50. Noble Soul (13)
Kkotseorin, king of all divine beasts, spirits, elementals, fairies, and elves.
People speculated that within the World Tree, her power was on the same level as that of a 9-Class mage.
But that idea was very slightly wrong.
The 9-Class “magic warriors” had reached that position by accumulating countless experiences and knowledge, but Kkotseorin had reached hers through nothing but faith and patient meditation.
Of course, she had perfectly memorized all manner of military treatises and combat manuals in her head, but could a battle in real life truly be conducted like a textbook?
Absolutely not.
‘…The blessing of Dusk Soil February.’
Kkotseorin bit her lower lip slightly and stiffened her expression.
Behind her back were wing-like things, like butterfly wings mixed green and violet, and thanks to them she could fly freely through the air. She had believed that staying airborne would give her an advantage against Cheolribeon, who used earth-type power.
But reality was different.
If Cheolribeon wished it, the earth was always there.
He could summon earth anywhere and use it as a foothold, and he could even drop meteors from the sky, so one could hardly say flight gave any advantage at all.
Kugugugugung…!!
The flying fortress that had appeared through Aryumun’s summoning art and had been steadily supporting them with covering fire collapsed like a sandcastle.
And not even because of a special attack.
It had happened through nothing more than a single shout from Cheolribeon.
Aryumun fought with an extremely unique style, unfolding summoning formulas to bring various summoned creatures and constructs into the present world to battle for him.
Cheolribeon, meanwhile, possessed a special ability that automatically and perfectly defended against all attacks.
But how could anyone possibly have written abilities like theirs down in a combat manual?
‘Create an opening in your enemy, and strike at the weakness. Then you will win.’
The most basic principle of magical combat, explained on the very first page of any battle manual.
But against Cheolribeon, could such a “basic principle” really work?
This battle, where ordinary common sense did not apply, was incredibly taxing for Kkotseorin. No matter how much she thought about it, she could not come up with any method to break through Cheolribeon’s absolute defense.
Dusk Soil February’s defense was perfect, and it seemed endless.
Not only did the shield unfold automatically even without his conscious awareness, it barely consumed any mana.
Compared to that, Kkotseorin and Aryumun’s mana was steadily sinking toward the bottom.
Unlike them, who used their own mana to control the World Tree or perform summoning arts, Cheolribeon didn’t even pay his own mana cost.
The earth was bearing it in his place.
“…If you keep fighting like that, this land will dry out.”
When Kkotseorin spoke with difficulty, Cheolribeon answered with a bitter smile.
“Sorry. The land I pass through always ends up in drought. But maybe it’ll be fine since you’re here? You can bestow blessings on the land.”
How could he speak so calmly?
“Then surrender right now!”
As Kkotseorin swung her arm down with all her strength, hundreds of violet fluorescent butterflies glittered and fired beams toward that point.
Kwakwakwakwang!!
Then pale green acidic liquid burst from the tips of the World Tree’s roots and shot toward Cheolribeon like bullets, exploding and sending smoke billowing into the air.
But she still felt no sign that the barrier had been broken.
‘This… is what absolute invincibility means…?’
She couldn’t believe it. How could something like that exist in this world?
She had thought the term absolute invincibility was merely a title.
‘If he truly is absolutely invincible…’
Then how in the world was she supposed to kill him?
Woooooooong—!!
At the vibration coming from the sky above, Kkotseorin unconsciously lifted her head.
The shape of the clouds was strange.
As if someone had intentionally assembled them, they had taken the form of a giant palm.
The cloud-hand slowly curled inward and clenched into a fist, and the empty space within it was filled by magic circles until—
a gigantic blue lightning sword was formed.
“…The Blade of Judgment.”
Aryumun’s voice cut hollowly through the air.
Only then did Kkotseorin understand what he intended, and she hurriedly crossed both arms over her chest.
‘He’s insane…!’
Was he trying to say that, with the World Tree right nearby, he had been holding back on firepower this whole time?
