Episode 908

“King of the Yaksha, I am well aware of your power. But you cannot obstruct royalty forever.”

The Mad Clone pointed this out coldly.

On the surface, it seemed like a burly warrior had pinned down a mage, but in reality, a fierce clash of higher powers was taking place.

The hamster watched the duel, as if entranced, unable to say a word.

A battle of strength between mythic beings.

‘Amazing!’

He already knew the tyrant’s magic was extraordinary, but this Yaksha King was a being even the hamster had never seen.

What kind of mystery did he hide to seal the tyrant’s magic like that?

Hmm. That’s true. While I’m sealing you, Osu, I myself can’t do anything else.

“You know well. The world will reject you. How long can you last, I wonder.”

I’ll probably disappear first.

The Yaksha King calmly acknowledged it again.

Unlike Osu’s clone, who hid himself from the world with high-level magic nearby, the Yaksha King was just a guest who’d torn open a rift with brute force.

Of course, outlasting that clone was impossible.

That’s why you must do it, disciple of Osu.

“……”

At the Yaksha King’s words, Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Watching them converse, he had hoped this all might actually work out. Of course, it couldn’t!

But there was no time to argue. Lee Han asked immediately,

“What do I have to do?”

Persuade your master. Hmm. Perhaps now, why not seek out new possibilities in Dynamo’s secret arts and attempt to cast Despotis?

“I don’t even know what that is.”

One is Small World, the other is Personal World, but the latter is so difficult that with the former you can amplify a mage’s abilities…

“Another way. Isn’t there another way?”

Hmm. Wouldn’t it be best to hear the full explanation before you decide?

“Another way!”

Lee Han shouted, suppressing his anger.

What kind of “Small World, Personal World” nonsense was this!

The hamster, watching, felt a great affinity for the Yaksha King.

“To think you’d be frightened and cower before magic when you’re someone meant to rule the continent. Be ashamed, disciple.”

Even the Mad Clone sternly scolded Lee Han.

But Lee Han didn’t waver.

‘What nonsense is this.’

To persuade his master by achieving the very goal he’d failed at himself was harder than conquering Einrogard right now.

Fine. Disciple of Osu, if you insist, I’ll tell you another way. But at the moment, I sense you’re impatient and acting out of emotion.

“…Well, how could I be calm and composed in this situation?”

The other way is Fall.

“Isn’t that just what you said earlier?”

Mentioning again the idea of gathering all the world’s pain into one place—something not even the Mad Clone did—made Lee Han’s gaze sharp.

But the Yaksha King, even if he rambled as he pleased, was not foolish.

I’m not talking about the world’s pain. Disciple of Osu, I mean to draw out your master’s mania with Fall.

“!”

Lee Han was startled.

He’d studied magic, but never thought of that method.

“Is that possible?”

Of course.

-Gonadaltes’ Fall- is the magic that transfers another’s Fall (ruin) onto oneself.

Since curses, pain, and wounds could go in, so could madness.

Lee Han was just about to swing his staff and cast it when he hesitated.

“What if I absorb the mania and go mad myself?”

Disciple of Osu, if that happens, I and Osu will suppress you and seal you away, so no need to worry.

“……”

And that mania only means something to Osu himself. It won’t have much impact on you, disciple.

“Shouldn’t you have led with that?”

Normally, he would have felt relieved to hear there’d be no effect, but the reassurance didn’t sound pleasant.

‘Although, no matter how tormented I am by the pressure to erase the world’s pain…I don’t think I’ll try to conquer the continent.’

With the incantation, Fall was cast.

He’d used it before when curing a patient who came to the healing magic school, so Lee Han did not hesitate.

“……”

“……”

-……

Silence.

‘What’s going on?’

Wondering why nothing seemed different, Lee Han cautiously asked,

“Master. Are you all right?”

“Can’t you get this Yaksha King out of the way so I can go conquer Einrogard?”

“…It didn’t work.”

Then you must not have cast it properly.

The Yaksha King replied calmly.

“What do you mean, not cast it properly? I clearly mastered the spell…”

Sometimes magic seems fully mastered, but when you meet an unexpected wall, you realize your understanding is shallow, disciple of Osu.

‘This guy… Never gives a clear answer!’

Lee Han shuddered.

Come to think of it, that last star contract had caused nothing but trouble because of the Yaksha King’s nonsense.

What if even this was a misunderstanding…

‘No. Better not to think unlucky thoughts. Now’s not the time.’

“Do you mean there’s a problem with Fall?”

It didn’t absorb, did it?

Suddenly, Lee Han remembered a conversation from when he’d learned magic from the Mad Clone.

-Get used to this magic.

-Did I make a mistake when casting?

-No.

-Then what do you mean by getting used to it?

-That’s something you’ll have to realize on your own.

Come to think of it, back then, his casting was perfect, yet the Mad Clone said he was a long way off.

Lee Han scowled, wondering what he’d missed.

Kurururururu!

“?!”

Meanwhile, a thunderous sound shook the outside. The Yaksha King kindly explained to the confused Lee Han.

