44th Episode. Unnecessary Beings in This World
“Alaion, Bélid.”
Sirius spoke to Alaion and Bélid, who were hesitating behind.
“Fight together. If you fight separately, your lives are at risk.”
“…!”
There was a strong energy emanating from the skeleton soldiers.
It seemed like they were endowed with magic, probably in a state similar to a magic sword.
Alaion, who could play a vanguard role with a magic sword, and Bélid, who could launch offensive magic, needed to cooperate.
“Then what about the Lord… Ah!”
Thud!
A powerful energy was emitted from Valerion.
Watching the irregular, sickle-shaped energy emanating from Valerion, Sirius frowned.
Sirius raised the power of his internal energy and unleashed Sword Wind.
Along the trajectory of the sword, black energy spread out. And as it collided with Valerion’s black magic, it dispersed.
Observing this pattern, Sirius realized that Valerion’s magic had a nature similar to the internal energy of the Northern Divine Art.
“Is he using a power similar to my dark magic!”
Valerion was doing the same.
Distorting his half-decayed face, he rose into the air.
In the high-ceilinged space, he could fight while flying around.
“Father, even resorting to dark magic now…!”
“Don’t interfere, Kyan!”
“Ugh…!”
Ignoring his son being thrown around, Valerion unleashed dark magic.
Sirius countered by unleashing Sword Wind to intercept the dark magic, while also dealing with the skeleton soldiers charging from the front.
“…”
The undead soldiers resurrected by Valerion’s war magic.
Their entire bodies were enhanced with magic, similar to a magic sword.
It seemed impossible with living flesh, but with only bones remaining, it seemed achievable.
In such a situation where ordinary attacks couldn’t even inflict wounds.
However, Sirius unfolded the power of the White Divine Art and confronted them.
With each flash of the white-bladed sword, the skeletal structures of those protected by magic were shattered.
“A splendid magic sword!”
Valerion indiscriminately spread dark magic.
Sirius continued to counterattack with his sword winds, but it was not easy to approach Valerion.
As the undead soldiers kept rushing in, and Valerion’s magical bombardment itself was so intense.
“My lord! What’s happening… Ahh!”
The soldiers who rushed in from outside were engulfed in dark magic and lost their lives.
Even those who barely survived were astonished by Valerion and the skeletal soldiers.
“My, my lord, what is this…!”
“Ugh…!”
Kaien was perplexed, unable to intervene in the fight.
Although the situation called for supporting his father, Valerion, he couldn’t figure out how to assist amidst the indiscriminate onslaught of dark magic.
Having almost been engulfed by Valerion’s dark magic just a moment ago, he couldn’t act recklessly.
“Kaien, let me tell you one thing.”
To Kaien, Sirius’s voice reached.
“Your son, Pariel, is receiving good treatment in Entrovil. We will send him back at the right time, so don’t worry.”
“I-Is that true?”
“Though he lost one arm, it doesn’t affect his life. He’s a talented lad, so with proper training, he’ll be able to use magic again.”
“Ah…”
Kaien’s expression relaxed.
It was a face that revealed what Kaien had been most worried about all along.
“Step back, Kaien.”
To Kaien, Sirius’s voice resonated once again.
“Valerion doesn’t need your help anyway. Lead the soldiers and retreat.”
“…!”
As Kaien hesitated, Valerion’s laughter echoed.
“Do as you wish, Kaien!”
“Ah, father…”
“Since your skills won’t be of much help in this fight anyway!”
Right then.
Valerion’s high-powered magic, completely disregarding his own clan members, erupted.
The aftermath of the fierce dark magic began to bring down the ceiling.
“My lord…!”
“E-Everyone, retreat!”
In the end, Kaien had no choice but to lead the soldiers in retreat.
After confirming that sight, Sirius pierced through the falling ceiling and pursued Valerion.
Valerion flew through the collapsing ceiling, showering Sirius with magic.
“Kahahahaha…!”
Just as Valerion suddenly burst into laughter.
Bones suddenly sprouted from the squares.
The bones of the undead soldiers Sirius had earlier defeated spontaneously emerged, attempting to ambush Sirius.
Sirius tried to block the sword, but countless bones moved as if they were alive, threatening Sirius.
Gradually, they intertwined to form a complex structure, taking on the shape of a huge snake.
No, it was a dragon made of bones.
“Face the Bone Dragon…!”
Thud!
The Bone Dragon struck Sirius.
Utilizing the mass of its numerous bones, it aimed to crush Sirius.
As a result, buildings kept collapsing, and Sirius dodged using teleportation.
“That movement, is he strengthening his body with magic? But how did he secure that level of stability? A normal human would have exploded and died by now…!”
Valerion was observing Sirius from above.
Rather than quickly taking down Sirius, he prioritized observing how Sirius fought.
“If I study you, I might reach the level I’ve longed for…!”
