<Lunacy, Worship. And the Way (9)>

“Huff, huff.”

Rosalyn was breathing heavily.

‘Why is she so fast?’

She barely managed to stand up.

However, Rosalyn had to shout out to cast a spell before she could even steady herself.

“Shield!”

The moment a red shield appeared in front of her…

Baaaaaang!

There was a loud explosion as a red arrow attacked Rosalyn’s shield.

Rosalyn’s red mana had a bit of orange mixed in, resembling a rose sparkling with sunlight.

This other red mana was darker and lower in saturation, looking more like roses underneath ash-colored clouds.

The two were similar but their colors were completely different.

Craaaaaaack-!

“Fuck!”

Rosalyn watched as her shield broke again.

She then confirmed that the red arrow was continuing to come at her.

“Shield!”

She cast a shield again, but…

Bang!

That shield was also destroyed by the red arrow.

Only then did the red arrow disappear as if it had done its duty.

Rosalyn felt her mana and the enemy’s mana scatter as she urgently cast another spell.

Ooooooooo—

As the mana around her rumbled and tried to gather to her…

“I told you that is too slow.”

Rosalyn heard a bored voice before she started to feel some heat.

She looked forward.

The red-haired Inquisitor… The short-haired girl who looked young had already created a large horse to sit on.

The horse was made of red mana and the heat coming out of the horse made Rosalyn start to sweat.

“Ha.”

Rosalyn couldn’t believe it. She was scoffing but the enemy did not give Rosalyn any opening.

Baaaaang!

As the horse kicked off the ground…

“Fuck!”

‘It’s too fast!’

This Elf with short red hair…

Her magic casting speed was truly fast.

‘To be more specific, she is very fast at using mana.’

There was a saying between mages.

Mana Affinity and Mana Dominance. Those two were talents you were born with; they were the reasons two mages could have the same knowledge but differences in abilities.

As for the short red-haired Elf in front of her-

‘She is better than me in both.’

It was at a level she couldn’t even see.

“Ugh!”

The red horse almost instantly arrived in front of Rosalyn. The horse raised up its two front legs.

The magic horse jumped over Rosalyn’s body.

Her body was now covered by the shadow of this large red horse.

Rosalyn raised her head to look at the large red horse covering her view and thought to herself.

‘Choi Han, that punk!

He said that they were at the level of Dragons!’

Saying that the Inquisitors were at the level of Dragons meant that they were not Dragons.

However, the Elf in front of her was not at the level of a Dragon, she was basically a Dragon.

Her Mana Affinity and Dominance were the same as the Dragons.

This Elf had what Rosalyn couldn’t even dream about because of the differences of the human race to the Dragons.

‘It must be because she consumed the foundation of this world.’

This Elf gained Mana related talents like Dragons after consuming the foundation of this world.

‘She doesn’t even use Elementals.’

“Pfft.” She couldn’t help but scoff.

It could not be helped.

‘Is this what it feels like to fight a Dragon?’

In that short instant…

All sorts of thoughts ran through Rosalyn’s mind.

‘You can easily tell that she is the strongest.’

This short red-haired Elf was the strongest of the three Inquisitors.

Rosalyn did not have the time to relax and look around, but she at least had a decent grasp of the situations around her.

The Inquisitor fighting against Tasha… He was the weakest.

Next was the Elf fighting against, no, being pummeled by Witira.

‘…And this Elf is incomparably strong compared to the two of them.

Ha.

What the hell was I relying on to say that I could handle this Elf?’

Rosalyn kept feeling as if she would laugh.

‘I was too arrogant.’

She had thought that she had a good assessment of the situation, but that had not been the case.

Rosalyn, who thought that she would easily defeat Tasha and considered Witira to be a worthy opponent, realized that her thoughts had been wrong.

‘I would be about even with Miss Tasha in her current state.’

As for Witira-

‘I can’t defeat her.’

She could clearly feel why the Whales were said to be as strong as the Dragons.

The power that Witira was born with… That was as strong as the Dragons.

‘As for me-’

This was a fact she just figured out.

‘I’ve never had a real fight with a Dragon.’

She had many Dragons, including Eruhaben and Raon, around her.

