Chapter 1115
Huidor...! No, not yet! But the shape is similar!
The Heavenly Fire General, seeing the not particularly large water droplet, recalled the name of a magic it had once heard in the spirit world.
The world of mortals was only an instant, but the achievements they left behind sometimes had a stronger influence than expected. Extraordinary magic was one of them.
In a way, a water droplet was a tool least suited to destruction.
Was it not merely the weakest in destructive power among the elements, gathered into a round bead?
However, placing the most destructive and ferocious concept inside it was the core of Huidor.
Though it was only a small water droplet, the power contained within was a paradoxical magic that surpassed a vast mountain range!
What that mage loved by spirits was casting now was not the complete Huidor, but it could not be denied that he had imitated it rather plausibly.
Perhaps, if he skillfully refined his own thought and compressed it even further, he would be able to take one more step closer to the original magic.
The newly modified water-orb shot drew a graceful arc.
It was a clean and elegant trajectory, but the result was brutal. The warriors summoned by the Heavenly Fire Generals were swept away.
'To think he would tear through space itself!'
The Heavenly Fire General smiled bitterly in regret.
A powerful spirit did not take even an ordinary pebble lightly. When pushed to the extreme, even a pebble could kill a magic dragon.
All the more so if it was a spinning bead of water. A conceptualized rotation, not a physical rotation, could interfere with space itself and tear it apart.
And the opponent did not handle space only in attack. That fellow was vexingly skilled in defense as well.
Look at that outer garment.
The Heavenly Fire General had wondered why the warriors it had summoned had faded away without even the slightest omen, but on closer inspection, this too was using space.
The outer garment, divided and engraved across countless parallel dimensions, was infinitely splitting space so that approaching enemies could not come close.
A space mage who had reached a high realm could ride a turtle and still move ahead of any fine horse.
That outer garment was a step above even that level. It was trapping approaching enemies in a spatial labyrinth where they would move farther away forever.
From the outside, it looked like an instant, but the warriors made of fire had failed to overcome time and had faded away after only breaking through space in vain.
Such a powerful artifact was not something one could possess simply because a mage’s personal ability was outstanding.
It was probably a luck made possible because he was loved by countless beings.
As expected of a mortal loved by spirits. But this Heavenly Fire General does not give up easily! Now, try receiving a blow from one hated by spirits and stars...
The Heavenly Fire General was as tenacious and persistent as its infamy suggested.
Another spirit, even a fairly violent spirit, would have long since given up after being blocked this much and suffering so many losses, but it absolutely did not retreat.
Whenever it saw a mortal born with such a fate, wanting to charge at them was the Heavenly Fire General’s very nature.
However, the Heavenly Fire General had been bewitched by the magic the mortal before it was showing and had forgotten the enemies gathered around them.
This place was a den of mages!
I’ll kill you!!!!
Surprisingly, the first to begin a counterattack was not the Magic Tower Master or Professor Voladi, but Jowrin.
The experienced mages had sensed from the atmosphere of the situation that Lee Han was not in immediate danger right now.
But Jowrin was different.
Seeing some mad spirit attack her contractor made Jowrin’s eyes roll back, and whether or not a terrible wall of flame blocked her path, she charged fiercely.
Had she been an ordinary living creature, she would have paid the price dearly by burning in reverse, but the bloodline of the dragon race, the mightiest race, protected Jowrin.
Aside from a few scorched spots and a few scales falling off, Jowrin did not have a single wound. It was hard to believe she had forcibly broken through the flames of a king-class spirit.
The Heavenly Fire General seemed dumbfounded as well, and muttered.
Either I have grown greatly weaker, or dragons have become truly much stronger...
Jowrin did not attempt to talk with the other party. She simply collided with it at full force.
The Heavenly Fire General was hotter than any flame she had experienced until now, but Jowrin paid it no mind and struck out with her forepaw, then bit down. It was a ferocious attack reminiscent of a wild beast.
Even though the body the Heavenly Fire General had constructed after finally drawing out the power of its main body was being greatly destroyed, it was not discouraged.
