Chapter 22: (2)
“Argh! What is this…!” Kaiyan exclaimed, covering his ears and scanning the battlefield, searching for the source of the sound. There, he saw a massive basilisk spewing something toward the Central Army.
Thud!
It was a huge mass, not quite magical but too threatening to be considered a mere boulder.
The problem was that the target of this huge thing was the Central Army.
“This is madness…” Kaiyan muttered, his eyes widened in shock.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Kwaaahhh!
The Central Army, struck directly by those things, was completely devastated as if being pounded by hundreds of ballistae.
This was different from forcibly collapsing formations to create a path. Back then, the formations expanded, leaving partial gaps. But this time, both the outer and inner parts of the formations had gaping holes.
Kiyaaaahh!
“Kwuaaack!”
“Kuruk! Kuruk!”
The basilisk let out a roar, and the monsters responded with their own screams. Then, they dove into the gaps created among the Central Army, beginning to slaughter the soldiers.
“…Shouldn’t we help the Central Army, sir? At this rate, they…” Kaiyan began to say, his voice filled with concern.
Witnessing humans being slaughtered mercilessly by monsters, memories of the nightmare from a few months ago resurfaced in Kaiyan’s mind. The monsters that brutally killed his family and the villagers.
He felt an urge to rush over and assist them.
However, the Senior knight seemed to have a different opinion, shaking his head at Kaiyan’s question.
“It won’t be of much help if we go. Besides, hmmm… It might seem a bit dangerous, but as long as we defeat the basilisk, the formations can be restored.”
“But… If there’s no one to defeat the basilisk…” Kaiyan’s voice trailed off, realizing the gravity of the situation.
There was no point in the Central Army trying to form formations if the basilisk remained undefeated.
The Senior knight’s statement implied that unless the basilisk was defeated, the Central Army couldn’t establish formations.
“Kukuku, have you forgotten about the Elite Unit?” the Senior knight said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“If I remember correctly…” Kaiyan trailed off, his thoughts turning towards the Elite Unit.
“Take a look over there,” the Senior knight gestured.
“That is…” Kaiyan started, following the Senior knight’s gesture and looking toward the basilisk. Several meters above the creature, a gigantic magic circle was drawn in the air.
The fact that such a large magic circle hovered in mid-air was already astonishing enough.
The size of the light column was astounding. Could that really be the aura that humans could emit?
“Achieving that level is something I should strive for…” Kaiyan thought, feeling a surge of determination.
Since he had learned about auras, Kaiyan had vaguely aimed to become an Aura Master. Honestly, with the player system, he thought he could somehow achieve it.
But witnessing the power of an Aura Master, he realized how absurd his goal had been.
Kiaaaaahh!
Exclaiming in admiration, Kaiyan gazed at the central battlefield with a vacant expression. The basilisk, tormented by the intense heat, howled in agony as its body was being disintegrated.
Just until its first appearance, Kaiyan couldn’t fathom who could make the basilisk look like that.
And yet, it didn’t end there. Still hovering in the air, the figure in the robe raised his staff, eyes gleaming with newfound intensity.
Woooong!
The magic circle, once again, vibrated with such intensity that it could be felt from a distance. As the vibrations intensified, the magic circle turned crimson and started spewing out red liquid toward the basilisk, mercilessly drenching it.
Puhwaaaah!
Was its flames? No, was it the lava Kaiyan had only heard of?
If the basilisk’s roar sent chills through the entire plain, the red liquid emitted by the magic circle made the entire plain scorching hot.
Kyaaaahhh!
What was even more astonishing was that the basilisk’s skin, covered in the inverted liquid, started to burn.
It was the basilisk’s skin, which had been impervious to the attacks of the Central Army’s battle mages.
“That’s magic… Huh? Is there someone in the air…?” Kaiyan wondered, noticing a person floating in front of the magic circle, spewing the red liquid.
Although the distance made it difficult to see clearly, there was a person in the air, wearing a robe.
“It’s the Elite Unit,” the Senior knight confirmed.
“What? Are you saying they are members of the Elite Unit? They were…” Kaiyan’s voice trailed off in astonishment.
He thought the Elite Unit was dead. But the fact that the person in the robe was creating that magic circle was even more surprising.
“That person besides the magic circle is Gamin, The Everlasting Flame, a magician from the Elite Unit.”
“If it’s ‘the fire enthusiast’…” Kaiyan recalled hearing about them.
Gamin, known as the “Everlasting Flame,” was one of the six-circle magicians, a title bestowed upon only three individuals on the entire continent. Everyone recognized the power of his fire attribute magic, which is why he was called by that title, as Uncle Jeff had told Kaiyan. But to think that such an incredible person belonged to the Elite Unit.
“So that’s why the Senior knight said they can defeat the basilisk,” Kaiyan realized.
Now he understood the confidence of the Senior knight.
He was already aware that there were six-circle magicians in the Elite Unit. Moreover, aside from Everlasting Flame, there were still four members in the Elite Unit.
“Then where are they?” Kaiyan wondered aloud.
Just as he was pondering, the basilisk’s tail was swiftly severed by a pillar of radiant light.
If it hadn’t been such a radiant pillar of light, one might think that the basilisk had cut off its own tail.
“Oh! It’s the Guardians!” the Senior knight exclaimed with excitement as the pillar of light appeared.
“Guardians?” Kaiyan questioned.
“He must be referring to the Aura Masters…”
“Are you talking about the Masters? They are the ones who…” Kaiyan’s voice trailed off as he realized the significance of the Guardians.
That is because they have reached the pinnacle of Aura, the realm that only a tiny fraction of Aura users can achieve—the Aura Masters.
“Could that light be Aura?” Kaiyan wondered.
The severed light from the basilisk’s tail continued to maintain its form without disappearing.
Even roughly estimated, the size of the light was at least 10 meters or more. Could that truly be the Aura that humans could emit?
“A realm I must eventually reach…”
Having learned Aura, Kaiyan had vaguely set his sights on becoming an Aura Master. Honestly, with the existence of the player system, he thought he would somehow make it.
But now, witnessing the power of an Aura Master firsthand, he realized how absurd his goal had been.
Kyuuuuoooh!
Kaiyan gazed at the central battlefield with a dazed look. The basilisk, battered by the pillar of light, writhed in agony and let out a thunderous roar.
When he first saw it, Kaiyan had never imagined anyone could inflict such damage on the creature.
Yet, it seemed that was not the end. As if to further emphasize that point, the hovering figure in the robe, still suspended in mid-air, raised the staff.
“Ooooong!”
Another enormous magic circle materialized in the air.
From there, crimson liquid, akin to molten lava, poured mercilessly toward the suffering basilisk.
“Phuhaaaah!”
“The air has become even hotter.”
The already heated plains, amplified by Gamin’s magic, now reached a scorching temperature, enough to make one sweat.
What kind of remarkable magic possessed such power?
“Kiyaaaaah! Kiyaah!”
The basilisk, unable to bear the agony of its burning body, desperately attempted to escape. However, it was constrained by the injuries caused by the guardians, hindering its movements.
Furthermore, even if it managed to break free, it was certain to face immediate retaliation from the guardians protecting that path.
“A realm I must reach. Someday, I’ll stand beside them too…”
Calming his startled heart, Kaiyan took a deep breath. As the basilisk’s movements gradually diminished, it seemed that it could no longer withstand the magic and Aura. The head that had been raised high crashed down onto the ground, drenched in the crimson liquid.