Chapter 42
As the Drenera group entered, Seori scanned them without fail.
Drenera immediately raised his guard, but Seori caused no harm at all.
“What is this?”
Unlike the bewildered Drenera, Ceres instantly analyzed Elpior’s magic through his magical sight.
“It’s a spell that freezes magic circles. Now, even if you take serious damage, you won’t be returned to the arena.”
“What?!”
While Sonia was surprised, Drenera remained entirely unshaken.
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. Judging by appearances, they don’t seem to know each other. I’ll join in.”
At his words, Reina smiled.
“So yesterday’s enemy is today’s ally, huh?”
As Drenera’s group joined, they reorganized their formation.
At the front were Reina and Drenera. In the middle were Ban and Sonia, and at the rear stood Ridiphin and Ceres.
Meanwhile, Elpior had recovered from her groggy state, but Ban didn’t care much.
‘From now on, I can induce groggy states at will.’
Elpior looked at them with a sinister smile.
“You really think adding just three students changes anything?”
“Expect a shock—we’ve changed enough to blow your mind!”
Ban launched a Fire Spear, and the battle resumed.
Elpior unleashed an ice spear, beginning her first attack pattern.
Reina twisted the trajectory of the spears with Ignition, while Ban drew Elpior’s Ice Spear magic circle in front of Drenera using mana.
Drenera studied it carefully and reached out his hand.
“I understand. I’ll remove it.”
Crack!
Elpior’s spear and the prepared magic circle shattered into pieces.
Reina exclaimed in admiration:
“Oh! You had that ability?”
“Yes. It’s a power that cancels magic. As long as the opponent is a magician, I have the advantage.”
Elpior was momentarily flustered, but before she could react, Ridiphin and Ceres’s attacks rained down.
Her staff tried to block the attacks, but Ceres’s spatial magic pushed it away, and Ridiphin’s arrows pierced the gap, striking Elpior.
“Argh!”
Elpior screamed, rolling to avoid follow-up attacks, then grabbed her staff to heal. Immediately, she started her second attack pattern.
Elpior sent forth burning hands, and Sonia drew up mana in her staff.
A 4-circle fire spell, Flame Armor, enhanced physical defense and reduced fire-based damage for Reina and Drenera.
The two cut through the flaming hands and advanced.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hands exploded as Reina sliced them, but her aura armor and buffs minimized the damage.
Meanwhile, Drenera used Doomslayer Sword to slice the hands. Since they were cut along with their mana, no explosions occurred.
Ban launched Fire Spears at the hands that might have gotten past them, slowing their speed though interception was impossible.
Hands flying toward the middle and rear were incinerated by Ceres’s spatial magic, while Ridiphin continuously attacked Elpior to disrupt her focus.
As the two reached Elpior, the staff attempted to block them.
Reina used Ignition to push the staff aside, and their combined techniques poured onto Elpior.
[Serenia Style – Flame Slash]
[Eastern Greatsword – Wind Wave]
Reina struck swiftly, slashing across Elpior, while Drenera’s heavy waves of greatsword strikes hit her body.
“Th-These guys…!”
Recovering her body through the staff, Elpior immediately entered her third pattern.
A blue magic circle activated, and the water covering the floor rose into the air. By the third pattern, it was akin to a tidal wave.
But Ceres remained unfazed.
“Step aside. You’re in the way.”
Reina and Drenera quickly created distance, and Ceres cast a spell.
A 4-circle spatial magic, Demon’s Cube, controlled momentum within a designated space. The storm of water trapped in a translucent barrier calmed instantly.
As Ceres clenched her hands, the barrier shrank, compressing Aqua Storm.
“Ha…!”
Elpior felt drained from mana shortage just as Reina and Drenera lunged, crossing paths and slashing her.
“Gah!”
As they pulled back, Ridiphin fired an arrow.
[Light Archery – Threefold Radiance]
Three arrows pierced Elpior’s upper body, leaving large holes. Then Ceres used her strongest available magic.
A 5-circle spatial spell, Gravity Force.
A translucent sphere hit Elpior, warping surrounding space and compressing the area into a small sphere.
Perhaps because the original form was lost, the staff continued pouring mana, but Elpior showed no sign of revival.
Ban marveled silently.
‘I thought we’d need two or three more rounds. Disgusting, but it works.’
Reina and Drenera’s strength exceeded expectations, but the decisive factor was Ceres’s intervention. It shifted the battle significantly.
Reina wiped sweat from her brow, thinking the battle was over.
“Phew… we did it?”
But as she finished speaking, the staff floated into the air, embedding itself into the sphere that had been Elpior. Blackened, it slowly melted, enveloping the sphere.
The overflowing liquid dripped onto the floor, exuding a strange, ominous mana.
