Chapter 165. Viola of White Bones (3)
"If it's intruders, then it could only be the diocese, but not even a bishop, not even a paladin, just some green brat all by himself. Did the hypocrites go the other way? What kind of strategy splits their forces like this?"
The woman frowned, displeased.
She wasn't wearing a simple cloak, but a fitted, modified black robe tailored to her body.
And upon her pale skin gleamed accessories—necklaces, rings, items assumed to be magical equipment—yet, she held neither staff nor rod.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed around Verden's age.
Her gaze, full of arrogance and that particular ease only she possessed, was all the compass one would need to know who she was.
"You're the black magus who attacked the diocese."
"My, I don't recall ever revealing my true self in the diocese, and yet you see right through me. Quite perceptive, aren't you?"
The woman—Viola—spread her arms wide.
"Yes, that was me. If I weren't 'Viola of White Bones', how could I assassinate bishops within the diocese and sow such chaos? And here's something special I'll share with you, I, too, am rather perceptive."
Viola's eyes narrowed.
"You, you're Asher, aren't you? That mage who held hands with some noble lady and helped ruin the Union I worked so hard to build."
So the black magus who half-destroyed the diocese was the one who created the Union.
'That makes sense.'
If she could secretly wear the skin of another, then gathering people to her side would be nothing. All the more so if she could deceive even the senses of a bishop.
Viola asked Verden,
"But what are you doing here? Too fast to say the diocese commissioned you... No, more importantly, how did you even get here? I never heard of the diocese possessing anything related to pursuit. And how did you break the ancient magic circle at the entrance?"
The more she thought, the more questions surged.
Not one of them made sense, and Viola's curiosity only deepened.
"..."
Naturally, Verden had no intention of answering.
Once he had confirmed his opponent was a magus, there was no need for words.
Even if he tried to probe for information, there was no way she would give it easily.
Fwoooosh!
Verden activated his mana circuit.
Sensing the mana at once, Viola let out a short laugh of disbelief.
"I can understand you not answering my questions, but don't tell me you actually intend to fight me in a magic duel? Even knowing I'm a magus?"
Viola was aware of Verden's reputation.
A 4th-tier lightning mage, who not only wielded that, but was also said to handle other elemental magic with high proficiency.
'So what?'
No matter how many high-level elemental spells one mastered, the difference in tier was absolute.
A surprise attack, perhaps, but to face her openly in a magic duel, the one of higher tier would inevitably prevail.
All the more so when Viola had pioneered her own way of magic, wielding unique spells that lay outside the recognized tiers, a black magus.
By common reckoning, Verden had no chance of victory.
But Verden was no ordinary mage.
Nor merely a 4th-tier mage.
"I don't know what kind of confidence you think you have, but someone like you... hm?"
Mana, fully formed, surged from Verden's body.
The sheer amount of mana surpassed all her expectations, and Viola's eyes widened. In that instant, Verden's mana condensed at a single point, the magic computation already complete.
At the tip of the Oculus, red flame gathered.
The bursting crimson blaze engulfed Viola.
***
The left passage, where the rest of the subjugation force had gone, apart from Verden.
Below it, in a small hall, a battlefield of the living and the dead was unfolding.
Kwaang! Kagagagak!
The clash of metal resounded again and again, and thunderous blasts rang where spells struck.
"Ugh?!"
Struck head-on by a blind ice orb, White Crest knight Hedin was thrown to the ground.
Even if clad in armor bearing elemental resistance, while it could block the chill, it could not ignore the impact itself.
[Aaaargh!]
Above the fallen knight, a Skeleton soldier thrust down its blade.
Before the steel could pierce the vulnerable flesh between helmet and armor, Hedin twisted his body at the last moment.
Crunch!
The undead's sword plunged into the earth, narrowly missing.
Seizing the gap, Hedin locked the enemy blade beneath his armored arm, then snapped his torso upward, slamming his head into the undead with full force.
As the Skeleton staggered back, Hedin sprang to his feet.
Gripping his sword tightly, he diverted the blow of another undead's strike, then smashed its skull with his free hand.
