Chapter 97 (1/2)
”OOOHHHH!”
“Hiii?!”
From his position in the command post, court magician Kaneigin had a great view of the 8 meteors falling right into the thick of the Legion.
At the landing points of each of the meteors, a gigantic fireball erupts, creating thunderous noise and shockwaves that envelope even the command post.
Even the stout and durable great gates that they are currently on top of are shaking violently, causing Kaneigin and the other va.s.sals to need to brace themselves in desperation.
“So that is Margils’ meteor……”
It is very rare to see the cool-headed Duke of Filsand overcome with surprise. More like, Kaneigin thinks it admirable that he didn’t even scream at all.
The only person looking nonchalant is that wizard’s close aide, the female magician.
“L-, look! That big one……”
“What incredible magic this is……”
Even without the chief va.s.sals’ and knights’ cries, everyone can see it for themselves.
The super large Shadow Demon with a majestic appearance rivalling even Filsand’s main gates that had been closing in is now rolling on the ground, reduced to almost only the lower half of its body.
One of its arms that had been torn off is now pasted onto the city walls like a pressed flower, while the other is just lumps of meat raining on the soldiers.
The spread out crowd of Shadow Demons that looked like a black blanket now has 8 big holes in it, areas where the ground underneath is visible.
“W-, wizardry. So this is the might of wizardry……”
So mutters Kaneigin with a shudder.
He had been present when Margils had created that dragon. At that time, he had also felt astonishment and fear, but the impact from this time is even greater.
Unlike the chief va.s.sals and knights, this man who had been called a genius at the main campus of the Magician Academy of Shulendal is not simply surprised at the might of the meteors.
He has realized that Margils’ ‘Wizardry’ is not just techniques specialized in a certain direction, like ‘creating dragons,’ but most likely a whole set of techniques with a wide range of application.
“...... I-, if it was me, casting a spell only half the firepower of one of those meteors would already cost me almost all of my magical power……”
As a magician, he cannot help but to make comparisons to ‘magic.’
Magic is ‘activating something by depleting magical power.’
For example, Kaneigin’s Magic Board currently indicates that his magical power is at 322. It is a number that places him within the top few percent of this world’s magicians.
The most powerful spell that he can cast is {Thunder Vortex}, which costs 300 magical power. In other words, after using {Thunder Vortex} even once, his magical power would drop from 322 to 22, which is an amount barely enough to cast a single mid rank spell.
Even that super rank magic {Thunder Vortex} is less than half of a single meteor in firepower (for what it’s worth, this will be said for his honor’s sake, but that {Thunder Vortex} is powerful enough to defeat a Rock Demon).
In short, if what Margils just did is to be matched with magic, it would cost 4,800 magical power in total.
“A single person possessing almost 5,000 magical power…… is unbelievable……”
The strongest magician that Kaneigin knows, the Grandmaster of the Magician’s Guild, only possesses around 1,000 magical power. Kaneigin can do nothing but to limply shake his head at the absurdity of the power of the man they have as a guest.
“Oi, that big one, it’s……”
“Moving…… wait, no, it’s r-, regenerating?!”
“And there are still so many Shadow Demons left…… ahh, I can still see two Rock Demons!”
“...... How much can our knights and soldiers handle……”
The super large Shadow Demon had been toppled over and left with only the lower half of its body, but at the gaping wound from which its internal organs are spilling out there is dark red meat bulging out. Though the speed of regeneration is not to the point where it is visible to the eye, at this rate, this Shadow Demon should make a full recovery with half a day.
Furthermore, though the power of the meteors was indeed incredible, it was insufficient to defeat all five thousand Shadow Demons.
At a quick glance, it seems around half of the Shadow Demons are still uninjured, and after stopping for several tens of seconds after the meteor crashes, they’ve resumed their advance. Even the Shadow Demons bearing injuries that would take a human soldier out of commission are literally dragging themselves along, determined to reach the soldiers defending Filsand.
«That Rock Demon over there, I can somehow take care of. As for the other one, if the other magicians and soldiers focus on it, then……»
Kaneigin regathers himself and begins considering strategies. But at that moment……
Hyuun.
