In his past life, the way Osten defeated Gordon was less complicated than expected.
If the opponent used a move that was difficult to counter, he would choose to block it entirely from the beginning.
However, the reason it was hard for anyone to use such a move was the extremely limited information on blood magic.
But with that limited information, Osten managed to understand Gordon’s blood magic almost entirely after analyzing numerous battles between Gordon and the expeditionary teams.
The weakness of blood magic which was a degraded version of a vampire’s power lay in the fact that it was fake and couldn’t truly possess anything.
So, wouldn’t it be a matter of separating that fake from the main body?
With this thought, Osten put it into action and succeeded in defeating Gordon without a single mistake.
“……!”
The space expanded due to the magical power scattered around by Shane.
At the same time, a vacuum was created where nothing could exist and even the magical power was expelled outside.
The ownerless magical power returned to nature by the will of the world.
So, what did it mean for the magical power to be ownerless?
If the magical power contained in the air was excluded, it referred to an old man who betrayed the will of nature and forcibly held on to the magical power of someone who had already died and disappeared by transforming that power into blood magic.
Simultaneously with the expansion of the space, all the masks Gordon was carrying were flung away.
At that moment, Gordon prepared for an incoming attack from Shane, but Shane did not attack him.
When that action caused Gordon’s thoughts to momentarily pause, a light burst out behind him.
It was a simple first-circle spell called Light that held no physical force.
But because of it, Gordon’s shadow stretched in Shane’s direction until it finally touched the shadow on the wall.
And the one hiding in the shadows wasn’t so clumsy as to miss that opportunity.
Before Gordon could react to the magical power of the shadow dimension, a dagger sprang from the shadow and grazed Gordon.
“Ugh…!”
The dagger smoothly sliced through Gordon’s neck, and a fountain of blood erupted in an instant.
In less than a second.
That brief moment was enough to decide the outcome of the battle.
“Phew… my skills haven’t rusted yet.”
James adjusted his glasses and turned around as he looked at Gordon. The latter was clutching his half-severed and dangling neck.
But he used to be a careful assassin. So he kicked Gordon’s head once more.
The dangling head flew like a ball, hit the wall, and was crushed. Only then did James feel at ease and looked at Shane.
“…Shane?”
James who was surprised that a mere academy student had produced such results called out to Shane to ask what had happened, but he received no answer.
Seeing Shane lying on the floor without moving, James hurriedly tried to approach him.
“Do not touch the master, human.”
The darkness that appeared behind the fallen Shane blocked the way between them.
“…A dark spirit? Calling him master?”
James was momentarily startled by the situation where a dark spirit that was known to be impossible to contract with, not only made a contract but was also called a human “master”.
This meant that a master-servant relationship had been established between them. It was not just a simple contract.
“Grrrr… is it the same as that time.”
The dark spirit who was uninterested in James’s reaction, looked at the fallen Shane and mourned for someone.
Perhaps, it would have been better to wish for death.
Despite having no human-like emotions as a dark spirit, the spirit couldn’t help but feel such emotions.
By now, the opponent would be facing an even more terrible fate than the dark spirit had in the past.
Though the spirit had no memory of that time, it understood that such an event had occurred. The fear experienced by the rotting wood spirit was still ingrained in its instincts, causing it to react this way.
“Ugh?!”
Adam narrowly suppressed a groan as he deflected the attacking chimera and launched a counterattack.
Though the passage under this tree was wider than the others, it still felt cramped with the countless chimeras swarming in.
However, what troubled Adam and his knights more than the chimeras was the intense heat they felt from behind.
What on earth are you doing?!
There was no question as to the source of the heat behind them.
It was Raviata.
From the moment the tentacles emerged from the Dragon Heart, Raviata had generated such intense heat that the blazing flames nearly blinded anyone who looked in that direction.
Meanwhile, although Adam was also worried about Dilaila inside, contrary to his concerns, Dilaila was perfectly well and without a single scorch mark or drop of sweat on her head. This was all thanks to Raviata’s protection,
However, Raviata herself was far from comfortable. It was a serious struggle for her to keep Dilaila safe within her sphere of influence.
Damn, this isn’t easy.
It would have been easier to fight an army of tens of thousands on an open plain than to protect others from her own heat in such a confined space. Raviata’s magic was simply too destructive.
Controlling it and dealing with the tentacles before her was no easy task for Raviata.
Especially now, when her “weak hand” had been seized.
Controlling her magic had become even more difficult.
Those tentacles had the trait of seizing control of others’ magic.
As such, without a significant degree of elemental dominance, there were few ways to counter those tentacles, and for some reason, Raviata had turned her elemental dominance outward.
And so, to counter those tentacles, she had no choice but to enter this state of rampant power.
