Book Eater

Chapter 330: Dmitra (1)

The sky wasn’t something that could be torn apart. How could the atmosphere thousands of kilometers above the ocean and clouds be torn? Large scale weather phenomena were trivial compared to the real extent of the sky. The days of fearing lightning as the wrath of God had already passed.

“Crazy!”

No, it was just an illusion. Theo looked up at the distant sky and couldn’t help cursing. As a magician who explored the laws of the physical world, he couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing. Who was it that contacted him in an urgent tone? Alucard?

The knee jerk reaction was indeed accurate. The sky was torn.

It was almost nine in the morning, but the sky where Nídh?ggur stopped the sunrise was still dark. Unlike the moonlit sky filled with stars, this was a darkness that didn’t allow any light to be seen. Unfortunately, Nídh?ggur was the one who made this darkness, and Hraesvelgr was going against it.

――――――――――――!!

At this moment, lightning struck, and the world turned white.

“Urgh, again!”

The ground and the sky shook. Despite knowing it was an illusion, Theo couldn’t help reacting to it. It was a feeling caused by the trembling of the dimensional system caused by the two transcendents. The aftermath of the fight traveled at least a few hundred kilometers. If the elves shared Theo’s senses, they might have fainted.

He kept this in mind and arrived at the place he had been told to go to through Ratatoskr.

“You came? I heard you were dealing with the enemy leader alone and was worried.” Alucard, who had sent Theo the signal, welcomed him with a serious expression.

“Fortunately, there are no big injuries. My magic power is overloaded, but if I am careful, I can keep fighting...”

The dragon heart belonged to a dragon who had lived for ten thousand years and was literally a treasure with infinite magic power. Theo was utilizing its power and would only be able to fight for half a day with it. Nevertheless, the battle against Jerem had been dicey.

Jerem’s casting speed, magic combination, and magic control made him more of a great magician than a monster. Theo had barely won with the fouls of Soul Caliber, the Hall of Fame, and the dragon heart.

Well, there was also the patron called Nídh?ggur.

The emergence of the variable called Hraesvelgr had tilted things to their side. Theo hadn’t originally had a method to finish Jerem off fully. Instead, the warlock had collapsed on his own. Warlocks had never peacefully accepted death. Jerem must have left one last problem.

Theo asked, “Do you know what the situation is? The sky is torn despite the atmosphere not seeming to have a single scratch.”

Alucard scratched his head. “I’ll tell you everything when the others get here. Repeating the same thing several times is just a waste of effort. Those in the south are already approaching.”

“The south?”

Before Theo could say anything more, Veronica dropped down next to him and clung to his neck.

She nuzzled him. “Theo, we won as well! You knocked down that monster alone while I was gone!”

Theo stuttered, “V-Veronica? Wait a minute…”

“What’s wrong? I’m just giving you a reward because you worked hard,” Veronica spoke as she rubbed her cheek against Theo’s.

Meanwhile, Titania just shrugged. She had the sense not to get involved. It only took a few more moments for Ellenoa and the other leaders in charge of each defense area to gather. The other three high elves were busy maintaining Hraesvelgr’s summoning.

“I will explain after I hear everything,” Alucard said. He clapped, “Defenders responsible for each other, report.”

“The eastern front, Guardian Ellaim will report,” Ellaim said politely as he stepped forward. “All the undead on the eastern front died a few minutes before you summoned me. There isn’t a single undead moving on the eastern front.”

“It is the same in the west.”

“The southern front has also been verified. Combat has ended in all areas, the land has been cleansed, and we are in the post-processing stage.”

“Umm.” Alucard’s expression stiffened as the positive reports kept rolling in.

Anyone who felt excited by this situation would have stones for brains. It wasn’t hundreds or thousands but hundreds of thousands of undead. Theo might’ve killed the caster, but the undead wouldn’t be so easily destroyed. It was impossible for all of them to be gone.

“... It can’t be.” Theo reached the truth before anyone else. “Don’t tell me that all the undead were sacrificed to Nídh?ggur?”

“What?” Alucard immediately interrogated Theo, “Theo. I’m not a magician, but is the power of the sacrifices enough to affect the two beings?”

“It should be fine...”

At that moment, Gluttony woke up and interrupted.

- You are half right, half wrong. How can the soul of an imperfect warlock interfere in the confrontation between transcendents? The balance of power will just be temporarily collapsed.

“The balance between Hraesvelgr and Nídh?ggur will collapse?”

- That’s right. Hraesvelgr is stable because of the legitimate ritual that doesn’t need a big sacrifice like Nídh?ggur’s did. However, Hraesvelgr can only exert a certain amount of force. However, Nídh?ggur took a shortcut by swallowing Baldur’s body. Nídh?ggur can momentarily exert a stronger power.

Nídh?ggur had devoured Baldur, while Hraesvelgr was reliant on the four high elves, the Great Forest, and the world tree. Hraesvelgr was stable and could be summoned for a long time, while a short battle was more beneficial for Nídh?ggur. Therefore, Nídh?ggur aimed to finish it straight away, but Hraesvelgr wanted a drawn-out battle.

However, this fight was turned upside down by a variable, the sudden disappearance of Jerem who had summoned Nídh?ggur to this material world.

- The most important thing for summoning magic is the link. If it is lost, you can’t stay in this world for a long time, no matter how strong you are. This isn’t the time to relax. Nídh?ggur’s threatening to exert everything all at once.

