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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 179
Astrape, the Spear of the Thunder God.
When I first reached the 7th Circle, I collapsed from mana depletion after firing a single shot. It was an over-spec, unique magic of mine.
Of course, how many spells do I even use that aren't my unique magic at this point?
It wasn't until I reached Overlord-class in the latter half of my growth that my chronic mana shortage was resolved.
Back then, it was effectively one of my ultimate trump cards.
Originally, even at my current level, this spell should still be limited to a single shot.
But that didn’t matter to me.
My greatest advantage has always been that, even as a 1st Circle mage, I already possessed Overlord-class mana reserves.
The mana required to use Astrape?
I could take a scoop from the ocean, and it wouldn’t make a difference.
As if to mock his predictions, multiple Astrape spears began materializing around me.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Someone else's mana is none of your concern."
Thunder Spear, Astrape.
Full Salvo.
Crackle!!
At my command, the thunder spears hovering around me all launched toward him at once.
* * *
— Kraaaahhh!!!
Baril writhed in excruciating pain.
It was an absolutely terrifying spell.
Its structure was so complex that he couldn’t even begin to understand it, and the sheer volume of mana contained within was staggering—even to him.
How could a mere human be capable of this?
Baril, who had existed for a long time, simply could not comprehend it.
Long ago, some cultists had released his seal without even realizing it, then left.
Since then, he had pursued his desires as he always had.
The events in the Holy Kingdom had been a part of that.
Even if problems arose, it didn’t matter.
Humans were nothing more than insignificant creatures to him.
Even if things went wrong, he was confident that nothing could truly threaten him.
And that confidence hadn’t changed.
He acknowledged that Leon’s existence far exceeded his expectations, but in the end, he was still just a human.
Baril admitted his complacency.
But he was certain.
No matter how powerful Leon was, he lacked the means to kill Baril.
Leon’s power was beyond anything he had foreseen, but in the end, Baril would be the victor.
His wings were slowly regenerating.
Observing this, Baril once again evaded Leon’s attacks and launched a counterattack.
What baffled him the most was how Leon, that human, seemed to understand the attack patterns of a dragon so well.
His mana reserves were inhuman.
He knew too much about dragons.
Was he one of the dragonkin?
No, that was impossible.
There were no active dragonkin left on the continent.
The thoughts in his mind were growing complicated, but for now, it was time to retreat.
It had only been a few minutes since their battle began.
And yet, in those few minutes, he had suffered multiple fatal wounds.
Feigning vulnerability, he deliberately allowed Leon’s attack to land.
Then, the moment Leon took the bait and lunged forward—
Whoosh!
His tail, engulfed in black flames, coiled tightly around Leon in an instant.
Leon was unable to resist.
— Foolish wretch! Your arrogance will be your downfall!
He acknowledged Leon's strength.
But now that he had him wrapped in his tail, all that overwhelming power was his to take.
As he absorbed the mana from Leon’s body, Baril felt an immense surge of vitality.
As expected!
This monster possesses absurd amounts of mana!
His severed wings regenerated instantly.
The deep gash in his abdomen was healing much slower for some reason, but regaining his wings alone was enough.
Without hesitation, Baril took flight, carrying Leon bound in his tail.
Soaring higher and higher, he was in an excellent mood.
Such an unfathomable amount of mana!
With this, he could become even stronger than before—overwhelmingly so.
He would drain Leon dry, turning him into a withered husk.
Hovering high in the sky, he looked down at Leon mockingly.
— Your mana will now become my power. Did you predict this?
Leon remained silent, his head lowered, staring downwards.
Baril, reveling in his newfound strength, gathered energy in his mouth for a breath attack.
His power was overflowing.
At this rate, he could obliterate the Holy Kingdom’s barrier in an instant.
And just as he was about to unleash his breath—
Something felt wrong.
He knew Leon possessed vast amounts of mana, but there had to be a limit.
Why wasn't it depleting?
By now, any ordinary human would have been reduced to a dried-up corpse hundreds of times over.
Yet, Leon’s body remained completely intact.
No, rather—
Even more mana was flowing into him.
— Kruk?!
Something was terribly wrong.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Panicked, he scattered the breath attack he had been charging and twisted his body in alarm.
— N-No! Stop! Stop it!!
The moment he tried to release Leon from his tail—
The space around Leon tore open as if the very fabric of reality was ripping apart.
Swords poured out of the rift and embedded themselves mercilessly into Baril’s body.
