Chapter 187: A Special Thank You (2)
“Ah, I see. I was so busy watching you run away with your tail between your legs that I forgot. But have you also forgotten that magic didn’t work on you a moment ago? And who nullified it?”
I had nothing to be afraid of either. I meant that I could nullify your magic, and Referndi seemed to understand.
“Indeed…… Our clown has a good eye. You’re quite a vessel.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a vessel, I’m a cupboard. I can hold a lot of vessels.”
“Oh, that’s great. What kind of vessels? Small bowls? Teacups?”
I pretended to glare at her with my arms crossed. Meanwhile, I was listening to the sound beneath my feet. It was coming from inside the building, and Referndi probably wouldn’t be able to hear it.
The sounds that would normally be heard in a house, such as footsteps on the floor or objects being moved, stopped.
That’s when I spoke to Referndi.
“For example, a particularly large vessel. Joey!”
Crash!
Joey’s giant body burst through the wall of the building.
“Uwaah-!”
He looked like a demon, but my sworn younger brother, who was actually a Shrine Knight, couldn’t climb onto the roof. But he had a great advantage that we didn’t have.
He could get closest to Referndi the fastest.
He stepped on the debris of the building in front of him, pushed it with his body, and sometimes broke it, drawing a straight line towards Referndi. He’s probably the most powerful Shrine Knight in the world.
A mere 30 meters.
It’s a ridiculously short distance for Joey, who lives in a world smaller than that of ordinary people.
Referndi was clearly flustered by the unexpected attack. I might be able to gain the upper hand with this…… No.
I clicked my tongue as I watched the red witch soar into the sky, holding her staff.
Mages often have magic on standby on their staffs, and she was no exception. I should have known from the moment she was sitting on her staff floating in the air.
“Joey, come back!”
“Yes, Hyung-nim!”
Joey, holding his greatsword and wary of Referndi, came right under me.
I turned to Referndi. She had a hardened expression on her face, about 20 meters above ground. I spoke to her.
“Referndi, was your revenge that important? Al’s wouldn’t want this!”
“So it was. So what?”
“I advise you to return quietly, as you won’t see anything good if you stay any longer. If you refuse my advice, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be given a third life.”
“Insolent……!”
Referndi would be angry. She came here on her own, defying Artshever’s orders to capture Lucy, but not only did she fail to achieve any results, but she was almost caught.
Her biggest weapon would have been the advantage of a Prime Mage, the fact that magic couldn’t be easily countered, but with me here, it’s difficult for her to achieve anything with magic.
Even so, there is a way she can attack us. The Shadow Stone’s effect is surprisingly simple.
I lowered my voice just enough for those around me to hear.
“Scatter when I give the signal. Levidian and Aila to Namias. Al and Kun together. I’ll go down. We’ll scatter and find a way to attack Referndi.”
“Why? We have the Shadow Stone.”
“Even with the Shadow Stone, there’s nothing we can do if she decides to bring down this entire area.”
The Shadow Stone can only nullify the effects of magic directed at me. If Referndi decides to collapse this building or the ground, I can’t stop it.
She’s not an idiot, so she’ll soon figure out an effective way to attack. When that happens, we need to scatter and attack her.
“Don’t go too far or hide. She makes a hobby of indiscriminate destruction.”
She probably wouldn’t even think twice about killing people. At best, she’d be like a person deciding whether to leave a mosquito alone because it’s bothersome or to swat it because it’s annoying.
Then Referndi spoke.
“Haha, indeed. Silvan was right. You’re worth destroying. I’ve had a hard time holding back so far, but now that it’s come to this, I can’t hold back anymore. I’m not very patient, you see.”
“The clown wouldn’t like that.”
“Ahaha! I don’t care! Actually, I hated you guys who kept bothering our cute clown! If I destroy you this time, he won’t be bothered anymore, right? And Kersilla Creon will come to me for revenge, and I can play with him and break him! How about it, isn’t it a good calculation?”
I don’t think Artshever would agree, but let’s not try to figure out the thoughts of someone who isn’t here.
Referndi’s calculations are certainly reasonable. At least it means she’s not ordinarily insane. Maybe she’s only good at thinking when it comes to destruction.
“Well then, kids, you’ll have to play with me until he shows up. Hahahaha!”