It allowed her to learn a lot of things over their shoulders, increasing her abilities. Furthermore, she watched them fight to train her battle instincts.

That was why she thought she would be able to reach them.

‘No.’

That was a foolish thought.

She felt as if she understood, now that she fought against an individual as strong as the Dragons.

‘I lose in all areas.’

Rosalyn realized that everything she had built up as it related to magic, was one step, no, multiple steps lacking compared to this Elf in front of her.

She also understood that she could never reach this Elf in some areas.

She could see the Elf’s eyes looking down at her from the red horse.

There was no sneering, anger, or annoyance.

All that remained was boredom.

That Elf was completely bored right now.

“Ha.”

An absurd feeling struck Rosalyn.

The red horse’s front legs attacked her as well.

Ooooooooong-

As that happened, Inquisitor Lingling… Mana swirled around both of her hands.

She continued to sit on the horse to look down at Rosalyn as she gently waved her hand.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

A crescent-moon shaped blade that was created in the air flew toward Rosalyn.

Baaaaaang—!

An explosion that could not be compared to any explosions from earlier echoed out.

The ground that the red horse struck crumbled and the debris shot up.

It was clear that the area was destroyed.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

A large crescent moon blade cut through the air after that.

The sword swung where the dirt and the rocks meet.

“Tsk.”

As Lingling clicked her tongue…

Clang—!

There was a sharp noise and the red crescent moon was unable to go where it needed to go.

Ssss–

The dirt and debris settled down to reveal Rosalyn.

“Huff, huff.”

Her hair was already a mess and her magician’s robe was totally tattered.

Furthermore, her face and hands were covered in numerous injuries.

Her hands were shaking as well.

Guuuuuuuuuuu—

A sharp noise that pierced her ears…

The large crescent blade that was even larger than Rosalyn was fending off another red sword right now.

The red sword in Rosalyn’s hand was blocking that large crescent blade.

‘Shit!’

Rosalyn was scowling despite having blocked a strong power like this two times.

‘An opportunity my ass!’

She had considered this fight to be an opportunity of sorts.

First was an opportunity to scope out how she should fight against strong individuals at the level of Dragons.

Second was an opportunity to develop or at least get a hint about that aura that Choi Han and young master Cale had.

Finally, it was an opportunity to show the new offensive spells that she had prepared with the mages until now.

At least that was what she had thought.

Rosalyn only realized the issue just now.

‘That only works if I win!

Why did I think it was obvious that I would win?’

Rosalyn quickly figured out the answer.

‘Because I’ve been winning until now!

I’ve never fought a battle where I was so utterly pushed back like this!

Why?

Why am I being pushed back so much?

Why can’t I catch up to that Elf?’

“Mmph!”

As Rosalyn bit down on her lips and swung her sword…

Bang!

There was a loud noise and Rosalyn’s body was pushed back.

The crescent blade was pushed back as well.

“You blocked it again.”

Lingling sighed before waving her hand again.

However, unlike her tone, her eyes were clouding over. Rosalyn didn’t manage to see it because it was only for an instant.

‘She’s slowly getting faster.’

This human in front of her…

She had realized from the beginning that her enemy had quite the magic abilities despite being human.

That was why she was relaxed but did not let her guard down.

That was the way Lingling, someone who looked like she had many openings, lived her life.

However, she felt as if she should stop being cautious.

‘I should kill her quickly.’

Because this girl was getting stronger.

Extremely quickly and exponentially.

‘Getting stronger while fighting.’

Lingling was thinking that something like that was impossible.

However, she had faced such an existence in the past.

‘…A Dragon.’

Yes, Dragons got stronger as they fought.

However, that was actually not a process of getting stronger.

‘They just didn’t know.’

It was the process of Dragons, who had no idea about how much power they actually possessed, figuring out how to use those powers as they fought against an opponent.

In that case, was this human girl going through the same process?

‘No.’

She was sure that was not it.

Lingling had properly assessed this human’s plate.

Then there could only be one result.

This woman was developing in relation to how Lingling fought.

Although she was lacking in both Mana Affinity and Mana Dominance compared to Lingling…

‘She is a genius in a different way.’

This human was a genius as well.

