Chapter 261

“The last one. Is this enough?”

The early morning air was cold. The sky in the distance shimmered with scattered starlight. Naransonia, back in her original form, hurled a broken stone pillar far away.

Boom! The pillar traced an arc and landed on the pile of rubble like a mountain. It was Naransonia who had cleared away the fragments that once formed Adren.

“Yes, it should be enough. Thank you.”

Asel nodded. He was busy moving around the disc, erasing and modifying the characters and drawings on the magic circle with a small stone.

Now, all the obstacles covering the disc were gone. The magic circle used in the Nebula Klazie ritual was fully exposed.

Earlier, upon discovering the magic circle, Asel had asked Naransonia to clear all the debris from the disc. Though puzzled by what seemed like nonsense, she eventually complied with his request.

Adren was still plummeting. Even Naransonia herself couldn’t understand why she was investing the precious little time left in this small human wizard instead of focusing on saving lives.

‘Have I lost too much blood?’

Did she want to grasp at straws despite knowing it was impossible? If someone asked why she did it, she could only answer that it just felt right.

“…It’s done.”

Asel, who had just scraped off one of the characters on the ground, stood up. His mana hadn’t fully recovered, leaving him feeling weak.

After putting down the small stone, he sat cross-legged at the center of the magic circle. Naransonia questioned him.

“So, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you think this magic circle can stop the fall?”

“If I’m lucky. Although it’s a format I’ve never seen before, it’s basically a condensation/release circuit. It gathers external mana and channels it into a target while converting part of it into a signal for emission. It’s powerful but structurally simple, so I thought I could tweak it a bit to make it work.”

Asel explained the magic circle without stuttering. He said he modified it to only retain the mana-gathering effect, removing the signal-emission function.

“Release and condense… what?”

Naransonia frowned. She didn’t understand most of the technical terms coming out of Asel’s mouth, but she seemed to grasp what he intended to do. She asked,

“So… you’re trying to replicate the ritual His Majesty performed?”

“Yes. We need to start before the stars completely set. Could I ask one more favor?”

Asel’s eyes, shining beneath his long eyelashes, were heavy with resolve. Naransonia tilted her head in confusion.

“A favor? What do you mean?”

“Please don’t stop me, no matter what.”

His youthful voice was filled with determination. Naransonia hesitated for a moment. His aura had changed so drastically that it felt like he had become a different person. Unconsciously, she nodded.

“…Alright.”

“Thank you.”

Asel smiled. It was a pure, serene smile that conveyed a sense of resignation. It was something only those who had let go of everything could show. For a moment, Naransonia’s brows furrowed.

“Wait, you’re not thinking…?”

Before she could finish her sentence, Asel closed his eyes. The young genius reentered a world where only he and his magic existed.

Chant-like incantations began flowing from his small lips. The starlight that was dimming above their heads grew brighter. The surrounding air and mana swirled, converging into a single point.

“This is…!”

Naransonia’s eyes widened. An amount of mana far exceeding what she could contain was being absorbed into the small human’s body.

A halo of light spread from Asel, illuminating the magic circle like molten metal poured into a mold. Slowly, he opened his mouth.

“I’m starting now.”

A thin line of blood trickled from beneath Asel’s nose.

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“Come and die if you want.”

Duaryu’s head was severed from its body. Blue blood stained the sky. Orse’s eyes widened in shock.

【You…!】

He couldn’t believe it even as he saw it. He had really cut it down. The headless body began to plummet. Ronan wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve.

“…Phew.”

The feel of blue blood, the same as in his previous life, was still utterly repulsive. Duaryu’s spinning head started to fall. For a brief moment, Ronan’s eyes met Duaryu’s gaze.

『How…』

Duaryu’s eyes were still wide open. Instead of answering, Ronan made an obscene gesture. There was no reason to explain anything.

『…Ah.』

Duaryu’s head fell to the ground along with his body. The glowing giants, caught in the middle of the chaotic battle, froze. The stunned dragons turned their gazes to one spot.

【It’s falling! The human did it!】

【What, really? What about His Majesty and the dragon king?】

【My God…!】

There was no one who wasn’t astonished. The monster that no dragon in Adren could scratch was now a headless corpse plummeting to the ground. Ronan and Orse, floating in the sky, looked like statues crafted by a great sculptor.

【Kraaah!】

【Kaaaah-!】

Pure elation surged in their hearts. The dragons spread their wings and roared in applause. The dawn breaking over the ruined Adren painted everything in golden hues.

“…Huh.”

Shulipen snorted. Even he, usually so composed, couldn’t completely suppress his rising emotions. He stood on the dragon king’s head, arms crossed, and closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.

However, the person who should be the happiest showed no reaction. Suddenly, the dragon king’s voice resonated.

【…Hey, honorable swordsman-】

【Is the monster dead?】

Shulipen lowered his gaze. The dragon king, staggering as if drunk, was slowly descending. Blood still dripped thickly from under his left hind leg and belly.

