chapter 152
But that action was not completed.
Because Rofal’s Aurora Blade, flying like a flash of light, was targeting Leon’s neck.
**Kyaaaang!!!**
In an instant, Leon pulled out his demonic sword from subspace and, without even turning around, blocked the attack with the scabbard of the sword he held in one hand.
“How dare you cause such a disturbance in the castle of Remerish. You will pay for that with your life.”
With a solemn voice, he radiated an immense fighting spirit.
Sword Masters aren’t just any common names—they are beings called strategic weapons.
Naturally, the power emitted by a single Sword Master is hardly comparable to that of an ordinary human.
In fact, because the fighting spirit radiating from the Sword Master spread indiscriminately around them, the expressions of Rebecca, Meryl, and Dina turned visibly pale.
But Leon didn’t even spare him a glance.
With his other hand, the one not holding the sword, he slowly suppressed his trembling and pushed open the coffin lid.
Inside lay a young girl, her entire body tightly bound in chains, unconscious and collapsed.
“…….”
Seeing this, Leon’s pupils instantly contracted.
The small girl’s body was covered in countless red, crack-like marks.
Proof that the ritual was already underway.
If left as is, she would be consumed as a sacrifice.
**Chwarureureuk!!!**
At the same time, the light chain magic of numerous mages wrapped around Leon and Luna, who stood at the center of the ritual circle, binding them tightly.
“We have them subdued!”
“Don’t kill them! Make sure they can’t move a single finger!”
Their actions were closer to restraint than killing.
A vast number of debuff spells rained down and took effect.
Even so, Rofal remained on guard, wary that Leon might cause a variable.
When he had swung his Aurora Blade moments ago, Leon had blocked it with the sword in his hand.
Even if he had swung with moderate force, a Sword Master’s attack is not usually so easily blocked.
Of course, one might attribute it to the unusual aura of Leon’s sword, but even so, wasn’t that already threatening enough?
Their goal remained unchanged. Though the atmosphere was unusual, the ritual had already manifested, and the sacrifices were insufficient.
Thus, to continue the ritual, they had no choice but to use these two as additional sacrifices.
In other words, it was fine to merely immobilize them so they couldn’t step outside the ritual circle.
Any minor resistance that occurred in the process was inconsequential.
Unless one was an exceptional powerhouse, they would be helpless in this situation.
Moreover, the ritual circle continuously drained the life force of the sacrifices, so the situation was never unfavorable to Rofal and the knights under Vania Remerish.
The sacrifices, stripped of all their vitality, would soon crumble to dust from their fingertips.
The magic sealing the coffin fell into the latter category.
Whether aware of his situation or not, Leon stared blankly at the girl inside the coffin with a dazed expression.
Something incomprehensible that had been emanating from his entire body vanished in an instant.
As if his tumultuous emotions had been settled.
Now, Leon’s attention was solely focused on Arsha.
“Can you check her condition?”
“She’s still alive. A lot of her life force has been drained, but she’s fine for now.”
“It seems she’s been drained for quite a while?”
“She was lucky.”
Their attitude showed no concern whatsoever for the fact that they were bound by magic, and the mages who had cast the restraining spells showed signs of confusion.
“Healing?”
“Healing her body is easy, but we need to stop the ritual. Also.”
Luna paused briefly, then slowly continued.
“She’s taken a serious mental blow. Likely due to the Kraken’s influence.”
The way they so casually mentioned the need to halt a high-dimensional, complex ritual was utterly absurd.
It was a high-dimensional, multi-layered ritual magic combining necromancy and elemental magic—the pinnacle techniques of various fields.
There was no way one or two people could dismantle such magic in a short time.
Thinking this, Rofal bowed his head to Vania.
“Young lady, even to cancel the ritual magic, it would take dozens of experts in each field several days. I will keep these two restrained, so please continue the ritual.”
“The ritual must not fail.”
This ritual magic had taken years to prepare.
The magic circle was so complex and robust that even the formidable mages of the Magic Tower marveled at it.
How could these brats possibly break such magic?
That was common sense.
Even peeling off the outermost layer would take several hours.
But common sense didn’t take long to shatter.
In an instant, dozens of layers of defense were destroyed in a flash.
Though the magic protecting the ritual circle still held firm, it wasn’t something that should collapse within seconds of being mentioned.
“Hmm… let’s try this.”
**Kwajik… Whajangchang!!!!**
This time, twice as much magic as before was smashed.
It included a mix of necromancy and elemental magic.
Was this even possible?
Right, these were the ones who had shattered the coffin’s protective magic in an instant, so they must have some means.
