Chapter 58: The Clash of the Wizards
“Can you prove those words with your strength, Igni!!”
Igni: “I’ll show you!”
They are underground. Igni won’t be able to use any big Spells like his [Lightning Strike] {Fire}.
“I want to see! I want to see how brilliantly a person can shine! I want to know how far up an ordinary person can go!!”
Igni: “Is that why you accepted this Quest?” “That’s right!”
Igni’s {Fireball}s howls as the Golems around him are blown to pieces.
Countless Golems that threaten to fill the entire room look up to see even more {Fireball}s rain down upon them and crushes them with merciless violence.
“If it’s about the [Saint], then I would clash with an [Extreme], right?!”
“You wanted to fight them?”
“YES!”
The Marionette laughs with innocent, child-like delight.
“Of course! Since I was a child, it was my dream to become an [Extreme].”
The Marionette waves his hand like a music conductor, and the swarms of Golems’ movements change. Under the rain of {Fireball}s, some Golems began shielding others below them, and running under the carnage, Golems charged towards Igni.
Floria: “{Water Whip}!”
<CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!!> (sfx)
But a water current whips out at them and pushes them back!!
“I knew you guys were strong….and it looks like just fighting you with the Golems won’t be enough to win.”
Igni: “Marionette! You don’t have a chance fighting us head on!”
“That’s right. That’s why I have to level the playing field.”
And Igni’s perception spun as it suddenly <turned upside down>.
“I took away your sense of balance.”
“[Equip Flame Engine] {Accel Boot}!”
Igni tried to fly into the air but lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Igni: “That’s….pretty effective….”
But Igni continues to defeat the Golems even as he lays low to the ground.
Even if he is feeling dizzy or has no sense of balance, as long as there are enemies before him, he continues to shoot them all down.
He did that repeatedly for 2 years already.
Igni: “[Equip Flame] {Ignite} : [Consolidate] {Cluster}.”
With Igni’s incantation, Igni creates {Fireball}s with countless smaller {Fireball}s stuffed inside them.
This was similar to his {Shotgun Shot}.
Igni: “[Explode] {Fire}!!”
ZUDODODODODODO!!!! (sfx)
The repetitive explosions shake the ground like an earthquake!
As the main {Fireball} explodes, the {Fireball}s inside scatter all around and explode further!!
“Just because you can’t tell what’s around you, you’re just going to blow up everything around you? ……..even I think that’s crazy……”
Igni: “Grrr!!”
Suffering extreme dizziness and nausea, Igni jumps towards the Marionette as if to latch on and bite into him!!
“Are you kidding?!”
Igni: “I’m taking back Rose!!”
“[Stone] {Tetsura Wall]!!”
<WHOOSH! BAM!!> (sfx)
From the ground, a wall suddenly appears and separates Igni from the Marionette.
Igni: “[Equip Flame] {Ignite}!”
A <SOLID> {Fireball} in front and a <SOFTER> {Fireball} behind!
Igni: “[Launch] {Fire}!!”
<SLAM!!>
The {Fireball} smashes into the center of the Marionette’s [Stone] {Tetsura Wall}!
The {Fireball} pierces right through the Marionette’s defensive Spell!!
“Isn’t {Fireball} a beginner’s Spell?! How can that get through?!?!”
The Marionette screams in protest, and he is right.
Igni: “It’s because I mastered it!!”
“I can’t lose! I’m taking away your [sight] and [hearing]!!”
And with that, Igni lost both his eyes and both ears completely.
But with that, he regained his sense of balance.
Igni: “Marionette! You can only take away two things at once, right?!”
“Yes, you’re exactly right. But even if it’s just two, it’s enough. I will beat you guys.”
The Marionette retorts, but everyone has lost their sense of hearing, and no one heard his words.
And from the Marionette’s body, Magic Power is weaved.
Igni: “[Equip Flame] {Ignite} : [Molecular Size] {Minima}”
In response, Igni creates an accelerator directly behind him to counterstrike.
“[Quasi-Magic]”
A sticky, slimy Magic Power begins overflowing out of him.
“[THE RULER’S MAGIC]”
Floria: “I won’t let you get away with that a second time. ーーThis is my [Miracle] [MAGIC].”
In that moment, all the oozing Magic Power flowing out of the Marionette - all of it - <JUST DISAPPEARED>.
No, not only that.
Igni and his group regained [sight] and [hearing]!
“[Extreme] of [Water]!”
The Marionette shrieks in rage as he spat words at Floria.
Floria: “The ocean accepts everything.”
Floria calmly and quietly makes the statement.
[MAGIC] is not a Spell. It is an art of reaching your hand into the realm of God.
In other words, you can create [something] from absolutely [nothing].
Hence, that is why they can create [life] and [worlds] as they wish.
