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“Finish this quickly?”
Georg, displeased with my confident attitude, furrowed his brow. I disregarded him and sent the seven swords flying.
“Hah, is that all you’ve got…!”
Georg, seemingly incredulous, waved his hand.
The radiating magic struck the flying swords simultaneously.
Seemingly satisfied, Georg lowered his hand. He calculated that breaking the swords would kill me as well.
But in the next moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“What?!”
The magic touched by the swords vanished as if washed away.
It was the ‘anti-magic’ of the Icarus ring.
Swish!
The group of swords, with undiminished speed, targeted Georg. Caught off guard, Georg desperately summoned magic. But even that was effortlessly pierced by the swords.
Thud!
The swords pierced his body like targets.
“Aargh!”
In excruciating pain as the anti-magic wreaked havoc inside him, Georg screamed. I, unfazed, uttered.
“As.”
Anastasia, who flew towards him, unleashed a brilliant light.
Zzzz…
Georg’s body withered, emitting dense smoke.
“aaargh!”
Enraged, Georg let out a scream. Magic exploded as the swords were expelled.
Whirr—
Short swords returning to me as if alive.
The anti-magic imbued short swords were once again aiming for Georg.
Thicker magic than before blocked the path of the short swords.
Thud!
However, it was futile.
Anastasia’s light had weakened, and Georg, exhausted from the fight with everyone, had little magic left.
Even the “Blood Magic” was sealed, leaving the lad with scarce magic.
“Kwaaah!”
Short swords piercing his shoulders, chest, abdomen, and wrists.
A merciless assault ensued as soon as a gap appeared in Georg’s defense.
.
Tadadadadang!
Magic bullets flew relentlessly.
Kwong!
A lightning spell struck above his head.
Whish!
A dark lance cut through space like lightning.
Aren pulled out the venomous snake’s tail from his body and hurled it like a lance.
Attacks from three directions seemed poised to obliterate Georg in an instant.
And at that moment, Georg’s body suddenly swelled like a balloon.
His flesh sunk in from the bullets, his skin charred black from the lightning strikes. The venomous snake’s lance lodged in his chest.
Yet, he remained unscathed. His overly swollen flesh absorbed all the attacks.
In the place where Georg stood, the appearance of a boy had vanished, replaced by a huge mass of flesh.
A colossal being covered in layers of fat.
This grotesque visage, unlike any mere illusion, was the true form of Georg, the embodiment of sloth.
And the trauma, unseen by anyone, a sight he never wished to reveal, unfolded.
“How dare you······ How dare! How dare! How dare!”
Georg, who had revealed his hidden self, was incensed. His roar echoed across the battlefield.
“Even without Blood Magic, even with weakened strength, killing insects like you is child’s play!”
Kwaaang!
Flesh burst out in all directions.
“Finale.”
As Georg’s concealed power was unleashed, a smirk formed on my lips as I blocked the flesh with my vitality.
The fact that he had come out like this, revealing his true self, meant Georg was finally cornered.
Eventually, the flesh, now in control of the space, writhed and targeted the party.
“Ugh! What’s that smell···”
Amelia wrinkled her delicate brow at the foul stench and unleashed a fire spell.
Fwoosh!
The approaching flesh burned in flames, the stench dissipating. However, the flesh continued to push through the flames.
Amelia’s face turned pale as she watched the constant surge of flesh coming towards her.
Tadadadadang!
A magical blast swept through.
Every piece of flesh rushing towards her was completely pulverized without a trace.
It was Han Seyeon’s supporting fire.
“Ah, thank you!”
Seeing Han Seyeon effortlessly shoot down the rushing flesh, Amelia gathered her strength and unleashed her fire magic.
***
While the group was cleaning up the flesh, I approached Georg.
Flesh creatures grumbled and pushed from all sides, but none could breach my radius.
Seven blades of light orbited around me like satellites, swiftly moving and repelling any approaching matter.
Spatters of blood, flesh, organs, all kinds of things fell like rain in my wake.
My efforts were unnecessary.
Controlling all seven blades of light to repel the flesh was beyond human cognitive ability.
