Chapter: 348
Boom──
With a chilling sound, the air split open completely.
And at the same time, from the gaping crack, a black darkness began to flow out with a terrible force, like a dam that had burst.
The darkness that flowed out spread across the sky and earth at a spine-chilling speed, expressing the backlash that had been suppressed for so long.
In the blink of an eye, the plains beyond the Southern Border Area were engulfed by the spreading darkness.
And on that plain where darkness had settled,
Pitter patter, it started to rain unexpectedly.
The color of the rain falling from the darkened sky was as black as that of the abyss.
A sight reminiscent of the nightmare rain that had once fallen upon the city, claiming countless lives.
However, this rain was on a completely different level than the rain created by the High-tier Beast’s powers at that time.
This was not a phenomenon born from abilities, but a phenomenon arising from the sheer concentration of magic.
So thick was the concentration that the magic could not float around like gas but instead condensed into a liquid form, raining down like water.
Whoosh──
Thus, raindrops made of magic poured down from the sky tinged with magic.
And as those raindrops touched the ground, the condensed magic once again gathered, transforming into demonic beasts.
They took the form of blinded dogs, similar to the High-tier Beasts that had appeared in the city.
■■■■─!!!
The demonic beasts born from the rain all howled in unison.
As if to welcome their master who was released from the seal.
And that welcoming howl was their dying scream.
From the moment they were born, the beasts let out their voices and melted away into the darkness, meeting their end.
It was by the ability of the Witch of Gluttony that turned everything around her into magic and consumed it.
The beasts born from the falling rain melted away and died.
The magic that resulted from the dead beasts then fell from the sky as rain once more.
Whoosh──
■■■!!!
And the heroes, amid the rain and howls,
witnessed the endless cycle of birth and death repeating in the darkness.
-……
They witnessed a massive shape writhing.
“Ugh……”
A being of terror and despair that froze one’s body just by looking at it.
The Witch of Gluttony revealed herself before the people, larger than before her seal.
The witch raised her head, absentmindedly gazing at the rain falling above her, and then shifted her gaze to the demonic beasts crying around her.
Spotting a beast that resembled her beloved family, she reached out her gigantic hand toward it.
However, once again, her hand could grasp nothing.
Her unwillingly manifested ability melted the beasts before her hand could reach them, turning them into her nourishment.
So, the Witch of Gluttony merely gazed for a moment at the rainwater flowing uselessly through her hands,
-■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■─!!!
And then let out a tremendous roar.
In sorrow for never being able to obtain what she truly desired during her lifetime.
In rage against the world that had made her like this.
In unutterable hunger born from all those feelings.
Aah, I’m hungry, hungry, hungry.
I need to eat, I need to fill my belly.
Right now.
The witch’s roar caught the attention of the heroes gathered in the City Boundary Area.
She was hungrier than ever.
*
-■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■─!!!
“Guh…!!”
“Ugh……!!”
At last, the Witch of Gluttony was released from her seal, revealing her gigantic form.
The booming roar she unleashed drained the colors from the faces of the assembled heroes.
Their legs weakened, they stumbled as if facing a predator, which was only natural.
Even from a distance, the terrifying aura exuded by the witch and her fearsome roar was enough to evoke instinctual dread.
Yet, despite all turning pale, no one fled.
It was quite remarkable.
When they first battled the Witch of Gluttony, people had panicked and fled, resulting in casualties.
“…The speech just now worked, huh.”
Martina murmured, smiling despite her trembling as she watched the heroes who kept their eyes on the enemy.
Martina had told the heroes.
Would they turn the deaths of those who had sacrificed themselves into a pointless death?
It was meant to instill a sense of duty in them.
Yet not everyone could fight solely on duty.
So Martina had additionally asked,
What had they desperately prepared for all this time?
It was to instill in people that even against the most formidable enemy, they could still feel the desire to fight.
“…How about it? Don’t you feel like you can handle this a bit?”
That, was the power of confidence.
Of course, instilling confidence came with a prerequisite.
“…Everyone’s prepared to die, so it should be.”
It was preparation.
Even if it was the Witch of Gluttony they were facing, they had prepared so well that they felt they could win, right?
Such careful preparation brought confidence, something Martina knew better than anyone.
Because Martina was a mage.
“Dwight, do you know what people call mages?”
“…Mages are called ‘the prepared ones.’”
People referred to mages as “the prepared ones.”
It meant they were folks who thoroughly prepared for circumstances.
And Martina, the one who prepared and the mage, had completed enough preparation to feel confident with everyone.
From the day she heard about the possibility that the Witch of Gluttony, whom her mentor and colleagues had sealed away through sacrifice, might awaken.
She considered the possibilities, made plans.
Spending the night digging through ancient texts to find the corresponding magic.