Once again, eight meteors pa.s.s by overhead, diving straight into the Legion.
“Wh-, WHATTT?!”
“UWAAAHH!”
It hasn’t even been 30 seconds since the previous time, but once again the scene of 8 fireb.a.l.l.s roasting Shadow Demons is reproduced.
What’s different this time is the number of Shadow Demons remaining.
The super large Shadow Demon that had begun to regenerate was blown to smithereens, and the same went for the two leftover Rock Demons.
The army that is now reduced to being only composed of Small and Large Demons has been downgraded from a black carpet to stains here and there. There are probably not even a thousand left.
“Th-, th-, that’s im-, im-, impossible! Impossible!!”
The one who had shouted out while clutching his head was Kaneigin’s disciple, who is currently standing behind him.
The few other magicians and a portion of the knights are in the same state. The chief va.s.sals, who know almost nothing about magic or battles, are just honestly being glad. However……
“An estimate of 10,000 magical power?! No way in h.e.l.l there’s such an existence!”
“If, if Margils-dono felt like it, how easily could he destroy our Castle of Fort.i.tude……”
“Not just a single castle! He could actually erase an entire country……”
“......”
Honestly, Kaneigin is filled with the temptation to wail and moan alongside his disciples. However, his sense of responsibility as Court Mage allows him the bare amount of reason to continue thinking.
«With this, I truly have no choice but to admit that that is something completely different from magic. ‘Wizardry,’ was it? A completely different set of techniques drawing from a completely different source of power……»
Kaneigin had been able to feel magical power ever since he was aware, and had been able to recognize his Magic Board not long after the start of his training. For him, this conclusion is on the same level as recognizing that someone is walking in the full sense of the word, but with a different organ than the feet.
This conclusion, which no one else has yet to realize, was so easily acceptable to him because he has enough ability to have been called a genius. Furthermore, this is why he arrived at the questions “In the first place, what is magical power? What is magic?”
“Meteors, a-, again!!”
Right when Kaneigin was about to sink into deep contemplation, a third round of meteors whistle by overhead.
“...... I don’t even…… I swear I’m not going to be surprised anymore, no matter what happens next.”
This declaration which was uttered with the last dregs of someone’s stubbornness are, of course, going to be overturned quite soon.
♥♦♣♠
“...... Hey man, are we not actually dreaming right now?!”
“Who the h.e.l.l could come up with a dream as screwed up as this?!”
Among the Filsand foot soldiers all currently laying flat on the ground, Baik and Bond are screaming back and forth.
By the time of the third thunderous roar, their eardrums have gone completely haywire, to the point where they cannot hear each other otherwise.
A mere 30 seconds ago, they had been staring down the huge black wave that is a Legion, resolved to die.
But now, the only thing covering the vast ground are sc.r.a.ps of dismembered Shadow Demons. Actually, no, a closer look tells them that there are still several hundred Small and Large Demons moving about. Almost all of them are suffering from grievous wounds, with instinct being the only thing driving them to continue tottering towards the direction of Filsand.
“That just now…… was done by…… that guy, right?”
“Idiot! Don’t say ‘that guy’! What are you going to do if he hears you?!”
Baik looks up. At the far, far end of his vision is a tiny figure of a man astride a black horse.
For Baik, whose experience with magic had only ever been fire arrows or wind blades strong enough to kill one Small Demon, that figure is an existence beyond his imagination.
And so when his companion Bond referred to such a personage as ‘that guy,’ Baik could not help but to poke him. If in the one in a million chance they sour that personage’s mood and a meteor falls on top of their own heads — Baik can hardly be faulted for thinking along such lines.
“...... Th-, the Shadow Demons are already on the verge of collapse! All units, ready yourselves! We’ll soon be cleaning up the remnants!”
His commanding officer’s voice resounding from behind was also slightly off-pitch from usual.
Indeed, though the Shadow Demons’ number has been drastically reduced, their current number is still one that cannot be overlooked. The meteors are powerful indeed, but now that the Legion has been spread out so thinly, its effectiveness drops.
His commanding officer’s decision was correct. Baik and the rest of the soldiers also desperately stand up while still quivering.
“Al-, alright, with just those numbers, we can somehow handle it!”