Chapter 323 - Warlord (3)
The Arnak Empire possesses a special method to suppress the backlash caused when qi and magic power clash.
Of course, this was not something granted to just anyone, only those who passed strict standards as suitable candidates could attempt it, and eventually, raise their realm.
But even for such War Mages, there was a limit.
They could wield physical enhancement and magic at the same time, yet it was impossible to merge the two forces, or bring them into harmony.
Should they try, the suppressed rebound force would explode, resulting in a high chance of serious injury or instant death.
That is why Legrit was special.
Through her own pioneered Mado, she could completely fuse these opposing forces, and that, without any side effects.
Warlord.
One of the pinnacles of the Empire.
Legrit, cloaked in Golden Radiance, advanced.
Even the dense, solid ground of the island could not withstand her strength, footprints carved deep into its surface.
At the same time, she extended her hand forward, casting magic for the first time.
A bright yellow bolt.
A lightning of unique nature, possessing powerful physical force, destroying whatever it touched.
In the blink of an eye as she closed the distance, a massive thunderbolt fell from above, forming a wall.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!
The two spells canceled each other out.
The smell of moss burning on stone brushed against the tip of the nose.
'Magic outside the tiers, and without any computation… so that's Asher's Mado, is it.'
And it seemed it was not restricted to a single element.
At a glance, it was evident, an extraordinary versatility unlike any other Magus.
It felt like a natural disaster.
The hypothesis he had considered was moving closer to the truth.
It was said, before founding the Mado Nation and ascending the throne, the Demon King, Oldarc Ruin Arkenad, was once called the Magician of Natural Calamities.
But it changed nothing.
Successor of the Demon King.
To regard the opponent as such only caused joy to surge within.
A being shrouded entirely in mystery.
Bzzt.
She fused the properties of lightning into her body through Mado.
Her figure, turned into a halo of light, leaped and rushed forth like a thunderbolt. Verden, tracking her movement, struck the ground with Orient.
The wall of rising earth shook.
Crack, Legrit smashed through the fissures with force, moving nimbly.
Mixing in
Not only that.
The staff in her grasp transformed, taking the form of a mace.
"Haaaaaap!"
Martial art, Jincheon.
Kwoooooooom!
The ground collapsed at once, while the surrounding earth surged irregularly upward. Verden, narrowly avoiding, furrowed his brow.
"Can all War Mages use martial art?"
"Only a few can. And none can wield it as freely as I do."
The mace gleamed.
At some point, twin golden swords had appeared in Legrit's hands.
"I see you omit the computation process of magic with Mado. Indeed, facing such an opponent with magic alone would be difficult. But apart from that, from here on, it will be even harder for you to respond."
Fwoosh.
With the sound of thunder, Legrit vanished.
Her speed was almost identical to Adrian's. Instead of following the afterimages of lightning, Verden manipulated the earth directly to shift position.
The blades of lightning cleaved the air.
As if it mattered not to miss, she shifted her weight, leaning her body to an extreme.
Thunder roared past his ears.
Countless slashes poured down from her charge.
'She has surpassed my senses.'
Verden's reaction was instant.
Gathering magic power, he unleashed a freezing storm across all directions.
Legrit's breath froze into cold mist from the frost, yet she did not stop.
The twin swords transformed again.
Now into a massive greatsword the size of a person, clutched in both hands as she swung downward.
Flashing Blossom.
Golden sword aura.
It split the ice storm in half, aiming for Verden. Judging it too late to dodge, he raised Orient as a shield.
Kddddddddd!
"...!"
Savage force.
Verden's legs slid backward, leaving deep scars across the island floor. His nerves jolted from the current conducted through the metal by the bolt.
Martial art realized through magic power and qi.
Truly varied, and truly powerful.
Despite countless battles fought, never had he seen such a technique, Verden was both astonished and already seeking a countermeasure.
'...Found it.'
Waves of electricity branched outward.
Blue lightning and golden thunder, same in kind yet different in nature, clashed head-on. As expected, the pressure of the sword aura weakened.
He twisted his staff, knocking it aside.
Then raised Orient high.
From the orb embedded at its tip, lightning surged, spreading into the storm clouds.
Rrrrumble…
A deep vibration.
Taking full control of countless divided currents, Verden inhaled deeply, then released them all downward.
Flashing blue brilliance.
───Kwag! Kwagwag! Kwagwagwag!
A storm of countless, small thunderbolts struck the entire area.
The light was so blinding it was difficult to keep eyes open. With part of the island laid to ruin, Verden observed the situation.
'I sensed it.'
Legrit had not evaded unscathed.
Then where was she hiding, if Verden himself were in such a situation, how would he have acted.
Most likely.
'She'd strike from behind.'
Bzzzzt!
Legrit appeared again, now wielding a spear.
Her target was clearly his left shoulder.
Having already anticipated the movement, Verden condensed magic in his hand.
Magic condensed to a chilling extremity.
Pinpointing an inescapable position, he thrust his arm forward, unleashing an explosive torrent. The surge, cleaving diagonally, reached Legrit's side.
'It's over....'
At that moment.
Legrit's body suddenly broke apart into light.
Hundreds of small golden bolts scattered, then gathered again, reforming her figure.
"Now, I'll finally land a strike."
Elemental Fusion.
One of Legrit's hidden trump cards.
"...!"
Legrit seized Verden's back, and swung her dagger.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!
A vivid, concentrated lightning struck Verden.
***
It landed cleanly.
Having achieved her goal, Legrit retreated far back, exhaling.
"Huuu..."
Blood flowed quickly.
Heat swelled within her armor.
