Chapter 450 – Debut Battle (2)
"I challenge you to a one-on-one magic duel, Melconi Blaud."
The amplified voice spread far and wide.
There was no one within or around Duresque Fortress who did not hear it.
"Hahaha…"
Melconi's shoulders shook.
Perhaps because it was so absurd, he could not hold back the laughter that spilled out.
"Judging by the fact that I cannot properly sense your realm, it seems you are concealing it with something, but a magic duel… Then I must ask. What do you seek to gain from this?"
"Not anything material, I just need to show something to my senior."
"Senior?"
Unia declared proudly.
"Asher. That man is our senior. Well, not an actual alumnus, but since we walk the same path of magic, we call him that."
"Oh?"
Melconi showed interest.
That was only natural.
After all, the reason he had entered the competition in the first place was because of the Shinseong of the Eastern Continent.
Last year, Melconi had seen Asher together with an elder of Larrian Magic Tower.
Back then, in the autonomous territory of Midros.
At the time, he had been forced to withdraw, caught in a situation he could not interfere in, but now, it was different.
A force under Shinseong.
No matter what the great lords of the east thought, he did not intend to greatly harm the north.
He only wished to gauge the scale of their power and, if opportunity arose, capture a hostage in the north, thus creating a link to Asher.
The magic tower of the Volcanic Island had a deep interest in the young Reacher of Mado.
Well, which magic tower wouldn't?
"Still, if you call each other senior and junior, it means you are fairly close to Asher."
"Well, sort of?"
Unia shrugged.
"So, are you in or out?"
"Haha, do I even need to answer? There is only one path."
Of course he had to accept.
To refuse the challenge of a young Mage before so many eyes would not only tarnish his own dignity, but also damage the prestige of the magic tower.
"Yet, you truly have a foul tongue. Not a shred of respect."
Melconi drew out a short staff.
"I shall personally teach you what attitude you should take before the magic tower."
"There's no way respect can be felt for someone who doesn't deserve it. And I'll show you as well."
Unia stretched out her hand, receiving from the Society Mage waiting behind her the staff, Ultima.
"How an elder of the old generation's magic tower crumbles before the new."
Her heart pounded.
At the same time, tremendous magic power burst forth, racing through her mana circuits. The blue magic power that flowed outside her body took on physical form.
Breaks tier limit, 8th-tier.
Though currently a mid 6th-tier, in every respect she surpassed Mages and Magi of the same rank.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…!
The ground beneath trembled.
Melconi's eyes widened as he felt the density and volume of magic power that engulfed his entire body.
"This, what…?"
At such a reaction, Unia twisted her lips into a smile and swung Ultima.
< Vortex >
Kwaaaaahhh!
A storm of gravity, swelling in an instant, swept across the hilly terrain. Grass and roots were torn out, rising into the air with the soil.
Seeing what magic it was, Melconi had already flown into the air, but his eyes trembled.
'So it wasn't that she was hiding her realm with some magic item…'
Could it be, he had failed to discern her because she was at a realm similar to his own?
Only after realizing this did he notice through her magic that she had pioneered her own Mado.
His rational judgment had been overturned.
Melconi's face twisted, unable to hide his shock.
"Another Reacher of Mado at that age, besides Asher? This is absurd…!"
"You won't have time to mutter!"
The atmosphere roared.
Above, a storm swirled in reverse, looming overhead.
This time Melconi did not evade.
With his staff he drew a stroke in the air, and a line of flame ignited a beat later. The fire spread explosively, burning away all the air around.
Unia observed keenly.
'That's the Mado pioneered by the elder of Andranov's First Seat… As the Society gathered, the calculation speed really is no joke.'
The opening of Mado demanded not only magic power, but immense concentration.
It always came with a burden.
Thus, in most situations, opening one's Mado was inefficient.
But as Mado symbolized a Mage's enlightenment, it was as countless and varied as the stars.
Some Mado poured everything into a single strike, while others could be maintained effortlessly.
Mado < Hwashin >.
According to the fire he unleashed repeatedly, its form shifted and its power compounded—the path of Melconi Blaud.
