Chapter 397 – Incomprehensible (2)
With the vast backdrop of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, what Rayshen, who had conducted all sorts of human experiments, valued most was life itself.
If you die, you can do nothing.
The experiments, carefully stacked one after another in his mind, could not be continued.
Moreover, all the magical trial-and-error accumulated until now would return to nothing.
Some might be satisfied to accept death if their achievements were to remain in history, but Rayshen was never such a man.
Recognition and admiration born from success, that greatness only had meaning so long as he himself was alive and breathing.
For that reason, Rayshen went as far as to modify his own body using the magical experimental results and experiences he had amassed until now.
Pain dulling,aging suppression,bodily regeneration,mana circuits acceleration...
Rayshen's body, thanks to the special potions created from his Mado, could obtain effects several times greater than before.
Even if his heart were destroyed, he would not die instantly.
Even if part of his brain were damaged, he had prepared so that he would instinctively consume the elixir stored inside his mouth, refusing death.
Isabella's
Rayshen Tailroad.
A mad Magus, standing far apart from ordinary Mages.
However, no matter how much he had modified his body, pain was an important sensory organ for a researcher, so he had left enough to feel it, meaning he was not completely immune.
Especially when struck by unexpected agony.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Rayshen screamed, clutching his bleeding wrist.
From behind him, a voice spoke.
"Quit your whining. I know you've got fake elixirs on you."
Though he forced himself not to react, his heart sank.
Rayshen's eyes twitched.
'Verden, saying it's not fake...?'
At first, he had flatly denied it, but hearing something only Verden himself would know made suspicion sprout.
And that suspicion had now grown beyond control.
It made no sense.
How could a worm, stuck at 1st-tier limit, possess such strength?
Impossible.
Not once in the history of the current magical world had there ever existed a case of someone reaching settlement beyond the tier limit.
Then what, had he contracted with Demons or something of the sort?
No, impossible.
Though he had heard Demons hostile to the Church of Luas sometimes granted grotesque power to contractors through so-called pacts... such shabby tricks could not overturn absolute magical principles.
If it were possible, countless such cases would have already been discovered.
'Then what is that.'
Over his shoulder, Rayshen's gaze turned to Test Subject 77, his eyes filling with shock.
"It's too early to be surprised, Rayshen. Much has changed since then. But continuing the duel as it is would be boring."
Verden tilted Orient slightly, resting it on his shoulder.
"I'll give you time. Don't hold back, prepare whatever you want—healing, enhancement, Mado. So you'll have no excuses."
"You..."
Rayshen barely suppressed the rage boiling within him.
'Now is not the time to be carried away by emotion. Figuring out what Verden is hiding comes later.'
He had to respond rationally, magically, and in accordance with the situation.
Clack.
From his elegant spatial bag, he drank a bright yellow potion, calming his body and mind.
When Verden truly just stood and watched, Rayshen began to speed up, pulling out and drinking one dangerous potion after another.
His blood accelerated, mana surged, his mind sharpened.
He took one of the two remaining elixirs, regenerating his fingers.
Then, he picked up a syringe filled with sky-blue fluid.
An almost perfected frost enhancer.
Created by human experimentation, killing dozens of Mages, he injected it straight into his arm without hesitation.
Mado
Through Mado, mana became the medium.
The drug melted directly into his mana circuits, seeping into his heart.
"Haa."
His breath froze cold.
His spirit soared in omnipotence, morale rising high. At last, confidence returned, and Rayshen twisted his lips.
"If you survived, you should've hidden and stayed quiet. Coming to me on your own—seems you quite enjoyed being treated as an experiment, didn't you, Number 77?"
"..."
"I don't know how you overcame the tier limit, but fine. I'll take you to the Bohemirn Magic Tower, dissect every inch, and find out. Together with Brother Crodon. Just like before."
Mana concentrated into Rayshen's staff, [Extension of Vahlkan].
The mist of frost that flowed out began to freeze the area bit by bit.
Whoom, whoom.
Verden lightly swung his wrist.
Pouring mana into Orient tracing a circle, he closed his eyes.
'Just like before, huh.'
