Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 96
< 96. Shoot towards the dawn (9) >
The darkness of dawn was thick. In the sky where even the moon had set, only crumbs of starlight were left shining. The sound of the waves coming from the dawn was crumbling in the cool night air.
Lights were on on most floors of the Dawn Mage Tower, which had caused a great commotion last night. Elizabeth, who was walking around the garden of the Mage Tower, let out a sigh.
“I couldn’t sleep at all after all…”
A tired voice escaped from between dry lips. She had a dark shade of snow on her face, which was like white jade. It was because she couldn’t sleep because she thought about the events of the previous night.
‘What the hell is going on?’
everything was questionable. So much happened in a short span of four days.
The culprit of the attempted shooting down of the airship was Sion Sinivan de Grancia, the third daughter of the Grancia family. She almost burned down her library, but she was acquitted according to Aun Pillar’s decision.
At the time, I thought it was all a scheming by Grancia, but after cooling my head, there were definitely a lot of strange things. Shion was too young and weak, and above all, the lady of the great family had no reason to act like that.
‘To think that books are manipulating people…’
The strange words Ronan said bothered me. I couldn’t understand the sound at all, but I was sure of one thing. Something she didn’t know was happening in the Magic Tower.
‘Anyway, where did everyone go?’
Elizabeth suddenly felt puzzled and tilted her head. The tower owner and the librarian disappeared out of nowhere. Ronan also disappeared somewhere without saying goodbye.
“Let’s go to sleep for a bit.”
No matter how much I tried to guess, I couldn’t get a clue. In the end, Erzébet, who felt his drowsiness first, finished the long walk. It was the moment she turned her steps toward her tower.
Kwaaaaaang-!!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
There was a sound like hundreds of thunder roaring at the same time. Erzebeth turned her head in the direction of the sound. A column of flame almost as thick as the mage tower was rising from the northwest of the garden.
“What, what…!”
Elizabeth took a step back. The intense heat was felt even here. Within a few seconds, the pillar of flame that was soaring with the momentum to pierce the stars faded.
Quarreung! As if to replace him, a torrent of fire and mana began to burst forth. It was like a small volcano erupting. Wizards who felt the change came rushing out.
“Oh, my God!”
“Oh my God, this is the direction where the Forbidden Library is buried!”
“Ta, isn’t it the tower lord’s fire? Where did the librarian and the top mage go?!”
The magicians were thrown into confusion by the unexpected thunderbolt. But the momentum of the flames was not light enough to give them time to scream.
Aww! The reason of the wizards returned to the sight of the pillar of fire rising again. As if they had promised, they ran towards the explosion site.
“I-I have to stop the fire from spreading!”
If the fire spread to the garden or magic tower, a disaster would happen. Elizabeth, who came to her senses belatedly, lifted herself up with telekinesis. Her eyes widened as she arrived on the scene.
“oh my god…!”
It seemed that the passage leading to hell had been opened. Destructive flames on a scale never seen before rose from a hole in the middle of the garden. The tangled and overflowing flames were divided into two colors.
One side was a clear scarlet reminiscent of a sunset on a summer day, and the other side was a sticky, heavy dark red color that looked like it had been pumped up from lava flowing from the ground.
It was dark red flames that gained the upper hand. The evil fiery demon was growing in size, devouring the scarlet fire.
The wizards who came out in pajamas were doing their best to stop the fire from spreading. The mana shield surrounding the fire was rapidly repeating its melting and regeneration.
“Eh, I can’t stop it…! This is almost the 8th circle…!”
“Hold on though!”
Everyone was struggling, but the flames were so strong that they didn’t seem to last long. Then, a familiar face appeared in Elizabeth’s eyes. She was a very short girl with dark blue hair.
“Grancia?”
“Lee Yii Ik…!”
It was Zion Sinivan de Grancia, a suspect in the attempted assassination case. She mingled with the mages doing the evolution work and was chanting defensive spells diligently. All the wizards who were supposed to play the role of guardians jumped into the evolution work, so they couldn’t be seen.
‘How helpful!’
Elizabeth narrowed her brows. Kwakwawang! Suddenly, with a huge explosion, dozens of fireballs reminiscent of volcanic bombs shot up into the air and began to fall in a parabolic arc.
After reading the trajectory of one of them, Elizabeth’s face turned white. The fireball was falling right on Shion’s head. The wizards, who had been concentrating all their efforts on building a barrier, noticed the existence of the fireballs just before the collision.
“Damn it, everyone avoid it!”
