Chapter 464: Still, you will be blessed (3)
When the dragon first struck the expanded Earth, the Archmage’s vision briefly flashed between black and white. It wasn’t clear exactly what was reflected in it.
By the time the brilliance had seeped into the inside of my eyeballs and the world had spun countless times, everything was over. A heavy sound and buzzing filled my ears.
“Kolok kolok.”
Still, her life did not end yet. The Archmage coughed to remind himself of that fact. The acrid smell and odor wafting through the air were also very good elements for refreshing one’s mind.
“Cough.”
In any case, we must first regain the reason to be able to discern between right and wrong.
The Archmage stretched out his hand and looked, despite the dizzying clock and dazed consciousness. Thump and thud. Every time my tanned hand touched the ground, I could feel the broken stones. The stones on the surface were not sharp enough to cut, but you could tell they were scattered in pieces.
“…Whew.”
She first lifted her upper body and blinked her eyelids to check her vision. Every time I blinked, my blurry and shaky vision returned to normal.
What is naturally visible in the process is the horribly broken surrounding landscape.
“This…”
She stood up, leaning on the remains of a tree or rock that might have been a castle wall. Soot was on his white fur and palms, but that didn’t matter.
The Archmage’s gaze landed on the building fragments floating in the air. It was clearly unrealistic.
“Oh my god.”
But even in that unreality, there was reality. The blood dripping through the floating space was like that, and the image of the lion floating in a crushed state was like that. These were all things the dragon left behind.
“Cough!”
The Archmage chuckled once more at the smoke generated during the combustion process and summarized the situation again.
So, the dragon attacked first, and before she could dodge, the dragon collided with part of the castle wall, and although she avoided a direct hit, she was swept away in the aftermath…
“Shoot! “Keep shooting!!”
Worst of all, at the last moment she was pushed down the wall she was stepping on. 『Senior!』 Behind the fairy who was pushing her away with the magic wave, there was clearly a huge bird. A bird that is blacker than the night, blue as the other side of the sea, and has no feathers, so it looks like a bat.
“Shoot so they don’t come near!”
“But Suzaku!”
“Shut up and shoot!”
Only then did the Archmage realize. It wasn’t just building rubble and corpses that were around her. Although it was faint, there was something that altered it.
“Find survivors!”
“Do not touch the flame! “The moment you touch the flame, quickly take off your clothes!”
“Cut off the limbs! “That’s the only way now!”
Fire is usually something that glows and emits heat. But the fire scattered around her was not like that.
Instead of emitting light, they absorbed it and corrupted everything they touched. Although it was very similar to combustion, it was a completely different phenomenon.
“Wizard!”
“I found the Archmage!”
“Bring her here quickly!”
At that time, a group of soldiers came running through the pile of rubble. At the head of them is Daniel, who looks like he is covered in charcoal dust. Seeing that the other soldiers were also covered in black ash, it seems that the hard work they had done so far was not at a sufficiently deep level.
“Wizard, are you okay!?”
“I’m fine. But there are others…”
Whether in the space where objects appear or in the space where they do not, bodies can be seen intermittently. So the Archmage paused and looked away.
The deaths of the soldiers were unfortunate, but the safety of the fairies, purple snakes, and other wizards was more urgent.
“Grand Wizard Purple Snake is working hard to create a safe zone.”
“What about the fairy?”
“He…”
Daniel couldn’t continue his words as he scanned his dry lips. Those eyes are shaking as if they don’t know what to say.
“The living… is.”
“Alive?”
“I will report once I get there. “Can you walk?”
The Archmage was convinced by Daniel’s words. The fairy said it would never be a positive situation.
“You can move.”
“Then please follow me. You should never go close to a black fire. This applies to any fire, no matter how small.”
“I understand.”
But the last thing I remember is the situation. She decided to be thankful that the fairy was alive.
“Are you here?”
“You…”
I decided to do that.
The Archmage’s eyes wavered as he arrived at the less broken castle wall and faced the purple snake.
“The arm…”
“Don’t worry. “Compared to those who lost their lives, this arrangement is insignificant.”
The purple snake’s right arm was cut off below the shoulder. There was no bleeding, perhaps due to magical measures, but the seriousness of the wound, which did not even have a bandage on, was clearly visible.
“Is it okay to not have treatment?”
“It’s okay because I stopped time.”
