Chapter 33
And Magic
One by one, the enhancement spells began to fade.
“Huff!”
The body that had floated like a feather now sank heavily.
The sword, which had felt so light, now weighed like a thousand pounds.
The darkness that had shone brightly only grew thicker.
Breathing became labored, as if trapped in a swamp.
Flare―flare―.
The flames flowing along the blade were weakening.
“Hoo…”
Ronan quietly stared at the Snow Worms wriggling beyond the darkness.
How many are left?
Though he couldn’t see them clearly, there were still plenty of them.
Of course.
Even with enhancement magic, he was no match alone.
Last winter, he had fought until the morning sun rose.
How long had it been since the sun set?
He wasn’t sure exactly, but the sky was still too dark for sunrise.
That meant a long time remained.
Enough time to see the morning come, and enough to kill all the Snow Worms.
Kigik―!
Perhaps it was the sight of the dying flames.
Or perhaps Ronan’s slowed body.
Kieek―Kiii―!
The Snow Worms charged him fiercely.
He swung his sword at one whose sharp arm thrust toward him.
Flare, the flame traced the arc of the sword, slicing straight through its waist.
But unlike before, the flames didn’t burst out intensely.
Flar―.
The flames faded before he could swing the sword a second time.
Complete darkness.
“Damn it…”
Ronan cursed through heavy breaths.
He scattered the remaining flames, blocking the Snow Worms.
Not a single one slipped past behind him.
Some may have retreated to places untouched by fire.
He was confident that Hog had blocked them well enough.
So, everything should be ready.
…Was this enough?
Esric’s magic to annihilate them.
Kigigi―! Kii― Eek―! Kieek―!
The eerie cries of the Snow Worms drew closer in the darkness, ready to engulf Ronan from every direction.
Crack.
A yellow streak of light shot into the air.
Zzt.
The streak pierced through the Snow Worms.
Before he could even realize what it was, sparks flew.
Pazzz―!
A powerful lightning split the void and tore through the darkness.
“…!”
The Snow Worms that had charged to strike Ronan,
the countless Snow Worms hidden in the darkness,
Screeeek―!
Their screams were cut short, and they flickered violently.
They twitched and burned, their jaws gaping with white smoke rising.
“Good work.”
Amid the flashing lightning, Esric walked leisurely forward.
“Leave it to me now.”
Right after sending Ronan off.
“<Collide, bounce, flash, small lightning>.”
He continuously chanted the spell.
“.”
A 2-circle spell that creates small bolts of lightning, .
He unleashed into the void until all 2 circles were exhausted.
Crack, zzt.
It manifested, but he didn’t trigger it yet.
Although it was a 2-circle spell, its power wasn’t enough to annihilate the Snow Worms.
It could only kill a few at a time.
So he kept stacking them.
“.”
While Ronan swung his sword to hold them off.
“.”
The darkness filled with lightning ready to strike at any moment.
“.”
The lightning linked like chains, extending far, multiplying in power.
The synergy of overlapping the same spell.
Flare.
“The fire’s out!”
Hog said, and Esric spread his hands wide to trigger the spell.
“<Spreading lightning, linked chain, pierce the enemies>.”
Sparks flew from the tips of his fingers.
“.”
Lightning struck from his hands.
Zzt, the bolts extended.
The floating responded, striking each other.
Snow Worms caught between were pierced and burned instantly.
Pazzzzzz―!
Lightning tore through the darkness, piercing all the Snow Worms.
The long chain of didn’t stop until it reached the last Snow Worm.
But its speed was like light, burning every Snow Worm before he even reached Ronan.
Only faint sparks flowed weakly among the remaining convulsing Snow Worms.
He passed through and approached Ronan.
“Good work.”
Seeing Ronan exhausted, he smiled.
“Leave it to me now.”
“Leave it….”
Ronan let out a deep sigh and collapsed where he stood.
“It’s all over.”
“No.”
He pointed to a fallen Snow Worm.
Its body seemed to boil and bubble.
“Ah.”
Ronan propped himself up with his sword.
“The swarm…!”
No sooner had he spoken.
Ssshhhhh.
The Snow Worm’s body split into countless smaller worms.
They swarmed together again, merging into a single massive, grotesque movement, distinct even in the dark.
“Damn it…”
Ronan staggered, unable to steady himself.
Hog, who had followed, came to his side to support him.
“Don’t push yourself. You’ve been using enhancement magic to fly, so the recoil will be heavy.”
“Then what about that…?”
Ronan pointed to the swarm forming into a massive worm cluster.
“Don’t worry.”
Esric confidently raised his magic.
Before, he wasn’t prepared and couldn’t strike the swarm before it completed, but now it was different.
Vroooom.
He squeezed out the last bit of mana in his circle.
