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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 246: Daring to Target Samael (1)
My vision blurred as if my skull was rattling.
I lowered my gaze for a moment to hide my emotions.
The urge to snap both their necks surged relentlessly within me.
"...Say that again."
After a brief silence, I raised my head again.
Kant's face was still deathly pale, but the conviction filling his eyes remained unchanged.
"I spoke of the Head of the Samael clan."
I asked, biting out each word.
"Kazen shouldn't have any connection to this."
Kant stared intently at me, then sighed.
"The content of the revelation... ends with Samael. There are no other variables. If the Demon King descends, the target can ultimately only be Samael. The Demon King... will descend upon the Clan Head."
Crack—
The moment tiny fissures spread across the ground beneath my heel.
My vision blurred.
Kwaang—
With the sound of the ground collapsing, I leaped as if bouncing off space itself, landing right in front of Kant.
In that interval, I felt a strong ripple of energy from my right but ignored it.
Paang— With that sound, the bald man bounced off the overlapping Reflection Shield, fell to his knees, and vomited blood.
I seized Kant's neck and met his eyes forcefully.
"Kuh, keuk! Young Master. There's no time."
There was no resistance.
Slowly, Kant's pupils began to roll back.
"Make the right judgment..."
With the sound of bone twisting, just as Kant was about to pass out, the entire surrounding space began to collapse uncontrollably.
Anuhar's complete annihilation.
As an aftereffect of the Spatial Explosion, the demon's domain, which formed the basis of the magic circle, began to vanish completely.
I looked at Kant, who was letting out suppressed groans.
He offered no resistance until the end.
If I applied just a bit more force here, breaking his neck wouldn't be difficult, but...
...I released the strength from my grip.
The moment the bald man with a screw loose, who had been vomiting blood aside, quickly approached, hoisted Kant onto his back, and stepped back.
In that instant, the surrounding scenery changed completely.
Kirrrrk—
The refreshing scent filling my nostrils and the chirping of mountain birds.
Lush green trees surrounded me in all directions, and a few steps away, a sheer rock cliff was visible.
A place where the blue sky peeking through the leaves felt comforting.
The moment I turned around, I knew.
"Fuck."
It was that place.
Now I finally understood why the magic circle where the Council of Seven Demons was held felt familiar.
It wasn't just my imagination.
The place where, long ago, following Elder Norman, I had discovered 'Magnus's Illusion'.
Samael's Secret Archive.
Wasn't the place I was standing right now the entrance to that very Secret Archive?
The principle by which the magic circle manifested was the same.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Was the Myriad Demon Assembly really connected to Samael?
The founder of the Myriad Demon Assembly. If the mastermind behind the Assembly was really Pelleer.
Then many situations that I couldn't understand before start to fit together.
Not breaking Kant's neck at the last moment wasn't a mistake.
It was an action close to intuition.
Like when I knew instantly that old One-Eye was training with a dagger in his left hand.
When I knew the moment I saw Taylor had reached 6-Star.
When I noticed at the Divine Clan Assembly that Black had surpassed the threshold, without a word being said.
It's the same now.
Whether it's truly intuition, or an insight born from countless omens layered deep within my subconscious, I don't know.
But I could tell for sure that Kant, that bastard, wasn't lying.
In that instant, a man flashed into my mind.
"Kazen."
Wheeeing—
I opened all the circles in my body and dug my feet into the ground.
My thighs swelled as if about to burst, wrapped in deep wind pressure.
Kwaang—
As a large crater formed behind my planted foot, I leaped powerfully into the sky.
Rising high enough in an instant to see the Main House's manor at a glance, I stepped on the air and repeatedly activated Blink.
The surrounding scenery changed in a flash.
Destination: the Northernmost Point.
'Kazen is in danger.'
The Sword Duke of Baltahar.
The Guardian Star of Arihama.
According to Fichte and Kant, both the Sword Duke and the Guardian Star are thinking the same thing.
They both suspect Kazen is the mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly.
Can they be stopped?
The Crazy Mage Squad might be able to handle Baltahar's Heavenly Swordmasters and Arihama's Guardian Knights.
But if the Ten Thousand Swordmasters and the Black Knights, who have already stepped into the realm of transcendence, join in, it won't be enough.
The Seren Clan is likely to observe without participating, but conversely, it's difficult to expect help from them either.
Moreover, it's not just them.
The Myriad Demon Assembly is also targeting Kazen.
Both the Myriad Demon Assembly and Kant's faction. Their goals are opposite, but their method is ultimately the same.
Tying me down.
Whether I'm dead or just tied down doesn't matter to them.
Perhaps Kant also judged it likely I wouldn't be persuaded by his words.
He probably just saw value in delaying me as much as possible.
Thinking that without my existence, there would be no more variables in achieving their respective goals.
Wheeeing—!
Instantly passing Khaoto and heading for the Northernmost Point, I took a red plaque from my breast pocket and infused it with mana.
The plaque given by Soul Mage Sirius.
The artifact that summons the White Magic Tower's Flying Vehicle.
There was no guarantee the tide of battle would turn even if they arrived, but I had to use every card I held.
Suddenly, the necklace fluttering in the wind came into view.
「Magnus's Illusion」
"Fuck."
Could it be that finding Magnus's Illusion in Samael's Secret Archive wasn't a coincidence either?
Was this also Pelleer's intention?
Clearly, Kant hadn't lied to me.
Also, all the circumstances I had dismissed as coincidence were now fitting together, one by one.
But still, I couldn't believe it.
Because that would be the same as denying that hellish expedition from the past.
At this point, I couldn't help but feel an ominous intuition creeping throughout my body.
Why.
Just why.
What on earth did he do in those final moments three hundred years ago?
Pelleer.
Pelleer Samael.