“If you mess with time without any mediation or long preparation… won’t the side effects be severe?”
“Well, that’s true, but you have to live with the side effects. And if you just cut off the shoulder a little more, the side effects won’t be that big.”
“is it.”
Despite this, the purple snake remained silent. It may have been because his nature was somehow twisted, but it could also be said that this situation was that serious.
“Rather than that, would you mind helping me create a barrier? We need to stop that damn flame, but as you know, without a medium, it cannot exert its full power. “There aren’t many wizards who are still sane.”
“I will help you right away.”
At this point, how lucky she was to only have minor bruises and lacerations. She rolled up her sleeves and prepared to create a barrier.
“I will go. “The search for survivors is not over yet.”
“I know.”
Daniel watched her for a moment and then left. “Maxi! let’s go!” The sight of the young man leaving without a moment to catch his breath reminded me of the seriousness of the situation.
“Where is the fairy…?”
However, even in this situation, she couldn’t help but ask about the safety of a specific person she was close to. When limited to the barrier, fairies are better than Archmages at using magic without a catalyst, so you can’t help but be curious about his situation. Even setting aside all those facts, the fact that he was close to her was the only reason he was particularly concerned.
If she hadn’t had to prioritize this task, if she hadn’t been the only one who could do it, she might have wandered around this busy place looking for the fairy.
“It’s over there.”
“Over there…?”
Of course, she knew that she was someone who should not move. So, the next choice I chose was to ask the purple snake.
The purple snake helped with calculations with its free hand while pointing to one side with its chin. It was a place where priests gathered in groups to treat the wounded.
“Is it very serious?”
“I was struck by corruption.”
Putrid fire refers to that unique flame. Thinking that it was a truly intuitive name, the Archmage listened to the rest of the words.
The purple snake let out a long breath.
“It would have been better if they had given up on maintaining the barrier and cut off the extremities of the body…”
“…Fairies are not the kind of people to do that.”
“yes. Because of that, half of my body rotted. The rancidity has progressed to the internal organs, so just cutting them out won’t be able to solve the problem. So, in collaboration with me, we set up a barrier that makes time flow slowly, go inside it, and wait for the situation to end.”
“….”
“Well, just like my arm, when the barrier is broken, rapid aging will occur as a result of twisting the time axis… but that’s because the fairy went in prepared.”
Purple Snake held out the calculated value of the formula in front of the Archmage and took a slightly deep breath. In the process, it seemed like the pain didn’t evaporate just because time had stopped, as he frowned slightly.
“I’m more worried about his sanity than I am about his aging.”
“Is the pain that bad?”
“To the point where it’s better now that the body has been cut off.”
And that would also apply to fairies who entered the barrier. Considering that time passes slowly within the barrier, the patience he must have must be infinitely higher than that of the purple snake.
“It’s over.”
Is the situation of having to wait in vain while feeling your body rotting alive really be better than being dead? The Archmage thought like that and prayed that the fairy would hold out as long as possible.
“As expected, you are better than me.”
“It was only possible because my body was fine. “Isn’t it difficult to draw a magic circle with one arm?”
“well. Even if I had two arms, I think it would have taken more than this…”
Bora Bam sneered and glanced up. Quang! A bright red flame bird and a dark blue bird were seen colliding once again in the sky some distance away.
“There’s nothing more we can do.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Honestly, we can’t stop that with the equipment we have left.”
The remaining cannons on the castle walls continued to fire, but the approaching Demon King showed no signs of stopping. But are you targeting that bird that occasionally spreads rotting salts? That was truly a joke.
Aside from being hit by a misfired bullet, its flight speed was too fast. Even if I tried to shoot at something approaching, I didn’t even hit it, so I said everything. It is impossible to aim at that thing and hit it.
Liquid!
“Oh, that’s tricky.”
…It’s impossible except for one person.
“I can’t even tell if the attack works or not… Ah, I want to see Crusher.”
Purple hair fluttered like a young man’s soft voice.
“…That friend was fine too.”
The Archmage, who watched the scene for a moment, seemed to come to his senses and spat out a word. The purple snake shrugged its shoulders.
“He managed to escape from that mess, taking Timanyuk with him.”
“That’s… good news.”
“That’s good news. “Well, even though his body is fine, he has no talent for barriers, so I ordered him to keep making arrows.”
