Book 2: Chapter 367
Diablo wasn’t immediately able to carry out his sentence.
There were two reasons for this.
The first was Iris.
It seemed that she had managed to figure out how to bypass his ‘Absolute interference’.
‘Annoying.’
Diablo had no choice but to raise her threat level by two tiers.
If he failed to end Iris Phisfounder here, she would without a doubt go beyond the level of ‘simply troublesome enemy’.
The interference wasn’t something unique to Diablo. And in some cases, he might actually end up as the one being affected.
He didn’t even have to think too deeply about it.
Lord, the leader of the Demigods, had conquered the continent in the past.
In front of that being, who was almost like a god, even 9-star Wizards were powerless.
Iris had inherited some of Lord’s power. If she learned to freely use that power, she would, without a doubt, become a greater foe than Snow.
As for the second reason.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted in front of Peran.
It was a simple 2-star spell, Fireball, which was no threat to Diablo. Even if he were to stay still and allow it to hit him, it wouldn’t even be able to burn the black robes he was wearing.
But that wasn’t the problem.
‘How can he still use magic?’
Of course, Diablo hadn’t fully released his Absolute Field.
If he were to extend his absolute space to cover the entire area, while it certainly would be advantageous in this situation, the burden on his mind would be too high.
In truth, he didn’t feel that the situation was bad enough to force him to rely on his Absolute Field. For now, just using Absolute Line was enough.
Absolute power lingered wherever the Line passed, and that remaining force was enough to stop any Wizard from being able to use magic.
Depending on the level of the Wizard, it wouldn’t be strange for the internal organs to shake and bleed the moment they tried to use their mana.
‘It might be possible if he was squeezing out his mental power, but…’
That would have only worked a few times.
By now, Peran had already cast an unknown number of spells.
—It’s weird.
At that moment, the words of Cairo Wilsemann, who had failed to capture Peran at the Jun Family Mansion, came to mind.
—The difference between Peran and I was clear. And yet, I couldn’t easily subdue him. It was almost as if I couldn’t interfere with him, do you know what I mean? As though I couldn’t influence the mana room in his body.
When he’d first heard that, Diablo had just assumed that Cairo had been careless.
There was no other possibility he could think of apart from that.
The correlation among high level Wizards was absolute. It wasn’t like Knights, Magic Warriors, or Mercenaries. Just the difference in their levels meant that they couldn’t compete with each other.
For example, depending on the strategy, terrain, or condition, it was possible for a Second Class Warrior to defeat a First Class Warrior.
But Wizards were different.
In particular, the higher the level, the more those differences stood out. A 6-star Wizard could never beat a 7-star. Likewise, it was impossible to defeat an 8-star at 7-star or a 9-star at 8-star.
That’s why, when he first heard the report, he doubted what he’d heard.
Cairo and Shepard, two high level Wizards, had let Peran escape.
…But now that he was in front of him, he could finally understand why.
‘It’s not talent.’
It was something else.
There was something unexplainable and alien about this man.
* * *
“Flame Ball.”
Throb-
As soon as the spell manifested, Peran felt a sharp pain as if his skull was being cracked open. He had to forcibly stop himself from screaming.
It was fine. He could still take it.
It was so painful that he felt like he would die, but not enough to actually kill him.
“I owe you one.”
It was at this moment that he heard Iris’ voice.
As he couldn’t afford the effort to open his mouth and respond, Peran simply gave her a small nod as he sent the Flame Ball forward.
Shuk-
Diablo’s black robe swallowed the Flame Ball. It disappeared as naturally as a drop of water in a waterfall.
“Paimon’s Curtain. Spells at or below 5-stars will not be able to break through that curtain.”
“Is it black magic?”
“Yes.”
Spells at or below 5-stars wouldn’t work.
In other words, it meant that he would need to at least use 6-star spells, a level higher than the spells he’d been using until now.
…He corrected his breathing. Just by drawing on his mana slightly, he could feel pressure as if his organs were being twisted. If he actually finished the spell, it wouldn’t just end there.
“Howling… Tempest.”
The 6-star spell manifested.
Gurgle.
And in the same instant, blood rushed up his throat. It was similar to the backlash one would experience if they failed to cast a high level spell. No, it was about five times worse than that, but that wasn’t the point.
‘I’m starting to feel it.’
At first, he thought that he would die just from using a 1-star spell. The throbbing pain in his entire body that felt like he was being ripped apart and the intense backlash almost made him faint. And for the first time in his life, he became afraid to use magic.
But Peran did not give up, and instead tried to learn from that experience.
Paradoxically, when he used a 2-star spell, he was in a better condition.
This was because he learned how to move his mana to minimise the backlash.
All that was left now was whether he had the skill.
…To increase the level.
3-stars, 4-stars, 5-stars.
Gradually he learned how to cast spells naturally once again. The pain continued to grow, but thanks to his experience, he was able to prevent himself from fainting.
And now, he was able to use even 6-star spells.
Iris wasn’t wrong. Howling Tempest truly did seem to have an effect. At the very least, the black robe covering Diablo, Paimon’s Curtain, was somewhat shaken.
However, that was all.
He had managed to get past the black robe, but his opponent wasn’t someone who would be affected by a 6-star spell.
Diablo raised his fingers to the sky. The ground around him rose up to take the ominous shape of a skull, becoming a barrier that protected him.
Howling Tempest could not pierce this earth barrier.
‘The result would be the same even if I used a 7-star spell.’
It might have a slightly better effect, but it would only be a minor improvement at best.
What about 8-star spells?
Another Sun, Tornado, Ice Age.
Would such spells be able to bring down this monster?
