Chapter 99: Perfect Copy of the Defensive Spell

"Damn it... when will this end?" Magna thought desperately.

He couldn’t move a single finger, couldn’t even blink. He was completely frozen in place.

The only thing he could process was an endless, brutal pain.

His flesh aged and rotted at a sickening speed, peeling off and falling to the dirt in ragged pieces, only to grow back in the exact same instant. He was trapped in an endless loop of destruction and rebirth.

He was grateful he had managed to copy and cast the spell so perfectly, saving himself from death at the last second. But the pain was so unbearable that he almost regretted doing it at all.

How had he copied such complex magic so perfectly and instantly?

It was all thanks to his new eyes.

Just like he had copied Celestee’s Glacial Calamity before by memorizing the exact sounds of the chant, he had memorized the Faceless Witch’s incantation.

But this time he pushed further, using the new trait his eyes had gained.

He could actually see the path of mana moving inside the Faceless Witch’s body as she wove the spell.

Casting a spell was like carving invisible paths inside yourself. By watching the finished pattern take shape inside her, Magna simply traced the same mana paths inside his own body, letting him copy the spell with perfect accuracy.

His perfect memory, combined with years of experience hand-drawing game assets, was a great help through the whole process as well.

After casting it, he burned through most of his mana, and he was still losing it. But at the same time, he was actually regenerating even more than he was losing.

It was the other aspect of the defensive spell he had copied.

Right now his body was pulling in the mana from the yellowish mist swirling around him, and with every second he healed himself, he was gaining back almost twice the mana he spent.

’It really is a wonderful spell, I have to admit.’ Even through all that pain, he still had it in him to appreciate it.

He wondered if this spell could somehow be used without limiting his movement at all.

With a cheat spell like that, he could fight hundreds of Witches alone on a battlefield.

But since the spell worked through pure self-torture, something only a masochist could enjoy, that made the idea a lot less appealing.

While he waited there, with no other choice, for the mist tearing him apart to pass, he also kept listening to what was happening around him.

His eyes had frozen in place looking straight at the Faceless Witch, so he saw the moment Renna showed up and punched her in the face, sending her flying.

At first he thought, ’What is this crazy girl doing?’ But after hearing what came next, he changed his mind.

Hearing her punch the Faceless Witch again and again while shouting, "What have you done to him? Cancel it." was honestly moving to him.

No one in his past life had ever fought for him like that, which touched him more than he expected.

Not to mention Renna was only a 5th Trial Witch, while the Faceless Witch was at least a 10th Trial.

’I hope she doesn’t get herself killed.’ Magna thought with growing worry, until he heard Celeste’s voice mixing in with the sound of the punches.

It gave him a huge sense of relief, realizing that Celeste and Rowena had finally broken through the barrier and come inside to save them.

But her next words worried him all over again about the 12th Trial Witch attacking them.

He wasn’t sure how strong a Witch at that level really was. The Faceless Witch hadn’t seemed unbelievably strong to him, but he still couldn’t stop himself from worrying.

He also felt a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t get to watch the fight, since Celeste was already putting up an ice barrier around them before she left.

Soon, Magna heard light footsteps coming toward him, slow and unsure.

Renna stood in front of him, leaning in slightly to look right into his eyes. ’’Are you okay?’’

Magna wanted to say, ’Yeah, I’m just waiting for this yellow mist to go away.’ But to Renna, he looked completely frozen, like she couldn’t even tell if he was still conscious.

She reached her hand out toward him, but the moment her fingertip touched the mist, it instantly began to age.

Wrinkles spread across her skin as it turned loose and sagging, looking as if the flesh were about to peel away from the bone. She yanked her hand back just as fast.

"It hurts." She murmured, staring at her finger.

Seeing her reaction, Magna almost wanted to laugh, since this kind of pain had already become something he went through regularly thanks to Gaia’s options.

But then he saw her face. Her trembling lips were pressed tightly together as tears began to fall, instantly killing his urge to laugh.

"I wish it was me going through this instead of you." Her voice was so sincere that there was no need for any proof to know she meant every word.

’Isn’t she actually a good girl?’ Magna thought to himself. If she could somehow get past that quick temper of hers, she would honestly count as a really good girl.

Unfortunately, that volcanic temper was just part of her nature due to her bloodline trait.

Magna actually found it fascinating how the Cinder family possessed a bloodline trait that was the exact polar opposite of the Winterborns’ serene state.

If he saw them without knowing they were allies, he would definitely think they were enemies.

While these thoughts passed through his mind, only there to keep it busy and dull the pain, a powerful tremor started, shaking everything around him.

The impact was so forceful that even the frozen dome around them vibrated as if it were on the verge of collapsing at any second.

Fortunately, the ice held firm, enduring the strain without showing even the slightest crack.

’Has the fight started already?’ Magna felt a surge of excitement just imagining what kind of attack could cause a shockwave like that.

Right now he would give anything just to be part of that fight, or even just to witness it.