Chapter 361: I’m a Mage Too. (3)
Delmud flinched in surprise at the sight of Ghislain emerging unscathed from the flames.
“That bastard…”
If one possessed exceptional skill, it was possible. Fire Storm, after all, was a wide-area attack spell, meaning its concentrated power was weaker.
However, no matter how skilled one might be, enduring the force of a 7th-circle spell without so much as a burn mark was astonishing. The sheer magnitude of the opponent’s mana was far beyond Delmud’s expectations. Without hesitation, he began preparing his next spell.
Ghislain raised his head, his crimson eyes gleaming. He could feel the overwhelming magic gathering once more around Delmud.
“Too slow.”
Boom!
The ground shattered as Ghislain shot toward Delmud like a bolt of lightning.
At some point, a dark crimson aura blade extended from Ghislain’s sword.
“Hah!”
Before Delmud could complete his spell, the aura blade was already slicing toward him.
Whoosh!
Delmud hastily canceled his casting and conjured a shield of flames in front of him.
Clang!
“Arghhh!”
The hastily formed flame shield was effortlessly cleaved by the aura blade, which could cut through anything. Simultaneously, a long gash tore across Delmud’s chest, blood spurting forth.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue in slight disappointment, Ghislain landed back on the ground.
If it had been anyone else, their body would have been severed in two. Yet Delmud had managed to reduce the blade’s power in that critical moment. It was a testament to his status as a 7th-circle mage.
Still, the fight seemed promising.
“You’ve yet to reach true mastery.”
Delmud had only advanced to the 7th circle a few years ago. As a result, his mana manipulation speed was somewhat lacking.
Furthermore, as a mage accustomed to a refined and comfortable life, his combat experience appeared rather limited.
To deal with such an opponent effectively, one needed to relentlessly press them, leaving no room to unleash their most potent spells.
Whoosh!
Around Ghislain, spears of dark crimson flames materialized once more.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Dozens of spears shot toward Delmud like arrows.
“You bastard!”
Of course, Delmud wasn’t someone who would fall to such an attack. With a single gesture, flames rose around him, nullifying the incoming spears with ease.
The real problem was the follow-up attack.
Zing―!
“Blink!”
Delmud’s body wavered momentarily before reappearing some distance away.
The space he had vacated was immediately cleaved apart by Ghislain’s aura blade.
Delmud tried to take advantage of the gap to cast a powerful spell, but it wasn’t easy.
Swish!
In an instant, black energy coalesced in the air, hurtling toward him like a beam of light. Delmud was forced to cast a quick spell to evade.
Zing―! Zing―! Zing―!
All around him, the dark crimson energy gathered and morphed into sharp projectiles. At this point, they no longer resembled proper spears but crude, jagged stakes.
Despite their crude appearance, the stakes multiplied into dozens, flying toward Delmud and leaving him struggling to keep up.
With no time to focus on high-circle magic, Delmud resorted to quickly castable spells for defense.
“Protect me!”
Fwoosh!
Something ignited in the air, glowing brightly before condensing into his palm.
The flames gathered into spheres, surrounding Delmud’s body like a protective barrier. The fiery orbs shimmered with a vivid crimson hue, dancing as if alive.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spears flying toward Delmud collided with the fiery orbs, exploding on impact.
While it was challenging to cast spells requiring long concentration in such a situation, it didn’t mean a 7th-circle mage’s power was diminished.
With his immense mana and willpower, Delmud swiftly unleashed another spell.
“Fire Field.”
Fwoooosh!
Mana radiated outward from beneath his feet, rapidly spreading across the ground and igniting it.
The blazing field extended beyond the boundaries of the magical array, consuming everything in its path with a menacing glow.
As expected of a master of the Flame School, Delmud turned the world into an inferno with a single spell.
“Get out of the way!”
Hubert’s shout sent everyone scattering in terror, increasing their distance from the battlefield.
At that moment, Vanessa tightly gripped Alfoi’s wrist.
Startled, Alfoi blushed and protested, “Stop grabbing me out of nowhere—kyahhh!”
Vanessa absorbed Alfoi’s mana and reached out toward the approaching flames.
“Aqua Field.”
Rumble!
The moisture from the air and ground surged toward her, drawn by her mana.
The gathered water formed a massive barrier, halting the advancing flames.
Sssss!
