Chapter 199: Edge of Winter (2)

[Extreme Mastery Achieved:

Metal Enhancement

Completed]

◆ Purification of Mana Quality

◆ Property Granted

The purification of mana quality and the single strand of property granted beneath it signified a refined magical aura. It meant that my mana had taken on a distinct characteristic, a quality that set it apart. At the same time, it served as a clear marker of the level of mastery I had achieved.

[Mana Purification: Metal and Demon Destruction]

Mana purification was the process of removing the primal impurities from my mana, allowing it to be replaced with a distinct character.

“...

Hmm

. So you did have a plan after all.” Ihelm murmured, giving a nod.

The wall, once on the edge of breaking under the blasts of demonic energy, had already mended itself, now reinforced by an even denser flow of mana.

Like Yulie’s mana, always carrying a chill of frost; like the shadows seeping into Josephine’s; like the wind swirling around Sirio’s—the dual properties of Metal and Demon Destruction had now taken root in my mana.

I turned to face the gathered knights and mages—named characters standing as one—and ordered, “I’ll handle the wall. Ready yourselves for war.”

“...

Oh

. Yes, Professor.”

Delic and his knights moved first, with Yulie and Raphel following close behind.

However...

“If that’s the case,” Epherene said, stepping forward confidently and stopping beside me. “I’ll protect you, Professor.”

“Begone,” I commanded.

“What?!”

“Having a mage guard another mage is a waste—not exactly the most efficient use of resources,” Primien said, standing nearby.

Epherene puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

“Join the knights atop the wall and lend them your assistance,” I ordered.

Epherene was far better suited for the role, as her mana quality, capacity, and talent for destruction spells were beyond anything I could hope to rival—simply put, there was no other way to say it.

“... Okay,” Epherene said, pouting before turning away.

Epherene dragged her feet at first, but the moment the ninth blast struck, she broke into a full sprint.

“Have no worries. I am more than capable of handling myself in battle,” Primien reassured.

Knowing where Primien was from and the blood of the Scarletborn running through her veins, it was hard not to worry. However, the death variable was not in play around her—at least, not yet.

"I leave my back in your hands."

Thud—!

Planting my staff firmly into the ground, I stood unshaken, my full focus locked on the wall.

But this time, even after the tenth blast, the wall reinforced with my mana remained untouched. At the very least, no attack forged from demonic energy could ever break through the Mana of Demon Destruction...

***

Beyond the Land of Destruction, an unending horde of demonic beasts surged forward, swallowing the horizon in a tide of darkness as Ria pressed a hand to her forehead.

Had the wall fallen—had the defenses not held—this would have been more than just a disaster; it would have marked the beginning of the continent’s end. And with that, the main quest’s difficulty had risen to an entirely new level.

“Ria, do you think you can do it?” Ganesha asked, watching as Ria nibbled at her fingernails.

They quietly observed the tortoise in the Forest of Demonic Energy.

"What was that?

Oh

, yeah. Of course. What about you, Leo?"

“Me too! Of course!”

Leo was a classic brawler, but with an unusual twist—he was a long-range fighter whose punches could reach far beyond a normal strike. Not in the way of a rubber bodied pirate with slinging fists across a ship, but rather, each blow carried its full force and weight across at least fifty-five yards.

"I learned how to box from you too!" Leo added, throwing quick punches into the air with a whooshing sound.

“Alright, then!

Hah

!” Ria huffed, letting out a big breath before turning to Ganesha. “I’m ready now!”

“Alright, alright~” Ganesha said with a warm smile, snapping a nearby branch.

The branch, soaked in demonic energy, would have seared human flesh on contact, but Ganesha stood unaffected.

"I'll take out the tortoise first. After that, follow me, and then... you know what to do next, right? Trust your instincts—they're just as important to train~" Ganesha added, then gripped the branch and drew her arm back, poised to throw it like a spear.

And then...

Whrrrrrrrrrrrrrshhh—!

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The branch snapped from Ganesha’s hand and shot forward, ripping through the air in a violent surge. It streaked ahead, faster than any bullet—a supersonic force that pierced straight into the tortoise’s maw, followed by a shrill scream.

“

Grrrr—!

”

The pain must have been agonizing, as Ganesha’s two attributes,

Invincible Body

and

Master of All Martial Arts

, made her body as solid as diamond, while the latter infused

anything

she handled with that same indestructible force.

In other words, the ordinary branch Ganesha had just thrown became an invincible weapon the moment it left her hand—firm upon release and unstoppable upon impact.

“

Hup

!”

Ganesha hurled branch after branch, each one slicing through the air like a gunshot, making it all too easy for the enemy to pinpoint her location.

Ssssss...!

