LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 95
“This is…!”
It seemed Terra, like me, had sensed the flow of massive mana. As she abruptly stood up, hastily packing her things, the other party members clumsily followed suit.
“Te, Terra? What’s going on…? Even the Wizard?”
“Hey… What on earth is happening that has you in such a hurry…?”
There was no need to answer the party members’ questions. Even the others, who had not sensed the movements of mana, began to look pale and gaze down at their feet as if they were feeling something.
The direction of the movement didn’t change. Anyone who could feel the flow of mana would realize that a massive mana, close to death, was approaching this place.
“This is bad… We need to move quickly.”
Alfonso took the lead and started running. The remnants of the melted corridor stuck to the soles of our shoes, but there was no energy to worry about such trivial matters right now.
Creeeak—!
With a grinding sound, the floor collapsed, and the ceiling sank down. The wall that once was opened up, revealing a new path.
The straight line I had created remained unchanged, but the dungeon corridors adjacent to it began to change frequently. Someone approaching this place was clearly altering the structure of the dungeon at will.
“This, this is…”
Just like stepping up a staircase, I could feel the mana, once sensed deep underground, approaching beneath my feet.
As we reached the end of the melted corridor, the party members’ gazes turned toward me. I had no choice but to shake my head. The mana was still insufficient to show them what they expected.
This is the worst. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have wasted mana to clear the path…
When despair painted the faces of the party members, the corridor to the side began to shift with a grinding sound. Just like before, the wall sank down, opening up a new path.
From the newly revealed darkness, the sounds of skeletons and the heavy footsteps of Death Knights intertwined chaotically.
“Everyone… Draw your weapons…”
Alfonso pulled out his sword with a pale face, as if he sensed their imminent doom, but he didn’t give up. Even though he realized that death was about to claim him, he raised his sword.
At that moment, figures of the undead revealed themselves from beyond the dim light of the lamp. White bones wrapped in Evil Mana and knights clad in worn armor.
There were two Death Knights, but the number of skeletons was countless. They continued to pour out, squeezing through the narrow passage.
And in that instant, slicing through the army of white corpses, their master came into view.
The master of the army was a white skeleton draped in a Black Robe. However, it was unlike typical skeletons. Its lower half was missing, hovering unrealistically in the air, evoking an instinctive revulsion.
The Black Mana coiled around its body shook the atmosphere. Just being faced with its naturally emanating Evil Mana made me feel as though my lifespan was being snatched away.
When the pitch-black gleam met my gaze and fell away, I noticed it was holding a large Magic Book and a staff exuding Evil Mana.
[How did you get here?]
A dreadful voice flowed from inside the white skull. It sounded grotesque, as if the voices of countless people who had fallen into hell were merging into one.
It wasn’t a vocal sound produced by vocal cords. It was definitely a sound artificially made by vibrating the mana enveloping its body.
Some of the party members began to gag. The Evil Mana and the voice created by it were clearly having a bad influence on the human body.
No one could answer the question. They merely braced themselves, swallowing dryly while aiming their swords.
[…] You need not answer now. You will hear it after you die.]
The King of the Dead spoke of death. At that instant, the army began to move. With chaotic movements, countless skeletons began to collapse and reassemble, creating a path.
Simultaneously, the King of the Dead began gesturing. When he pointed at the wall, the oppressive blockade sank down, filling the void with a wave of white skeletons.
The walls that had protected our backs vanished entirely. The army of the undead filled the spaces left by the missing walls, and the completed wave of death began to surge forward like a tide.
“Ugh, aaargh!”
At that moment, a Silver Grade swordsman began to have a seizure. He swung his sword wildly at the approaching wave of white.
Though there was no sharpness to his attacks, numerous skeletons lost their form and began to crumble. However, that was all. The gaps left by the fallen skeletons were filled by more skeletons, reaching out toward the nearby swordsman.
“Krgh, aargh!”
Hundreds of hands engulfed his body. Being dragged down into the depths of the white wave by the outstretched white hands was his final sight. As his scream began to fade, red blood trickled out from within the wave of white.
“Terra…”
“Why now…”
I swallowed hard as I looked at the two Death Knights approaching beyond the skeletons.
“Could you bind those two for a moment?”
“For how long?”
“As long as possible.”
Terra didn’t seem confident she could do it. She merely raised her great sword without a word.
It might be challenging for her alone, but if everyone here united, we could hold out for quite some time. If Terra could clear a path by taking down the skeletons, then the others could deal with the two Death Knights.
“What will you do?”
“I have to take that thing down.”
“Is that possible…?”
I fell silent at Terra’s words. To be honest, I wasn’t confident. I only had a vague feeling that somehow, it might be possible.
The opponent was a king leading numerous legions, but the essence that remained was still a wizard.
In this world, wizards could be divided into two types. One type was like the ordinary wizards I knew, who took a long time to prepare and unleashed powerful bombardments, while the other type was like Leonis, who focused all mana into physical enhancement for close combat.
That thing hiding behind the wave of white was clearly the first type. I could distinctly sense the movements of massive mana beyond the skeletons. It was certainly preparing to use strong magic.
Without hesitation, I kicked the ground and leaped toward the wave of white.
As the Death Knights tried to follow my movement, Terra’s great sword intercepted them. The attacks from the skeletons rising from below didn’t inflict significant damage.