— Kraaaahhh!!
It was just swords piercing him.
Yet, for some reason, he couldn't move his tail.
"Why stop now? I was being generous."
Leon finally lifted his head, smirking at him.
"What’s wrong? Feeling like you’ve had too much?"
— W-Who… what the hell are you?!
Baril was overcome with sheer terror.
Now that he faced him directly, he could see it clearly—
The utterly absurd amount of mana coursing through Leon’s body.
Even after absorbing so much, he had only taken a fraction.
This wasn’t possible.
It made no sense for a human body to contain this much mana.
What was Leon, truly?
— Khhhk?! Ugh!
His unprepared body—
The sudden influx of mana—
It had gone beyond excess.
Even a dragon, intimately attuned to mana, was now succumbing to mana poisoning.
His body was collapsing.
The mana coursing through his veins went berserk, defying his will.
— Kuhak! Guh!
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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This was a serious blow.
If he wasn’t careful, even if his body recovered, he felt as though he would suffer permanent and fatal damage.
He had to escape.
Even if it meant years or even decades of recuperation, survival was the priority.
With that thought, Baril soared high into the sky and shouted at Leon.
— Damnable wretch! I will not forget this humiliation!
“Running away?”
— Kh…
“It’s your choice, but it’s been five minutes. Look down there.”
As Leon grinned and snapped his fingers, his grip weakened, and the dragon began to fall freely.
But Baril could no longer focus on him.
What caught his eyes on the ground was a being that had not been there just moments ago, radiating dazzling light.
That woman…
Her gray wings rapidly turned pure white, and their number increased—one pair, then two, then three.
Ah… Archangel…
The unfathomable entity summoned by the saintess, Nadia…
Hadn't that being already left?
That woman had been standing beside Leon Cascadia—so how could she suddenly reveal such a form here?
As she raised one hand, a small, pure-white spear, only three finger joints in length, slowly floated above her palm.
That thing… was dangerous.
More than anything he had ever encountered, that was the most dangerous.
Baril hastily attempted to cast a teleportation spell to escape.
But at that moment, her six wings flared open, and her form shot upward, surpassing him in an instant.
As if she had been waiting, her six wings expanded, illuminating the night sky as if it were daylight.
— Ah…
Above her head, her golden halo spun rapidly, and the tiny white spear in her palm vanished.
— W-where did it go?!
As Baril frantically turned his head, trying to locate the missing spear of light—
Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—
All sound vanished.
A deafening silence took over, leaving only a piercing ringing in his ears.
Instinctively, he looked down.
There, embedded in the center of his massive body, was a radiant, three-meter-long white spear.
* * *
"Kyaaaah!!"
"P-please, save me!"
At the moment when Diablo briefly tore through the barrier—
The dragon Baril had managed to push his power into the breach.
Most of it had been intercepted and destroyed by Diablo, but a small portion reached the ground, where it twisted and corrupted life into monstrous creatures—Baril's dragonspawn.
"Twisted wretches, here in the Holy Kingdom…?"
Unlike the undead summoned by necromancers, these abominations were grotesquely different at first glance.
They moved with a sickly, gelatinous form, attacking anything in their path.
If not for the paladins and inquisitors who immediately stepped forward to block them, the casualties would have been catastrophic.
The people taking refuge in shelters clasped their hands in desperate prayer, while devout believers wept at the desecration of the Holy Land.
"What in the world is happening?"
"Everyone! Bring the wounded over here!"
Amid the chaos, Saintess Nadia ran tirelessly.
Shaking off the initial shock, she guided the screaming civilians to the shelter.
"Saintess! You must take cover! It’s too dangerous here!"
"I cannot! I must fulfill my duty!"
"If you fall, the celestial barrier will collapse!"
In the sky, the dragon Baril was nowhere to be seen.
Leon had severed his wings when he escaped.
But the black mist that had infiltrated the Holy Kingdom still lingered.
That meant Baril’s presence had not entirely disappeared.
If the celestial barrier had not been erected and the archangel had not descended to sanctify the land…
The devastation would have been unimaginable.
"Saintess, please, leave the rest to us and rest. You’ve done enough for today."
At that moment, High Priest Dibl approached her.
Calmly, he looked up at the sky.
"Will they be okay?"
"Who are you worried about?"
"What?"
"Surely not the dragon. Are you worried about those two?"
He asked with a look of genuine disbelief.
"How long has it been since he left?"
"J-just a few minutes…"
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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