No matter how talented Timanuk is at creating barriers, is it right for him to continue doing things that would only be meaningful to one person? The Archmage thought for a moment about Purple Snake’s decision, but eventually lowered his head.
It doesn’t seem to be a completely wrong judgment since that one person is causing a direct hit to Eve and not to anything else. However, it is not possible to achieve significant results by turning Timanyuk toward artillery fire.
“In that sense, wouldn’t it be better to let a group of talented people, including that friend, fall to the side now? Then at least a few people will be able to survive.”
“Huh, you’re going to say that only after you hit the barrier?”
“You didn’t know, did you?”
“That’s right.”
The Demon King’s concentration target is probably not here. Because it is smaller than the main city and the already half-destroyed expansion district is less valuable as a target for attack.
However, there is no reason not to hit anything in your path. This is especially true in that weight class. With those huge soles, just a couple of movements would turn the 2nd Expansion Earth into dust.
“In order to get there, we have to abandon all the injured.”
But what about the contents inside? Will it go back on its way for the small number of humans who fall sideways – beings the size of ants in the eyes of that giant?
“We should also divide the number of people. “If we are crowded together, we might have to take the trouble of walking one more step.”
The chances were half and half. Unless they were riding a horse, it would only take one or two steps to close the distance they had gained.
Of course, if she were in that position, she wouldn’t waste time trying to catch scattered humans, but…
“Still, it’s better than continuing this meaningless act.”
“…Purple snake.”
“Actually, the instructions were given in advance when the Demon King stood up. “Although it is limited to high-level personnel.”
“…It wasn’t a question I wanted to hear your opinion from the beginning.”
“This kind of judgment is meaningless if you don’t make it quickly.”
In that respect, Bora Snake had cleverly made all conclusions. Perhaps it was not a decision he made alone, but a matter that had been negotiated in advance with executives from other forces.
“Anyway, we should be ready to escape by now.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“An archmage is a person whose value is greater when they escape rather than remaining for show.”
The purple snake let out a breath that resembled a sigh and stared at the formula written on the ground.
“If you had suffered an injury that required treatment or if the completion of the barrier had been delayed, I wouldn’t have said this… but in both cases, that’s not the case. Escape. “As long as the fairy and I remain here, most soldiers will not notice.”
“That’s desertion.”
“No, it’s a strategic retreat. “To preserve the power that cannot be easily cultivated and plan for the future.”
“….”
“To be honest, I want to move that bowman to the rear as well… but it would be too obvious for him to be away. “It’s a shame.”
Bora Snake erased the formula with his free hand and then pointed in one direction.
“Anyway… go ahead. You don’t have to worry about being suspected of being a deserter. “It was something that was discussed from the beginning with Seongju’s personnel.”
“Really…”
Is this person worthy of the nickname of Purple Snake because his harsh nature is similar to the cool body temperature of a snake? The Archmage swallowed his sleep and shook his head.
“That’s it. “If the soldiers didn’t see me, there are people who might not know.”
“Amid this chaos, how many people do you think care about this area?”
“More than anything, I don’t want to risk the lives of young people. “I’ve already lived enough to live that life.”
“Well… if that’s what you’re willing to do.”
Fortunately, the purple snake obediently agreed to her words. Although they thought it was unreasonable, they did not force it. In the first place, I wasn’t in a position to force it, but it wasn’t the situation.
“Anyway, you are prepared to die here, right?”
“Because this is the body.”
“You decided there was nothing more you could do?”
“Then what do you have?”
“Okay then.”
If so, that’s it. The Archmage picked up any of the walking sticks that had lost their owner and pointed them at the ground. The one she was using had been lost in the mess, so she had no other option.
“You’d rather use mine.”
“Are there any?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Is it because it belongs to a person who stood tall as the owner of a magic tower? The Violet Snake’s Staff was a cool product with five magic power amplifiers embedded in it. The eyes of the Archmage who had injected magic a few times were filled with satisfaction.
“ruler. “I’m going to help that friend now, so when I ask for magical power, you’ll scrape it all the way to the bottom and give it to me.”
“…Of course.”
There is no proper board and the only other wizard who can assist with magical power is Purple Snake, but this is still enough.
“That’s the goal. Let’s drop that bird before we get trampled by that castle.”
The Archmage’s eyes were bright and bright.