novelraw Chapter 92 : Chapter 92
Chapter 92 : Chapter 92
Chapter 92: Asura (2)
Kalinos had a look of being overwhelmed.
The burn scars left on his face silently conveyed the tragedy of the past.
"That..."
He seemed to find it hard to believe that the fire crow was dying so in vain.
The fire crow.
To my eyes, that magical beast was indeed mysterious.
I was reminded of the rabbit. The Divine Beast of the Moon. If the Red Tower also had a divine beast, I thought it might be that fire crow.
...If so, it wouldn't be dying.
The darkness of the Boundary was gradually deepening.
No, it was returning to its original color.
The fire of the fire crow, the only source of light, was dying down.
Though I prided myself on having a quick eye, I couldn't count the number of Asuras.
That many Asuras were eating the fire crow. It was like seeing ants covering a dead mouse.
Click. Clack. Click.
The sound of teeth clashing was rampant.
Because fire is something that cannot be physically chewed, a clamorous sound came from the Asuras' mouths.
-Fire.
-Fire.
The Asuras that couldn't chew the fire muttered so.
They climbed over the backs of other Asuras, finding gaps and pushing their way in.
The light source that was the fire crow was dying, and was also being obscured by the Asuras and growing dark.
That sight, Kalinos seemed to find it hard to accept.
It probably wasn't because the fire crow was a 5th Rank magical beast. He was angry at the fact that he had lost his target of revenge.
"..."
The fire crow the size of the Grand Duke's residence, the ant-like Asuras surrounding it without a gap.
Ellen seemed to be overwhelmed by the sight. Of course, that couldn't be all.
"Get a hold of yourself."
I gently held Ellen's cheeks with one hand.
"This isn't the first time the Grand Heir's dream has been related to reality. Cassion. Drot. Rick. That magical beast is the same."
"..."
Her cheeks were softer than I thought. Her cheek fat gathered over my fingers. Looking at her like this, the Ellen of this period still had some baby fat left.
"Oh."
It had a strange addictiveness.
I kneaded it a little more.
"Ow."
"Hmm?"
"Et go."
Ellen pushed my hand away.
"Let go."
"Ah."
"I know too. I was just surprised. It's the first time I've seen so many magical beasts."
Ellen had a fierce expression.
She didn't seem to like her cheeks being touched.
"But when did you see that to name it Asura?"
"I named it when I heard the Grand Heir's dream."
"Really?"
Ellen had a naive side.
"You won't be able to fight."
"Me? Why?"
"They eat fire. You were helpless in the dream too."
Ellen used the dream as a basis.
"It will probably be different from the dream. Back then..."
Suddenly, my heart tightened.
It was a restriction left by the Stone of Regression.
'Am I supposed to be careful with my choice of words too?'
I laughed in disbelief.
"The me of the dream was not 4th Rank. And I am 4th Rank. I can even materialize the fire of a 5th Rank sometimes."
"But the matchup is bad."
Ellen pointed at the fire crow.
The horde of Asuras had completely covered it. However, the surroundings were not completely pitch black.
The color of the Asuras that had eaten the fire had faded.
It was the same phenomenon as the darkness that had absorbed the fire fading.
"Just stay still. They're 3rd Rank, at best 4th Rank magical beasts."
That information also came from the dream.
Ellen remembered that the Elaine of the dream had said so. Not only that, but she had accepted it as fact.
"Probably not."
My eyes narrowed as I watched the Asuras' meal.
"A 5th Rank magical beast is not a being that can be brought down by matchup alone."
Each magical beast builds its Origin through its own life.
To have reached 5th Rank means to have completed the Origin.
A 5th Rank magical beast can manifest its Origin.
The fire crow must have been the same.
'Matchup, numerical disadvantage... far from enough.'
That alone cannot overcome the Rank.
"There must be a few strong individuals mixed in. Probably not 5th Rank."
The number of Asuras was the basis for that.
If there had been a 5th Rank Asura, they wouldn't have been sharing the meal so amicably. They would have monopolized it.
"Still, just stay still for now."
Even though I had explained, Ellen's attitude did not change.
She seemed to be concerned about her prey being snatched away.
'It's been a while since I've had a fight.'
It was only me; Ellen rarely had a chance to wield her sword.
Her body must have been itching for a fight. By nature, she was a fierce battle maniac.
"If you get hurt again, I'm going to make the Grand Duke sleep in your room."
My eyes widened.
It was an unexpected answer.
"This is a bit touching."
It wasn't the first time I had received concern.
But there is nothing that doesn't get old as much as the concern of the person you want.
Ellen drew her sword.
It was then. Kalinos threw a wet blanket on it.
"Go."
Kalinos, who said so, was already holding his sword.
It meant he had no intention of fighting together.
"I'll tell the Grand Heir when we get back."
"Tell him. This is the 3rd Knights' fight."
The mage Serzila needed and the collateral branch of Serzila.
