Chapter 191: The War Had Already Begun (1)

Two beings that spewed forth thick pitch-black energy crossed the Rolarsen Mountains in an instant.

The mountain range, where terrifying monsters usually ran rampant, was quieter than ever.

“Which bastard was it?! I’ll tear his limbs apart and throw him into the flames!”

The man, extremely agitated, had a massive build, with pitch-black flames blazing from both of his shoulders.

As if gaining propulsion from those flames, he advanced at an incredible speed while floating slightly above the ground.

“Hey now, calm yourself. They’re the ones who drove Lord Falkahn that far. Shouldn’t we be cautious?”

Beside the man of flames, a woman with a slender, thin-lined face and body followed along, moving the earth like waves.

Each time the ground shifted—like her hair flowing down to her waist—huge nearby trees exposed their roots and shook violently.

Despite the overwhelming spectacle, neither of them shifted their gaze, looking only straight ahead.

“Do you think a mere human could harm that Lord?”

“Then what?”

“It must be the Messengers of Grace appearing again! Those bastards have returned!”

“But didn’t Lord Falkahn say nothing at all?”

The man of flames was Valam, and the woman of earth was Agares.

The two were demons under the same Demon King as Decarsen Falkahn.

“He must have intended to recover and then fight again!”

“That’s possible. However, a Demon King’s summons was already issued, and he came here without permission. You could say he didn’t hear about it because he noticed something beforehand and moved on his own, but……”

“I can go alone!”

Valam had been furious ever since Decarsen Falkahn returned to the empire with grievous injuries.

Because he didn’t know who had done that to him, he had restrained himself until now.

But now, things were different.

“They even forced Count Malphas to flee. If the Demon King learns of this, it’ll be a disaster!”

“Shut up! I’ll tear apart and kill the ones who did that to Lord Falkahn right now!”

“Haa…….”

Agares’s words bounced off Valam’s ears several times.

The two increased their speed even further. After completely overturning hills, forests, and plains, they arrived before the Mineta Royal Capital.

“Is that it?”

“According to Count Malphas, they should be in the Mineta Royal Capital, so that must be right.”

Valam landed on the ground and strode toward the castle.

“Ignis gigas, flamma summa, flamma sine fine ardens.”

Pitch-black flames erupted from Valam’s entire body.

The flames gradually grew larger, eventually forming a giant of pitch-black fire.

Its height surpassed even the outer walls of Mineta.

“Turn everything inside into ashes…….”

Whether the so-called Messenger of Grace was really inside or not didn’t matter.

To Valam, all that mattered was annihilating the place that had disgraced Decarsen Falkahn.

KUNG! KUWOONG—!

Fwoooosh!

The giant of pitch-black flame strode forward rapidly toward the castle.

Because of its sheer size, it was impossible for the castle not to notice it.

“A monster! Fire the arrows immediately! Call the mages!”

“The enemy has appeared!”

Chaos erupted in an instant.

Then the giant’s hand reached toward the castle wall.

As the blazing hand drew closer, the wall not only blackened from the heat but began to melt.

Kukukukung!

At that moment, a massive ash-gray wall surged up from the ground.

The giant of pitch-black flame had its hand swallowed by the wall, which blocked its advance.

[KRAAAAAAAH!]

Along with a monstrous roar, the flames burned even more fiercely.

Valam and Agares, who had been waiting behind for the castle to turn to ash, were slightly startled by the sight.

“What is that? A stone wall? Magic?”

It felt somewhat different from magic.

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to make Valam stop.

“Destroy it all! Burn it to ashes!”

[KRAAAAK!]

As if in response, another roar rang out, and the giant of pitch-black flame charged at the wall.

The ash-gray wall, towering higher than the castle walls, didn’t even tremble.

KUNG! KUKUNG! KUNG—!

“It won’t hold for long.”

At the top of the ash-gray wall—

Raion had already climbed up there and grasped the situation.

“So now the demons are openly appearing.”

If I hadn’t used Perception during the meeting, I would’ve realized the demons’ appearance much later.

Moreover, the giant of pitch-black flame that the demons had seemingly summoned was exerting far greater power than expected.

Though the ash-gray wall looked fine on the surface, the rear and lower sections were taking heavy impacts and were on the verge of collapse.

“Concrete Spike!”

I chanted another arcane spell.

As a result, countless awl-like sharp pillars shot up from the tall ash-gray wall.

Papapapapak! Papapak!

Holes were punched all over the giant’s body of flames.

However, there was no way a material attack would work on a giant made of fire.

The giant grabbed the awl-like pillars, burned them black, and shattered them.

KWAKWANG!

“As expected, this alone isn’t enough, huh?”

I considered dealing with the demons directly, but there were two beings with tremendous energy.

Through Specific Analysis, I had already confirmed what kind of existences they were.

They were viscounts, one rank below Decarsen and Malphas.

However, unlike the hulking demon whose ability was clearly flames, I couldn’t tell what ability the demon in the form of a woman possessed.

On top of that, it was difficult to ignore the giant and move toward them.

If I fought the demons directly, the giant of pitch-black flame might turn the Mineta Royal Capital into a wasteland.

“Then I’ll go all out……!”

