Chapter 199: The End of Winter. (3) (2/2)
“Deculein! What are you doing?!”
Gwen shouted in surprise.
“…”
But he was calmer than anyone else there.
“Protect the Professor.”
Delric shouted. There was no wood steel beside the Professor right now, as they were sticking to the barrier and acting as a catalyst for Metal Enhancement.
“…I don’t need it.”
He sighed. The dark energy in the area permeated his body and aroused the tenacity imprinted in the Yukline blood.
“…”
Deculein glared at the demon pouring out energy. At the same time, he took out a small crystal that burned both hot and cold: the [Snowflake Obsidian].
“Professor! The dark energy is too dense!”
“Don’t make a fuss.”
He lightly dismissed Delric. He stared into the endless waves of foes and activated the [Snowflake Obsidian]. The beautiful metal floated according to his will, and a vast amount of dark energy gathered under his feet.
Ssssssss…
The body of a Yukline purified the dark energy it absorbed and burned it as fuel. Right now, the dark energy purified by Deculein far exceeded his limits.
Goooooooooo—!
It erupted from the ground because it couldn’t fit in his body.
Goo—! Drrrrrrrrrrr—
The ground vibrated like a volcano about to explode. Above it, Deculein calmly pulled in the dark energy, then infused the purified mana into the [Snowflake Obsidian].
“Annihilating demons is the Yukline’s tradition.”
At that moment, his eyes went wide, those crystal blue orbs capturing the entire battle.
“…Be afraid, you demon.”
His mana permeated the Snowflake Obsidian. The thrumming of the metal brought the chaos to a halt.
…
At that moment, [Snowflake Obsidian] manifested as blue lights spun around them. As if time had stopped, as if space had stopped, only the Snowflake Obsidian spread out amidst the standstill. The metal that froze and burned, the [Snowflake Obsidian] swallowed everything.
*****
…Three days later.
The migration was finally coming to a dead end. The knights who had used up all their strength and mana still moved outside the barrier, and many exhausted wizards were manning the top of the wall. The residents came with food, water, medicinal herbs, and hot towels, but it couldn’t help overcome their mana exhaustion.
“…Leaf, are you okay?”
Ihelm asked. Today was their fifth straight day of fighting, but the war was still raging on.
“Yes, I’m fine. I think… it’s almost over.”
Epherene watched the rising sun. It had been a while since she had seen it not covered by a thick fog.
“…Great job.”
Of course, many had fallen. Almost 90% of the prisoners on the front line died, and about a hundred knights were killed. Ten wizards were badly injured.
—But.
“How… how… how did it not collapse?”
The barrier protecting Reccordak remained intact. Epherene tapped on the wall and smiled softly.
“…Is this because of Deculein? Is that guy still out on the battlefield?”
“Yes, he left two days ago and hasn’t come back yet.”
After the demon appeared, Deculein crossed the barrier and still hadn’t returned.
“…Is he dead?”
Epherene narrowed her eyes to glare at Ihelm.
“He’s not.”
“How do you know that? Have you called him?”
She shook her head and shrugged. Then, she took out a piece of wood steel.
“If the Professor is in danger or if he’s in trouble, this will make a fuss.”
“…That?”
“Yes. It’s something that I received from the Professor. This is a very expensive piece of steel, you know.”
She triumphantly exhaled through her nose. As if finding it ridiculous, Ihelm grinned and tapped the wood steel.
“Hey! Don’t touch it!”
Epherene kicked Ihelm away. Ihelm sneered.
“Hey, are you crazy? Don’t you know who I am? How dare you little-”
“Ah, forget it.”
“…Tsk. So, how do you know? Is he talking to you with this?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Epherene pouted and placed a finger on the metal. Then, the wood steal burned red and started to vibrate.
“Oh, that’s right. Just like this, like this.”
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
“It would change like this if the Professor was in danger.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ihelm nodded.
Whiiiiiiiiiiing—!
The wood steel continued to vibrate. Epherene smirked and patted it.
“That’s enough. You can stop now.”
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
The vibrations didn’t stop, nor did its color change.
“…I said you can stop now.”
Epherene hesitated a little and tapped the wood steel. Then-
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!
The vibrating became stronger.
“Why? What’s going on?”
Epherene grew increasingly flustered as it shook. Ihelm waited a moment before chiming in.
“…This, does this mean that he’s in danger?”
“…”
“…”
They looked at each other for three seconds.
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
The wood steel shook again, now as if growing frustrated.
“…Oh! You’re right!”
Only then did Epherene realize the real purpose of the wood steel.