Rather, it was greatly delighted by the fact that it had discovered an enraged dragon.
An enraged dragon! I do not know how long it has been since I last saw ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) one!
Dragons were the race whose emotional changes were the least frequent and who rarely interfered in worldly affairs.
Perhaps in ancient times, when demons swarmed from all directions like a boiling mass, it might have been different, but since the current continent was in a period of stability, seeing an enraged dragon was even more difficult.
Yet here it was, seeing an enraged dragon like this.
It was even hopeful that perhaps that rage would surge higher and give birth to an evil dragon or a magic dragon.
What opponent could be more worth anticipating than a dragon who had released its restrictions on destruction due to a deep wound?
“Your Majesty!”
Lee Han called Jowrin sharply.
It was a simple shout, but at the same time, it was not a simple shout. That voice, filled with urgency and desperation, contained strong mana and intent.
Thanks to that, Jowrin’s eyes, which had turned red-hot with rage, returned to normal. The Heavenly Fire General rebuked Lee Han as if it found this regrettable.
Why? Why would you do such a weak thing?
It was not merely because of the Heavenly Fire General’s own greed; even from a mortal’s perspective, this was a foolish choice.
Why would one reduce a dragon’s combat power by one’s own hand in a situation like this?
An outstanding strategist would have poured oil on the rage.
“...Ha. You want something that isn’t weak?”
Lee Han almost never got truly angry at beings from other dimensions.
Not because he did not get angry, but because there was little point in getting angry.
The Yaksha King had been the same. What meaning was there in getting angry when nothing changed?
However, the Heavenly Fire General broke through that reason and made Lee Han angry.
Seeing the mortal shoot back coldly, the Heavenly Fire General was instead delighted.
Yes!
“Good!”
Lee Han stared at the opponent coldly and took out the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons.
As an enormous amount of mana spread all the way beneath the bracelet into the bottomless abyss, the demons murmured in voices full of expectation.
Which demon would seize fortune and be able to go outside?
However, the demons’ fortune ended exactly there.
There were no professors who would stand by and watch while their student tried to use an object like the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons right in front of them.
Thuk!
A bursting sound that ordinary people could not hear rang out. It was an attack that cut through space and stabbed the Heavenly Fire General’s essence in the spirit world.
Professor Voladi launched a chain of attacks with an expressionless face. The Heavenly Fire General wanted to praise the opponent’s attack, but could not.
The enemy mage had first severed the Heavenly Fire General’s telepathic speech.
'Why?'
The Heavenly Fire General could not understand why the opponent was targeting the most useless part first.
Meanwhile, Magic Tower Master Eullangdam also moved into action. As Eullangdam swung a staff and chanted a spell, a modest daylily flower bloomed above the Heavenly Fire General.
The Heavenly Fire General, who had been so violent and belligerent, suddenly had its momentum grow faint and became docile. Like a patient who had forgotten everything.
Eullangdam ground teeth.
“If I cannot seal that spirit bastard away forever today, then this old fool deserves to be deceived by Your Excellency as many more times as it takes!”
Strictly speaking, the mages here had suffered no damage.
The Magic Tower’s facilities were intact, and Lee Han had not been hurt either.
But in truth, there was one greatest damage. It was the pride of the Daylily Magic Tower.
It had broken through and caused a rampage in a place the Magic Tower had prepared?
Quite... fierce...
The Heavenly Fire General found it far too regrettable to leave this place.
When, where, and how would it ever again meet such distinguished enemies?
Moreover, that mortal had not yet even brought out the power of the other spirits and stars.
It wanted to pull out that essence and experience it directly, as if taking out the pulsing heart hidden inside.
Things were gradually becoming truly dangerous, but the Heavenly Fire General tried to draw power from its main body once more.
Even though it had suffered all kinds of fatal injuries, it was truly a terrible stubbornness.
Professor Voladi’s eyebrow rose slightly. From the sensation at the fingertips, Professor Voladi realized the opponent was preparing a last struggle.