"…Strange. To harbor such strength, and to have grown so, yet never once to have been discovered by the magical world."
Melconi narrowed his eyes.
'Is she not much like Asher?'
***
Who had raised Asher, and how he had gathered his force, remained unknown.
But here was a clue.
This woman Unia, she might know of Asher's hidden past.
Moreover, if he persuaded her well, this could be a chance to secure another Reacher of Mado. For the magic tower, it would be a great gain.
'Then I must capture her.'
Having resolved himself, Melconi drew two overlapping strokes of flame. The cross-shaped blaze rotated, forming a whirl of fire.
Burn injuries could be healed without much difficulty, so he did not hesitate.
Kwoooom!
The hill collapsed and burned.
Fixing his gaze on Unia, who had escaped the blast, he chanted:
< Flame Song – Flare >
He drew an arc of flame with his staff, then slashed vertically, causing fire to rise again and again.
The flames split into dozens of fragments, sensing her heat, they surged forth.
Unia reacted at once.
< Aquilis >
A diagonal soar of icy eagles lowered the surrounding temperature, and the flames that had been chasing Unia's heat lost their direction.
Boooom!
The eagle exploded.
A wave of frost froze the air.
Even though Melconi shielded himself in fire, the tips of his fingers trembled at the chill.
'She matches the speed of my Mado's calculations, wields magic power beyond the norm, and has near-instinctive analytical skill of magic.'
She even seemed accustomed to magic duels.
This was not strength fitting her age.
In every respect, she was no less than an elder of the magic tower. In terms of realm, she might even be above.
'Normally, a Mage grows stronger with the years of accumulated knowledge…'
Yet in this world there existed a concept that could shorten that time immeasurably.
Talent.
From Unia, Melconi felt an incomprehensible degree of innate potential.
At that moment, Unia charged.
'Closing the distance…?'
Failing to grasp her intent, Melconi drew a circle with his staff, instantly burning all around him except himself.
But Unia did not retreat.
Instead, she accelerated further, enduring the flames with resistance magic, spun once, and spread a wave of gravity.
Physical force clashed against the wall of fire.
"I don't know what you're aiming for, but you've miscalculated."
< Fire Garden – Explosion >
Melconi manipulated the flames forming a curtain, detonating them at close range.
At the same time, Unia concentrated magic power at her fingertips, disrupting the waves, forcibly twisting the range and trajectory of the spell, then── swung Ultima with both hands.
Boooom!
"Grkh?!"
A heavy impact.
Even though Melconi did not possess an artifact, he was nonetheless equipped with a top-tier magic item, yet he could not fully negate the shock.
His left forearm throbbed.
Catching his breath against the long-unfelt pain, Melconi spoke:
"That just now… that was clearly the mana control of a War Mage…! Are you from the Arnak Empire…?!"
"Never even been there. Stop being distracted with nonsense and focus!"
Unia desired a true magic duel.
The earnest wish to topple the strong of the world.
She wanted to prove the teachings she had received from the three Sages of the Society.
Melconi could no longer endure the casual tone that dug into his ears.
"With that resistance, you won't die easily. Fine then, I'll burn you halfway!"
Finally unleashing his full strength, Melconi expanded his magic power. The strokes of fire drawn in the air merged into his original magic and came storming down.
***
Unia faltered.
"So hot…!"
Even without direct contact, it felt as though the marrow inside her bones was boiling.
This was the unique fire, strengthened through a secret process known only to those Mages acknowledged by the magic tower of the Volcanic Island.
It spread invisible heat far and wide, burning even the intangible.
'If I let down my guard, I'll be cooked alive.'
Compared to when she had faced the closest aide of Rayshen from Bohemirn Magic Tower in Gargant, this was on another level altogether.
Yet.
'Still, senior is in a different league.'
Unia now realized.
The senior who had once visited the Society's island—how strong he truly was.
Because she had sparred with him, she knew. His strength definitely surpassed elder-levels of the magic towers.
Thus she knew instinctively.
'I win.'
Craaaash!
Ice and fire collided, breaking even the silence.
And that was not the end.
The duel, with both pouring all their magic power and calculation ability, turned the surroundings into a wasteland.