I merely provided the ‘will.’
In response, Georg reacted as we advanced unaffected by the flesh.
“Arrogant fool!”
Flesh scattered around us gathered like snowballs aiming for me.
The amount and size exceeded what the blades could crush.
I would be buried in flesh if I lost focus.
Swallowing hard, I consumed the ‘Red Elixir’ I retrieved from my pouch.
[Red Elixir (Ignition) consumed.]
[Stamina: 5 → 9]
[Duration: 09:59]
Soon, my body accelerated, and the battlefield noise stretched out. A sensation of floating overtook me.
──────.
Flesh creatures flew slowly, as if in slow motion. In this decelerated world, I dodged the flying flesh.
‘4 seconds, 4 times.’
My current body acceleration limit is 4 seconds. A total of 4 times. Beyond that, my body can’t handle it.
It took 4 seconds to dodge about a third of the flesh.
Phew!
Acceleration waned, and the world sped up.
Flesh surged, and the world slowed again.
From Noble mtl dot com
Repeated three times. Alternating between slow and fast, I escaped the flesh.
“You little rat!”
Georg’s magic, enraged, flew like lightning. Then slowed down again.
The final 4th time.
I narrowly avoided the fast-approaching magic.
Georg’s figure, eyes wide in surprise, caught my sight, even the corners of his mouth curling up.
In the next moment, the magic I had only dodged erupted as the world accelerated.
Boom!
“Die!”
As I staggered from the impact, Georg’s trembling palm, aiming at me, dropped down.
In an instant, a hand reaching close by. Above my head was completely engulfed in darkness.
I had already used all my physical acceleration, and even if I tried, I couldn’t avoid the inevitable.
But my expression remained calm, not fitting for someone facing death.
I had anticipated this outcome from the start.
Even if I had lost all my strength, being a Chilak was in my nature. Georg’s level was beyond what I could handle.
Still, I had worried silently about what would happen if he didn’t close the distance, but thankfully that didn’t occur.
He chose the worst move even within the assumptions I had laid out.
“What is this…!”
A bewildered voice rang out from Georg, who had grabbed my head.
I chuckled.
“Truly a foolish fool.”
There was an object shining brightly white on my chest.
【Guardian’s Shield】
A treasure that could block even the attack of a top-tier Chilak or a supreme-grade transcendent being once.
The shield I had received from Eungaye activated, blocking Georg’s strike.
Whoosh!
From a bundle of seven swords, Gram returned as one sword, which I drove into Georg’s abdomen.
Oomph!
As Icarus’s ring wailed, all the anti-demonic powers I possessed surged towards Georg.
“Kyaaah!”
A tearing scream erupted as the flesh that floated in the air fell down in torrents.
“Hurry!”
“Got it!”
Staggering, Georg couldn’t do anything as Aren rushed towards him.
The sharp claws of Marsu swiftly severed Georg’s limb.
Thud!
The severed head of the guy rolled on the ground.
But Aren and I knew. Even with this, we couldn’t kill Georg.
He had acquired formidable power and an undying body at the cost of losing ‘day’.
Shack!
I pushed his body with my foot, pulled out Gram, and wiped off the blood on the blade.
“Tsk.”
Frowning at the persistent blood scent, I walked towards where Georg’s head lay. Then I flicked it.
“You’re not dead, so open your eyes.”
Georg, who was still pretending to be dead with his eyes closed, made an indifferent murmur.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
I squatted in front of him.
“Hey.”
“······.”
“Listen, you’re going to pick up every piece of your body just as it is and send it to Mootraz.”
“······.”
“Then you’ll be trapped there for the rest of your life, right?”
Mootraz was the underground brain prison of the Superhuman Association, known for never letting anyone out once they entered.
The ancient magic inscribed in Mootraz prevented the use of any magic or spells.
“And they’ll declare you dead.”
“!”
Georg, who had been silent even at the mention of Mootraz, suddenly opened his eyes wide. I smirked.
“Why, feeling a bit scared now?”
“Stop! Stop talking! Shut up!”