Eullangdam was the same. Seeing it somehow push away the daylily flower and maintain its sanity, the records seemed to have underestimated it instead.
The two mages quietly raised the intensity of their attacks. Rather than watch this spirit thrash around, they intended to immediately damage it and reverse-summon it.
“How dare you!”
With a short shout, Professor Garcia appeared behind the Heavenly Fire General.
Unlike the other two mages, Professor Garcia, who lacked deep knowledge of magical combat, had taken time to load usable combat magic.
Moreover, choosing a spell suited to the current situation was no easy matter. There were already few combat spells Professor Garcia had learned, and yet from among them, a spell suited to the current situation had to be chosen.
Even so, Professor Garcia did not retreat. How could a teacher stay behind when a student was over there?
With a sound of tearing air, Professor Garcia’s fist struck the Heavenly Fire General’s vital point. The various spells wrapped around the fist exploded brutally.
The Heavenly Fire General, already under fierce assault starting from Jowrin’s attack, then Professor Voladi and Eullangdam’s attacks, could endure no longer and was immediately reverse-summoned.
The mages watching from the hall were shocked and began murmuring.
From the outside, it looked as if the spirit that had endured all sorts of attacks had been blown away with a single punch.
Professor Garcia cried out in embarrassment.
“It was already on the verge of vanishing before I hit it!!”
Of course, that did not stop the mages from whispering.
***
After the battle ended and the mages were cleaning up the ruined surroundings, Lee Han applied medicine to Jowrin together with Professor Garcia.
It was only a few scales that had come off, but he could not help worrying.
Even during that, Jowrin was strangely silent. Instead, only her eyes rolled this way and that.
Worried by this unfamiliar appearance, the baby basilisk said.
-Is she hurt somewhere?
I am not hurt...
-People who hide that they are hurt usually say that too...
The baby basilisk was about to point that out, then flinched. Jowrin had sighed dejectedly.
Jowrin... will probably be forbidden from going out when she returns...
-......
The baby basilisk was so dumbfounded that venom almost flowed from its salivary glands.
What kind of nonsense was that??
However, Jowrin was very serious.
She had barely managed to beg her contractor earnestly and come out together, only to forget the order not to transform and cause such a major accident.
Perhaps her younger sibling’s words had been right.
'Maybe Jowrin should simply have stayed inside.'
“What are you talking about, Your Majesty! You saved Student Lee Han!”
“That is right, Your Majesty. You stepped forward for my sake, so how could I forbid you from going out? Do I look that cold-hearted to you?”
A little... Ah, no. Jowrin trusted her contractor!
Jowrin had become very quick-witted recently.
Somehow, this situation did not feel like a situation where she was being punished.
Could it be?
Then Jowrin is innocent?!
“Of course, I am the one who should be grateful.”
Hurray!
Jowrin showed wingbeats filled with joy.
As expected, just like in old stories, a deed done with a good heart was bound to be rewarded.
Seeing that, Lee Han felt slightly uneasy.
'...Surely today’s experience will not have a bad effect, right?'
“Your Majesty. Still, please do not transform and fight from now on.”
Even if Lee Han is in danger?
“Yes.”
Even if Lee Han is really in danger?
“...Your Majesty. Please write, ‘I shall not transform and fight as I please from now on,’ one hundred times. You may not write it with magic.”
Why, why?! You said I was innocent...!
While Jowrin was flustered, Lee Han suddenly felt a hot sensation on the back of his hand.
A sensation he had experienced several times before.
It was the sensation felt from a contract with a spirit.
But to be precise, this sensation was not the sensation felt after a contract, but the sensation of some spirit applying for a contract.
To Lee Han, it was also a very unfamiliar sensation.
'What is this?'
Wondering whether rumors had spread in the spirit world because he had fought an evil spirit, Lee Han opened his mind and made contact.
Perhaps his popularity with spirits was finally exploding.
Ooooh... Were you perhaps waiting for me?
“......”
At the Heavenly Fire General’s voice, Lee Han immediately closed his mind and blocked the contact coming from the spirit world.