Chapter 141. Terror (3)
The energy from the magic circle inside the Hall of Honor was incredibly intense.
Inside, countless artifacts were on display. It meant there was more than enough material for a bomb.
At first, I thought about blocking the explosion with a rune barrier, but if all that mana went off at once, I wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Creating a strong barrier takes an equivalent amount of mana.
That's why I chose to destroy the artifacts instead.
If the explosion didn't include artifact mana, my rune barrier could handle it.
The artifacts were displayed all over the building.
There wasn't time to destroy each one individually. It'd be faster to treat this like I was leveling the whole building.
──『 Spiral 』 ──
▶ Unique Skill
▶ Twists mana into a spiral shape and compresses it into a rotating orb. Requires high-level mana control. More powerful when used at close range rather than thrown.
───────
[Spiral]—a skill I developed to pierce an ogre's defenses.
A rapidly rotating mana orb that grinds enemies upon contact.
I used it often against strong defensive enemies or objects.
This time, I was focusing on the high number of hits [Spiral] delivered.
Just using fire, floods, glaciers, or giant boulders wouldn't solve the issue.
The building might collapse, but the small artifacts would remain intact and still become bombs.
That's why I chose [Spiral].
It's a skill that could grind even the smallest artifacts to dust.
But the original [Spiral] was designed to pierce an ogre's belly, so it was relatively small.
To destroy the Hall, a small handheld [Spiral] wouldn't be enough.
I needed to make it bigger.
I pictured a typhoon in my mind.
A wind that leaves nothing behind but desolation.
I enhanced the technique, drawing in surrounding air to increase its speed and scale.
Rumble rumble rumble—
I formed the Spiral in my hand.
Thanks to my awakening, my casting speed was practically instant.
Hummmmm—
As I poured mana into the Spiral, it began drawing in air.
I infused the core formula of the magic circle with destruction and envisioned a tornado sweeping the land.
"W-What is that?!"
Gil Steven, still beside me, must've realized things were going wrong.
Crack—Flicker—
Shhhhh—
The sound of air splitting echoed as the growing Spiral in my hand exceeded my control.
I raised my hand toward the sky, enlarging the Spiral further.
"Phew."
As the airflow accelerated, the Spiral took on the shape of a massive disc.
'This thing's gonna be insane.'
The Hall of Honor at the Academy.
A place displaying Victoria Academy's history, portraits and statues of graduates, and donated artifacts.
Now that I was about to destroy it, I hesitated for a second... but it was too late.
If I didn't destroy it, the damage would be far worse.
And honestly, I didn't have any nostalgic attachment or pride in the place.
"Ah... Master... I must... somehow..."
Gil Steven, completely mana-depleted and exhausted, still clung to my pants trying to stop me.
Crazy fanatic bastard.
SHREEEEE—
I hurled the destructively spinning [Spiral] into the Hall of Honor.
BOOOOM! CRRRAAAACK!
KWA-BOOM!
In an instant—
The [Spiral] slammed into the Hall, whipping up a massive cloud of dust as it began pulling the structure inward.
Wind gusted in all directions, sending nearby stalls flying.
Then came a loud CRACK—the main supports shattered and the Hall began collapsing.
The support columns couldn't withstand the Spiral.
"This madness... This magic... it's like the Master's but something else..."
"Damn, this old man is nuts."
Gil Steven now clung to my shoes.
At this point, I couldn't kill him.
I had to capture him and hand him over to the Association.
CRACK—CRUMBLE—
With eerie sounds, the Hall of Honor disintegrated into dust.
Fragmented debris, statues, remnants of paintings, and shattered artifacts rained down from above.
It all happened in less than ten seconds.
"Wow..."
Even the people in chaos were now starting to focus their attention here.
"Wh-What the hell?! The building collapsed!"
"It's a terrorist attack! A terrorist attack!"
It was definitely overwhelming power.
A single skill had completely obliterated a huge building.
I could see professors rushing over from the distance.
Min Yeji and Im Sol were at the front.
I searched Gil Steven's coat.
Since he's the brains of the group, he always carries a lot of gear just in case.
He was a rewarding target in the game, too.
Rustle rustle—
Inside his coat, I found a lucky pouch.
