My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 247

“Nothing… is visible?”

The sudden loss of sight was enough to send the Heroes into a panic. With no clue where the attack might come from, chaos ensued.

Especially for Maria, who relied on mana for her magic, her anxiety escalated further.

However, there was something he overlooked.

“‘Pit of Hell.’”

Blas spread a swamp across the field. If one’s whole body sinks into the swamp, there was no escaping death.

“Die here without even a chance to resist!”

“Ugh, ugh!”

As the ground they stood on began to sink, Maria panicked. Iris, sweating coldly, attempted to think clearly.

‘The situation is dire, but there are still options left.’

Iris took a deep breath. She soon shouted the name of a certain someone with all her might.

“Tina!!”

“I know without you saying!”

What Blas had overlooked was that Tina had reached a state of mental clarity.

The realm of mental clarity grants one the sight to perceive the essence of things. While the world still appeared dark like Iris and Maria witnessed, there were still things visible within that darkness.

Specifically, it was the flow of mana and magic beasts.

Understanding that flow, Tina became the only one in this area unaffected besides Blas.

‘My teacher said so. The All-Cutting Sword possesses the power to sever the very flow of magic. That power belongs to the weapon itself and can nullify skills just by wielding it. Then…!’

With a leap!

Tina accurately thrust the All-Cutting Sword into the spot where magic was coalescing. The swamp that had been swallowing the Heroes started to wriggle and soon vanished.

“You…!”

“If my teacher hadn’t told me, you would’ve definitely been surprised.”

Tina pulled out a mana potion from her pocket pouch.

‘The Black Field amplifies the demon tribe’s power, while also creating a barrier that obscures the vision of those without magic. And…’

Clang!

Tina perfectly deflected the Demon King’s attack, who had struck from within the darkness. But since Tina hadn’t fully recovered her mana, the most she could do was deflect the blow.

‘I was told to take Iris’s role while vision is blocked. I need to wait until Maria can unleash a level of light magic capable of holding back the magic beasts, or if she can’t prepare light magic—’

“I see. You’ve reached the realm of mental clarity! How interesting. It seems you’re still not even twenty, and yet you’ve achieved that level. Did that scoundrel Praus help you grow?”

“I have nothing to tell you!”

“I see. Then die. Devour her. ‘Black Form.’”

Tina looked at the enormous magic beast that resembled a beast’s maw and leaped high, opening the lid of the mana potion. She immediately poured it into her mouth and gripped the All-Cutting Sword tight.

Seeing the movements of the magic beasts shifting toward not just her, but also toward Iris and Maria, she swung her sword.

“‘All-Cutting Sword: Wave Slash!’”

From within the darkness, crimson mana erupted like fire, slicing through the abyss. As the trajectory sliced, the flow of magic was severed, creating cracks in the Black Field. Moments later, it burst and faded away.

Returning to the original world, the Heroes who had just consumed the mana potions unleashed their skills.

“‘All-Cutting Sword!’”

“‘Phantom Wave Slash!’”

“‘Hell Fire!’”

Two sword strikes and a massive flame surged toward Blas. However.

“‘Magic Barrier.’”

Boom!

Only a massive explosion could be heard, yet they failed to penetrate the barrier. Even with all their strength poured in, the gap was too great, and in a situation where they were low on mana, it was only natural.

“Haha! The power to slice away at my very domain! The terror of the Demon King that the first Hero cut down comes to mind!!”

Blas seemed to be enjoying himself, gathering magic into the palm of his hand.

“Well then, how about this?!”

He squeezed his fist as if wringing out the magic.

“‘Time Loss.’”

Time Loss. It was a transcendent magic that distorted the flow of time. It slowed down the time of everyone except himself.

“Even Heroes cannot surpass time, can they?!”

In an instant, the Demon King pounced from behind Tina, aiming for her heart. But Iris intervened between Blas and Tina.

Clang!

The white sword blocked the Demon King’s hand. Blas gaped as Iris calmly absorbed his full-powered attack.

‘What the hell is this? Is she following me through the distorted flow of time?’

“Did you have fun? Then die now.”

Iris, the Guardian of the Sanctuary wielding the All-Cutting Sword, swung her blade in a cross motion.

“‘Phantom Dance.’”

Having momentarily diverged his thoughts, Blas faltered in his movement, leaving his arm exposed to Iris and earning a gash across his chest.

Even as he tried to retreat, Iris continued to pursue, swinging her sword. He narrowly dodged her strikes and spat out.

“This guy…! How can you follow my movements?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The reason Iris could keep pace with Blas was because of the power of the Absolute Domain.

It has the effect of slowing the movements of those within a certain range, which partially offset the Time Loss.

If she could negate abilities, Iris could follow Blas sufficiently with her reflexes.

Thunk!

She jammed the sword of the Guardian of the Sanctuary into the wound on his chest.

‘Absorbing magic? I never thought something besides the Purification Stone could have such an effect. Even with the timeline distorted, she’s managing to keep pace with me. Most remarkably, the Heroes are responding perfectly according to my abilities, despite it being our first encounter…!’

The real reason the Heroes could counter Blas’s attacks was due to Praus’s guidance.

