YM778.TV Book 2: 323
Right. At that time, he’d wondered how it was possible for someone to create such a large flame without using magic, but if the person in question was Nix, then it made sense.
‘This is dangerous.’
He had no way to destroy the flames currently surging towards them. He couldn’t even avoid it since the range was so large. It was like a remake of the earlier situation with the artificial sun.
Lukas had no way to respond to it.
—Who said anything like that? I’m just saying that if you encounter attacks that don’t suit your fighting style, you should avoid fighting as much as possible.
Snow’s voice resounded in his mind at that moment.
He couldn’t help but feel strange.
Even though she’d only taught for a very short time, her attitude, gestures, and words had become deeply embedded in Lukas’ mind.
This proved that she had a profound influence on him that he hadn’t even noticed before.
Lukas’ eyes instinctively turned to Yuriah.
He could see her lips moving slightly. Clearly, she intended to cast a spell. What kind of spell would it be?
…There was no time to communicate.
So he had no choice but to figure out what spell she was going to cast on his own.
He thought about it carefully.
In this situation, what kind of spell would be the best to stop the huge wave of flames that covered their entire field of view?
After carefully analysing a number of different spells, Yuriah’s tendencies, and the current situation, he was able to quickly find an answer.
“Ice Wall!”
Once again, their voices resounded in unison.
Crack crack!
At the same time, a huge wall of ice rose up from the ground. It was so cold that white mist could be seen rising up from the wall. And yet, this ‘shield’ which was so cold it was capable of burning the skin of whoever touched it, melted like an old candle as soon as it came into contact with Nix’s flames.
Nevertheless, that wasn’t a problem.
In the first place, its purpose wasn’t to perfectly block the flames, but instead to buy them some time.
“Use this opening to escape!”
The Swordnaz and Lukas obediently followed Yuriah’s orders and were able to escape from the range of the flames that were being blocked by the Ice Wall.
“Formation A!”
When Eric shouted this as they ran, Hoffman and Raven twisted their bodies to position themselves as the frontline.
Crunch!
With the sound of flesh and bones tearing, Raven’s body began to grow at an extreme rate.
Lukas couldn’t help but look at him in surprise.
Originally, he had only been around half of Hoffman’s height, but in an instant, he grew to tower over him.
Hair also began sprouting all over his body before turning into a shaggy coat, and his eyes became golden.
Saliva dripped from his elongated snout.
‘Werewolf?’
He never would have thought he was a werewolf. In fact, it was almost unimaginable.
Nevertheless, the thing that was most surprising was that Raven had such a reserved temperament despite that.
‘…a descendant of the Cursed Clan.’
Calling it the ‘Cursed Clan’ wasn’t a form of mockery to Raven, instead, it was the correct way to address them.
This was because the ancestors of his clan had been cursed with black magic in the past by a very powerful witch, which caused their bodies to mutate on a genetic level.
Perhaps, over the generations, they had learned of a way to keep their reason which was why Raven was as calm as he was.
Taht.
He ran on all fours beside Hoffman as if it was something they had practised many times.
Eric disappeared into the forest. But before that, Lukas managed to see him pull out a bow. It seemed that he intended to hide in the trees and find a good opportunity to attack Nix’s vital points.
The last member, a woman with blue-green hair whose name he hadn’t yet heard, positioned herself between the front and back lines.
Then she licked her lips.
“…”
Nevertheless, she didn’t say anything.
Lukas had actually never heard this woman speak, and he wondered if she might be mute.
Flash!
But his thoughts were interrupted in the next moment as a bright light shone from the bracelet on her wrist before an enormous, pure white shield appeared in her hand.
Thud!
She then slammed her shield into the ground as if she intended to embed it there.
Flash!
A bright light shone once again, except this time, it came from the large shield. Instead of disappearing after a moment, the light began taking on a physical shape.
It formed a barrier.
The shield was a magic tool.
A magic tool that had been engraved with powerful defence runes. This was something that could only be crafted by an extremely skilled alchemist.
It was only then that Lukas understood this woman’s role.
She was, in effect, the shield that protected Yuriah.
“Frost Scream?”
Her tone was unfriendly, and there was no context in her question, but Lukas was able to easily understand the intentions behind Yuriah’s question.
She was asking for an opinion on what spell to use in the current situation.
From someone who wasn’t even a Wizard at that.
Lukas knew what she wanted, but he wasn’t able to answer easily.
“…”
Nix…
He hadn’t been mistaken, it really was her.
The Phoenix that Lukas had saved in the Ispania Mountains in the past, who he let consume the heart of a thousand year old Drake King, and who was able to take human form because of her own desire.