But the defensive magic on the coffin and the magic protecting the ritual were fundamentally different in their methods.
No matter how skilled an elemental mage, it was impossible to interfere with magic from a different field, especially necromancy.
But what unfolded before their eyes was different.
Within seconds, necromancy was being hijacked, and elemental magic was being dismantled from its very foundations.
Realizing something was wrong, Rofal drew his sword and targeted Leon, who was causing this situation.
That man was dangerous. Even if they couldn’t use him as a sacrifice, he had to be killed here and now.
As if time had accelerated, Rofal closed in on Leon in an instant and swung his blade precisely at Leon’s neck.
With such speed, power, and accuracy, even a fellow Sword Master would struggle to counter.
What about a mage focused on breaking magic?
That was an even simpler matter.
But Leon, who was destroying magic by the second, leisurely drew his sword from its scabbard.
Even though the blade was nearly at his neck, he showed no fear of death.
**Kyaaaang!!**
What Rofal felt next was not the sensation of slicing through soft flesh but a resistance as if colliding with something massive.
“What is this?!”
Then, a heavy impact pushed Rofal’s body back.
His sword, wreathed in Aurora Blade, had been deflected so easily?
Just as he finished that thought, he looked at Leon again.
His eyes widened as if they might tear.
The aura surrounding Leon’s sword. It was unmistakably Aurora Blade, practically the symbol of a Sword Master.
In other words… that teenage boy, presumed to be a mage, nonchalantly destroying magic over there—
He had reached the same level as Rofal, a Sword Master who had trained for years and overcome the wall.
That was absurd.
A Sword Master at such a young age? Sword Masters aren’t just common names.
And he wasn’t even focused solely on his sword—he was interfering with magic.
Judging by the mana swirling around him, he was clearly a mage. A highly skilled one at that.
Such a mage was also a Sword Master?
Rofal felt as if he were having a nightmare.
Exchanging a single blow had already provided immense information.
Leon’s physical enhancement was already at a higher level, and the perfection of his Aurora Blade was also superior.
The completeness of the world created by this young boy was more solid than that of Rofal, who had roamed battlefields for decades and even experienced past wars.
“Rofal! What are you doing? Stop him immediately!!”
At Vania Remerish’s hysterical cry, Rofal gritted his teeth.
Even now, the magic circle was being destroyed moment by moment.
In less than a minute, half the magic had already collapsed.
If the robed girl were breaking the magic and the boy were defending, he might have forced himself to understand.
“…….”
Even as common sense shattered in real time, Rofal could not stop.
He was a knight of House Remerish. He had to obey Vania Remerish’s orders.
That thing before him was a monster. He decided not to think of it as human but as something that had taken human form.
Rofal meticulously circulated all his aura, pumping vitality through his entire body.
Then, fixing his gaze on Leon, still standing in place destroying magic, he kicked off the ground and shot forward like a flash.
“You’ve been annoying me for a while now.”
Huh?
But before Rofal could even reach Leon, he saw the robed girl, already midway along the trajectory, clench her fist.
He judged that girl to also be a monster.
Without letting his guard down, Rofal thrust his sword precisely to cut off Luna’s breath.
But his thrust only cut through empty air, failing to kill Luna.
‘A difference in skill….’
Only then did Rofal understand.
Leon was one thing, but the girl before him was also overwhelmingly more skilled than Rofal, the Sword Master.
‘The world is terribly unfair.’
Luna, having evaded by ducking, drove her small white fist into Rofal’s solar plexus.
**Jeeoong!!!**
At the same time, a sound like something shattering rang out, and Rofal’s body was powerless flung outside the magic circle, crashing into the outer wall surrounding the ritual site.
He had heard such stories.
That extreme-trained martial artists can achieve the skill of breaking space with a single punch.
But this level of power was not something attainable merely at the level of a Fist Master.
Those two seemed connected to the enslaved girl who was the sacrifice.
Just who in the world was that enslaved girl?
Rofal’s body was in tatters. One arm had little strength, and several ribs were broken, screaming in pain.
The single blow moments ago had likely severely damaged some of his internal organs.
Despite the intense pain, he rose again.
“All forces!!! Protect the young lady!!”
Simultaneously, the knights and mages guarding the ritual circle began launching attacks all at once.
In response, Rebecca and Meryl drew their weapons to join in. But they couldn’t move a step.
Because a single, icy cold remark—as chilling as the polar regions—scanned their entire bodies, freezing them in place.
At the same time, an enormous number of magic circles began to form around Leon.