The damned Head of Samael.
Why did he do such things?
Where is he now?
If, as Wolf said, the last time he gave instructions to the Myriad Demon Assembly was 20 years ago...
...I couldn't even begin to guess.
There was no way Kazen could be Pelleer.
Kazen knows nothing.
He's merely the current Head of the Samael Clan.
Is Pelleer dead? Or is he still alive?
Wheeeeiiiing—!
Activating Blink at extreme speed.
Passing Shan Kris and continuing north for quite some time, the northern sky gradually began to darken.
It felt just like night was rolling in.
'Setting it aside.'
Facing the fierce wind that stung my cheeks, I shook my head.
Pelleer Samael.
Whatever his intentions were, I wouldn't let Kazen bear the karma of his predecessors.
I am the Commander of Samael's Crazy Mage Squad.
And the Head of Samael is Kazen Samael.
I won't leave behind the same regrets.
Paaaang—!
Before I knew it, complete darkness surged ahead.
As if the sun had set and night had fallen, the moment I arrived at the Northernmost Point, my surroundings were completely plunged into darkness.
Beyond the Land of Death, an ominous energy surged and rolled in, and a vast, translucent aura enveloping the entire Northernmost Point pressed down on the atmosphere.
'What a mess.'
The Shield of Heavenly Pressure filling the sky.
The form of a Golden Dragon observed from high above.
Arihama's Guardian Knights could be seen surrounding the outer edge of the Shield of Heavenly Pressure.
The night sky beyond them was pitch-black.
But I could still feel their presence.
The presences of Loren and Hector, felt far beyond in the Land of Death.
Arihama's presence, and deeper inside, the presence of Samael engaged in a bloody battle.
I raised one hand towards the front.
"Light within the darkness."
＊ ＊ ＊
With a brief flicker, a streak of light cut across the sky.
A strange presence appearing amidst the darkness of the Northernmost Point, where ominous energy surged and rolled.
A suffocating tension gripped the Northernmost Point, but this presence was more than enough to capture everyone's attention in that moment.
Like a shooting star leaving a long tail across the night sky.
It was then that the head of one Guardian Knight, part of the formation maintaining the large-scale Shield of Heavenly Pressure, turned towards the sky.
"..."
The Divine Clan of Protection, Arihama.
The shield that protects all, Heavenly Pressure.
True to its name, meaning 'pressure that presses down the heavens', the defensive barrier of strong energy deployed by Arihama's Guardian Knights allowed not even the slightest gap.
An Absolute Barrier.
It is Arihama's pride, and humanity's pride.
That supreme barrier of protection, revered by all, instilled a powerful Indomitable Will within the hearts of every Guardian Knight, but...
It wavered.
It was definitely wavering.
At the very least, the fact that the Guardian Knights were raising their heads one by one was not a meaningless action.
It was due to an unidentifiable anxiety.
The shooting star falling towards the center of the Shield of Heavenly Pressure enveloping the Northernmost Point.
The moment all the Guardian Knights forming the Shield of Heavenly Pressure simultaneously lifted their heads towards the sky.
It exploded.
Kwaaaaang—!
An explosion of light that split the darkness in two eventually bathed the entire sky above the Northernmost Point in tremendous brilliance.
"Wha- What?"
"The star... exploded?"
"Kuuuuuhk!"
In the instant the crowds gathered near the Northernmost Point squinted, feeling as if their eyes were burning from staring directly at the sun.
Disbelief colored the eyes of the Guardian Knights who grasped the situation sooner.
"The Heavenly Pressure is..."
"Collapsing?"
"It's not collapsing..."
Though their voices sounded calm, honed through countless training sessions.
The shock they received was truly indescribable.
The Shield of Heavenly Pressure formed simultaneously by the Guardian Knights.
The center of that massive Absolute Barrier, which had enveloped the Northernmost Point in a semicircle, was melting away.
"...It's not over?"
The Guardian Knight Commander responsible for the outer perimeter unconsciously looked up at the sky.
As if sensing the incoming shockwave, he shouted to his unit members and tried to deploy the Shield of Heavenly Pressure once more, but...
Suddenly, beyond the exploding light, high in the center of the sky, a single red dot caught the Commander's eye.
The Guardian Knights' pupils dilated fully in response to the surging heat.
In the fleeting moment a large meteor appeared in the sky above the melted center of the barrier, imprinted on everyone's retinas.
A simple sword suddenly appeared in the void and sliced through the meteor.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang—!
The enormous meteor split in two overhead, raining down upon the Northernmost Point.
"Uh... Huh?"
Flickering light sources and exploding flames.
Could a natural disaster be like this?
Faced with this incomprehensible phenomenon, the gathered crowds stared skyward, simultaneously struck speechless.
Similarly, while the Guardian Knights, unable to fully grasp the situation, tried to determine the cause.
Suddenly, a man walked inwards through the flames.
"...Halt. You cannot enter."
The Guardian Knight Commander responsible for the outer perimeter forced himself to look at the man.
The man looked familiar, but the surrounding flames were too intense to get a clear view.
"..."
The man stopped right in front of the Commander.
His gaze was directed inwards.
For some reason, the Guardian Knight Commander instinctively turned his head to follow the man's gaze.
Far away, where Baltahar's knights were gathered.
An old man with his right arm missing was throwing something with his left arm.
Toss—
Suddenly, as the man began to move, the Commander, sensing something ominous, opened all his mana cores and raised his shield.
"Outsiders are forbidden entry..."
Slice—
Suddenly, a cold sensation on the back of his neck.
However, there was no feeling at all on the shield raised before him.
In the very instant a question filled the Commander's mind due to the dissonance between sensation and perception.
Thud—.
With the feeling of his vision splitting, the view before him was diagonally severed.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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