Vol. 15 - Ch. 29 - How to Use the Evil God’s Curse to Your Advantage

“HyaaaahhhhhhHHHHHH!!”

Halt shot up high into the air, the tempest that Sylph whipped up now swirling around his clenched fist. He then propelled himself straight to Lain, crashing down on him from above. 

Lain boosted his physical abilities and dodged it.

Halt's fist slammed onto the stage floor —

Poof.

With a pitiful sound, his spell fizzled out

“...Huh?”

Halt’s usual spell should have packed enough power to wreck the platform big time, but for some reason, this particular attack didn't work.

Halt was left wide open after the failed attack, but the amount of magic power he'd let out was insane—like ultimate-level stuff—so Lain had chosen to dodge instead of counter. That gave Halt just enough time to recover.

((Why!? My mana just scattered everywhere!! ))

Sylph, who was now wrapped around Halt and in charge of attack spells, cried out in panic.

"Sylph, did you try using something stronger than a basic spell?"

((Well, yeah, of course I did... ))

Halt had been pouring a huge amount of mana to Sylph, and she launched a high-level spell that could shred anything it touched, easily consuming most of them.

"Yeah, that's probably not gonna work 'cause you're wrapped around me."

((Uh, what you mean?))

"You know my curse only lets me use the most basic spells, right? Well, right now you’r wrapped around me, so if you try to cast a high-level spell, it kinda counts as me casting it. That means you can't use anything above basic spells either."

((Ehh!? ))

((Oh goodness. What are we gonna do now? ))

Sylph and Undine were both panicking.

((Hmm. In that case, let’s just do what Halt-dono always does – cast combinations of basic spells, like... this. ))

Gnome summoned a wall of earth, effectively blocking a spell Lain shot their way. He seemed to have already adapted to the situation.

((Defense is your job, Undine. Get a grip. ))

((I-I know! But this is such a horribly inefficient way to convert mana! ))

((We’re gonna use up enough mana to fire off several high-level spells just to launch a mid-tier one! ))

Spirits are beings that absorb the free-flowing mana in the world and convert it into power that fuels their magic. They then use that magic power to activate spells. If a spirit is inside a human, she’ll use that person's mana to cast a spell, and there’ll be a lot of wasted energy.

On the other hand, if the spirit manifested itself in this world, then that spirit can directly convert mana into spells with zero waste.

That is also exactly why Undine and Sylph were so thrown off. They couldn't believe Halt was okay with being so insanely inefficient.

“Don't worry about wasting mana. Take as much as you need from me."

((Hurry up and get used to it, you lot. ))

Without waiting for the flustered Sylph and Undine’s full support, Halt charged at Lain, relying on Gnome for defense. He figured if he put distance between them, Lain, with his entire being completely engulfed in Ifrit, would have the advantage.

((I-I’m gonna start using the equivalent of ten thousand basic spells' worth of mana! I'm firing it away, okay!? ))

((And I'm gonna use about that much for movement! It's fine, right!? ))

((Ugh! No need to check all that stuff with Halt!! Just go ahead and use it! ))

Gnome was endlessly using the massive amounts of mana Halt was releasing to block attacks from Lain and Ifrit. To be frank, it might've been easier if Halt had just fought alone, but he was actually enjoying this.

"Use as much magic as you want. I'll definitely provide what you ask for."

Halt never slacked on his magic training, even if he already achieved his goal of punching the Evil God and making a name for himself in this world. That’s because he was preparing for Evil God’s revenge, and also so he wouldn't have any regrets if a threat even greater than the Evil God appeared.

Halt can only do two things – release mana at an astounding rate and combine basic spells as a workaround for casting powerful magic, However, by mastering just those two skills, Halt gained power enough to fight the Four Great Spirits.

Thanks to his curse, he could release an infinite amount of mana, but in order to turn it into magic spells that he could cast, it needed to be released outside his body. Once outside, a spirit could freely convert all that mana into magic, but the actual act of releasing the magic outside his body depended solely on Halt's own mana furnace’s capabilities.

((Okay, I'll take this much then! ))

((And I'll use this much to close the distance!))

Sylph took sixty percent of Halt's magic power floating in the area and converted it into a spell. Undine took the remaining forty percent.

((You dolts!! Don't grab it all! ))

With nothing left for defense, it was Gnome's turn to panic.

"It's fine. I've already replenished what they used, so block that for me."

((Guh!? Gwohhh!! ——NUWAAAAAAHHH!! ))

Gnome managed to block a massive fireball the size of a meteor flying down from the sky.