Ignoring Georg, who was shouting in fear, I continued speaking.
“There are plenty of people who would try to kill you, even if it means going into Mootraz.”
“Shut up! I said shut up!”
“But if they think you’re dead, they’ll give up. Well, there might be some who won’t believe it and keep searching, but after a few years, they’ll give up.”
“Ugh···”
“They’ll all ‘forget’.”
“aaah!”
Suddenly, he let out a scream filled with terror.
What Georg offered to the demons was his immense power and undying life.
It was ‘hatred’ and ‘malice’.
If others hold hatred towards him, Georg becomes immortal. However, the moment he realizes that all that hatred has disappeared, he loses his immortality. When he faces ‘malice,’ he dies, and his soul is taken by the demons.
Of course, it wasn’t daytime now, but I had Anastasia, the light spirit who met the conditions fitting with ‘day’ and ‘malice.’
As the light of Anastasia shone on him, Georg’s severed limbs turned to ashes and scattered in the air.
“Save me, please! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! By all that’s holy!”
As Georg was fading away, leaving him behind, Aren muttered in surprise.
“So you knew how to kill him.”
“That’s why I did it.”
“Take this.”
“What’s this?”
I chuckled as I received the black card Aren threw at me.
“It’s a magic talk. If you infuse magic into it, we can connect with our side.”
“Ah.”
Among the Undemons, there were individuals with the ability to communicate through the network.
This black card was a kind of magical tool that connected with that individual.
“Next time you need something, contact through that. You used this route this time. We’ll get rid of it soon.”
“Mahwa doesn’t give it to outsiders, right?”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m the one giving it.”
What a complete mess of an organization.
To scatter this kind of thing around as they please.
It was when I was shaking my head in disbelief at the idea that secrecy could be maintained like this.
[Defeated the Seven Evils Georg!]
[A reward of 15000SP will be given.]
*Warning: You have defeated Georg, the lazy mine of the Seven Evils. There is a possibility that the Mine Association’s eyes will be on you. Please be cautious.
A warning message appeared on the status screen.
In red letters, no less.
“I should be careful.”
…It seemed like I would have to quietly lie low for a while, as if a cat had got my tongue.
***
After checking on the group’s condition, I searched for Eungaye. It would have been difficult if she had collapsed somewhere alone.
“Hey, did you finish well?”
The underground secret room.
Eungaye, leaning against the wall, weakly greeted me with a feeble voice.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yeah. I’m fine.”
Eungaye, soaked in sweat from head to toe like a drowned rat, slowly got up. Then, she staggered and held her forehead.
“Ugh… I feel dizzy.”
“Go rest for a bit.”
Supporting Eungaye, who was sticking out her tongue, I suddenly asked a question.
“Wasn’t your best Gift record 10 minutes?”
“Yeah, it was. Probably?”
“You went over 10 minutes, how did you manage that?”
“With grit and determination.”
…Is that what they call perseverance?
Sticking out my tongue, I said,
“Congratulations on breaking the record, it’s 17 minutes.”
“Oh yeah!”
Watching her cheer and then collapse again, I shook my head in amusement.
***
…One Monday morning after a day had passed since hunting Georg.
“Ugh.”
As I entered the classroom, I immediately sprawled on the desk. It was the aftermath of using excessive body acceleration consecutively the day before.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“You’re hurting me, stop shaking.”
Sending Eungaye off as she shook my shoulders, I lay back down as if dead.
Soon after, as I answered inquiries about my well-being from Amelia and Elaine, students started trickling in, and the morning assembly began.
In order of attendance number, Ha Jinwoo’s words come next. And, in the middle of his speech, I raised my head at the sudden mention.
“Han Seyeon is absent today due to a high fever.”
“What?”
I glanced at the empty seat next to me.
“No wonder she seemed a bit late······”
A high fever?
Suddenly, I recalled that Han Seyeon didn’t look well the day before.
“I told her not to overexert herself······”
Concerned about the possibility of her condition worsening, I lay back down on the desk.
It seemed like I might have to pay a visit for a get-well-soon.