<491 - It's Fine, I'm Not Gonna Die>
Orde Taco did not miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
An unbeatable force.
A former hero overshadowed even in the presence of Dark Mana.
A kid cherished by someone with monstrous strength had emerged.
That’s the one.
I must capture that kid as a hostage.
SWISH
CRUSH
As my outstretched hand yanked Oknodie toward me, the highly concentrated area of the Destroyer squeezed Orde Taco’s hand, making it burst.
BOOM!
Tentacles from a cephalopod extended from the destroyed bodily extremities.
“I’d rather stop being human than die.”
Once the heir of a family that made a living by hunting monsters, I had implanted the cells of the monsters I hunted as insurance to harness their power for revenge.
Though I had reluctantly accepted the advice of the Four Kings of the Demon Army, considering it a mere superstition back then, I was now truly grateful for their foresight.
“If you’re that worried about your mentor, I’ll help you convince them with your body. Now, get caught! You’re becoming a hostage!”
“Eeeeek, no way!”
The cute kid with the headband swung the wand wide from left to right in disgust.
TIME BOMB
Basic magic of the first rank in the creating system.
Second rank attack magic of the arrow type.
Third rank sniper magic of the spear type.
To put it bluntly, the Time Bomb could be classified as a rare attribute that could handle surprising application magic of the third rank.
“Oh, a mere Academy Student’s resistance is nothing.”
Honestly, it was funny.
I underestimated it.
So when the Time Bomb exploded right in front of the tentacled hand as it came attached to the suction, Orde Taco was astounded.
EXPLODE
DOUBLE SPELL OPEN
HORN OF FANTASIA
The territory, eroded by the Fire Show’s master, suddenly burst forth from within my grasp.
MANA SHIELD
REVERSE FIELD
ANTIMAGICAL TENTACLES
Emerging through all three layers of defense, the territory clashed with a small, but undeniable magic that had been wrapped inside the shield.
TRIPLE SPELL OPEN
VOICE MEMORY
That was the magic that replayed recorded sounds.
A spell that was secretly used to convey one’s intentions.
Sometimes it’s used by young apprentices in the Magic Tower to report their seniors’ harsh treatment to their mentors.
It has a short validity period, and its performance is not great.
I had hoped for it to serve as a substitute for a recording device, but it turned out to be nothing more than a worthless toy.
However, the sound produced from that trivial magic froze Orde Taco’s movements for a moment.
-MYOOOOOOOOW!!
The cephalopod’s tentacles forcibly curled back into his arm, halting his actions.
Upon hearing the sound, he realized.
This was the Kraken‘s roar.
The roar of an Adult Kraken, a parent enraged by its child in danger.
A scream that induces a state of fear in all living beings, containing the effect of Kraken Fear!
‘This is nonsense!!’
That kid is barely 11 years old.
Only 133 cm tall!
How could such a child magically manifest the fear of an Adult Kraken!
The only conclusion is one.
It’s a trap.
It was clearly a humiliation by someone who had detected my identity from the start.
No one else could perform such an act.
The man in front of me.
The winner of the Fire Show.
That man, whose heart could not withstand the Kraken Fear!
“You… what on earth are you?”
“I am the retired former hero, the Destroyer. A man whose name you’ve provoked.”
“Gah! Gulp… A former hero… I understand now… If it’s a man like you…”
Such a horrific roar being ‘remembered’ and then ‘imitated’ is a possibility too low for a mere child.
On the other hand, a former hero could indeed remember that roar, extract it from their memory, and enhance their subordinates’ or apprentices’ spells by hiding the memory magic containing those cries.
Yes, all of this is a trap set by the former hero, the Destroyer.
The hero began to move.
The plan was doomed to fail from the start.
Go, Box Cat. Report to the Four Kings. Inform them of what has transpired here, that Warrior Destroyer has leveled his blade against us!
Box Cat ran off without looking back.
He may be a merciless creature with scarce camaraderie, but that very ruthlessness was advantageous in this moment.
In no time, Box Cat broke through the defenses of the Thief Guild members and the Golems.
MAGICAL BOX – FLASH
MAGICAL BOX – ILLUSION
MAGICAL BOX – SENSORY DISTURBANCE
A magical box whose identity cannot be discerned by the naked eye.
With every leap of her feet and swing of her hand, magic boxes splattered in every direction.
The hidden magic within those boxes burst in surprise, disrupting and hindering the pursuit.
“Show the power of the Red Magic Tower!”
“Are you planning to lean solely on external assistance? Catch the fugitive!”
Magni, the elder of the Red Magic Tower, shouted.
Red magic danced like fireworks, tracing Box Cat’s path.
However, they could not easily unleash high-level magic.
BURNING ATMOSPHERE
SOARING FIRE COLUMN
HELLFIRE
As soon as they activated high-level magic, poisonous smoke surged from the hidden boxes.