But there’s a [Magician] here that has flipped the coin and reversed the logic on its head.
A [Spell] that reaches into the realms of God.
A [MAGIC] that can turn [something] into [nothing].
The Elf Swordsman sought speed and erased the [conditions].
Then in that case, she……
Floria: “My [MIRACLE] is a [MIRACLE] that erases [MAGIC].”
She erases the [RESULTS].
The Marionette backs away hearing Floria’s words.
Floria: “Unlike Kurara or Celia, I can’t use this consecutively, and it takes much time to prepare the Spell……….but Marionette. I was able to predict your moves. That is why I was able to time my Spell accordingly.”
Everything is tolerated and permitted by the ocean.
It is endlessly wide and deep. It embraces and swallows all things into its being - diluting it slowly.
Hence, by dividing whatever it swallows infinitely, it will divide it infinitely making it infinitely approach zero. Thus, she can make all phenomena <AS IF THEY NEVER OCCURRED> - that is her Magic, the [Miracle of the Ocean].
There are more than one Magician who was able to reach the pinnacle of humanity, the [Extreme]s, at such a young age.
Floria, the [Extreme] of [Water].
People call her [Floria of the Ocean].
Though she can make liquid dance to her will in complex, perplexing ways, she is the Absolute Wizard of Defense that can swallow and embrace all phenomena.
“Don’t **** with me! There’s no way you can just erase my [MAGIC] so easily!!”
Igni: “[Equip Flame] {Ignite} : [Molecular Size] {Minima}”
A circle of light shines behind Igni as his accelerator kicks into gear.
Igni: “Marionette. Your loss is due to one thing.”
Until arriving here, it’s not like Igni didn’t research or gather any data.
[Combat Power Analysis].
In order to do so, he gathered as much data about the Marionette as he possibly could.
Igni: “Why didn’t you fight us in a situation that plays to your strengths!”
“That’s……..!”
Igni: “What you most excel at is group battles, is it not?! You will throw the other army into confusion and chaos, and with lightning speed, you dominate the battlefield. Isn’t that why you’re called ‘[The Ruler] Marionette’?!”
At Igni’s words, the Marionette laughs as if to give up on everything.
He will not attempt a second [Quasi-Magic].
Even if he does, with Floria around, it would be meaningless.
“ーーit……..it was my dream….”
ーー<KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNN!!> (sfx)
An ear piercing shrill rings through the air as the {Fireball} accelerates.
It continues to endlessly accelerate.
“Igni! I’m so envious of you! Because I have nothing, seeing you master the {Fireball} fills me with such jealousy!!”
Igni: “This……...was the one thing I had.”
At Igni’s words, the Marionette widened his eyes in surprise……...and then chuckled to himself.
“I see…...then we are………..the same…”
Igni: “Yes.”
And the {Fireball} that accelerated to the speed of light……….was released.
<<<<>>>>
Destroyed by Igni’s [Epic Scale] Spell, Igni and his group dug up the Marionette who was buried underneath the remains of ceiling and walls.
“Oh…..you saved me?”
Igni: “No, I need you to tell us the location of Miss Celia and Miss Kurara.”
At Igni’s words, the Marionette tried to shrug…...and then was caught by a violent fit of coughing and coughed out blood.
“Awwww, I would have been touched by your worries and care…….but oh well. Those two should have been thrown out where I first swallowed them by my Spell.”
Floria: “I see. Then let’s hurry ahead, Sir Igni.”
Igni: “Yeah, Yoori, can I count on you?”
Yoori: “Of course.” Yoori, who was observing the fight at the edge of the arena, cast his [Dark Soul Cloud] Spell.
“Igni.” Igni: “What is it?” “How were you able to get so strong?”
Floria and Yoori are following the [Dark Soul Cloud] and heading to the exit.
Igni: “I had a goal.”
“A goal?” Igni: “I….want to be popular.”
“....ha…...haha….HAHAHA!!!”
The Marionette continues to laugh while laying on the ground.
“You……...shine so brilliantly, Igni.” Igni: “Yeah?”
“I’ve already lived a great deal…….so I won’t be able to say anything like, ‘I want to be popular’ at my age.”
Igni tilts his head at the Marionette’s words.
Igni: “Does that matter at all?” “What?”
Igni: “If you’re a man, you want to be popular at any age, right?”
In Igni’s mind, he imagines his Grandfather who he admires the most.
“........wouldn’t they laugh at me?”
Igni: “If you’re popular, who cares if people laugh at you?”
“That’s true.”
With a shaking hand, the Marionette pulls out a cigarette.
“Could I borrow a light?” Igni: “Do that yourself.”
“You’re so cold~”
Igni: “It’s because you’re a guy.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense. You really are uncompromising, Igni.”
Igni: “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Igni heads out following behind the two and runs after them.