I stomped on the skeletons’ heads, charging toward the King of the Dead beyond them.
The moment I leaped over the white wave and the King of the Undead came into view, a dark arrow of mana shot out from behind it.
Swoosh-!
The moment I recognized the attack, I kicked off the air and attempted to change direction sharply. The mana gathered at my feet merged with the weak mana, forming a solid foothold.
Boom-!
After a brief explosion, my body, which had been floating in the air, quickly landed. I didn’t stop my advance. The moment my feet touched the ground, I surged forward again.
A faint breeze swirled around me. The instant my speed of charging increased slightly, I swung the sword held in my hand greatly.
Clang clang clang—!
The swung sword was blocked by the long staff. As the starlight mana that had covered the blade erupted in a hot flame, I felt the opponent’s black mana begin to chip away.
It was clear the mana that had been focused to use strong magic began to scatter.
Flare-!
When the orange flame flickered, obscuring my view, a pitch-black gleam sparked from inside the Black Robe.
[…Interesting. Are you perhaps a hybrid of a dragon?]
It was a tone as if it sensed the origin of the mana I was using. I didn’t respond and continued swinging my sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The sword enveloped in flames struck the wall of black mana. The flames of destruction, symbolizing rage, greedily devoured even the ominous mana that stood in its way.
In that moment, the black gleam flashed, and mana began to be released. The robe the white skeleton wore billowed as if caught in a storm.
Whoooosh—!
“Uugh…!”
Though it was merely a release of mana, the sheer volume was so vast that it was blinding. The strong wind pressure pushed me back, and my bag behind me burst open, spilling its contents everywhere.
[Elder, your contractor Aphep desires this.]
Rustle-!
A chilling voice drifted from inside the Black Robe. At that moment, the ominous Magic Book in his hand began to flip rapidly.
[Ensure a certain death for the target before you.]
As the voice coming from the robe began to break apart, the mana that had been stretching into all directions started to get drawn toward the Magic Book.
[Death Sentence]
The absorbed mana made the Magic Book float in the air, and Aphep’s skeletal finger pointed at me. In that instant, I sensed an invisible death approaching.
Transcending human senses predicted a brief future. I immediately jumped back, picking up a wide blue scale that had spilled from my bag.
As I was pushed up by a little kick, the formless death loomed closer.
In that moment, a tremendous light exploded along with a blue chill.
Swiish-!
The sudden coldness that burst forth froze everything around. The blue frost covered the corridor and surged over Aphep, the one draped in the Black Robe.
An eerie stillness enveloped the area, as if time itself had frozen. The white ice that had solidified began to crackle, breaking apart along with the blue scales.
Crackle—
The scales that had blocked death crumbled into dozens of pieces, falling onto the white ice.
“This is…”
It was just a fleeting moment, but I saw it. The instant the light burst forth from the scales, the image of a Giant Creature faintly emerged and then vanished.
Crack—!
[Th-this is…]
Through the shattering ice, Aphep’s voice floated faintly. He was not dead. The massive mana within him was protecting him.
The ice was beginning to melt. It was only a matter of time before he woke up again. The ominous gleam burning inside the Black Robe shone brightly as if longing for my death.
My mind went blank. The senses that drew closer to monsters and dragons instinctively began to act to escape this crisis.
“Huuh…”
My breath came out hot. The surrounding cold mana began to mingle with my hot breath. Just like Kashpa’s snowy mountains, the entire corridor was filled with mana soaked in cold chill.
This couldn’t be absorbed. The moment I inhaled this mana into my body through breathing, the searing heat of blood would escape, and my heart would stop.
Then, how could I utilize the surrounding mana? Surprisingly, the answer was close at hand. My gaze landed on the scattered scale fragments on the floor.
Through my flickering white vision, an instinctive realization approached.
When the instincts of a dragon began to consume my body, I stomped hard on the ground.
Thud-!
With the strong impact, the pieces of scales that had been scattered beneath me floated. When the risen fragments began to react to my mana, dozens of pieces flew behind me, forming a large circle.
If I couldn’t absorb it, I could just hold it external. I may not be able to absorb it, but I could use the mana for a brief moment at my command.
When the cold dragon scales began to take the place of my heart, they started to spin, forming a circular motion.
Whirring-!
When the rapidly spinning cold mana circle began to draw in the surrounding mana, another mana circle resting in my heart started to rotate as well.
The two circles began to resonate as they turned. The mana of the two kings, who had reached the pinnacle of life forms, intertwined to create harmony.
It didn’t push away. The dragon’s mana had yearned for it.
Flare-!
The mana circle formed behind me began to blaze blue. It certainly was taking the shape of flames, but there was no hot heat. What replaced it was an intense chill that seemed capable of freezing even space.
[Kraaaargh!]
Crack—!
Finally, Aphep, who had been thrashing within the ice, managed to break free.
The blazing chill began to gather toward the air. The small concentration sparked faintly, like it was about to vanish at any moment.
[A futile struggle…!]
I stared blankly at the glowing sphere. The sphere of condensed mana was slowly falling toward the ground. Aphep’s ominous voice didn’t reach my ears.
[A new death…]
When Aphep began preparing another spell, the glowing sphere touched the ground. Immediately, the blue flames enveloped the world.
The flames of destruction, symbolizing anger, wrapped within the blue chill, making it worthy to be called the Blue Fury of the King.