Chapter 166 – Melting Point (Two)

The flash of light that engulfed the tower’s interior.

───────.

In that white world, the boy felt an illusion as if time had stopped.

─Beautiful.

No rational judgment could intervene in that instinctive thought that resonated through his body and mind.

It was simply beautiful.

The massive storm of Mana swirling before his eyes.

[Uuuuuuuuuung───!]

The storm was composed of the brilliantly colored Mana that had originally formed the Magic Circle.

It was rapidly growing in scale by sucking in the surrounding ambient Mana.

It spun, it raced, it screamed, it burned its own body, it burst into laughter, it danced.

And.

At the center of that vortex, which could be mistaken for a festive ritual at a glance.

[Crackle──!]

There was Binjin’s Ring, gradually cracking and shattering.

It felt different from the Element of Destruction that had burrowed inside and shattered the Ring in silence.

This felt purely like the Ring was being crushed by external pressure.

[Crack─!]

[Crackle─!]

The Ring was precarious.

The storm was violently attacking the Ring, trapped in an inescapable fence.

Especially the thick indigo emotions of the victims that had pooled on the Magic Circle, now part of the storm, were mercilessly tearing into Binjin’s Ring as if seeking revenge.

No, it wasn’t just the Ring.

Binjin’s physical body itself, through which a trace amount of Mana flowed, was also a target.

[Snap─!]

The Ring shattered.

The contained Mana began to trickle out, coiling tightly into a single point in the void at the storm’s center.

It was, in a word, the fruit of Binjin’s lifelong accumulation of time and effort.

When that small point transformed into a sphere the size of a fist, and not even a handful of Mana remained in Binjin’s Ring and body.

[─────!]

The underground galaxy erupted.

Kwaaaaaang──!

The floor shattered, concrete fragments and dust flew in all directions, and the boy’s slowed time regained its original flow.

“…….”

The boy gazed at the galaxy that had risen to the floor.

It was a snake.

A snake with Mana flowing through its entire body, like the mechanical devices seen on the streets.

Scales of a yellowish hue.

Pupils of blue.

That vividly colored lifeform, larger than most large vehicles, stood out starkly against the drab interior scenery of the tower.

The boy’s sealed lips parted as if enchanted.

“A Spirit…?”

The knowledge and memories of Binjin absorbed by the fountain pen were drifting chaotically in his mind like debris swept up in the storm.

For now, the word that first came to mind regarding the snake before him was ‘Spirit’.

Then, the snake lowered its stiffly raised head and stared at the boy.

And then.

It slowly blinked.

“…….”

The boy could tell that the snake was offering a greeting.

Not due to Binjin’s memories, but an instinctive knowing.

Slowly, he blinked back.

Then, the colors of the friendly emotions contained within the snake’s Vessel deepened visibly.

“Are you full?”

No Mana Sphere was visible.

Instead, he could see the same colored, dark blue Mana spreading beneath the snake’s scales.

In response to the boy’s question, the snake’s pupils blinked at a slightly different pace than before.

It looked as if it understood the question and was answering.

Ray gave a small nod.

“That’s good. But the memories that entered my head aren’t sorted out yet, so where did you come─.”

“Lacria!”

Just then, a cry steeped in malice came from behind the snake.

“Tear that bastard apart! Swallow him whole! Devour him! Leave not a single trace of him in this world! Gahk!”

As the dust settled, Binjin’s figure was revealed in a corner of the Magic Circle.

He was flat on the floor, propped up only on his forearms.

Bloodshot eyes.

Breathless panting.

A convulsing, blood-soaked body.

…A state where, left alone, he would likely soon stop breathing and die.

‘He’s alive.’

The boy had no intention of leaving him alone.

Whoosh!

Instantly, he created a Fireball and launched it at the unexpected survivor.

But immediately, Mana emanating from the snake’s body enveloped Binjin in the form of a thick barrier.

Kwaang──!

The Fireball was blocked by the Ward.

“Kehaha! Gahk! Yes! That’s it! Lacria! Protect me! Gahk! Swallow that bastard right now!”

Binjin shouted triumphantly while continuously coughing up blood.

“Though it’s in an unextracted, raw form, gahk! That should be fine too! The one in the box was also prepared for you! Gahk! Go! Lacria! The power you so desired! The chance to increase it is right before your eyes!”

The snake called Lacria tilted its upper body with a pained expression, as if resisting the command.

‘Familiar Magic?’

He soon realized it wasn’t.

There was no purple chain between Binjin and Lacria.

