Chapter 88: Ashen Clouds
Shiron didn’t know how strong Elise was, but he judged her to be at least as strong as an apostle.
[Long-range Teleport]
Some might scoff at the mere use of teleportation as nothing special, but let’s be clear: this wasn’t a fantasy world but a world within a game.
The creators of “Reincarnation of the Sword Saint” didn’t allow for their carefully crafted regions to be bypassed with the ‘convenient’ tool of teleportation.
This meant that players could not acquire the magic of teleportation unless they modified the script.
In this world of “Reincarnation of the Sword Saint,” Shiron knew of only a handful of magicians who could use teleportation alone.
[Fervent Dragon Demodras]
[The 3rd Apostle Oblivion]
[Tower Master of Despair]
[Main Martial King]
[The Forgotten Magician Seira]
Just listing them was awe-inspiring. And yet, a mere slave auctioned off at the marketplace had used teleportation? And not even on herself but on someone else? It was only natural for Shiron’s caution to reach its peak.
Crunch-
Shiron clenched his jaws so hard they could break and closed his eyes.
It wasn’t out of anger or to shake off fear.
It was to withstand a speed beyond ordinary limits.
Boom!! Bang!! Wham!!!
The sound of air breaking echoed in his ears. Encia, holding Shiron, moved at a speed undetectable by Elise. Very quickly, they just barely escaped the place, taking three steps to the top spire of Dawn Castle.
Shiron, held by Encia, struggled to maintain his consciousness.
Beep- beep-
Young master-
‘…My head hurts.’
Are you alright, young master?!-
‘…Quiet.’
“Young master! Snap out of it!”
Shiron squinted, his surroundings drenched in red. The sound was faint, and a warm sensation touched his philtrum.
“Hurk…! Cough!”
Drip-drip-
A puddle of blood formed on the cold stone floor, steaming. His insides must have been damaged. Barely calming his trembling lips, Shiron gazed at Encia, who was fidgeting anxiously.
“…Encia.”
“Yes!”
“Let’s not do this ever again.”
“Yes…!”
Encia nodded vigorously. Shiron took out a towel from his chest pocket and wiped his face. The white towel turned dark red after a few swipes.
Escaping at the speed of lightning was indeed insane. Though it cost less than his life, having experienced its aftermath, he never wanted to do it again.
“Cough. Cough! Cough!”
Shiron took a breath and grabbed the railing of the spire to stand up.
He couldn’t just stand idly by. Regardless of his aching body, Shiron needed to see the battle of Dawn Castle with his own eyes.
Unable to stand properly due to his trembling legs, Encia supported him by the shoulders.
“… It’s a mess.”
Leaning on the railing, Shiron looked towards the distant storm. It was far, but he could see it clearly as if it were his front yard. Thanks to his blessings, Shiron could understand the unfolding situation.
The twenty-eight demons cast off their reservations and promptly stepped in to eliminate the risk. In the game, they were defeated one by one by Lucia, but now, without the system’s constraints, they had a chance.
A chance?
Shiron leaned his chin on his hand and sneered.
No, more than that.
Despite the unreasonable demand to subdue the intruder, they would likely manage.
Seira immediately drew up the mana from her core. She didn’t dispel the polymorph. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to reveal her identity for trivial reasons.
There was no time for that.
The one-horned Yuma.
Although she was a demon who had lost her horn and been toyed with by Kyrie, she was once a legion commander who led the army of a devil king. There was no room for carelessness.
‘Why is that woman with the kid…’
Purple flashes swirled around Seira. Simultaneously, the mana spread in the air reacted and surged.
The world’s mana swirled around her, and the mana beyond her perception soon ceased to exist.
Progressing Heavenly Thunderbolt.
The moving fortress of lightning was complete.
Boom-!
The guardians of Dawn Castle were astonished. Without any incantation, she wrapped herself in such protection; moreover, she had barely prepared for battle.
Truly the grandeur of the greatest magician of all time.
Seira shifted her consciousness to the sky, thinking the worst was over.
‘The sky?’
Shifting consciousness during a battle?!
Before she could even decide, her body reacted.
Whoosh-
The sky, white like snow-covered ground, turned black.
Black chains surrounded the area, and sticky liquid dripped down.
She mustn’t touch it. Seira’s instinct warned her. But the blackness kept pushing her into a corner, tightening around her.
She had to escape.
Swoosh!
An attack approached from the depths of her subconscious. Seira quickly raised her guard.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Her arms tingled. Something heavy seemed intent on breaking her bones. Seira focused her consciousness in front of her.
Before her, a blue armored figure emitted eerie flames, readying for the next attack. Bang, bang, bang- with each collision of the mass materialized fists, not just her bones but also the core deep inside her vibrated.
Crackle-
Purple lightning tried to envelop the blue armor. The Progressing Heavenly Thunderbolt outside her consciousness responded to protect her.
But just before the lightning could reach, the blue armor retreated.
