in denial. Although Alaric seemed to be standing, he had already died.

Killian, who always seemed cheeky and funny, was now at the brink of death.

She still remembered how funny their first encounter was, which was when she had mistaken him for a beggar.

Pandora, who was like her best friend with whom she could always talk girly things with, had now fallen into despair.

It was her first time talking to a girl who was near her age who treated her informally.

Finally, Regis, whom she felt was always dependable and very powerful, now knelt near the lich. It was unknown whether he was still even alive.

He made her feel that he could do everything to the point that she saw him as an older brother, despite being two years older than him.

The only friends she made in all her life were now on the verge of being taken away from her.

Aurelia’s gaze then shifted towards her right hand that was covered with a white glove, "I’m sorry, Dad. But I think I found them— the people I’m willing to risk my life for."

Her eyes locked onto the lich in the distance, and without a word, she brought her right hand closer to her lips.

After all, her left hand was already no more, as only the fountain of blood could be seen in its place.

Seeing this strange action, the lich "squinted" his eyes.

The girl wearing a black dress only had one of her arms remaining— not even a speck of energy could be felt from her.

The only special thing about her was her black dress with built-in spatial storage— nothing more, nothing less.

Nevertheless, the lich felt a foreboding sense of dread.

"I don’t like this feeling." He muttered as he raised his withered wooden staff.

In an instant, Countless bone spikes emerged from all around the area; all converging towards the girl in black dress.

Yet, not an ounce of panic could be seen in Aurelia’s face— only resolution.

And with her teeth, she bit the tip of the white glove before pulling it with her head.

It was in that instance that a blinding golden brilliance of light enshrouded the whole swamp to the point that even the black miasma couldn’t be seen.

Words left Aurelia’s blood red lips as she slammed her right hand downwards.

[Hand of the Greedy King]

WUUUUNG—---!!!

And just like that, the world turned to gold.