‘In my knowledge base, the only method to control another lifeform is Familiar Magic. If it’s not that…’

Then a single word abruptly surfaced.

‘…A Contract?’

Information derived from the absorbed memories of Binjin.

Following that, a few scenes presumed to be related flickered in his mind.

But with too many jumbled memories in his head, it wasn’t easy to outline the exact situation.

“Lacria! What are you doing! Hurry! Hurry! Gahk! Swallow him without delay!”

The more Binjin gritted his teeth in malice, the more violently Lacria twisted its body.

Ray, for now, intended to eliminate Binjin, the source of the commands, and continued his assault on the Ward.

But.

‘The Ward’s durability is no joke.’

Kwang─! Kwaang─!

Even the explosive Fire Magic, boasting the highest destructive power among the natural elements, had no effect.

Furthermore.

Crackle!

The Gem’s Lightning Magic not only failed to work but was rather cleanly absorbed.

The Ward created by Lacria was the same yellowish color as its scales.

‘…The Electric Element coating the surface is adsorbing and nullifying the same Electric Element. So it can be utilized that way too.’

Ray gained a new insight and stopped using Magic.

Not only was further attack meaningless, but also.

Ssssh─! Ssssh─!

Lacria, having stopped its struggle, was now approaching this side.

At an unbelievable speed for such a massive body.

Flicking a tongue large enough to easily coil around an adult male.

‘It seems to have difficulty overcoming Binjin’s command.’

He stirred the Mana in front of Lacria, but it just kept coming straight at him without reaction.

He felt a bit disappointed.

The encounter with the galaxy was something he had greatly anticipated.

They had actually met face-to-face, but the situation was disrupted by Binjin before even a minute of communion could be achieved.

‘The galaxy’s friendly emotions haven’t changed in the slightest.’

It could be said it was merely following Binjin’s command, not an enemy.

But.

Uung──!

That didn’t mean he intended to restrict his own actions.

Ray launched the two elemental Magics he held in his grasp in succession.

Kwaang─!

The Fireball inflicted no damage on Lacria’s scales.

Crackle─!

The Lightning was adsorbed by the Electric Element covering the scales, resulting instead in making Lacria’s movements faster.

Ssssssh──!

The yellowish giant, approaching like lightning, reared its body up.

In that fleeting moment.

When he looked up following its head, the black cave led by fangs was already close before his eyes.

Kwaaaang──!

The scaled head crashed into the floor, scattering concrete fragments and raising a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, Binjin burst into mad laughter.

“Good! Gahk! Lacria! That’s it! Your body, impervious to Magic, is truly a Wizard’s calamity! Kehehe! That bastard will be shattered to pieces without a trace…?”

His words didn’t finish.

Because nothing was visible through the slowly settling dust.

Tap tap tap tap tap──!

The sound of footsteps grabbed his ears.

Turning his head, he could see Ray running towards the wooden box on the other side of the Magic Circle.

“N, no! He’s alive! Lacria! Chase him! Gahk! He’s after your food!”

Lacria began to move again.

Listening to the clattering of scales echoing from behind, Ray organized his thoughts.

‘First, Magic doesn’t work on the galaxy’s scales and Ward.’

Even using the Ring’s Mana at maximum output didn’t seem likely to inflict significant damage.

The Gem’s Mana, containing a large amount of Electric Element, was confirmed to rather amplify the galaxy’s power.

‘For now, I need to buy time and sort out the absorbed memories of Binjin.’

Contract.

An intuition told him that within those two short letters lay the clue to break the situation.

But before that.

‘There’s something I must do.’

Thump!

Stopping before the wooden box, Ray lifted the bottom and poured the contents sideways.

Thud thud.

Ayla rolled out.

“Is she dead?”

─Ding-a-ling.

“She’s not.”

It seemed she had drunk something like a beverage containing a sleeping potion and fallen into a deep slumber.

Ray, crouching on one knee, shook Ayla awake.

“Wake up, it’s not time to sleep.”

“D, dictionary… don’t hit me. My head… is precious…”

Ayla just flinched and muttered in her sleep, showing no intention of opening her eyes.

Ray created freezing cold water and poured it over Ayla’s face.

“Waaah…!”

Ayla sprang up.

Seeing Ray covered in blood, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Thud.

“…….”

Ray poured cold water again.

“Gah…! Gulp…!”

“Snap out of it. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

“You…! B, blood…! Why, why are you so hurt…?”

She didn’t bat an eye at her own wounds, but seemed to have no tolerance for seeing others injured.