With a dry laugh, she raised her staff. The sound of her chanting a spell in the air could be heard. I gritted my teeth and spoke to the others.
“Now! Joey, raise your sword!”
“Huh? Ah, yes!”
Joey quickly raised his sword, creating a ramp 2 meters below. As expected of my sworn brother. He understands my intentions very well.
“Risel, be careful!”
“Good luck!”
Levidian and Kun spoke on behalf of the two splitting groups. Al and Kun headed back, Levidian, Aila, and Namias to the right.
I quickly jumped onto Joey’s sword. Since it was wide, I didn’t have to worry about stepping wrong, and Joey skillfully moved the sword to lower me to the ground.
“Joey, let’s get out of here!”
“Huh?”
“Hurry!”
“Ah, yes!”
Joey had a puzzled expression on his face, but we quickly moved away. And right after that, Referndi’s magic activated. Ugh, fast!
“Collapse!”
In a way, a history like magic is cheating. Especially when you see a building collapse with just a single word. Although it would require a lot of effort to gain that power, from the receiving end, it’s cheating! Damn it!
In a moment compared to the time it took to build, the rafters fell, the beams rose, and the foundation stones flew. The building we were standing on collapsed with a tremendous roar.
The thought that it was fortunate the nearby residents had evacuated early flashed through my mind.
“I’m glad we retreated early. Will the others be alright, Hyung-nim?”
“They’ll be fine. They’re all quite capable.”
As I ran with Joey, I seriously considered who Referndi would target.
If possible, I wanted to pair Levidian or Aila with Joey. Or, as always, pairing Namias with Joey would be quite effective. The combination of Joey and Namias, whose holy magic works well together, is stronger than the combination of me and Levidian, or me and Aila.
However, there’s a reason why I came to Joey.
“Whoa! Whoa! Ack!”
Amidst exploding flames, scattering lightning, and strong winds, Joey ran with strange screams.
Above our heads, various magic spells appeared and disappeared. Joey and I were running down the street, becoming excellent targets for Referndi.
Thanks to his size, which would never be associated with stealth for the rest of his life, Joey would be Referndi’s first target. The reason I teamed up with Joey was to protect him.
But the Shadow Stone is also amazing. It’s continuously nullifying Referndi’s magic. Well, it’s an artifact of absolute history defense that even dispelled Levidian’s curse after just holding it overnight, so this much is natural, right?
“Arisein-! What kind of trick are you using!”
“Figure it out yourself!”
Referndi continued to follow us. Joey flinched every time a brilliant light exploded.
Probably an evacuation order was issued for this entire block. During the time Aila bought us, an area of several square kilometers would have become virtually deserted.
“But, Hyung-nim. How are you going to attack?”
“Don’t ask! This is damn heavy!”
The drawback of Brandione is that it nullifies all the effects of magic possessed by the owner while holding it. It cancels ‘all’ history, both internal and external.
A minor question is why the Shadow Stone, which also solved Levidian’s curse, doesn’t dispel the magic on my eyes or body hair. It even dispelled Levidian’s curse.
No, I’ll ask Brandiego about that later. The problem now is that my body is heavy thanks to the plate armor and metal armor. Damn it! Should I have asked for leather instead?
“Wouldn’t Ibi-unni be able to do something?”
“Not enough. With Namias there, we can solve the stamina depletion, but that’s it. You saw it too. She’ll definitely be prepared since she’s been hit once already. Namias’ help is significant, but she focuses on healing and protection. We lack offensive power.”
“I see. I was usually the one attacking when we were traveling. So the lacking power is……?”
“A mage. We need a mage who could overwhelm her. No, it’s okay if they can’t overwhelm her right now. We need a mage who can at least send us flying or close the attack distance.”
As long as Referndi remains in the air, we have no means of attacking her other than Aila.
We have a way to block the Red Witch’s attacks.
But we lack the means to unleash overwhelming firepower.
Aila’s Will of Destruction was quite effective, but it proved to be not very effective compared to the burden it placed on the user.
Aila would bluff and say she could use it as many times as she wants as long as Namias heals her, but no matter how holy the magic is, it can’t restore depleted mental strength.
In my opinion, it’s not a technique that can be used repeatedly.
Joey, after listening to my words, brought up the question that I was also wondering about.
