Daro observed the farce unfolding beneath him and felt a wave of absurdity wash over him.
“Why are they fighting each other?”
Given the attire and actions, it was clear that the newly arrived individual was also a member of Argeyirion. So why were the angels attacking their reinforcements?
Several hypotheses flickered through Daro’s mind, forming and dissipating just as quickly. The most plausible one was that the external dimensional erosion had escalated to a point where their minds had deteriorated beyond recognition of allies.
Though the exact mechanics of angelification hadn’t been fully deciphered yet, it was evident that changes occurred after opening a gateway to the outer dimensions. This suggested that a certain threshold of external mana needed to be absorbed for transformation.
As a result of indulging in this foreign mana, even Argeyirion, who had previously maintained their sanity unlike ordinary eroded beings, had now lost their minimal rationality and begun attacking their own reinforcements…
Rationally speaking, this hypothesis seemed the most likely. However…
“Hmm?”
The movements of Argeyirion were too organized to suggest a loss of reason. In an instant, they split into two groups; one responding to the artillery fire, the other attacking the reinforcements.
They constructed a diverse array of spells to determine the most effective offensive attributes and continued sniping from blind spots.
This sophisticated tactical movement was too refined to be attributed to irrational monsters.
It was difficult to assume that those capable of wielding ‘magic’ properly had lost their sanity.
Then there must be another possibility.
“The one who cut off my arm earlier… is a third party impersonating Argeyirion?”
What a fascinating development.
Why would someone pretend to be Argeyirion, the enemy of the magical world, and attempt to attack him while supposedly aiding Argeyirion?
“As long as his head stays on, he’ll do.”
For now, there was enough mana to sustain spatial alchemy. Calmly, Daro gathered silver iron and transmuted several aerial batteries mid-air.
On Daro’s augmented reality UI, targets appeared next to each battery. With a brisk touch on the floating launch button, the operation commenced.
Truly, it was incomprehensible. How could my perfect plan have been exposed?
“Argeyirion’s readiness exceeds expectations. Who would’ve thought they’d ask for secret passwords even in such extreme situations?”
There was no support to expect from the Theistic Order, nor could any be allowed.
If either the Ten Towers or Argeyirion detected a third interfering force, they’d prioritize eliminating them first.
Initially, I aimed for a peaceful approach until recognizing the Theistic Order as mere ‘superstition followers.’ At that point, both factions were likely to unite against them.
Without support from allies and with former enemies now turning hostile,
d*mn. Should I have waited for Argeyirion to be more cornered?
There’s no choice. The priority now is reducing the number of enemies. By destroying Argeyirion’s gate—
Kwa-kwa-kwaang!
A bombing descended from above toward the location I was heading to.
No, not specifically at that place—it was indiscriminate bombardment across the entire battlefield. Are they drowning in excess mana?
The explosions roared continuously like chainsaws.
I hastily opened my eyes. The landing points of the shells and their explosive ranges were mapped out.
Gate destruction canceled. Now, I must exploit Argeyirion to survive!
I ran between shell impacts, twisting my body to evade incoming trajectories. Safe zones shifted constantly.
Battle information flowed from my wide-open eyes.
The first bombing dispersed the Argeyirion group surrounding me.
They responded intelligently to the explosions. Flying higher than the aerial batteries to escape the blast radius.
The angels cast spells towards the alchemically transmuted aerial batteries of the Ten Towers.
The first angel summoned clouds.
The second added water elements to form storm clouds.
The third infused them with electricity.
A seamless chain of magic flowed as if performed by one person. The cloud-soaked aerial batteries were swept away by thunder.
There was a gap in the ground bombardment. This void created by the angels aimed to protect the gate.
Other angels accelerated to secure the gate.
It was fortunate that the encirclement around Argeyirion’s angels broke due to the powerful magic from the Ten Towers’ mages, but…
“Can I really survive this?”
Flying is truly a devilish advantage. My attacks don’t reach them, but theirs always do—utterly despicable.
I checked the magic-imprinted drive I possessed.
「Fireball」? Can’t use flames as stepping stones. 「Iron Wall」 might be useful, but against Silver Iron Tower mages, using metallic attribute magic risks counter-exploitation.
Right now, the only elemental magic suitable for creating makeshift platforms includes ice, earth, and wood.
Conditionally, wind.
“Should I try it?”
I charged towards Argeyirion’s human gate.
The gate must be protected.
One of their comrades had already resolved to sacrifice themselves to open another portal. But now they were within the barrier set up by the Ten Towers elder.
The barrier interfered with the connection to the greater purpose. More time was needed to locate the channel linking to it.
If the first gate were destroyed before the second opened, their physical forms would be instantly alchemized, depriving them of freedom.
Angels diving to retrieve and protect their transformed comrade felt a sudden gust of wind—not from their wing beats.
Something was approaching.
The moment they turned around, flames erupted. Amidst the undulating fire, the shadow of a magical weapon flickered. The shape of something advancing amidst the battlefield’s smoke and noise remained hidden.
However, upon careful observation, though the smoke of fire was thick, its firepower was negligible. A water spell swiftly extinguished the flames.
The water streams emanating from their fingertips failed to follow the intended trajectory, bending instead towards an entirely different direction. Before they could comprehend this strange anomaly, a blade pierced an angel’s neck.
Even with high-frequency blade enhancement, cutting through an angel’s silvery body should have been impossible.
But when Ortes’ blade touched the angel’s neck, the magical structure forming its body warped grotesquely.
From the point of contact, the skin ruptured, and flesh burst outward—a result of distorted magical structures. Ortes swiftly overlaid the blessing of angelification with the fire magic imprint drive.
Flames surged upward from the wound inflicted by the blade. It looked as if the angel were bleeding fire instead of bl**d.
This was the consequence of mixing fire into the angelification magic designed to transform humans into the ‘angelic’ form. As long as Argeyirion’s angels were connected to the greater purpose’s mana flow, they would burn endlessly.
Ortes leaped off the flaming angel’s crown. While one angel engaged with Ortes, the other three had secured the gate and taken flight.
He switched the magic imprint drive. Beneath Ortes’ airborne feet, a cube made of earth momentarily formed.
The earth mass would plummet back to the ground once the drive’s mana charge depleted in about a second. Ortes stepped on the cube and jumped again.
But it wasn’t enough. The angels’ ascent was faster than Ortes’ dash. There was no overcoming the gap between those who tread the ground and those who fly.
Reconstituted aerial batteries aimed their cannons at the ground. The disguised intruder would soon become a riddled heap falling from the sky, the Argeyirion angels instinctively knew.
At that moment, vines extended around the blade swung by Ortes—”Growth,” a basic plant magic.
Although typically suited for nurturing simple flora, depending on the plant being grown, such applications were possible.
Special seeds ordered from Mecoonion’s garden, improved variants of carnivorous plants, greedily lashed out, ensnaring an angel’s ankle.
Ortes used the elasticity of the captured vine to propel himself. The ensnared angel’s body wobbled.
When the angel’s body began an involuntary descent toward the ground, the aerial battery initiated its secondary barrage.
Just as seen, the hail of bullets aimed at Ortes was completely blocked by the falling angel’s body.
With the fallen angel behind him, Ortes adjusted his grip on the blade in mid-air.
The reverse-gripped high-frequency blade pierced the shoulder joint of the angel. It was the last remaining one among the three angels who had landed to secure the gate.
“Let’s go together.”
Ortes pointed at Panoptes floating in the center of the barrier.
“Just that far.”