As the Altar’s mages began chanting their spell of demonic energy, Ganesha found herself unexpectedly powerless. As a pure martial artist at heart, she had no refined counter to magic—only the brutal simplicity of taking down the caster before the spell could take form.

“Ria, you’re up!”

“On it!”

And so, in times like this, Ria stepped forward, closing her eyes as she concentrated and gathered her mana. It rose to the surface like a thin, shimmering veil, sending gentle ripples through the air as a translucent blue barrier began to take shape.

Fwoooosh—!

The torrent of demonic energy rushed toward her, but it failed to break through the veil and scattered upon contact, bursting into a splash of water.

Splashh—!

This was Ria’s talent—

Dismantler

—a rare and advanced attribute that allowed her to break down anything, whether mana or demonic energy, at the cost of her own mana.

While she held back the tide of magical energies, Ganesha hurled branches like spears at the tortoise, and Leo, with a perfect balance of strength and strategy, struck down the approaching demonic beasts below with his fists of long range.

“

Hmm

?”

But then, Ria sensed something was off. Only ten mages controlled the tortoise—far too few—and not a single warrior stood watch to defend them.

Last time they came, there were about a hundred of them...

Ria thought.

“...

Oh

!”

Ria realized it too late.

“This is a feint tactic!”

“... Paint? What paint? Do we have to paint something?” Leo asked, swinging his fists.

“No, not paint!” Ria said, shaking her head before pointing to the far wall of Rekordak. “The Altar’s entire army is probably...”

Only a handful of knights and prisoners stood watch at Rekordak’s rear gate, the very place where the Altar would soon descend.

***

Boom—! Boom—!

The battlefield trembled with the roar of exploding magic spells.

Thwwip—!

The intense twang of the crossbow, spitting arrows into the air like a haunting wail.

"Hold your ground and do not let them escape! For Her Majesty—let your loyalty be proven in blood!"

With a mighty shout, the knights charged into the chaos of battle.

“You motherfuckers, just die already—! Fucking die, you goddamn piece of shit—!”

The prisoners fought with fear, their white knuckled grips tightening around their weapons.

“...

Hmm

.”

From a distance, a man with flowing white hair watched as the unending war burned on.

“It seems they are barely holding the line.”

Zeit von Bluegang Freyden stood on a distant ridge, overlooking the entrance to Rekordak.

“Deculein holds the wall... and Yulie—she wades through the heart of battle,” Zeit murmured.

Then, as Zeit silently observed the battlefield, his eyes widened.

Whooooosh—

A sudden, ominous dark wind howled through the air, and from below, a group of hooded mages emerged from the shadows.

“

Hmm

..”

Prepared to descend upon Rekordak, they bristled with murderous intent, a suffocating aura of demonic energy rising around them.

"The world refuses to leave me in peace.”

“I did not come to bolster Rekordak’s front lines... but it seems I have little choice,”

Zeit thought, stroking his chin, then leapt from the ridge.

Boom—!

With a single leap, Zeit closed the distance of thousands of yards, landing squarely in the Altar’s path. Like Daeho leaping from a cliffside or a bolt of lightning cleaving the sky, he stood before them—alone.

“Who goes there?” Zeit inquired.

“... Zeit,” muttered one of the hooded mages, a priest of the Altar, as they halted their advance.

Even the Altar, who looked down on the continent’s people as mere troglodytes, knew all too well the weight of Zeit’s presence—and feared it. The truth was that the only reason they had remained in the shadows, amassing their strength, was because of the unshakable wall that was Zeit.

“

Oh

, yes. That would be me.”

However, Zeit took pleasure in the fear they held for him.

“I took my former son-in-law’s words to heart, as he claimed this southern advance would be the greatest the continent has ever seen... so I made sure our defenses were impenetrable,” Zeit continued as he cracked his knuckles.

Crack— Crack,crack—

"And so.”

The Altar’s army numbered in the hundreds, yet only one man stood against them—Zeit.

“With time to spare.”

However, it was the Altar that found itself slowly beginning to fall back.

“I took the opportunity to briefly look over the land."

Crack—

This time, it was the crack of his neck—a simple motion, yet it pressed down on the Altar like an iron weight, suffocating them beneath the force of his presence.

“But somehow, I found myself too hesitant to face them in person.”

Thud—

“And... I can’t help but feel sorry for my stubborn sister, blind to the truth,” Zeit said as he took a step forward.

Crackle—

Frost laced mana flared around him as shards of ice spiraled in his wake, his aura closing in around the Altar like a tightening noose.

“... All the more so for Professor Deculein,” Zeit muttered bitterly, letting out a sigh as he raked a hand through his hair. “Regardless, I find myself in a rather foul mood.”

The air grew tense, rippling with sudden intensity. Zeit lifted his eyes, locking them on his enemies, his once relaxed expression sharpening into something fierce and untamed, like a prowling tiger. Strands of his hair, stirred by mana, floating weightlessly like a spectral haze in the roiling air.

