195th Chapter
The artifacts Ernst had handed over to Ray.
They were referred to as ‘Divine Relics’ in the Empire, and their export was rarely approved.
The fact that they were treated with such regard even within the Empire meant these artifacts were at the peak level of what humanity could craft.
Unlike Moros, which amplified efficiency proportional to the user’s skill level, the artifacts Ray currently wielded were focused on maximizing their inherent performance.
Though there was little room for intricate techniques, their raw power was exceptional.
Tch!
Ray felt the unpleasant aura growing stronger and controlled the artifact.
Beginning with a golden spear piercing through a demon’s waist, the deafening roar that had momentarily subsided once again echoed throughout the underground city.
KWA-GA-GA-JACK!!!
A boy clad in heavy armor clashed alone against the horde of devil worshippers rushing towards him.
With his body accelerated by Overdrive and further boosted by the armor, he transformed into a streak of lightning.
Ray tore through the foul-smelling demon’s innards and shattered the head of a grotesque creature, whether it was a demon or a demon beast.
“…Thanks to the artifact, this fight is somewhat manageable, but it’s truly a losing battle.”
Ray clicked his tongue.
Outside, these foes would barely reach Expert Level, yet here they attempted to counter his Sword Energy.
With his overall abilities enhanced and his damaged body recovering faster, failing to decisively eliminate them quickly became extremely bothersome.
Moreover, their numbers were unimaginable.
Not only were there numerous devil worshippers, but the swarms of demons overwhelming Ray made things quite difficult.
Whether demon or demon beast, both required their heads severed to be finished off, consuming nearly the same amount of stamina.
“Annoying…”
This kind of war of attrition was not Ray’s forte.
Since the basis of Ray’s techniques stemmed from Harshia’s Spatial Blade, no matter how much he trained his body, enduring prolonged battles remained challenging.
While the artifact helped conserve stamina, it too had its limits.
The power source driving the artifact was far from infinite.
As time passed, more artifacts either stopped functioning after exhausting their charged power or were neutralized when exploited by enemies.
Of course, the number of devil worshippers being torn apart was significant, but reinforcements arrived even faster than those dying.
BOOM!!!
From Ray’s blind spot, a massive bipedal demon charged toward him.
Without even looking back, Ray gave a casual nod.
Immediately afterward, a golden spear whizzed past his ear and pierced through the demon.
PUEE-YAK!!!
The golden spear that skewered the demon spun through the air and embedded itself into the ground, stopping.
To restart, it needed time to cool down its core and recharge energy.
At that moment, an ominous surge of mana caught Ray’s senses.
One dark wizard was blatantly preparing a powerful spell.
Ray knew this was akin to a bluff but had no choice and immediately launched Alithro.
CHAAK!!!
“The sword that cuts through incantations” completely dismantled the dark wizard’s magic circle.
Having completed its mission, Alithro slowed down while skidding along the ground and then floated up to return to Ray.
At that instant, several demons specialized in close combat rushed toward Alithro.
If left alone, it would surely be destroyed.
Losing such an artifact specialized for great magical texts was unacceptable, so Ray immediately responded.
“Field deployment.”
Upon Ray’s command, the spherical artifact “Lumora” descended into the midst of the enemies surrounding Alithro.
With a THUD sound, Lumora embedded itself into the ground, shattering like glass and spreading outward.
A pseudo-barrier unfolded from Lumora, dyeing the surroundings purple within a certain radius.
TSWIT-!
Subsequently, still operational artifacts entered Lumora’s pseudo-barrier.
Within the barrier, violet lightning crackled wildly, rapidly accelerating the artifacts that had entered.
JAR-ZA-ZA-ZAK!!!
Artifacts shaped like blades whipped around in the confined space, instantly changing angles.
Although they lacked the force of Sword Energy and thus couldn’t deal fatal blows to the demons, their power was enough to reduce limbs to mush.
Caught off guard by the unexpected interception, the demons hastily tried to escape the barrier’s range to recover from their wounds.
However, the moment they exited Lumora’s barrier, cracks appeared in the air.
Facing the brilliant sword energy tearing through the void, the demons felt powerless.
KWA-AHNG!!!!
The Leaping Sword Energy descended.
Body parts scattered across the ground as Ray approached the crawling demons.
The demons trembled.
With the gaze humans directed at them, they now looked upon Ray.
Frowning, Ray plunged his sword into the head of a demon.
Alithro didn’t move.
Its greatest weakness was its exposed propulsion mechanism, which had finally been damaged by the charging demons.
Though the damage wasn’t severe and repairs were possible, reactivation would take time.
When the most troublesome artifact fell silent, only then did a shadow lurking far away reveal itself.
“You die because of your arrogance.”
The shadow who had just been waiting for an opportunity spoke brazenly.
“Is it because you’ve inherited some of Harshia’s techniques that you dare to speak of nightmares?”
The shadow was enraged.
What Harshia meant to devil worshippers.
And the myths Harshia created that brought about pivotal turning points in history.
If Ray had understood even a fragment of it, he wouldn’t have dared utter such absurdities.
“Someone who relies on mere artifacts…!!”
The shadow gnashed its teeth and began manipulating mana earnestly.