Steam spread thickly, obscuring the view, but even that wasn’t enough to completely block the power of a 7th-circle mage’s flames.
“Ugh!”
Gritting her teeth, Vanessa tried to channel more mana. At that moment, the voices of other mages chanting incantations rang out.
“Earth Shape!”
“Ice Wall!”
“Water Strike!”
All around, everyone did their utmost to block the advancing flames.
With dozens of mages combining their strength, the surging flames hesitated and finally halted.
However, Delmud had no room to consider the situation. His sole focus was Ghislain, who continued darting through the sea of fire, relentlessly attempting to strike him.
“Burning Fire.”
Fwoooosh!
A massive stream of flames burst forth from Delmud’s hand, chasing after Ghislain.
“Hmph!”
Boom!
Ghislain gathered mana into his feet and stomped down. The flames were pushed aside and extinguished in an instant.
He solidified his stance and firmly swung his sword forward, the aura blade extending.
Slash!
The flames pouring toward him split in half.
It wasn’t just a simple division. The sharp mana emitted from the aura blade continued to cut through the flames Delmud conjured, extending further.
“Tsk!”
Delmud was forced to twist his body to avoid the attack.
Rip!
The front of his robe was torn by the intangible force. These occasional, unpredictable strikes left him no room for complacency.
Whoosh!
Before Delmud could regain his footing, dark crimson spears flew toward him from every direction once again.
“Damn it!”
Delmud hastily conjured fireballs around himself to fend off the spears.
Boom!
Whoosh!
In the brief interval, yet another spear was launched. Delmud teleported to evade it, only to find more spears waiting for him at his new location.
“How—?”
Delmud instinctively shouted. It felt as though his movements had been predicted, traps laid in advance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Though he barely managed to fend them off as a 7th-circle mage, several spears still struck him, leaving wounds.
Before he could recover from the impact, another spear came flying. As he dodged, Ghislain appeared with a feral grin, slashing at him with his sword.
Slash!
“Ugh…!”
Delmud once again teleported to narrowly escape, but he couldn’t fully avoid the attack. Another part of his body was cut.
Zing―! Zing―! Zing―!
“Damn…”
There was no time to breathe. At this rate, he would be driven back, gradually exhausting his mana.
The more he fought, the harder it became to counter Ghislain’s combat style. It was almost incomprehensible how this young man could fight so well.
He had heard that Ghislain fought like it was second nature, but this was beyond imagination.
“You arrogant bastard!”
Delmud grudgingly acknowledged Ghislain’s skill. The man was incredibly adept at fighting mages.
He had the strength to back it up, and his combat instincts were on an entirely different level.
Realizing he couldn’t continue like this, Delmud decided to change his tactics. He had no other choice.
“Arrrghhh!”
Fueled by rage, Delmud unleashed all his mana.
Rumble!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spears Ghislain sent exploded before they could even reach Delmud.
Immense mana filled the space, dominating and crushing everything around it.
Rrrumble!
Ghislain’s crimson eyes glowed as he bared his teeth in a grin.
“So, the real fight begins now.”
The amount of mana a 7th-circle mage possessed was on a different scale compared to ordinary mages. No matter how much pressure he applied, Delmud would somehow endure.
In that case, no matter how long they fought, it would be difficult to reach a conclusion. While Ghislain’s explosive attacks shortened their duration, Delmud’s defensive prowess was formidable.
But now, Delmud had played into Ghislain’s strategy by unleashing all his mana. It was time to clash strength against strength.
Delmud, seemingly intent on ending the fight in one decisive move, poured massive amounts of mana into each spell.
“Fire Pillar.”
Boom!
A massive pillar of fire erupted where Ghislain had been standing. And it wasn’t just one—wherever Ghislain moved, the ground erupted with fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as Ghislain felt the mana gathering in the ground, he immediately evaded.
His instincts were remarkable. He detected the spells even before they manifested.
To the spectators watching from afar, it seemed as though Ghislain had been consumed by the fire pillars. Their eyes couldn’t keep up with his movements.
Even while evading, Ghislain continued hurling mana spears to disrupt Delmud’s concentration.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two clashed at speeds too fast for the onlookers to follow.
Meanwhile, Alfoi, now shrunken and drained of mana, mumbled as he lay cradled in Vanessa’s arms.