“Lady Grancia, be careful!”
“Iiiik… yes?”
Shion, who had been concentrating, raised his head belatedly. Her sword-red fire orb filled her field of vision. Her hair curled up in the heat.
“uh?”
It was not an avoidable distance. It was the moment when the period was about to be taken in a short life. Her out of nowhere, hemispherical mana shield covered her and her mages’ heads above her. Kwaaang! The fireball colliding with the shield exploded and roared.
“Reckless, what are you doing?”
“Uh, sister…?”
“Doesn’t Grancia teach you to stay away if you don’t think it will help you?”
Shion opened her tightly closed eyes. Herzebet was chanting her incantation while holding her by the shoulders. The eyes of the wizards who saved their lives widened.
“Ah, Lady Akalusia!”
“How should I repay this favor…!”
“It’s noisy. Fools who can’t protect even a single child properly. You all owe me.”
Elizabeth shot sharply. The wizards shut up. Disarming her shields, she said, reaching her hand toward her fire pit.
“I’ll join you.”
Purple aura spread from her fingertips. Encouraged wizards stood up again. Suddenly, a loud cry resonated throughout the Mage Tower.
“Everyone evacuate!”
It was a familiar voice. Elizabeth turned her head. A huge phoenix with a wingspan of 10 meters was flying across the western night sky. Dozens of birds of prey of formidably gigantic flames were following them. Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
“Aun Pillar…!”
“Evacuate all but the minimum number of people!”
It was as if the sun was rising in the west. It was a Prominence Bird, a magic that is the symbol of Aun Fila. The Fire Birds and Birds of Prey, which reached the Magic Tower in an instant, plunged into the pit of fire.
Roaring! The fire’s shape distorted, and the flames visibly faded. Before long, a fire bird engulfed in dark red flames soared into the air. Upon noticing that he was absorbing fire, Elizabeth exclaimed in admiration.
“also···!”
It was a more meaningful achievement than the efforts of all the other wizards. It was the moment when Aun Pillar, who had cleared the fire while turning in the air, descended into the pit of fire again.
Hwareuk! Suddenly, a flash of fire rose high in the sky. Before long, the fire died down, revealing two human figures.
A boy whose body was on fire was falling, clutching an old man’s neck. Recognizing the boy’s face, Elizabeth screamed.
“Ro-Ronan-sama?!”
【Damn it, let go of this!】
At the same time, an eerie roar reverberated across the sky. Elizabeth froze as it was. As if he had encountered a beast, his legs loosened up and his breathing quickened.
“Haaaagh…!”
There was nothing much different from other wizards. Screams and explosions were heard everywhere. It was a side effect of the magic being chanted failing or mana flowing backwards.
“I-what is that?”
“Hee-ik…!”
I had never felt such an evil magic before. Shion, who had been clinging to Erzebeth since earlier, was crying while holding her hand.
【shit!】
It was the moment when Ronan and the old man were about to crash into the ground. Sparks flashed again, and the figures of the two disappeared. Only then did the pressure on his shoulders dissipate and he was able to breathe.
“Aaaagh!”
Eventually, Shion burst into tears and buried her face in Elizabeth’s stomach. Embarrassed, Elizabeth hesitated and stepped back.
“Ooh, don’t cry…! What if a noble cries?”
“Huuuuuuu!”
“Quick stop, pop!”
Elizabeth soothed Shion, forgetting that she was Grancia. She patted Shion’s back for a long time and muttered as Erzebet looked at the spot where her Ronan had disappeared.
“What are you fighting with again this time…?”
****
【Stupid bastard! If I don’t let go, I’ll burn to death!]
“You can still hold on.”
Ronan’s body was engulfed in flames. Seeing her basically fireproof school uniform burning, she seemed to be a fairly strong flame, but it wasn’t very hot, maybe because she was focused on fighting. Bajura shouted.
【What are you… what the hell are you!】
The injured Vajura was rampaging even more ferociously. The powerful magic that was being fired indiscriminately was proving his strength. Kwakwang! The flame buster fired at Ronan missed and evaporated the nearby forest.
【Away!】
“Would you let go?”
They were engaged in a nasty scuffle, repeating teleportation countless times. Vajura was trying to shake off Ronan by all means and methods, but Ronan never let him go.
‘This bastard is also the limit.’
The longer I held on to it, the more I felt it. Vajra was weakening. The fire was getting lukewarm and the rocks were getting soft.
Hwareuk! Then the pillar of fire wrapped around the two of them again. Seeing the changed background, Ronan laughed. The black night sea was rippling at the distant feet.