The prepared positions where monsters waited exploded like bombs.
PUH-BUR-BURK!!
The entrails spilling out from the monster corpses intertwined, beginning to draw a massive magic circle on the ground.
The shadow sneered.
This underground city contained several powerful magic circles that could be activated with simple procedures.
And if sacrifices were offered, their power would far surpass even high-circle spells.
“Your death was determined the moment you set foot here.”
Soon, the magic would manifest.
Dark wizards gathered around the shadow to accelerate the spell’s manifestation.
Monsters and demons surrounded them, protecting the magic circle.
WHO-OONG-!!
The atmosphere of the underground city churned.
Corrupted mana spread like a deep crimson fog from the magic circle.
Ray, sensing the rising malevolence devouring space, held his breath and pointed both swords in his hands toward the ground.
His posture might have seemed like one of someone abandoning everything.
Just before the formidable magic conjured by the fallen beings manifested,
Ray glanced behind him, just in case.
“…Can’t see them anymore.”
The Silver Cross Knights were no longer in sight.
Confirming that there was no need to care about spectators, Ray smirked.
“Indeed, I am quite lacking compared to that Mr. Harshia.”
The shadow’s words were a hundred times correct.
Claiming to bring about terrible nightmares while invoking Harshia’s name—Ray was undoubtedly a half-penny talent.
There were many areas where Ray fell short in replacing Harshia’s genius and symbolism.
But Ray didn’t apologize for his verbal slip to the demons.
There was no need to apologize.
Because…
“Now she will become your new…”
Nightmare.
BOOM!!!
The high-ranking spirit Karga materialized and descended upon the heads of the devil worshippers.
Karga, upon landing, began wreaking havoc intentionally.
A typhoon-like wind swept through, pushing back the devil worshippers.
Though Karga’s rampage was quickly suppressed by numerous devil worshippers, it delayed the spell’s manifestation slightly.
It wasn’t a long delay, but it was enough.
“…?”
The shadow noticed the change first.
Unbelieving and astonished, the shadow tilted its head upward.
Where the ceiling should have touched nothingness,
mana began to concentrate.
By the time the shadow attempted to respond, it was already far too late.
As Luna’s concealment field peeled away, radiant magic circles gradually revealed themselves, covering the sky.
Gazing at the magic circles adorning the ceiling like constellations, the shadow muttered.
“It can’t be…”
It was impossible to conceal such a large-scale magic circle until just before its activation.
It was impossible to deploy such high-circle incantations within the brief period of battle.
That was common sense.
Even with many wizards present, and regardless of their individual skill levels, impossible was impossible.
However, the shadow’s common sense did not apply at this moment.
“…”
Luna observed the nearby devil worshippers and demons from above.
Deploying excessively powerful magic in an underground city at risk of collapse was reckless.
Only the limited space needed to be precisely destroyed.
Thus, Luna based her work on the 8th Circle Annihilation Magic “Flare,” recombining its incantation to minimize secondary damage, resulting in a localized annihilation magic.
The minimum difficulty of the modified incantation was 7th Circle or higher.
The expected firepower clearly surpassed typical 7th Circle magic.
[Incantation complete. Magic circle fully deployed. Target designation begins.]
The aptel embedded in the bracelet around Luna’s wrist assisted with her final calculations.
Aptel also recognized that the current phenomenon defied all common sense.
Nevertheless,
the magic manifested, shattering everyone’s preconceived notions.
Whoosh!!
The underground city brightened in an instant.
The superheated plasma mass crafted by Luna illuminated the underground city like the sun.
The glowing plasma mass touched the surrounding magic circle.
Subsequently,
the plasma mass divided into tens of thousands of strands and began descending onto the ground through the magic circle.
“…!”
A demon raised its arm unconsciously toward the falling superheated plasma droplets.
A plasma droplet landed directly on its wrist.
Sizzle…!
Before pain could register, the flesh melted viscously due to the intense heat and trickled down the arm.
Realizing the situation belatedly, the demon tilted its head upward.
Superheated plasma rain filled its vision, pouring down relentlessly.
Drip!
When the third droplet hit, the demon’s shoulder and one leg melted completely.
Drip-Drip-Drip!
By the seventh droplet, most of its organs had melted and spilled onto the ground.
Drip!
And by the tenth droplet,
the rolling demon’s head melted into a molten red soup, losing its form.
The rain continued without pause.
Even the terrifying screams echoing from all sides couldn’t endure long against the heat and melted away.
The dark wizards hurriedly erected barriers.
However, the superheated plasma mixed with chaotic mana corroded the barriers and penetrated inside.
The scene was beyond comprehension, yet the dark wizards could offer no resistance.
Their chins had already melted off their faces and flowed onto the ground.
Plasma Rain.
The area designated by the range annihilation magic melted entirely, collapsing deeper underground.
The magic circles prepared by the devil worshippers had long been destroyed.
On the land now resembling a boiling lake of lava, demons, demon beasts, and dark wizards alike melted impartially, losing their forms.
In the middle of it all,
the fading shadow let out its final scream.
“What the hell did the Empire send?!?!!!!!!!”
With unreachable fury, the shadow disappeared into the ground.
End of Destruction (1)
