Episode 146: The Decisive Battle #2
Kramel Wasteland.
A vast, barren land devoid of dust, wind, or life.
“…”
Yohan narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. A sense of alienation and dissonance crept over him.
Even with the sun in the sky, there was no warmth. Even when night fell, there was no cold.
There was no wind to feel against his skin. No sounds to hear when he listened closely. No solid sensation when he stepped on the ground.
Each step he took gave him the illusion that the ground was crumbling beneath his feet. Yet, when he looked down, there was neither sand nor stone. Where soil should have been, an endless expanse of empty gray stretched out before him.
He was standing on solid ground, yet he left no footprints. However, space itself remained undistorted. The laws of this place were undeniably missing something fundamental.
It was empty.
That was the most precise way to define it.
Not land, but the remnants of land.
Not something that exists, but a place where something once existed. Nothing was born in Kramel Wasteland. And no one could live here.
This was a land imbued with nothingness.
A battleground where lives would be on the line.
“Kramel Wasteland was barren, but not this barren. Is this your doing?”
Yohan asked as he drew upon his mana. Standing opposite him was Rein Adriche, his green eyes glowing ominously.
“There’s no need for obstructions in a battle between transcendents.”
Rein extended his hand leisurely and clenched his fist as if grasping the air.
“I merely made some adjustments.”
He shrugged. That only heightened Yohan’s wariness. There was a chance traps had been set. Trusting him was out of the question.
Of course, as the Master of the Magic Tower, he might have simply leveled the ground for a fair fight. But Yohan had his doubts. Losing here meant death, after all.
“Hmm, you seem distrustful of me. But I am not so petty as to resort to cowardly tricks after calling for a duel.”
As Yohan shot him a suspicious glare, Rein shook his head and sighed. The genuinely aggrieved expression on his face only stoked Yohan’s anger further.
“Oh, really? Because from where I’m standing, you’ve already been plenty cowardly. Or have you forgotten how you ambushed the Imperial Capital by tearing through space?”
Yohan’s voice dripped with incredulity as he retorted. Beneath his low, restrained tone, fury seethed.
“Haha, that’s different. I simply used the abilities at my disposal. It wasn’t during an official duel. Am I wrong?”
“What a load of nonsense.”
RUMBLE—!
Yohan explosively released his mana. Blue lightning crackled as space warped. The mana in the atmosphere was forcibly compressed, its overwhelming density tearing the air apart.
“Oh…”
Rein observed him with intrigue.
“Your mana reserves are impressive. Perhaps even on par with mine, or greater.”
CRACKLE!
With an overwhelming density that distorted the air, lightning erupted from Yohan’s body. The excessively compressed mana detonated, manifesting as bolts of electricity.
“Let’s see if you can stay that smug.”
BOOM!
The moment the deafening sound rang out, Yohan vanished, leaving only an afterimage. The ground beneath him fractured like a spiderweb—high-speed movement through a spatial distortion technique.
“!?”
Rein’s eyes widened momentarily. He couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Yohan was gone. No, he was simply too fast for Rein to perceive.
BAAANG!
A fist crashed into Rein’s mana barrier from the side, triggering a massive shockwave that swept across the area. It was a combat technique used by knights.
FLASH!
Yohan vanished once again, leaving behind an afterimage. Every time he reappeared, he relentlessly pounded Rein’s mana barrier. Fist after mana-infused fist rained down without pause.
RUMBLE!
Rein’s mana barrier was far thicker and stronger than ordinary ones, but it had a flaw—it required him to perceive an attack in order to activate properly. That was why Yohan was overwhelming him with sheer speed.
Yet, the barrier did not budge.
After all, Rein could read the mana around him. Speed alone wouldn’t be enough to break through; he was perceiving everything.
“Haha.”
Rein chuckled. The impacts resonated through his barrier. Attacks far surpassing the level of an elite knight poured down like a torrential storm.
Using hand-to-hand combat was a wise decision. If Yohan fought him head-on with magic, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Smiling, Rein calmly gathered his mana.
