NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62
The mages of Argyrion bit their lips in desperation.
The agent that had surely appeared from Blasphemia had engaged their Silver Thread Worms in battle and then vanished casually. They were clearly trying to collect the treaties and evidence left behind with Torres Tower scattered throughout the Middle Level.
At least one of them had to get out of here to stop that guy.
But the issue was the Silver Thread Worms. Just as mages absorbed mana to convert it into magic power, Silver Thread Worms reverted magic power back into mana, and the more mana they absorbed, the more they bloated their own physical bodies.
The released Silver Thread Worms had already absorbed quite a substantial amount of magic power, far exceeding what they were when confined in the sealing chamber.
Countless Silver Threads embedded throughout its entire body came flying ferociously. The mages of Argyrion, usually swaying at just the attempt to use high-level magic, began chanting spells consecutively.
It was an attack made possible by the blessing of “the Divine.” Pillars of Flame shot up, melting the ceiling and floor above and below.
The raging flames were effective against the Silver Thread Worms as well. In an instant, about two-tenths of the Silver Thread Worms melted away in the fire.
However, that didn’t mean their movement was halted. Although they were conveniently referred to as bugs, they weren’t truly reminiscent of living creatures in any real sense.
In fact, they couldn’t even be classified as biological. It would be more appropriate to perceive them as machines that possessed the capability to devour magic power.
The Silver Thread Worm tore away its body that had been engulfed in flames. Then it advanced once more towards the two mages with ample magic power.
Simultaneously, in order to recover the lost flesh, it extended its Silver Threads throughout the magic circuits of the Middle Level. As the control center of the ruins, the magic circuits were sufficiently numerous.
Blink. The lights of the Middle Level flickered.
It was evidence that some of the systems in the ruins were malfunctioning due to the magic power being absorbed by the Silver Thread Worm.
However, neither Argyrion nor the few remaining mages of Torres Tower in the Middle Level could afford to pay attention to that.
If they didn’t focus on the imminent battle with the otherworldly beast right in front of them, they would lose their lives.
*
Deep within the ruins of Crete Island, at the very bottom, mages were shouting in frustration.
“Weren’t you supposed to be experts in ruin exploration?! You bunch of lazy slugs!”
Dozens of troubleshooters and mercenaries clung tightly to the door, but the last gate stood firm. They inwardly wished for Utis’s presence.
“Damn it. If that visor guy was here, he would have opened the door in an instant…!”
“The protection magic is too strong! It seems the mages of Torres need to lend their magic power if we want to attempt disassembly!”
The mages of the Torres Faction didn’t trust the troubleshooters. Fundamentally, they were ruffians. What would happen if they lent their magic power and then turned on them the moment the door opened?
“We’re not out of magic yet! Enough chitchat…”
At that moment, with a creak, cracks appeared on the protection magic surrounding the door.
“Uh, uh? It’s opening!”
It was a remarkable coincidence. The protection magic maintaining the magic source had been disrupted by the Silver Thread Worm that rooted itself in the Middle Level. There was a separate power source to maintain the protection magic even in the hidden room at the deepest part, but it took just a moment for that source to activate.
The efforts of the troubleshooters, who had been struggling to break the protection magic, seized that moment and caused the magic to collapse.
“Dump magic into it before it recovers! Overload the magic circle to break it!”
As expected of a door blocking the innermost depths of the ancient ruins, the completion of the protection magic was exceptional. Being ancient magic, the methods employed were classical, but the durability surpassed imagination.
However, even with dozens of troubleshooters pouring in their magic power, the protection magic couldn’t hold up. As the destruction reached the critical threshold that the protection magic could endure, the door glowed blue.
To be precise, it was the transparent protection magic surrounding the door that turned blue.
There was simply too much residual magic flowing from the nullified magic. As the final attack was added, the entire blue barrier shattered like a glass window.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the underground depths, and a storm of magic erupted. The pure magic pouring forth from the broken protection magic bore down on the troubleshooters, forcing them to their knees. This was because they had nearly exhausted all their magic in breaking through the protection magic.
In contrast, the mages of Torres Tower received the magic storm with relative ease. They had conserved their strength and had ample time to prepare for the aftereffects of the protection magic’s destruction.
They glanced over at the sprawled troubleshooters. At this point, they posed no threat.
“Wait a minute. We broke the protection magic, but the alarms and other spells are still active—”
One of the fallen troubleshooters staggered as he warned them. However, the mages of Torres Tower did not pay attention.
Anxiousness that they might lose the Spirit-human to Utis and a subconscious resistance against ominous prophecies combined with the inertia that no incidents had occurred thus far.
Weighing that unlike those foolish troubleshooters, they had a high aim to reach the Ten Commandments.
‘After all, what’s inside there is just a spirit that has had its consciousness dimmed over a thousand years, right? The fact that it has survived proves its elevated status, but in this isolated hidden room, it wouldn’t have been able to absorb magic power properly….’
Preparations to suppress the weakened human spirit over centuries had been solid. Ancient scrolls with binding spells for forced contracts and spirit binding. Compared to the Magic Imprint Drive, using the forced contract spell took time, but since the spell itself had long been practiced, it remained in the form of scrolls unearthed from ancient ruins.
The mages equipped with various artifacts to weaken the Thunder Spirit entered the stone chamber with confident smiles.
