### Chapter 389
The War of Icarus and Ixion
The Beast King, Veldo, who had sent the master of the Giant’s Forest, frowned as he moved between the trees.
Well, it was only natural; the giant was stuck before it could reach Icarus.
Its steps were hindered by two people—none other than the Heavenly King and the Empress.
The Moonlight Flash of the Heavenly King collided with the Shadow of the Empress, preventing the giant from just walking past them.
“As much as I’d love for it to advance a bit more…”
Unfortunately, it seemed they would have to settle for having stalled the two Heavenly Sword users.
“Okay. The situation isn’t too bad.”
Now, they could buy much more time. Icarus, with two Heavenly Sword users absent, wouldn’t easily take down the remnants of Ixion.
Ultimately, Ixion’s goal was to unleash the greatest evil. To do that, buying time was paramount.
Just as Veldo thought this and once again brushed against a tree, a fleeting red flash caught his eye.
Realizing this, he quickly shielded his body with his arms.
Kwaaaang!
With the flash, he was sent flying through the air, crashing through several trees of the Giant’s Forest before hitting the ground.
Chiiiiiik—
Thick black smoke billowed from his arms, with the residual flash continuing to sear his flesh.
With determination, Veldo strained to obliterate the flash clinging to his arm and raised his head cautiously.
There, he saw a woman with eyes just as red as his, but unlike his, hers resembled a reptile.
Veldo pierced through her identity and spoke her moniker.
“…The Immortal.”
Crimson Garden August.
Upon hearing her nickname, she brushed her robe back and smirked.
“Sorry, but that nickname no longer suits me.”
At this, Veldo squinted in suspicion.
“You cast off immortality?”
Due to her past immortality, Crimson Garden’s physical form had remained in eternal slumber.
But now, the aura emanating from her was on a different level from her subordinates.
This was clearly the real Crimson Garden.
The white fur instinctively sprouting on Veldo’s arm was proof of that.
“Find out for yourself.”
As he finished speaking, Veldo was already charging towards Crimson Garden.
Crimson Garden, being a mage, knew the first rule of facing a sorcerer: never give them space.
To obey this rule, Veldo executed a surprise leap.
In an instant, the distance between Crimson Garden and Veldo began to shrink.
The massive trees of the Giant’s Forest shook violently as he leapt skyward.
Just before Veldo’s outstretched palm could reach Crimson Garden, it suddenly halted right in front of her face.
Creeeek—
A crack formed in the air around Crimson Garden as Veldo’s hand stopped short.
But that was as far as he got.
Crimson Garden’s gaze widened at their confrontation.
“It seems while I was sleeping, you continued to grow weaker.”
Crimson Garden raised her hand above her head.
In that moment, hundreds of magic circles manifested behind her.
From the magic circles emerged dozens of heads of dragons, each breathing flames from their mouths.
“Does this monkey dare to eye the dragons?”
With that parting shot, the dragon heads opened their maws and unleashed fireballs.
Kwaang! Bang! Kwaang!
Veldo dodged the fireballs exploding right in front of him, creating distance.
However, the dragon heads unleashed by Crimson Garden continued firing their fireballs unrelentingly.
The attacking fireballs devastated the area, incinerating the trees and scorching the remaining Erosion remnants watching from a distance.
As soon as Crimson Garden unleashed enough fireballs to alter the surrounding landscape, cracks began to form beneath her feet.
Seeing this, Crimson Garden’s eyes flickered as the fissures spread out, reaching one kilometer around her.
Kwaaaang!
With a dramatic shattering of the ground, debris shot into the sky.
Crimson Garden soared gracefully within a spherical shield amidst the chaos.
At that moment, the dragon heads turned their gaze towards the debris as one.
They were enchanted with automatic tracking magic.
As they turned to follow Veldo, a glaring white light caught their attention from the opposite direction.
Crimson Garden noticed what he had done and scowled.
“That monkey!”
After revealing his presence to the auto-tracking magic, Veldo had moved to the other side with mind-boggling speed.
To put it simply, it was insane.
The problem was that Veldo had the physical capability to pull it off.
When Veldo’s face briefly flashed beyond the light, he thrust his fist forward.
Beast God Fist
Golden Transformation
An awe-inspiring stream of light engulfed the area surrounding Crimson Garden.
In an instant, she was caught in a golden space, with fierce beams of light crashing down around her.
Thus, it was only natural that the dragon magic she had unleashed was obliterated.
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening noise echoed as Veldo’s fists pummeled against Crimson Garden’s barrier.
Amidst the golden beams, Veldo began to wildly swing his fists.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The relentless barrage from Veldo was underway.
Crimson Garden’s defense magic cracked under the strain of his blows.