His four eyes were clouded as if covered with a film. Shulipen’s face hardened.

“You…”

【Hahaha… judging by your reaction-】

【I suppose it’s true…】

The dragon king murmured. In his foggy vision, the sky’s blue, the dawn’s golden hue, and the forest’s dark green swirled together abstractly. Shulipen, after a brief silence, spoke.

“How did it come to this?”

The deterioration was happening too fast. He knew it was risky, but he didn’t realize it was this severe.

“Your Majesty?”

Shulipen asked again, but the dragon king did not respond. It wasn’t that he was trying to maintain his dignity; he simply couldn’t hear him.

Sound was barely reaching his ears. The air he inhaled and exhaled tasted of blood. He didn’t even know how he was flapping his wings. It was merely a sense of duty as a king that kept his failing body moving.

He couldn’t stop until he saw that all his subjects and those who fought alongside him were safe. Since the floating stone wasn’t completely destroyed, there was still hope.

【Let’s return… we can still-】

【Save them…】

The dragon king continued his descent. Suddenly, Duaryu’s falling mouth opened slowly. A barely audible mutter escaped.

『As per his will…』

No one heard it. But a change definitely occurred. Duaryu’s almost-grounded body creaked and extended an arm. Photons gathered, forming a spear of light in his grasp.

It was pathetically small compared to before. Whereas the previous spear could blow away a mountain, this one could barely destroy a farmhouse.

It seemed meaningless. But he still had one last target to destroy. Slowly, Duaryu aimed and swung his arm.

Swish… The spear of light flew weakly. At the same time, his plummeting body crashed into the ground.

Thud! His bones and flesh exploded, spraying blue blood everywhere. The light in Duaryu’s eyes extinguished completely. Thud! Simultaneously, the flying spear embedded itself in the floating stone’s crack. Ronan turned his head, realizing something was amiss.

“What the…!”

He was about to shout when…

Boom! A massive column of light erupted with an earth-shaking roar.

The nearly destroyed floating stone shattered completely. Mana pulsating within it created enormous waves, radiating in all directions.

【What, what is this?!】

【Everyone, be careful!】

The dragons were agitated. The ground of Adren rippled as if it were water. As the descent accelerated, the ground quickly approached. Seeing this, Ronan cursed.

“That bastard, even at the end…!”

It was an oversight. He hadn’t expected the severed head to still move. Just like Ahayute, this bastard was truly persistent.

Even after their master’s death, the light giants did not disappear. Instead, they became even more ferocious, as if making a final desperate struggle. They rampaged like a swarm of enraged bees, attacking the dragons again.

“Goooh!!”

“Goohh!”

However, the battle did not resume. The dragons no longer needed to waste time fighting the giants. The dragon king, grasping the situation, bellowed.

【The floating stone is destroyed-】

【Retreat! All those with wings, commence rescue operations!】

Blood gushed from the mouths of his two heads. The dragons, who had been frozen in shock, regained their composure one by one. Hundreds of dragons began flying towards Adren, ignoring the giants.

With the floating stone destroyed, there was no other option. As the dragon king said, they had no choice but to save as many lives as possible before everything was destroyed. Hearing the word ‘lives,’ Ronan’s mind flashed with the image of someone.

“Asel.”

Asel was the only one among them in the rescue team. According to what Ronan knew, Asel didn’t have enough mana left to protect himself. Muttering his friend’s name, Ronan shouted urgently.

“Dammit, Orse!”

【I know!】

Orse dived steeply, blinking repeatedly to weave through the swarm of light giants. Bang! Bang! Bang! Orse and Ronan’s forms flickered like shadows as they appeared and disappeared.

“Move, you bastards!”

“Grooo!”

Ronan swung his sword relentlessly even against the blinding wind, slicing through the light giants. Their bodies disintegrated into light and vanished.

Orse, like a streak of lightning, reached the city where they suspected Asel to be. As Ronan scoured the ground, an all-too-familiar voice reached his ears.

“Stop! Can’t you hear me? Stop it now!”

“…Naransonia?”

Ronan turned his head towards the direction of the sound. In the middle of the city, Naransonia, in her true form, was shouting loudly.

“Human, do you have a death wish?!”

In front of her, Asel sat cross-legged. At their feet, the magic circle from the top of the Sky Tower glowed with a pure white light.

“That’s…!”

Ronan’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just because Asel was floating about a meter off the ground. His face, as pale as a blank sheet, was bleeding from seven places—his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

His frail body seemed ready to explode any moment. The distinctive shimmering mana of Nebula Klazie enveloped the area.

Ronan didn’t know what kind of madness Asel was engaged in, but he knew it had to be stopped. Clenching his teeth, Ronan shouted.

“Asel!!”

【Magician!】

Orse dived quickly. As he was about to blink again, a giant magic circle unfurled in the dawning sky above them.

Crack! With the sound of hooks scraping against the ground, Adren’s fall halted.