‘She is skilled in understanding.’

Her understanding of mana and magic was especially amazing.

Basically, at least when it came to mana, this girl was very smart.

That was something that was not different whether you were a Dragon, Elf, or human.

It was just this girl’s talent.

‘How entertaining.’

Smile.

A smile formed on Lingling’s face for the first time since starting this fight with Rosalyn.

Her mischievous smile looked oddly cruel for some reason.

The meaning behind that smile was cruel as well.

This human in front of her…

She is very dangerous.

So let’s get rid of her now.

Tap.

She got off the horse.

Ssss–

The horse scattered into the air like the wind.

Rosalyn flinched.

Shhhhhhh-

Another crescent blade appeared.

The two blades created an X as they floated up into the air.

Snap!

The large blades started to fall once Lingling snapped her fingers.

They were falling toward Rosalyn.

“Hoooo.”

Rosalyn pointed at each of the two crescent blades with her hands while Lingling’s eyes clouded over.

‘Fuck!’

The opportunities that she had thought about had all dissipated.

She felt completely empty.

She had never been treated like this in her life.

‘So?’

But she couldn’t just let things continue like this.

That would be too big of a hit on her pride.

Even if everything else crumbled, she could not put down her pride.

“Okay then.”

Since things were like this anyway…

Let’s go to the end.

“Burn.”

As Rosalyn let out a heavy breath and said that…

Crack, crack.

The magic stones bracelets on her wrists cracked.

Crack, crackle!

The magic stones necklace around her neck cracked as well.

She no longer possessed any magic stones.

They were all crushed to turn into mana around her.

Kuooooooooooooooooooooooo-

The air rumbled.

—!

Once even that noise stopped, the two large crescent blades were already right in front of Rosalyn.

However, red flames burst out of Rosalyn’s palms at that moment.

They were small threads at first…

Then they became the size of whips…

Then the size of her body…

They resembled snakes.

“Go!”

Rosalyn shouted and the two snakes moved toward the crescent blades.

Baaaaaang——

There was a loud explosion. It was so loud that nothing else could be heard.

Rosalyn’s ears, nose, mouth, and eyes… She could feel that she was bleeding everywhere.

“Ha.”

But she still started laughing.

Slash.

One snake was cut.

Slash.

Another snake was cut.

The spell that used up all of the cards up her sleeves was so easily destroyed.

She realized the reason.

‘Unlike the mana that I use, the mana that receives that Elf’s order is more compact and stronger.

Mana moved like her own hands and feet.

‘That Elf’s Dominance-’

She finally realized it.

Mana Dominance. That was different from Mana Affinity.

Dragons had incomparably high Mana Affinity since birth. It allowed them to use magic naturally even without learning magic.

Mana was like the air or a friend to them.

They were also skilled in Dominance, allowing them to show higher levels of power when fighting with magic against other races.

That Elf’s Mana Dominance-

‘That’s not at the level of Dragons.

That’s even stronger than the Dragons.’

Rosalyn could not ask her enemy, but she felt as if she knew that answer.

‘That is a talent she was born with.’

This Elf’s Mana Dominance was something she was born with, not something she had gained.

Otherwise, there was no way for her Mana Dominance to be so abnormally high.

She felt as if she now knew what this Inquisitor had gained through the foundation of this world.

Rosalyn subconsciously opened her mouth.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

Two large crescent blades were flying toward her, but… Rosalyn couldn’t help but ask.

“You, you needed Mana Affinity, didn’t you? You can rule over them, but you have no Affinity, do you?”

Her Mana Dominance was so strong.

In that case, the manas would probably get scared and avoid her.

That would make it so that she needed Affinity as good as, if not comparable, to the Dominance.

Only then would the mana treat her not as a tyrant but a leader or boss they could trust and follow.

Lingling’s voice reached Rosalyn’s ears.

“You are smart.”

It wasn’t an answer to her question, but it still let Rosalyn know that she was correct.

Lingling continued to speak.

“In return, I will show you a portion of myself.”

Rosalyn got chills all over her body after hearing that.

“Ah.”

‘The mana surrounding me…’

Although mana wasn’t like air to her as it was for the Dragons, it still felt like a friend.

