< 95. Shoot for the dawn (8) >
#95
The old man was wearing the same red, colorful robes that Aun Fila wore. Hers was an outfit that only a magic tower lord or tower mage could wear. He met Ronan’s eyes and grinned.
【nice to meet.】
“Vajra.”
It was a terrible voice that I could never get used to. It was difficult to breathe due to the pressure pressing down on my lungs. An evil energy that I had never experienced before was prevalent in the air.
There was no need for any explanation. The devil’s writings appeared before my eyes. With a crack-like smile, Bajura opened her mouth.
【I like it. Not only does not bow your head, but you dare call my name.】
“···That old man is Lardan.”
【okay. One of the bugs that dared to try to understand me.】
Ronan twisted his lips when he saw the face of Mage Tower Lord Lardan. The two eyes were completely stained pitch black. Tears as black as ink were flowing down her wrinkled cheeks.
‘Is the main body of the book?’
Suddenly, Ronan’s eyes fell on the book in Vajra’s hand. The book was so large and thick that it could be used as a tray and had an ugly appearance befitting the king of banned books.
In the center of the cover, as thick as the skin of a buffalo, was an eye the size of a fist. The vertically slit pupils were fixed on Ronan. Bulging veins stretched out like a spider’s web around the eyeballs.
It looks like shit. Ronan, who spoke so quietly, frowned at her. Vajra followed her words.
【I have been watching you for the past few days. It was interesting.】
“Why are you acting like this?”
【It’s very boring to sit still and focus on recovery. If you hadn’t interfered, I would have been able to enjoy the war between Grancia and Acalusia…】
Vajra quenched his appetite. He boasted about what he had done by manipulating Sion de Grancia.
As expected, manipulating the three daughters of Grancia was also planned by Tongji. By the way, recovery means that he was weakened while he was sealed.
“what do you want?”
【It’s good that you understand quickly. I like it more and more.】
“You’re not just going to let those people go.”
Ronan pointed at Aun Phila and Aire with the tip of his chin. They were covered in blood and tied tightly to the altar.
I didn’t know what on earth they had used to catch the two people, but their condition seemed very serious. Vajra, smiling grimly, closed the book and stood up.
I didn’t notice it when I was sitting, but it was almost 2 meters tall. Vajra extended his poker-like index finger and pointed at Ronan’s chest.
【It’s simple. Hand over your body.】
“Hand over your body?”
【okay. I was getting tired of this bad-smelling body. I have a slight knack for manipulating fantasy, so it wasn’t very boring, but… I think you could do more interesting things with your body.】
Ronan frowned. It wasn’t a suggestion he was very happy with. At that time, Ayre, who was tied up, gasped and said.
“Ugh…Ronan, no…”
【noisy.】
At the same time, Vajra pointed her finger. Chi-i-ik…! The chains binding the two people turned red and smoke began to rise. A scream came out of Ire’s mouth.
“Ha, ahhh!”
“Tsk…don’t listen…!”
Aun Pillar also groaned in pain. The smell of burning flesh was spreading thickly.
Ayre’s figure was blinking as if it would disappear at any moment. Ronan growled, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“f*ck it, stop now.”
【Sure.】
Vajra nodded. The chain returned to its original color and the two people stopped screaming. A sly sneer appeared on his lips.
【If you accept my offer, I will free those two rats. I will quietly leave this damn tower. Isn’t it a good suggestion?】
“What if I refuse?”
【Don’t you know best that that can’t be done?】
Vajra laughed. For a moment, a strange magical power rose like wildfire and the space around it became distorted. Ronan’s eyes widened at the sight of the desert that suddenly spread out.
“What the f*ck.”
【Do you like it?】
The dark room had disappeared everywhere. The feel of sand crunching under my feet was vivid. The sunlight pouring down on her head was hot. It felt so real that it was hard to believe it was an illusion.
Bajura changed the surrounding scenery with just a wave of her hand. Every time Ronan blinked her eyes, the world changed in a flash.
A jungle with heavy rain, a snowy field with ice forming like scales, and even the imperial capital of Balon stretching to the horizon.
In the end, waves of flame poured out from his body and swept away everything. At some point, seeing the room return to its original state, Ronan twisted his lips.
‘It’s a monster.’
The level was different. Neither Sarante nor Aun Pilar were at this level. Ronan, who spat on the floor, glared at Vajra and growled.
