Chapter 591 – Crodon Olentia (2)
Ziiiiiing──────
A consciousness that, just a moment ago, had clearly perceived the world, suddenly went blank.
A ringing sound echoed from deep inside his head.
"Khup."
With a groan, something warm trickled down from his forehead, covering the right side of his face.
It was blood.
One of the essential substances that make up a living organism — fresh, flowing, uncoagulated blood… none other than Crodon's own.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Only then did his brain register the external stimulus. His nerves twisted. Crodon screamed as he stumbled backward, clutching his wound.
A dull, crushing pain reverberated through his skull as if struck by a mace.
'W-what… the hell…?!'
For Crodon, pain was an unfamiliar bodily sensation.
Aside from the time he was beaten up collectively back in the Academy, or when he awakened two additional elemental attributes through the Multi-dimensional Continuity Theory, there were few memories involving pain.
He had lived for years without ever knowing agony — a smooth, untroubled life.
Crodon believed himself to be someone who inflicted pain, not one who received it.
Pain was a concept familiar only to the weak — a measure that separated the inferior from the superior.
Thus, the agony quickly gave way to bewilderment.
KWAJIIIIIII!
Meanwhile, Isabella pierced through the abdomen of a stationary clone with
"Kuh-huk!"
His insides twisted.
Crodon staggered, blood sputtering from his mouth. His frail lungs couldn't withstand the impact — torn in several places.
'Danger…!'
Regaining his senses, Crodon quickly raised his head. He aimed his casting at Isabella, who was turning toward another clone.
PZZZZZZZT!
The two remaining clones unleashed single-cast spells, while Crodon himself added a triple-cast — a total of five
Waves of lightning spread outward, surging in from every direction.
At once, Isabella extended her left hand, activating the power of her Brilliant Eyes.
"...!!!!"
She managed to scatter three of the lightning bolts, but her body was struck by the remaining two. Mana burst violently within her.
Rampaging current surged through her body, electrocuting and searing her flesh.
Crack.
Gritting her teeth, Isabella endured through sheer will.
"Y-you…"
Crodon tried to cancel the Replication's Magic Circuit, but he was too late.
Squelch!
Isabella's fingers crushed the clone's eye socket and burrowed inside.
Before the head could be completely torn off, the clone vanished — but the injury had already transferred in full to the main body.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The sensation of a cornea burning.
Blood vessels bulged in his right eye.
Crodon covered his face with one hand and staggered backward. His pupils quivered — he couldn't focus.
Through the blurry haze, he could see Isabella gasping for breath. The mana surrounding her was utterly alien.
…Just like that time in front of the burning mansion, when she drank [Blood of Resurrection] and transformed.
"That proud magic of yours has become your weakness, and not even the Bohemirn Tower will be able to save you."
Isabella glared at Crodon with her Brilliant Eyes, curling her fingers. Frost swirled around the ice forming above her hand.
"What do you even have left now?"
The sharp, killing intent clawed at his ankles like ice.
Crodon's reason went cold. He bared his fangs.
"No matter how many shortcuts you took to climb in rank, your true talent remains at the 5th Circle. Nothing can change that, Isabella. Do you really think you can do anything to me?"
"With magic, I'd lose. Like before."
The wounds on Isabella's body began to close one by one.
Unlike Crodon.
The damaged components of her flesh were returning to their proper places.
"But does this feel like a magic duel to you?"
There was nothing noble or intellectual about this battlefield. No lofty duel between scholars of magic — only a struggle where one would die, and the other would kill.
Quadra Casting.
KWA-GWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWA!!
A wave of fire and a storm of frost collided at their center.
***
From beneath the Great Hall, successive shockwaves rippled through the space.
Golems, mages, and a lone swordswoman — a war in full force.
But the previously even battle had begun to tilt.
PABABABABABANG!
Amidst the chaos, Jinche's bombardment swallowed the area in a chain of explosions.
Even the massive golems serving as cover were eventually destroyed. Barriers shattered, and superheated gas burned through flesh.
"Kh, collapse that formation! Start from the outer line! Hurry!!!"
Injuries spread rapidly among the members of Black Hour and the Society.
The high-ranking mages stationed in the Great Hall fought desperately, but they could not fully compensate for the losses.
Though far from dominant, their performance was commendable.
Without the golems, or the non-combatants who had studied Bohemirn Tower's tactics, they would have been annihilated long ago.
Meanwhile, Tilon Narger — the mightiest power among Jinche's forces — had his attention divided elsewhere.
Mado
Tilon's personal formula that enhanced all gravitational spells and generated magical gravity within a designated space — his unique path.
"Hrrmph."
The reinforced structure of the Great Hall groaned and shattered under immense pressure.
A direct hit would mean serious injury at best.