Yes, that's how it should be.
It had taken nearly ten years to come this far, and he had no intention of ending the long-awaited vengeance in an instant.
How Rayshen would die was already decided.
'At last, today.'
He would reclaim the life stolen by Rayshen.
***
The ten magic towers each had their own individuality, containing magical knowledge so abundant that even with money it was difficult to obtain.
And the foundation of a Mage was knowledge.
Thus, those Mages who stood with the magic towers had a vast gulf between them and those who pursued magic elsewhere.
Without exceptional talent, even at the same tier, the level could not even be compared.
Especially those who served as guardians of the tower master's disciples, needless to mention.
But the Society was a group seeking to bring down the very system upheld by those towers.
───!
Pillars of flame roared upward.
Cain, wielding his magic sword, Cretima, slashed the surging fire in two, then swung his arm repeatedly, unleashing waves of mana-formed sword aura down below.
Rayshen's direct guard, Barkent, barely dodged by a hair's breadth, but unfortunately, Cain was not the only opponent.
Other members of the Society blocked his retreat with magical bombardments.
Shhhhhh!
His shoulder and calf were deeply cut.
Barkent fell to the ground, rolling several times down a slope.
His face smashed against a rock, teeth breaking, his whole body covered in dust. Yet Barkent's sole purpose was to buy time for Rayshen to escape the encirclement.
Maintaining his focus even while bombarded by magic, he finally completed his calculation, raising his staff high.
Rain of scorching heat.
< Ragnak >
The flames consuming the forest surged entirely into the sky.
Now.
Taking the opening, Barkent drew out the 2nd generation Dexar's Jewel containing Rayshen's high-grade magic circles.
At that moment.
Fwoooosh!
Bursting through the flames, Cain shot diagonally, closing in.
Landing on the ground, twisting his waist, his sword aura sliced the air, severing Barkent's wrist whole.
His left hand and the Dexar's Jewel rolled across the ground.
"Uwaaaaagh───!"
Crackkk!
A 6th-tier imbued magic strengthened fist smashed Barkent's shoulder, twisting him around, then grabbed his collar and slammed him into the ground.
His neck was gripped tightly, consciousness forced away.
Gghk, gghhk, gghk...
Barkent's complexion turned pale.
His vision dimmed, unable to muster even a proper spell.
The outcome was decided... yet Cain's face was far from pleased.
'...Is this right?'
The opponent wasn't even a Magus, just a Mage.
This couldn't even be called a battle, it was a one-sided hunt.
It left a bitter taste.
Though he had learned from his three Sage mentors, who were like parents, about the greed and selfish footprints of the magic towers, Cain still wished in his heart for a fair and proper magical duel.
Something like earning victory after enduring a deadly struggle.
Like in heroic tales.
'What exactly does Senior Asher want?'
Their new collaborator—if his ultimate goal was to seize the interests created from toppling the Bohemirn Magic Tower, then the Society would cooperate, but never accept him as a true comrade.
But they had yet to discover the reason behind his moves.
All they knew was that he knew Bohemirn Magic Tower's inside well, and bore indescribable hostility...
Thud.
Lost in thought, he saw Barkent lose consciousness, his body going limp.
They immediately disarmed him, and Cain's subordinate Mages inscribed a magic circle to restrain him tightly, preventing suicide.
One third of the plan was accomplished.
'If nothing goes wrong, Unia should soon succeed in suppressing Sarokan.'
Pushing aside his conflicted feelings, Cain led his troops. With Barkent secured, they headed for the Slothful Rift.
***
Final performance, substitute for vengeance, repose.
Isabella had chosen Gargant as her last journey's end, but rather than killing Rayshen, she had been captured helplessly.
A truly miserable ending.
Or so it seemed.
Kwoooaaang!
Earth and ice collided.
Two Magi clashed from a distance, the entire area trembling.
Magic did not end with one strike, but came again, twice, three times in succession.
With faint, breaking breaths, Isabella, her body little more than a wreck, leaned against a rock and watched the magical duel.
At a glance it seemed a close match, but reality was different.
Overwhelming, one-sided.