I stashed the pouch inside my cadet uniform and turned to face Im Sol and Min Yeji.
"Hoyeon, what happened...? Why did the building collapse?"
Grab—
I grabbed the unconscious Gil Steven by the scruff of his neck and lifted him.
"I captured a Pandemic executive. I had no choice but to destroy the Hall of Honor to stop his terror attack."
"...What?"
Maybe I summarized too much.
Crackle—!
Just as I was about to explain more, a magic circle activated from the building's rubble.
A magic circle buried under the debris had survived the Spiral and now began to activate.
I was planning to block it with a rune barrier, but with this many professors here, there's no need for me to step in.
"It's an explosion! Take cover!"
At my shout, the professors began layering shield spells.
Boom. Boom. Boom. KABOOM!
A moment later, a thunderous explosion echoed from within the barrier.
Debris shot into the sky, and a loud ringing filled our ears.
"Aagh!"
"It's okay! We're safe in here!"
A massive explosion inside the barrier.
Thanks to the preparation, the blast only crushed the remaining rubble.
"The Hall of Honor..."
One of the professors murmured as they looked at the ruins.
Between my Spiral and the explosion, the once-proud Hall of Honor was now dust, unrecognizable.
"...I dealt with it before the artifact mana could fuel a bigger explosion. That's why I had to destroy the Hall."
"That was excellent response, Hoyeon."
It was awkward with no one responding, but thankfully Professor Im Sol backed me up.
"We'll handle the cleanup from here. And I'll make sure your efforts are recognized. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you, Professor."
Thanks to her, I could slip away from the scene.
I bowed my head and left the terror site.
Cleanup's always the most annoying part of this kind of thing.
*
As Lee Hoyeon disappeared, Min Yeji leaned toward Im Sol and whispered.
"Sol, did you see Lee Hoyeon's magic?"
"...Of course."
"It was triple-elemental. There was definitely wind."
"Yeah. No doubt."
The magic that destroyed the Hall.
That was definitely wind-element.
"Think anyone else saw it? We were the first professors to arrive."
"The building collapsed in less than five seconds after he cast it. Probably not."
The professors had been focused on rescue and crowd control.
Since Min Yeji and Im Sol came after things settled down, they had the best view.
"Triple-elemental... That makes him the second in the world, right? Sol, what do you think? Maybe it's fate? He might be your type—a guy better at magic than you."
Even in a serious moment, Min Yeji couldn't stop teasing.
But thanks to that light mood, Im Sol's expression softened a bit.
"Shut up."
"Sooool~ I worked hard today. You won't mind if I approach Lee Hoyeon, right?"
"...Do what you want."
Im Sol licked her dry lips.
Multiple elements.
That was the exclusive domain she had been building.
Dual-element mages were rare.
But mages who could use more than three were almost nonexistent.
And Im Sol was the first to perfectly master more than three.
She even went beyond triple—she could handle all elemental magic.
A woman blessed by magic.
That was how the World Magic Association viewed Im Sol.
'Hoyeon...'
Im Sol had never believed in women's intuition before, but today, something felt different.
She had a hunch—Lee Hoyeon might also be a multiple-element mage.
That's what he seemed like so far.
He always exceeded her expectations.
'But this is just wishful thinking... right?'
Even as she thought that, she couldn't suppress her desire.
*
"Damn, what a shitshow."
Should've just killed him quickly.
Tried to get some intel and ended up with a headache instead.
Still, capturing Gil Steven early and stopping the terror attack was a win.
I used up so much mana on Spiral that my head kind of hurts... hmm.
"Oh right. The lucky pouch."
I stole a lucky pouch from Gil Steven earlier.
If this were a game, this is when you'd get a rare drop.
I pulled it out.
A red pouch with the familiar Chinese character for "fortune" (福).
I reached in and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
"Huh? Paper?"
What, is this a deed or something?
As I unfolded it, an oddly familiar contract appeared.
────[ Contract of Hell ]────
▶ Grade: Upper-mid
▶ A hellbound contract with powerful binding force.
▶ As long as the eternal flames of Hell exist, no one can break this contract. Unless you're a high-ranking noble of Hell.
-────────────
"...What the hell is this."
Why would the Pandemic have a contract from Hell?