What is that idiot doing right now!
Raviata gritted her teeth. She started thinking of the member who had received part of her elemental dominance since they had entered the Great Mezaiya Forest.
“What?”
The tentacles which had been frantically trying to consume Raviata’s magic until just now gradually began to lose their momentum.
Was it a direct reaction to this unexpected change?
“Ahhhhh!”
Raviata’s attention quickly turned to a sudden scream coming from the air.
A small spark ignited in the empty air and it started rapidly growing in intensity before it took on a human shape.
“This body, has arrived!”
From within the flames, as if he was burning through dimensions, a man emerged and grinned at Raviata.
“Sorry, Commander. I’m a bit late. Hahaha!”
“You damn bastard…”
A member of Raviata’s Party who had entered the Great Mezaiya Forest earlier.
It was Ignis.
“Where have you been?!”
“Heh. The situation is urgent now. I’ll explain later. But honestly, I don’t fully understand what’s going on either.”
With that, Ignis glared at the weakened tentacles and gritted his teeth.
“But one thing’s for sure. We need to deal with those damned tentacles first.”
Ignis then produced a flame from his chest and handed it to Raviata.
“Take it back, Commander.”
“Finally.”
As the flame returned to Raviata, Ignis disappeared once more.
The fire spirit, Ignis.
Since the spirit that had entered the Great Mezaiya Forest to scout returned, Raviata’s control over the elemental dominance she had handed over was restored.
Raviata felt her rampaging magic return under her command once again.
“Phew, good. Let’s finish off this damned thing first!”
The once chaotic magic began to move in an orderly manner, and the firepower concentrated on the tentacles.
Eventually, the tentacles that had lost their momentum started to disappear without resistance.
Dilaila, who had been concentrating for a while, also received good news.
“Huh? Suddenly, they’ve become docile!”
“Is that so…? Knights, everyone get down!”
“.……!”
At Raviata’s command, Adam and his knights immediately took cover.
Then, Raviata directed her magic which had been focused on the Dragon Heart towards the approaching chimera horde.
The tremendous firepower swept over Adam and his knights and engulfed all the chimeras in the passage.
Surprisingly, despite Raviata’s firepower unintentionally causing damage to them earlier, Adam and his knights now felt the heat protecting them.
And things didn’t just stop there, but rather the warmth that softly enveloped them energized those who were weary.
“Let’s finish this, you tiresome creatures!”
Even within that heat, the chimeras that had survived using their comrades as shields charged again, but their momentum was noticeably diminished.
Finally, the exploration of the Great Forest was nearing its end.
Gordon who was surprised and angry at the situation caused by a moment of carelessness still assessed the situation calmly.
We have no choice but to retreat now. Tch, what a pity.
Normally, he could have received more support from the organization, but Gordon had not insisted on it.
Underestimating them as mere humans was a problem, but he was also confident that his masterpiece, the dark elf, was near completion.
However, the dark elves were nowhere to be seen, the exploration team had reached the hidden Dragon Heart, and he himself was defeated by that young brat.
Though I made a mistake, it’s not a complete defeat though.
The amount of data obtained from this incident was not insignificant.
The only regret he felt was not fully possessing the Dragon Heart, but he could aim for it next time.
Though his physical body had died, he had originally been a skilled black mage and blood mage who excelled at manipulating souls.
After abandoning the dead body, his soul would naturally return to his original body.
I wonder just how much knowledge that brat possesses.
However, Shane’s presence was what troubled Gordon.
Since coming here, everything Gordon had prepared began to disappear under Shane’s direction.
The existence of the Dragon Heart, which the organization had thoroughly concealed, became known to those outsiders.
The weather phenomena of the Great Mezaiya Forest, which served as a natural fortress, were fully grasped by him.
The existence of the underground tunnels, which only elves could know about, was discovered.
The use of teleportation, which only elves could perform, was also mastered by Shane.
All of it, all of it started with that brat’s ideas.
At this point, Gordon suspected that Shane was also responsible for the disappearance of the dark elves.
Whatever it is, I can have my people look into it later.
For now, the urgent task was to return to his original body and organize the data he had obtained this time.
But…
Something was strange.
After the body he had been using died, no changes occurred. His vision remained shrouded in darkness.
It was his secret technique, one that had allowed him to survive battles against the coalition in the past.
Enough time had passed for him to traverse through space and return to his original body, yet his vision was still dark.
What is happening?
Something was wrong.
As soon as he sensed it, Gordon’s vision brightened.
He found himself in a place where the sky was tainted with an ominous blood-red color, and corpses stretched beyond the horizon.
Amidst it all,
There was a man seated on a throne and impaled by a holy sword.
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