Kalinos did not want to involve the two of them in a life-or-death battle.
"To you, we're like mercenaries. Both me and Ellen."
Because they weren't comrades.
Also, it was loyalty.
Even if the person in this place were Elaine instead of Ellen, Kalinos would have made the same choice.
"I respect that. But I can't grant it."
Asura.
I had become interested in that magical beast, which had been insignificant in my past life.
-Fire.
-More, fire.
-Not this fire...
The fire crow died.
Even though they had eaten that huge thing without a trace, the Asuras were hungry. They wanted new prey.
Towards such Asuras, I materialized a fire.
It was a very small fire.
But it was the only source of light in this area composed only of darkness.
The Asuras turned their heads in unison.
They had discovered the fire named Harad.
-Fire.
-Fire.
They drooled pitch-black saliva.
"Come and eat."
I grinned.
It was a smile directed at the Asuras, and at Kalinos, with whom I would now fight.
"...He's acting up again."
Ellen sighed.
"Ellen. You're smiling."
Even though you like it.
* * *
Magic is vague.
Here, magic does not just refer to the result. It includes the Origin and magic power.
A mage is a being of all-encompassing vagueness.
'So it's bound to be more abstruse than Aura.'
Therefore, what a mage needed was intuition.
I, the regressed one, am proud of my excellent intuition. It was thanks to the experience of my past life.
When I first checked the darkness, I thought of the rabbit. But the owner of the trace was not the rabbit, but the Asura.
It's not that I was wrong, but that the rabbit and the Asura have similar properties.
'The rabbit and the Asura are related.'
I was certain of it.
It was a belief in my intuition, built up in my past life.
The surroundings were dark. To the point where I could barely see my own hand. It was thanks to the color of the Asuras that had eaten the fire crow fading slightly.
Suddenly, the darkness in front of my eyes wavered slightly.
I belatedly realized that an Asura had opened its mouth wide. Thump! The Asura that had tried to bite my face flew to the right. Thanks to Ellen's kick.
"What are you doing."
"I can't see well. And I can't feel them."
Unlike Kalinos and Ellen, it was difficult for me to discern my surroundings.
The darkness of this space eats fire. To be precise, it's the magic power of fire.
My senses and vision stemmed from that magic power of fire.
To secure my vision here, I needed several times more magic power than usual.
The presence of the Asuras was also not easily grasped.
'It seems it's just me.'
Ellen was as lively as ever.
Kalinos was the same. The two were staring directly at the Asuras and reading their presence. Their swords cut through the Asuras without any problem.
As I had experienced in my past life, the Asuras were only strong against fire.
The matchup was indeed not good.
However, my missing the Asura's attack was not just because of that.
"You can see if you concentrate."
"I didn't think they'd target me."
Even after such a provocation?
That was the look on Ellen's face.
"Duck!"
Ellen suddenly shouted.
'Again.'
I thought, and ducked deeply.
Ellen's sword grazed my back eerily. The head of an Asura with its mouth wide open was split in two.
"Thanks."
There was nothing to take cover behind, and it was a gap created by the sheer number of Asuras.
Originally, it was a gap that didn't need to be considered.
'A magical beast's meal is taken when it's safe.'
That was why the wolf magical beast had targeted Gullen first, and the tattered magical beast had targeted Ellen first.
Such a habit becomes more pronounced in higher-Rank magical beasts.
Because as the Rank gets higher, magical beasts develop intelligence.
'The Asura recognized me as prey.'
If I were a threatening mage, their attitude would have been different, but the bait I had thrown at the Asuras was not threatening at all compared to the fire crow.
Therefore, the horde of Asuras should have eliminated the hindrances named Ellen and Kalinos first.
And then they should have had a meal of the fire named Harad.
-Fire.
-Fire.
But they don't.
Despite having eaten a 5th Rank fire crow, those bastards acted as if they had no intelligence.
'No way.'
The Asuras could speak.
It meant that intelligence existed.
"Left... just get down."
And yet, they were ignoring the hindrances, Ellen and Kalinos, and only rushing at me.
'Something is lacking.'
Though it's the Boundary where anything can happen, the Asuras were an exception. They couldn't be explained naturally.
Suddenly, my chest felt heavy. Ellen's hand had pushed me. It meant I should retreat a little further.
She didn't want me to fight.
I stepped back.
The ground was bumpy. I had stepped on the corpse of an Asura, not the ground.
I stomped on it. A small fire that arose from the sole of my foot burned and absorbed the Asura's heart.
-Fire!
That fire stimulated the horde of Asuras again.
"You have the mind to eat?"
"Just in case."
I kept rolling the tip of my tongue inside my mouth.
The Asura's heart was not special at all.
'It's an ordinary magical beast's heart.'
The darkness of the surroundings thinned a little more.
The outlines of the Asuras were caught in my eyes.
Ellen and Kalinos were even clearer. To the point where I could even see their expressions.