“Will Lucy-hyung come?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know if he can come even if he receives the message, unless he can teleport. If he can’t come, we’ll have to manage somehow. If worse comes to worst, I’m considering having you throw me at Referndi.”
The last part is a complete joke. It would be a comedy if the guy who dodged Aila’s attacks so well couldn’t dodge me.
Joey had a flustered expression on his face. He probably took it seriously.
“That method seems a bit too much…… He even dodged Aila-unni’s attacks……”
“Good! We’re here!”
I deliberately interrupted Joey and stopped. Joey also stopped walking.
The place we arrived at was a square.
It wasn’t that big, with a diameter of about 100 meters, but even if it was heavily damaged, it would be easy to repair.
Looking back, Referndi was sitting in the air at the entrance of the square, perched on her staff as if it were a side saddle, looking down at us with an arrogant expression.
The witch, whose crimson presence stood out even more under the blue sky, twisted her lips and sneered.
“Oh, have you finally stopped running away?”
I retorted without backing down.
“Oh, have you finally stopped your clumsy attacks?”
Neither I nor Referndi could attack each other anyway. To be precise, Referndi could only use targeted magic if I was moving.
Referndi made a cruel expression.
“Strange. Why do I see two pathetic rats cornering themselves?”
“Have you ever seen such big rats?”
I nudged Joey next to me. Joey quickly raised his greatsword and took a defensive stance.
Referndi laughed as if she found it cute.
“Ahaha! How insignificant. Truly insignificant! I don’t know why the clown cares about a guy like you. A mere brat who fiddles around with a few precious items!”
She raised her hand and began to chant a spell. I quickly stabbed my sword into the ground I was stepping on. It was a stone pavement, but the sword penetrated relatively easily. If Referndi casts magic around this area, this will nullify it.
However, my prediction was wrong. I should have thought more deeply about her words. She was planning to literally ‘corner’ the two of us!
Rumble……! Boom!
A stone barrier rose, blocking the exit of the square. At the same time, she blocked the entire 100-meter diameter space with rock walls so that we couldn’t enter any buildings.
Referndi smiled sweetly.
“Now, shall we play a little? I hope you’ll entertain me a little more. If I get bored, I’ll just get rid of you.”
She raised her hand. Then the sky began to darken.
Rumble……! Crackle!
The mage of destruction began to play the prelude.
Whoever designed the city development plan, I decided to seriously question the drainage system of the square. What’s the point of a square if the water doesn’t drain!
Crack!
“Tsk!”
Joey and I quickly threw ourselves to the ground as lightning struck around us again.
It was just a square with a diameter of 100 meters, but inside, stone pillars rose, holes were dug, and rain poured down. The lightning that struck above us was spreading wonderfully around us through the water.
Referndi, as if she had decided to literally play with Joey and me, prepared stone pillars everywhere for us to take cover and was enjoying watching us run around being chased by lightning.
Kyaaaak! Aila! Levidian! Namias! Where the hell are you and what are you doing!
I don’t know how long we ran like this. Joey and I were being toyed with without any decent means of attack.
The ladies, whom I thought would come running as soon as I bought some time, betrayed my expectations splendidly by not showing up as if they had promised each other.
“Huff! Huff! Damn it! Should I consider breaking off the engagement and ending the friendship?”
“I think that’s a bit too hasty……”
“Do I look like I’m not in that situation right now!”
No one to respond to my jokes. Aila, Lucy, even Al would have reacted to my jokes. And it seems that the third person here isn’t good at responding to jokes either.
“Do you think you can escape just by staying there!”
There was no time to catch our breath.
Referndi pulled up the surrounding water and created waves, and at the same time, the dark clouds that filled the 100-meter radius expressed their displeasure immensely.
Rumble! Crackle!
It was clear that she intended to soak this place thoroughly with water and then strike it with lightning, giving the coroners time to debate whether we drowned or were electrocuted.
I didn’t know I’d see waves on land, but I didn’t have the luxury to admire the sight. I quickly spoke to Joey.
“Joey, I have a plan, so do as I say.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“So……”
I spoke briefly, getting straight to the point without a proper explanation. Joey’s eyes widened in shock.
“Hyung-nim, we can’t……!”
“Shut up. Just do as I say. You talk too much for a younger brother. Hurry up!”
I pushed his chest and quickly went down the rock.
“Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim! Damn it!”
I heard Joey’s frantic voice, but it was only for a moment.
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