Ch. 262 - Noble Soul (16)

Chapter 262: Noble Soul (16)

The king of all familiars, spirits, fairies, and elves, Florin. 

People speculated that her abilities were on par with those of a Class 9 mage within the World Tree.

However, that assumption was slightly wrong.

The class 9 magic warriors had reached their positions through countless obstacles and accumulated knowledge, while Florin attained hers solely through meditation based on faith and patience. 

This was a very decisive difference.

Of course, she had perfectly memorized various military strategies and combat manuals in her head, but could she really conduct a battle in real life like it was written in a textbook?

Absolutely impossible.

"... The blessing of Dusk Soil Moon."

Florin bit her lower lip slightly and hardened her expression.

Behind her, wings in the shade of green and purple unfurled, resembling those of a butterfly. 

They allowed her to fly freely through the air. She thought it advantageous to remain airborne against Chelven, who specialized in earth-based abilities.

But reality was different.

As long as Chelven wished, the earth was always there.

He could summon the earth as a foothold anywhere and could even drop meteors from the sky, so the advantages of flying were almost nonexistent.

Rumble...!!

An aerial fortress that had been providing strong support from the sky through Aryumon’s summoning magic crumbled like a sandcastle.

This wasn’t due to any special attack; it happened with just one shout from Chelven.

Aryumon employed a very unique strategy that involved summoning various creatures and objects into the real world to fight, while Chelven possessed a special ability to perfectly defend against all attacks automatically.

But who could have possibly written down such unique abilities in a manual?

‘Create an opening in the enemy's defense and strike their weakness. That will lead to victory.’

This was the most basic combat principle explained on the first page of the battle manuals.

However, would this basic principle work on Chelven?

This fight, where common sense didn’t apply, was incredibly challenging for Florin. 

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out a way to break through Chelven’s absolute defense.

The defense granted by Dusk Soil Moon was perfect and inexhaustible.

Even without conscious effort, an automatic barrier was deployed, and it hardly consumed any magical power.

In contrast... The mana of Florin and Aryumon was steadily depleting.

Unlike them, who used their own mana to control the World Tree or perform summoning magic, Chelven’s mana was being replenished by the earth itself.

"... If we keep fighting like this, this land will dry up."

Florin spoke with difficulty, and Chelven replied with a bitter smile.

“Sorry. The lands I pass through are always in drought. But it should be fine since you’re here, right? You can bless the land.”

How could he speak so nonchalantly?

“Then surrender right now!”

Florin swung her arm down with all her might, and hundreds of purple fluorescent butterflies sparkled as they fired beams of light in that direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Next, the green acidic fluid that emerged from the World Tree’s roots shot toward Chelven like bullet shells, exploded and produced smoke, but she still didn’t feel that the barrier had been pierced.

‘Is this... What they call absolute invincibility...?’

‘I can't believe it. How can such a being exist in this world?’

She thought absolute invincibility was just a thing of fiction.

‘If it really is absolute invincibility…’

How on earth could one capture such a being?

Vroooom!!

At the sound of the vibrations coming from the sky, Florin instinctively looked up.

The shape of the clouds was strange. They resembled a palm as if someone had intentionally assembled them.

The cloud fist slowly curled its fingers, forming a fist. 

A magic circle appeared, and... a massive blue lightning sword was created.

"... Blade of the Judgment."

Aryumon’s voice hollowly cut through the air. 

Realizing his intention, Florin hastily crossed her arms over her chest.

“He’s insane...!”

Was he trying to prove that he had been holding back his power until now since the World Tree was right nearby? He began preparing a powerful spell capable of turning the entire area upside down.

Florin had no choice but to move the roots of the World Tree to push the ground further away and create a protective barrier with those roots. 

Right after that...

… BOOM!!!

A massive blue lightning bolt struck the ground, completely shattering the floating earth into pieces.

“Ugh…”

Florin spread her wings and flew into the air, putting up a pale purple shield in front of her to block the shockwave, but she couldn't hold on and was blown backward.

After being pushed back for a while, she barely managed to stop just before colliding with the World Tree. Only then did she fully grasp the situation and widened her eyes in shock.

"Ah..."

Perhaps the distance was only about 1 km from the Orchard of the Dream Tree.

The terrain there... was completely collapsed and destroyed. 

Seeing the deep crater left behind as if a giant meteor had fallen, who could dare think it was the work of a single human?

It wouldn’t be strange to mistake it for divine wrath bringing down a heavenly punishment.

Even for Florin or Chelven, they couldn’t unleash magic with this level of power.

"This is the power of a class 9 mage…!!"

She quickly spread her wings and flew towards the crater. Blowing away the thick smoke that billowed up, she spotted Aryumon kneeling on the ground far below.

"Ah…! Are you alright?"

“Cough!”

She hastily channeled the energy of green life into him, but his condition was severe. 

Did he suffer internal injuries while using that magic just now?

“Damn... I didn’t expect him to counterattack.”

“A counterattack… You say?”

Throughout their fight so far, Chelven had rarely attempted a direct counterattack. Even then, it was just flipping the ground in response.

“Yes. I almost completely forgot about his true abilities.”

“… Ah.”

Chelven was known to possess absolute invincibility due to the blessing of Dusk Soil Moon, but in reality, that wasn't his true power.

It was merely one of the countless abilities Chelven possessed.

“Reality manipulation…”

Aryumon, who was clutching his abdomen, slowly removed his hand. A sharp blue lightning bolt pierced through the area.