“Is this… really how his lord fights…? My heart is… overwhelmed with awe…”
Alfoi was well aware that Ghislain was an exceptional fighter. He had seen him single-handedly take down dozens, even hundreds, of enemies.
However, it was the first time he had seen someone stand so confidently against a 7th-circle mage.
The others felt the same. The mages from the Crimson Flame Tower had never seen Ghislain fight before.
They watched the battle with horrified expressions, trembling.
“Was the Count of Fenris truly a Master?”
“And to think he can use magic as well…”
“What level of magic circle has he even reached?”
It was shocking enough that the rumors of him being a Master were true, but now he was also using an unusual type of magic. They couldn’t identify which school it belonged to, but it was undeniably magic.
Even if it was only used as a supplementary skill, its destructive power and speed were extraordinary. As a result, they couldn’t help but think Ghislain’s magical prowess was highly advanced.
In truth, he was simply bombarding them with raw mana, but they didn’t know that.
The mages from the Scarlet Tower were even more astonished.
“This is impossible! It’s hard enough to master even one discipline…”
“How could someone at his age polish both swordsmanship and magic to such an extent?”
“This is absurd. It can’t be done.”
They refused to accept it. Ghislain’s skill was far beyond anything they could have imagined.
At first, they had assumed their tower master, Delmud, would easily win. However, judging by the battle, it was Delmud who was being pushed to his limits.
It didn’t make sense. A 7th-circle mage was called a superhuman because they could fight an entire army alone.
Yet here was someone fighting such a superhuman on even ground!
When Delmud had risen to the position of tower master, Ghislain had been nothing more than a rookie ignored even in the North. Now, only a few years later, he had ascended to the rank of a Grand Lord and was displaying skills comparable to a superhuman.
A deep sense of defeat and inferiority swelled in their hearts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two continued their battle, devastating everything around them.
Delmud poured his mana into rapidly cast spells, exponentially amplifying their power.
The sky and earth shook, and flames engulfed everything nearby. Amidst the inferno, Ghislain seemed like an insignificant speck.
But it only appeared that way because he was surrounded by flames.
Boom!
Each step Ghislain took caused the flames around him to flare up before dissipating.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Mana spears continued to form around him, flying relentlessly toward Delmud. Many were blocked and destroyed by flames, but the barrage of spears seemed endless.
So many were fired that, without realizing it, Delmud was gradually being forced back even as he cast his spells.
The battle was increasingly turning into a contest of sheer power.
Within Ghislain, Dark observed the situation and was slightly amazed.
‘Wow, the master really knows how to fight.’
To think he could go toe-to-toe with such a monstrous opponent. Dark knew Ghislain was strong, but this was the first time seeing him fight seriously.
‘Then again, if I compare it to those insane memories, he was stronger back then.’
Even this astonishing display of strength didn’t come close to half of what Dark remembered from those memories.
He had thought Ghislain was merely insane, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It truly felt as if he had knowledge from the future and had returned to the past.
It was absurd, but if that weren’t true, then the current events made no sense either.
‘I have to ask him about this once the battle is over.’
Of course, for the battle to end safely, Dark needed to survive. If his body perished, Dark would vanish with him. Yet, there seemed to be no one here capable of stepping in to stop this.
Dark’s voice echoed in Ghislain’s mind.
— “Master, your mana is running low.”
Thanks to Dark’s abilities, Ghislain’s mana had been significantly amplified. However, using such overwhelming power was causing it to deplete rapidly.
“Phew, yeah. It’s about time to wrap this up.”
The battle had become a contest of strength. There was no longer room for tricks—this needed to be decided in one final clash.
Rumble!
Ghislain activated his Third-Stage Core, and an enormous surge of mana began rampaging through his body.
— “M-Master! You can’t do this!”
Dark yelled in panic. Even without activating the Third-Stage Core, Ghislain could already exhibit strength greater than before.
With only the Second-Stage Core active, Dark’s abilities had exponentially increased Ghislain’s mana reserves.
The Third-Stage Core amplified that power several times over again. Combined with Dark’s abilities, it created strength that was incomparable to what he’d displayed before.
The problem was that Ghislain’s body wasn’t yet capable of withstanding such power. His core and physical body couldn’t maintain balance.
— “Your body will explode!”
At this, Ghislain gave a savage grin and said, “I just need to kill him before that happens.”
Fwoooosh!
Dark crimson mana began surging violently from Ghislain’s body.