Book Eater

Chapter 323: Eve of the Storm (2)

The two days that passed were both too long and too short. After detecting the approach of the undead army, all of Elvenheim and Theo were busy preparing for the unprecedented battle. Although it wasn’t perfect, they did their best.

The brilliant amulets hanging around the elves’ necks, the arrows in their quivers, and the wide ward surrounding the south were all Theo’s work. It was the result of using his magic power to the limit that could be recovered, without wasting even one hour.

This is all I can do.

On the front line at the outskirts of the southern forest, Theo blinked slowly. Since when had his vision already surpassed his physical limits? He could see the movements of the countless undead beyond the horizon that even the elves couldn’t see. They were monsters that didn’t need to breathe, so the barren Red Plateau couldn’t stop the corpses from marching.

The ugly wave was overflowing over the horizon.

... Ahh, the parent tree.”

“Our ancestors, please protect us!”

The elves who saw it first started praying. They had seen the rotten flesh, blood flowing with maggots, and abominable things that now walked the land. It was fortunate that the Red Plateau was windless. How awful would the stench be from more than a hundred thousand undead? It would enter their noses and might even poison them.

As the undead neared, the twilight illuminated their naked bodies.

The skeleton knights were moving with red orbs for eyes.

An undead with a body that was larger than an ogre roared.

The translucent bodies sang of a terrible future.

There was even a bone wyvern flapping its wings in the air.

How terrible.

Theo felt nauseous as he looked at the wave of corpses. This was the stuff of nightmares. He found the doom knights, banshees, and liches, as well as the evil dragon behind them that was the true enemy. Meanwhile, the army of death continued to move forward.

Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!

Loud noises rang out as the army marched onward, narrowing the distance to their destination. There was no need for trumpets or horns. The undead were just puppets controlled by one necromancer. They followed the commands of the conductor wielding his baton. If he asked them to move forward, they wouldn’t stop until their bodies were broken. If he said stop, they wouldn’t move even if a natural disaster occurred.

Kung!

... Like right now.

“... S-Stopped?” someone stuttered out loud.

Theo moved forward. The enemies were still a few kilometers from the forest entrance. Nevertheless, they had stopped for a reason.

“Jerem, is it you?” Theo’s voice spread out and crossed several kilometers.

[I will offer you one last mercy.]

The great warlock of death who controlled the bodies answered.

[If you offer your body to me now, I will spare your kingdom and its people. Once the great Nídh?ggur descends upon this material world, there is no possibility that you will win.]

“Hah, do you think I would just agree?” Theo wasn’t pushed back by the voice that pressured his mind. “It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. Did you die from greed or old age? Do you think that you became a real king because you gathered your subordinates and started role playing? Hey, antiquated warlock. Wouldn’t it be better to go back to your grave before you become uglier?”

Jerem briefly fell silent. Maybe he was so angry that he couldn’t speak. After all, this was the soul fragment of a 9th Circle great magician whose pride of reaching the highest peak of humanity was so high that its end couldn’t be seen.

If Jerem were still alive, he would’ve killed Theo before the latter had the chance for more than a cheeky word. However, a few seconds later, his cold voice resounded.

[... Fool, you don’t know that victory or defeat has already been decided.]

Chill.?

At that moment, Theo felt a chill and stepped back. Meanwhile, Jerem released the reins of the undead that he had stopped.

[I will let you die as you wish!]

The undead broke into a charge.

―――――――――――――!!!

They let out a roar that was difficult to describe in words. Something wailed, others made a strange sound, and something else screamed. In a dictionary, the word ‘undead’ meant ‘one who didn’t die’. However, magicians had to add another line.

One whose death was taken away.

The undead were deprived of their last resting place at the end of their journey and surely hated the living.

“Come onnnn!”

The dead flowed forward like an inexorable tide. They were low-grade undead, but their bodies were bathed in black magic and were more powerful than they had been while alive. They crossed three kilometers in five minutes, without the slightest disharmony.

The elves fought their instinctive reaction to pull back their bowstrings as they watched the undead approach at a fearsome pace. They were prepared to shoot at any time, as their arms strained from keeping their bows pulled back. However, the archers were waiting on a signal.

‘Titania, get started!

- Understood.

Theo conveyed instructions through Ratatoskr. They didn’t need flags or messengers. As long as they were in the forest, Theo could communicate with the high elves at any time. Titania nodded and moved. “Elementals! Summon your wind elementals!”

The elves responded just as they had practiced. More than a hundred elves, who could summon intermediate wind elementals, exerted their strength simultaneously. The lieutenant of the wind elementals, Shuriel appeared above them. The eagle-shaped wind elemental, that was around ten times the size of an eagle, fluttered its wings.

