Yena and I worked hard to fly to the area where the Sorcerers’ Association headquarters was located.
It was a place so much larger than the original branch we visited.
I naturally attempted to land in front of the biggest building of the headquarters and quickly came to a stop.
“?”
“What is it, meow?”
[?]
[Why stop?]
[???]
[It’s quiet.]
[Lily?]
[Hmm?]
“There’s something here.”
The building of the headquarters was unusually quiet.
There wasn’t even a single bug wandering around, let alone a sorcerer, and a massive magic array was drawn around this silent place.
Though invisible to the eyes, the magic array could be felt with spiritual power.
‘At least Level 1. Maybe even higher.’
Just from one Ryuin, I could feel a strong spiritual power that was just enough to be restrained.
I hesitated momentarily, extending my domain and touching the ground, then Yena naturally landed behind me.
Vrum…!
“Miss Yena.”
“Meow?”
“Please step back for a moment, as there might be danger.”
“Danger? Are we going to fight, meow?”
“If necessary.”
If they laid down such a powerful magic array instead of just a simple protective one, it meant they were wary of me.
They probably wouldn’t hand over the Iron Soul Sword easily, so a clash seemed inevitable.
After leaving Yena behind for a while and walking for about two minutes…
“They really have come.”
I could see six sorcerers floating in midair with their backs to the building.
Four men and two women.
All were humans, not beastmen, each emitting spiritual power of at least Level 1, and Ryoko, whom I had seen in the underground market, was among them.
Apart from Ryoko, who wasn’t wearing a mask, and an old woman sorcerer, the others didn’t seem that old.
Most appeared to be young, at best middle-aged.
Their youthfulness didn’t seem to reflect their real age, likely due to having natural spiritual power.
In particular, the woman standing in the middle had a rather familiar face.
‘The woman who brought Ryuin.’
She was the head of the Sorcerers’ Association, who had taken young Ryuin when we first entered the dungeon and handed over the Iron Soul Sword.
The woman looked at me with a meaningful smile and nodded.
“That’s the woman Ryoko spoke of. On par with the Iron Soul… I see.”
“Are you the head of the Sorcerers’ Association?”
“Indeed. I am Niaz, one of the Six Stars of the Sorcerers’ Association. I’ve heard you know how to seal the Iron Devourer.”
“Where is Ryuin?”
“Ryuin… if it’s the Iron Soul, he’s being protected in a safe place. Now, tell me the method.”
“Just tell me.”
“It’s simple. If you give it to me, I can safely seal it.”
“How?”
“How, you ask?”
“It’s not like there’s some amazing method.”
“Just hand over the weapon to me, and somehow, a solution will come up.”
“Whether it’s might, some kind of spell, or mental power, I’ll find a way to suppress it.”
“Since it’s a weapon I created, there will definitely be a way to contain it in some manner.”
“It’s vague but the most certain way.”
“Just let me try it out first.”
“You can’t have it just because you say so.”
“If you give it to me, I’ll find a way.”
“I know you’re strong, but I can’t just hand it over based on that logic. This is the best we can do.”
“Hmm…”
[Let’s just kill them]
[Lol, not gonna give it?]
[Your stubbornness, lady]
[Let’s just grab it]
[If I pull a “twist,” maybe they’ll hand it over, lol]
Step.
I take a step forward.
At my stride, the Six Stars flinch and gather their spiritual power, and a huge ghost wielding a sickle rises behind Niaz, who leads the charge.
A ghost many times stronger than the black cat.
The ghost’s sickle coolly targets me, and the other stars also produce their jewels or ghosts, not relaxing their vigilance.
“Step back! There’s no chance I’ll give you the Iron Soul Sword!”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Your head’s not even dry yet…”
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t face six of us. If you take one more step, this place will be your grave.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So step back for now…”
Thud.
“…Soul. Shadow. Black Dog!”
Crash!!
As one of the Six Stars recited the incantation, a dark dog in soul form jumped out from my shadow.
Attacking through shadows with physical attacks being ineffective, it had a decent level of spiritual power like a level 1 sorcerer, but it was useless.
Whoosh!
Yip!
I twisted the hammer and smashed the dog’s head, and then with a single swing, I dealt with the dozens of dogs that sprang out.
A wave of powerful spiritual energy tore apart the pack of dogs.
Having their attack obliterated by a simple swing rather than some spectacular spell or domain, the attacking Six Stars recoiled in shock.
“W-what kind of absurd…?”
“Stop. Hunsah. Don’t act recklessly. You should have expected this much.”
“…”
“It’s the first strong evil I’ve seen since that day. It’s only natural that it wouldn’t work.”
