A swordsman can be considered truly strong once he or she is capable of manifesting their aura .
Aura, when used, is a power capable of granting any individual exceptional military prestige through its offensive, defensive, and unique applications .
The chimera in front of them was using that very power with at least an adept understanding of it . Even without its aura, this chimera was several times stronger than the previous chimeras they had faced . But now? It was an insult to compare the two .
The chimera, which increased its defense by wrapping its entire body in aura, still stood tall . It had managed to survive after taking a direct hit from Desir .
Desir stared at the chimera’s head .
‘I wonder if it’s able to utilize the aura that Aaron handled during his life?’
Aaron was a King Class swordsman .
As a result of making Aaron an ingredient for the chimera, a true monster had been born . One which could not be taken down by a heavy blow from Sixth-Circle magic .
Retreat was no longer an option for the Starling Party . Even if they managed to escape, the damage this creature could cause was incalculable . Desir was also duty bound to eliminate such a threat as the staff of the Royal Guard .
“Keeuk!”
The chimera was not only gifted in attacking and defending, but also in regenerating .
Even though they pierced its hard skin and inflicted severe injuries, it recovered in a blink of an eye . The injury on its left arm, caused by Romantica’s attack, was long gone .
Desir analyzed the chimera while maintaining his composure .
‘The most bothersome parts are the wings and the tentacles . ’
*Boom*
The moment Romantica’s shot flew in, the chimera spread its wings .
Its enormous wings were not used just for flying, but also for protection . While its bluish aura covered them, it was able to block Desir, Romantica, and Ronde’s spells with ease .
The tentacles grew out of various places on the chimera’s body . They spouted out of its arms, legs and shoulders .
The tentacles grafted on, which were likely from the monster known as the Queenbae, wriggled and writhed as they rushed towards the front, as though they had a mind of their own .
The flying tentacles, covered in aura, had similar power to a high-class knight’s sword .
The Frozen Palace that Adjest arranged had long been ruined by those flailing tentacles .
The Starling Party was quickly losing the initiative they had struggled to obtain .
‘The scale of its power is well above that of Raphaello . As long as it remains cloaked in that vast amount of aura, it is almost invincible . ’
The chimera’s body was much more resilient than a human’s . With such a strong body, if it still has Aaron’s King Class aura, it would be able to wield it even better than him .
There were no high-level techniques at work here, but it threatened to overpower them through sheer brute force .
‘Its recuperative power is unusual, so it’s important to make a single attack . Then… ’
Desir immediately came up with a countermeasure .
There was only one answer to this .
[-I’ve figured it out . ]
Desir made up his mind and used the communication pad .
[-From now on, we’ll be launching an all-out offensive . ]
The Starling Party’s tactics changed suddenly .
The first thing to change was Adjest’s movements .
She had focused on restraining the chimera’s movements until now . In an abrupt change of pace, she instead unleashed a barrage of unrestrained attacks .
With Ice Empress invoked, her strengthened movements were comparable to a King Class swordsman .
The chimera’s tentacles shot towards Adjest from all directions .
As Adjest approached the Chimera and dozens of tentacles were preoccupied defending against her…
[-Now . ]
Desir ordered .
As if she were waiting for this to happen, Adjest released her Ice Empress form and her white-blonde hair quickly returned .
“… … !”
And at the same time, the chilly air that she kept inside her radiated out in all directions .
Adjest didn’t miss a beat and started to arrange a spell .
[Frozen World]
*Crraaackk*
Everything around her suddenly started to freeze . The tentacles that were rushing towards Adjest were no exception to this .
Frozen World .
It was a new imagery magic that she had created .
Contrary to the Ice Empress which focuses the chilly air within the body, this was a spell that released the chilly air in all directions .
This arranged spell, which utilized the chilly air emanating from the Center of Ice, reached the power level of a Sixth-Circle spell .
“… … !”
The chimera, which had even absorbed Aaron’s battle experience, quickly took stock of the situation it found itself in before taking action .
*Flap*
The chimera quickly stepped back and unfurled its wings to take distance, assuming that further attacks from the Starling Party would follow .
At that moment, Romantica’s pad rang .
[-Romantica . ]
[-I know . ]
[Raiden Tornado]
A weather control spell that falls under the Fifth-Circle . While it may be beyond Romantica’s current circle, highly-skilled magicians are able to arrange spells beyond their level by reducing the scale of effect . Calling them highly-skilled was underselling the talent required .
Magic that Kelt Nipleka had shown off while sparring with Desir had been attained by Romantica through her relentless training .
*Swoooosh*
A storm formed near the chimera and started to rage .