Kuuoooh―!?

It started as a small vortex. Dust rose on the Red Plateau where the undead were moving, which grew to become a hundred meter tall vortex. Then it became a tornado. Originally, it wasn’t a phenomenon that would appear in the wilderness without any clouds, but it wasn’t surprising when so many wind elementals joined together. They sent eight tornadoes spinning toward the undead army.

However, the elves who summoned the tornadoes turned to Theo with uneasy eyes. The tornadoes weren’t very powerful. Even if the intermediate-level undead were blown away by the tornadoes, they could still survive.

I was expecting this much!

Theo detected the approach of the undead and pulled out the Azoth Sword from his pocket. He had socketed the shining Philosopher’s Stone into the sword. He had received the sword from Paragranum, and the stone was a legendary artifact that could change the form of a substance. Of course, there was a limit. However, Theo was going to use all of its power today, even if it meant destroying the Philosopher's Stone.

“Ars Magna!”

The Azoth Sword glowed intensely as it was aimed at the tornadoes in the wilderness. All of the sand swirling in the tornadoes was targeted by the alchemy magic.

“Turn into white phosphorus!”

It was difficult to convert an enormous amount of sand at once, which caused the Philosopher's Stone to creak. Nonetheless, Theo let all his magic power loose. He needed to succeed at least once. If the eight sandstorms turned into a white phosphorus storm, then he could destroy tens of thousands of undead. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, the sandstorm was covered with a white light.

Success!

Theo didn’t enjoy this moment as he shouted, “Veronica, now!”

“Suuuuop...”

It might have been because of their soul-connected relationship, but Veronica winked and took action the moment Theo yelled.

Kuaaaaaaah-!?

She fired a dragon breath toward the white vortex! The flames which could melt metal met the flammable white phosphorous and ignited the tornadoes. The tornadoes transformed into gigantic pillars of fire in less than five seconds.

Theo had unleashed a super hell. The undead were caught by the tornadoes, and their skin and bones became good fuel for the flames. Suddenly, the horizon was filled with burning undead. It was an unquenchable fire that would continue burning even if water were poured on it. The undead caught in the white firestorm were turned to ash. Only the ghost type undead that weren’t affected by physical phenomena and the senior undead that were protected by black magic managed to survive the firestorm.

Theo was briefly captivated by the firepower of the plan that he had envisioned.

... It is a technique that shouldn’t be used against a living person.

It was awful. Theo would have been racked with guilt if he had uncorked this against fellow humans. However, the undead were a different story. They simply didn’t stop as they tried to push through the firestorm.

Kieeeeeeek-!

One of the four horsemen, White Knight Hipatia, screamed as she put out the white flames around her. It was like a foul, as she twisted fate by interfering with the physical laws. There were also many senior undead. They were confused by the white storm, but the inflamed air could not do any damage to them. As the liches’ magic cut off the oxygen and a cold chill spread, the burning of the white phosphorus ceased and the force of the fire was reduced.

Kulkul... Kul... Kululul…?

The undead regained their composure and laughed. They didn’t care about the trivial undead being burned. That wouldn’t affect a senior undead. One needed a swordmaster’s Aura Ability or a 7th Circle attack spell.

So, Theo decided to give it to them.

Memorize. Four Slots Open.

His eight Circles opened, and he poured magic power into his right hand.

“Goetia, assist.”

[Yes, my master!]

Four magic spells were activated simultaneously. However, the number of spells wasn’t important. If Theo’s attempt was successful, it would even surpass 8th Circle magic. The great magic, Abraxas—its destructive power was enormous, but it was limited by the number of times it could be used and its long preparation time.

But it’s possible now.

Theo added stability with the power and control of his eight Circles while calculating the different elements. A golden halo rose and wrapped around his body. The magic power was so powerful that the flowing mana itself formed a protective film.

Great spell Abraxas (ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ)...

Theo had previously obtained a clue in his fight with Pan Helliones. Why did he need to divide Abraxas into two chapters? It was because he had the bias that only two antithesis elements could be used together. However, he would now use all four major elements for the complete form of Abraxas.

Final Chapter.

Four spells that could annihilate armies and tear the earth apart appeared in Theo’s mind.

The red bead that symbolized fire.

The blue bead that symbolized water.

The yellow bead that symbolized earth.

The white bead that symbolized wind.

The four magic beads, which had the same colors as the magic towers of Meltor, swirled in Theo’s hands. He raised his hand, aiming them at the undead army.

Think of this as my greeting, rotten lizard!