Chapter 167. Viola of White Bone (5)
The magic of Viola,
When she first pioneered this mado, it had no particular traits.
At most, it allowed her to shoot out bone spears and blades, and even those bones had to be gathered from corpses she dug up.
But as the years passed, she reached a higher realm.
As a result, the derivative abilities of her mado became twofold.
First, White Bone Enhancement.
The hardness and durability of bones imbued with Viola's magic power surpassed that of refined steel weapons.
With that alone, she could kill dozens of armed soldiers with a single gesture, and when concentrating her power, it gained destructive force enough to pierce through castle gates.
And second, Corpse Assimilation.
When assimilated with a corpse's skeleton, Viola could artificially control the body without even expending magic power.
When manipulating a human corpse, she could reproduce the voice as it was in life, as well as speech patterns and habits engraved in the body.
She could not read memories, but that weakness was overcome by Viola's acting ability.
After assassinating Bishop Neviron, she wore his skin and deceived other bishops, proving her ability.
Strictly speaking, Viola's mado was suited for assassination or subterfuge.
Indeed, before joining the Glory of the Dead, she had traveled across nations, taking on assassination requests.
But that did not mean Viola was weak in a mage's duel.
Though her young body was maintained by a high-level curse, she had lived more than 80 years. In that time, the number of humans who perished by her hand easily surpassed four digits, and the knowledge and experience she had amassed as a mage was lofty.
Undoubtedly, Viola was a true powerhouse.
A 5th-tier mid-rank mage, and a magus walking the way of magic. For someone like her, killing a mage who had only barely reached the 5th-tier lower rank should have been nothing.
Yes, it should have been.
"..."
Viola brushed her neck with the back of her hand.
A smear of blood appeared in her eyes.
A duel between a magus and a mage.
What's more, this was close combat, the very field where Viola excelled, and where ordinary mages were weak. Viola's overwhelming victory should have been certain.
'Then what is this?'
A wound.
She had every advantage, yet she was being held to a stalemate… no, as time went on, Viola was being slowly pushed back. In close combat, no less.
It felt as though every move she made was being read in advance.
'And that power too… what is it?'
Earth magic, with destructive force rivaling Viola's white bone.
That was absolutely not something possible within the normal tier.
It had to be enhanced through a magic tome.
And surely, he had his own opened magic tome.
But the opponent carried nothing but a single staff.
Then there was only one answer.
Connection.
It meant he was maintaining a constant link between himself and his magic tome using a magic circle.
'To use a magic circle that advanced? Then could it be, he's the one who broke through the magic circle at the entrance…?'
...Impossible.
Multiple attributes, including two high-tier ones.
Instincts and reflexes no mage should possess.
Despite casting composite spells and other magic with enormous mana costs, his magic power showed no signs of exhaustion. On top of that, even the magic circle.
It was a talent beyond the realm of humanity.
For a moment, a memory from the past flickered in Viola's mind.
The "servants" of the Glory of the Dead.
Just their presence had overwhelmed Viola completely, exuding the aura of transcendence she never wished to face again. That suffocating pressure was faintly resurfacing.
At that moment, Verden stepped forward.
At the sight, Viola unconsciously took a step back.
It was instinctive.
Looking down at her legs, Viola ground her teeth.
'I... flinched in fear?'
Impossible.
It could not be.
Could such talent truly surpass the gap of so many years?
"I won't acknowledge it…!"
Viola gathered her magic power.
The bones dwelling within her body stretched out from her back.
Wings of white bone.
They spread several meters wide, the bony feathers standing upright.
Shaaashaaak!
Dozens of spikes surged forward.
The indiscriminate spread left not even a gap for a mouse to slip through.
'Not that I intended to dodge anyway.'
He had already fought her in close combat, analyzing her mado.
Verden aimed Oculus at Viola.
Magic power condensed, fierce heat distorting the air.
A red beam shot straight forward.
The destruction shattered or melted the bony feathers.
They could not withstand it head-on.
Sensing danger, Viola immediately kicked off the ground.
Kwoooom!
The fiery beam scorched where she had stood, smashing into the wall. The explosion shook the ruins of the ceremonial hall.
But that had only been bait.
"Kyaaaaaaah?!"
A lightning bolt surged up from the stone floor, striking Viola.
Her inherent resistance prevented instant death, but the shock was immense. Her face twisted in pain as she pressed her hand to the ground.
"H-how can lightning come from the ground…?"
Was it a mado? Or perhaps an artifact?
But there was no time to think.
A massive boulder flew toward her.
Her body was partially paralyzed from the shock.
Viola immediately shielded herself with her White Wings.
The boulder and the wings of bone collided.
A thunderous crash, bone and stone fragments scattering in all directions.
"…?!"
Then, a blade of wind, charged with electricity, appeared before her eyes.
The magic had been hidden behind the rock. Viola could manipulate bones freely, but to bring them out from within her body required a slight delay.
In that fleeting moment, Verden struck precisely.
Shraaaak!
A searing pain in her thigh. Thanks to the bone inside her flesh, it was not severed, but her muscle and nerves were cut and burned.
Groaning in pain, Viola fell to her knees. Her eyes met Verden's.
Eyes of deep blue abyss.
They seemed to mock her pitiful state.
"How dare you…"
Crack.
"How dare you look at me with those eyes?!"
Viola's mana circuits roared into motion.
The bone fragments scattered across the ruins floated into the air, reshaping into sharp shards. They all shot toward Verden at once.
Kwagagagagagagak!
Thousands of bone spikes rained down upon the spot where Verden stood, dust erupting with a murderous roar.
