169. King of the Snakes (4)
*
Lightning streaks across the sky. Without a single dark cloud that could hold lightning, just under a pale sky. It’s an intensely surreal scene, but magic is, after all, a manipulation that twists open the gap between the unreal and the real. Fernandez approached Ksharlax, burning one stroke after another of incantation characters.
-Boom! Crash! Boom!
A current so dense it had physical form struck down upon the great demon’s head. A shock that would have carbonized any ordinary life form. But demons, especially those of the Sadarkelisa lineage, have high resistance to magic.
-Crash!
[Grrrr…!!]
Thick blood seeped from between the demon’s teeth. It slowly rose, clawing at the ground. Truly, it was a sovereign-class demon with high magic resistance.
“Not bad.”
[You… mortal. A rotting body… how dare you, dare to…]
Its yellow eyes flickered with rage and madness. Fernandez clicked his tongue, looking at his left arm, now completely numb.
‘It’ll take some time to recover.’
-Data collection is sufficient. Successful. Seventeen times was no stretch.
‘Not enough to affect a great demon. Even after hitting that dragon’s spawn with all shots, it wasn’t enough to incapacitate it.’
-You can’t be full after the first bite.
Sadarkelisa and her offspring have extremely high resistance to magic. But Rune Glyphs, especially ancient runes, contain not just the power of magic but also miracles, as magic from the prehistoric era often does.
Magic from the time when gods walked the earth was the incantation of the gods, their blessing. This ancient spell system, originating from King Botan of the Northern Temple of the Gods, was half immersed in magic and the other half in miracles.
Thus, at least half the impact was delivered to it. Fernandez smiled, watching the demon’s muscles twitch from the electric aftermath.
[I’ll kill, kill you. I’ll kill you, swallow your flesh, chew your soul, and tear you apart eternally in the abyss. You, mortal. I am your death!!]
-Crash!
The demon roared, rising. A sticky heatwave swept over its crimson scales. Hellish magic, extremely dense, swept through the area. The magic, even holding physical form, began to scatter like flame-like mist.
-Sssss…
The divinity within him, and the Keyblade on his back, trembled at the force. His heart leapt, and the demon’s madness clung to every corner of his brain, suddenly bursting into laughter.
Yes, yes. This is it. Fernandez stood straight, facing the demon looking down at him. The demon burst with magic, but Fernandez knew it was its last struggle.
It’s the behavior of a cornered rat. Not what you’d expect from a high demon called a sovereign.
“So, what? If you’re coming, come now.”
[You… you insignificant puppet!!]
-Grrr.
Blood foam splattered from its mouth as the demon’s thick arm struck down like lightning. But Fernandez had already spun his sword, slicing through its arm. Not completely severed, but definitely a hit.
A powerful demon is akin to a spell itself, meaning the strength of its physical form is its power. As its power wanes, so does its durability. Indeed, its scales shattered and fell from the sword’s edge.
‘Let’s do the final experiment. Will you help?’
-As you wish. What shall we prepare?
‘Something short and strong.’
Fernandez, engulfed in madness, dodged the demon’s wild swings and strikes, thinking.
The first experiment: Can his body, forged with divinity, stand against a great demon?
A. Possible, but draining.
The second experiment: Is the Rune Glyph of the Malerun school practical in battle?
B. Also possible, but with clear limitations and side effects, making consecutive use difficult.
All these experiments aim to forge a dagger aimed at the great demon, and now, the final experiment remains.
-Clink.
Due to the violent movement, the Bronze Throne on his right wrist made a clear sound. The Bronze Throne’s magic circuit can be used up to three times a day. First as mist, then as the sight of truth. And the third time…
-Sssss!
Fernandez ducked, dodging the demon’s arm, and thrust his greatsword between its ribs. The demon’s body twitched and stopped. Not a fatal blow, but it bought some time. Now, the final turn.
Fernandez let go of the greatsword and moved behind the demon. Its body, judging by its size, was like stabbing a three-inch dagger into an adult male. For that brief moment—
-Tap, tap, tap.
In succession, Construction, Creation, Distortion. Three beastmen elegantly tied the knot with one hand. At the end of that elegant single casting, the Bronze Throne reacted, releasing magic—
‘Hellish magic so dense it materializes…’
Using magic not channeled through his own heart and circuits requires extremely precise spell coordination, but Fernandez’s technique is…
It was no longer a stage to discuss the level of precision.
-Kugugugung…
The magical energy that had been pouring out from the creature’s body suddenly changed its flow. The moment its mind was consumed by madness and rage, losing control over its magic, was the most opportune time.
Following Fernandez’s gesture, the magic circuits of the Bronze Throne absorbed the hellish magic spread in the atmosphere and then released it, conjuring magic.
The left arm, with its nerves severed and hanging limply, twitched and trembled.
