Book Eater

Chapter 324: Eve of the Storm (3)

Kuaaaaaaah-!

Someone who saw the scene described it later as just light. The Lairon Church had described the creation of the world as very similar, but this was very different. This was like a rain of light.

The light that was born from the process of collapsing the four elements ignored the boundary between matter and non-matter, destroying everything it met. It was a huge physical blow to the undead. The doom knights’ bodies shattered, and the transparent bodies of the banshees exploded like jellyfish.

This was the great spell, Abraxas! Theo had envisioned this spell after reaching the 7th Circle, but he needed eight Circles to fully produce the power he’d imagined. The opposing elements collided with each other, and the repulsive force was immediately maximized. It was a physically and magically impossible phenomena, but Theo’s Sorcery forced it into reality.

“Go!”

The light wave utterly obliterated the corpses. It was a destructive ray that even the caster couldn’t control after it was launched. This was the first time this kind of attack spell, one with no attributes, had been seen in battlefield use. It couldn’t be countered with another attribute and pure physical force had no effect on it. The true power of Abraxes lay in its ability to deal destruction that went beyond physical properties.

If black magic formed the rules of another world, then this would be a massive cheat. The undead simply disintegrated under the terrible light. The necromancers couldn’t sustain the black magic that was the foundation of their existence against the power of Abraxas. It was the same for the senior undead. A third of the undead legion had been wiped out by a single spell.

[That’s enough.]

At that moment, a dark and eerie voice spoke out. Darkness rose to block the ray of light sweeping through the undead. Jerem couldn’t let any more troops be lost and finally revealed himself.

Kukukukung!

Light and darkness collided, creating a shockwave that destroyed thousands of undead in the area, but it was a drop in a bucket compared to Abraxas’ actual destructive power. Jerem had cast black magic of the 9th Circle, creating a wall of imaginary space that absorbed Abraxas’ destruction. Theo’s Sorcery might be unique, but it couldn’t overcome the fundamental differences between magic ranks.

[... You shouldn’t miss it.]

However, Jerem groaned as he realized that half his wall was destroyed in the process of blocking Abraxas. Even if Jerem was in terrible condition, it was entirely unexpected that Theo’s spell could almost break a defensive 9th Circle spell. Red eyes glared at Theo in the distance, who was wearing a faint smile.

――――――――Kwaaaaang!

Suddenly, a supersonic storm pierced through the cracked void and struck Jerem’s body. It might not be as good as Abraxas, but it was still a significant blow!

[Kuaaaaack!]

Jerem’s robes were shredded as he was thrown into the distance. Most of Abraxas’ power had been consumed by destroying the imaginary space, but it had been weakened enough that a storm arrow had managed to pierce through. However, Theo wasn’t the culprit.

Okay. Well done, Titania!

- Of course.

Theo glanced back at the decisive tone in Titania’s voice. Theo could see something a few kilometers up in the sky. The giant had horns in the shape of a crown and didn’t wear a shred of clothing, showing its rugged physique. The ancient elemental, Geros, looked down at the battlefield like the titans of ancient myths as he held a greatbow. The fragment of Zephyrus that had once been contracted to Myrdal Herseim was already close to perfection, unlike Mitra. Titania had been learning to use this form since Myrdal handed over the contract to her.

The disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of strength.

Titania’s power was lacking in comparison to Myrdal. Geros had a limited number of arrows he could fire. It made sense, since one arrow had managed to break through a weakened 9th Circle barrier spell and injure Jerem. If Geros could shoot those arrows endlessly, Elvenheim would win in half a day.

The Hurricane Bow could only be fired three more times. Theo decided to keep an eye on the amount of arrows left as he directed the Elvenheim archers to fire. The undead formations had fallen apart, and their advance was stopped, so this was a chance.

“Shoot! Don’t leave behind any of these ugly things!”

“Aim for the head! Even if the undead are a by-product of magic, they can’t regenerate if the nucleus is destroyed!”

“Use normal arrows for the low-grade undead!”

The elven archers, on the ground and above in the branches, drew their bows. They had sharp eyes and precise marksmanship. The undead that didn’t even retreat were easier to hit than training targets.

Pipipipiping!?

Arrows covered the night sky as they landed on the skulls of the undead. Of course, there were many undead that didn’t collapse from one blow. The dullahans survived using shields, the lich used defensive magic, and the senior undead survived with their own abilities. Then as one dullahan proudly advanced forward after surviving the initial barrage…

Pipipipit!

The baptism of golden arrows quickly turned the dullahan into a beehive.

The arrows of destruction look good.

The nature of the matter wasn’t different, be it in the East or West Continent. Still, Theo sighed with relief. He didn’t know how frustrated he would be if the things he had spent weeks making became useless. He had made around a hundred thousand arrows containing the strength of the mantra. It wasn’t enough to remove all the undead, but it was effective if they targeted the senior undead.

