Eorian lay beneath the Darkness Dweller, motionless. The mont his invincibility faded, his life snuffed out.
Eorian let out a thin breath, "Finally… Free…"
"Eorian! Protect ! Protect…"
Thud…
[You have defeated Eorian, the Forced Guardian.]
[Eorian's power has returned to Maradum.]
[Maradum awakens a new power.]
[You have obtained additional rewards.]
Whir—!
The black pillar retreated sowhere.
Thud.
Seol descended through the gate Eorian fell from.
His indifferent gaze clashed with Maradum's despaired eyes.
Crack…
Another fissure appeared on the Stone of Ti held in Maradum's hand.
"Th-This can't be! I'm an almighty Magician!"
Light erupted from the Stone of Ti, the beam shooting straight toward Seol.
Whoosh…
Seol slipped past the beam, and then…
Slash—!
Severed Maradum's arm.
"AGH!"
"I was aiming for the stone…"
With a single move, Maradum's current situation beca clear—he would die before he could even count to ten.
"You inferior beings… How dare you… defy !"
Just as Seol was about to raise his sword for another strike, Maradum unleashed his final desperate move.
[Maradum used the charged Calamity to trigger a Catastrophe.]
[Maradum used Ti Cocoon.]
[Maradum is protected by the power of ti.]
[Ti Rupture will soon activate.]
Whir…
An eerie blue light swallowed Maradum whole. Everyone there marveled at the light's beauty as if oblivious to Maradum's attack.
Bzz…
Just as Seol was about to unleash a slash toward Maradum's location.
"Stop! Seol, leave this to ."
"What…?"
WHOOM…
Maradum's magic activated.
"Everyone, stop."
[Maradum used Ti Rupture.]
[Everything that has a will is frozen in ti.]
[You can resist it with your will.]
Fwoosh—!
As the blue light exploded, everything froze as if it were a photograph.
Objects and living beings alike—those with wills struggled to resist Maradum's magic.
Although they couldn't move their bodies, they were able to briefly maintain their consciousness.
'Why did he stop him…?'
'Just why…'
Everyone thought that as they lost consciousness.
A few monts later…
Twitch…
Swoosh…
Twitch…
Swoosh…
Crack…
Crackle…
Ur's frozen body started twitching.
And then, he took a step forward.
In a world where ti was frozen, and everything hung suspended around him—Ur moved.
The reason he stopped Seol's attack was justified.
After all, forcibly destroying the Ti Cocoon could cause chaos in the tiline.
If that happened, they might end up wasting a few months trying to recover the coordinates of the Star Graveyard.
Of course, he didn't have enough ti to explain the details, so all he could do was tell Seol to stop.
Still, it was fortunate that Seol had listened to him and stopped his attack.
It wasn't that Seol's thod was wrong. In fact, it was mostly correct.
If it weren’t them facing Maradum, that choice would have been correct.
And they would have wasted many months here, thinking they had chosen the correct option.
After all, they wouldn't know the other way.
However, Ur did.
A way to return without wasting unnecessary ti.
Crack…
Crack…
Like a snail trying to reach its destination, Ur slowly inched forward.
Everything had stopped: Maradum, his companions, the world. Yet only Ur was able to move when nothing else did. Why him? Why now?
If Maradum's consciousness still remained, he would have agonized.
After all, the white-haired monster was slowly closing the distance between them.
Creak…
Creaakk…
Ur wasn't moving his body himself—it was the mana surrounding him, the frost forcing his body to act.
Ur was like living mana itself.
Even if you lined up all of Pandea's Magicians, only Ur would probably be able to pull off sothing like that.
He was soone beloved by mana.
- Let's do it, Magician.
There was still quite a distance between Maradum and Ur. Yet, Ur was confident he could reach him.
Regardless of whether this was possible or not, Ur had chosen an unbelievably difficult path simply to save ti.
Ur was that kind of person.
Perhaps the word mysterious wasn't a word ant for the Stone of Ti, but for Ur.
Swoosh…
Maradum's pupils seed to shift slightly. Perhaps he was still conscious.
- I know you're watching, Magician.
Ur was certain of his victory.
- Watch defeat you.
Crack…
Craacck…
The human surrounded by frost advanced relentlessly.
But only for a mont.
- Damn…
Creak…
His body stumbled.
Ur realized sothing had gone wrong.
- This consus more mana than I thought…
He'd reached Supre-rank, but he wasn't in perfect condition.
This wasn't about his rank, but a simple matter of numbers.
To put it precisely, Ur was practically naked.
He was wearing clothes that could only serve as garnts, not proper equipnt befitting his status.
He was the epito of arrogance.
That was the problem.
- I need to think of a way…
Ur pondered.
A great Wizard can always find a way.
He'd done everything alone since birth.
He had never genuinely cooperated with anyone. Even when he occasionally helped Seol, it was always for his own sake.
- I need to replenish mana…
Mana…
Mana…
There wasn't any mana here that Ur desired.
Maradum, the Calamity Magician, besides him being able to use ti magic, was unremarkable—at least in Ur's eyes.
- No, there is…
There was still a hot mass of mana nearby. To Ur, who could see mana, his mana felt overwhelmingly hot.
- Seol…
Creak…
If he squeezed out all the mana he had, he might be able to reach Seol.
And if he took over Seol's body to advance…
No, that wasn't it.
- That wasn't the way…
He couldn't reach Maradum that way.
Think.
He had to think.
Ur, the Supre Wizard.
- Ah…
He rembered.
And he despaired.