Praus had precisely used the uniqueness of this world, where skills must be vocalized to activate.

“Maria!!”

An attack to complement Iris’s lacking move. Her role was to corner the Demon King.

Crash.

The sound of shattering glass preceded the next.

“I’m filling you up with water!”

Maria wiped the mana potion smeared on her mouth with the back of her hand and raised her staff.

“It’s still a bit short, but…!”

‘As long as Blue is supporting, I’ll be fine!’

“Transcendent magic, ‘Black Hole!’”

A sphere fixed itself behind Blas. It was an intention to send the very being of the Demon King into another dimension.

The moment it fixed, an overwhelming gravitational pull erupted from the sphere. At that moment, Tina swung the All-Cutting Sword to behead, aiming for his neck.

“Ugh!”

Even Blas felt a level of threat at the coordination that reached that point.

Is this how strong the Heroes were?

As he witnessed the Heroes cornering him, he proclaimed.

“Bring it on! ‘Demon Sword Dystopia.’”

A sword descended from somewhere in the heavens, slicing the sphere of the Black Hole in half.

Boom!

Before the quiet resonance could fade away, Blas delivered a kick to Iris’s abdomen, forcing her to lean back and evade the All-Cutting Sword.

Iris crashed against the wall, clutching her belly.

“Oof.”

‘Magic beasts penetrating through the gap… no, it’s because I’m low on mana right now.’

Enduring the pain, she held onto the wall and attempted to stand. Just as she was about to pull out a potion, the Demon King clapped his hands.

“I’m impressed by your tenacity that doesn’t back down even in the face of my power, along with your rational responses. You are exceptional Heroes.”

“I don’t want your acknowledgment!”

Tina lunged towards Blas. He grabbed Dystopia, a massive sword that seemed at least twice as big as Miles. Its blade was so thin and sharp it could be mistaken for a mirror.

“But that’s all there is to it.”

Clang! Swish!

“The Evil Spirit Sword Technique, Fourth Form, ‘Twisted Sword Strike.’”

Tina couldn’t react to Blas’s movements.

There was a cognitive problem from the distorted time due to Time Loss, but the unique movements of the Evil Spirit Sword Technique were untraceable to her eyes. It was far more vicious than when Lichen had used it.

Tina barely managed to hold herself up, feeling the pain from her injuries and gasping for breath.

“Guh…!”

Her left shoulder, left thigh, and right side were struck.

The sensation of her flesh burning felt like it might bring her to despair. Tina grit her teeth hard enough to draw blood as she somehow lifted her head to glare at the Demon King.

“How… how do you use that sword technique…?!”

“Why? Does it seem strange to use the powers of those under my command?”

“……”

“Sorry, but I can do everything my commanders can do. Naturally, this is possible too.”

Destruction Strike.

Seeing the punch heading toward her, Tina kicked off the ground and leaped up.

Crash!

One side of the Demon King’s castle was shattered.

She gritted her teeth, unable to match the power of Peremus’s punch. As soon as she landed, she charged at Blas.

Clang! Clang!

“Die! Die!”

The sound of slashing resonated endlessly. Yet time was on Blas’s side.

“Don’t push yourself. I’m also deprived of using curse-type magic, so don’t think this is how I normally handle things.”

Suppressing the pain, Blas swung his sword. However, with every twist and violent motion, the pain intensified to a level far too harsh for a fifteen-year-old girl to bear.

Losing her concentration, she stumbled just as Blas knocked Tina’s All-Cutting Sword aside with a swing, then threw a punch at her solar plexus.

Puh!

Tina flew helplessly, crashing to the ground, her head falling back.

“Damn it… I need to save my teacher… No time left…”

“Tina!!”

Iris shouted late, but Tina had already fainted.

“Still, thanks to that scoundrel Praus, you managed to corner me. You’ve got a good teacher. Even though it’s all meaningless.”

As Blas stated, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say Praus’s judgment was sound.

If the curse magic, Blas’s main magic, had been usable, the Heroes would have been dead long ago, their cells bursting and bleeding out.

“Maria, can you get the spell ready?”

“Haah. Haah. If you could buy me just a little time…”

“Okay. Then I—”

While the two were speaking, Blas had already readied himself.

“The Evil Spirit Sword Technique, Fifth Form, ‘Evil Spirit Wave Slash.’”

“Maria!!”

Iris sprinted toward her, having realized that Blas was aiming for Maria, crying out her name in desperation. However, Blas’s sword had already traced its path and the released sword strike was already heading toward Maria.

Swish!

Maria set up a barrier with the remaining mana, but the sword strike deeply cut into her neck.

“Kuh!”

Maria collapsed to the ground. Iris, who watched Maria fall helplessly, grabbed the Guardian of the Sanctuary tightly.

“…It’s over, Heroes.”

“Who decided it was over? It’s not finished yet.”

Iris, having chugged a life potion and thrown it carelessly to the ground, walked steadily forward.

“Come to think of it, you’re the only one who reacted to the flow of time. Let’s see what you can do?”

‘For some reason, I want to see Brother Praus again…’

Will I be able to see him again?

‘If I can see him again, then I’ll definitely… tell him I like him.’

With a breath that felt like a sigh, Iris dashed toward Blas.