Chapter 180
What is magic?
It is the manifestation of physical force in the world through magic power.
For instance, assuming one shoots fire with magic, the heat of that fire is a physical force. A tree burning in the fire is also the result of such physical force acting upon it.
If anything, what we commonly think of as magic would be closer to a spell.
Anyway, that was how it was.
The sturdier something was, the better it could withstand not only physical attacks but also magic.
And the behemoth right in front of Franz’s eyes was the very essence of sturdiness; in fact, it could be said to be sturdiness itself.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a massive magic circle was drawn in the empty air.
A total of 9 magic circles are densely packed with all sorts of geometric shapes inside their rings.
It was 9th Circle Magic used for the purpose of testing the behemoth.
“First, that loudly roaring snout.”
A tiny purple sphere was shot from the magic circle.
That tiny and insignificant sphere absolutely did not look like 9th-circle magic. If one only looked at its outward appearance, it was on a similar level to the 1st-circle magic fireball.
However, the amount of magic power contained within it was on a level that far transcended ordinary 9th-circle magic…
Tap-.
The moment it touched the behemoth’s face, the sphere explosively grew in size and swallowed its entire face.
And at the same time, purple flames swirled inside the sphere, flaring up as if to burn everything away.
Thump-!
The purple sphere pulsated as if a heart were beating.
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
Every time the sphere pulsated, the flames inside grew in power.
Thump-!
With that final pulsation, the raging purple flames subsided.
It was a situation where not only the barbarians but even Yuna and Hera were holding their breath at the incredible magic Franz had displayed.
A breeze blew across the desolate land, scattering dirt and dust.
Then, the silence of the world was broken.
Craaack-!
Cracks began to form on the purple sphere.
Those cracks gradually expanded in scope, and soon the sphere shattered with a massive explosion.
A great explosion of purple flames formed.
Naturally, this was the extent of Franz’s magic.
“W-what an incredible spell!”
“I-I’ve never seen a sorcerer who can even defeat a god-!”
“D-did he get it-?!”
The barbarians let out exclamations of awe at Franz’s earnest, no, half-earnest magic.
However, among them, one guy uttered words that should never be spoken.
Franz looked at the barbarians with an appalled expression.
“What the hell did that bastard just say…”
“Did he get it?” was a famous Immortal Spell.
It made an enemy whose limbs were torn off walk around perfectly fine, and granted an enemy on the verge of defeat power that surpassed all limits.
Just watching the fight from the sidelines didn’t really matter. Watching a fight was the most fun thing in the world, after all.
But if they not only interfered in the fight but also hindered it, that was a different story.
Snap-.
Franz snapped his fingers and moved the group of barbarians to a place out of sight.
You bastards don’t even have the right to be an audience.
Just as Franz was about to take a breather
“Did he get it?”
“He might have gotten it.”
Yuna and Hera uttered those words simultaneously.
A guy who had the Immortal Spell cast on him a whopping three times - at this point, hadn’t he actually become stronger than the Demon God?
Perhaps that thought showed on his face, as Hera tilted her head.
“Franz, is something wrong?”
“Never mind. Just focus on the battle.”
“Ugh… You don’t have to speak so harshly…”
Was I a bit too harsh…?
It seemed he had reacted a bit sensitively since they were in the middle of a battle.
Thus, Franz looked at Hera to apologize, but…
He immediately shifted his gaze back to the behemoth.
It was because Hera’s cheeks were strangely flushed, and the corners of her mouth were twitching.
He had no idea why she was enjoying it, but he decided to just let it slide, figuring that it was for the best.
Thinking too deeply about it would probably just give him a headache.
In the meantime, the purple flames cleared, revealing the behemoth’s figure.
“Why is that thing perfectly fine…?”
Yuna muttered in bewilderment.
Just as she said, there wasn’t a single scratch on the behemoth’s body.
It went beyond being perfectly fine; it was to the point where one would wonder if it had even been attacked at all.
“Just why is it perfectly fine…?”
Franz had been observing its movements right after using the magic.
The guy had definitely taken a direct hit from the magic. He hadn’t blocked the magic through some sort of method like leviathan had.
That was why it was even more questionable. That magic wasn’t on a level that a living creature could withstand.
“Hey, leviathan. Do you know anything about that guy?”
[I do.]
“Explain.”
[I was made from the Demon God’s middle finger, so I am long, and that guy was made from the thumb, so he is short and sturdy.]