Seeing part of the fortress wall shattered by a stray spell, the great lord, Kardric, hastily ordered a barrier to cover the entire fortress.
Boom! Crash! Crackle!
Unia focused more on the distance.
From afar she countered with spells.
If she closed in, she dashed forth to force close combat.
For flame magic was most potent at mid-range.
"Hup!"
Unia charged through a wall of lava, accepting the damage, and struck.
When Melconi pushed her back, she did not resist, retreating swiftly to fire precise high-tier magic. When it seemed she was being driven back, she broke the duel's rhythm with off-beat moves, then charged like a mad boar.
"Such, brute stupidity…!"
Melconi panted heavily, overwhelmed by Unia's chaotic tactics.
His left arm was broken.
A wave of nausea surged up from his gut.
With his hair disheveled and blood streaming from the gash across his cheek, exhaustion was clear upon him.
"..."
Of course, Unia's condition was no better.
Soot smeared across her body here and there, her inside and out ached terribly.
It was the price of repeated exposure to the flames.
Yet the decisive difference between the two lay within.
Melconi was rational.
Proving the years he had lived, he was not swayed by emotions as he fought the magic duel.
Utterly like a Magus.
Unia, on the other hand, was emotional.
To defeat an elder of the magic tower.
To prove her strength to the world and step onto a true stage.
The surge for the Society's ideals would begin with her.
Passionate fulfillment.
That explosive impulse overwhelmed her reason, and it directly translated into action.
Unia felt ecstasy.
The fact that she was fulfilling a great duty, bearing responsibility, was immensely joyous.
"──Ahahaha!"
At last, she burst into laughter.
Though her body was in tatters, < Flight > grew swifter than before.
Dodging through five sudden shifts, evading the spears of flame, she closed in quickly.
< Destruction >
Melconi struck down.
Though thick flame wreathed her, the blow's force was not neutralized.
As he staggered upright, Unia was already before him.
Whish──Thud!
Blood spurted from his struck forehead.
At nearly the same moment, flames lanced from the tip of Melconi's staff, piercing Unia's left shoulder.
"That's all you've got?!"
Unable to withstand Unia's martial strikes, Melconi reeled from consecutive blows to his abdomen and shoulder. Just before a front kick could crash into his face—
A blast triggered from the embers.
Unia was hurled back, driving Ultima into the ground to brake herself, while Melconi's own flames scorched him, smoke rising from his body.
"How dare you… you brat!!"
Melconi activated his original magic, forming a square with four strokes, then drew his staff inward, aiming at the center of the figure.
A sinister magic power gathered.
He meant to end it in a single strike, unable to sustain the duel any longer.
Unia's ploy had worked.
At once she drew from her portable space bag a strangely shaped staff.
A gift from Verden.
"As one, diverge."
An artifact once owned by Rayshen, [Extension of Bahlrkan].
The staff split into dozens of pieces, encircling Unia's head like a circlet.
With auxiliary magical calculations and greatly accelerated mana flow, she unleashed Mado < Mua > at full force.
In an instant, two satellites were created──and she consumed them both.
The two Magi unleashed their spells simultaneously.
< Lancinate >
< Flame Gate – Saturation >
The spiral storm imbued with gravity overturned the air, colliding with a white-hot ray condensed into a beam by immense density.
Light flared.
Heat scorched everything, while the backlash physically swept away the surroundings.
Then.
Kwooooooom!
The protective barrier shielding the fortress behind Melconi rippled. The shock was enough to shatter part of the barrier.
All eyes turned once more to the battlefield.
The ground, carved into a deep straight trench.
Upon it, Melconi stood.
"Such, talent, I have never…"
Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, and nose. Losing balance, Melconi collapsed forward, his staff clattering from his hand.
He was not dead.
His breath was steady.
On the other side, Unia stood with Ultima extended, panting heavily.
"Hah, hah… Elder of the magic tower, turns out you weren't much after all?"
Exhausted, Unia boasted weakly, yet her words weren't entirely wrong.
She still had stamina left, and she hadn't even used Ultima's trump card.
"Well then…"
Her gaze shifted to the fortress.