Not a step back or a leap. It was sucked back as if into a void.
The lightning then swirled aimlessly in the air.
‘…What is this?’
Despite being incredulous, Seira gritted her teeth, preparing for the next attack. She chose to defend rather than escape. Her instinct told her why: dozens of attacks were rushing towards her.
Unable to fully defend, her arms, legs, shoulders, waist, chest, head, and again legs.
Ice picks stabbed her, spears of light struck down, red mud engulfed her, and green mist tried to fill her lungs.
But these attacks couldn’t fatally wound Seira.
Because her magic was superior?
No. They were playing with Seira.
It didn’t take long for her to realize this.
They retreated when her purple shield cracked, only to attack again. Even when her most vulnerable parts, like her eyes or ears, were exposed, they never targeted them.
‘Subdue. Is this what it meant?’
The demons explicitly targeted the purple barrier protecting Seira.
The Progressing Heavenly Thunderbolt consumed a massive amount of mana. Materializing lightning with its own will was less efficient than simply shooting fireballs or hurling lightning.
‘If this continues…!’
She would be inevitably captured.
Deciding it was no use, Seira decided to escape from the spot. Purple light wrapped around her legs. Spatial transfer was impossible. The black chains covering the sky rendered her magic ineffective, no matter how many times she tried.
Boom-
Seira forcefully kicked the ground. There was no visible weak point anywhere, but she recklessly flew towards one direction, aiming for a breakthrough.
Then,
The sky turned upside down. The ground beneath her feet disappeared, and the scenery changed once again.
A dense forest.
‘Where am I?’
Seira widened her eyes, surveying her surroundings. She didn’t relax, knowing the demons wouldn’t let her off so easily.contemporary romance
And sure enough, the sky flipped again.
Thud-
Seira’s body crashed to the ground.
“……Cough!”
She felt dizzy. Her eyes spun. How many times had she spun in the air? Or was it an illusion?
Stomp stomp- A small woman approached. But Seira couldn’t stand up due to the numbness in her limbs.
“Lady Yuma, is this enough?”
“Jeina, don’t lower your guard.”
“I’ll be careful.”
A cold hand touched Seira’s waist. Whoosh- Blue flames flared up her back. Setting a living person on fire, such a demonic idea.
“Yikes!”
Seira screamed, feeling as if bugs were crawling on her back. It was futile no matter how much she struggled and tried to extinguish the flames. The blue fire clung like tar and burned fiercely.
“What, what have you done…”
Seira, sweaty and covered in dirt, looked at Yuma. But of course, Yuma had no reason nor duty to answer Seira’s question. Yuma merely looked down at Seira with cold eyes.
“Be thankful for the young master’s mercy.”
Dawn Castle’s training ground.
A woman with crimson hair was bound in black chains.
Not only bound, but blue flames still flickered on her back.
Shiron knew the nature of these flames well.
Jeina’s ability to devour mana.
As long as the magician carried these flames, they couldn’t store mana in their core. As soon as mana filled the core, it would turn into flames.
Seeing the miserable state of Elise, Shiron turned his head.
“Well done, Yuma. A perfect job.”
“It’s nothing. Just my duty as the keeper of the holy land.”
Yuma bowed slightly to Shiron. Her crimson hair wrapped around her horn was slightly disheveled.
“…What.”
Seira’s eyes filled with doubt. What was that kid that even the one-horned Yuma bowed so humbly to him?
“What the hell… What is it?! Why are you groveling to such a kid?!”
Slap-
“…”
Seira’s cheek stung from the slap.
“You should know your place, bitch.”
The one who slapped her was a boy with black hair.
Seira was speechless.
Who had just hit whom?
The greatest magician of ancient and modern times. The strongest living magician. A companion of the hero and one of the heroes who subjugated the devil king.
Seira Romer. Treated like trash by a mere human child. Slapped.
Seira glared at Shiron with a resentful expression.
“…You dare.”
“Dare what.”
Slap-
Shiron slapped her again.
Slap-
“What, you brat.”
“Do you even know who I am? No…”
Slap-
“Don’t know.”
Slap-
“So tell me once.”
Slap-
“Who the hell are you?”
With cold eyes, Shiron looked at Elise. He wanted to kill her right away when he thought of Siriel. However, Shiron had to find out who this interloper was, who was not someone in the game, and why she was in this place.
Droplets gradually fell on the stone floor where she was bound.
“Anyway…”
Crimson hair turned ashy gray, and black irises turned purple.
Polymorph was released.
The tear-stained face was a familiar one to Shiron.
[Forgotten Magician Seira]
“Uh, even if I say… you wouldn’t understand.”
“…”
“Ev-Even if I say, I can’t remember…!”
‘What the hell?’
“Whaaa! Wahhh!”
Seira started crying loudly, and Shiron secretly broke into a cold sweat.
Favorability.
The owner of the staff, purchased for a whopping 27.5 million just for that, was right in front of him.
done.co