C81
Nade and Iruki, who had cast teleportation, appeared in front of the cliff of the impassable bridge. The two people who had watched Sienna suffer had burning, fierce gazes.
"How dare you do that to our teacher..."
"What, there were still some fine people left? Anyway, these mages..."
Lucas was also in a bad mood. To think that a person with the title of arch mage made the mistake of missing the target. Moreover, he had to deal with all the sane people.
"Was that woman your teacher? I'm sorry. By now, she must have almost reached the ground. Hahaha."
The moment Lucas finished speaking, Shirone, who had caught Shiina from below the cliff, teleported up. His gaze was no different from his friends. How corrupted must one be to drop a person off a cliff?
"I won't forgive you."
Lucas didn't even listen. He was just annoyed by the situation becoming more complicated.
"Hey, what are you going to do? Is this part of your plan too?"
Lucas made it clear who was responsible. It was because this could be brought up when paying the remaining balance. Canis also did not evade. In the absence of Arcane, he was the leader.
"Arin, step back."
"But Canis..."
"You don't need to step in. Focus on controlling the people. I'll take care of it."
It was too much to expect Arin to control hundreds of people's minds and fight at the same time. As Arin hid among the people, Canis, relieved, approached Shirone’s group.
"Who are you? How did you escape the mind control?"
Iruki spoke.
"Isn't dark magic an outdated magic already? There's plenty of countermeasures."
"Nonsense. If it was that easy to break, those people in the back wouldn't have been affected."
'Well, that's true...'
Canis raised his head and squinted at the sun. It was still a bright time of day since they were at the top of the mountain. However, there was no need for an arch mage's disciple to argue conditions with students.
Lucas, who had been watching with his arms crossed, shouted.
"Hey, what are you going to do? This wasn't in the contract. I could help if you doubled the money."
"I don't need your help. I'll handle it myself."
"Well, suit yourself."
Lucas sighed and stepped back. He had the attitude of not wanting to step out, but his true feelings were the opposite. He pretended not to care, waiting for the battle to start, and then he would stab them from behind. That would be the end.
"Come at me quickly. I'm busy."
Shirone and Canis slowly closed the distance between them. Canis's spirit zone, sensed through synesthesia, was roughly a 50-meter diameter sphere, similar in size to Shirone's.
"I'll handle this. You guys stop that sword man."
Iruki turned to Lucas at Shirone's words.
"That guy? He doesn't seem like he'll intervene, judging by the atmosphere."
"You never know how things will change when the situation arises. He's malicious enough to push Teacher Sienna off a cliff."
Shirone looked back with cold eyes and said.
"Don't believe anything that guy says."
Iruki swallowed dry saliva. Shirone, who switched the circuits in his head to a combat ready, had a different look in his eyes than usual.
Shirone began measuring the timing. Photon Output boasted outstanding activation speed among offensive magic. However, dark attribute magic was not lacking in speed either.
There was no signal to be read from Canis's eyes. An uncertain future swirled around, like the black pupils of an orangutan.
It was not human. An extremely animalistic eye that only those who have survived countless times could possess.
What kind of life would one have to lead to have such eyes?
The two fidgeted with their fingers, and at the moment a bird flapped its wings and took off, they both moved simultaneously. Photon Output and the Power of Darkness moved brilliantly, dazzling the eye.
Shirone cast teleportation and soared upward. The Power of Darkness that followed him vertically melted in the sunlight.
Canis laughed. What he was aiming for was the shadow buried on the ground, not Shirone's body. Shirone, who belatedly recalled the attributes of dark magic, hastily moved outside the cliff. As the shadow disappeared 1,000 meters below, the Power of Darkness that lost its target vanished like flames.
As the Photon Output shot like a rapid-fire cannon, Canis cast Shadow Wall. A thick wall of shadows rose in front of him, absorbing all the photons.
'That's incredible resilience. Blocking light with darkness.'
Dark power to the extent of going against the laws of nature. Shirone, who had increased the power of Photon Output through thousands of rebounds, could guess how strong Canis' mental strength was.
'Then how about this?'
Focusing photons in his hand, Shirone clenched his teeth and threw them. As the Photon Cannon fired, Canis maximized the thickness of the defense wall. The corner of his mouth went up for a moment, as the shadow wall exploded and a flash came in.
'What is this?'
Feeling chills, Canis instinctively cast Dark Skin. As his body turned black, the p Photon Cannon struck his abdomen.
"Ugh...!"
The limit of shock that Dark Skin could absorb had already been surpassed at the moment of impact, and the shock wave shook his internal organ. Canis, who had flown with both legs raised, was buried in the forest.
“Canis!”
Arin couldn't believe it. Physical power contained in light. Light is pure energy. If even a small amount of physical force were contained, all the planets with suns would have been shattered.
Lucas's expression became serious for the first time. A magic spell that quickly sends light beams and strikes the opponent. If he had been in Canis's place, his chances of avoiding it would have been fifty-fifty.
'This isn't just bad luck, it's like stepping in poop.'
Lucas's eyes flashed with determination. It's not an ideal situation, but shouldn't he pay the remaining balance? His twin swords vibrated as he focused on Shirone.
