Episode 684

The magicians came to their senses at those words.

Come to think of it, why were they just sitting by when a boy up front was fighting alone?

Annoying—lot—you are—!

As dozens of spells began to be prepared at once, the Archduke of Pride frowned.

Even if not individually strong, magicians were always troublesome due to their cunning.

And that’s what these spells were about.

Realizing it was almost impossible to damage the archduke directly, the magicians were casting weakening spells over the entire space.

-Light of Banishment for Demons-, -Resistance to Evil-, -Abyssal Connection Strike-, and so on.

Those sorts of weakening magics meant little to the archduke one by one, but stack dozens in succession and it was a different story.

And among them, a few were even preparing grand magic.

It would take some time, but once finished, it would deal significant damage to the archduke.

Annoying, isn’t it? Why don’t you withdraw now, while you still can?

Perkuntra seemed to pick up on the archduke’s mood and mocked him with a suggestion.

In a situation where neither side could win easily, delay only favored Perkuntra—not the archduke.

Maybe the archduke relied on the open gate behind him, but Perkuntra boasted an even more formidable contractor. He had the upper hand from the beginning—even if the archduke didn’t realize it.

A student from Einrogard? Their skills have grown since I last saw them—

Uh… well…

When the archduke acknowledged Einrogard students’ skill, Perkuntra hesitated.

That was like including the skeleton principal in a survey to average imperial magicians’ skill—a statistical error.

Well—well—I’ll withdraw—for today—today, I’ve lost—!

At the declaration of surrender from his opponent, Perkuntra whispered joyfully to Lee Han.

—Congratulations! You won!

—Huh? Weren’t you planning to trap him in Einrogard’s Deepest Level?

—……

Perkuntra looked at this brazen first-year student in shock.

—How could I possibly trap the archduke of pride? Does he look like some no-name demon to you?

—But you can trap demons with names too, can’t you?

—You only pull that off when the demon’s greed makes them outwit themselves. Normally, it’s impossible!

—But the principal…

—Are you him??

Lee Han almost brought up the Wardanaz family’s example, but decided not to. It didn’t seem like a good reference.

—The archduke has clashed with Gonadaltes before, and he knows Einrogard. Don’t underestimate him! It’s best to return him when he’s acting civilized. If he goes wild, how many people do you think will die here?

—I understand.

Indeed, if the demon knew about the skeleton principal, he’d never allow himself to be trapped in the Deepest Level.

If it came to that, he’d just self-destruct and resurrect in the demon realm.

Magician—I want to know your name—

“Osu of House Gonadaltes!”

……

……

“……”

The archduke, Perkuntra, and even Direte stared at Lee Han in disbelief.

Lee Han belatedly realized his mistake.

‘He did say he’d clashed with the principal before—how could I slip up like this?!’

Trying to come up with a magician’s name who’d be safe even if harassed by a powerful demon, the skeleton principal’s name had popped into his head.

“Bible of House Verdus…”

Enough—magician—you clearly don’t want to give me your real name—

The archduke laughed nastily.

But—innate strength—calls out fate—just as we’ve met today, we’ll surely meet again—!

‘What utter nonsense.’

Lee Han scowled.

“Archduke of Pride! You think you can just leave unscathed after all this destruction?”

One of the magicians preparing the grand spell shouted, voice shaking with anger.

The archduke responded with disbelief.

You lot—who were so enthralled by the fight that you just sat back and watched—now you talk about justice—?

The magicians blushed in unison.

He was right.

Be satisfied that your souls survived today—that’s privilege enough—!

With those words, the archduke opened a new dimensional gate.

Even with the original gate sealed and his power cut off by Direte’s spell, he easily tore open space with the strength that remained.

With a graceful bow, the archduke stepped beyond the gate and vanished. After the gate closed completely, Perkuntra dissolved the fusion.

You did well. I’ll be off now!

Thud!

Lee Han collapsed forward. All strength left his body.

“…Perkuntra… I can’t move my body…”

Hmm! Sounds like you overexerted yourself. Rest up and you’ll be fine—since you still have mana.

“Earlier you said I’d only get a bit of muscle pain…”

Perhaps embarrassed, Perkuntra hurried his farewell and retreated to his domain.

Lee Han, sprawled on the floor, cursed Perkuntra inwardly.

‘Spirits really can’t be trusted!’

“Junior, are you alright?! Say something if you can!”

Direte rushed over in panic.

After all, his junior had summoned a grand spirit and fought for a long time, only to collapse from exhaustion.

“Any pain? Burning sensations? Like lightning scorching your body…”

“I just can’t move.”

“That’s all? That’s it?”

“…That’s it?”

Lee Han replied, his voice tinged with disappointment.

He’d collapsed, and yet—“that’s it?”

Direte seemed to realize belatedly and hurriedly explained.

“N-no, it’s not that. If you force the power of a spirit or sync without care, you get rebound. Total mana exhaustion or your body gets burned up by spirit power… none of that happened, right?”