“La Lanza Delus Adrabesara, the spear of light shall pierce through.”
BOOM—!
From the ground, radiant beams of light erupted. Their tips were honed to razor-sharp points. A prison of spears made of pure mana.
Rein had already read Yohan’s mana. He had fully perceived his exact position.
In his mind, the formula unfolded.
SHWIP!
The spears swiftly homed in on their target.
“Damn.”
Yohan frowned as he surged forward, ignoring even air resistance. The speed of the spears was fast. At this rate, he would be caught before long.
“I’ll eliminate them.”
Yohan, who had been evading the spears, suddenly stopped. His fingertips aimed at the incoming projectiles.
Wuuuung!
A sphere of energy began to draw in mana. A torrent of magical power swirled violently, creating a fierce gale.
The projectile fired from his fingertips took on the shape of a cone.
Kwaaa—!
A refined yet ferocious beam of magical energy erupted with enough force to link the heavens and the earth.
The explosion of the rupture point, containing the mana that had been released, suppressed, and then compressed again, engulfed the spears.
KWAAAAA—!!
A momentary flash of light. A crimson glow blanketed the land, and the explosion of magical energy spread outward as if devouring space itself.
Kuuuuung!!
The magic released from the epicenter raged wildly, forming a storm that seemed capable of consuming everything. Mana twisted mercilessly, and for an instant, the magical forces of the two individuals clashed—
Then collapsed, leaving nothing behind.
In the heart of the bombardment, Yohan’s eyes glowed sharply. Behind him, he sensed the presence of an immense magical force.
Rein Adriche.
Yohan turned immediately. There was no time to hesitate.
Kwaaa—!
The rupture points at his fingertips exploded in rapid succession.
Crimson flashes tore through space. An explosive beam designed to completely erase a single mage. Overloaded and compressed mana ignited, unleashing a cataclysmic destruction.
At that moment—
“Noches de Mil Dolores, A Thousand Shades of Night.”
The three primary colors of light compressed into one and began to spin. A fusion spell of three attributes. The endlessly rotating mana distorted space itself, and the violent eruption of energy collided head-on with the crimson beam.
Kwaaa—!
The moment light and mana intertwined, space was torn apart, and a massive shockwave burst forth. The swirling tri-colored energy engulfed the land and sky, a dust storm sweeping across the battlefield.
Yohan covered his mouth and nose with his forearm.
Pasa-sasak—!
As the mist of magical energy cleared, he caught sight of Rein Adriche. The man still carried an air of ease. Yohan narrowed his eyes.
‘He should have taken a fatal wound.’
Yet, he showed no sign of it. However, Francia wouldn’t lie—he must be acting. In fact, there had been a delay in the completion of his spell.
“That spell… I thought it was merely a high-tier spell, but its power is beyond comparison. Did you alter its formula?”
A smirk played at Rein’s lips. Interesting. The magic Yohan used was Rupture Point. A technique so inefficient and difficult to control that no one ever used it.
Yet Yohan wielded it freely. That alone was strange, but its power had been amplified to an abnormal degree. In terms of sheer destructive force, it was comparable to transcendental magic.
“You must need some rest. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to engage in conversation.”
“Haha, of course not. I’m simply curious.”
Rein laughed nonchalantly, but for a brief moment, his shoulder flinched.
The truth was, he did need rest. But what troubled him was something else.
‘…How did he know?’
He had done everything to hide his condition. Had Yohan noticed? The flames of divine punishment still burned within his abdomen. Yet, he had completely sealed off his mana—there was no way to tell.
‘Ah, the Obsidian Saintess must have told him.’
A shadow passed over Rein Adriche’s eyes.
His opponent knew he was critically wounded. That meant he could no longer afford to delay.
“Well then, if that’s what you want, I’ll put an end to this conversation. This is a sacred duel, a battle between transcendental mages.”
Rein released his mana. A massive storm erupted around him.
In an instant, the overwhelming force surged through space, and razor-sharp currents slashed indiscriminately at everything around them.
Kwakakakak—!!