Fwoosh!
The sphere pulsed violently, and the black liquid surged, gradually forming into a humanoid shape.
A face appeared first, forming a grotesque crescent-moon smile.
Sighing as if the crescent was lacking, she said:
“Ah… I didn’t expect to show this form to mere students…”
Red horns sprouted from her body, and bat-like wings emerged from her back. There was no doubt—it was a demon.
This was Elpior’s Phase 2.
Drenera clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Seems like anyone can become a demon these days.”
As a demon, all her magical power, casting speed, and regeneration increased. She could no longer enter a groggy state.
Most troublesome was her insane regeneration. Healing effects from the staff were internalized, and continuous mana made it impossible to kill her at once—otherwise, she would quickly restore.
Before Elpior fully solidified her form, Drenera used Doomslayer Sword.
The golden blade aimed at her but froze mid-swing. Black liquid from the cracks flowed and immobilized the sword, even engulfing its golden glow.
“…?!”
Doomslayer Sword should dominate anything made of mana, but that only applied within Drenera’s understanding.
Elpior’s bizarre magic, whose circles couldn’t even be counted, overpowered it.
As the black liquid attempted to engulf the sword further, Drenera tried to pull it free—but it didn’t budge.
Tch.
Stepping back, the golden-black sword crumbled.
“You think you can kill me with a trick like that?”
Snapping her fingers, a huge dark magic circle appeared behind her, and two flame serpents emerged.
Shaaaa!
The fire snakes melted Seori and tore through the ground toward Drenera.
Even Flame Armor melted under their heat, burning his sleeves.
Drenera couldn’t resist and was forced to dodge. Reina joined him.
“Drenera!”
He hesitated. The spell appeared to be 6-circle magic, yet she leapt in herself.
Reina could use her aura, so she might handle it better, but from Drenera’s perspective, it was reckless.
“Huh?”
Yet as Reina attacked, the fire serpents twisted and bypassed them.
Elpior smiled faintly.
“You can’t handle this. Go play with the cold one.”
Another large magic circle appeared behind Elpior, and two ice serpents emerged.
The ice and fire serpents crossed, producing steam and water, lunging at Reina.
Reina stabbed one of the serpents’ open mouths with her sword.
“Ugh!”
She avoided being swallowed, but the serpent’s speed did not slow.
The rapidly crawling serpent slammed Reina into the wall and exploded.
Ka-ga-ga-kwang!
Ridiphin shouted in panic.
“Re-Reina!”
Through the dust from the explosion, Reina could be seen, unconscious and trapped in ice at the center.
Meanwhile, the fire serpents lunged at Drenera, who had no sword to defend himself.
‘If Serenia is this strong, I won’t last long either.’
Resistance was impossible. Drenera enveloped himself in golden light, trying to stand against it.
Just as he clashed with the fire serpents, Ban appeared before him.
“You don’t need a greatsword to fight, right?”
Drenera’s mind went blank, leaving only one question:
Why were Reina and Ban trying to save him?
Drenera didn’t trust people. To him, humans only exploited one another. Bonds existed only out of necessity, fading when unneeded.
Yet there was one person in his life who had selflessly sacrificed for him without expectation.
Ban, handing his sword as if offering his life, reminded Drenera of that benefactor. Overwhelmed by complex emotions, Ban’s words pulled him back to reality.
“Cover the rear.”
Ban entrusted the sword to Drenera and pushed him away. The fire serpents bit him, slamming him into the wall.
Kwa-kwang!
Drenera shouted in panic.
“Astraea!”
No answer came.
Dust blew away in the strong wind, but Ban was gone.
Ridiphin whispered in despair.
“Ban…”
Everyone assumed Ban had died. Shocked, silence fell—until Ceres broke it.
“Coward, ran off first.”
Sonia asked, “What do you mean…?”
“Ban isn’t dead. He deliberately took the fire magic to destroy the magic circle.”
“So he must have returned to the arena.”
“Exactly.”
Drenera stood up, relieved.
‘Almost got tricked.’
Though not feeling great, his mission remained unchanged.
The heavy atmosphere lifted, but Ridiphin was still in shock.
“Ban… he’s dead…”
Sonia, sensing something off, asked cautiously:
“Uh… Ridiphin?”
“He… he killed Ban…”
Ridiphin muttered as if deaf to others, then stared at Elpior with cold, emotionless eyes. The icy gaze made Elpior flinch.
‘I… was nervous over mere students?’
Feeling insulted alone, Elpior sent the fire and ice serpents at her.
Ridiphin fired arrows infused with aura.
Bang!
The arrows followed her will, striking all the serpents in an instant.
“W-What?!”
Watching Elpior’s shock, Ridiphin calmly pronounced:
“Then you die too.”
