Lucifer of Pride.
Shane heard stories about him even in his previous life.
A creation of the dragons.
A creature that desired to surpass its creator.
The sole Dragonian who survived the Great Sealing of Akasha.
Thinking he could face a Dragonian, a being who inherited the dragons’ absolute dominance over magic, with magic alone had been foolish from the start.
The skirmish had clearly ended in Shane’s defeat.
But that didn’t mean he had gained nothing.
He’s not using Origin.
If Lucifer could use Origin, Shane would have had no chance to hold back and test the waters.
Yet, although Lucifer didn’t seem to be going all out, there was no indication that he planned to use Origin.
“So that’s it. The power said to have originated from humans.”
Lucifer’s demeanor, which had seemed lazy until now, suddenly changed.
It felt like he was becoming more serious.
“I’ve been wanting to test it anyway, to see just how strong the powers you people use really are.”
The moment Shane heard those words, he became certain of the information he had learned in his past life.
Lucifer hated Origin power.
In his past life, Shane had heard that the reason Lucifer started the rebellion was precisely because of that.
[My predecessor? He was a retard. He had this incredible power and didn’t even use it.]
This was what Dilaila had said after Lucifer’s death and when she took his place.
At the time, Dilaila explained that Lucifer’s rebellion was driven by his rejection of Origin.
Shane had wondered if that was truly the only reason, but now, seeing Lucifer’s expression, he came to the conclusion that for some unknown reason, Lucifer refused to use Origin.
“Let’s see then. Why did that person start coveting this power?”
As Lucifer began to fully wield his magical power, the entire area started to tremble.
This was a phenomenon caused by the movement of high-level magic in such a short time.
Acid Storm.
A vile green mist swirled violently.
Unlike Shane, who shielded himself with darkness, the walls of the mine that touched the mist quickly began to melt.
A raging storm of acid, one of the highest-level spells even among sixth-circle magic, dissolved everything within its range.
It’s a good thing I came alone.
If he had brought his comrades, most of them would have fallen to that magic just now.
This is what makes a mage truly terrifying.
An absurdly wide range of attack.
To stop such a spell, either the caster must be killed or the spell must be disrupted with enough force, but by now, a fiercer acid storm was swirling around Lucifer.
Perhaps that’s some small relief.
Though he would eventually rise in rebellion, it seemed Lucifer wasn’t fully prepared yet, as he was still faithfully following the orders from above for now.
Considering the level of magic he wielded, the mine should have collapsed from that spell alone.
However, from his perspective, where he needed to avoid drawing too much attention, he must have restrained the spell to prevent the mine from collapsing or taken measures to ensure it wouldn’t.
Meanwhile, the darkness born of greed began to devour even the acid storm.
“Hoo, it’s certainly a power that would catch his eye. Is it even devouring the magic of a dragon?”
But Lucifer looked down at Shane with contempt.
As expected, the power absorbed from him began to rage violently.
After all, wasn’t it the power of a dragonian who inherited the blood of a dragon that wielded absolute control over magic.?
Even though it had been absorbed by greed, its wild nature wouldn’t be so easily tamed.
Any ordinary mage would have been unable to endure it, leading to a magical outburst.
In fact, if it had been the Shane of two years ago, he would have struggled greatly to control this power.
But now things were different.
Move.
When the aura emanating from Shane shifted in a way he hadn’t expected, Lucifer looked at him with even more interest.
“You… you’ve consumed something of the Creator?”
If Lucifer inherited the blood of a dragon, didn’t Shane also possess something related to dragons?
The dragon’s reverse scale.
This dragon’s reverse scale he obtained from the body of the Green Dragon and the World Tree of the Elves. It firmly guided Lucifer’s magic and the once wild power instantly calmed and moved as Shane directed.
He then chanted a spell to counter the acid storm.
Blades Shower.
Perhaps it was thanks to the power of a dragon.
Shane felt no particular strain in casting this officially recognized fifth-circle magic.
The dragon’s reverse scale also absorbed the recoil that would normally come from casting such high-level magic, as if it were protecting Shane’s fiercely spinning magic circle.
Flames burst from the ceiling. They collided with the acid storm, caused explosions, and began to neutralize the acid.
“Hahaha! I’ll admit, I’m impressed, but it seems you’ve hit your limit. Do you really think something like that will work?”
However, Lucifer had already read Shane’s incantation and once again wielded his magic.
Elemental Conversion.
Blizzard Field.
The acid storm instantly transformed into a blizzard and swallowed up the fiery rain.
But Shane didn’t just stand there and take it.
Elemental Conversion.
Flame Earth Rain.
“What?!”
A reverse sandstorm imbued with fire surged up, melting the icy ground of the blizzard with its heat.
For the first time, Lucifer showed a hint of bewilderment.
Elemental Conversion had always been his exclusive domain.
However, Shane hadn’t simply copied Lucifer’s magic as the latter thought.
In fact, it was nothing more than a hurriedly made, inferior version.
Even Shane himself couldn’t convert the nature of a spell that had already been cast.
That was because his brain’s processing speed couldn’t surpass Lucifer’s.
But if I create it with the conversion formula from the start, that’s a different story.
Although his processing speed might fall behind, his analytical ability did not.
In fact, when it came to analysis, Shane had reached a level beyond Lucifer.
That’s why, from the very first skirmish, Shane had read Lucifer’s patterns and concluded that they were rather simple.
Most of Lucifer’s magic seemed to be related to decomposition, as he mainly used the opposite properties of his opponent’s magical elements.
This single pattern repeated itself several times.
So, if Shane predicted Lucifer’s next move and applied the conversion formula from the planning stage of his spell, it would work.