“Cough, this is… a trap that activates when magical output exceeds a certain level!”
“Ignore it and kill!”
“Are you saying we should let Rogini and the Academy Students who helped us die?!”
Magni glared with wide eyes at the greedy magician.
“Stop the magic!”
“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come easily!”
“There are apprentice magicians among us. Moreover, there are guild members. We cannot let them all die. If it’s a chance created by our sacrificial efforts, I can bear any loss, but this position is one we reached with their help!”
Understanding the need to lower the power of magical manifestation for the safety of the guild members and children, the magicians hesitated to unleash powerful assaults.
Magni was right.
If not for Rogini’s Fire Show and the surprise appearance of Warrior Destroyer, they wouldn’t have had the upper hand at all.
Ultimately, Box Cat escaped.
Instead of continuing the chase, the Red Magic Tower’s magicians had no choice but to focus on healing the fallen guild members, young apprentices, and Academy Students.
“Oknodie, where are you?! I’ll heal you from the poison, so hurry over here!”
As soon as Magni finished healing Rogini, he hurriedly searched for Oknodie through the poisonous mist.
With the wind trying to clear the smoke, the magical boxes vibrating on the ground made it impossible to disperse the fumes carelessly.
‘Is that child safe in such a deadly poison?’
Even seasoned middle-ranking magicians began to show pale expressions and started bleeding from their mouths.
Moving with minimal body reinforcement to avoid triggering the magical boxes while rescuing their apprentices from the poisonous mist, they failed to care for their own bodies.
SSS
Had it not been for a hapless gust of wind appearing, seeing a few corpses would not have been unusual.
‘What a stroke of luck!’
Magni sighed in relief as he searched for Oknodie.
And then he found it.
The corpse of Orde Taco, with a hole through the chest and a burst head.
Standing before the corpse were the Destroyer and Oknodie.
SLAP!
A shocking scene of the former hero Destroyer slapping Oknodie.
“Hero?!”
“This is a matter between a mentor and a disciple, so outsiders shouldn’t interfere.”
With a face tightly filled with rage, the Destroyer grabbed Oknodie by the shoulder.
“Do you even realize what you just did?”
“I was just protecting the professor’s lifespan!”
“Why can’t you think that your life is in danger instead?!”
Healed, Rogini approached with a bit of color returning to her pale face.
“Elder Magni, why is Oknodie being scolded…? What do you mean about lifespan?”
The wise elder Magni, experienced with age, understood the reason for their quarrel.
He agonized over whether to share this unfortunate truth with the disciple of the Red Magic, but that worry didn’t last long.
Determined eyes, filled with strong resolve to uncover the reason even if it meant asking the Thief Guild members!
‘It’d be better if I tell them myself.’
With a troubled heart, Magni opened his mouth.
“Dark Mana contaminates and transforms human organs. The accumulation of Dark Mana from harming an entity with Dark Mana is no exception.”
“But the hero was handling more Dark Mana than a demon minion without issue!”
“Without issue? There’s no energy that grants power unconditionally. An attribute without resistance inevitably harms the individual. Do you recall what happens when excessive fire mana accumulates?”
“Body temperature rises excessively and one suffers from high fever until death. Even if one forcibly releases mana to lower residual mana, the areas regularly releasing mana get burned. Therefore, in training with attribute power, affinity and resistance training are imperative….”
As Rogini spoke effortlessly, her voice trembled slightly.
Yeah, even fire attributes did that.
Then, what would the most dangerous attribute known as Dark Mana do?
“Destroyer. The former hero is exerting a massive amount of power to prevent the Dark Mana from warping his body with the mana he has built up. It’s a feat that would be impossible without mastery over mana control. But such makeshift solutions always have limits.”
“If a long battle occurs where there’s insufficient mana to surround the Dark Mana for protection, or if the total amount of Dark Mana exceeds the total amount of normal mana, exposing one’s body more and more to the Dark Mana…”
Magni nodded heavily.
“Oknodie realized the danger his mentor was willing to bear and took the finishing blow to take in the dangerous energy himself, which is why the Destroyer is so angered at his disciple for risking himself.”
Conflicts inevitably arose from their care for each other.
“Moreover, accepting Dark Mana while poisoned by a deadly poison, and that the opponent is a Demon Minion means the amount of mana built up in his body will likely be greatly surpassed by the Dark Mana. There’s no way a child with no affinity could withstand this. Immediate action is essential.”
“Hmm?”
Rogini’s head tilted.
Wasn’t Oknodie fine, munching on poison candy and handling dark mana easily from the start of the semester?
In fact, she even recalled hearing rumors that Oknodie had an unprecedented affinity for Dark Mana.
Every concern Elder Magni had seemed to be ‘non-applicable’ to Oknodie.
