Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 119

"Ugh—"

Dercion, uttering incomprehensible sounds, slowly raised his staff.

And then.

Kwaaaaaaaaaah—!

The black beam we had seen earlier struck us once again.

Fortunately, it wasn't as massive as before, perhaps because he lacked the time to gather enough demonic energy.

Crackle!

Just as I was about to lean back while channeling electricity,

Shwaaaaaaaaaah—!

A cold chill rose from behind, freezing the beam solid.

It was Roan.

"I can't hold it for long."

"There was no need for that in the first place."

"Tsk... Show off."

I launched myself forward as Roan clicked his tongue.

Thud!

Closing the distance with Dercion, I released three strands of [Swimming Light].

Shhh!

With only one target, [Swimming Light] swiftly swam through the air.

The others also started to provide fire support with perfect timing.

"[Ignite]!"

With Kayla's chant, a stream of flames surged across the ground.

Trrrrrr...!

Like a burning fuse, it quickly reached Dercion's location, and

Whoosh!

It erupted into an inferno at his feet.

I clenched my fist in sync with it.

Crackle!

The [Swimming Light] enveloping Dercion's body transformed into holy power.

"Transform."

The finishing touches were Thompson's renewed hamburger and Barundel's full-power swing.

Thompson, who had somehow leaped into the air, descended directly above Dercion.

Bam!

Thud!

His fist, accelerated by gravity, struck Dercion squarely in the face, and Barundel's axe dug into his shoulder.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing.

It was clear that Dercion had suffered a significant blow, even without checking.

However.

'...What's this?'

Something felt strange.

I quickly realized why.

Despite all the attacks hitting their mark, not a single groan escaped Dercion's lips.

Crack, crack!

Dercion, whose neck had been turned sideways by Thompson's punch, twisted his head back.

It was a grotesque movement, like something out of a horror movie.

I could even hear the sound of his bones realigning.

And after confirming that, Dercion...

"Ugh..."

His face was scorched black, his jaw dislocated, blood gushing from his shoulder, and white smoke rising from the areas burned by holy power...

He was a complete mess.

However, despite his appearance,

"Ugh, Ughh—"

Gooooo!

Dercion didn't hesitate for a moment and channeled his demonic energy.

As if he couldn't feel any pain.

Shwaaaaa—

Fortunately, the beam Dercion fired was frozen again by Roan, but the shock lingered.

'What did he do?'

Even if he was an empty shell, this was beyond common sense.

It felt like looking at a zombie.

'A zombified 8th Circle mage...'

Could there be anything more terrifying?

More importantly, we had to defeat him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Shing!

Putting aside my thoughts, I created a sword of light and closed the distance further.

Clang!

However, Dercion, as if determined not to be defeated this time, deployed a dark red barrier to block my approach.

Simultaneously,

Swoosh!

Two afterimages appeared beside Dercion's body.

It was the clone magic we had seen before.

My companions and I naturally swallowed hard.

"The number of enemies has increased to three."

"Crazy old man, if you're going to die, die peacefully...!"

Kayla and Thompson expressed their dissatisfaction, but Dercion wasn't done yet.

Along with the two newly created clones, he began to condense mana.

Like gathering energy for a Spirit Bomb, a large sphere of mana began to form above Dercion's staff.

And then.

Ching, ching, ching, ching, ching!

Large magic circles began to appear one after another behind Dercion.

It was a structure I had never seen before, and its complexity was evident at a glance, indicating high-level magic.

"We have to stop him!"

Roan, sensing the danger, shouted.

He immediately released his cold energy to slow down Dercion's condensation process, while Kayla attacked the clone on the left and Thompson attacked the one on the right.

And meanwhile, I...

"... ..."

Just stared blankly at Dercion's magic circles.

For some reason, I felt like I had to witness the process of this magic.

That blind thought paralyzed me.

- Magic learning ability increases by 300%.

"Mr First Place, what are you doing!"

I couldn't hear what Thompson was shouting.

It felt like when I first entered this world and encountered magic for the first time.

With a bang! to the back of my head, enlightenment came.

'Demon magic...? No, is it spatial magic?'

My eyes naturally began to analyze the structure of the magic circle, and even further, the type of magic.

Soon.

'It's spatial magic...'

I came to the conclusion that it was spatial magic.

That's when I came to my senses.

'Damn it, what am I doing...!'

We needed every hand we could get to stop that magic.

But I was spacing out in such a situation?

Shing!

Just as I belatedly tried to swing my sword of light,

Fwooosh!

Dercion's sphere, having gathered enough mana, finally exploded, and

Crack!

The space there began to split open like a gaping mouth.

It wasn't a rift.

It wasn't a rift because there was only pitch-black darkness inside, and the energy that space held...

