Book Eater

Chapter 327: The Night that Swallowed the Sun (3)

The black magic emanating from Jerem’s small and weak body in the sky was like a tidal wave. They could see red light shining from the center of the darkness. The magicians who communicated with mana of the material world had a higher influence on their environment as their level increased, but warlocks were an exception in a bad way.

It was like dropping poison into a clear pond.

This magic power that was drawn from two dimensions contaminated this world’s mana and hindered the flow of normal magic power. Organisms would be corrupted after repeated exposure, and the ecosystem would collapse after a short period of time. Considering the power of the world tree, it wasn’t a big problem for the moment. However, it was just a matter of time if Jerem kept radiating this level of magic power.

Theo raised both of his eyebrows and spread his palms open before him. “Hap!”

His magic power emerged like a storm.

Kurururung.

The black magic power was suddenly pushed back, and the fog of darkness shot up instead of falling to the ground. It was proof that for a very short period of time, Theo’s magic power had exceeded the enemy’s.

The dark red light around Jerem grew even thicker. Theo had defeated Jerem’s subordinates in a few moments and seemed to have a magic power that went beyond the 8th Circle. He also had a grimoire as his base, so Jerem had to be careful.

What? He feels much stronger than before?

Theo had time to talk to his advisers, thanks to Jerem’s caution. Theo had only spent a brief moment dealing with the Four Horsemen. However, in the time he had been gone, Jerem had become more powerful in a manner that Theo couldn’t understand.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t a problem for Gluttony.

- That is Soul Partition! Did he recover the pieces that he planted in the Four Horsemen? The pressure must be quite serious in his injured state, but he must be confident about ending this quickly.

Theo couldn’t understand all of what Gluttony said, but the reason behind Jerem’s increase in strength was clear.

Is it because I knocked out the Four Horsemen? But the connection between the necromancer and undead is a one way path... Isn’t it theoretically impossible to reclaim the magic power that he gave to the undead?

- That’s right. Magic power can’t be taken back.

However, the thing that Jerem recovered wasn’t his magic power.

- The cost of maintaining the highest level undead is high. In order for them to remain active for thousands of years after their master died, magic power on the level of a dragon heart would have been needed. Jerem probably broke off parts of his soul and planted them in the Four Horsemen.

... Indeed, he was a transcendent in that age.

The current Jerem was sealed in a grimoire. He was worn away by thousands of years, as well as injured by Mitra. As such, his power was limited compared to what he had in the past. Despite Jerem being in a very weak state, it was understandable that his level had jumped so much after regaining some of his past power.

Theo grew cautious as he realized the sudden change in circumstances. Meanwhile, Gluttony spoke in the same tone as ever.

- But he isn’t able to utilize all his abilities. He can’t resurrect the Four Horsemen, and the range of spells has only increased somewhat.

In other words, he hasn’t reached the 9th Circle?

- That’s right. The wound that your kid dealt to his soul isn’t easy to recover from. If that was possible, Jerem would’ve torn out the souls in the Four Horsemen sooner in order to recover.

Theo laughed at the words and agreed, “I got it.”

He faced the red light of Jerem in the distant sky and became conscious of the object in his hand. It was a cheat that Theo had decided to use in this fight. The item’s size had been reduced to make it easy to carry, and it could be used as a portable magic power stone. This was a treasure he had gotten by finding Paracelsus’ laboratory in the past and unraveling an unexpected connection.

It was the heart that the sand dragon, Desertio, left behind! The item which contained the magic power of nine Circles was inside Theo’s robe. Of course, it was impossible for Theo to do anything with it other than use it as a supply of magic power. There would be major resistance if another species consumed it without refining it first, and the power of the dragon heart would destroy the person’s body.

Only Theo, who had the absurd Forced Harmonization, could utilize the ridiculous magic power in the dragon heart.

He asked, “Veronica, how long can you keep that state?”

Veronica cocked her head, “Thirty minutes on the premise that I’m not injured. But if we keep fighting, it will be limited to fifteen minutes.”

Theo murmured, “Fifteen minutes... It’ll be close.”

Theo quickly sent instructions to Veronica and Titania. Veronica was in her draconic state, while Titania had two more shots left. If Titania, Veronica, and Theo couldn’t stop Jerem even with the dragon heart, then it would be impossible.

“Okay, I’m starting.” Theo moved with a sense of responsibility that had become heavier.

Memorize. All Slots Open. Octuple.

The efficiency of his magic power consumption was good enough. The moment Theo held the dragon heart in his hand, his magic power became close to limitless. There was a limit to the amount that could be drawn out at one time. However, once he released all his magic power, it would return to being full in an instant.