“Yes.”

Direte let out a sigh of relief.

He’d feared the worst, but apparently that was avoided.

Simple total exhaustion was a cheap price to pay.

“That’s really a relief…”

“You call that a relief?”

“You misheard. Don’t worry—this kind of exhaustion is easy to recover from.”

Direte propped his junior up, then took out a potion and dropped three drops into his mouth.

“It’s a white thistle potion. Don’t try to force your strength. Just circulate your mana slowly while focusing on sensations returning to your fingers and toes. When you’re really burned out, regaining sensation comes first.”

“There’s a better way.”

Yukveltire suddenly poked her head in and spoke up. Direte was so startled he almost hit his friend with the potion bottle.

“What is it?”

“There are excellent healing magicians at the mansion where I’m staying. Direte, it’s better to leave this to professionals rather than first aid. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Oh. Then…”

Direte perked up.

Rich friends are useful at times like this.

“Could I trouble you for that?”

“Of course.”

“It’s the first time in ages your wealth has actually turned out helpful!”

“Naturally.”

Yukveltire nodded at Direte’s rare praise.

‘That doesn’t sound like a compliment…’

Lee Han thought, but was too busy recirculating mana and regaining bodily control to say so.

“Let’s head over right… wait.”

Direte started to carry his junior to Yukveltire’s mansion, then paused.

Something felt off.

‘Was Yukveltire always this considerate?’

Like back when the skeleton principal had sweet-talked a demon into making a contract…

“…Yukveltire.”

“What is it?”

“Why’d you ask about this junior’s family earlier?”

Direte’s voice was icy. Lee Han wondered what was up.

Yukveltire answered quietly.

“I heard rumors about the new Wardanaz student.”

“And the thing about dark, alchemy, and enchantment magic?”

“Same, just something I’d heard. Why are you asking such pointless questions, Direte?”

“Just answer. What did you plan to do once he recovered in your mansion?”

“Of course, make him help with my research…”

“…Get away, you Verdus-professor-like scumbag!”

Direte swung his staff and cursed.

Yukveltire retorted with a wounded expression.

“Do I seem as foolish as Professor Verdus? Take that back, Direte. I have no idea why you’d say something like that.”

“You’re just as… no, not more, but just as evil as Verdus! Hey! Somebody, take this person away! She’s trying to kidnap a magician here!”

“!”

The magicians, checking for any lingering dimensional rifts, rushed over in a hurry.

Kidnapping the young magician who had protected them by summoning a grand spirit—who…?

“…No way, Lady Yukveltire…”

“Lady Yukveltire tried to kidnap someone?”

Direte nudged Lee Han.

“Junior, you say something, too.”

“……”

“Quick! Whose junior are you?”

Strictly speaking, Lee Han was both a student of dark magic and enchantment, but he knew the dark magic senior would be more helpful, so he chose that side.

“She tried to kidnap me…”

“!!!”

“Lady Yukveltire. Please come with us!”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I merely meant to help him recover at my mansion…”

“And then force him into your research!”

“That’s just kindness.”

At the princess’s answer, the magicians seemed able to judge who was the real villain here.

“Come with us now. I won’t say it again!”

“You idiots ruined my artifact and now you’re interfering with my next research? How lamentable.”

Yukveltire left, scratching harshly at the wizards’ nerves. Only then could Direte sigh with relief.

“Please call some healing magicians, quick. I’ve done what I could, but the experts need to take over.”

“Don’t worry. We’re preparing right now!”

The magicians participating in the gathering gave their thanks with the deepest respect.

Considering what that young magician had accomplished today, no magic would be spared.

Right now, all the healers were gathering every reagent they had, preparing the strongest healing spell.

“We’ve used Tears of Alhazad; no matter the depth of his mana depletion, he should recover at once…”

“Oh, his mana’s all back. Please just focus on physical recovery.”

“?!”

At Direte’s words, the magicians glanced at one another in confusion.

Even the healers, unable to believe it, came to check directly.

“Sorry, but you can’t just skip steps in healing magic! The first priority in a case like this is mana recovery…”

“Just check his mana.”

Direte replied wearily. He’d spent so much magic today, he barely had the energy to explain.

The healers checked Lee Han’s mana with unconvinced faces.

Then staggered back in shock.

“W-ww-what…?!”

“If you’re satisfied now, skip mana and focus on recovery, please.”

“Y-yes… wait. But…”

“What now?”

“You’re Direte, aren’t you?”

Upon the healer’s words, nearby magicians looked up as well.

Come to think of it, they thought they’d heard the name Direte mentioned earlier.

“That’s right! Are you the one studying quasi-perpetual motion with demonic power? I was truly impressed by that idea…”

“……”

Lee Han stared at his senior, shocked by the notorious research name.

Direte even forgot to hide his identity as he blurted in defense.

“The name sounds frightening, but the research is actually much more peaceful than it sounds!”