He had begun preparing a spell powerful enough to overturn this entire area.
Kkotseorin had no choice but to move the roots of the World Tree, shove the ground as far away as she could, and form a protective barrier of roots around it.
And the next moment—
…Kwakwaang!!!
A massive blue thunderbolt crashed into the earth, and the floating land was utterly shattered to pieces.
“Ugh…”
Spreading her wings, Kkotseorin flew into the air and raised a pale violet shield in front of her to block the shockwave, but she still could not withstand it and was blasted backward.
She was pushed back for a long while and only barely managed to stop before crashing into the World Tree. And when she finally grasped what had happened, her eyes widened.
“Ah…”
Maybe about one kilometer away from Namuhwaran.
The terrain there… had collapsed completely.
Seeing that enormous scar gouged deep into the land like the crater left by a giant meteor strike, who could possibly think it was something a single human being had created?
It would not have been strange for someone to mistake it for divine punishment sent down in wrath.
Not even Kkotseorin or Cheolribeon could unleash magic with that level of power.
‘So this is a 9-Class mage…!!’
She hastily spread her wings and flew toward the crater. Sweeping away the thick smoke with wind, she soon spotted Aryumun kneeling on the ground in the distance.
“Ah…! Are you alright?”
“Kuhk!”
As she hurriedly sent green life energy into him, she immediately realized his condition was severe. Had he suffered internal injuries while casting that spell?
“Damn it… I can’t believe that bastard counterattacked.”
“He… counterattacked?”
Throughout the entire battle, Cheolribeon had hardly attempted any direct counterattacks at all. Even then, at most he had merely responded by overturning the earth.
“That’s right. I nearly forgot his true ability.”
“…Ah.”
Cheolribeon was called absolutely invincible because he received the blessing of Dusk Soil February, but in truth, that was not his real core ability.
It was merely one of the countless abilities he possessed.
“Phenomenon Control….”
Aryumun, clutching his abdomen, slowly pulled his hand away.
There, piercing through him, was a sharp blue bolt of lightning.
It was unmistakably the very same magic Aryumun had struck down from the sky.
“How… did that happen?”
“He intercepted part of the spell midway. Troublesome enough that he has a phenomenon-type ability… kuhk!”
As Aryumun braced himself on the ground with one hand and coughed up blood, Kkotseorin hurriedly used magic to stabilize him.
If he wasn’t treated immediately, his condition was dangerous. His mana channels were twisted and tangled in every direction. If he had been an ordinary mage, he might well have lost magic forever.
Fortunately, he was a 9-Class mage who had mastered mana, so it would not go that far…
but what if Cheolribeon attacked again in this condition?
‘Dangerous.’
It was an emergency, but protecting Aryumun came before healing him. Even if he had once tried to trespass into the World Tree, she could not waste a life.
Wrapping blue and pale violet mana around both hands, Kkotseorin quickly turned around and glared into the thick fog beyond.
Step.
From there, walking slowly forward, came Cheolribeon, covered in wounds.
No matter how absurd he was, perhaps even he had not been able to completely brush off lightning of that magnitude, because his entire body was covered in scrapes and burns.
‘Only… that much damage…?!’
The fact that even after being struck by a spell that could honestly be called a great catastrophe, he had suffered no more than that was utterly shocking.
Of course, that was only from Kkotseorin’s perspective.
‘The Elf King looks fine, and the mage is retired, huh.’
Cheolribeon examined his own condition with eyes full of fatigue.
‘…The earth isn’t responding.’
It was the first time.
The first time anyone had completely shattered his earth-blessing, which was as good as absolute invincibility.
This was no ordinary blessing.
Because it was a shield containing the true sincerity of Dusk Soil February more than any other blessing, that mage might genuinely be someone capable of contending with one of the Twelve Divine Months.
But that was as far as it went.
Even if his shield had been completely destroyed, Aryumun had collapsed, and the Elf King also seemed to have very little strength left.
