Chapter 43
“Most Guides tend to think of magical and esper powers as separate! But as you said, you’re still too weak to contain me, so using the existing mana before it dissipates is a good method.”
The Lord marveled, then stepped close to Yurein, tilting his head slightly as he spoke.
“Then how will you handle this? Even if you do that, my power will inevitably be involved in weaving the energy. It’s a large-scale magic that covers all of Parma Hal, so the mana released as the Sphere is destroyed will be considerable. Do you think you can handle the power needed to weave that mana back together?”
The Lord smiled, his eyes curving.
He was right. It would be much easier than creating a new Sphere from scratch, but this young child still lacked the ability to do it.
She was far superior to ordinary people, no, superior to any Guide he had seen so far, but still…
‘Well, about that…’
Yurein thought for a moment, then cautiously broached the subject with the Lord.
And now.
“I’ll move according to the stage you’ve set!”
The Lord’s energy bound the Sphere’s mana, and it began to take the form of a Sphere once more.
And—.
From far away, from the statue of the Lord in the center of Parma Hal, the same light that the Lord was emitting began to flow forth.
Whoosh—
A halo of light rose upwards, weaving together the fragments of the Sphere and the Lord’s light.
Then, it created a new ‘Sphere’ in the place where the original one had been.
-Ggureuk, ggi, ggireureureuk! Kgureuk!
-Kkadeudeuk! Kkeudeudeuk!
Suddenly, a Sphere appeared right in front of them, causing the monsters heading for Parma Hal to crash into it.
Thud-! Thud-!
The sound of the monsters colliding with the Sphere was so intense that their bodies vibrated from the force.
“It’s done!”
Yurein shouted joyfully upon seeing it.
If her own power was insufficient, then they would use the power of the Lord, who had resided in this land for so long.
The power he had buried to protect these people.
That power slept within the Lord’s statue.
The people of Parma Hal had cared for it well, without even knowing exactly what it was, because they instinctively knew that statue protected Parma Hal.
Yurein looked down.
The intensity of the light emanating from the Lord’s statue was gradually weakening.
She could see two people standing still below, looking up at it.
Edern and Iyaban.
They probably had the Lord’s sigil glowing on them, just like she did. No, theirs was different from hers, being temporary.
“Young lady, rebuilding the Sphere is good but…”
Arsen said, looking back, his voice slightly flustered.
“This is too sudden.”
Right now, the Lord was gliding leisurely through the midst of the monsters.
The monsters were disoriented by the Sphere that had suddenly appeared before their eyes.
It was as if their prey had slipped from their grasp, only for an obstacle to appear, enough to make anyone furious.
No, not just furious—the monsters’ demeanor was becoming increasingly savage.
-Kreu, kreureureuk!
-Kkeu, kkeugeukeuk!
It was natural. It was no different from having their prey suddenly snatched from right before their eyes.
Their ferocious intensity made her skin tingle.
And in the midst of this, the Lord was flying even faster into the very center of the monster horde.
It was good that the Sphere had reappeared over Parma Hal, blocking the monsters, but—.
“Are we really going to die like this?”
Charging recklessly into the heart of the monster horde?
Moreover, each monster was ferocious and powerful. It was astounding how they had been gathered like this.
They weren’t even monsters that lived around Parma Hal.
Higher-level monsters, ones ordinary people rarely ever saw, were swarming together.
‘It’s creepy.’
Arsen prided himself on having been through many battles.
He had been through大大小小 conflicts since he was old enough to hold a sword and run.
But it had been a long time since a battle made his skin crawl like this.
It felt like being thrown headfirst into the enemy’s midst.
Some monsters had already noticed something was wrong and were charging towards the Lord.
– Well, that’s just how life is.
The Lord said with a chuckle.
The Lord felt slightly relieved looking at the green Sphere.
He hadn’t expected this young child to be able to handle his power to this extent.
‘But…’
Feeling his connection with Yurein, the Lord sighed softly inwardly.
This child was tired now.
He could feel it clearly through their ‘connection’—the trembling of her fingertips, her labored breathing.