The magic power around Theo’s body took the form of blue lightning and transformed into a giant spear. It was literally a divine lightning spear. The spear had a length of twenty meters, and thunder echoed around it, attracting attention.

Before Jerem could respond…

「Убирайся-к-чёрту (Go aw-ay)!」

The sound of a human voice beyond the limit exploded outward.

“... What?”

The fog cleared thanks to Dragon Words, one of the strongest powers in the material world. The fog of black magic covering the sky was blown away by the strong but simple words.

At the same time, the huge lightning spear thrust forward.

Kwarururung!

However, it didn’t reach its destination. A wall of darkness smoothly rose to block the lightning spear. It was a black magic spell that reduced the power of all physical attacks to zero. However, it was difficult for Jerem to cope with the power of Theo’s attacks, and a small crack appeared in the wall. Before the gap could be filled up, another storm struck.

Theo’s tactic of penetrating the damaged defenses and hitting Jerem was repeated in a second attack!

“―Hah, not even funny.” Jerem’s eyes glared angrily as he faced the barrage.

Peng!

Jerem broke the Hurricane Bow’s arrow like he had been waiting for it. After all, he had a lot of defenses, not just the wall of darkness. The wind was sucked away like it was in a vacuum.

Magicians were readers. They were the type of people who read the opponent, their plans, and their weaknesses in order to pierce through the gap to win. Yet a magician was recycling tactics from earlier in the battle. That wasn’t possible unless they were making fun of Jerem. Therefore, Jerem’s response was one beat late.

Peeeeeong!

Veronica’s fist stopped in front of Jerem. In her draconic form, her strength was a few times stronger than normal, but it still couldn’t break through the magic power barrier.

“... Hiding behind the storm and unleashing a series of attacks, huh?” Jerem commented.

Nevertheless, they had still managed to penetrate the barrier a little. It was enough to damage Jerem’s robe through the magic barrier that was almost at the level of the 9th circle. His robe fell down, revealing an undead wrapped in a dull darkness. It was the undead body of the Pale Rider which had been created by collecting the power of death. Jerem’s anger could be seen clearly as even his bones were shaking.

“How interesting. But you haven’t reached this body?” Jerem bit out.

A lump of rage and dark energy shot toward Theo’s party. It wasn’t a spell, just a pure lump of magic power.

“I will force you to remember your place!”

An image of the reaper rose into the air. There were also unknown existences hidden in the darkness. The summoning of a grim reaper and opening a lower dimension... They were spells from an ancient era, and in these times, their very existence was doubted.

Reality and nightmares started to cross in the sky above Elvenheim.

***

The darkness swirled vigorously, and flames poured out without rest. Lightning struck brightly, and gusts of winds blew. The fight which had started in earnest was now much fiercer than before. It was a battlefield without a single moment of rest, where one mistake would mean death.

Veronica was like a raptor wandering in this vortex.

“Shit!”

Ninety degrees left, thirty degrees right. She avoided the dark spear and creatures hidden in the darkness with her flame wings. The creatures that got caught in the flames burned and fell out of the sky, but there were no gaps. As soon as she tried to take a break, the fog that stopped all life came at her.

When she saw the wave of black magic power, Veronica screamed, “Inferno!”

A spell cast with one word destroyed the fog. She smiled wryly at the sight of this battlefield where spells, which determined victory or defeat, were being used instead of shields. Veronica looked at the lightning rushing above her.

I am proud to have a lover like that.

At first, the fight had centered around Veronica’s draconic form. The 7th Circle magic, the durable body, and the strength she placed in just a single fist wasn’t something that even Jerem could ignore. The problem was that the transformation had ended after fifteen minutes.

Pipipipiping!

Hundreds of arrows flew toward the ground, while Veronica burned a few ghoul wyverns around her. Titania’s Hurricane Bow had just as much impact as Veronica’s draconic form. Titania and Veronica didn’t dare interfere too much with Theo’s and Jerem’s battle as both combatants were straddling the edge of transcendence. They were at their limits just by acting as distractions.

“... Win, my Theo.” Veronica looked up at the darkness and lightning swirling in the far sky.

She never thought that she would be lacking power after reaching the 8th Circle, but the world was full of strange things. Veronica formed a fist as she recalled her beloved’s face.

Kkieeeek!

“Shut up! I can’t concentrate!”

She was going to beat up all these small fries to vent her frustration.

***

They seem to be holding up well down there.

Theo was able to see flickering flames, Veronica’s breath in the slowed down world of lightning. The soul connected to his was still calm, and her magic power was fairly intact. If things continued in this fashion, they would be able to endure for another hour. Theo judged the situation calmly and moved as the death knight’s sword aimed at him.