Theo asked, “So, is the winner going to be decided with a toss of the dice?”

- Hrrmm, I don’t know.

Gluttony’s voice was heavy with meaning.

- Based on my memories, Nídh?ggur is someone who will use everything he has.

Theo’s super sensitivity suddenly blared, causing a bout of dizziness. The headache was so intense that his vision went blurry for a moment! It was at a level which told him death was inevitable. It told him that the danger was high in the sky, where monsters were tangling.

“... Eh?”

The sky had brightened, but this pure white sky didn’t look normal. Unlike the darkness of Nídh?ggur, they could feel divinity from the white light. It was the strength of Hraesvelgr. Theo had no idea of the circumstances when Alucard suddenly paled and opened his mouth.

“Theo.”

“Huh?”

“Hraesvelgr has sent a message.”

Theo's face stiffened at the unexpected name.

“Eventually, Nídh?ggur will shoot a death breath. Hraesvelgr will use all his strength to prevent it, but we should prepare for the blow.”

“... Ha, a blow. The words aren’t easy.” Theo sighed as he realized what the warning meant.

It was only one blow, but it was much more powerful than Theo could handle. A grand master’s killing technique…The 9th Circle magician’s ultimate magic. It was a blow that would inevitably kill its opponent. Nídh?ggur’s breath would be able to destroy all creatures in this forest and Elvenheim.

... I don’t want to think about it.

Theo shook off the terrible scene that he imagined and asked a question, “How much time do we have?”

“The next two hours. There is a little bit less time now.”

“Two hours... We can barely get out of the Great Forest.”

Additionally, it would be difficult to persuade the elves to abandon the world tree and Elvenheim. This was the elves’ paradise beyond the Red Plateau and beyond the reach of greedy humans. Although Alucard didn’t refute Theo’s words, the bitter expression in his eyes was clear to Theo. Alucard was determined to throw away the world tree.

Damn, it is hard with just two hours. If the right answer is to evacuate, then we have to move right now...!

Theo desperately tried to think of a solution, but he simply didn’t have a card that could tilt scales of this level. The 5th stage Superbia and 6th stage Invidia were no match for this. This was akin to spitting in the face of a natural disaster. A mortal couldn’t do anything against an uninvited guest from another dimension.

Theo kept trying to think of possible measures.

First, I can try briefly summoning Fafnir to counter it.

If Nídh?ggur consumed a lot of power fighting Hraesvelgr, Theo might be able to intercept it with Fafnir. The destructive power of Fafnir’s laser was superior to any breath, so it could stop the breath of death.

... Dismissed. Nídh?ggur will shoot the breath at the world tree, and if I call Fafnir near there, Elvenheim might be burned by my own power.

The world tree was so sensitive to fire magic that it burned when Veronica was in its vicinity. It would surely be a catastrophe if two dragons fought against each other in the vicinity of the immature world tree. There was no time to intercept it from a distance, and he didn’t have the exact timing either. Thanks to Gluttony’s advice, he knew the speed and destructive power of the death breath. However, he had no control over Fafnir.

So, Theo gave up on his first method.

Second, I can use all my achievement points to borrow the power of those in the Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Jerem, he still had over a hundred thousand achievement points. It was possible to borrow powerful magic by calling the name of a great magician. However, this was frustrated by Gluttony’s interjection.

- Meteor Fall or Grand Cross both have enough power to block it, but you don’t have enough points to call their souls.

Ugh, then the third―

It was amazing that there were spells which could counter the death breath. However, what good were the spells if they couldn’t be used when he needed them? Theo was about to think about a third plan when Ellenoa raised a hand.

“Ellenoa? What’s going on?”

“Ah, nothing. Just...” Ellenoa was a little hesitant and took a few deep breaths before speaking. “I can still summon Nohengrin. Please tell me anytime if you need my strength.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“It isn’t a situation where you should thank me.”

The two of them smiled gently at each other. The heavy atmosphere became a bit lighter. Theo heard Ellenoa’s words and thought about using the power of the elemental ruler. However, he eventually dismissed it. Even if the elemental ruler did their best, it would be difficult to block Nídh?ggur’s breath with their power.

Gluttony predicted that it would have the power of a lower or intermediate-level god.

Ahh, why is this lizard so anxious to eat plants? Reptiles should eat worms instead of going to another world.

Theo looked around. The location of their meeting was quite high up, so he could see the elves working away at the bottom. There were some he knew, and others he didn’t know. They were anxious at the fact that the monster from the Age of Mythology, Nídh?ggur, would blow a breath over their heads.

“... Ahh, the parent tree. Please protect us.”

An elf rushed toward the world tree with a small swaddling cloth in his arms, holding a child that was born recently. Theo had thought that the act of praying was for the religions of the human race, but the act of gathering both hands together and praying could be found in any culture. The elves really prayed for a god to help them. They hoped for their sincerity to touch the sky, and for a righteous deity to draw a sword and defeat the dragon.

Hmm?

At that moment, Theo’s eyes narrowed.

[Hoing!]

Mitra, the brown-skinned girl, popped out of the ground with a bud on her head and somersaulted like she was in a circus. Theo praised her skill before having a thought. This was the age where the gods had disappeared and magic had declined. If they couldn’t hope for a god’s help, why not ask for the help of a god here?

“Mitra.”

[Yes? What?]

Theo stroked Mitra’s wheat-colored hair and asked with a serious expression.

“Will you become the god of this forest?”