That must be the army Osu summoned. Hmm. Probably a demigod legion using the Black Dark Hall? It’s best to go and stop it before the summoning completes. I’ll keep Osu here…

“Thank you so much for the kind words!”

Swallowing curses, Lee Han dashed out of the workshop.

The Mad Clone aside, the outside situation had to be handled first.

“Ah!”

As Lee Han returned mid-dash, everyone in the workshop looked confused.

Why?

“I’ll be taking this with me!”

He grabbed the hamster’s cage in one hand and sprinted out again. The hamster squeaked furiously, but Lee Han ignored him.

• * *

-You really want to die, huh!

“Look, Mage. Do I look like I have time to worry about later right now?”

The hamster unwittingly accepted Lee Han’s point.

Indeed, in an emergency like this, worrying about means and methods was for idiots. If it were him, he’d do whatever it took.

-I’ve had all my powers drained. I can’t do anything.

“But you have wisdom, don’t you.”

-…That’s true, at least.

He was a magic criminal but also an archmage. The junior mage’s praise brought him a small sense of satisfaction as he stroked his whiskers.

“And if worst comes to worst, you can be a sacrifice as well.”

-……

“I’m kidding.”

‘Is this guy insane?’

The hamster had never seen someone joke like this to a notorious imperial magic criminal.

So Einrogard mages all keep a little madness inside, but this one was really next level.

-…Ugh!

But the hamster had no time to complain.

As soon as they exited the workshop tunnel, an unbelievable sight appeared before them.

A giant black coffin hung fixed in the air, radiating evil power. That power was not mortal, but that of a thought-form or even a god.

And even more shocking—the coffin door was already half open, with something sticking its head out.

‘You summoned a demigod, and not just that, you tamed it and pulled it out?!?’

He had a hundred questions, but for now, the hamster only squeaked in terror.

-Attack it! If that thing comes out completely, it’ll get hundreds of times harder!!

The hamster had heard of ancient magics which created demigods artificially from faith or thoughts, extracting their power.

But pulling the demigod out of the coffin and making it descend as an army on the continent? That was so far beyond the hamster’s imagination it might as well be myth.

‘Is this what a mythic mage does??’

“I know! Damn it. I don’t even know if this attack will be enough… Everyone!”

Spotting a line of light in the darkness, Lee Han’s face brightened. The giants were waiting by the campfire.

-Wardanaz! We’ve been waiting!

-So it’s time to storm Einrogard?

“That is utter nonsense! You’ve all been deceived!”

-?!?!

The giants were shocked.

They hadn’t gathered to assault Einrogard?

“The real enemy is that thing! The monster trying to come out of that coffin!”

-Huh? Isn’t it the friend who was going to help us?

“No!”

Right then, the demigod poking its head out stared at Lee Han.

To be exact, it wasn’t staring. It didn’t have anything you’d call an “eye.”

Somehow, it felt like a demon—other times like a dragon. It kept morphing, like some strange chimeric beast.

-If it’s really a demigod, be careful what you think!

“What do you mean?”

-If it’s an artificially made demigod, it’s a thought-form. Where do you think it gathers its thoughts from?!

There were monsters and spirits that grew stronger by feeding on fear and emotion.

A demigod was way beyond them in power, but the basic principle was similar.

Depending on the focused thoughts, the very nature of the demigod would change.

“…Didn’t my master create this demigod? Doesn’t that mean his will should control it completely?”

-No! That’s a rookie’s misunderstanding of the old laws. Disciples have that much authority, too! Besides, you were told to conquer the continent!

The Mad Clone wanted his disciple to serve as commander to conquer the continent.

Of course, he’d have granted some authority over the demigod to his disciple.

If attacking a tower full of mages, the demigod would have to shift to be anti-mage. If storming a fortress of knights, it’d be the opposite…

Whenwillthecontinentberuled?

“!”

With its “gaze,” the demigod’s question flowed into Lee Han’s mind. Lee Han shouted immediately.

“That command has been canceled!”

Whenwillthecontinentberuled?

‘Damn. I can’t override a superior order?’

Even as a disciple, Lee Han realized there were limits.

Since the Mad Clone had issued a top-level order, he couldn’t self-destruct or halt the demigod.

-Stop wasting time and weaken it, then attack! Who knows how powerful it’ll get once it’s out!

“Weaken…?”

-Think of it as weak, dammit!

The hamster squeaked. If he made a mistake, he might get absorbed by the demigod as well, so he was more anxious than ever.

The demigod’s alternating demon and dragon forms were likely because the Wardanaz boy’s mind linked “strong beings” to those forms.

Anything to weaken it.

“A h-hamster, maybe?”

-…Yeah! Do even that!

It was a weird, unpleasant choice, but the hamster agreed.

A demigod-hamster would be way easier to deal with than a demigod-demon.

Lee Han focused his mind.

‘I’ll change the demigod’s form. The demigod’s form…’

As powerful thoughts connected, the demigod’s shape warped, becoming a gigantic Skull Headmaster.

The hamster squeaked in despair.

He made it even stronger!

‘Don’t be afraid, dammit…!’