The sword with flowing Aura was the clearest.
Kalinos's sword dug into an Asura's collarbone and stopped. Ellen's sharp sword dismembered an Asura. The cross-section looked as if it had been forcibly torn by force rather than cut.
That was why the darkness had thinned a little.
The Asuras that were the same color as the darkness of this space were all dead, and only the slightly lighter Asuras remained.
They were the Asuras that had eaten the fire crow.
The heart I had eaten was that of a starved Asura.
'Should I join in, or not.'
The bastards grew stronger when they consumed fire.
That was why I couldn't easily join the battle.
It didn't seem like projection wouldn't work, but if it didn't, it would be a disaster.
I would just be making the Asuras stronger.
'The white flame would probably work.'
That 5th Rank fire would surely work.
The regressed me had such a conviction.
But I couldn't just materialize it.
It wasn't a problem of aftereffects, but of Rank.
There was a limit to the amount of white flame that I, a 4th Rank, could materialize.
The amount had increased from when I was 3rd Rank, but it was still a drop in the ocean.
If it were one or two, maybe, but I couldn't melt that entire dense horde of Asuras.
So, I had to be the last to step in.
Unless Kalinos or Ellen, one of the two, was incapacitated, I had to hold back my magic.
'There's nothing I can do.'
I lit a fire on the sole of my foot.
It dug into the upper body of an Asura that had just been killed by Ellen and burned its heart.
'...A magical beast's heart?'
The heart of a less dark Asura is not ordinary.
I felt an indescribable sense of unease.
* * *
"How is it?"
"Not bad."
Ellen said nonchalantly.
It was true. Even the Asuras that had eaten the fire crow could not withstand her sword.
On top of that, since I could see the Asuras, I had some leeway. Since I didn't have to pay as much attention, Ellen's movements gained elasticity.
Originally, the sword of Serzila is hegemonic.
Ellen's sword, imbued with Innate Strength, was even more so.
She tore four Asuras apart with a single swing. She had solved the dulled cutting power with strength.
'She's getting sharper.'
I'm not talking about Aura.
Ellen's senses were getting sharper.
Ellen's Aura reserve, befitting a Serzila, is enormous.
Regardless of the strength of the less dark Asuras, she has the Aura and skill to cut them down as sharply as she wants.
But she doesn't. Because she can solve it with her innate strength.
She is instinctively conserving her Aura.
Whether she cuts them to death or tears them to death, it's the same death.
Innate strength does not simply mean physical strength. Innate Strength is physical strength, Aura, stamina, and durability. It is all things external.
Therefore, Ellen does not get tired.
No matter how many Asuras there are. As long as her Aura and physical strength work, she can continuously cut them down.
The problem is... that there is an Asura hiding that is not so.
The first one to notice its existence was me.
It couldn't be helped.
The Asuras were still so dense as to block my vision, and they were ignoring Kalinos and Ellen and only rushing at me.
From Kalinos and Ellen's perspective, it would feel like being swept away by a flood.
The target of that flood was me.
As such, their attention was focused on me, not their own safety.
So Ellen did not notice the Asura approaching Kalinos from behind.
Even Kalinos himself.
The Asura embraced Kalinos from over his arms.
Kalinos, who belatedly realized his own mistake, opened his mouth.
"This...!"
The muscles of his whole body swelled, but he couldn't move an inch. I met the eyes of the Asura that had revealed its face next to Kalinos's head.
The bastard was incongruous in this darkness.
Presumably, it had incapacitated the fire crow, and had consumed the most of the fire crow's fire.
The least dark Asura.
The bastard opened its maw wide. The black saliva that dripped as it stretched long melted and dug into Kalinos's shoulder. Its teeth, as flat as a human's, headed for Kalinos's neck.
-Hee hee.
It raised the corners of its eyes as it did so.
-Fire.
The bastard didn't bite right away, but spoke.
My head, seeing it, spun rapidly.
It wants fire. The hindrances named Ellen and Kalinos are annoying. It's difficult to eliminate them. So it took the weaker of the two, Kalinos, as a hostage.
It must be to eat the fire, become stronger, kill the hindrances, and have a proper meal.
-Fire
The Asura urged.
Its teeth, as flat as a human's, drew closer to his neck.
So it does have intelligence.
I had expected it, but I hadn't been prepared. There wasn't much I could have done, but a mistake was a mistake.
What would happen to the Asura after it ate fire again?
That was an unknown.
However, Ellen would be able to handle that horde of Asuras even by herself.
The military asset named Kalinos was of lesser value.
If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price.
The fact that the price was Kalinos was quite unsettling, but rationally, it was the right thing to do.
But for a long time.
I had not been a rational mage.
Not because of the Sun.
"Sir Kalinos!"
Because of that woman rushing towards Kalinos with a horrified face.
-Fire!
"Yeah. Eat up."
Crimson Flames flared up from the Asura's maw.