Episode 313

Like it would ever be over.

A scream erupted from the depths of the abyss, as if cut off.

The King of Ghouls, who believed all living beings would be terrified at his descent, suffered a great blow to both his pride and his very existence.

Some snot-nosed little mage had arrogantly prepared to attack.

And above all, the most humiliating part was that the blow was significant.

Now that the possessed body was destroyed, his true form would also inevitably take damage.

Because of. One. Fool. I. Have. Lost. So. Much.

The King of Ghouls scorned the now dead mercenary as he gathered his power.

If only that greedy mercenary had done his job with some sense, the possession could have proceeded leisurely.

It was the mercenary’s blunder and the rush to possess that had resulted in such damage.

Where Buldahak had been, a mass of inky power began to take shape.

“Strike forth, O Perkuntra’s Lightning!”

Do you think. The same. Attack. Will work. Twice. Arrogant. Mage.

The King of Ghouls dispersed the shape and dodged the lightning.

Then, in a voice icy with rage and as grating as static, he spoke.

As. The. King of Ghouls. I shall. Mercifully. Give you. A final. Chance. Submit to me. Kneel. And swear loyalty to me as vassals. Do this and I. Will spare. Your lives.

“Don’t be deceived, Wardanaz! Now that the possessed body is destroyed, he’ll soon be banished back to his own dimension!”

Raphadael yelled, drawing his sword.

Unlike the swords of other knights, the Gral Family’s sword was mixed with silver and Light Spirit Stone.

It was wisdom from a family that had fought undead for generations.

“Begone, undead!”

Worm. You want to be trampled.

Raphadael’s slash dealt damage to the King of Ghouls. When the sword struck, his form made a burning, hissing sound.

But it was far too little damage.

The King of Ghouls was unfazed as he swung back at Raphadael.

Bang!

With a tremendous crash, Raphadael was sent flying.

“Spread out!”

Lee Han morphed water’s shape to catch Raphadael, then drew his sword.

A sword made of black magnetite. Morningstar.

As a sword that absorbed magic, it was especially suited to facing beings of another realm without a physical form.

‘Lightning magic doesn’t work!’

From the exchange just moments ago, Lee Han sensed this instinctively.

The opponent read the signs of spells before they were cast.

Moreover, it could freely disperse its form and evade attacks.

Projectile-form or launched spells would be hard to land.

‘In that case…’

Thud!

Lee Han shot forward.

Thanks to the power of -Gonadaltes’ Nimble Step-, magic exploded from his toes, making it more appropriate to say he was launched than simply ran.

The King of Ghouls hadn’t predicted that speed. Morningstar cut across the form precisely.

Ugh.

‘It did deal damage…!’

He could indeed feel the opponent’s power dimming from the strike.

Yet, tremendous power still pulsed.

Even with the possessed body destroyed and Morningstar draining its magic, it was still this strong.

It was unbelievable.

Reminded of the strength of the Frost Giant King he’d met in the upper levels of Einrogard, Lee Han immediately revised his strategy.

“Deorgyu. We’re retreating. Get ready!”

“…Don’t even think of sacrificing yourself, Lee Han!”

“I’m not planning to! Move!”

Do you think. You’ll be able. To leave.

The King of Ghouls’ voice grew ever colder and frostier. The temperature in the cave dropped enough that breath came out in clouds.

And all around, ghouls began to rise.

Even if. My plans. Are set. Back decades. I’ll trample you worms today.

“Silence, undead! How dare you act up before the name of Wardanaz!”

“……”

Lee Han, struggling for a strategy, looked at his friends’ retort in disbelief.

Are these lunatics really provoking an opponent like this right now…?

• * *

Beings summoned from another dimension—especially evil ones—wanted to remain in this world as long as possible.

The desires and sufferings of mortals were a sweet elixir to evil beings.

Of course, mortals did not let evil entities from other planes run loose.

As soon as news broke, all forces would be dispatched to banish or at least seal them away.

The King of Ghouls was a wicked being sealed in ages past, before the Empire.

Originally, he would have stayed forever sealed, but the centuries and a twist of fate had destroyed the artifact’s seal and awakened him.

Having barely escaped the seal, the King of Ghouls gnashed his teeth at his old enemies—but he well knew it was meaningless.

Mortals’ lifespans were short and his old foes had long since turned to dust.

So the King of Ghouls focused on recovering.

The seal was broken, but all his original strength was gone, leaving him in the pitiful state of having to rely on the artifact that had once sealed him.

Were that artifact destroyed, he would instantly be banished back to another plane.

With what feeble power remained, the King of Ghouls summoned ghouls and by night sent them out to drain life force from travelers.

But it wasn’t working out.

To manifest in person took an enormous amount of power, and life from a few dozen travelers wasn’t nearly enough.

Thinking this would never end, the King of Ghouls changed strategies.

He sent a few survivors to spread rumors.

If word of treasure got out, wouldn’t greedy adventurers come flocking?

By tricking and possessing those, he could escape the cave without having recovered his power.

But…

A stronger mage than expected had come.

Wardanaz. Was it.

“That’s right. You’d do well to fear that name!”

Only then did the sweating Vizidek realize at the White Tiger Tower student’s shout.

The Wardanaz Family!

The Empire’s greatest house of magic!

“…Why are they here!?”

“What are you babbling about, Vizidek! Get it together!”

Gubon grabbed Vizidek’s shoulders and shook him.

He had joined the party as a veteran, but what was the point if he didn’t step up in the face of the unexpected?

