< 96. Shoot for the dawn (9) >
#96
The darkness of dawn was thick. In the sky where even the moon had set, only starlight like crumbs remained, twinkling. The soft sound of waves coming from the dawn sea was rustling in the cool night air.
Lights were on on most floors of the Dawn Magic Tower, which had experienced a great commotion last night. Erzsebet, who was walking through the garden of the Magic Tower, sighed heavily.
“In the end, I couldn’t sleep at all…”
A tired voice came out between dry lips. Her once white face had dark shadows over her eyes. It was because she couldn’t sleep because she was thinking about the events of last night.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Everything was full of questions. So much happened in four short days.
The culprit of the attempted shooting down of the airship was Sion Siniban de Grancia, the third daughter of the Grancia family. She, who almost burned down her library, was acquitted by the decision of Aun Pilar, the tower owner’s deputy.
At the time, I thought it was all an evil plot planned by Grancia, but after I cooled down, I realized that there were definitely a lot of strange things. Shion was too young and weak, and above all, there was no reason for the daughter of a great family to do such a thing herself.
‘Books are manipulating people…’
The strange words Ronan said also bothered me. It was a completely unintelligible sound, but one thing was certain. Something was going on in the magic tower that she didn’t know about.
‘Anyway, where has everyone gone?’
Erzsebet suddenly felt puzzled and tilted her head. The tower owner’s assistant manager and librarian suddenly disappeared. Ronan also disappeared somewhere without saying a good night.
“···Let’s get some sleep for now.”
No matter how hard I tried to guess, there was no clue. In the end, Hergé Bet, who felt his drowsiness first, finished the long walk. That was the moment when she turned her steps towards her magic tower.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
“Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
A sound like hundreds of thunderbolts roaring at the same time rang out. Hergé Bet turned her head in the direction of the sound. A pillar of flame almost as thick as the Magic Tower was rising from the northwest of the garden.
“W-what…!”
Erzsebet took a step back. The intense heat could be felt even here. In just a few seconds, the pillar of flame that was threatening to pierce the star died down.
Qarring! As if replacing him, a torrent of fire and mana began to burst out. It was like a small volcano erupting. Wizards who sensed something strange came out in droves.
“Oh my god!”
“Oh my god, this is the direction where the forbidden library is buried!”
“Isn’t it the tower owner’s fire? “Where are the librarian and top mage?!”
The wizards were thrown into confusion by an unexpected lightning strike. However, the intensity of the flames was not strong enough to give them room to scream.
Kuaaaaang! The wizards’ senses returned to the sight of the pillar of fire rising again. They ran toward the center of the explosion as if they had made a promise.
“We have to stop the fire from spreading first!”
If the fire spread to the garden or the magic tower, a disaster would occur. Erzsebet, who came to her senses belatedly, levitated her body using telekinesis. Her eyes widened as she arrived at the scene.
“oh my god…!”
It seemed as if a passage leading to hell had been opened. A destructive flame of a scale never seen before was rising from a hole in the middle of the garden. The tangled and overflowing flames were divided into two colors.
One side was a clear scarlet color, reminiscent of a summer sunset, and the other side was a sticky, heavy dark red color, as if it had been scooped straight from lava flowing from the ground.
It was the dark red flame that gained the upper hand. The evil fire demon was devouring scarlet fire and growing in size.
The wizards who ran out in their pajamas were doing their best to prevent the fire from spreading. The mana shield surrounding the fire pit was melting and regenerating rapidly.
“No way, I can’t stop it…! This is almost like the 8th circle…!”
“Still hold on!”
Everyone was struggling, but the fire was so strong that it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long. At that time, a familiar face caught Erzsebet’s eyes. She was a very short girl with dark blue hair.
“Grancia?”
“Iike…!”
The suspect in the attempted assassination case was Sion Sinibane de Grancia. She was busy chanting defensive spells among the wizards working on evolution. The wizards who were supposed to act as protectors could not be seen as they had all jumped into the evolution process.
‘What help!’
Erzsebet narrowed her eyebrows. Quagwagwang! Suddenly, with a huge explosion, dozens of fireballs reminiscent of volcanic bombs shot up into the air and began falling in a parabola.
Erzsebet’s face turned white as she read one of the orbits. The fireball was falling exactly on Zion’s head. The wizards, who were putting all their effort into setting up a shield, only noticed the existence of the fireball right before the collision.
“Damn it, everyone, avoid it!”
“Lady Grancia, be careful!”
“Iiike… yes?”