She probably knew it herself.
But even so—.
“We couldn’t attack the monsters outside from inside the Sphere! Now, Mr. Arsen, you’re an esper too, so go wild. To your heart’s content!”
Yurein spoke, deliberately feigning cheerfulness.
Clearly, it must be hard for her to even breathe, yet she showed no sign of it.
“Alright!”
Arsen nodded and stood up.
“We don’t necessarily have to stay here, do we, young lady? I prefer working alone!”
Arsen shouted, his voice quickly turning cheerful.
Watching him, Yurein felt a tingling sensation throughout her body.
This overwhelming resonance.
When was the last time she felt this resonance in battle?
Having lived constantly on the boundary between life and death, she had become accustomed to death without realizing it.
Because of that, she had become indifferent to everything.
But—.
A battle that excited her enough to make her fingertips tingle like this?
He seemed like he was about to jump off immediately, so Yurein hurriedly tried to stop him.
“Mr. Arsen, you’re an archer, right? Then you need some protection, don’t you—”
“No. Just let me fly!”
As he said that, Arsen jumped off the Lord’s back.
“Ah!”
Yurein exclaimed in surprise, reaching out her hand.
Then, Arsen floated up into the air.
A bluish halo of light shimmered around him, dancing gently.
Arsen tested moving his body a few times, then broke into a wide smile. Even in this situation, it was a fresh, boyish smile.
“Right. So this is how you move your body. Lord, I knew I could count on you!”
Arsen gave a thumbs-up towards the Lord, then steadied himself.
Immediately, Arsen’s demeanor changed.
The atmosphere suddenly grew calm, and he shone sharply, like a well-forged sword.
Mana began to gather behind his back.
Then, the mana gradually spread around him, enveloping him.
Suddenly, a giant bow tinged with a blue light appeared in the air.
It was absolutely not a size a person could normally draw.
He smiled and placed his hand on the bow. Then—.
Kwaang!
The bowstring drew back on its own, and mana slowly gathered along it.
A halo of light, much brighter than before, fluttered about playfully, then gathered together to form a giant arrow.
“Now….”
Sssssk—
With eyes full of vitality, Arsen clenched his fist, then opened it wide.
At that moment.
“You’re the prey now, you motherfuckers.”
A low voice, spat out as if through gritted teeth.
Simultaneously, the large arrow slammed down into the center of the monster horde.
Kwaang!
Kkwajik! Kkwajijijijik!
Electric sparks flew. Monster flesh exploded.
-Graaaaah!
-Kkiiik!
As the sudden attack hit, screams erupted from the monsters everywhere.
No. The ones screaming weren’t the monsters that were directly hit.
The monsters that took a direct hit were already dead; only those on the periphery survived to scream.
“See. That’s why I said don’t look down on your prey, you bastards.”
Arsen growled.
His voice was tinged with euphoria.
He, with his own power, was tearing apart and killing the monsters that had so mercilessly torn apart his townspeople.
It felt like the ultimate pleasure.
A blissful sense of elation washed over him, and Arsen was about to shout even louder.
“—That idiot!”
If Jalkal hadn’t shouted from behind, gritting his teeth.
Arsen quickly turned to look back.
Without him noticing, Jalkal was standing firmly on the Lord’s back.
‘Hoho…’
It wasn’t that the Lord had stopped moving.
On the contrary, he was flying around, dodging the monsters.
Yet, Jalkal stood motionless, effortlessly driving his sword into any monster that came close, fighting without seeming to exert himself.
When Jalkal met Arsen’s eyes, he scowled.
“No, man! How else are we supposed to get rid of the monsters if not like this?”
Arsen scratched his head, sounding wronged.
“There are still so many monsters left to take down. Ah, are they angry because their prey was taken? Then—”
“I don’t care if you hunt all the monsters alone or die here! The problem is you’ve drawn attention, and all eyes are focused here now!”
Jalkal, who was usually quiet, spoke through gritted teeth, making Arsen blink rapidly.
“On top of that, if you attack in that situation, the person linked to your mana flow—!”