Come to think of it, the ancient texts say that the Calamities of the Mythical Era were the Demon God’s Fingers.
But who asked about that kind of crap…
In the end, Franz gave the creature a sharp rebuke.
You have to earn your keep for being kept alive, don’t you.
[Come to think of it, I think its tail might have been its weak point…]
“Tail?”
Franz looked at its tail.
Its tail was completely covered in sharp spikes, much like a hedgehog.
Franz was about to let out a sigh at that appearance which didn’t look like a weak point at all.
──── !
The guy let out a cry once again and lifted his drooping tail.
Soon, the countless spikes embedded in its tail bristled, revealing their vicious appearance, and then…
They were shot toward Franz and his party.
Their speed was on par with Hera’s arrows, so Franz had to hastily deploy his magic.
“What kind of weight is…!”
Yuna swung her sword to strike down the spikes in midair, but due to the immense weight and speed of the spikes, she only managed to deflect their trajectories.
“There are too many of them…!”
A single arrow shot by Hera split into hundreds and rained down from the sky, but they only managed to alter the trajectories of a couple of them.
Thump-! Thump-! Ruumble-!
The spikes that began to fall one by one caused a deafening roar as they embedded themselves nearby.
At that moment, Franz completed his magic. Regular hexagonal shields formed densely in the sky.
He didn’t know how powerful the spikes were, but protecting the lives of two people and one beast shouldn’t be that difficult.
He had certainly thought so, but an unexpected variable occurred.
Suddenly, magic formulas were engraved on the spikes in red light.
There was no way Franz, who had mastered even the magic of the Mythical Era, wouldn’t recognize that magic.
“Magic Removal…?”
Its body was sturdy enough to take magic head-on, while the spikes on its tail removed magic. Just how could such a creature exist?
Isn’t the balance way too broken…
Craack-.
The spikes that lightly pierced through the shields covered the area.
Only the vicious appearance of the spikes could be seen above the rising dirt and dust.
Cough-!
Not far from there, the sound of someone coughing rang out.
The owner of the cough was none other than Franz.
As soon as he realized that the spikes' ability was Magic Removal, he hastily deployed Spatial Movement Magic.
The situation had been so urgent that all he could manage was barely escaping the bombardment’s range, but he had survived for the time being.
The problem was that even that wasn’t perfect.
“Franz-!”
“Franz, are you okay?!”
Yuna and Hera shouted with their eyes wide open.
Their eyes were filled with fear.
And rightfully so…
The red blood dripping down to the floor belonged to Franz.
“My ears are fine, so stop yelling…”
Franz’s side, pierced by a spike, was largely torn away.
He was hugely relieved it wasn’t his chest, thinking positively. If it had been, he really wouldn’t have avoided instant death.
'At this rate, my divine power won’t even come close to being enough…'
Why did something like this have to happen when Yusti-ah wasn’t around, of all times…
It was a day when her absence was keenly felt.
Franz took out a glass bottle from the bag at his waist.
Red liquid was sloshing inside the glass bottle, which was none other than a cherry-flavored elixir.
As he gulped it down, flesh filled his wound and skin sprouted over it.
As expected of a treasure found in the Demon Lord’s Castle, one could say. Its performance was truly on an overwhelming level.
“The problem is that one bottle at a time is the limit, though.”
Drinking two bottles of elixir in a row could lead to potion poisoning.
It wasn’t to the point of causing death, but it was fatal in battle because it made one’s movements sluggish.
“Well, I have no intention of drinking two bottles anyway.”
Now that he had figured out the guy’s hidden trump card, there would be he wouldn’t be attacked again.
Anyway, it really hurts like hell…
During his days in the Hero’s Party, he got hurt every day, so he was somewhat used to the pain, but it seemed he had gone soft in his relaxed life.
“Franz, are you okay?”
“If you can’t do it, let’s take a breather for a moment…”
Yuna and Hera said worriedly.
Back in those days, they only repeated to him coldly to get up, so how did it end up like this…
Well, I guess going soft goes both ways.
Franz let out a 'Pfft-' chuckle, and gathered his magic power.
“From now on, we’re going with rapid attacks without defense.”
Since he had somewhat figured out the cycle of the spikes regenerating on its tail, the strategy didn’t seem like it would be that difficult.
Anyway…
“This robe was a gift from Arian.”
Just what kind of nagging would he have to listen to when he got back.
He felt like his head was already throbbing.