Unia, Alderneys, and Enette dodged and counterattacked, each moving in perfect synchronization.
'Storms above and behind, sword energy ahead.'
Reading every route of approach, Tilon extended both arms outward. He wielded no staff or scepter.
Nor did he use artifacts.
The combination of top-tier, accessory-type magical enhancers suited him better.
Boom!
Multiple zones of anti-gravity formed around him.
The spells and sword energy reflected in reverse.
At the same time, with Alderneys's support, Enette and Unia lunged forward.
KWOOM! CRASH, KWA-GWAGWAGWA! CLAAANG────!
A storm of exchanges.
The clash between high mages of the 6th Circle and a swordswoman of comparable power resembled a violent, raging sea.
Both Tilon and the trio accumulated wounds the longer the battle continued. A single misplaced step could have meant death.
Like a scale weighing both sides, the balance tipped back and forth — until the tide shifted in an instant.
"Uh…!"
──THUUD!!
An unseen anti-gravity field formed at a blind angle, slamming Unia into the wall.
The impact was so immense that the shockwave echoed across the chamber.
Two remained.
"That was a fine performance, but it seems this is as far as you go."
Tilon curved the range of his domain.
A stream of violet gravity surged forward like a violent current.
Magic Art
Alderneys tried to counter by redirecting it with a sealing-type wind spell, but it was too much to handle.
"Kh…!!!"
As Alderneys faltered, Enette spun half a turn, adding strength to her Greatsword infused with sword aura.
Her entire body creaked under the pressure.
Had she been her former self, she might have sliced through it — but the Master's imposed restriction within her prevented movement.
KWA-GWAGWAGWA!
The two were overwhelmed by repelling force, then dragged inward as repulsion turned to attraction, pulling them helplessly toward Tilon.
'Escape is impossible.'
Then it could only be used against him.
Ignoring the pull, Alderneys began to calculate a spell, while Enette swung her sword horizontally.
A spear of turbulent wind shot from his staff, aimed at Tilon's neck — moving at near-untraceable speed.
"Tch…!"
Tilon twisted his upper body, barely dodging. Blood dripped from a deep gash along his cheek.
In that instant, Enette's sword followed up, slashing through his exposed flank.
"You wretches!"
As soon as Alderneys and Enette entered his range, Tilon roared.
A massive pressure crushed the two into the shattered floor. Their bodies sank deeper and deeper into the debris.
"Experiment No. 70… Enette. I don't sense any Coercion from you, so it's true — Black Hour must've discovered the nature of Coercion and found a way to nullify it."
Crack.
The pressure intensified.
"I don't know why Black Hour spared you, but to appear before the Bohemirn Tower again without even hiding… how audacious. To move at all with no technique or discipline left."
"I… had no intention of acting…! You came here yourself…!"
As Enette retorted, her head was slammed into the rubble.
Her breath caught.
The air was too heavy — her respiratory system was shutting down.
When Alderneys, struggling, tried to raise his staff to aid her—
BOOM───KRAK!
"Kh-huuhp…?!!"
"A mage of the air element. In Bohemirn Tower, you might've reached the fringe of Itium. A pity you joined Black Hour… but you can blame only yourself."
Tilon's magic shattered Alderneys's staff completely — and the arm and shoulder that held it followed soon after.
Burst blood vessels, torn muscles, cracked bones.
Severe bruises spread across his skin, staining it a dark crimson-black.
"I'll crush you alive."
Tilon growled, unleashing his full computational power. Just as the two's consciousnesses began to blur, a sound cut through the air.
A staff shot forward at high speed right before Tilon's eyes.
Thwack!
An attack that slipped past the anti-gravity field struck his shoulder directly — completely unexpected.
Gravity weakened.
Sensing this, Alderneys blurred his vision with a storm spell, while Enette sprang forward, unleashing a flurry of sword energy with agile precision.
KWAGWAGWAGWAGWANG!
There was no time to check their wounds or heal, let alone encourage each other.
Hesitation meant death.
The trio resumed their coordination, this time led by Unia.
"Haaahhh!"
She diverted Tilon's spell with mana control and charged head-on, her staff [Ultima] spinning brilliantly in her grasp.
As she closed the distance, Tilon raised a brow.
"You've been taught the techniques of a War Mage — and properly at that. Who's your master?"
"Do you think I'd tell you?"
Mado
Instantly generating a single mana satellite, she began computation.
The moment their gravitational spells intersected, atmospheric pressure convulsed violently. The surging force bent the air itself.
Unia clenched her teeth and pushed back with all her strength, but Tilon inhaled slowly — then bent his wrist forward by exactly one centimeter.
BOOOM──────!
Overpowered, Unia was slammed diagonally into the ground, bouncing several times before barely regaining balance.
Fiiing.
