Chapter 1268

‘What?!’

Lee Han, who was running back toward the place where Uman was preparing his magic, was greatly startled.

The surrounding space was trembling faintly like a heat haze. It was a phenomenon that occurred when dimensions overlapped and pushed against one another.

Phenomena occurring on this scale of space and dimensions were difficult for ordinary people to notice. Even mages often failed to detect them if they lacked experience with this branch of magic.

In that regard, Lee Han possessed conditions that inevitably made him several times more perceptive than others.

He had personally visited various dimensions, formed contracts with beings from those dimensions and greatly enhanced his sensitivity and detection abilities, and was separately training in space-time magic under Professor Garcia.

The Devil Hag was surprised when Lee Han noticed it sooner than expected.

You’ve noticed already, I see. This old woman told you, didn’t she? It’s anything but easy.

“I can feel an alien energy between the spaces. What is this?”

You noticed even that? That is the power of the Frahgal Order.

When Lee Han even detected the divine power of the Frahgal Order faintly leaking through the gaps, the Devil Hag became even more surprised.

Perhaps a paladin who had fought evil-god worshipers for a long time might have noticed, but she had not expected a mage like Lee Han to sense it so keenly.

‘Ah. Because I stole their Authority...!’

It was something that would infuriate the evil-god worshipers of the order, who were still diligently devoting themselves to their faith, but the young mage of House Wardanaz had indeed stolen the order’s Authority.

Otherwise, no matter how extraordinary a genius he was, there was no way he could have detected their presence that quickly.

As this old woman said, evil-god worshipers are hiding among the crowds here like mold and poisonous mushrooms. That means those hiding in other dimensions are secretly spying on this place as well. But if the dimensions suddenly close, do you think they’ll simply sit still?

It was only natural that even enemies who had been observing relatively leisurely would resist if the path allowing them to enter through the dimensions was suddenly blocked.

Judging by how weak the resistance was, it seemed the news that Stedal Nago had appeared had not reached them yet...

...But the moment they heard, there was no telling through what route they might descend in order to take revenge.

At times like this, it’s best to close everything quickly and precisely and force the enemy to retreat. Are you ready?

The Devil Hag advised him accurately.

When dealing with powerful and ferocious evil-god worshipers, retreating was actually the last thing one should do.

If they completely sealed off the surrounding area without giving the enemy a chance to counterattack, the other side would give up and withdraw as well.

Of course, if they later heard that Stedal Nago had been at the festival, they might fly into a rage, but by then Lee Han would already be back at the magic academy anyway.

‘This person really seems to enjoy teaching me secret arts.’

Lee Han wore an uneasy expression.

When they had first met, the Devil Hag had said things like, ‘I don’t enjoy teaching magic to others,’ and ‘If you want magic from me, don’t even dream of it.’

That had made Lee Han think, ‘Is this person actually a good person?’...

But as time passed, her words and behavior were becoming increasingly like those of an Einroguard professor.

“Yes... I somehow understand the basic concept, but I’m not exactly confident that I’ll be able to do it well...”

Stop pretending to be helpless! The dragon is working hard too, isn’t it!

The secret art the Devil Hag had explained was magic constructed in the language of another dimension that Lee Han did not yet know.

In order to remember this composite magic beginning with Anorthosis as well as possible, Lee Han renamed it first. Until he became proficient in the language, he intended to call it <The Devil Hag’s Dimensional Phase Distortion>.

‘His Highness Uman certainly is working hard.’

If there was one aspect of the situation working in their favor, it was that Uman was refusing to retreat despite struggling fiercely.

The sight of him crudely twisting and guiding dimensions using the innate words of power unique to dragons, without even borrowing the power of a secret art, was truly astonishing.

Thanks to that, Lee Han’s burden while assisting with magic was greatly reduced. Lee Han rapidly sent paper birds flying in every direction, trying to thoroughly survey the surroundings.

‘First identify the areas where the overlap and distortion are worst, then coordinate with His Highness and push them away. If that succeeds, His Highness should be able to close everything else by himself.’

Now!

At the Devil Hag’s sharp signal, Lee Han opened his mouth and began chanting the spell. His mind was filled with the structure of the secret art the Devil Hag had just taught him and the continuous sequence of magic that followed.

Normally, simply forcing such profound mysteries into one’s head would not allow a mage to cast them immediately.

But Lee Han had already experienced high-level magic similar to this.

Namely, <Microcosm, Basilios> and Euangelion.

The crown of thorns that split countless adjacent parallel dimensions apart and divided its essence among them to imprison it, and the cloak that likewise split countless adjacent parallel dimensions apart to stretch space endlessly.

The Devil Hag’s secret art was fundamentally similar.

It seized a vast area of space as a whole, twisted it, and guided the dimensions connected to it however the caster desired.

Enemies he wanted to avoid, far away.

Those he wanted to summon, closer.

Uman, who had been concentrating, was startled when the pressure suddenly dropped drastically and turned his gaze.

Sure enough, the mage of House Wardanaz had approached nearby and joined the spell.

‘...I offer my thanks!’

Embarrassed as he was, Uman had no choice but to give a small nod. Frankly, he had been in a situation where he needed help.

Lee Han nodded back. The current Inspector and the future principal candidate felt a powerful bond with one another.

‘Evil-god worshipers, far away!’

Once Lee Han joined in, the overlapping space that had been stubbornly holding its ground began to be pushed back. The space twisted, and dimensions briefly revealed themselves.

Those are fire giants, aren’t they?

The Devil Hag recognized the beings that briefly appeared and marveled.

There had been no sign of them while the young dragon was doing it, yet they had been drawn out only after the Wardanaz brat joined in, which clearly meant they had some connection with the latter.

Lee Han was extremely bothered by this, but he could not ask because he had to concentrate on the magic.