The thod he thought of was sothing he had never tried before—and never wanted to.
But in this situation, he had no other choice.
- Will I be able to do it?
Could soone like him share half of himself with soone else?
Ur hesitated.
But yet, he had to.
After all, soone who bore the na Ur had to always win.
Crack…
Craacck…
His hands rested on Seol's shoulders.
- Seol, can you hear ?
There was no way he would answer.
No matter how strong one's will was, it couldn't surpass Ur's. Even Ur felt like he would lose consciousness to the flow of ti at any mont.
- I never understood anyone. That includes you, Seol.
He hesitated.
As far as he knew, this thod only worked when both parties relied on each other.
He didn't know Seol's heart, and his heart was firm.
- I just thought you were lucky. You sohow got lucky, crawled into Alcatron, and reached and took .
Ur's muttering continued.
- Sohow, you luckily gained power and survived. Sohow, you broke through every hardship you faced, got lucky and grew. Really, sohow… you achieved everything I wanted as if trying to show off.
Ur paused for a mont and despised himself.
- Yes, it's nonsense. Such luck doesn't exist anywhere in this world.
Swoosh…
A chill emanated from Ur's palms.
- It's been quite so ti since I t you. I still can't understand you. Perhaps I never will, but…
Swoosh…
His hands moved to Seol's back. And from then, a change began.
- Now, I respect you.
FWOOSH—!
[You enter the Night Crow form with Wizard ‘Ur, the Frost Storm’.]
[You absorb Ur, the Frost Storm’s stats.]
[You lack synchronization.]
[The state is unstable.]
…
Crack…
The internal synchronization with Seol was insufficient, and it felt like he would be thrown off at any mont.
An imnse energy erupted from Ur.
- Don't make laugh. I just have to analyze it.
[Ur, the Frost Storm’s Wizardry activates.]
[Ur, the Frost Storm, deciphers the Exceptional Skill.]
[Exceptional Skill deciphering in progress.]
…
The mana raged. But only for a brief mont.
…
[The Exceptional Skill has been successfully deciphered.]
Whoosh…
Whoosh…
Unlike the sharp or angular forms of other Night Crows, the form Ur took was sowhat blunt.
Their body looked as if it had been made of clay. Even the fluid-like body undulated in a constant flow.
Guoo…
A blue chill continuously emanated from its eyes and mouth.
Ur thought this form might be the closest to magic.
[Your class is changed to Wizard.]
[The shadow hands are transforming.]
[You are able to use Frozen Truth.]
[You are able to use Wizardry.]
[Your Spell Power has increased.]
[Your mana has greatly increased.]
[The mana recovery rate has greatly increased.]
- Hey, Seol, can you hear ? This feels a bit…
However, no answer ca back.
Ur was used to being alone.
- Well, anyway. Leaving that aside, this mana…
The mana Seol possessed far exceeded Ur's expectations. He had a monstrous well of mana that made him wonder if he'd devoured a dragon.
Seol was soone equipped with incredibly rare gear. How much effort had he put to amass such an amount of mana?
Crack…
Craacck…
One deliberate step at a ti, the Night Crow advanced toward Maradum.
The steps were still awkward but better than before.
- Ti magic really should disappear from this world… This doesn't make sense.
Even though he was overwhelmingly stronger than the opponent, he couldn't easily go against the flow.
While thinking they were truly botherso beings, Ur reached Maradum's Ti Cocoon.
He placed his hand on the barrier.
[Ur, the Frost Storm’s Wizardry activates.]
[Ur, the Frost Storm, deciphers Ti Cocoon.]
[Skill deciphering in progress.]
…
As if even his skill was slowed down by ti, Wizardry took longer to finish.
No, it wasn't just ti that was being consud.
- Ugh… To think it would also take the mana.
Ur's magic was already running low, and Seol's mana had been wasted from conducting nurous tests on Eorian.
Because they weren't in top condition, their mana was running precariously low.
[Skill has been successfully deciphered.]
And then, the mont the cocoon opened.
Thud…
An intense mana shockwave flowed from Maradum.
It was a magic trap set in advance for the mont the cocoon was released.
He wasn't expecting it at all.
- Ugh… Damn it…
Ur blad himself.
For the first ti in a while, the word 'failure' crossed his mind.
This was a mistake.
A fatal one with no room for excuses.
When facing a Ti Magician, one needs to concentrate more than usual. An absolute focus and overwhelming skill were the only ways to deal with them.
But just now, focus had montarily slipped away from his grasp.
He was going to be thrown off.
If that happened, he would either die or wither forever—no, that was the worst outco, and Ur would find a way.
The problem was that even if he found a way, it would be after an era had passed.
He rembered the long ti he'd spent locked inside Alcatron.
- I don't want that…
Ur's ominous premonitions were always right.
Thud…
His spirit was about to be thrown off the Night Crow.
But just at that mont.
Whir…
Sothing sucked him back and settled him back in place.
- What…?
Whoosh—!
The Night Crow's eyes turned blue, and a more powerful energy wave flowed from their body.
Pif…
The sharp hand severed Maradum's remaining arm.
Ur simply watched the entire process.
- Seol… So you hadn't lost your consciousness.
Whoosh…
Whether it was Seol's final struggle or not, the blue light in the Night Crow's eyes soon faded.
- What a mysterious guy… Are you saying you still have more experience than ?
The one thing that defied his expectations.
It was Seol's existence.
And here, another thing that defied Ur's expectations happened.
Thud…
Roll…
The orb fell from Maradum's grasp and slowly rolled away.
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