-------------------
Ethela was somewhere in the mountains, 800 meters away from the impassable bridge. And in front of her was Arcane, who had risen to the rank of an unofficial third-class arch mage 40 years ago.
From Arcane's perspective, she was an unwelcome guest. Even after resting, his mental strength, which had been depleted by casting Abyss Nova, had only recovered about 60%.
However, such thoughts were fleeting. Arcane realized the true worth of the woman blocking his way and narrowed his eyes.
'Huh, would you look at that?'
She wore large, clumsy-looking glasses. Her chest was full and developed, giving her the appearance of a gentle sheep, seemingly unfit for battle.
But he could feel it through his skin. Merely standing there, there was no hindrance to the flow of energy penetrating her body.
Especially her eyes were the highlight. The spirit of a virtuous person, beyond the eight realms of human emotion, could only be emitted through the pupils of someone who had transcended them.
She was a religious leader.
And she was far too outstanding to be a magic school teacher.
'Worthy of countering Abyss Nova.'
Ethela was equally nervous in front of an authority on dark magic who made his name known as the Archmage before she was even born.
"I've heard of your reputation well."
"Which religious order?"
Arcane guessed that Ethela was a cleric without hearing it. But the answer that followed far exceeded his expectations.
"I am Bishop Ethela of the Karsys Holy Order. I wonder why someone with a reputation for dark magic would commit such atrocities."
"A bishop, huh?"
Arcane burst into laughter as if it were absurd. Holding the position of bishop at an age not yet thirty was something that could not have happened during his heyday.
Especially if it was Karsys, it was one of the top religious orders in a continent with 2,000 dioceses. And a bishop was a position responsible for one diocese, at least equal to the leader of a single city.
“Where is Alpheas?”
Ethela remained silent. She doesn't know where he is either, but even that fact could be information for the enemy.
"I can hear your thoughts from here. To be honest, it doesn't matter. I didn't think that that cunning kid would fall prey to my magic.”
From the fact that he referred to Alpheas, who was over sixty years old, as a cunning child, it was clear how long the archmage in front of her had lived.
"Why are you looking for the principal? If it's a matter of the academy, it's proper to meet in person and resolve it. If you release the students from mind control and leave, I can mediate for you."
"Ha! It seems that brat has built quite a reputation while I was gone. But, my dear, Alpheas is not the kind of person you think he is. He's the most foolish and arrogant man in the world."
"It doesn't matter what he was like in the past. The principal now is a respected figure among the students."
“Oh, is that so?”
Arcane stroked his chin playfully. In his memory, Alpheas was just a young man in his 20s, burning with passion.
"I'm curious now. What did that brat do to earn such respect? Let's hear it."
Ethela grasped Arcane's strategy. It was almost time for the sun to set. He was trying to buy time until nightfall when dark magic would be most effective.
"If you're waiting for darkness, stop. As a teacher, I can't tolerate any more evil deeds."
"What?"
Arcane frowned, displeased. It was audacious for a youngster of not even 120 years old to treat him like a time-wasting mage.
As he cast the Power of Darkness, Arcane's shadow swallowed the trees. The branches shook, and the tree trunks began to bend toward one point.
"Do you think I was scared just because the sun was out? If that's the case, you're looking at this Arcane very lightly.”
Ethela looked up. Trees within a radius of several hundred meters leaned together, forming a massive dome-like structure intertwined like a net. As the sky closed, the surroundings became darker than night.
"Die, vile creature.”
Arcane disappeared into his shadow. It was Dark Port, a specialty of dark magic. Utilizing the ability to blend with darkness, it erased the concept of distance, allowing him to teleport anywhere with shadows in an instant.
The ability to approach without any sign was the most outstanding advantage of Dark Port. As soon as Arcane, who had suppressed his rear, cast the Power of Darkness, Ethela's body turned into a flash of light and moved away. Dozens of shadowy hands clawed at empty air.
Starting with Arcane casting Dark Port again, a high-speed battle unfolded. It was as if there were dozens of Arcanes and Ethelas. When Arcane drove Ethela into a narrow radius, she chained teleportation at the extreme speed from her standing position. Her upper body appeared overlapped countless times, and the shadowy hands passed through the intangible afterimages.
'Bishop of the Karsys Holy Order. Indeed, truly impressive.'
Even Arcane, who harbored resentment, couldn't help but admire her. Her mental prowess couldn't match his, but her skill and senses far surpassed her age.
"Then I should target your weak points."
Ethela's eyes wavered in bewilderment. As the Power of Darkness intensified, thousands of hands were flying at the same time.
An almost endless magical power.
Joiner's exploration ability could be called magic in itself, but even so, she couldn't avoid all of the thousands of hands.
As the shadow of a tree branch grabbed her wrist, Ethela hastily stopped her motion. If she were to cast teleportation in this state, her arm would be torn off.
"Ugh...!"
The pulling force of the shadow felt like rubber. However, Ethela's physical strength was also formidable. Gritting her teeth and pulling her arm, the middle part of the shadow was stretched and torn.
'She knows martial arts too? What a sturdy girl.'
Arcane spoke with a sinister smile
"If that's your preference, I'll accommodate."
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