Fairy Dance’s Direct Transmission. Hand Counterattack Technique. Both Hands Wind and Moon.

Lightning and Fairy Dance at the same time had been impossible in the past, but Theo had deepened his understanding after reaching the 8th Circle. Now, he could combine the two different fields without difficulty. He used one hand to block the blade and the other to attack.

Kwarurung!

As the lightning infused palm slammed into the death knight’s body, its black armor broke away and it was thrown back. A swordmaster’s body may have been able to endure it but a crusader from Lairon couldn't handle the fusion ability. The death knight crashed into the ground and Theo left Veronica to deal the finishing blow as he stared at Jerem.

Jerem spoke from where he was floating in the air, “How annoying. Do you want a war of attrition?”

Theo shrugged. “There is nothing else I can do.”

Unlike his casual way of speaking, the emotions in Jerem’s gaze were unclear. Despite having a contract with Nídh?ggur, Jerem was being pushed by Theo, who was a mortal. He was consuming power to maintain the Nídh?ggur summoning, so Jerem didn’t want a war of attrition.

... I don’t have much time left either.

Theo ignored the throbbing pain in his heart and glanced toward the east with a more relaxed expression. The presence of the dragon heart didn’t mean that his magic power was infinite. Theo’s physical body was taking a lot of abuse from the process of accepting and discharging the enormous power in his body. If he compared it to a rubber band, it was the repetitive act of pulling and releasing hard.

I have to take his life in the next two attacks.

Theo accurately diagnosed his limitations and tried to come up with a strategy. In the meantime, Jerem’s minor summons were still interfering with Theo.

Kiiing-

An evil spirit, made from 7th Circle curse magic, was shattered by the sword in Theo’s right arm. Reynolds’ Soul Caliber was far more effective than he had expected, since it allowed him to kill enemies that were resistant to magic power. The battle would’ve been much more difficult without him.

“Tsk, you learned a strange magic from somewhere.” Jerem clicked his tongue.

It was a spell that Theo seemingly hadn’t known a few months ago, but its effectiveness was absurd. How could he have learned and become so proficient with a spell like that in such a brief amount of time? It wasn’t a standard ability of the seven sins grimoire. However, it was fair to say that even Jerem wouldn't have been capable of such a feat if the grimoire had chosen him.

“Ah.”

At that moment…

“It’s over,” Theo muttered words that Jerem didn’t understand.

Jerem’s red eyes narrowed. “What is over?”

Theo pointed toward the east. “Look at the horizon.”

“What?” Jerem stiffened as he realized a certain phenomenon was about to occur.

“Daybreak.”

The sun was the enemy of all undead, but its influence varied greatly with time and location. For example, the undead wouldn’t be affected at twilight when the sun was starting to fall below the western horizon. But there was a time it had the most effect on the undead. People often said noon, but magicians knew better.

The moment when the sun rose in the east at dawn had the biggest impact on the undead.

Jerem growled, “... Were you planning for this from the beginning?”

Theo shrugged. “Half. If possible, I wanted to win with my own strength. However, it was difficult to endure.”

“You rat bastard...!” Jerem was angry, but there was nothing a mortal could do about the rising and setting of the sun.

No matter how much magic power Jerem had, he couldn’t cover the sky and block out the darkness. That was also impossible for Theo. Theo had taken advantage of the rules of the material world to find victory. If one wanted to overturn these rules, then one needed to stand outside them.

- Pathetic, Follower.?

The being that was physically outside the world looked down at his follower and scoffed. Theo glared upward as those few words created a crashing presence. Nídh?ggur glanced at the eastern sky. The sky was golden, with dawn coming like a wave. The dragon yawned widely…

- This is truly an unpleasant light.?

… and spoke some truly absurd words.

- From now on, I prohibit sunrise?

Huk.

It was the end. Nídh?ggur’s will pressed down on the material world. Despite the sun peeking over the eastern horizon, the sky started to darken again. Theo couldn’t even fathom the principles behind Nídh?ggur’s ridiculous feat.

Death and darkness, the power of the dragon who ruled over Nastrond! This was a transcendent’s power.

“... Damn,” Theo cursed.

Meanwhile, the two camps of light and darkness felt sorrow and joy respectively.

Flash!

Behind Theo’s back, a bright light suddenly rose from the center of Elvenheim. It pushed away the darkness filling the sky, spreading out like the sun. But it wasn’t sunlight. The moment the light touched his skin, Theo could see the absurd source of this light. It was a power that was one step closer to the gods than humanity, a feeling that came before the five senses.

“Perhaps...”

As if to confirm his intuition, he heard voices that had been silent for weeks cheering.

- It has finally succeeded! Theo, look!

- It isn’t too late?