Why was she called the Monster Queen?
What had happened to Nix in the past 10 years?
What about Torkunta?
…No.
‘That’s not it, Lukas.’
That wasn’t what he was curious about at all, was it?
Even Ivan, Snow, and Iris had forgotten about Lukas.
So Nix had probably forgotten all about him too.
Nevertheless, Lukas was unable to suppress the sliver of hope that arose inside of him.
The moment he encountered one of his past relationships, the desire to know if he had truly been forgotten couldn’t help but rear its head once again.
—This time… maybe… by chance…
“Kup.”
Lukas couldn’t help but feel disgusted by his own frailty.
“What are you doing?”
It was Yuriah’s that woke him from his thoughts.
“This is not the time to fall into a daze.”
Bang!
With a sound similar to that of an exploding firework, the white shield that was protecting them was pushed backward. Sweat dripped down the face of the woman with blue-green hair.
“I trusted your strength and believed that we would be able to win with your help, that’s why I suggested we fight the Monster Queen to Eric.”
“…”
“There is a limit to how much Sera can endure. Hoffman and Raven’s harassment tactics will end before that happens… My role in the Swordnaz is the spear. I’m the one responsible for unleashing the attacks that are threatening enough to break the enemy’s guard. That way, Eric can then accurately target their vital points.”
Even at that moment, a stream of spells was constantly being sent from the Yuriah to Nix.
A salvo of missiles made of ice and water rained down relentlessly.
But those weren’t enough to threaten Nix.
Flap!
A pair of flaming wings sprouted from her back, erasing the spells shooting towards her with a single flap.
A wave of scorching heat rushed through the forest.
“…”
The heat brought him back to reality.
With a sunken gaze, Lukas finally opened his mouth.
“How much mana do you have left?”
Even Lukas was unable to determine how much mana was contained within someone else’s mana room.
Yuriah took a breath before responding.
“…enough to cast one 7-star spell.”
“…”
It was by no means a small amount.
But it wasn’t enough for them to relax either.
Even at that moment, Yuriah was constantly casting spells.
—White Hail.
Even if they were to use the spell they used to wipe out the undead before, it would be insufficient to deal with Nix’s flames.
From the start, Nix, a Phoenix, and Yuriah, a Ice Wizard, were a bad matchup.
“Frost Scream.”
Yuriah once again brought up the suggestion she’d made earlier.
The 6-star spell Frost Scream.
In general, it had a smaller range than White Hail. But in return, it had far more penetrating power and lethality.
If she were to shoot a bunch of sharp shards of ice, it might be possible to pierce through those flame wings.
Of course, such a thing would not be possible with the power of a ‘normal’ Frost Scream.
She would need Lukas’ power.
The possibility would only appear when the power of her spell was upgraded by that strange power he had.
“No.”
But Lukas shook his head firmly.
He could hear the shield creaking.
The heat of the flames was gradually increasing, and it was beginning to feel like their skin was burning. The barrier that the blue-green haired woman, Sera, had erected around them not only blocked physical attacks, but also heat and cold to some extent.
This meant that the heat of the flames outside the barrier was even more intense. Raven and Hoffman probably felt like they were fighting in a furnace. Sooner or later, they would collapse from dehydration.
Nix, who was at the centre of the inferno, staggered slightly and appeared to be unstable.
Whoosh!
Nevertheless, the flames that continued to spread from her body were enough to pressure them greatly.
There was no time. By the time that Nix’s mental episode ended, the Swordnaz would probably have already been wiped out.
“Then?”
“You need to use Blizzard.”
“No.”
Yuriah shook her head firmly.
“The battle has already reached the stage of melee combat. If I were to use a 7-star spell, there is a high chance I would endanger Hoffman and Raven, who are at the front, as well as the rest of us too…”
“Frost Scream would only make her pause for a while. Even if Eric was able to find an opening, his opponent is practically immortal. A clumsy attack would only make her angry.”
“…”
“It has to be a 7-star spell.”
Lukas spoke in a clear voice, but he felt different in his heart. In all honesty, even 7-star spells weren’t enough.
But he felt that that was a truth that he should keep to himself.
“…”
Yuriah grasped her staff tightly.
Although she didn’t say anything, Lukas could tell that she was considering it.
This was because she knew he was right. No matter how much it was strengthened, a 6 star spell would not be able to restrain Nix.
After a while, Yuriah made a decision.
“…frost that freezes even our breath.”
The soft chant of the spell began to resound.
Seeing that, Lukas slowly drew his sword from its sheath.
It wasn’t just Yuriah.
It was also time for him to make a decision.