However, since this kind of change was a first for Shane, it took some time in the preparation stage.
But he compensated for that flaw by using the Origin of Greed to defend against Lucifer’s magic.
“How arrogant!”
Lucifer’s face twisted after Shane read his moves several more times.
His composure is starting to crack.
As the embodiment of pride, Lucifer couldn’t tolerate being looked down upon.
The fact that Shane had so quickly mimicked his unique ability to convert elements must have deeply offended him.
Arcane, are you holding up?
[Yes… Master. I can still manage.]
However, Shane wasn’t in a relaxed situation either.
Although Arcane was absorbing Lucifer’s magic while blocking it, the impact from doing so was taking its toll.
It’s about time I take a gamble.
So far, Shane had been successfully countering Lucifer’s spells, but inflicting a critical blow on him was impossible.
Lucifer’s casting speed outpaced Shane’s, and using the Origin of Greed to harm Lucifer was also ineffective.
Greed could only be devoured in one fell swoop when there was an immense gap between Shane and his opponent.
If Shane pushed the Origin more aggressively, he might be able to deal significant damage to Lucifer, but…
With Arcane already at her limit from keeping the defense, if Shane abandoned defense to go on the attack…
If I don’t finish him in one strike, we’ll be the ones who fall.
It wasn’t a strategic move, but more of a gamble.
After dismantling another one of Lucifer’s spells, Shane spoke up.
“The Dragonians aren’t much after all. You’re just a slightly better mage. Did you really think you could surpass your own creator like that?”
“…Ha. You bastard. I’m finding more and more reasons to capture you. It’s a pity. If that damned old man hadn’t died, taking just your head would’ve been enough.”
That damned old man.
Shane guessed he was likely referring to Gordon.
If it were Gordon, extracting memories from the dead wouldn’t have been much of a problem for him.
“Fine, I suppose I’ll put in a little more effort this time. But just so you know, don’t die.”
Once again, the surrounding magical power began to ripple.
However, unlike before, a terrifying vortex of power swirled around Lucifer. It was so intense that even breathing became difficult for Shane.
At that moment, Shane instinctively realized.
That spell wasn’t something he could avoid or block; it was a one-hit-kill spell.
An eight-circle spell.
Incinerate—
As the dark red magical power concentrated into a single point.
“This is why dealing with arrogant fools is always a chore. It’s always been that way.”
Suddenly,
Lucifer’s gaze landed on the hexagonal orb that emerged from Shane’s chest.
“That…!”
As brief flashes of light burst from the hexagonal orb at regular intervals, the surrounding magical power froze.
Why the hell is that wretched human imperial toy here?!
The antimagic artifact that was once used by Imperial guards knight Dominic in the Great Mezaiya Forest. It had reappeared in the world and was now in Shane’s hands.
As Lucifer’s spell began to falter in response, he desperately tried to cancel it.
Even a Dragonian couldn’t complete a spell under the interference of antimagic waves.
No, perhaps it was possible, but it was impossible to finish it in such a short time.
That bastard won’t just stand there and wait!
In the end, Lucifer who was feeling humiliated attempted to cancel his spell.
But that too was something Shane had already foreseen.
“That won’t work.”
“You…?!”
“Arcane.”
[Yes, master.]
“Return it to him.”
[Understood.]
If there was one thing Lucifer had overlooked, it was that he never doubted the origin Shane was using.
He had merely assumed that Shane’s Origin was only a tool for stealing magical power.
Born with arrogance, Lucifer never learned how to doubt.
Greed isn’t just a means to recharge magical power.
Fundamentally, it was an ability to steal from others.
In other words, as Arcane absorbed and Shane analyzed, he had gained a small degree of authority to interfere with Lucifer’s magic.
Although it was only a slight authority, magic was a sensitive field, where even a single miscalculation in a formula could lead to entirely different outcomes.
Especially when the magic in question was already unstable, even a small interference could prove fatal.
In that brief moment created by Lucifer’s carelessness, white flames flickered at the tips of Shane’s fingers.
“How can a mere human wield two powers—ugh?!”
Before Lucifer could even finish shouting in shock, he coughed up blood.
He had tried to forcefully activate an incomplete spell out of desperation.
As a result, a magical power rampage began, but Lucifer’s powerful Dragonian body was able to endure even that.
However, Lucifer could never have imagined.
That even this was part of Shane’s planned scenario.
“My… my magic…!”
In the moment when Lucifer’s magic wavered due to the rampage, Shane sent his other power, the white flame, toward Lucifer’s spell.
That flame which burned magic itself tore the ownership of the spell away from Lucifer, leaving Shane to claim it.
Lucifer’s magic, which was originally a crimson color, now took on a pitch-black color due to the Origin of Greed.
It was an eight-circle spell.
Incinerate.
If he couldn’t use magic to kill a powerful enemy, then he would just steal and use the enemy’s magic.
The light of destruction, which annihilated everything it touched, converged to a single point and shot straight at Lucifer’s head at the speed of light.
“How could I, like this…?!”
At that moment.
A white figure slipped between Lucifer and Incinerate.
“This is… truly astonishing.”
Creaaaaak—!
The light which could pierce through anything was blocked by the sword of the figure that had intervened between them.
A man with a strong body with body hair like a lion’s mane and a muscular body that could be felt even through his armor.
“Understand this. I couldn’t just stand by and watch. Wouldn’t you agree, mysterious one?”
“……”
“How is it even possible for you to use the power of the imperial family?”
Oliver G. Daniel.
The current commander of the Knights of Judgment appeared. His sword was covered in a blazing white flame aura.
Leave a Reply