She frantically researched to restore the magic she barely managed to find.
She invested all that time into preparing against the Witch of Gluttony.
And now, Martina turned to Dwight Neinhart, who had gone through most of that preparation with her.
“So, are you prepared?”
At that question, Dwight turned his head away.
Behind him stood the mage corps, assembled from most of the mages in the city for battle against the Witch of Gluttony.
After glancing back at them, Dwight said nothing and turned back again.
Then, with the calm gaze unique to prepared mages standing behind him,
The vice-commander of the mage corps, Dwight Neinhart, looked at Commander Martina and replied.
“If you give the order, we’re ready anytime.”
Hearing his response, Martina commanded.
“Let’s begin.”
At Martina’s order, Dwight gestured towards the mage corps.
Then voices echoed from everywhere.
“Magic circle activation is ready!!”
“Mana transfer is also complete!!”
Along with the voices proclaiming readiness, light began to emanate from the bodies of the mages.
It was the light created by their mana.
The combined mana of countless mages packed enough energy to tremble the surrounding atmosphere.
Yet they knew very well that it was nowhere near enough.
For the being they had to face was a monster with a history of destroying seven-tenths of the world.
Therefore, they had prepared.
“Mana amplification is ready!!”
They had prepared items that would elevate their mana to a level that could affect such a monster.
The mana of the mages flowed into the magic circle prepared for them.
The blue crystal, the Tears of the Ocean, placed on the magic circle began to scatter brilliant light.
Just using the sacred remnants allowed for significant amplification of mana.
However, what they needed now was strength that could reach an absolute monster.
“Amplification begins!”
With a small incantation, the magic circle emitted light.
With a crash, the sacred remnants shattered.
Some mages closed their eyes tightly at the insane act of using a sacred relic as a consumable.
But right after, they felt that it had been worth it, and opened their eyes wide.
Whoooosh──
The wind began to stir.
The mana amplified to its limits caused hair and clothes to flutter wildly.
The mages felt goosebumps all over their bodies from the power of the unprecedented mana.
The incredibly amplified mana was a huge mass of energy with destructive force strong enough to obliterate everything nearby with a misstep; a bomb, essentially.
Yet there were those who casually reached towards it.
“Dwight, assist me.”
“Understood.”
Martina and Dwight.
Through the hands of these two genius mages, born of an era, the amplified mana began to flow steadily.
Lines of light were being inscribed on the plain, where the black rain fell, beneath the feet of the Witch of Gluttony.
Exhibiting overwhelming mana control, the two poured all the amplified mana into the massive magic circle that the countless mages had taken time to establish.
Solely, for one spell.
There was once a kingdom.
Though small in size, it boasted excellent magical knowledge and harbored ambitions of unifying the continent by developing a certain spell.
But that spell became unseen after being used just once.
Due to its unexpectedly overwhelming destructive power, the kingdom that used it in its own yard was erased from the map.
Probably, the ancestors of old never even dreamed.
That there would be those who would restore that spell, which was banned from research and use because it was deemed too dangerous.
And that there would be someone who would succeed in modifying the magic to reduce its destructive radius to a desired extent.
On the vast plain, the magic circle gradually took form.
As each stroke was drawn, Martina remembered the faces of the heroes who had once breathed their last in that place.
There was always someone who rushed to their aid in times of crisis.
The fastest hero of them all. A solid ally who was always ahead and became unforgettable from behind.
Leon Lionelle.
As she recalled her ally’s back, Martina muttered, drawing one stroke in the magic circle.
“…For my ally.”
There was a mentor who, despite being a witch, was more human than anyone else.
The lessons Ms. Eve had imparted on how to survive, how to live, and how to die were invaluable.
Remembering her mentor’s teachings, Martina added another stroke in the magic circle.
“…For my mentor.”
And then, there was…
Someone with whom she always bickered because their personalities didn’t quite match,
Who always wanted to win at everything and even took the guy she liked first,
“I’ll go, you stay.”
That selfish girl who left after saying what she wanted until the end,
Natalia, Natalia Eloise.
She was Martina Ivanova’s once irreplaceable rival and, in reflective thought, a friend who was more precious than anyone else.
As she recalled Natalia, Martina drew the last stroke in the magic circle and murmured.
“…And for my friend’s share.”
The magic circle radiated light.
The radiant light pierced through the falling rain to reach the sky above.
The mana that reached the sky caused distortions, and those distortions opened the heavens.
Under the open sky, Martina coldly whispered while gazing at the enemy who had made her prepare for revenge until this moment—a foe she could tear apart and be satisfied.
“You’ll get hit and die.”
The nation-destroying spell
Meteor
And aimed toward the Witch of Gluttony,
A meteor fell.
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