I drew out the aura of White Lightning Flash to its maximum length.

Pure white lightning surged, coating and extending along the black blade.

Chwaaaaaak!

The pole-like extended aura slashed deeply into the giant of flames.

[KRAAAAAH! KRAAAAAH!]

For a moment, the flames along the trajectory seemed to die down, but they were quickly filled back in.

“As expected… even if it’s created by a demon’s power, attacks on formless things are useless?”

It had been similar when I fought Decarsen before.

I could block it, but it was difficult to completely negate it or deal a decisive blow to the energy itself.

In the end, divine power only exerted a significant effect on the demon’s true body.

“Then…….”

Raion’s right index finger began to trace complex formulas in the air.

It was on the same level as 6th Circle magic that used concrete.

The formula was quickly completed, and the incantation flowed out.

“Limit Frozen Wave.”

With the completed spell, Raion’s fingertip pointed toward the sky.

At the same time, the gloomy clouds in the sky split apart, drawing a massive circle.

[Keoeeeeh—?]

Perhaps sensing something ominous, the giant that had been spreading flames in all directions stopped moving.

A slightly cold wind seemed to blow downward from the sky.

“Ice magic…?”

Valam, who had been watching the situation, also found it strange.

That was because wind never blew from top to bottom in an open space.

Shwaaaaaak—!

Before the thought could even finish, sharpened cold poured down like a waterfall.

[KRAAAAAAAAACK!]

Because of the overwhelming cold, the giant’s flames began to freeze from the ground up, cracking as they solidified in their original shape.

“Is it working?”

Raion landed from midair to the ground and allowed himself a moment of expectation.

However, upon seeing Valam behind him, still spewing pitch-black energy, he had no choice but to abandon that hope.

“You think that kind of magic will easily freeze my giant?!”

“That’s something we’ll only know after trying.”

Raion swung his hand downward as if chopping. As mana poured in, the cold of the cascading icy torrent intensified.

Shwaaaaaak!

As its intensity increased, even the surrounding ground made of soil froze a deep blue.

It spread to the Concrete Wall Raion had raised and even to the outer walls of Mineta.

‘At this rate, there might be damage inside the castle too….’

At that worrying moment, a translucent curtain formed between the outer wall and the freezing cold.

The shimmering air was the 5th Circle defensive spell, ‘Gravity Shield’.

“Master! Please do not worry about this side!”

It was Caldein Flavan. Beside him, Duke Meras Bladio, another 5th Circle mage, also lent his mana.

“I didn’t expect to receive help like this.”

With his concern lifted, Raion increased the output of his mana even further.

The giant of pitch-black flame, once it began to freeze, could no longer move.

“Just shatter already!”

Raion was about to swing his aura at the giant, which was almost completely frozen.

At that moment, the ground heaved, and something broke through the solid ice and rose up.

Kkakang—!

Perhaps something hard was mixed in, because the sword within the aura failed to pierce it and was repelled.

“I was trying not to step in if possible, but it can’t be helped.”

It was Agares, the female-bodied demon who had been quietly observing the situation.

With both hands sweeping through the air, she controlled the earth.

The risen soil poured straight toward Raion.

“So that was her ability?”

Cha-chaeng! Chae-chaechaeng!

Raion split the earth apart with his sword wrapped in aura.

Unlike before, it wasn’t a sudden situation, so it wasn’t difficult to cut through.

“An aura blessed by the goddess…. Valam, it seems the author is that one?”

“I know that too!”

Valam, who seemed to have been preparing something, finally opened his tightly closed mouth.

“Colossus timoris.”

A murmuring that sounded like an incantation.

The giant of pitch-black flame, which had been repeatedly freezing and thawing in parts, began to shake.

Cracks spread across the surface that seemed completely frozen, and then it shattered.

Jjwa-jwajwak—! Pajjijik!

Flames poured out from the gaps, rushed toward Valam, and covered his entire body.

Pasuseuk! Kukung!

In an instant, the shell of the giant, leaving only surface ice behind, collapsed.

On the other hand, Valam’s body, having absorbed the giant of flames, grew to twice its original size. Patterns of blazing flames were etched across his entire body.

“I thought he was just a brute who relied on raw strength.”

Checking through Specific Analysis, he had entered an awakened state, just like Decarsen and Malphas.

Valam released an even more intense burst of pitch-black flame from his entire body and charged at Raion.

Kwang! Kwakwang!

The moment his enlarged foot struck the ground, a massive explosion rang out as he launched forward.

Shwaaak!

In response, Raion blocked the front with ‘Gravity Shield’ and unleashed the aura of White Lightning Flash.

Kwakwang—!

Normally, the moment it collided with the shield, it should have been crushed by gravity and slammed into the ground.

Instead, only an overwhelming shock transmitted through the shield.

“Kuhk!”

If I hadn’t forcibly weighed my body down with ‘Gravity’ and True Martial Art (眞武道) Tremor Step (震脚) Thousand Falls (千墜), I would have been blown away.

In response, I changed my combat approach.

Shuaaak!

True Martial Art (眞武道) Hand-to-Hand Combat Art (手搏) Shining Dragon (輝龍)

My arm coiled deeply around Valam’s arm and twisted it back in reverse.

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