Chapter 1215

"Demons normally aren't very cooperative, are they? I couldn't help being surprised when one was this helpful. By comparison, Lord Perkuntra, the great Lightning General who bears the title of Lightning Duke, has always been such a steadfast supporter of mine that I simply trusted you."

The more urgent the situation became and the more Lee Han needed something, the longer and more detailed his flattery grew.

Even while knowing perfectly well what kind of obvious trick this was, Perkuntra felt itself wavering. Apparently it had grown far closer to this contractor than necessary.

...Hmph. Fine. Since we've come this far, let's see it through to the end.

-Isn't that a little too easy for a Spirit King?

Mahuda expressed doubt, but Perkuntra ignored it.

There was no spirit foolish enough to be swayed by the words of a demon.

If we can land the Lightning Spear, it should deal a proper blow. But...

This strike for annihilating evil, combining the lightning of the Lightning Duke with the infamous spear arts of a demon, boasted power several levels above an ordinary microcosm.

That did not change even against a god-level being.

But the problem was actually landing the attack.

Right now, the Yaksha King and Sanguros were literally fighting in a way that tore apart and shattered the domain itself.

The professors of Einroguard and the knights were moving swiftly, establishing several layers of encirclement and striking Sanguros, but even that was only possible because they were professors and knights.

Could Lee Han, still merely a student, sharply force his way into the midst of that battle and deliver a single blow?

And that bastard has already seen your attack once. The moment it senses similar power, it will immediately become wary.

"I understand. But it will definitely expose an opening."

That is true.

Perkuntra could not deny even that.

A proper divine being would not have exposed an opening. No, in the first place, it would never have ended up fighting like this.

But their opponent was a corrupted and immature evil god that had only recently acquired something called an ego.

They had confirmed over and over again that it acted emotionally and impulsively.

An opportunity would definitely come!

Fine. But stop using that microcosm magic.

"Do you mean Basilios?"

......

"Euangelion?"

Will you knock it off before I leave?!

Perkuntra rumbled when its contractor shamelessly played dumb.

He knew perfectly well which microcosm it meant and was pulling this pathetic trick anyway.

I'm talking about the magic that pulls the future forward. That magic is dangerous. Mages intoxicated by magic have always come to bad ends.

Being intoxicated by magic was not something only a hamster could experience. This Wardanaz could experience it too.

A microcosm like Dunamis was especially dangerous. Precisely because it was so powerful and tempting, the mage using it could fail to judge their own limits and keep drinking it in.

The omnipotent sensation of drawing magic they could not yet use into reality.

To a mage, such a sensation was sweet poison.

"I understand. I'll keep that in mind."

Good. You're finally listening.

"Then about three more times?"

......

-...Did that yaksha heal you for nothing?

Even the demon was dumbfounded.

Was this mage completely fearless?

No matter how immense a quantity of mana supported him, the strain on the mind and fatigue of the body...

-If you're doing this because you trust the spirit in your staff or the demons in the bracelet, I recommend stopping.

The fact that Saratan and Mahuda were cooperating at all was itself extremely unusual.

There was no reason for this violent exiled spirit or viciously vengeful demon to volunteer to share the burden of magic.

But even that was now nearing its limit.

In Saratan's case, it was originally a spirit that had lost its power and was enduring by using the staff as its body.

No matter how powerful the spirit, it could not keep taking on the burden if doing so meant shattering the staff it used as a body.

Can the demons not share any more of it?

-We're on the verge of a revolt too. Once I go back down there, I probably won't be able to come back up for a while.

The demons in those depths that had not even awakened yet were half-maddened by the pain suddenly forced onto them.

No one knew what would happen if demons like that went berserk. They could not allow dozens of demons to emerge from the bracelet and fight over Lee Han's body.

-Hah. I'm fine.

Saratan, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. The spirit and demon immediately started berating it.

Stop bluffing, brat.

-No wonder you got captured.

-...You bastards! If I still had my original power, I'd bury the two of you as saplings!

Saratan became furious, but neither of them paid it the slightest attention.

To Perkuntra, a king-class spirit, a wandering spirit like that was laughable to begin with, while Mahuda, being a demon, had no respect for spirits in the first place.

Instead of the two who refused to listen, Saratan tried to persuade Lee Han.

-Trust me. I can endure it.

"Is that really... Wait. You were wrong pretty often before..."

-This time is different. My life is on the line too. You think I'd get that wrong?

'That's convincing.'

Even Lee Han could not help being swayed by that.

No matter how often this spirit made errors in calculation, would it really make a mistake over something involving its own life?

...Once. Use it only once, when it's truly necessary.

In the end, even Perkuntra and Mahuda gave in.

One single time at the truly decisive moment.

That much seemed like something they could somehow manage.

"Don't worry too much. Judging by the fact that the Yaksha King wasn't surprised when I arrived, that yaksha must have predicted everything up to this point. Then he must have accounted for me using Dunamis too. It'll be fine."

Perkuntra stared at its contractor in disbelief.

He cursed the Yaksha King like a sworn enemy whenever he had the chance, yet now he trusted him?

'This shameless...!'

***

The Yaksha King had never once properly explained the plan, but the moment Sanguros personally manifested, everyone present understood how they were supposed to move.

The Yaksha King was what one might call the shield bearer.

This wise king, possessing tremendous defensive power and foresight, took the murderous intent and madness pouring from the evil god head-on and pinned it in place.