‘It’s an opportunity.’
They had reached the sky above the dawn. Kwajik! Throwing her head back, Ronan headbutted Vajura in the nose. Vajura groaned at the unexpected blow.
【Kuuk!】
“Stop harassing poor old man.”
His aquiline nose was broken and blood gushed out. Ronan fired a series of headbutts. bang! bang! The movement magic was cut off and the fall continued.
‘Throw it into the water like this.’
Basically, paper becomes unusable when it gets wet. Furthermore, there was a high possibility that Vajra’s magic would be useless underwater. In any case, it would have to be caught and thrown away, and something that had turned into something similar to a drowned body would have to be retrieved.
【Don’t be funny…!】
It was the point at which the distance from the surface of the water was about 5m. Suddenly, Vajura spread her arms and pretended to be pulling something up on her.
Rumble…! Suddenly, a palm-shaped reef surged towards them. Ronan’s eyes widened. The two fell and collided on the stone floor.
“Cuck!”
It was a reef larger than any sailboat. Ronan fell from his back and rolled on the floor. Fortunately, the altitude was low, so the impact was not great, but Vajra was missed.
“Shit, where are you running…”
It was the moment when Ronan hurriedly got up. Quaang! A huge whale of flames landed on his head and exploded. Five spears of rock that rose in succession intersected and pierced the spot where Ronan had been.
【die!】
Finally, the reef in the shape of a hand that they were stepping on gripped Ronan. Kwajik! A crackling sound resounded as the fire soared through the cracks in the hand.
【Heo-eok, heck…】
Landing on the reef, Vajura fell down on one knee. Her body felt distinctly heavy. He coughed up black blood again and muttered in disbelief.
【Why… this happened…】
The wounds on the body had not healed at all. She had been through all sorts of things in her life immeasurable, but this was the first time she had ever experienced anything like this. He was the first to experience what mortals call ‘excessive bleeding’.
【You have to recover quickly. Dangerous···.】
He had to heal his wounds by swallowing creatures rich in mana. It was the car he was preparing to head to the Dawning Mage Tower again.
Whiririk! A corner of the reef exploded with a sound like hundreds of people whistling at the same time. Vajra’s eyes widened at the sight of Ronan breaking through where his middle finger was.
【how···!】
“It’s also weak.”
La Mancha, dyed red, was spraying light from his hand. Except for the burns he suffered while moving, there were no other wounds on Ronan’s body.
“Let’s finish it soon.”
Ronan straightened up and rushed straight towards Vajra. He was frozen and motionless, as if in shock.
shhh! It was the moment Ronan cut Vajra’s temple with the hilt. A gloomy voice echoed over the sea.
【That’s why you’re a kid.】
“what?”
The hilt passed right through Vajra’s head. His image dissipated like smoke. He was the car Ronan turned to, who belatedly realized it was a hallucination. Vajra’s hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed his head.
“크윽!”
【It was long. It was really dangerous. If I continued like this, I might have lost.]
“You bastard…!”
【However, history only remembers the last victor. I will use your body well.]
Before Ronan had time to say anything, Vajura chanted a spell. His body, in the form of a black book, came out of Lardan’s chest.
At the same time, Vajra’s consciousness, which had been dwelling in the tower’s body, moved to Ronan’s body. His eyes began to turn black. A bizarre moan leaked from Ronan’s parted lips.
“Uh, uh …
【Do not resist. It will be comfortable soon.]
Bajura sneered. Although the resistance was severe, it was only a matter of time before the body was swallowed as long as it had already succeeded in erosion. Now it was over just to settle in the heart. Vajra, feeling a sudden sense of difference, tilted her head.
【Hmm?】
It was an unpleasant sensation. Something different from other bodies. Something unfathomably powerful was already in place.
【This, this…?】
He was an incomparably evil and terrible being. All of them took the form of black shadows. The shadows that were coiled began to approach Vajra one by one.
【Why does this… get into your body, don’t come close…!】
But the shadows did not stop. One of them bit off Vajra. Vajura gasped, feeling the burning pain she felt.
【Huh!】
Then the rest of the shadows rushed in. Vajra’s consciousness was swallowed up in darkness. A mogul-like scream echoed in Ronan’s head.
【Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!】
“Isn’t it a very nice house to live in?”
Ronan laughed, running his hair through his wet hair. His eyes, which had been dyed black, were regaining their original color. The book, the main body of Vajra, was shaking and burning.