…He would not be able to escape unscathed. There would definitely be some kind of damage.
However, he did not believe they would be able to kill him.
‘It’s not enough.’
He was too weak.
When this thought appeared in his mind once again, it caused anger to rise up within him.
…Why was he not a 9-star Wizard?
Crackle-
The space around him twisted and wobbled. He could feel the very space begin to creak.
Diablo and Iris’ powers collided.
In the end, it was all thanks to her that Peran was still alive. If Diablo had only focused on Peran from the beginning, he would have died a long time ago.
That was the reality.
An 8-star Wizard. The Youngest Archmage. The Unparalleled Prodigy.
All he had were those fancy titles.
Although he was only one step away, Peran was no threat to Diablo.
[…]
Diablo had a similar thought, but it was also different.
Despite fighting with Iris, his attention never left Peran.
Of course, Peran wasn’t wrong. On his own, he couldn’t be considered a threat to him.
But the next moment might be different.
To put it bluntly, the Peran a few seconds later might be completely different from now.
This man appeared to be getting stronger with each passing second.
‘He’s using this battle as the greatest fuel to grow explosively.’
If he had skin, it might have already been covered in goosebumps. He could see the faint flicker of anger in Peran’s eyes.
He knew that having the aptitude to feel anger instead of wallowing in despair when facing an enemy that was on a different level was one of the most important keys to reaching 9-stars.
Crackle-
The surrounding mana began to tremble as if it was resonating with Peran’s emotions.
It was not a phenomenon that could be explained theoretically.
After all, Diablo was the person who should have had complete control of all the surrounding mana.
‘…even if Iris is interfering.’
It should not have escaped his control.
Despite its instability, Diablo could not interact with the mana surrounding Peran at all. This was proof that Peran’s influence exceeded his own.
‘This is dangerous.’
As mentioned before, this was not just talent.
Peran’s mystery. As a Wizard, this phenomenon should have filled him with curiosity first, but now, he was more wary and afraid than anything else.
At that moment, something suddenly occurred to him.
In addition to his potential, Peran might actually be the greatest threat to his cause…
And as soon as that thought became clear.
Diablo did not hesitate.
Paht!
“…!”
Iris couldn’t help but tremble in surprise.
Because in an instant, it felt like the world had been flipped over and she could feel pressure in her lungs.
‘He released his Absolute Field to the fullest.’
Peran, who also realised this, bit his lip. His entire body refused to move as if he’d been paralysed. It was impossible to even move a finger, almost like the air itself was restraining him.
[So this much output is enough to restrain your movements.]
Diablo muttered calmly.
Then he raised a bony finger and pointed at Peran’s forehead.
‘Ah.’
Peran’s face paled.
It felt like flames, which had only been tickling his toes before, had suddenly reached his shoulders.
[I’m glad I was able to kill you here. Truly.]
Buzz-
Absolute Line.
Peran could feel his inevitable death slowly approaching.
‘Is this how I die?’
His eyes widened.
That was all. Even if he could move, there was nothing that could block the beam of light.
He never would have thought that his end would be like this.
Then what? Did he expect to die a more meaningful death?
No. That wasn’t it.
There was a real reason why Peran could not accept his death.
‘I… not yet…’
It was because he had not achieved anything yet.
Genius.
That was what everyone said when they saw Peran, but his own feelings were different.
In his eyes, he had just walked a bit faster on the road of magicology which had already been paved and polished. He hadn’t created the path himself.
He hadn’t pioneered anything, hadn’t truly challenged himself.
So he hadn’t accomplished anything.
…I.
‘…can’t die in a place like this!’
Boom!
It was at that moment that an explosion sounded. Peran blinked. Just now, the dark red beam, which had been heading towards him with unstoppable momentum, disappeared without a trace.
Peran turned to look at Diablo.
The white, fleshless fingers that had been stretched out were now a bit curled. The flames in his eye sockets were also flickering as if they were being hit by strong winds.
For a moment, Peran could not understand what happened.
‘Who is he looking at?’
It wasn’t Peran. It wasn’t Iris, or Anastasia, who was still fighting Lucid in the distance.
Instead, Diablo’s gaze was locked onto something behind Peran.
[Who are you?]
There was a deep sense of caution and unmistakable shock in his voice.
He’d never been more shocked than at that moment.
Even if an unexpected event occurred, he wouldn’t be more shocked than necessary. He would just feel that it was unfortunate that things didn’t go as calculated.
This was because he was confident that he could solve it one step later. He knew he had the ability to clean up a mess, regardless of what it was.
But it was different this time.
Absolute Line.
The power that tore space itself apart was impossible to defend, as Peran thought. If she had enough time, Iris, who had the power of space, could cut off its source, effectively stopping its progression. But that was a skill that only she had.
In general, there was only one way to truly stop an Absolute Line.
Cancelling it out.
And that was what happened.
Diablo’s Absolute Line had been canceled out.
By another Absolute Line that had shot from the opposite direction.
[I asked you who you were.]
Diablo muttered again in a deadly tone.
His gaze was locked on an abandoned building behind Peran.
There wasn’t a response.
Instead, a person appeared.
Tap.
It was a young man who appeared in the grass.
A face that was unfamiliar to everyone.
“…”
Except for one.
“You…”
Peran’s voice trembled.
His expression continued to shift back and forth like a raging wave.
“Do you know that man?”
He couldn’t answer Iris’ question immediately.
But in his head, he was certain.
He knew. Of course, he knew. He couldn’t not know.
This man,
This man with spiky gray hair and an almost emotionless expression,
He was the man he had been looking for for 10 years.
“….Frey… Blake.”