Each punch packed enough power to challenge even the Ten Great Lords, and Crimson Garden’s magic had no chance of withstanding this onslaught.
Naturally, she also had no intention of just taking the hits.
Crimson Garden’s barrier began to glow even brighter.
Noticing this, Veldo’s eyebrows twitched.
“It’s already too late.”
Crimson Garden had rubbed her thumb and index finger together, creating a sound.
Snap!
This was the signal for the magic she had activated.
The barrier continued absorbing Veldo’s attacks.
It appeared to crack, but it was merely a form of storing the energy flow.
This was the reflection magic that Crimson Garden had devised based on Kraush’s abilities.
“Arma Regis.”
The accumulated power exploded all at once, engulfing the entire vicinity.
Violet light radiated intensely, sweeping through the surroundings.
With subsequent shockwaves, everything around was blown away.
Kwagaga—
The raging storm tore through the area.
Even the giant in the distance turned momentarily at the monstrous tempest.
Wherever the storm passed, Crimson Garden continued to conjure magic circles.
As expected, Veldo was busy drawing symbols with his palms, coordinating the energies.
Withstood in front of Crimson Garden’s magic, he activated techniques even on his singed fur.
In tandem, Crimson Garden’s magic reached completion.
From Veldo’s grasp, light erupted with vigor.
Beast God Fist
Destruction
With a clap of his hands, hundreds of magic circles floating around Crimson Garden unleashed their power simultaneously, warping the very air around them.
“Valparojim.”
An attack magic of utmost strength that combined and exploded hundreds of other explosive magics.
——!
The two colossal forces collided, pouring immense energy in all directions.
The trees of the Giant’s Forest crashed against the opposing blast, swaying under the explosion.
What faced the blasts evaporated without a trace, leaving nothing behind.
The surge from the gods and the Beast King transcended the bounds of human understanding.
In the empty space above, Crimson Garden exhaled deeply, gazing at the shattered barrier.
There was no time to restore her magical defenses.
If Veldo were given the chance, he would certainly seize the moment to attack.
Despite the massive explosion, she didn’t assume Veldo was dead.
At that moment, as she cautiously began sketching her next spell, her eyelids fluttered open.
“… That monkey!”
Understanding what Veldo had done, her eyes narrowed.
There was no trace of Veldo anywhere in the vicinity.
What did that imply?
He was long gone, fleeing the scene with the explosion.
And there was but one direction in which he could have escaped.
Crimson Garden turned her head to the trees at the horizon’s edge.
The Giant’s Forest, possessing immense power over World Erosion, was already beginning to recover despite the chaos Veldo and Crimson Garden had wreaked upon it.
Veldo had already passed through, diving deeper into the woods.
‘First, I need to unleash the greatest evil.’
Engaging in a direct confrontation and winning only meant Veldo would be left with injuries.
He sought only one thing: to unleash the ultimate evil as planned.
Thus, he had no qualms about retreating from the fight with Crimson Garden, knowing she wouldn’t pursue him while restoring her defenses.
“You’ve aged quite a bit.”
In the past, Veldo would have charged headlong into any situation.
Now he could step back so easily for the sake of his goal.
It was a stark contrast to the fervor one could once feel from Veldo after living so long in this world.
‘Therefore, is he clinging more to his past as he ages?’
It’s only natural that the more ardent part of himself remained there.
Perhaps Veldo’s earnestness towards Ixion stemmed from this reason.
“Tsk, this is exactly why I’d rather not grow old.”
Aging flesh meant not just the body but the spirit loses zeal and drive, deteriorating compared to youth.
This was something Crimson Garden, who had lived as an immortal, could not escape either.
Naturally, the previously proclaimed Beast King felt the same way.
‘Hence, it’s expected that reincarnators struggle further away from success each time they fail.’
No matter how young they became again, what could be done?
It would only repeat the decline of their mental state.
Thus, Crimson Garden felt even more bewildered regarding Abella, the Red Witch.
There’s no way a magical madman’s spirit could remain intact through the ages.
‘No, perhaps that’s why they’re even more obsessed with magic.’
One who sublimates their mental decline into magic.
That’s how they could transform into a creature that filled only with obsession for the arcane.
Perhaps the Sorcerer King, for all his madness for magic, walked a similar path.
But the Sorcerer King had someone to compare achievements in magic with: Crimson Garden.
Because of this encounter, he couldn’t bring himself to think he would sell the world for magic.
However, Abella had no one.
Her only life goals had turned into the unyielding pursuit of achievement and leap in magic.
“I’ll begin preparations now.”
So, Crimson Garden started to sketch out magic to counter Abella.
Instead, she relayed a message to her student, who was currently rushing towards the greatest evil.
“That monkey is on the move. Take him down.”
The Beast King, Veldo.
He was bound to succumb to another dragon once more.
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