“Are you showing off your strength?”
【I just showed it to you so that you don’t feel too unfair when handing over your body. What you have seen now is the potential that this bug harbors.】
“potential power?”
【okay. I feel like you have a potential that cannot be compared to this living corpse.】
As expected from a banned book that had dazzled even the king, it had a long tongue. Bajura assured her that she could use Ronan’s body better than Ronan himself.
It was bullshit that sounded more like a mule than a horse, but judging by his skills, it wasn’t something he said for nothing. Suddenly, Vajra snapped her fingers.
【Is despair not enough yet?】
Kugugoong! Suddenly, the walls on all sides collapsed, revealing a larger space. The voices of banned books that had not been heard for a while rang out sporadically.
[Hahaha, look at that guy’s face!]
[He realizes the topic and becomes quiet. But all humans are like that.]
Ronan’s eyes widened as he looked around. A variety of banned books were floating in the air, surrounding the space where they were standing.
[Vajra-sama, hurry up and take over that kid’s body and be completely resurrected!]
The mana gushing out from the widely spread banned books was being absorbed into Vajra’s body. It looked like a root supplying nutrients to the stem.
Ronan immediately realized that it was part of the ‘recovery’ mentioned earlier. Vajra continued.
【You must have realized it now. That you have no choice.】
Vajra spoke arrogantly. Ronan did not answer, but he knew that the situation was perfect for despair.
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‘f*cked.’
It was the worst crisis of my second life. Aside from the power gap, the problem was that the hostages were being held.
I was quickly rolling my eyes as if there was no solution. Something familiar caught the corner of his eye.
‘hmm?’
It was the sparkling mana that was the symbol of Nebula Clage. Because there was so little and so much to worry about, it seemed like it was only now that I was seeing it. Ronan, who was watching her mana, tilted her head.
‘Why is that thing coming out of there?’
Mana was flowing from a completely unexpected place. It wasn’t Lardan’s devoured body or the giant book in his hands.
‘no way.’
In an instant, a possibility passed through Ronan’s mind. A reckless operation was established in real time. It was a huge gamble, but there was no other way. Ronan, who had been drooling, opened his mouth heavily.
“…I will accept the offer.”
【That’s great.】
“Be sure to keep your promises. “After freeing the two, leave the magic tower.”
【Hahaha…of course. I swear on this Vajra’s name.】
“What should I do?”
【Just stay still. Everything will be over in an instant.】
Vajra giggled. Ronan closed her eyes in resignation. Her joyful voice echoed in the darkness.
【Don’t be too upset. Because the world will remember you forever.】
Vajra approached Ronan with great strides and placed his hand on Ronan’s forehead. It was the moment when he was chanting a strange spell.
“f*ck you.”
Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. Vajra pulled away in an instant and took a defensive stance. She had incredibly fast reaction times. He chuckled as if he wasn’t that surprised.
【That’s foolish. I was expecting this too.】
“Is that so?”
However, La Mancha’s blade was originally aimed somewhere else. Ronan swung his sword at the two people tied to the altar.
Sgak! A red arc passed deep through the altar. A red line appeared on Aun Pilar and Ayre’s waist, and a fountain of blood gushed out. The two people’s eyes widened.
“Ro, Ronan?!”
“Gagging! why···!”
“It was really well made. “Just do it in moderation.”
Ronan frowned as if he was fed up. Then the figures of Aun Phila and Ayre dispersed like smoke and disappeared. She suddenly fell to one knee as Bajura grabbed her own breast.
【Wow…!】
Sigh! Even though the illusion disappeared, the fountain of blood continued to gush. Following it, flickering mana shot out like a ray of light.
Both were emerging from inside the sword marks carved on the altar. Damn it! At that time, the altar split in half, revealing a book completely black from cover to paper.
‘That’s the main body.’
Other than being black, it wasn’t much different from regular books. The book, which had received a deep stab wound, was writhing as if it were still alive, spewing out red blood and sparkling mana.
Ronan frowned when he saw that the book was not completely cut.
“Tsk, wasn’t everything cut out?”
【Oh, how…!】
“Because I have good eyesight.”
Ronan laughed. The gamble was a success. The sparkling mana was flowing from the inside of the altar, not from anywhere else.
The creepy and loud book was simply a trick, and the main body was hidden inside. Ronan saw mana rising through the bodies of Aun Phila and Ayre and realized that the two were hallucinations.