And the Death Knights were the spearmen.

Like whalers hunting an enormous whale, they moved swiftly above, below, left, and right throughout the domain, driving chilling yin harpoons into the evil god's bloated body.

Each individual attack might not inflict much damage, but every time another spearhead sank in and another chain connected, the evil god's existence was shaved away little by little.

Sanguros already wanted nothing more than to tear chunks of flesh from the Yaksha King, and when these insects kept irritatingly stabbing at its body, it roared in displeasure.

Get-A-Way-From-Me!

Judging by that fit, it seems your patience has run out. The reason you're actually so angry right now is...

I'll kill you!

The Yaksha King once again drew Sanguros's attention back to himself.

The knights found themselves impressed anew by the king's skill at drawing all of an opponent's hatred without uttering a single insult.

Perhaps the strongest of the Yaksha King's Authorities was actually this one.

An Authority that provoked hatred without distinguishing friend from foe!

"Time shall become the warp, and space the weft, weaving the fabric of magic..."

Lastly, the professors were fulfilling the proper role of mages.

Powerful sages who created variables on the battlefield.

While the great magic was being prepared, Professor Kirmin and Professor Voladi struck aside incoming attacks and protected the professor concentrating on the casting.

Professor Garcia had not received magical-combat training and was less resistant to a chaotic situation like this. They had to protect the professor securely until the magic was complete.

"S-sorry."

Embarrassed, Professor Garcia apologized. Professor Kirmin instead looked puzzled by the apology.

"Why would you say that, Professor Kim?"

"If I'd trained in magical combat regularly, the two of you could have moved independently..."

"You're not Professor Bagreg. What would a mage gain from practicing brawling? You don't need to worry about that."

"Student Lee Han said he couldn't rely on me because I never trained in magical combat either."

"......"

"......"

An awkward silence lingered for a moment.

Professor Voladi sent a look toward the friend. It was a look telling Professor Kirmin to comfort the junior professor properly.

'You bastard. Do you think I have an answer prepared for every situation?'

Professor Kirmin bristled.

This bastard normally did not treat Professor Kirmin like a friend in the slightest, but at times like this suddenly acted as though the task had been entrusted all along?

"...I'll prepare a few more spells in case its attention turns this way!"

In the end, Professor Kirmin chose to change the subject.

No suitable words of comfort came to mind.

And this was actually a fairly decent change of subject. Professor Kirmin genuinely did need to prepare magic as well.

They could not leave absolutely everything to the junior professor.

With an incantation, <Kirmin's Consciousness Wedge> began to form. This 7th Circle spell, cast on the foundation of three limited microcosm spells, was highly effective against thought-form beings such as evil gods.

The cost required for the casting was high, but this was no time to act miserly just to save a few reagents.

Professor Kirmin took out three rings and five spirit-crimson flowers, then cut the palm. When blood touched them, the microcosm spells stored inside the rings broke free and rapidly fused together, taking shape.

After greedily devouring the flowers, the magic searched for its next meal. Without pause, Professor Kirmin fed it reagents, mana, and incantations while taking aim.

"Fly, new consciousness. Coil yourself within the enemy..."

As the magic neared completion, Professor Voladi spoke.

"After casting it, can you spread an illusion maze around the area?"

"What? It won't mean much against an evil god."

This consciousness wedge was a kind of parasitic thought-form magic that awakened a new ego inside the target the moment it was driven in.

It was an extremely powerful spell, but more importantly, it was especially effective because their opponent was an evil god unused to possessing an ego. Since it lacked certainty about itself, an unfamiliar new self would confuse it even more.

By comparison, an illusion-maze spell had little meaning in the current situation.

No matter how widely it was spread, it would simply be torn apart the instant Sanguros moved. Why waste magic on that?

"I want Wardanaz sent far enough away that he cannot approach."

"...Complain about your student not listening to you later!"

It was not that Professor Kirmin failed to understand the friend's feelings.

Wardanaz was Professor Kirmin's student too.

Judging by the Spirit King swinging a lightning sword down below, Wardanaz clearly had not left the battlefield yet.

In that case, his intentions were obvious.

He intended to land a blow on the evil god somehow.

'I said I respected Wardanaz as a mage, but I didn't mean I respected this kind of insanity too.'

Professor Kirmin had meant respecting him for running around outside hunting evil-god worshipers, not for joining a battle where professors and knights were fighting and charging at an evil god himself.

Had Professor Kirmin respected him a little too much?

'Maybe I should've stopped him from leaving the academy at all from the very beginning...'

But the deed was already done, and Wardanaz was displaying stubbornness every bit as nasty as that of his own master.

Just look at him. They had left him behind earlier, yet he had stubbornly seized control of the dimension and followed them. On top of that, from what Professor Kirmin had heard, there was a high chance he had used <Microcosm, Dunamis>.

If Professor Kirmin spread an illusion maze, Lee Han might try to break through even that with Dunamis.

"...Praying that all disciples in this world listen to their masters a little better, go!"

Professor Kirmin fired the completed spell as a single arrow.

Unlike magic from other schools, it neither shook heaven and earth nor made spirits and demons tremble, but that did not matter. The illusion magic school did not concern itself with such outward displays of power.

What mattered was striking deep into the enemy's soul...

Aaaaaaaaaagh!

When Sanguros suddenly screamed as though going berserk, Professor Kirmin flinched in surprise.

It works this well?!