Swooooosh!

While I was thinking that, my consciousness shut down as if someone had flipped a switch.

***

"W-what!"

Thompson shouted.

He had witnessed the situation firsthand, but he couldn't grasp what had happened.

He desperately tried to stop Dercion's magic, but he failed by a hair's breadth.

In the end, Dercion's condensed mana opened up a space, and that space suddenly exhibited a powerful suction force, and then...

"...He's gone?"

After sucking Yuhan in, it disappeared.

That was all Thompson saw.

What had happened?

"What in the world...!"

"...I've never seen magic like that before."

Judging from the reactions of those around him, it seemed there was no one who could give him an answer.

Thompson gritted his teeth.

"This fucking..."

A strong sense of guilt washed over Thompson.

Yuhan, the guy he admired so much.

The guilt of failing to protect him.

"Why did I..."

It was a split second, but he definitely had the time to move.

But why, why couldn't he move at that moment?

His mouth felt bitter.

With one wrong judgment, he had lost him.

His heart felt empty.

And all his anger was directed at Dercion.

Crack!

'...You're dying by my hand today.'

Thompson, gritting his teeth, walked forward.

It wasn't long before he muttered,

"Transform."

Crackle!

Gray, leather-textured skin covered not just his right arm, but his entire body.

It was the moment his body transformation magic reached a new level.

***

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in an unfamiliar place.

"...Where is this?"

Wherever I looked, there was only darkness.

A darkness where not a single speck of light could be found.

After spending some time in such a place, I even began to doubt if my body actually existed.

Swoosh, swoosh.

"...Ah, there it is."

Thud, thud, thud.

After confirming the existence of my body by groping around once more, I started walking forward endlessly.

Even after staying in the same place for a long time, there was no change.

Therefore, I judged that I wouldn't find any clues by staying still, but by moving.

As I walked, I retraced my memories.

'...The last thing I saw was the open space.'

Judging from the situation, it seemed I had entered that space.

The inside of that space was also filled with darkness, and the sensation of a powerful suction force just before I lost consciousness lingered.

If that was the case...

"...This is bleak."

Perhaps the chances of me getting out of here alive were slim.

It was the same as saying I couldn't get out unless Dercion intentionally opened this space again.

Even if Dercion used spatial magic once more, it was doubtful whether an exit would appear where I was currently standing.

How long did I walk while thinking such thoughts?

Thud.

"Phew, this isn't it."

After a long time, I finally collapsed to the ground.

I had given up walking.

No matter how much I walked, there was no end, and I couldn't even tell if I was walking straight because I couldn't see ahead.

Therefore, I concluded that this method wasn't working.

I immediately moved on to the next method I had in mind.

"There's only one thing left."

Swoosh.

I straightened my back and closed my eyes, maintaining my sitting position.

And I slowly began to sense the surrounding energy.

Shhh.

The surrounding mana was clearly felt even in the pitch-black darkness.@@novelbin@@

The method I came up with this time was simple.

Instead of searching for clues within this space, I would break through this space myself and get out.

'Counter spatial magic with spatial magic.'

It was one of the standard methods that could be used when dealing with spatial mages in the game.

Of course, to attempt that, I would need to be able to use spatial magic on a similar level to what Dercion cast.

Naturally, I didn't even know the basics of spatial magic right now...

'I can do it.'

Recalling the high-level magic circle from earlier, I felt confident that I could do it.

Woong—!

I immediately set about putting it into practice.

I gradually condensed the mana I felt around me.

I couldn't use clones like Dercion, but it was fine.

- Mana regeneration increased by 300%.

Because I had almost infinite regenerative power.

As long as I paid a little attention to speed, I could do it alone.

And then.

Shhh, shhh.

I extracted some mana and started creating a magic circle with it.

The detailed structure of the magic circle was vividly imprinted in my mind.

As if I had taken a picture of it.

- Magic learning ability increases by 300%.

Various shapes combined to create geometric patterns, and magic symbols densely filled the spaces between them.

I smoothly refined the boundaries of all the shapes and meticulously worked on the path for the mana to flow so that it wouldn't get tangled.

How much time had passed since I started this process?

"Finally..."

It was complete. My first spatial magic.

My whole body was drenched in cold sweat due to the immense concentration it required, but the sense of accomplishment outweighed the exhaustion.

With a trembling heart, I carefully activated it.

The mana that started flowing through the magic circle moved as I expected, and the tension made my throat dry.

"... ..."

As I watched it silently,

Crackle, crackle!

The magic circle suddenly emitted strong sparks and then vanished.

My excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

"Where did I go wrong?"

I didn't despair.

Although I was trapped in an unknown place, there was nothing threatening me.

"...Again."

I had all the time in the world.

As long as I didn't give up.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]