‘What is it anyway? Why is Nebula Clazier’s energy in that book…’
However, I was concerned about the mana gushing out from Vajra. It was so shiny that it hurt her eyes.
The concentration was too thick for a member of Nebula Clage to have been buried while breaking the seal. While wandering around looking for clues, Ronan’s thoughts led him to a legend related to Vajra.
‘A book written by the devil.’
Perhaps the devil who wrote Vajra may be related to Nebula Clazier. It was the car that Ronan rushed to finish.
In an instant, the black book flew towards Lardan and burrowed into his chest. Ronan cursed as he saw the book disappearing like a drop of water in a puddle.
“shit.”
【Ugh…Huh! Gagging!】
Vajra combined with the main body spit out black blood. It seemed like he had suffered considerable damage from the slashing a while ago.
Suddenly. Vajra’s gaze, which had been twisting its limbs grotesquely, finally turned towards Ronan. A roar that seemed to shatter the world rang out.
【I won’t leave you alone!!】
Ronan gritted his teeth. For a moment, my vision became distorted and everything except Vajra and the banned books began to disappear.
The dark blue stone wall, the altar split in half, and the shadows that danced as the flames flickered were crumbling into powder. Vajra, who was shedding black tears, shouted as she hit the ground.
【Hell Prominence!】
“what?”
Ronan’s face hardened. A burning energy spread around Vajra. The magic circle that bloomed under his palm began to expand widely.
‘This isn’t very fun.’
Before long, the magic blueprints protruding from the floor and walls began to spread roots in the air. Various screams swirled in Ronan’s head.
[Well, Vajra-sama, that magic is…!]
[Damn it, save me!]
[Now, mercy…!]
It was the scream uttered by frightened banned books. I swung my sword in the air to see if it was an illusion, but unfortunately it was real magic.
‘I can’t help it.’
Ronan gritted his teeth. He wasn’t on a scale that could be stopped simply by cutting down a few places. The only possibility was to kill his host, Lardan.
Ronan made a quick decision and swung his sword at Vajra. Huh! It was the moment when the sword energy stretched out and was about to hit him directly.
Suddenly, the floor rose up, blocking the path of the sword energy. Quaaaang! As the fragments flew, a loud noise rang out.
“shit.”
【Do you know that the same trick can work!】
It seemed that he could also use earth magic. Ronan did not give up and rushed at Vajra.
Although his movements were clearly slower than before the surprise attack, it was difficult to close the distance because he was so good at using earth magic. A suddenly rising stone wall and a hand made of rock blocked Ronan’s path.
‘It’s not good.’
Meanwhile, the magic circle of Hell Prominence was growing brighter as if it was about to explode at any moment. Thousands of hypotheses for solving the situation were swirling in Ronan’s head. Suddenly, one word flashed like lightning.
‘backfire.’
I’m not sure why that word came to mind. However, memories of being deployed to suppress forest fires during his time as a punitive soldier in his previous life were drifting through the heated valley.
Suddenly, Ronan took out a metal box from his inner pocket. Inside were scrolls handmade by Aun Pillar.
Among them was one imprinted with magic powerful enough to blow up a village. Ronan, who shook off the box in one go, grabbed five scrolls at once. Then she twisted and pulled, up and down.
Boom! The scroll was torn and the engraved magic was activated all at once. The mana in the air was depleted and the space began to distort with heat. Vajra’s eyes widened at the sight of three-dimensional magic circles that stretched beyond what he had cast.
【What have you done!】
“If you’re going to roll, you should sleep together.”
【Bullshit…!】
Grumble! A pillar of fire suddenly rose up and enveloped Vajra’s body. Ronan noticed that it was the same movement magic used by Aun Pillar.
I was aiming for this moment. Ronan, who had been sneakily approaching him, threw himself down without hesitation. Kwasik! Ronan grabbed her wrinkled neck and slammed her Vajra into the ground.
“Gotcha, you toilet paper bastard.”
【Damn it, let go!】
The movement spell was broken. Vajra struggled, but the skinny old man was unable to shake off Ronan. In the end, he gave up and chanted the mantra again.
Good luck! The pillar of fire rose again and engulfed Ronan and Vajra. The two people disappeared from the room. At the same time, the magic circles covering the space emitted bright light.