‘…If I keep fighting, could I die?’
Kkotseorin still looked capable of fighting.
Thanks to the World Tree’s unceasing blessings being poured into her, she, like Cheolribeon being loved by the earth, was receiving a constant supply of mana.
‘Not certain.’
He shook his head.
If he made the slightest mistake, the worst possible outcome would occur: the two of them might lose their lives before he could even die himself.
Cheolribeon no longer wanted to stain his hands with blood.
How many countless lives had already died because of him?
A child had thrown a stone as a prank, and because it accidentally flew in his direction, an entire village was overturned.
Someone had spilled water on him by mistake, and because of that, a whole city sank.
Someone had bumped shoulders with him in passing.
Someone had shouted at him.
Someone, or someone else, or someone else.
Merely because they had made a mistake—
Dusk Soil February’s excessive protection had judged it all as a “threat”…
How many, how many lives had died because of that?
He had tried to live while avoiding people as much as possible.
He had wanted to stay quietly in places where no one was around.
But by then too many grudges had already piled up, and countless avengers kept appearing only to throw away their lives in vain.
He ran, and ran again.
And no matter how much he kept running,
they kept appearing before him, throwing away their precious lives of their own accord.
“It looks like you and I are both exhausted, so let’s call the fight here.”
“…”
Cheolribeon clenched and unclenched his fist, checked the state of his mana, and simply turned away and left.
“Well then… I’ll be going now.”
“What does that even—!”
As if he truly had no desire to continue fighting, he quickly vanished into the fog, and Kkotseorin simply watched his back in silence.
“How can this be…”
She had even prepared herself to stake her life, yet he suddenly gave up just before the battle’s conclusion and left.
What in the world was he thinking?
Cheolribeon disappeared so far away that his mana presence could no longer be felt at all, as though he had no intention whatsoever of returning. Only then did the tension finally leave Kkotseorin, and she collapsed to the ground.
Thud!
“Ah…”
Staring blankly at the ground, Kkotseorin’s eyes trembled wide.
If a monster like that invaded her World Tree, could she really stop him?
That fundamental question had suddenly taken root inside her.
“…Do you understand now? That is a dark mage loved by one of the Twelve Divine Months.”
Aryumun said as he painstakingly stopped his own bleeding.
“In this world… unless there exists another adversary blessed by one of the Twelve Divine Months, dealing with him through pure ability alone would be very troublesome. Damn it.”
“…Another adversary of the Twelve Divine Months, you say?”
“Yes. The power of the Twelve Divine Months holds limitless possibilities. As far as I know, no such person exists in this world….”
Aryumun only spoke that far before his face twisted in pain.
Normally, Kkotseorin would have rushed to heal him immediately, but suddenly her thoughts became too tangled for that.
‘The love of the Twelve Divine Months…’
Was there not someone who received such a thing right here?
That person was none other than herself.
Because she had received too much love, she had been burdened with a curse—but if one thought about it, even that was only a tiny fragment of the great power possessed by the Twelve Divine Months.
‘If I can control the blessing of the Twelve Divine Months…’
Hope bloomed across Kkotseorin’s face just as the fog finally cleared away.
“Damn it, we lost the fight, and the sky’s pointlessly clear…”
After muttering that, Aryumun finally fell flat onto his back, and only then did Kkotseorin hurry over and begin healing him.
“We need… to pursue him….”
A chance to catch Cheolribeon did not come often.
The very moment Aryumun muttered that, still unable to let go—
…Boom!
From some distance away, an enormous crash rang out.
“Ugh, what now…?”
Aryumun’s expression twisted as the shock made his pain flare up, but he still did not take his eyes away.
Then, recalling something a beat too late, Aryumun’s eyes widened.
“No way…”
If a blast had come from the place Cheolribeon had gone, then it meant someone else had just started fighting him again.
But an ordinary mage could never stand against him.
“This is bad…!”
The moment they realized that fact, both Kkotseorin and Aryumun turned pale.
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