As per the warnings of the troubleshooters, the unbroken alarm magic began to sound. With a racket, they felt the chaotic pulsing of magic.
But the beings that should heed that warning had been asleep for a thousand years. The smiles of the mages thickened.
At the end of the narrow passage, there was a hidden room with a dome-shaped ceiling.
Inside the chamber sat a human form in a meditative position. It was blackened and withered, looking as if it were a charred corpse.
That was the entity that had once been the master of the ancient Torres Tower on Crete Island, reborn as a Spirit-human through the art of spiritification.
“What about the magic power?”
In reality, if what was there was merely a corpse that had not become a spirit, it would be the worst comedy. A mage analyzing the artificial spirit with an artifact shaped like glasses nodded.
“I can feel a minuscule amount of lightning attribute magic power coming from within. It seems to have fallen into a dormant state due to a lack of magic power.”
It was the perfect timing to use the forced contract scroll. Just as the senior mage of Torres Tower was about to infuse magic power into the scroll, thunder rumbled!
The mages of the Torres Faction rushed to activate the spirit binding scroll, but by then, the Spirit-human was already gone from the location they were looking at.
Zzzzzzzz…
They heard the sound of air being burned. They turned their heads towards the direction of the noise. A human form charred black like charcoal. From within it, brilliant golden lightning was seeping out.
In the next moment, they realized the Spirit-human’s hand was plunged into the belly of the senior mage who had been holding the forced contract scroll.
“Uh…?!”
The senior mage felt his magic power rushing out of his body in an instant. His flesh, struck by lightning both internally and externally, was rapidly turning to ash.
Witnessing this scene, one of the mages aimed at the spirit binding scroll. At that moment, the Spirit-human’s body scattered into countless shards of lightning and reassembled before the mage’s eyes.
To be precise, it wasn’t directly before him. It was reassembling all around the mage.
“Huh?”
The mage holding the spirit binding scroll felt his entire field of vision turn golden. And that was his last memory.
The Spirit-human, having entrapped the mage within himself and unleashed lightning, exploded him on the spot, starting to absorb the magic power that colored with the lightning attribute.
Only then did the mages of Torres Tower, who had grasped the situation, begin to flee in panic.
A selfhood weathered by centuries. The Spirit-human who retained only a faint perception of the Forbidden Realm held no intention of forgiving those who infringed upon the Tower Master’s laboratory.
Especially not if they were filled with delicious magic power.
Once referred to as Keranos, the Spirit-human raised its head.
It could feel magic power far above.
He had been thirsty for magic power for a very long time.
The mental awareness awakened by the alarm magic did not reject the impulse to devour.
*
“This is strange…?”
I had discovered several artifacts and safely stored them, but the Talisman of Thunder was nowhere to be seen.
“Could it be in another ruin?”
If that were the case, it would be troubling. The commotion that had taken place here would reinforce security at the main tower of the Torres Faction severalfold.
If the upheaval could not be concealed, and if Argyrion’s collusion with Torres Faction were to be exposed at the Ten Towers, then literally, the Torres Faction could be crushed.
Either way, obtaining the Talisman of Thunder was going to be a challenge. I began to feel a headache gradually intensifying.
‘Staying here any longer isn’t a good idea. I should try to escape first…’
Grrrrrrr!
A strange, loud sound filled the Middle Level. It was as if someone was forcibly grabbing leather and tearing it apart. I turned my eyes towards the outside.
It seemed the mages of Argyrion realized they shouldn’t fight in an environment where the Silver Thread Worm could continue to absorb magic power. They were pulling the mass of Silver Threads out from the Middle Level with strong telekinesis, as if uprooting weeds.
A body nearly several meters long was being dragged out. The sight of the mass of thousands of Silver Threads squirming reminded one of a creepy centipede.
The other mages in the Middle Level had headed towards the corridor while Argyrion’s two agents were busy handling the mass of Silver Threads. They weren’t abandoning them to escape; they were blasting explosion magic into the corridor to widen the entrance.
‘Are they planning to drag the Silver Thread Worm to the surface and fight it there?’
Continuing to fight in this place would only turn into a prolonged struggle unless they had magic strong enough to obliterate the mass in one go. It was a reasonable choice.
I only moved my feet after they had dragged the Silver Threads out to the surface.
‘There was no Talisman of Thunder in the Middle Level either. I’ll watch how they deal with the mass of Silver Threads before returning.’
*
And on the surface.
The troubleshooters were escaping from the jaws of the Abyss. A giant fueled by hunger and lightning coils chased them from behind.
Strangely, it was not the troubleshooters but rather the mages of Torres Faction that they targeted as they barely made their escape.
The troubleshooters dashed directly to the meeting point of the morning. Now that they had come this far, they could take a moment to catch their breath. With that, they could escape the island by any means necessary.
“There, over there!”
Gasping for breath, the troubleshooters looked up.
They saw the bizarrely squirming Silver Thread Worm. The giant, which would require at least a dozen human bodies laid end to end to match its size, was flailing its Silver Threads in search of a victim.
The gathering point lacked any magical capabilities, making it a suitable location for a battle against the Silver Thread Worm. The mages of Argyrion had lured the Silver Thread Worm to the gathering point.
“What the hell…”
Grrrrrrr—!
A thunderous roar erupted from behind the dazed troubleshooters. The sound of the ravenous giant bellowing echoed.
Orthes was moving toward that location.