TL/Editor: Raei
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“Gravity.”
Cromwell used his magic as soon as he appeared.
His target was Aryandor.
As Aryandor leaped off the bone dragon and landed on the ground, the earth beneath his feet collapsed.
However, Aryandor didn't just succumb to the attack.
He began dodging Cromwell’s strikes with dazzling movements.
He kicked off the upheaving earth to leap into the air, slicing through the incoming boulders with his sword.
Without using time magic, he evaded the attacks solely with his physical prowess.
“You old man, I thought you’d be panting by now, but you're brimming with energy.”
At Aryandor's taunt, Cromwell laughed.
“Even if I lose all my hair, I can still handle someone like you.”
Though he said so, the reason Cromwell could freely use magic was simple.
He had arrived here riding a dragon, which made this possible.
Had he flown here using magic, he wouldn't have been able to utilize his power effectively.
“But, I don’t intend to fight you. I have a different opponent in mind.”
Aryandor said this, looking up at Astina hovering in the air.
“So, I’ll find you another opponent.”
Suddenly, a giant fist flew towards Cromwell.
“Barrier.”
Despite the sudden appearance of the fist, Cromwell easily deflected it with his magic.
“Hmm?”
Cromwell looked in the direction from which the fist had come.
There stood a man with a drowsy expression, the giant hand behind him having aimed at Cromwell.
“A necromancer, huh.”
A familiar face.
It was Daemon, a user of necromancy.
“Gravity.”
Recognizing his opponent, Cromwell immediately cast his magic.
The ground around them shifted, enveloping his adversary.
‘…He doesn’t dodge?’
Daemon stood still as the earth swallowed him, and Cromwell looked on in disbelief.
However, Cromwell didn't let his guard down.
It seemed unlikely that a leader of the rebels would be defeated so easily.
As Cromwell anticipated, more fists flew towards him.
But this time, there were several.
Several fists, each as big as a giant’s, targeted Cromwell.
“Gravity Shield.”
Cromwell quickly cast a spell, shielding himself from all directions.
The fists were blocked by the barrier and couldn't reach Cromwell.
What was strange was that the barrier didn’t seem to take much damage.
‘…An illusion?’
Visible to the eye, but lacking substance.
This sensation was that of an illusion.
And if it was this type of illusion...
‘Jefrin.’
It was similar to the illusion magic used by Jefrin.
He made the opponent aware from the beginning that they were facing an illusion.
Illusion magic shines brightest when the opponent is unaware it's an illusion, but Jefrin’s approach was different.
She intertwined multiple illusions to blur the line between illusion and reality.
By making the opponent aware of the illusion, she induced a more defensive stance in them.
However, Jefrin was dead.
Now, despite Jefrin's absence, her influence was still perceptible.
"Who is using this magic?"
It was implausible to think that Daemon was the one using it.
A wizard who had honed necromancy to the extent of enveloping a fortress couldn't be expected to also know Jefrin-style illusion magic.
Moreover, using both illusion and necromancy simultaneously would consume a significant amount of mana, making it unsustainable for long.
Even if he knew how to use it, it would be like a path to self-destruction.
“Ahaha~.”
Then, Cromwell heard laughter.
It was the echo of a girl's laughter, sounding like Jefrin's voice.
And then, appearing before Cromwell, was the figure of a girl.
She was wearing a pointy hat fit for a witch - it was Jefrin.
However, she was not in her usual state.
Her face was ravaged, her clothes torn, looking almost as if she was on the brink of death.
There were clear marks of a noose around her neck.
“Necromancy, huh.”
The undead created by necromancy have abilities dependent on the corpse used.
If a skilled swordsman is turned into an undead, they can utilize the techniques they used in life, and the same goes for wizards.
An undead created from the corpse of a wizard can use the magic that the wizard used while alive.
"Those Royal fools. If they knew there was a necromancer, they should have taken better care of the bodies."
Cromwell clicked his tongue, quickly assessing the situation.
Even if Jefrin’s body was revived with necromancy, it couldn’t possibly utilize all her original abilities.
He had to exploit this weakness.
‘Finish this quickly... and protect my disciple.’
As long as Daemon was targeting him, Cromwell couldn't ignore it and just pass by.
He glanced at Astina, who was confronting Aryandor.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
Then, he began to manipulate his mana.
“Gravity.”