It had been a long time since she fought such a fierce battle, even using her trump card.
Opportunities to fight someone of Lord-class strength like herself were exceedingly rare, which in turn meant, Asher was at least of that level.
A candidate for the Ark, crossing blades with a young Magus.
To anyone watching, it might appear disgraceful for a captain, and a dishonor to the dignity of a Warlord, yet she did not care in the least.
Legrit acknowledged him.
She could not help but do so, for he had displayed not one, but several
'I cannot even imagine what the future will hold.'
It was not jealousy.
Rather, her interest only grew deeper.
For the future he would unfold was also unknown.
Legrit was an Explorer.
To explore the unknown was both her delight and her duty. Suppressing the laughter spilling from her throat of its own accord, she looked ahead.
The dust cloud had settled.
On the blackened ground scorched by heat, Verden stood, perfectly unscathed.
As expected.
"That platinum robe, made from a dragon's hide, could it be... obtained from the Demon King's tomb, the Demon King's own robe? An ancient artifact?"
"..."
Verden did not answer.
In fact, he did not even glance at her, simply staring at his own hand, tilting his head repeatedly.
It did not seem to be intentional disregard.
'Well, the sparring is not over yet.'
They would not kill each other.
Instead, the duel ended when one side either conceded or became unable to fight. That was one of the rules for the sparring between Ark candidates.
Therefore, she would finish this.
'That robe's resistance will be hard to pierce, I'll have to aim for the head instead.'
A prolonged fight would be disadvantageous.
Even for her, she could not match him in sheer quantity of magic power. Thus, she had to catch another opening.
Having made her decision, Legrit charged.
Once more she shifted the form of her staff, this time shaping it into a wide-bladed spear, to counter whatever magic might come.
"...Hm?"
But her opponent did not move at all.
Verden still gazed at his hand.
That sight made her irritation rise. Veins swelled on her forehead as Legrit shouted, thrusting the lightning-imbued spear.
"Don't let your mind wander elsewhere!"
The spear tip drove for his solar plexus.
The robe made of dragon hide would not be pierced, but even with its resistance, the impact would be significant.
But then.
"...So, this is how it's done."
Verden murmured.
At once, his body transformed into blue lightning.
Legrit's spear pierced only empty air, not even meeting resistance. Moreover, she sensed a presence behind her.
Elemental Fusion.
Legrit's eyes widened in shock.
"This, this is my...."
And that was not all.
Whooong.
At Orient's tip, magic power gathered.
Different from before, it exceeded mere concentration, condensing into a blue spear.
Not just magic manipulation, but magic control.
A technique of the Empire's War Mages had appeared within Verden.
"How...!"
Her voice was colored with disbelief.
Shhhhk!
Orient split the air apart.
The shockwave that burst forth struck her shoulder.
***
Verden's manipulation of magic had already reached its limits long ago.
In pursuit of Defying the Heavens, to break the tower master's magic circle within the treasure vault of the magic tower, he had trained his threads of magic power for years, without a single day of rest.
'And yet, there was still something beyond.'
Verden had never considered it.
The knowledge he gained within the magic tower was vast, but outside that, his experience and understanding were meager, his thoughts constrained.
Thus, he was astonished.
The techniques Legrit had displayed.
Controlling the flow of magic to disrupt an opponent's spell or bend its trajectory, hardening it into form like one who had awakened qi.
It made him realize anew, the magic power he thought he understood held possibilities far greater.
'And Legrit's Mado as well.'
A highly advanced derivative magic that fused the elements with the body.
Beyond expectations.
He had left an opening without defense, and been struck directly by her magic.
If not for the Demon King's robe [Ainber], he surely would have suffered injuries near fatal. Even now, his whole body tingled.
But for that very reason, he understood.
From close range, he felt the flow of Legrit's mana circuits.
Sensing the current when she used magic control, and when she fused with the elements, he instinctively reverse-calculated, tracing it back to its root.
Verden's Mado
Its essence, to realize will into magic, which in other words meant he could even replicate another's Mado.
'Of course, it can never be perfectly imitated.'
A Mado was the life and path carved out by a Magus.
Unless one lived that entire, long life, it was utterly impossible.
However, the derivative spells born from a Mado were possible.
Just as he had understood and used the Demon King's mana manipulation
Verden's comprehension of magic.
Even Transcendents coveted such talent.
"Fwahahahah...! Unbelievable..."
Laughter rang out before him.
He turned his gaze, seeing Legrit's shoulders shaking.
"To think you could reproduce my Elemental Fusion...! And even the War Mage's magic control... Asher, what is your Mado? Do you merely imitate others' Mado? What is its principle?"
She asked repeatedly about his Mado.
Normally, he would not have answered, but this time was different.
The sparring match.
He had learned from it.
"Possibility."
"Possibility...?"
An indistinct concept.
Yet, paradoxically, it was clear.
For it was a Mado unlike any other, one so vast, its very mention revealed its enormity... without such breadth, he could not have shown such incomprehensible feats.
"Possibility... yes, I see."
Legrit exhaled, calming her spirit.
"Indeed, if this continues, my chances of victory are slim. No, it's nearly certain. You've gained magic control, and even stolen my trump card... hah, even now it feels absurd. This is the first time in my life something like this has happened."
With a self-mocking smile, Legrit lifted her head.
"It was truly fun, Asher. The sparring match is yours. Well, if I could, I would've liked to use even my last resort and fight you with everything I have... but it seems I'm running out of time."
Time?
The moment the thought arose, magic rippled at the center of the island.
A violet wave.
Space opened, and two figures appeared.
"Enough, Legrit."
The Elders of the Ark.
They had come.
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