The heavy strike dented the helm, though not enough to shatter the bone beneath.
Then, behind the undead, a sword of light appeared.
It was the paladin's strike. Kwaang! The damaged helm split, the skull pierced through at once. With full weight behind it, the paladin cleaved the undead in two, then met Hedin's eyes.
Both knights gave a curt nod, before rushing at other undead.
The mid-rank undead were formidable.
Not only were their numbers great, but unlike typical abnormal species, they fought in proper formation.
Still, given enough time, so long as they kept their minds clear amid the chaos, the subjugation could succeed without anyone dying.
Everyone believed as much.
And at the center of the battlefield.
There, the fiercest battle raged.
Whooong───Kaaang!
Calia was hurled back by the massive zweihander.
Though she blocked with her blade, the shock barely lessened. That was how vast the difference in strength was. She rolled across the ground, plunging her sword into the earth to brake her fall.
Meanwhile, Gloss and Vespa engaged the Death Knight.
"Haaaargh!"
Their blades stormed down in relentless succession.
They diverted the Death Knight's strikes, twisted its sword paths, etched gashes into its armor. Though its
Their minds would not break. But still, the Death Knight was mighty.
"Guhh!"
One swing of its arm sent Vespa flying.
Immediately, the zweihander descended from above toward Gloss's head. He barely caught it on his sword, but the strain was unbearable.
"Grrrhhh…!"
Steel ground against steel, both blades shrieking.
At last, Gloss's knees sank into the dirt, the sharp edge drawing ever closer to his face.
"How dare you!"
Calia rushed in, kicking the blade away.
Then Vespa, already back on his feet, leapt and struck the Death Knight hard across the back of the head.
A brief opening was made.
Together, Calia and Gloss swung with all their might. The Death Knight's shoulder and leg were slashed, deep gouges marking the armor.
But to truly wound such a powerful undead, it was far from enough.
Calia and Gloss caught their breath.
"It really isn't easy."
"Indeed it isn't."
One true strike here could mean grievous wounds or instant death.
Yet the Death Knight guarded its vitals with heavy armor, leaving almost no openings. They could not simply aim at weak points.
Thus the only path was to batter it, strike by strike, until the armor shattered.
'Still, the situation itself isn't so bad.'
The White Crest Knights and the Paladin Order moved in excellent coordination, while the Holy Warriors engaged one flank of the undead horde. Whenever injuries arose, Bishop Ronanderk stepped forward, invoking miracles of healing.
Their numbers were steadily dwindling.
And the greatest variable, the Death Knight, was being held at bay by Calia, Vespa, and Gloss. If things continued like this, victory was certain.
At that moment.
───Fwooooosh!
A sinister wave once again shook the ritual chamber.
But something was strange.
'The intervals are shorter than before.'
And the aura felt even stronger.
Something was happening below.
The ritual chamber, yes, given the name of this place, it was certain some wicked ritual was being performed with the Orb of the Undead.
Whatever it was, it was enough to rouse Calia's instincts with a powerful sense of danger.
'So the undead were only buying time until the ritual here could be completed...!'
It was no different now from having a time limit.
'I'd prefer if Asher went down first... but that's impossible.'
The opposite passage must also hold hordes of undead, or perhaps even greater danger.
Relying solely on him was not a good idea.
'One way or another, I'll have to go down and stop their plan myself.'
But the Death Knight blocked the way like an iron wall.
If she wasted time subjugating this damned undead, she would be too late. But she couldn't simply abandon it either.
If they continued fighting the Death Knight, casualties would rise beyond control.
Just then.
As the Death Knight swung once more, a Holy Warrior rammed into it.
Behind them, Bishop Ronanderk shouted,
"Lady Calia! Captain Gloss! Leave this to us and go down! Whatever they're trying to do, it must be stopped before it's complete!"
"But if we do that..."
The bishop cried again, as if he already knew their worry,
"No matter what, I will not allow anyone to die! And if it isn't the two of you, then I cannot entrust this task with peace of mind!"
The ritual chamber would not be unguarded.
Surely, undead would be stationed there. In such a case, the most suitable were Calia and Gloss themselves.