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Raei Translations
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“It seems there’s no one left to protect you now.”
Cromwell was dealing with Daemon, and the dragons and Sylpherion were holding off the bone dragon.
Aryandor and Astina faced each other head-on, without anyone else’s interference.
“Now, I will kill you. Tear your body to shreds and sprinkle your blood over Jefrin’s grave. So that Jefrin can rest in peace.”
Astina sneered at Aryandor's words.
“Raise a body and then let them rest in peace?”
Far off, Cromwell was seen confronting Jefrin.
Having witnessed Jefrin's death up close, Astina immediately realized that it was Jefrin resurrected by necromancy.
The idea that those who raise the dead would fulfill their vengeance was absurd to her.
“That's nothing but a corpse. Jefrin would also want her body to be used efficiently.”
Astina stared intently at Aryandor.
“Such a contradictory bunch.”
Crying for peace while waging war.
Raising the dead, yet wishing for the deceased to rest in peace.
It was all a chaotic mess.
“I guess I need to correct that way of thinking.”
Aryandor burst into laughter.
"Presumptuous, aren't you?"
Aryandor immediately drew his sword.
"You can never win against me."
Astina's lips curled up in response to Aryandor's words.
In a normal situation, Aryandor might have been right, but Astina had her own strategy.
She manipulated her mana, which was immensely powerful.
Yet, nothing happened.
Seeing this, Aryandor tilted his head in confusion.
"Got some tricks up your sleeve, I see."
He chuckled softly, gathering sword energy.
“No matter your strategy, you can't win. The power difference between us is overwhelming.”
"Don’t you think overcoming that power difference is what strategy is all about?"
Aryandor didn't react to Astina's sarcasm and continued to gather sword energy.
Golden sword energy swirled around his blade, rippling like waves.
The golden energy he had displayed earlier was not an illusion.
It was the golden sword energy used in Royal swordsmanship, clearly visible now.
But that didn't change what she had to do.
“Royal swordsmanship.”
‘Here it comes.’
Astina moved her mana.
“Golden Sword, Dragon Star Fall.”
The golden wave converged on his sword at once.
The ordinary silver-colored blade turned golden.
Simultaneously, Aryandor raised his sword high.
And then he struck down.
The gathered golden light radiated in the direction of his strike.
It resembled a giant golden light falling to the ground.
A wave of golden light spread around them.
‘He’s targeting only me.’
The attack fell towards the ground where Astina stood.
If it only targeted Astina, who was on the battlefield, it wouldn’t affect the soldiers on the fortress.
Astina quickly soared upwards.
By flying up, she could avoid the falling sword energy.
As Astina rose, the golden wave enveloped the ground.
‘This isn't the end.’
Aryandor was no longer visible as the ground filled with the golden wave.
A bright light from below obscured her vision.
‘Focus on the sound.’
In such a situation, she couldn't rely on her sight.
Bang!
“Hmph…”
Astina heard the sound of a leap and immediately activated her telekinesis.
Aryandor, wrapped in sword energy, leaped from the ground.
“Invisible Hand.”
Astina used her telekinesis to grab Aryandor's sword.
“Is it enough just to grab the sword?”
Aryandor let go of his sword.
If he held onto it, he could be captured too, so he released it.
Without his sword, Aryandor maintained the momentum towards Astina, clenching his fist.
His fist precisely aimed at Astina’s abdomen.
“A swordsman letting go of his sword?”
Astina laughed, seeing Aryandor targeting her.
Stones quickly sprang from the ground, three times the size of his fist.
She used telekinesis to launch the stones from the ground.
The stone was faster than Aryandor's approach towards her.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The stone struck Aryandor, and he was thrown sideways by the impact.
Astina, flying with magic, was unscathed as Aryandor's punch fell to the ground.
But then...
“Time... Back.”
Aryandor used time magic.
His body returned to the same place it was before the stone hit him.
He leaped towards Astina, who was still in the air.
The situation was the same as before.
“How arrogant.”
Wham! Aryandor's fist hit Astina's abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Astina let out a pained sound.
Her concentration broken, the magic keeping her airborne was dispelled, and she began to plummet towards the ground.
“Gravity...”
Just before hitting the ground, Astina used her magic to lessen the impact.
However, the battle was far from over.
Aryandor, once again, soared towards the falling Astina.
“Time Back.”
He used time magic again.
