“Surely… I never thought such magic could be created…”
Arhen looked up at Stella in front of him, genuinely surprised.
At that age, creating new magic was already an absurd feat, but the fact that it was not just any ordinary magic but a spell capable of teleportation made it even more astonishing.
To be frank, the mere fact that she had created magic placed her at the level of a rare genius capable of appearing once in an era, and the fact that it was spatial magic made it hard for Arhen to gauge just how extraordinary the girl before him actually was.
If given time, she had the potential to become a grand magician even greater than himself.
‘If it’s this girl…!’
She would surely be able to become the magician of this generation’s hero party.
Even though he, as the Dean of the Academy, could not extricate himself, Arhen was convinced.
Even with just a mastery of intermediate magic, to possess a talent capable of crafting new spatial magic meant that the girl could soon become the grand magician who would assist this generation’s saint and hero in vanquishing the Demon King.
But that was a matter to consider later.
For now, the priority was to rescue Aria and Evan.
Arhen decided that once this matter was settled, he would take this girl as his apprentice.
Even though he didn’t plan on teaching her too much, just being able to guide her a little when she got lost would be enough.
“Fortunately, the tracking spell is not fully functional, but I can somewhat locate them. And… the magic I’m developing not only determines their location but also allows for transportation there.”
Arhen answered while looking down at Stella, who continued her explanation with a satisfied expression.
Feeling a bit puzzled by his gaze, Stella seemed to decide that continuing her explanation was more important.
“However… for some reason, whenever I try to teleport in that direction, something obstructs me… So, I’ve come to ask for your help, Dean Arhen.”
Even so, the fact that she was able to determine the coordinates precisely was impressive.
However, it was clear that the opponent was the End’s Monster, so it would be nothing for it to block a teleportation spell cast by a magician who could only barely wield advanced magic.
However, if Arhen were to step in, the story would change.
As a grand magician who twists the rules and laws of the world, her teleportation should allow for entry even into areas saturated with magical energy.
“Alright… If you provide the coordinates, I’ll use teleportation magic to go there.”
With Arhen’s special teleportation magic circle.
Arhen said with a confident expression.
Although he had faced humiliation earlier when interrupted while casting magic, this time it would definitely succeed.
Swearing to make this magic a success, he prepared the teleportation magic circle according to the coordinates Stella provided.
And… he even prepared memorization so he could return immediately after saving them.
*
“Guh…!”
I barely dodged the bone pillar swinging towards me at an angle, filled with cold air, and moved to a distance where the attack wouldn’t reach.
As I moved, the wyvern roared and chased me at incredible speed.
‘This is dangerous…’
Continuously evading the wyvern’s attacks by a hair’s breadth, I swung the Sacred Sword slightly, landing a few hits on the wyvern’s body, but it was only enough to leave shallow cracks.
If it were a living creature, such strikes would gradually wear it down to death, but unfortunately, the opponent was a terrible beast.
Though its strength felt weaker than before, its body was made of bone, and it was not only being restored by magic but becoming even sturdier.
Moreover, perhaps due to the initial strike and the prolonged confrontation, the ground around us was starting to become unstable.
Once instability occurred, such phenomena accelerate.
Kugugugung!
“…?!”
I noticed that the area where Aria lay was about to collapse again.
“No!”
I dashed without hesitation to the collapsing spot where Aria was, grabbing her and leaping off.
As I jumped, I looked down at the collapsing ice chunks above us and broke out in a cold sweat.
There was no safe zone here.
“Phew… thank goodness.”
– That was risky… I didn’t expect the ice to just melt away.
I was genuinely surprised.
Considering I was using the power of the sun deity, I should have sensed it in advance, but the layer I stood on had melted because of the heat from my swing, and I almost dropped Aria.
While it was a problem for Aria to get hurt, more importantly, if she fell from here, finding her would become even more difficult. I had been watching carefully, worried whether the wyvern’s battle would impact her.
Fortunately, I managed to catch Aria as she fell, but…
“Phew…”
Protecting someone while fighting was unimaginably difficult.
After once again hiding Aria in a safe place, I let out a sigh. I had thought the overwhelming strength I felt a moment ago would surely take the wyvern down, yet for some reason, it was still moving despite being hit.
No, it wasn’t moving completely unscathed.
It was clear that it definitely had taken hits; its bones were broken in several places.
The overflowing malevolence was much diminished compared to before, so I could say that the divine power embedded in the Sacred Sword had a substantial effect.
But that was as far as it went; it hadn’t taken any serious damage apparently.
Surely, while cracks or breaks were evident on the bones that formed its body, it was still standing stoutly, attacking me.
I needed a decisive blow.
After carefully laying Aria down in another safe spot, I turned to face the wyvern.
Was it extremely irritated by the earlier hits? It was searching for me with an annoyed expression.
Now, perhaps due to the influence of some ancient artifact or whatever, the speed at which the wyvern found me was incomparable to before.
I had to think of a tactic before I got caught.
Something to end this battle without dragging it on any further…
– What’s there to call a decisive blow! Just bash it in mindlessly, that’s decisive!
“… Has your personality changed or something?”
– This is…! There’s no choice. The divine power of Solanis residing within me right now is too wild.
“…”
Though I felt a little uneasy, there was nothing incorrect about what Estelle said.
I had heard before that only the heroes could use certain techniques, but since I hadn’t learned those techniques directly from them, relying on them wouldn’t be a good idea.
Yet, continuing this drawn-out battle wasn’t a good idea either… In this situation, the only thing I could do was one thing.
It was simple-minded but as efficient as possible, gather all the strength I had, and launch a decisive blow at the enemy before me.
After all, the target was significantly large, so swinging my sword mindlessly would definitely hit!
“Estelle… leave only enough magic for emergencies and take everything else.”
– Are you sure? If we miss the chance to take down the wyvern, we won’t be able to recover.
“…”
I knew.
But now was the time to go all in.
“I’ll give it a try.”
As I said earlier, I couldn’t expend all my strength.
If I did, I wouldn’t have the means to deal with falling should it happen.
So, I would channel all but a portion of magic sufficient to brace for a fall into the Sacred Sword…!
There was no time to hesitate.
If I lingered even a moment longer, I’d find myself buried along with the ground crumbling beneath me!
“Uughh…!”
As I felt most of my magic being siphoned away by Estelle, the power from the Sacred Sword surged even stronger.
Before I fully gathered my strength, I couldn’t get hit by the oncoming attacks.
“Ugh…”
I could barely evade critical attacks that were aimed at me, focusing solely on dodging fatal blows, while I awaited my chance.
I had to seize the moment when I could definitely strike, when I must strike.
Finally…
“Hahhh!!”
I would not let the moment of opportunity slip by.
Kraaah!
The wyvern, seeing the massive wave of light approaching it, attempted to exhale its breath in a futile effort to block it. But it was just a lowly wyvern, not a true dragon; its small breath was futile against my attack.
The breath couldn’t reach me and was swallowed by my attack.
– You did it, Evan!!
“Hah… ugh…”
As I confirmed the wyvern melting away under the Sacred Sword’s attack with my own eyes, I slowly closed them.
– Evan?!
If I fall from here, I would surely die…
‘This can’t be happening…’
Desperately trying to find a solution, I was preoccupied with defending against the attack while being consumed by the magic.
– Stay focused! Evan! No…
I couldn’t allow this to continue… At that moment.
Thud!
‘Ah…’
As I felt someone catch me, my vision swirled, and I closed my eyes there and then.