Those are frost giants, and celestials, and why is Garjidahaka there? Good heavens, there are yaksha too! Their king!

“!”

Lee Han, who had been silently listening, sensed something strange. Even while chanting, he opened his mouth with desperate resolve.

“If the Yaksha King had been connected, I would have known!”

Given the Yaksha King’s personality, if they had connected even for an instant, it would undoubtedly have thrown at least a few remarks meant to get under Lee Han’s skin before leaving.

Lee Han was instinctively certain.

That was a lie!

The Devil Hag’s eccentric nature must have surfaced. Wasn’t she a being who enjoyed putting mages through trials?

Your perception is remarkable! Yes. The king of the yaksha was a lie.

Lee Han breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparently the Devil Hag really had been lying...

‘Wait. What did she just say?’

The king of the yaksha had been a lie.

Then did that mean everything else was true?

‘...No. Focus on the magic.’

Hadn’t he committed a magical mistake just moments ago because he had failed to concentrate?

Lee Han firmly resolved to focus on the magic before him. It felt slightly like he was running away from the issue, but there was nothing else he could do.

Because if he learned the truth about the dimensions they had just briefly connected to, he felt as though he might mentally collapse!

* * *

Those insolent bastards!

At the reports arriving from the scene and the dimensional routes being directly closed, the Immortal openly expressed displeasure.

The recent subjugation of the evil god and its complete annihilation had been a glorious and joyous event for the Empire, but it was hardly pleasant news for an evil-god order or for the Immortal, one of its bishops.

Moreover, hadn’t the Immortal personally participated in that battlefield?

I accepted the subjugation because of the Devil Hag’s proposal, but thinking about it now, it feels as though I was deceived by that cunning creature.

Its side had suffered far too one-sidedly.

To think someone of the Devil Hag’s stature would make secret deals with mortals...

The Immortal continuously projected its thoughts onto the trunk of the tree. At present, the bishop was parasitizing a world tree discovered in a remote dimension in order to recover from the damage suffered in the previous battle.

Because of that, it was unable to move freely. The fact that even its thoughts had to be expressed as inscriptions carved into the tree made that obvious.

However, that did not mean it could simply remain still and easily cast aside its anger and displeasure.

Evil-god worshipers who strengthened themselves by devouring the faith and belief within their order could not take such emotions lightly. If mishandled, they could become obstacles when the time came to ascend higher.

Very well. In that case...

The Immortal moved a branch and retrieved a creature sealed inside a spatial vault.

This creature, which it had named Marbellas, possessed an appearance reminiscent of a slime, but its destructive power could not even be compared to that of a slime.

It was an unintelligent creature of the void outside the dimensions, possessing instinct alone, but once it absorbed mana and swelled its body, it boasted strength greater than that of most large monstrous beasts, making it the perfect card for a situation like this.

Let’s see whether they can stop this as well. If their dignity takes a beating, that will be satisfying in its own way!

Having thrown in its minion, the bishop paid no further attention and focused on meditation and recovery.

Now truly was the time to cast aside emotion and concentrate on practical gains.

Because of that, the Immortal failed to see something.

Reports were beginning to arrive from worshipers participating in the festival who had witnessed Stedal Nago...

* * *

“!?”

Lee Han, who had been certain everything had ended successfully, was greatly startled. Even the Devil Hag seemed surprised.

Something was slowly crawling out through the dimensional rifts that had already been completely closed!

To think they had something like that?

“What is that?”

Even this old woman doesn’t know everything. It looks like some monster they picked up in a gloomy, remote place. Don’t give it a chance. Burn it immediately!

“This isn’t exactly a situation where I can...”

Before Lee Han could finish speaking, Uman moved first. With the instincts of the dragon race, he sensed that allowing the enemy time would put them at an enormous disadvantage.

He did not particularly like transforming into a dragon in front of so many people, but this was no time to care about that.

A gigantic black dragon appeared in midair and, with a roar, tore apart and burned the slimy monster crawling out.

-A dragon!!!

-It must have come to bless the festival!

The people, still unaware of what was happening, erupted in cheers, but Lee Han’s expression was grave. Beside him, Jowrin asked,

“Lee Han! Jowrin shall go and help too!”

“Your Highness, please wait for a moment!”

Alarmed, Lee Han hurriedly stopped Jowrin.

Unlike Uman, Jowrin lacked combat experience, so he could not send her straight into battle.

“Professor. His Highness...”

Lee Han first intended to ask Professor Voladi to help Uman.

‘Huh? Where did Professor go?’

But Professor Voladi was nowhere to be seen. Only belatedly did Lee Han realize that the professor was already above Uman.

‘...Professor really is fast!’

After taking a brief breath, Lee Han finished the secret art by himself. The more urgent the situation became, the more important it was to complete crucial magic properly. Otherwise, things could become even more tangled.

It did not feel as though much time had passed, but when Lee Han raised his head again, the situation had changed drastically.

“!!!”

The enemy that had somehow forced its way through the gap was enduring Uman’s attacks and continuing to swell larger and larger.

Professor Voladi had driven several seals into it, but because the creature was so alien, Lee Han could see that their effectiveness had been reduced by half.

Crush it with brute force! Have that gold dragon hold it from behind, and let the black dragon burn it away!

The Devil Hag quickly offered advice. Lee Han understood what she meant. Against an opponent on whom complex magic did not work properly, a straightforward contest of strength might actually be effective.

“Understood. I’ll go right now!”

“Lee Han! Jowrin will...”

The gold dragon shouted loudly, thinking that now was precisely the moment to unleash Jowrin’s strike.

But Lee Han had already disappeared.

Jowrin’s eyes widened as she saw a black dragon she had never seen °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° before suddenly soar into the sky.

Huh?!