Measured by individual might, the two of them were the strongest here.
It would have been better to send more, but with the Death Knight here, even this side was stretched thin.
And if anyone but those of captain-class strength went, they would likely only become a hindrance midway.
Crunch!
Vespa and the paladin Gelsia each smashed an undead, then spoke.
"We will take on the Death Knight."
"So go without worry."
At their resolve, the two could only nod.
Bishop Ronanderk unleashed his holy power.
From his staff, and from his eyes, yellow radiance began to pour.
The bishop raised his staff high.
"Luas, grant them holy light!"
Flash!
A torrent of light burst forth from the bishop.
A warm radiance, dazzling to none of the living, but the undead recoiled in pain before it. Even the Death Knight was driven back.
That single instant of confusion was their chance.
"Go!"
At his signal, Calia and Gloss dashed forth.
[Aaaarrrghhh!]
"Not so fast!"
The Death Knight swung to block, but before it could connect, the Holy Warrior, Gelsia, and Vespa intercepted. The knightly orders and the paladins blocked the rest of the undead.
Thus Calia and Gloss safely passed through the passage, disappearing deep into the ritual chamber.
***
Kwaaang! Kwaaaaang!
Powerful spells clashed, shaking the ruins.
A statue, left with only its legs, was swept away by the blasts, vanishing without a trace, while rusted iron bars froze and shattered into pieces.
In the air above the ruins, two mages flew at high speed, targeting each other.
Lightning spears and beams of blight collided.
The explosion twisted the very air, swallowing sight. While vision was obscured, Verden bent mana.
Viola was caught in the swirl of gravity.
She plummeted, then manipulated mana and landed gracefully on the ground.
From the air, Verden's eyes locked with Viola's on the ground.
"This is... surprising."
Viola wore an expression of disbelief, but for a different reason than before.
"I heard you were a 4th-tier mage, yet you're actually a 5th-tier. Not only lightning, not only elemental magic, but you even handle gravity magic at a 5th-tier level."
Her hand touched her hip.
"Judging by your frame and aura, you can't be over thirty... there's no way you self-taught yourself. Setting aside talent, just who was your master? Some tower master?"
Viola did not bother to hide her astonishment.
Such strength was wholly unexpected. She never imagined she would fight on even ground with a mage who hadn't even lived a quarter of her years.
"..."
Verden ignored Viola's question.
Instead, he weighed her strength from the clash just now.
'5th-tier level black magic and ice magic, and considerable combat experience.'
Since leaving the magic tower, this was the second time he had faced a magus.
The ducal court mage of the principality, Perd, was a magus. Which meant that magi in newly founded nations or small states could reign like the highest nobles.
Viola of White Bones, was it.
Among the mages Verden had opposed since achieving Defying the Heavens, she was the strongest yet.
But the true duel had not begun.
Just as Verden had not revealed his full strength.
Viola too had not shown her way of magic.
"When do you plan on showing me your way of magic?"
"Who knows? Maybe when I feel like it?"
When she felt like it, was it.
Verden's mana flared.
Lightning gathered at the tip of the Oculus.
As flame wrapped the formed lightning spear, scorching heat spread in all directions. In less than ten seconds, Verden completed a 5th-tier composite spell, whispering coldly,
"If you want to live, you'd best fight with all your strength."
Viola blinked, then burst into laughter. A chilling, bone-deep sound.
"Ahahahahaha! A threat, to me... do you know how many decades it's been since I last heard something like that?"
Her gaze swept Verden.
A composite spell of fire and lightning.
That abnormal computational speed, without doubt, a dangerous talent for a mage, especially in a duel.
"How arrogant."
Snap.
Viola ceased her laughter, and a terrifying mana spread.
"Very well. Since you insist so fervently, it wouldn't hurt to show you my way of magic before killing you."
Crack, crack-crack-crack.
Viola's bones twisted grotesquely.
From beneath her feet, five enormous, razor-sharp pillars of bone thrust upward. At the same time, a suffocating aura of death and killing intent engulfed the ruins.
Way of Magic,
"Tell me, how would you prefer to die?"
Viola twisted her lips as she looked at Verden.