He had to find some opening however possible.

“Y-yeah. Sorry.”

Fame. Means. Nothing. To me.

The King of Ghouls resolved to wipe out all the invaders today—even if it cost him the rest of his power.

Left alone, who knew what reinforcements might be summoned, and more importantly, that mage’s strength was quite tempting.

With a body of that level, possessing it would be a far greater prospect than that garbage adventurer from before.

Seize them.

A melee.

A battle broke out that was the wildest and most chaotic of any fought today.

Every ghoul in the cave seemed to converge on them.

“Would you not reconsider, King of Ghouls! If you turn back now, we’ll attack no further.”

Lee Han shouted as he fired off spells to carve a path.

The King of Ghouls shot back with a mocking reply.

So you. Dare. Lie. To a King. You think that’ll work.

‘Damn. How did he know?’

Lee Han clicked his tongue internally.

If need be, he’d have bet even his house’s honor, but the King of Ghouls rejected all compromise.

“Cloak, steel thyself!”

Lee Han split an onrushing ghoul with his cloak and shouted again.

“This is the final warning. King of Ghouls! If you reject compromise, we have our own ways.”

-■■! ■■!

-■■!

-■■■!

So you bluff.

The King of Ghouls was unmoved.

His true body, bound to the artifact, was somewhere else, and he could read his opponent’s magic signatures before they were cast.

While battle continued, the King of Ghouls would also lose power, but his enemies would fall first.

The limits of a mortal’s body were absolute.

“Fine.”

Lee Han steeled himself.

He would have preferred not to do this, but given the enemy’s power, hesitation was risky.

Even if it was dangerous, he had to bluff.

“Burn!”

What is this.

The King of Ghouls was dumbfounded as Lee Han chanted.

After all that, just a low-circle fire spell?

Moreover, it was pure fire—no shape, speed, or other attributes added.

He had dodged lightning—how could such an attack hit him?

Fwoooooosh!

But once Lee Han let go of the restraints, the flames erupted madly.

The flames, roaring up toward the high cave ceiling, finally startled the King of Ghouls.

What…

Not even the King of Ghouls, who had defeated countless mages in centuries past, had seen such a thing before.

To cast wide-area fire magic, high-circle spells were only natural, and if the level was too low for that, then fire spells of narrow area were the only choice…

But here was a mage casting a wide-area technique with a low-circle spell before his very eyes.

It was the very height of inefficiency, but the effect was certain. Lee Han swung his staff, summoning even greater flames.

“Burn, burn, burn!”

The flames, packed with strong magical power, overlapped and amplified, growing even fiercer.

At some point, Lee Han realized he could no longer control the flames in the cave.

He had raised the scale beyond his elemental control.

What is he thinking.

“Think you can flee through fire, like before?”

You’ll be cooked alive first.

“What mage can’t control his own magic? You’re more foolish than I thought.”

Lee Han felt insane haste but kept a perfectly calm face.

That moment, the flames shifted and slammed toward Lee Han.

‘Damn!’

Lee Han cycled magic through his body and readied himself.

If they noticed the flames were really out of control, everything would go wrong.

Just then, a warm power swept through his body.

It was the power flowing from the mark left behind by the Phoenix.

“…!”

Lee Han felt the Phoenix’s mark push back and tame the surrounding flames.

He was so grateful—and to think it was from sparing (well, failing to kill) the Phoenix in the past, now an absolutely necessary aid.

‘I don’t know how long this will last!’

Before the mark’s power faded, Lee Han swung his staff.

Waves of fire swept the ghouls gathered nearby.

“Look, undead bastard. This is Wardanaz!”

“It’s the mage’s power!”

Students and adventurers shouted, weapons dripping with ghoul blood and fluids.

None of them guessed this was uncontrolled wild magic.

‘Sweep up the remaining ghouls and make an escape route as quickly as possible!’

While the King of Ghouls hesitated, Lee Han swung his staff again and sent more flames. The number of ghouls decreased dramatically.

Regardless of how threatened the King of Ghouls felt by Lee Han, Lee Han had no real intention of defeating him.

Making the entire area a sea of fire and fighting to the death was the sort of thing Professor Voladi might do, not Lee Han.

He just needed to escape.

If the opponent agreed to a deal, great; if not, use the hesitation as an opening.

‘…It’s done!’

Lee Han barely resisted the urge to cheer.

While the King of Ghouls was distracted by the flames, he had burnt all the ghouls blocking the way behind.

Now with an escape route, all that was left was to run.

“Wardanaz, I get it now!”

“Raphadael. I don’t know what you get, but now’s not the time…”

“I know why he’s acting this way! With that kind of power, it makes no sense he’s stuck in here! And how he’s so tough even without a host! There’s only one answer! That’s a doppelganger! His true body’s artifact is somewhere else!”

Lee Han was about to reply, ‘Yeah, you’re smart, let’s talk outside.’

But the excited Raphadael yelled at Deorgyu and Angrago.

“Let’s go! Wardanaz bought us this chance with his life! We must destroy the artifact!”

Raphadael charged madly through the flames deeper into the cave.

Angrago followed right after him.

Deorgyu glanced between Lee Han and Raphadael, looking like a donkey stuck between hay bales.

Lee Han sighed.

‘It’s my fault for bringing White Tiger Tower guys.’

“Go, Sharkan. Help those bast—those guys!”

How dare you.

“You should have let us go when you could. Flash!”

Lee Han gnashed his teeth and chanted his spell.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but this time, the lightning burst out even wilder than before.