((Phew, that was close… ))

"Nice one. Thanks, Gnome."

((Sorry for freaking out earlier. But really, for you to replenish that much magic in an instant…))

"Hehe. Alright, counterattack time. You guys ready?"

((Absolutely!))

((Things might get a little rough, Halt.))

The water swirling beneath Halt's feet gathered and shot up like a geyser behind him, then it rushed forward and pushed against his back.

This torrent of water had enough force to easily crush a majin, and it sent Halt rocketing toward Lain at super high speed.

"Whoa, this is crazy fast. But don't use this on anyone else, okay?"

(( Of course, I'd only ever do this with you. ))

It was a mode of transportation only possible for Halt, who’s immune against any attack.

((Halt! Get your fist ready!!))

“Oh, right!"

Sylph was recreating the spell that failed the first time by using a combination of basic spells. It wasn't actually a perfect replica –  since they were using way more mana than usual, the spell's destructive power was actually higher.

The problem was the power was too high—it puts an enormous strain on the user's body. If an average mage tried to use the same spell, their skin and flesh would tear, and their bones would break.

But for Halt, it was no big deal at all.

He gained immense magic power from the Evil God's curse,and it’s also because of that curse that his body is impervious to any damage.

An impossibly vicious attack spell, only possible for Halt, whose stats were [Fixed] by the Evil God's curse, came rushing toward Lain.

"...Yikes. I'm so dead."

For just an instant, all of Halt's mana vanished from around him. The moment Lain realized that power wasn't being diverted to defense, he unleashed his trump card, Meteor Storm. However, Halt blocked it, and now an extremely dangerous counterattack was coming right at him.

Lain couldn't imagine dodging or blocking Halt. He could only sense his impending doom.

((Do not give up! Fight with all the burning passion of your soul!!))

Ifrit moved Lain's body, forcing him into a defensive stance.

((I swear, I will ensure you will survive no matter what!!))

Ifrit specialized in attack, not defense, so he chose to attack while defending at the same time. He knew Halt wouldn't take damage, so his target was the Spirit Kings wrapped around Halt.

Lain crossed his arms in front of his body as an attempt to block Halt, but the latter’s fist still slammed at him. In that instant, Ifrit attacked Halt's magical suit, all while using his own body to receive Halt's attack.

((Guh, gha— —))

"I, Ifrit!?"

Ifrit, who was wrapped around Lain, began to break apart.

Lain himself, however, was fine.

Ifrit had taken all the damage. Right before the attack landed, he had managed to tear Gnome and Undine away from Halt. That lowered the attack's power, saving Lain without a scratch.

Meanwhile, Ifrit's arms were blown clean off, and the center of his body was deeply dented. The core constituting his spirit form was damaged, and he was on the verge of vanishing.

"Ifrit... I-I'm sorry. This is my fault... for being so weak."

Lain cried as he watched Ifrit fade away.

((So you can also make that sort of expression, huh... Hah. Worry not. I am glad my final battle was an enjoyable one.))

It was a touching farewell scene, right up until Halt butted in.

"Um, excuse me. If this keeps up, Ifrit's going to vanish, so could you please dismiss your summon for a bit?"

"...Eh?"

((Even if you dismiss me, I will still fade into nothing.))

"Well, just trust me. I'll handle it."

Saying that, Halt forcibly sent Ifrit back to the spirit world.

"N-no way... You can just send someone else's spirit back without permission?"

Lain was stunned. Since Halt could do that, he could’ve just sent Ifrit back before the fight even started and ended this match much quicker.

"We’re a bit short on time, so let's chat later."

A huge amount of mana –his biggest amount yet for today –  surged out of Halt. The force of the release was so strong it almost peeled Sylph, who was still wrapped around him, right off.

"His spirit core got a little dinged up, huh? Let's fix that. Then regenerate those blown-off arms. Oh, and might as well top up his mana while we're at it."

The Spirit Kings were beings created by the God of Creation. Even if one was about to vanish, a human shouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

"This should do it. Okay! Come on back, Ifrit!!"

Halt deployed a summoning magic circle.

The circle shone, and the Fire Spirit King was summoned.

((...You gotta be kidding me.))

Ifrit's core and arms were completely repaired, and he was radiating an aura even more intense than when Lain had enhanced him.

"Ha, haha... Halt, you're just too much. I lost. This fight... I lost."

With Lain conceding defeat, the match was declared Halt's victory.

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