“I fought.”

“W, with whom?”

“Your master.”

“Master…? Ah…!”

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the sleeping potion, Ayla seemed somewhat dazed.

Still, she seemed to be starting to perceive the situation.

“I, I’m alive…?”

“You’re alive. And to stay alive, you need to move. Otherwise, you’ll get eaten.”

“Eaten…?”

Ray raised a finger and pointed behind Ayla.

“……?”

Ayla turned her head.

And discovered Lacria, performing a violent dance as it resisted Binjin’s command.

Then their eyes met.

Ssshaaa──!

“…….”

Thud.

Ray poured cold water on the fainted Ayla again.

“Gah…! Gulp…!”

“If you want to live, you have to move.”

“I’m awake…! Gah…!”

“Philip said people must live in constant motion. Otherwise, it’s no different from a dead life.”

“I said I’m awake…! Gulp…!”

To prove she wasn’t in a fainted state, Ayla sprang up from her spot and stood on both feet.

Ray asked.

Gazing into the blue eyes of the girl, now completely conscious, revealed through her dripping wet hair.

“Why did you come back?”

“…….”

“You’re not the type to be fooled by something like a sleeping potion.”

“…….”

“If you’d wanted, you could have escaped as I told you.”

After a long silence, Ayla opened her mouth.

“…Because my sacrifice is needed for my sister to live.”

The same words as before.

Still, he couldn’t understand.

“Well, Ayla, even if he succeeds in extracting high-quality Mana from you, I doubt Binjin will be satisfied there.”

“…….”

“He’ll surely target the other disciples one by one afterwards. That was the purpose of bringing them to the mansion in the first place.”

“…….”

“You know that, right?”

Ayla hesitated before answering.

“All I can do… is do even that…”

“Fight Binjin instead. No, you must fight. If we can’t stop that snake here, the mansion where your sister is now could also be in danger.”

Fight Binjin.

That was essentially the reason Ray was having this conversation with Ayla now.

Ayla was the most outstanding 2nd Circle Wizard among all the people in the mansion.

If they could combine their strength, it would naturally be a great help in breaking the situation.

“F, fight Master? H, how could I…”

“Aren’t you angry?”

“I…”

“Beaten daily, living anxious days where your and your sister’s lives are threatened.”

“That’s…”

“Normally, one would feel intense rage and hatred in such a situation.”

“……”

“Not sacrificing oneself, hoping the other would please stop there.”

The more the stimulation continued, the deeper the colors of rage and hatred towards Binjin residing in Ayla’s Vessel became.

But, ultimately.

“…I’m okay.”

Ayla said that.

And with those words.

─────.

The freezing blue Mana Ice Field spread across the Vessel emitted a strong light.

Rage, hatred, sorrow,

Joy, anticipation, emotion.

Countless past and present emotions, from who knows when.

All froze.

Just slowly, flickering.

Moving as if dead.

“…….”

And in that moment.

Ray felt as if he had been struck hard on the head with a hammer.

‘I’m okay?’

A phrase he had clearly heard several times from Ayla’s mouth.

But this time, those uttered words gave him a strong sense of déjà vu with an unknown resonance.

Countless moments of observation conducted on Ayla until now overlapped into one.

Finally revealing its true form.

─Thump.

His heart began to beat violently.

───.

The Mana dots orbiting to form the 3rd Ring accelerated, leaving a burning pain.

But the boy had no room to focus on the changes occurring within his body at all.

Because.

‘I’m okay. I’m sure I’ve heard that phrase somewhere else, not from Ayla. Where exactly?’

Currently, the boy’s mind was occupied solely with the thought of the origin of that phrase.

It felt both familiar and elusive.

Intense excitement enveloped his entire body.

He felt that if he could just figure this out, he might be able to remove the mask shrouding the mystery of the blue Mana.

Just then, Binjin’s voice was heard.

“Oh! Ayla! My most cherished disciple! Stay right there! This master will send you to the Mage Tower!”

Ayla flinched and trembled.

Binjin’s gaze and voice were tinged with madness.

Ssssh─!

Lacria was rapidly crawling towards them again.

It was then that a past thought surfaced in Ray’s mind.

「To observe changes in Ayla’s Ice Field, it seems I need to give stronger stimulation.」

Strong stimulation.

Change in the Ice Field.

Perhaps he could obtain something helpful.

There was no situation more fitting for strong stimulation than the current one.

Ray opened his lips.

“Ayla, listen carefully.”