“I cannot say if this will quell my frustration...”

The Altar had not anticipated crossing paths with the continent’s strongest warrior, and in their panic, they scrambled to cast a retreat spell.

However—

“... But I will have to crush you all down to death.”

In that fleeting moment, Zeit charged forward.

Thoom—!

A mere human should not have been capable of such speed, yet the force of his charge shattered the sound barrier, sending a shockwave rolling through the heavens and earth. The ground beneath him split apart, torn asunder with every step, while bursts of compressed air ignited behind him.

And then...

Cruuuuuunch—!

A harrowing scream split the air as flesh was torn apart.

Smaaaaaash—!

The loud crack of a shattering skull split the air.

“

Aaaaaahhh

—!”

Limbs were torn from their sockets, and a cry of anguish tore through the air as torsos were cleaved in two.

"

Aahh

—!

Aaaaahhh

—!"

Here, a slaughter was taking place—one that was completely different from the war in Rekordak.

“Welcome to winter. Take pride in knowing that your end comes by my hand...”

***

War raged as it always had, the scent of blood and steel thick in the air, and Yulie felt it sink into her very bones.

Cruuuuuunch—!

Demonic beasts swarmed, tearing out prisoners’ throats, hacking off knights’ arms, and rending their legs to shreds.

Shunk—!

In a heartbeat, a demonic beast’s claws tore through a knight’s chest, and Yulie slashed the beast down before kneeling beside him. But his eyes had already dimmed, their light gone. With no time to mourn or let the knight rest in peace, she gently closed his eyes and raised her sword once more, ready for the battle.

Boooooooooom—!

Just then, the mages’ support rained down, a storm of fire and oil-infused wind swallowing the battlefield. Flames seared flesh, and the agonized screams of burning demonic beasts ripped through the air, loud enough to tear the ears.

“

Haah

!”

As Deculein’s assistant, Epherene, cast a mid-tier fire property destruction spell, Yulie and the knights advanced, clashing with the storm of magical support.

“...

Haa

.”

However, Yulie’s breath came in ragged gasps, slipping through clenched teeth. A heavy weight pressed against her chest, pain stabbing through her heart, as if unseen claws were raking at her insides. The demonic energy seeped into her, blurring her vision, drowning the world in a murky haze, with her body no longer answering her will.

"Yulie! Are you alright?!" Gwen shouted.

At Gwen’s distant shout, Yulie snapped back to her senses and forced her body to move once more, clinging to a single thought—overcome.

Overcome, overcome, overcome. If I can't overcome this demonic energy on my own—if I crumble again like a sick person, as he mentioned...

“

Know your place. The sick one is nothing but a burden.

”

Even after Deculein’s words.

“The moment you step into the demonic energy, you will be of no use.”

At those words.

“Are you so eager to become a hindrance?”

At those words.

"You are nothing but a burden. If you're going to die, do it alone—don’t drag others down with you."

At those words.

"

I cannot take a sick one, already at death’s door, as my companion. I will not bring such disgrace to the name of Yukline.

"

I'll have no way to defy his contempt, and it will only prove him right.

“

Argh

!”

The demonic beast’s attack sent Yulie sprawling to the ground, her armor already caked in blood and dirt. However, without a moment’s pause, she pushed herself back to her feet.

... I already know this wound is beyond my ability to be cured. From the moment my core was damaged, I was given a death sentence. They said that if I lasted six more months, it would already be more than I was given—and that my life as a knight would be over.

But... for Rockfell, Veron, and all the others—everyone Deculein has harmed or killed—I can’t lose to him, and I won’t. Even if it costs me my life, I will not lose. No... surviving, overcoming—that’s how I will defeat him...!

Yulie let out a blood curdling shout and slashed her sword through the air.

Krrrrrrrrrrsh—!

The sword qi cleaved through the earth, and the frostbound mana flowing from Yulie’s blade froze every demonic beast it touched.

“

Oh

, Yulie!” Sirio cheered.

"Are you really okay?!" Gwen asked, worried.

And...

“It seems you’re at least making an effort not to be completely worthless.”

Deculein’s words...?

Startled, Yulie turned around.

“

Oh...

”

It was impossible to tell if it was an illusion or reality—it felt too unreal to believe. And yet, Deculein stood there, standing with his staff in hand.

“Keep your eyes ahead, not on me,” Deculein said, gesturing forward.

Yulie followed the direction of Deculein’s hand, her eyes widening before she snapped into a battle stance. At that moment, she realized why he had come.

“... Demon,” Yulie murmured.

Just as the tide of endless demonic beasts swept toward the horizon, an unknown demon materialized from the darkness beyond the horde.