The magic spell he envisioned appeared in blue letters on the floating pages.
Every letter clear and precise.
“<Devouring flames, explosive blast, melting fire>.”
“<Erupt like a volcano, scatter in all directions, burn everything>.”
“<Every body, every drop of blood, every breath, explode>.”
As he recited the spell without hesitation, his voice resonated.
『The Contracted Magic is ready.』
『As the Contract Holder, the spell’s power is amplified.』
He pointed at the wriggling Snow Worm swarm.
Targeting it, he shouted the activation words.
A mid-level 4-circle spell.
“!”
Its power was comparable to , a mid-level spell.
The difference: the range.
covers a wide area; concentrates all its power on a single point.
The intense energy focused into one point.
Boom.
A blazing explosion erupted.
―!
At the center of the wriggling swarm, bright red flames soared.
Engulfing even the sound of the blast, it erupted with a flare.
“…!”
Before he could react, Hog ran and raised a shield in front of Ronan and Esric.
Almost simultaneously.
Whoooosh―!
A massive fireball shot high into the sky.
The swarm was shredded into pieces, scattered into the air.
Bang―! Boom―!
Falling chunks also burst into flames.
The fire spread, driving away the night’s darkness.
Crackle, crackle. The remnants of the swarm burned completely in midair.
The sparks scattered in the void, resembling fireworks.
Hooouu.
Finally, the hot gust slid along Hog’s shield to the side.
The residual heat alone was suffocating.
Crackle, crackle.
After the explosion, even the remaining flames were dying out.
“Over… I think… it’s over…”
Hog cautiously peered over the shield.
“Yes.”
All the Snow Worms were incinerated.
Even the swarm cluster was obliterated.
The flood had been stopped.
“It’s all over…”
Breathing heavily, he collapsed where he stood.
Three circles of magic were completely depleted.
His head spun from mana exhaustion, and his mind felt distant.
In the fading consciousness, the voice of 『Magic』 echoed.
『Contract Holder’s mana has been exhausted.』
『Contract Holder’s mana has been exhausted.』
『Contract Holder’s mana has been exhausted.』
I know… damn it…
Before he could even curse, he lost consciousness.
Flames erupted into the dark sky, popping and scattering.
All the Ice Rock soldiers stared blankly at the sparkling, fleeting lights.
Once the flames faded and darkness settled, the soldiers cheered loudly.
“Waaahhh―!”
The cheers echoed across the dark battlefield.
Siruela, at the rear, hadn’t seen the battlefield directly but knew the outcome.
It was finished.
A laugh escaped her lips.
Until now, she had never held back her sword while stopping the flood.
The final, absolute end.
She couldn’t entrust the swarm cluster to anyone else.
Even she couldn’t defeat it without manifesting her aura; others were insufficient.
She avoided the frontlines until the cluster formed to minimize the sacrifices of her soldiers.
But…
「“This time, I won’t yield.”」
The last descendant of her old comrade defeated the cluster in her stead.
No soldiers were lost; the flood was stopped.
Even Siruela could not have done that.
She couldn’t deny it.
Touching the dragon-marked arm, she thought:
[If I don’t die, I can’t leave this mountain!]
Siruela had quietly accepted it.
Before she could erase the mark following the Dragon Words, her life might end…
She had thought that since the time Ice Rock was founded.
Whatever the outcome, the dragon, once a disaster of the snow mountains, was dead, and in the process countless heroes and soldiers of kingdoms and races had already perished.
The fights between kingdoms and races worsened, and the snow mountain disaster became a legendary monster.
After the empire unified the continent, it was just seen as monsters swarming like insects.
No one remembered Ice Rock’s true mission.
There would be no one to accompany her to fight the disaster.
Even so, she built Ice Rock out of responsibility and defended the continent from the overflowing calamity.
That had been the reason for her life for centuries.
Now, she had reached the very end of her life.
The ultimate end.
“Is it finally time…?”
Siruela muttered to herself, smiling faintly.
“Open the gates!”
Her commanding voice made all the soldiers turn.
“Are you going to leave Ice Rock’s heroes out there?!”
“Ah…”
“No, nooo!”
Her words reignited the cheers of the soldiers.
She laughed, gesturing to the soldiers.
“Go quickly and bring them back!”
“Yeees!”
All the soldiers shouted and charged out as if propelled by the command.
“What are you waiting for?! Open the gates?!”
“Open the gates! Quickly, you bastards!”
“Don’t push! The gates aren’t even fully open yet?!”
Clatter, clatter. As the iron bars rose, the Ice Rock soldiers rushed out of the fortress.
Siruela, still at her post, watched them leave with satisfaction.
The waves of calamity that had once threatened to engulf the world were finally being held back.
And now, they began to spread again toward the world.