Shion, who had been concentrating, belatedly raised his head. Her sword A red flame sphere filled her vision. Her hair was curled from the heat.
“uh?”
It was not a distance that could be avoided. It was the moment when my short life was about to come to an end. Her hemispherical mana shield spread out of nowhere, covering her and her wizards’ heads. Quaaaang! The fireball that hit the shield exploded and a loud noise rang out.
“You’re so reckless, what are you doing?”
“Uh, sister…?”
“Don’t they teach you to stay out of Grancia if you don’t think it will help?”
Shion opened his tightly closed eyes. Hergé Bett was chanting her incantation, his arms around her shoulders. The eyes of the wizards who had saved their lives widened.
“Ah, Lady Acalusia!”
“How should I repay this favor…!”
“It’s noisy. Idiots who can’t even protect a child properly. “You all owe me.”
Erzsebet shot sharply. The wizards fell silent. She said, releasing her shield and extending her hand towards her fire pit.
“I’ll join you.”
Purple energy spread from her fingertips. The inspired wizards took their stance again. Suddenly, a loud cry echoed throughout the Magic Tower.
“Everyone evacuate!”
It was a familiar voice. Erzsebet turned her head. A huge firebird with a wingspan of perhaps 10 meters was flying across the western night sky. Dozens of formidably huge flaming birds of prey were following behind them. Erzsebet’s eyes widened.
“Aun Phila…!”
“Evacuate everyone except the minimum number of people!”
It looked like the sun was rising in the west. It was the Prominence Bird, a magical symbol of flower and bird Aun Pillar. The firebirds and birds of prey who reached the magic tower in an instant threw themselves into the fire pit.
Grumble! The shape of the fireball distorted and the flames visibly died down. Soon, a firebird engulfed in dark red flames soared into the air. Erzsebet, who noticed that he was absorbing fire, exclaimed in admiration.
“also···!”
It was a more significant achievement than the efforts of all other wizards. It was the moment when Aun Pillar, who had shaken off the fire while circling in the air, descended into the fire pit again.
Good luck! Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared high in the sky. Soon the fire died down and two human figures were revealed.
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A boy whose body was on fire was falling, clutching the neck of an old man. Erzsebet recognized the boy’s face and screamed.
“Ro, Ronan?!”
【Damn you, let go of this!】
At the same time, an eerie bellow echoed across the sky. Erzsebet froze. My legs became weak and my breathing became difficult, as if I had encountered a wild animal.
“Huh…!”
It wasn’t much different from other wizards. Screams and explosions were coming from everywhere. It was a side effect of the magic being chanted failing or mana flowing back.
“Um, what is that?”
“Hey!”
I have never felt such evil magic before. Sion, who had been clinging to Hergé Bett earlier, was crying while holding her hand.
【shit!】
It was the moment when Ronan and the old man were about to clash on the ground. The flames flashed again and the two figures disappeared. Only then did the pressure that had been weighing on my shoulders disappear and I was able to breathe.
“Aaaah!”
In the end, Sion burst into tears and buried her face in Erzsebet’s stomach. Embarrassed, Erzsebet hesitated and backed away.
“Ooh, don’t cry…! “What if the nobleman cries?”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
“Stop it, stop it!”
Erzsebet consoled Sion, forgetting that she was Grancia. Erzébet, who had been patting Sion’s back for a while, looked at the spot where her Ronan had disappeared and muttered.
“What are you fighting again this time?”
****
【You fool! If you don’t let go, you will burn to death!】
“It’s still worth holding on.”
Ronan’s body was engulfed in flames. It seemed like she was a pretty strong flame, seeing as her basically fire-resistant uniform was burning, but perhaps because she was focused on the fight, it wasn’t very hot. Vajra shouted.
【What on earth are you?】
The wounded Vajra was running wild even more. The powerful magic being fired indiscriminately was proving his power. Quagwang! The Flame Buster fired at Ronan missed and evaporated the nearby forest.
【Get away!】
“If it were you, would you let go?”
They were engaging in an ugly brawl, teleporting countless times. Vajra tried to shake off Ronan using all means and methods, but Ronan never let him go.
‘This kid is also at his limit.’
The longer I held it, the more clearly I felt it. Vajra was weakening. The fire was getting lukewarm and the rocks were receding.
Good luck! At that time, the pillar of fire enveloped the bodies of the two people again. Ronan laughed when he saw the changed background. The black night sea was rippling at my feet far away.
‘It’s an opportunity.’