Wings exist to allow an animal to ride the wind . However, it would be impossible for them to fulfill their role amidst this kind of storm . The chimera was not able to control its body due to the violent wind and soon landed on the ground .
The chimera’s wings, its only means of defense, were twisted like the spokes of an umbrella inverted in a storm . While it struggled to recover control, the creature was wide open for attack .
“Haaaaaaghh!”
Pram gave a shout and kicked off the ground .
Adjest and Romantica’s intentional actions prior to this all led to this outcome .
A rapier filled with aura rushed in towards the blind spot of the chimera .
*Thudd*
Realizing its weakness, the chimera quickly kicked off the ground to escape the situation .
The aftereffect was substantial . Even though it simply stomped its feet, the ground had ruptured and debris was rocketing towards Pram .
The chimera seized this moment to attack .
However, something was strange . Even though it managed to land its attack, nothing could be seen nor heard .
“… … !”
There were no voices either .
Aaron’s head, which was supposed to be on top of chimera’s body, was now gone . Pram had failed in approaching it, but had instead managed to cut the chimera’s head .
[-It’s a success, Desir . ]
The human part of the Chimera, which contributed Aaron’s human judgement and combat experience, as well as allowing it to use aura, was now gone .
The chimera discarded all of the injured parts and started to replace them with other monster body parts . It was a gruesome sight, seeing lumps of flesh slough off its body . Eventually, it abandoned its semi-human form altogether and became a monster that walked on all four legs .
“Kuuuarrghhhhh!”
It was clearly not the sound of a human scream .
Even though they had removed Aaron’s head, the chimera maintained its life persistently .
However, it was no longer whole .
The chimera’s head, made out of Aaron’s flesh, was an important part that enabled it to tap into his vast battle experience and aura . Not only that, he was also in charge of auditory, olfactory and visual sense processing as well . A blob of flesh swelled up to take its place, but it would take quite a long time for what was now a mindless beast to recover those senses .
The chimera, which had lost all of its sense, started to indiscriminately rampage .
*Crash*
*Crrraash*
The tentacles on its body started to stretch out and cut down everything like a bladed whip . The speed of its flailing appendages was so quick that it seemed as though they had vanished from sight .
No one was able to approach it now .
The tentacles turned everything they touched into rags . Even though it no longer had the use of aura, its raw strength was still powerful beyond expression .
A part of the cliff was smashed apart .
At that very moment .
“This way . ”
Desir’s words sounded particularly loud to the chimera, which barely regained its auditory sense .
The chimera recognized that voice .
His enemy .
The chimera instantly made the connection and sprung out towards that voice .
However, Adjest and Pram no longer restrained the chimera .
[-Great job . I will take it on from now . ]
The sightless chimera responded more sensitively to sound . In fact, all it could rely on was sound . Thus it moved accordinging to what it heard .
When there was no longer anything blocking it, the chimera started to accelerate with great speed . Every time it kicked off the ground, the ground erupted behind it like an explosion .
The chimera that had originally darted off with great speed eventually came to a stop .
The ground still shook even though it was no longer moving .
Sensing something disquieting, the chimera looked around, even though it lacked any form of vision .
“Kreuuugh . ”
A strange cry came out of its restored vocal cords .
Its sight returned just in time .
The chimera could barely open its eyes . It frowned at the bright light blinding it .
A vast amount of spell arrays arranged themselves in front of Desir . These were the source of the strong and intense light .
“Though inconvenient, I had to lure you here . ”
Desir stated in a calm fashion .
“I don’t want the city to be destroyed . ”
Not understanding what he was saying, the chimera simply moved in order to eliminate the target .
However, it noticed something strange before even taking a half-step .
There was no moonlight .
There was no other light shining in the sky other than the light that Desir was responsible for .
The chimera raised its head and looked upwards .
There was something enormous floating, something that exceeded the range of the chimera’s perception .
[Binder of Earth]
A Fourth-Circle defensive spell .
However, this spell was one extensively modified by Desir . This version was not designed to be used defensively .
It was actually an offensive spell that rivaled the destructive power of the Seventh-Circle .
A giant sphere covered the moon and the forest .
[Gravity Control]
Desir did not reign in its power, instead continuing to calculate and form the spell array, pouring in the entirety of his power .
“This is the end . ”
*Thuddddd*
Along with a loud boom, a massive shockwave radiated out in all directions . The whole forest was flattened instantly and dusty clouds billowed up high into the air .
After a while, the dust settled and they were finally able to see .
An enormous crater, similar to a meteorite strike one may see depicted in the media, was formed in the area where Desir’s spell exploded .
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
???: …
ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock
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