The atmosphere itself was torn apart. The surrounding mana was helplessly swept up by Rein’s energy.
“La Estrella de Ese Cielo, The Star of the Sky.”
Kuuuuuuuu—!!
Space was compressed. An overwhelming presence spread across the heavens.
Yohan’s eyes widened.
His instincts screamed at him.
He looked up.
Something was falling.
In the distance, the sky split apart. At first, it was just a thin crack. But the fissure gradually widened.
And from that rift—
A colossal mass began to fall. It obscured the light. It altered the wind. It distorted gravity. The earth trembled.
Snap!
The clouds that veiled the sky were torn apart.
Through the gap, darkness descended, ready to engulf the land.
Kwaaaaaah—!
A mass that crushed space itself. What was falling was a meteor. Not just any falling object—this was a cataclysmic mass large enough to blanket the entire Kramel Wasteland.
That was a real star crashing down.
“Damn…!”
Cold sweat trickled down Yohan’s forehead. The immense mana pressed down on his shoulders. Could he stop that meteor? Of course, there was no absolute need to destroy it. He could always evade it with high-speed movement.
‘Dodging is the best option.’
He gathered mana and stretched his hand into the air. He tried to form a distortion orb, but the mana flow had completely twisted. The shockwaves from the meteor’s descent were shaking space itself, disrupting the balance of mana.
Because he had to form the sphere in the air rather than from his body, its structure wasn’t stable. Given the sheer mass crashing down, it was only natural that the flow was being warped.
“Damn it.”
There was only one thing he could do—use his own mana to destroy the meteor. But how? Manipulating mana to stop it was absurd. And there was no way Rupture Point could erase something of that scale.
“…I’ll have to use my strongest spell.”
That too, with all the mana he had.
“Huff…!”
Yohan took a deep breath and aimed his fingertips toward the sky. A tremendous surge of mana whirled around him, forming two spheres—one of emission, one of absorption. A vortex took shape between them.
Wuuuuung—!
He poured his mana into it. The sphere of absorption devoured the energy, increasing its rotation. At its center, spiraling mana raged, whipping up a violent storm.
His fingertips trembled. The overwhelming mana surging through his body sent shivers down his spine. But there was no problem with his calculations. His circuits were still intact. As for the amount of mana—there was no need to even mention It.
Emission and absorption fused together. But he didn’t stop there. He added the properties he had gained upon transcending as a Mage—space distortion and mana manipulation.
And the result—
A Transcendent Spell.
Heaven’s Ruin.
Wuuuuuuung—!
Two opposing forces merged into one. Emission and absorption—forces that tried to consume each other while simultaneously craving unity. And within them, space-twisting distortions took form.
In that instant—
A colorless sphere shot toward the sky.
Collision with the meteor.
BOOOOM!
An explosion erupted. A concentrated mass of three intertwined attributes struck the meteor head-on. In that moment, the entire mana flow of Kramel Land froze.
—Biiiiiiiiiiiii—
After the deafening boom, only a ringing sound echoed in his ears. Within that eerie silence, the clash of opposing mana forces triggered a chain of detonations.
The meteor shattered, its remains consumed by the distortions in space. The mana danced wildly, obliterating everything—while simultaneously absorbing even the traces of that destruction.
Rumble…!
A powerful gravitational pull spun outward, dragging everything in. The meteor disintegrated. Space was torn apart. But at that very moment, the shattered sky began to mend.
The aurora-like radiance that had flooded the heavens was sucked away and vanished.
And then—
Through the fully cleared clouds, sunlight streamed down.
“What… is this?”
Rein, mouth agape, stared at Yohan with trembling eyes. And he saw—the meteor, completely erased, leaving not a single trace behind.
What was this? How was this even possible?
The Transcendent Spell, That Star in the Sky, was his strongest magic. And yet, to have it erased so effortlessly?
…He couldn’t believe it.
“I almost died, you know.”
Sunlight bathed the earth.
Underneath it, Yohan smirked.
“What the…”
A chill crept up Rein’s spine.