Ryoko chuckled, patting the shoulder of the man called Hunsah, while Niaz, who was glaring at me as if to devour me, pulled out a small glass bell.
A bell radiating quite the immense energy.
“Did you say Lily? She’s stronger than I expected. To think she could nullify the sacrifice’s spell like that.”
“I didn’t really do anything special.”
“I’ll ask you again. Do you have no intention of going back?”
“No.”
“…Alright.”
Ding~
The sound of a bell rings.
In that instant, a massive spiritual power began to swirl around me, surrounding me.
I tried to resist by drawing up my own spiritual power, but the force enveloping me seemed to have no intent to harm; it merely formed a sphere around me.
This shape resembles…
“A shield?”
“The bell of Suan. It is a jewel refined from the gemstone of a Level 1 Ghost that tried to protect humans. When the subject of the magic array hears this bell, they gain a powerful spiritual barrier and cannot escape from it.”
“!?”
“This spell grants the opponent a ‘beneficial’ effect. Originally, creatures repel harmful effects and attract beneficial ones. No matter how vicious you are, breaking this spell is impossible.”
“……”
I tried to exert my power from within the spiritual barrier.
Kugugugugu!
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Kzzzzzzzt!!!
I flinched! For a moment, the Six Stars looked shocked, but this spell truly could not be broken.
It seems that the fact this shield gives me ‘beneficial’ effects, and that all six stars are infusing their spiritual energy for this spell, worked against me.
“I guess there’s no help for it.”
“That’s impressive.”
“…It’s useless. I didn’t want to end it this way if I could help it, but since you won’t listen…”
“I guess it can’t be helped.”
I wanted to end it with a ‘spell’ if possible.
I swung the hammer.
■
“…She’s a monster of a woman.”
“That’s right.”
Ryoko, who had been watching from behind Niaz, nodded at the remarks of the other Six Stars.
That author is a monster.
Even Cheolhon, born with immense spiritual power, is merely a monster while compared to her.
While that amazing spiritual power and the Iron Soul Sword allow Cheolhon to capture one or two of the Six Stars, she shows no signs of falling behind against all six of them.
When the Six Stars first gathered, many doubted or denied Lily’s strength, but after encountering her directly, their thoughts changed.
“A disaster…”
She is a disaster.
Like the Iron Devourer. A disaster capable of ravaging an entire world.
She is a being incomparable to Cheolhon, who is merely gifted with spiritual power.
“I must stop her.”
If that woman is merely a disaster, then the Iron Devourer is an even greater calamity.
Right now, we can’t bring in a greater disaster to stop the disaster.
All Six Stars began pouring their spiritual power to stop Lily from breaking through the barrier, and finally, as if realizing the futility, she ceased her rampage.
Even the always-confident Niaz let out a sigh.
“Ha, haha… Even that monster can’t break through after all.”
“Of course not. We’re all working together.”
“At that level, the Iron Devourer could be sealed like this.”
“Well, that’s enough with Cheolhon. Originally, with the jewel…”
Everyone flinched.
They all turned to her.
A strange energy, unseen in this world, surged around her, and a hammer buzzed in the air.
It was as if her afterimages were overlapping thousands, tens of thousands of times, taking on a form of ‘acceleration’.
Most shocking was the heavenly secrets they were reading.
Engraved in front of the omen of disaster…
“Gr, great great great disaster…?”
“What in the…!”
We have to escape.
That woman is on par with the Iron Devourer!
Niaz struck the bell for Suan several times, then clenched it as if to crush it, yelling loudly.
“Run away! That’s something you can’t handle…”
“The source of the explosion.”
The barrier shattered.
*
Kugugugu!!
“…the explosion.”
Somewhere in the Sorcerers’ Association’s Safe House.
Cheolhon, trapped and unable to move in the Safe House, stood up upon noticing the explosion from the direction of the Sorcerers’ Association Headquarters.
The Six Stars had locked up Cheolhon but said nothing; still, he could understand the cause of that disturbance.
“So, that woman has finally come. Damn it.”
The Iron Devourer, the power of the Iron Soul Sword.
If there’s iron in the place, he can assess the overall situation anytime, anywhere.
Normally, the Six Stars’ abilities could block ‘searching,’ but it seemed they were too preoccupied to do that, as everything was being read.
Cheolhon confirmed that all these stars were in a state where they could not intervene and severed the barrier surrounding the Safe House.
Just before leaving, he took in the spectacle of the explosion one last time and turned his head.
“Do you think I’m going to lose? Don’t joke with me. This has been mine since I was born.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