Rayshen thought himself struggling valiantly, but the disparity was vast.
'Who in the world is he?'
The ash-haired Magus,a mighty being daring to kill one of the power holders of the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
In that instant Isabella felt the weight of the lucky gold coin she had unknowingly picked up.
Meanwhile, the axis of the duel in the underground cavern began to tilt to one side.
"Huff, huff..."
Rayshen panted, exhausted.
He bore no notable wounds, but had consumed a great deal of mana. Though he had taken mana potions several times, that too was reaching its limit.
Whish, whoosh.
With his weary body he swung his staff like painting a picture.
With mana imbued with frost he shaped tier magic, and altered it through Mado.
< Gelua >
Rayshen's own spell, freezing the moisture in the air to destroy the respiratory system.
But before it could even take effect, Verden cast high-tier magic.
< Londeur >
Rumble, rumble, rumble...!
The small singularity of gravity expanded suddenly in size.
With tremendous pull it devoured everything around, completely nullifying < Gelua >, and then vanished.
A heavy silence descended.
Verden looked down on Rayshen.
"What comes next?"
"Shut your mouth!"
Focusing all his frost into one point, Rayshen fused it with lightning and roared as he unleashed it.
A beam scattering cold lightning slashed irregularly through the air, rushing forth.
Crackle crackle crackkk!
In response, Verden hurled a sphere condensed with infinite lightning.
Once, when he was still at 5th tier, it was a trump card that required every method, even manipulating climate, to manifest. Now, through infinite Mado, it took form.
< Ruin >
───!
At impact, a blue flash lit the cavern.
A towering pillar of electricity scattered Rayshen's spell, swelling, piercing through the cavern ceiling.
Then, in an instant, it vanished.
Though not struck directly, Rayshen screamed as the aftershock flung him aside. On his knees, white smoke rose faintly from his body.
Ssshh, the sound of boiling heat.
It was as though the [Immaculate Robe] mocked its master's pitiful state.
"...!"
Blue eyes fixed on Rayshen.
The Mystic Eyes' ability was instantaneous through sight.
Rayshen, with his innate analytical talent, had realized it long ago and managed to counter swiftly, but only when in full condition.
Booooommmmmm!
From afar, flames of lightning surged forth through Mado, overturning the ground.
The chain of explosions finally engulfed the fleeing Rayshen. Surrounding himself with ice to dampen the shock, he sought an opening for counterattack.
Then Verden hurled his staff like a spear.
Craaaash!
The ice barrier shattered to pieces.
The mana-forged blade at Orient's tip pierced Rayshen's abdomen, dragging him until he slammed against the wall, his eyes widening as if to tear apart.
"Gghk, kuhk!"
His organs were severed.
Verden retrieved Orient remotely.
Rayshen collapsed to the floor, pressing his stomach with his forehead against the cold ground.
His staff rolled away, blood seeping through the robe.
"I told you, don't whine."
"Khhuup...!"
Crack.
Striding over, Verden seized Rayshen's hair.
Then smashed his head against a nearby rock.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Repeated impacts crushed the stone.
There was no magical elegance, only raw, primal violence, and Rayshen's face was horrifically disfigured.
He struggled to twist free, but overcoming Verden's brutish strength was impossible.
The Bohemirn Magic Tower's forte was the elemental arts.
He had no mastery over the art of enchantment, a path wholly different.
Savage sounds rang out again and again.
Each dull blow to his skull sent crimson flashes bursting across his vision.
Rayshen's mind grew hazy, and only one thought remained.
'I must escape.'
It was the primal instinct of a human.
With trembling arm, Rayshen barely grasped Verden's hand.
"I... khh, khhh!"
From his ruined mouth spilled blood and words alike.
"I, was wrong... so, please... stop...!"
"Seems your memory has regressed in my absence."
Verden bared his teeth.
"I told you not to give up so easily, didn't I?"
Seven years spent as an unofficial experiment.
And yet, only seventeen minutes had passed since the vengeance upon Rayshen had begun.
Not nearly enough.
You can read more chapters in organised way on my website:- https://revengernovel.com