One of Viola's trump cards.
Until now, not a single human had survived after taking this head-on.
'This time, he's dead.'
Viola, having expended a vast amount of magic power, caught her breath with a smile.
But then.
As the smoke cleared, Verden appeared.
Contrary to her belief that his body would be shredded beyond recognition, he was completely unharmed.
Viola's eyes wavered.
"You… why aren't you dead?"
Verden answered.
"Because I'm stronger."
***
The magic Viola had just unleashed was formidable.
But it was not enough to kill Verden.
A powerful wind barrier twisted the trajectory of the bone spikes downward.
Because of the strain, sustaining the spell for even a few seconds was difficult, and due to its nature, it could not be repeated, requiring perfect timing.
But for Verden, it was not difficult.
"Stronger…? You? Stronger than me?"
Viola's fists trembled.
Murderous intent filled her eyes.
"You insolent brat!"
Fwoooosh!
Viola raised her magic power to the limit.
The materialized mana took physical shape, cracking the ground beneath her feet.
Bone blades erupted from her hands, flying toward Verden.
"When you were born, I was already a magus!"
White bone spears.
"Before your parents were even born, I had already walked the way of magic!"
White bone arrows.
"And now, a mage who just stepped into the 5th tier dares…!"
White bone spikes.
"To stand against me?!"
Viola raged, unleashing spell after spell.
Though Verden countered with precise defenses, it no longer mattered to her.
To suffer such humiliation at the hands of a mage so much younger—
Never in her life had she felt such bitter disgrace.
'I'll kill him.'
So wretchedly, so cruelly, that he'd regret ever being born, until no one could recognize him as human. Only then would her wrath be appeased.
Viola activated the curses imbued in her accessories.
And then, the black magic circle engraved long ago into the 2nd-generation Dexar's Jewel.
A torrent of mental curses poured forth.
Viola raised both hands high.
Blood trickled from her eyes and nose. Her mana circuits tore with excruciating pain, yet she did not stop.
The white bone web that had engulfed the ruins vibrated.
Bone fragments across the ground reassembled, brimming with killing intent, all aimed once more at Verden. Viola slammed her arms down.
"Dieeeeeee!"
Viola's last resort.
At her will, fueled by nearly all of her remaining mana, every bone under her control cascaded toward Verden.
Kugugugugugu!
The colossal web descended, the cavernous hall resounding with tremors. Cracks split the ceiling, rubble fell, and fissures across the walls signaled imminent collapse.
Verden lifted his gaze.
Before him, the White Tomb filled his entire sight, like the world itself was crashing down. Surely this was Viola's final frenzy, her full power.
Indeed, it was a spell befitting a magus.
Just a few months ago, he could not have countered it without holy magic.
But not now.
Through grueling training, he had attained chaos magic, a new trump card.
Verden drew on his magic power with all his strength.
In his right eye, the spell circle of Defying the Heavens surfaced.
The wave of
The searing heat of
The crushing force of
Each a 5th-tier focused spell in its own right.
Verden extracted their essence through the Center of the Three Primary Colors, creating a single magic.
Activating his magic eye, bypassing calculations, currents of lightning and heat surged around him, forming a dark azure barrier.
The White Tomb loomed close.
The bone spikes neared his very eyes as he invoked the spell.
The wave pulsed.
A spreading circle of destruction. The ground sank around Verden, while Viola's White Tomb dissolved in all directions.
Viola stared blankly ahead.
She could not even attempt to escape before the azure light consumed the ruins.
***
...Silence fell where the light had vanished.
The sounds that had filled the ceremonial ruins, the killing intent that choked the air, the White Tomb that had turned everything pale, all were gone.
Verden hovered in the air, gazing down.
A small crater marked the floor of the ruins.
Though the spell was powerful, its range had been precisely contained, no damage leaking beyond.
'So I needn't worry about this place collapsing.'
Verden turned his eyes.
At the crater's edge, Viola crawled.
"Khhuuuk…!"
Her state was wretched.
Her right arm burned away below the elbow, both legs gone below the knees. She had failed to escape the range of Chaos Illumination.
"Wh-why am I in such a state…!"
Viola dragged herself with one arm.
Born with talent, having discovered her path and become a magus, she had lived most of her life as a strong one.
Never once had she been so thoroughly crushed by overwhelming power.
"How dare you…!"
Gggrrr.
Viola clawed forward bit by bit.
With most of her limbs gone, her mana nearly spent, she desperately needed Nosa's aid. She crawled with all her will toward the staircase.
Then she sensed a presence.
Her eyes shifted, seeing Verden in the sky.
The ash-haired mage.
The monster who had driven her into the jaws of death.
"Go away…! Get away from me!"
Viola hurled the remaining bone fragments.
Not a single one landed.
With so little mana left, they were pitifully weak. Yet Viola thrashed, unable to accept it.
"If I… if I can just recover…!"
Crackle!
Answering her frenzy, lightning gathered in Verden's hand.
A dark azure bolt infused with the weight of gravity. For Viola in her state, neither blocking nor dodging was possible.
Death approached.
A voice from Nosa echoed in her mind.
───Keep living so carelessly, and you'll die without anyone noticing, Viola. That's the way of the world.
At last, fear entered Viola's eyes.
"I-I don't want to die…"
The gravitational lightning aimed at her.
"I don't want to die!"
Yet, despite her cry, nothing changed.
The bolt fell vertically with thunderous roar.
In that instant of searing agony, the world of Viola, who had lived long as a slaughterer, was swallowed by darkness.