The undead started to feel the pressure. The senior undead didn’t die to a single arrow, but they would quickly reach their limit once ten or twenty arrows were shot their way.

“It has been good so far, but... is it a little lacking?”

Theo looked around the battlefield from his perch in the sky. There were still a significant number of undead despite having been hit by Abraxas. There might be more undead being created somewhere. If this became a war of attrition, Elvenheim would have the disadvantage.

“Veronica!”

She glanced at him. “Huh?”

Theo took a deep breath. “I am going to use more great spell. Do you have enough magic power?”

She looked at him in concern. “I only fired one breath, so I’m fine. Theo, will you be okay? That previous magic consumed an absurd amount of power...”

Veronica was right. Abraxas had consumed a great deal of magic power. Despite having twice the magic power of a magician of the same Circle, Theo was breathing harshly after using it. If he used it three times in a day, his Circles would be overloaded. Using it continuously would cause him to self-destruct before beating the enemies.

However, Theo’s complexion was the same as before. “It is okay. I’ve thought of a shortcut.”

Shortcut?

Veronica wanted to ask, but she knew there was no time to explain. So she just roused her magic power and shared it. Theo activated his Circles at the same time, and 16 Circles revolved, causing the mana in the area to vibrate.

Kukukukukung!

The undead were astonished by the thunderous sound coming from the sky. In particular, the intelligent lich and other senior undead knew that sound. It was the sound of at least five 7th Circle spells being cast. This was unbelievable. It couldn’t be avoided. Since defense and evasion were impossible, the undead chose to intercept it. If they could stop the magic spells in time, the situation could be resolved somehow.

“This is rotten.”

As Theo continued preparing the magic bombardment in the sky, he sensed the flow of power on the ground. It was the precursor to attack spells designed to stop him and Veronica. Of course, it wouldn’t injure them, but it would be enough to pry open a gap in their defenses.

“Do you think I will let you act freely?”

However, Theo had no intention of allowing it.

Ellenoa, now.

- Yes, I understand!?

Ellenoa’s determined reply was transmitted through Ratatoskr’s neural network. What was it now? The answer came flying from behind Elvenheim’s front lines and crashed down on the undead army.

[Mist of death... Bite the flesh… um?]

The lich was concentrating on chanting a spell when its body was crushed by a huge rock.

Kwaang! Kuwang! Kwang! Kukwakwakwang!

It wasn't just one. Hundreds of rocks fell like a meteor shower, crushing the undead. Of course, it wouldn’t destroy the senior undead. However, it was sufficient to stop the formation that was preparing the interception magic.

[Ruler… command...! Throw… hard as… possible!]

[Rock… heavy! One more...!]

A little way from the forefront, the ents were hurling rocks into the air with their bare hands. The boulders weren’t as big as the ones that would normally be in a catapult, but they were fast and were coming from a great height. The low-grade undead were crushed, while the senior undead couldn’t ignore the attack, forcing them to go on the defensive.

The elves used the earth elementals to make the rocks for throwing, then the ents threw them regardless of how many of their branches were broken. Meanwhile, Theo and Veronica completed their spell.

Kururung! Kurung!

The crimson magic power was dense enough to be visible as it evaporated the nearby air. This was a combination of two master magicians who were focused solely on destruction! The lich’s jaws snapped shut as they intuitively sensed destruction, while the doom knights and undead forgot to defend. What was the point of struggling when they would just die anyway?

But at that moment…

[Boring,]

A voice rang out from the border of the Red Plateau and the Great Forest. It sent a shiver down everyone’s backs, as if an apex predator had just woken up. Theo and Veronica stiffened just as they were about to fire their spells. Their perfectly configured magic formulas were scattered.

“Kuok...!”

“N-Nídh?ggur? In this phase?”

The power that he could exert in this material world was limited, but Nastrond’s king was still equivalent to a god. Theo didn’t know about the tribute Jerem had prepared, but he knew it wasn’t that big. Otherwise, they would have already been killed without being able to resist.

While Theo was busy calculating, Nídh?ggur declared.

[Don’t disappoint me, Follower.]

At that moment, something eerie rose into the sky. It was a power that came from an unknown abyss, a strength that Theo’s eyes couldn’t see. The power of darkness and death that inhabited Nastrond, the dimension ruled by Nídh?ggur, was flowing into the material world.

“I will follow your will, great evil dragon.”

Jerem and his remaining Four Horsemen floated a few hundred meters in front of Theo. Jerem had seemingly completely recovered from the damage caused by the Hurricane Bow as his robes were back in pristine shape.

Theo wondered, “Hrmm, do they want to try a tag match?”

Veronica cracked her neck. “... Probably.”

From now on, it wasn’t a fight between armies but a battle between the strongest powerhouses of each side. The magicians’ red robes started to flutter in the wind as their magic power started to revolve faster.

As per the 8th commandment of the Red Tower, the only good warlock was a dead warlock.