Her eardrums, ruptured by the pressure shift, began to bleed. Her vision blurred, and she dropped to both knees.
'He's… insanely strong…!'
He wasn't even on the same level as Melconi Blaud, the elder of the Volcanic Island Tower. Even with three of them attacking, they hadn't managed to inflict a single serious wound.
Though Tilon bled as well, his injuries were minor compared to Unia's.
'If I release my full magic and activate [Ultima] with [Extension of Bahlrkan], it might work — but it's a massive gamble.'
She couldn't be sure it would kill him. Logically, it was just wishful thinking.
If Tilon didn't simply stand there and take it, she'd only manage to wound him once — at the cost of losing all combat capability.
If the tide didn't turn in that instant, everything would collapse.
Her sword clattered away.
The frontliner, Enette, faltered.
From his left shoulder to his right chest, Tilon bore a new sword wound, but with a roar of fury, he shattered Enette's bones and sent her flying.
Now facing Tilon alone, Alderneys was overwhelmed.
What should I do?
Unia's mind raced. Her hand gripping the staff trembled faintly.
Tilon's computation would soon recover — she had to make a decision.
Step.
At that moment, a familiar set of footsteps echoed behind her. Unia turned, her blue eyes shining brightly.
"Sage…!"
"Leave the rest to me."
Reinforcements had arrived — from the frontlines of the Tower Alliance.
***
Passing by Unia, the man advanced.
Tilon, who had been about to finish Alderneys, widened his eyes.
"You are… Ostea's Tower Master?"
"It's been a long time, Tilon Narger."
It was Medrant Keden, the Sage of Protection, standing tall, having activated his unique trait, Mado
Tilon's mind raced as countless thoughts crossed it — this was not the man he expected.
"The Black Hour raid on the magic city Virente… the frontline losses… yes, of course. It was you."
He roared furiously.
"How could one of the Ten Tower Masters fall to become a pawn of Black Hour?! And you still call yourself a Tower Master?!"
"'Pawn' isn't quite right. Strictly speaking, I don't belong to Black Hour. But either way, it changes nothing."
Medrant assumed his stance.
Tilon's eyes flashed with murderous light.
"You dare… challenge me, the Chief Elder of Bohemirn Tower, to a magic duel? You, the lowest-ranked Tower Master of Ostea?"
"Indeed, the Ostea Tower ranks tenth — the bottom of the Ten. Its power is incomparable to Bohemirn's. But you're overlooking something."
Medrant fixed his gaze on Tilon through the artificial eye behind his scar.
"Even so, I am still… a Tower Master."
"Traitor!"
Tilon erupted with power, his fury warping the very space around him under immense gravity.
In contrast, Medrant calmly raised his staff.
"With my magic alone, killing you would be difficult. So I'll face you, but not in a magic duel."
"…What?"
"In this war, wasting more power on the Chief Elder would be a mistake."
"From the moment Crodon Olentia took the bait… the outcome here was already decided."
"...!!"
RUMMMMMMBLE...!
A translucent barrier of mana, prepared in advance, surged from behind.
It passed harmlessly through Unia and Medrant, then through Alderneys and Enette — and struck directly toward Tilon.
Then — impact.
KWA-AAAAAAAANG!
The Great Hall trembled violently.
Tilon stood his ground against the barrier without taking a single step back.
However—
In raw magical power, Tilon was superior.
But in defensive magic? There was perhaps no one in the entire magical world who could surpass Medrant Keden.
The barrier pushed forward.
Tilon flinched.
He was being driven back.
Medrant spoke.
"If you truly wish to duel me, then break through that wall first."
"You—!"
The balance collapsed.
"Ostea Tower Master!!!"
The barrier sealed the passage completely, blocking and banishing Tilon.
Even the battlefield behind him could not escape its effects.
"Chief Elder?!"
"What the—?!"
Even the Bohemirn mages among Jinche's forces were swept away by the barrier's force, hurled down the corridor.
The exhausted mages of Black Hour and the Society gasped for breath and sank to the ground.
Medrant's voice rose above the chaos.
"Jinche's forces won't be advancing for a while. Use this time to recover the wounded and move immediately to the lower levels."
At his swift command, everyone moved in unison.
"Here, drink this."
"Thank you."
Alderneys drank the single vial of Lysandro's Fruit Potion he had kept, healing some of his severe injuries, then shared it with Enette.
Having steadied herself as well, Unia approached Medrant.
"Sage of Protection… you came from the frontlines… does that mean—"
"By now, Divinity should be fighting the Bohemirn Tower Master."
Indeed.
The final phase had begun.
"And it's the same for Sandir Paen's side. So Alderneys, Unia — rest. We'll need to move again soon."
Medrant cast
"I'll bring Isabella back."