‘Success.’
-Good.
The tail of the demon, now regaining its senses, thrashed wildly, sweeping the area where Fernandez stood. Fernandez, as if grabbing a rope and running, stepped on the tail and leaped onto the creature’s back.
[You… bastard!!]
“Your vocabulary has really declined, Lord.”
Finally reaching the end, standing atop the creature’s head—a skull large enough to easily chew and swallow an adult male’s upper body—Fernandez looked straight into the demon’s yellow eyes.
With a smile, Fernandez raised his left arm.
“Tell your mother, demon.”
[You… son of a bitch…!!]
“Pray.”
The magic conjured by the Bronze Throne was telekinesis. Even a body with no sensation or ability to move could be manipulated with physical force, lifting an arm or so was nothing.
Each time his right hand twitched, magic connected like a solid line, twisting in the air, and the limp left arm regained vitality and moved.
Though he felt nothing in his left arm, as if it had been severed, the fact that the entire left arm and hand moved meant he could perform gestures.
-It wasn’t just the nerves that were burned.
A completely different kind of divinity, a magic of absolute opposition, forcibly activated, had momentarily drained Vaitas’s divinity from his left arm. Now, his left arm was no different from that of an ordinary person. And that meant—
‘Even temporarily, I can manifest magic with my left arm.’
Forcing the scattered hellish magic into his body, embedding circuits, and channeling magic through them, he simultaneously performed gestures to complete the spell.
If sensation remained, it would be a procedure too violent to perform while sane, and even Diemonica would have fainted dozens of times from the excruciating pain.
‘There’s no sensation in my left arm.’
And, the body is expendable. With the certainty of recovery, Fernandez doesn’t stop for mere pain.
-Quadrdrdrd…!!
The left hand performed a single gesture. Overlapping. Gathering, layering, enveloping the scattered magic… Sharply, solidly, as sharp as a thousand-fold steel!
[Barakbar’s spear…!! Are you Tyban’s…?]
“Shh.”
That’s a secret. Fernandez’s lips curled up. The demon felt an indescribable terror at that moment, a sensation it had never felt in its long life.
This human is, unfathomable.
Is it even human? The last image reflected in the demon’s retina was the red spearhead plunging towards its skull.
-Kwaaaaang!!
*
“Oh… oh…”
Orion knelt, shedding hot tears. The most powerful demon he could summon, a sovereign of the abyss mentioned only in passing in ancient demon tomes, was being trampled helplessly, utterly powerless.
-Kwaaaaang!
Even as he watched with his eyes and felt the magic with his senses, the kind of spell that erupted continuously from the young man’s hands was beyond comprehension. It was a level of magic manipulation so precise and refined that he could never have imagined.
With that power, he confronted the demon, and with that magic, he surpassed himself. Yet, in appearance, he was nothing more than a young man.
-Kuuuung…
The headless body of the demon fell limply to the ground, twitching. From the cross-section of the skull, torn away as if exploded, sticky blood and brain matter flowed, soaking the ground.
-Thud.
With tears blurring his vision, Orion barely managed to look up at the young man’s face. The thick fog of hellish magic lifted, and with the demon’s death and the destruction of the summoning magic, the surroundings slowly brightened.
The hazy atmosphere split, and the early morning sunlight streamed through. Because of this, the young man’s face was not visible. Only the glint of rational madness in his eyes.
“Are you… a god…?”
The cold northern wind began to scatter the remnants of hell. But Orion, instead, caught the scent of embers within it. A fierce, burning smell.
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I… I…”
With trembling hands, Orion grabbed Fernandez’s collar. Not out of fear of death, but out of awe for this incomprehensible man.
It was a sensation as if laughter and tears would burst out simultaneously. A demon worshipper who had insulted gods and pushed a clan into a den of evil, the corrupted mage was now trembling with awe for an indescribable being.
“Hmm. So, Orion Weavingrat, do you wish to repent?”
“I will pray.”
“…Oh?”
“To you, I will pray. Please take me in. I, I am useful.”
Looking at Fernandez’s face, shadowed by the backlight of the morning sun, Orion slowly bent one knee and bowed his head.
“I wish to hear your name.”
“Fernandez Sernerd.”
Orion deeply bowed and kissed Fernandez’s blood-stained shoe. The dark mage, who had spent his life chasing power and submitting to demons, now surrendered to the most powerful being he had ever encountered.
If a clan’s hero had achieved such a feat, Orion might have retreated, planning for the future. But no. The magic this young man used was clearly that of fallen beings, and the sword he wielded was a relic from the Temple of the Gods.
What should such a being be called? Orion closed his trembling eyes and spoke heavily.
“I swear my loyalty, Lord Sernerd.”
Looking down at his head, Fernandez cast a long shadow and burst into laughter. A good tool has been acquired.
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