That was undoubtedly the same magic he used earlier.

“What… happened?”

“During the spell, he intercepted part of it. Annoyingly, he possesses a 'reality manipulationl' type ability… Cough!”

As Aryumon coughed up blood while supporting himself on the ground, Florin urgently used her magic to stabilize him.

If she didn't treat him immediately, his wounds were severe enough to be life-threatening. His mana flow was so chaotic that an ordinary mage might have permanently lost their magic.

Fortunately, Aryumon was a class 9 mage proficient in mana, so it wasn't that extreme... But if Chelven continued to counterattack in this state?

‘This is dangerous.’

Although the situation was critical, protecting him took priority over treating his injuries. 

No matter how Aryumon had previously tried to invade the World Tree, his life couldn’t be wasted.

Florin summoned blue and pale purple mana around her hands and quickly turned around, staring through the thick mist.

Step!

Chelven slowly emerged from the mist, covered in wounds. 

Despite everything, it appeared that completely negating a lightning bolt of that magnitude was impossible since he was covered in scratches all over his body.

“Such small injuries…!”

The fact that he had only taken that much damage after being hit by what could be called a cataclysmic spell was shocking.

Of course, that was just Florin’s perspective.

“The Elf King seems fine, but the mage is out of energy, huh.”

Chelven checked his own condition with eyes filled with fatigue.

"... The earth isn’t responding."

It was the first time. A being had completely shattered the blessing of the earth, which was almost invincible.

This was no ordinary blessing.  

It was a barrier imbued with sincerity from Dusk Soil Moon, and it was more powerful than any other blessings of the Twelve Divine Moons. 

Perhaps this mage could even stand against the true Twelve Divine Moons.

But that was as far as it went.  

Even though his protective barrier was completely destroyed, Aryumon had fallen, and the Elf King seemed to have almost no strength left.  

'... If I keep fighting, can I die?'

Florin appeared capable of fighting. 

Thanks to the World Tree continually blessing her, just as he was constantly loved by the earth, she was continuously supplied with mana.  

'It's not certain.'

He shook his head.  

If he made a wrong move, the worst-case scenario could happen: both of them could lose their lives.  

Chelven no longer wanted to stain his hands with blood. 

How many countless lives had already been lost because of him?  

A village was overturned simply because a child’s playfully thrown stone accidentally headed his way.  

An entire city sank into the ground because someone accidentally spilled water on him.  

Someone bumped into his shoulder while passing by, someone shouted at him, or someone, or someone, or someone else...  

Because of the excessive protection of Dusk Soil Moon, which deemed even those mere accidents as threats...

How many… Just how many lives were lost?  

He tried to live without facing people as much as possible. He wanted to live quietly in a place where no one was around.  

But by then, too much resentment had already piled up, and numerous avengers appeared, only to lose their lives in vain.  

He kept running. He kept escaping.

No matter how much he ran.

They continued to appear before him, throwing away their precious lives.

"It seems we're all tired, so let's end the fight here."  

"..."

Chelven clenched and unclenched his fists, checking the state of his mana, and then turned around and left.  

"Then... I'll be going now."  

"What do you mean...!"  

He truly appeared to have no intention of continuing the fight. He quickly disappeared into the mist, and Florin silently watched his retreating figure.

“How could this happen...?"

They were prepared to risk their lives, yet just before the fight could conclude, he suddenly gave up and left.  

What could he possibly be thinking?

As Chelven departed, it seemed he had no intention of returning. Even his mana trace disappeared so completely that it couldn't be sensed at all.

The tension left her and Florin collapsed to the ground.

Thud!  

"Ah..."

Staring blankly at the ground, Florin’s eyes trembled.  

If such a monster were to invade her World Tree, could she truly fend him off?

That fundamental doubt slowly took shape in her mind.

"... Do you understand now? That is a Dark Mage loved by the Twelve Divine Moons."

Aryumon spoke as he struggled to staunch his bleeding.

"If there were another adversary in this world blessed by the Twelve Divine Moons, it might be a different story, but purely based on his abilities, he’s a real headache. Damn it."

"... Another adversary blessed by the Twelve Divine Moons, you say?"

"Yes. The powers of the Twelve Divine Moons hold infinite potential. As far as I know, such a person does not exist in this world…."

Aryumon stopped speaking there and grimaced in pain. Normally, Florin would have rushed to heal him, but her mind was suddenly too preoccupied to do so.

'The love of the Twelve Divine Moons…’

‘Isn't there someone right here who received such love?’

It was none other than her.  

She received so much love that it turned into a 'curse,' but if you think about it, that too was just a tiny part of the vast powers of the Twelve Divine Moons.

'If only I could control the blessing of the Twelve Divine Moons…'

Hope bloomed on Florin’s face as the mist completely cleared away.

“Damn! I lost the fight, but the sky is unnecessarily clear…”

After saying that, Aryumon completely collapsed backward, and Florin finally approached him to begin healing.

“We should... pursue him…”

Opportunities to catch Chelven were rare. Aryumon muttered this, unable to abandon his lingering regrets.

… Boom!

A loud noise suddenly echoed from a far-off location.

“What the…?"

The shock intensified Aryumon’s pain, causing him to grimace, but he didn’t look away.

Then, remembering something, Aryumon’s eyes widened.

"No way..."

The sound came from the place Chelven left. It meant someone else had started fighting him again.

But no ordinary mage could stand a chance against him.

“This is serious…"

Realizing this, the faces of Florin and Aryumon turned pale.

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