This time, he altered the position of the sword that Astina had previously seized with her telekinesis.
The sword reappeared in Aryandor's now empty hand.
He directed the sword downwards, falling towards Astina.
“Anti... Gravity!”
She tried to reverse gravity, attempting to send Aryandor flying upwards.
“Time Back.”
Aryandor used time magic once more.
Suddenly, Aryandor's body wasn't where it should have been in the air.
Astina quickly turned around.
‘The ground.’
The exact spot where they had confronted each other earlier.
Time magic was almost omnipotent, but it had its drawbacks.
Even if you rewind time, you only return to the location or action where you were in the past.
So, when Aryandor used time magic, Astina could somewhat predict his actions.
“Trying to unravel time magic, are you?”
As Astina turned around, she saw Aryandor.
However, the problem was his appearance.
The golden wave of energy was gathered on his sword.
The same sword energy he had used just moments ago.
“But even if you figure it out, you can't beat me.”
He didn’t just change his position with time magic; he rewound time to before he used his last move.
While Astina's state and her surroundings remained unchanged, his position and sword energy were reset.
“Golden Sword, Dragon Star Fall.”
Aryandor swung his sword, sending the gathered energy towards Astina.
“Gravity...”
Astina tried to use her magic, but the sword energy was faster.
The massive golden wave engulfed her.
Crash!!
“Ugh...!!!!”
The wave, like hundreds of swords, grazed her body.
Astina, just before sustaining serious injuries, concentrated and activated her magic.
“Barrier...!!!”
A protective magic enveloped her like a sphere.
Though it was a weak barrier and couldn’t block all the attacks, it diverted the sword energy enough to minimize harm to her body.
The golden wave that had scraped Astina soon dissipated.
Thud!
Astina fell to the ground from mid-air.
Her body bore dozens of wounds.
Fortunately, none were serious.
Astina wiped the blood flowing from her wounds and picked herself up from the ground.
She tried to rise to her feet.
Aryandor watched her struggle and smirked.
"This is the result of deliberately inducing time magic."
From the beginning, Astina had intended to draw out Aryandor’s time magic.
When Aryandor first used Royal swordsmanship, Astina had taken to the air.
Normally, she would have tried to escape from the golden wave that covered the ground.
But Astina didn't make that move.
Instead, she chose to counter Aryandor's attack.
“Thinking you could unravel time magic when you couldn't even decipher my swordsmanship?”
Aryandor was several steps ahead of Astina.
He had already read her thoughts.
Yet, he played along with what Astina wanted.
He judged that he could win even then.
“Neither McDowell nor Cromwell could unravel time magic. Do you really think you can?”
McDowell, Cromwell.
Both had faced Aryandor.
McDowell lost an arm, and Cromwell, who fought with the information gleaned from that encounter, achieved no significant success.
“Did you grow overconfident hearing praise at the academy? Thinking you can defeat me?”
“Haah... Haah...”
Astina, exhausted, forced herself to stand.
“Let that arrogance be your downfall.”
Aryandor, holding his sword, took steps towards her.
Astina, watching him approach, gasped for breath and spoke.
“You know...?”
“What?”
“That there’s something to learn even from someone weaker than you...”
“Nonsense in the face of death.”
Aryandor ignored Astina’s words and stepped forward.
Then, mana stirred from Astina.
“Ugh?”
Aryandor, moving slowly, suddenly felt immense pressure.
He couldn't move forward.
His body was forcefully pressed down.
“What is this...”
A focused gravity field.
It was a spell Astina had prepared earlier.
This magic wasn't solely her own creation.
In her second year, Luna had used a magical tool in a personal evaluation.
It was a spell that focused gravity on a point, pressing down a scarecrow.
Inspired by that spell, Astina had developed her own.
“And... just because I’m weaker than the professors doesn’t mean I can’t beat you.”
Astina’s lips curled into a smirk.
“I'm not alone.”
Aryandor sensed killing intent at those words and moved his mana.
“Time...!”
“Too late.”
Just then, a voice sounded from behind Aryandor.
He turned to see the face.
“Rudy... Ast...”
Crack!
Before Aryandor could finish speaking.
The fist pierced through Aryandor's chest.
He looked at the person who had thrown the punch.
It was someone who shouldn't have been there.
A man with the distinctive golden hair of the Astria family.
It was Rudy Astria.
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