“Level?”
While blocking the Bone Dragon’s charge with his sword, Sirius asked.
“What level are you talking about? The 9th Circle?”
“Not that! I’m talking about the ‘Lich’ level!”
Lich.
Valerion chuckled as he mentioned that name.
“The ultimate level desired by all sorcerers! Transcendents who overcome death and possess an immortal body, living eternally!”
“….”
“If I study how you stabilize your body like that, it will greatly help in reaching the Lich level!”
Valerion spread his arms, raising his voice.
“By reaching the Lich level, you can obtain power surpassing even the 9th Circle! Be the sacrifice to achieve that feat, Sirius…!”
“How amusing.”
Right at that moment.
A cold voice flowed from Sirius’s lips.
“Aiming for a level beyond the 9th Circle when you can’t even reach that level yourself?”
“What?”
“Speak clearly, Valerion.”
Kicking the collapsing building and soaring into the air, Sirius spoke.
“With your talents, it seems you can’t reach the 9th Circle no matter how hard you think, so you’re trying to get stronger through some trickery in a different way.”
“…!”
“Valerion, do you really think you’re some great mage who can become a transcendent?”
Sirius coldly rebuked.
“You, who bowed to the pressure of the 5 Great Houses of the continent and abdicated the position of a lord, only to hide as an 8th Circle mage?”
“You, speaking without knowing anything…!”
“If you truly had the qualification to become a transcendent surpassing the 9th Circle, you wouldn’t have bowed to the pressure of the 5 Great Houses of the continent.”
Valerion’s face contorted.
“Valerion, you must have known it yourself. With your talents, you can’t reach the 9th Circle.”
“…!”
“So you studied necromancy in seclusion. You forcibly extended your lifespan, even as your body decayed, in search of a way to become a lich.”
He wanted revenge on the five great noble families of the continent who had humiliated him as a lich.
In the end, Valerion desired just that.
“I’ve seen many old monsters like you.”
“What…?”
“Elders who realize they can no longer grow stronger through normal means and stray from the path of righteousness…”
Even in the martial world, he had seen many such old monsters.
When facing such beings, the actions of the White Tiger and the White Dragon were always predictable.
“You are beings unnecessary in this world.”
“To speak so arrogantly with an open mouth…!”
Thunk!
Valerion unleashed dark magic.
However, Sirius felt no threat at all.
He had already grasped the situation.
Moving through the dark magic with agility, Sirius fixed his gaze on the twisting Black Dragon trying to engulf him.
The Black Dragon seemed to move autonomously, as if not controlled by Valerion but somehow linked to him through magic, slowing down with each spell of dark magic he cast.
Seizing the moment, Sirius raised his White Tiger’s power.
Unfurling a chilling white blade, he leaped towards the Black Dragon.
Identifying the vulnerable parts of the dragon’s skeletal structure, he struck with a dazzling movement.
“No…!?”
Valerion was astonished.
As Sirius swung his sword several times, the Black Dragon began to crumble.
It was evidence that Sirius had precisely pierced through the structure of the dragon connected by magic.
“You…!”
Countless bones scattered around.
Valerion reached out with magic to create a new skeletal monster.
At that moment, Sirius swung his sword again.
“…!”
The cold blade’s trajectory weaved through the air, disrupting Valerion’s flow of magic.
Upon contact with the icy blade, the magic froze, disconnecting from the bones.
With this, all those bones would just fall to the ground as worthless remains.
“You, how…!”
Though lacking the talent to reach the 9th Circle, he was a mage who had long studied necromancy.
He possessed the ability to control numerous bones perfectly, manipulating them like limbs.
However, Sirius thwarted it all.
As if he could see exactly how Valerion was controlling the bones.
Come to think of it… despite casting so much dark magic, Sirius didn’t have a single injury yet.
Thud!
Sirius kicked off the collapsed building rooftop and leaped.
Observing Sirius soaring up, Valerion urgently flew even higher.
If Sirius couldn’t use flight magic, Valerion could just widen the distance and attack from above.
By spreading dark magic from a high point, he could unilaterally launch an attack.
If things looked bad, he could just run away.
Moreover, turning civilians into undead soldiers could replenish his forces.
Though weaker than the remains of the ancestral sorcerers buried in the temple, in terms of numbers, they could easily overpower Sirius.
“Haaa…!”
Valerion roared, unleashing dark magic.
The black magic covered the sky so densely that Valerion’s figure was barely visible.
Yet, Sirius remained composed.
Valerion’s tricks were easy to see through for Sirius.
Certainly, with Sirius’s current skills, Void Steps were impossible.
It was a fact that chasing Valerion flying high or fleeing entirely would be difficult.
Even so, it was not a problem.
“Since I just need to shoot him down.”
Kwahng!
A sword filled with the power of Bai Lang was ejected, piercing through the darkened sky.