They had reached the sky above the Dawn Sea. Kwasik! Ronan tilted her head back and headbutted Vajra’s nose. Vajra groaned at the unexpected blow.
【Wow!】
“Stop bothering your poor old man and come out.”
The hooked nose broke and blood poured out. Ronan delivered a series of headbutts. bang! bang! The movement magic was cut off and the fall continued.
‘Put it in the water like this.’
Basically, paper becomes unusable when it gets wet. Moreover, there was a high possibility that the magic used by Vajra would be useless underwater. Anyway, all I had to do was throw it in and retrieve what looked like a drowned body.
【Don’t be funny!】
The distance from the surface was about 5m. Suddenly, Bajura spread her arms and pretended to pull something up from her.
Rumbling…! Suddenly, a palm-shaped reef rose up towards them. Ronan’s eyes widened. The two people fell and collided on the stone floor.
“Ugh!”
It was a reef larger than an average sailing ship. Ronan fell from his back and rolled around on the floor. Fortunately, the impact was not too great due to the low altitude, but we missed Vajra.
“f*ck, where are you running…”
It was the moment when Ronan hurriedly got up. Quang! A huge whale made of flames fell on his head, causing an explosion. Five spears from the rock rose in succession, crossing and piercing the spot where Ronan was.
【die!】
Finally, the hand-shaped reef they were stepping on grabbed Ronan. Kwasik! Flames rose through the gaps between the hands and at the same time, a crushing sound rang out.
【Wow, gasp…】
Vajra landed on the reef and fell down on one knee. Her body felt distinctly heavier. He coughed up black blood again and muttered in disbelief.
【Why does this happen…】
The wounds on the body had not healed at all. She had lived for countless years and experienced all kinds of things, but this was the first time anything like this had happened. He was experiencing for the first time what mortals call ‘excessive bleeding’.
【You need to recover quickly. Dangerous···.】
The wound had to be healed by swallowing a creature rich in mana. It was the car he was preparing to head to the Dawn Magic Tower again.
Whirling! A corner of the reef exploded with a sound like hundreds of people whistling at the same time. Vajra’s eyes widened at the sight of Ronan sticking out where his middle finger was.
【how···!】
“As expected, I have become weaker.”
La Mancha, dyed red, was sprinkling light from his hand. Aside from the burns he suffered while moving, there were no other injuries on Ronan’s body.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Ronan, who had taken his stance, rushed straight towards Vajra. He seemed to be in shock, frozen and motionless.
Hiss! It was the moment when Ronan slashed Vajra’s temple with the hilt of his sword. A gloomy voice echoed over the sea.
【That’s why you’re a kid.】
“what?”
The hilt of the sword passed straight through Vajra’s head. His image dispersed like smoke. He was the car that Ronan, who later realized was a hallucination, turned to. Vajra’s hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed his head.
“Ugh!”
【It was long. It was really dangerous. If I keep going like this, I might lose.】
“You bastard…!”
【But history remembers only the final winners. I will use your body well.】
Before Ronan could say anything, Vajra chanted a spell. His body, in the form of a black book, emerged from Lardan’s chest.
At the same time, Vajra’s consciousness, which was in the tower’s body, was transferred to Ronan’s body. His eyes began to turn pitch black. A bizarre moan was coming out from between Ronan’s parted lips.
“Ugh…Ugh…poop toilet paper…you bastard…!”
【Do not resist. It will get easier soon.】
Vajra sneered. Although the resistance was strong, since it had already succeeded in eroding the body, it was only a matter of time before it swallowed the body. Now all it had to do was find a place in the heart. Bajura, who suddenly sensed something strange about her, tilted her head.
【Hmm?】
It was an unpleasant feeling. It was something different from other bodies. Something immeasurably powerful was already in place.
【Is this…?】
He was an evil and terrible being that could not even be compared to himself. They all took on the appearance of black shadows. One by one, the coiled shadows began to approach Vajra.
【Why is something like this inside my body…don’t come closer…!】
But the shadows didn’t stop. One of them bit Vajra. Bajura gasped as she felt a searing pain.
【Huh!】
Then the rest of the shadows rushed in. Vajra’s consciousness was swallowed up in darkness. A blood-curdling scream echoed in Ronan’s head.
【Kaaaaaaaa!】
“It’s not a very nice house to live in, is it?”
Ronan laughed, stroking his saltwater-soaked hair. His eyes, which had been dyed black, were regaining their original color. The book, the main body of Vajra, was shaking and burning.