However-

‘None of them are on my side.

The mana surrounding me has turned away from me.

They are not following me.

They are following that Elf, who is stronger than me and more familiar to them.’

…….’

Rosalyn could not think about anything.

This was the first time she ever felt as if she was alone in the world.

Rosalyn could not use magic right now.

None of the mana was following her.

She already ran out of magic stones, but even the mana that came out of them would have followed this Elf.

She felt a sense of emptiness, no, a sense of complete despair.

She could see the two large crescents moving toward her.

The only way she could run away from it was by using her body. She could either run with her legs or dodge.

But Rosalyn could not do anything.

In this situation where the mana had turned away from her…

This situation was more shocking than anything she had faced in her life.

The reason she was able to throw away the position of Queen, the reason she was able to leave her family, home, and hometown behind…

All of it was because she had the dream of becoming a Magic Tower Master.

The strongest supporter she had for that dream was none other than magic and mana.

That existence being with Rosalyn was the reason she could always be confident without fearing anything.

But now, she was scared.

A fear incomparable to being suppressed by the aura of this world that she needed to be within the domain of Dragon Fear or Cale’s aura to use magic filled up inside her.

Mana not being there…

‘That is different from mana turning away from me.’

This was an emotion she could feel now that she had experienced it.

Rosalyn quietly stood there looking at the crescents.

Lingling chuckled after seeing her looking as if she had given up on everything and waved her hand.

The two large crescents positioned themselves on top of Rosalyn.

She was covered by their shadows.

“Cut her.”

The two crescents slashed down toward the ground.

Baaaaaaaaaang-!

Lingling’s eyes opened wide.

Through the rising dust clouds…

“Hey.”

Rosalyn opened her mouth after hearing a voice.

“…Yeah.”

Two people had stopped the crescent blades.

The person who stopped the first crescent talked to Rosalyn again.

“Are you okay?”

It was Choi Han.

The person who stopped the second crescent spoke in an angered tone.

“Hey, why are you not acting like your usual self?”

It was Hannah.

When mana had turned away from Rosalyn… Her friends came to find her instead.

“…Ha.”

Rosalyn scoffed.

But it was not from feeling a sense of emptiness.

It was at that moment.

Baaaaaang—!

There was a loud explosion.

“!”

All of them turned their gazes.

“Ho.”

Sword master Hannah gasped in disbelief.

“The mountain-”

A whole peak was sent flying.

No, it exploded.

Hannah’s mind blanked out a bit at this sudden situation when she heard an Inquisitor’s voice.

Lingling shouted to her people.

“Our allies have come!”

The snowy mountain that had been sent flying…

The individual who had launched an attack toward it landed on the ground.

“…Eruhaben-nim.”

Rosalyn called out to the ancient Dragon.

The ancient Dragon peeked at Rosalyn before making a comment.

“There are still many opportunities for growth.”

As Rosalyn bit down on her lips…

“!”

She saw a strand of light flying over from the snowy mountain.

No, it was not light.

Boom!

Boom!

Two figures landed on the ground.

It was one woman and one man.

Cisco, the God of Fighting.

The other person was one of the ten Bishops, Third bishop Hons.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

And in front of them…

– Human, it’s another Dragon! Are we going to be the ones to capture this one?

Tap.

Cale rode the wind to gently land on the snowy field.

Crunch.

As the white snow left an imprint as his foot landed… Cale started to think.

These two figures as well as the Inquisitors…

As well as the second subjugation squad…

‘We will need to take care of them pretty quickly.’

Eruhaben had said something to him just now.

‘I got some news about Choi Jung Gun.’

And…

‘The White snake told me.’

Eruhaben had said something after bringing the White snake with him.

‘This world does not have much time left.’

It meant that this world did not have much lifespan remaining.

‘Apparently this world will perish if the foundation disappears.’

In simple terms…

‘It will disappear like dust. Everything in this world.’

The Purple Bloods. Cale truly thought that these bastards were crazy.

And since he was in a rush-

“You came to fight, right?”

He addressed the Dragon and the bishop.

“Bring it on.”

‘We can chat after winning this battle first.’

—

Translator’s Comments

Cale getting involved!

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