Those from the east stared in shock at the defeat of a magic tower elder. Particularly the Mages from the Volcanic Island's tower were aghast.
Even in war, Unia had no thought of indiscriminately harming the opposing force. She only felt disgust at tormenting the weak.
But.
The human corpses hung upon the fortress wall, mercenaries from the west, bore unmistakable marks of brutal torture.
Some had even been burned alive, their faces testifying to it.
If it had been for vengeance, perhaps it could be understood. But the deeds of the east had been nothing more than a game for pleasure.
Unia, who had personally gathered intelligence in conflict zones, knew well how mercilessly cruel the forces of no-man's-land were, and among them, how vicious the great lords of the east could be.
She spoke into her communicator.
"The elder is subdued. It's your turn, Cain."
The signal was sent.
Moments later, airships hidden above the clouds appeared.
The might of the north.
Leaping down from the deck, Cain gripped the magic sword, Cretima, with both hands, opening Mado < Maya >, and unleashed a massive sword aura formed of magic power.
Craaaaash!
The fortress's protective barrier, already damaged by Unia, shattered. A strategic magic item had failed to withstand even a few impacts.
Kardric broke into a cold sweat.
"S-stop them! Stop them!"
Only then did his men begin preparing for battle, gathering arrows, loading crossbows, readying spells.
But no wall remained to protect them.
From the airship, magical bombardments rained down.
The fortress quaked.
The army fell into chaos, collapsing.
Seeing this, Kardric sensed defeat. He tried to flee, but it was too late.
Cain had already approached, subduing all his guards, standing before him.
"W-wait, let's discuss—"
Thud.
Struck by the sword's hilt, Kardric fainted.
Cain seized him by the scruff and reported through the communicator.
"Great Lord, Kardric. Secured."
One of the four great lords had been captured.
Thus, Duresque Fortress of the east fell to the north.
***
News of Duresque Fortress soon reached Cheolp as well.
"What, did you just say…?"
The messenger, sensing his mood, repeated the words.
Melconi Blaud's defeat.
Kardric's capture.
The fortress fallen to the north.
Unbelievable.
The north, once dismissed as no match, had captured Kardric, and above all, a magic tower elder of the Volcanic Island had been defeated in a magic duel. It sounded like nonsense.
But it was the truth.
After all, contact with Melconi had been cut.
And the shocking news did not stop there.
"T-the supply route was ambushed by the north! All destroyed!"
"Harwez Fortress has fallen!"
"Another supply route was cut off. There's no food for the battlefield…"
"Western mercenaries are approaching from the south! Count Toren has been surrounded!"
Crack.
Cheolp crushed the glass in his hand.
"What in the world, is happening…?"
The tide of war had turned.
***
Based on the confidential information Keirel had gathered from all over, they had pierced the heart of the east's forces in the conflict zone and overturned it.
Adrian tapped the map.
"We've secured the fortresses we need, there's nothing more for us in the east."
All that remained was to deal with Cheolp, the representative of the east.
With that, the east could no longer intervene in the competition.
But Cheolp was in none of the fortresses of the conflict zone.
He was in the sky.
Constantly floating in a massive airship to safeguard himself.
Whenever mana stones ran low, he replenished its power through supplies delivered by airship.
So infiltration was the only option.
"It's your turn, Isabella."
"Right."
Isabella boarded a small airship with the Society's elites.
"I'll be back."
The east's lifeline was at hand.
***
Meanwhile, Black Volcano.
Weeks had passed since Gharun had entered the facility.
The creation was not yet complete.
During a brief respite, Linus lay outside, utterly exhausted. Geradin and the village dwarves were equally drained.
Linus spoke to Verden.
"Whew… The overall construction is nearly done, only the finishing touches remain. But when it will be finished, that depends entirely on Master's hand."
"What's the expected time frame?"
"Well, the margin of error is wide, sir. Could be as soon as today, or it may take a few more days."
"I see."
Nodding, Verden praised their effort, then rose to his feet.
"Hm? Where are you going?"
"Outside."
The transparent azure eyes gazed toward the underground ceiling.
"The Empire has come."
It was Verden's turn to act.
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