Book Eater

Chapter 355: Pandemonium (2)

“Goetia.”

[Yes, Master.]

“Stop all support operations and wait. I will handle it alone.”

[Standby mode.]

The light from the ring faded away. Even without Geotia’s assistance, Theo could complete the magic formula with his own ability. Theoretically, it could be executed at the 8th Circle, but the spell was rather impartial due to complex random number calculations and extremely difficult control. However, the current Theo was now capable of that.

「 Come up, little sun. 」

Two beads of light formed above Theo’s palm. It might be mistaken as light magic, but Aquilo sensed the magic power imbued within and clicked her tongue. The total amount of magic power surpassed the breath she could use in human form. Her eyes glittered in anticipation.

「 Eradicate. 」

The light beads exploded the moment Theo gave the command.

――――――――――――――!!

It was less an explosion and more a wave of magic power. The light beads shot ten meters straight up and shot hundreds of rays outward. This spell was known as Solar Ray, an annihilation spell that compressed heat energy and released it as a ray. Understandably, it was incredibly lethal.

Kuwoooook!

The monsters hit by the rays screamed in pain, but the wounds seemed insignificant. It almost felt like piercing them through with a thick needle. It would have been fatal on any other creature, but it seemed like an insect bite for these monsters. However, that was not the case here.

It is all over once hit.

The ray penetrated their skin, muscle, and reached their bones. A single ray took two seconds to boil their blood, burn their bones and muscles, and melt their flesh. The monsters melted into a puddle.

Chiiiik!

One, ten, one hundred monsters... The monsters were eradicated with a single spell. Theo cast a quick wind spell to remove the stench. He wanted to evaporate the liquid, but it was more heat resistant than he thought.

“Wow, cool! Boy, are you trying to show me something cool? It’s a great success!”

Aquilo was fascinated by the bombardment of light and the melted monsters. She loved beauty and strength while despising ugliness and weakness. Therefore, the monsters in front of her were the worst. If Theo hadn’t stepped forward, she would’ve wiped them out instantly. However, Theo ignored the praise.

What are these monsters? Chimera? It looks similar, but also slightly different. It isn’t changing the body by manipulating it. It is a mutation of the body itself... It is the first time I’ve seen a mutation of the body and the soul.

The insight of a transcendent didn’t know the cause either. He could see that something had twisted the soul, causing the body to quickly deform into that of a monster. Even so, there was no way to save these victims. If the 9th Circle magician, Theo, judged there was no way to save them other than killing, who in the material world could argue with him?

“Tsk, they are continuing to flock.” Theo’s eyebrows twitched as he sensed more monsters approaching.

Did the light from Solar Ray attract them? However, that was a little strange. Theo hadn’t suppressed the aftermath of his spells. The overwhelming mana, which was on the same level as Dragon Fear, should have intimidated any monsters in the area, yet these monsters flocked like they didn’t feel fear.

Are they artificially-created weapons? It is annoying.

He might have to fight until the sun came up. Theo turned in the direction of the Fairy Dance Lee family. He wanted to fly there straight away.

“Excuse me? Aren’t you going to take care of me?”

There was one unexpected problem. Aquilo couldn’t fly at high speed in human form, and she would attract unwanted attention if she transformed into a dragon. In the end, Theo was forced to carry her.

She wriggled contentedly on his back. “Hrmm, you have become so manly since the last time I’ve seen you. Look here...”.

“Don’t bend your body or whisper in my ear.”

“Then it is okay to kiss you?”

“That’s forbidden.”

Aquilo laughed as Theo sighed and took off. He was already anticipating a big problem once he met up with Veronica.

***

It was a long yet short flight. As he kept Aquilo from touching him more, Theo glanced at the Baekun Mountains below them teeming with at least thirty thousand monsters. The wild beasts of the mountain and forest had long since been eaten, while the monsters who had lost their forms ate each other to satisfy their appetites. It was literally a landscape of hell.

“... We will arrive soon. Are you heading down?”

“Yes.”

Theo slowed down and stood on the hill overlooking the Fairy Dance Lee family’s estate. The softness on his back disappeared, and both their faces hardened as they looked down.

“Are they cockroaches?”

Theo didn’t answer Aquilo, but he inwardly agreed.

There are at least twenty thousand gathered here. Fifty thousand if I include all the ones surrounding this area. It is already at the level of an army.

He couldn’t even see the ground. They seemed like ants swarming a hill. It was easy enough to find the monsters’ destination. It was the Baekun Mountain village, with a total population of three thousand people centered around the Fairy Dance Lee family’s estate.

.

“Hmm?” Theo narrowed his eyes as he saw something. “What is this ward? When did a shaman with this much skill appear in the Lee family?”

A translucent shield was protecting the entire village from the monsters. Someone at the level of a master shaman had crafted a shield that blocked the enemy’s attacks and allowed allied attacks to pass through. Thanks to the one sided attacks, the soldiers were able to use arrows to kill monsters.

It is stable. I don’t see any hope of winning, but they should be able to last a week.

They had the terrain advantage, the shaman’s shield, and a tiger or a bear who sometimes ventured past the shield to break any large clumps of monsters. Theo smiled when he saw the leaders of the Baekun Mountain spirits, the Tiger King and White Bear. Most of the other spirits in the mountain had gone to the forest of Elvenheim, but the two leaders had remained in the Baekun Mountains because they couldn’t leave Lee Seol alone.

However, his smile didn’t last long. “... The balance will soon collapse.”

Aquilo cocked her head. “Why? They are blocking it.”

Theo pointed. “Look beyond that hill.”

Aquilo sharpened her eyesight to look into the distance. A three meter tall monster, overflowing with mana, was approaching very quickly. It clearly hadn’t trained, but its mana concentration had come very close to being aura. The monster had the raw power of a swordmaster or a 7th Circle magician. Although the monster wasn’t on par with the Tiger King and White Bear, who had been training their power for hundreds of years, it was enough to damage the ward.

“I have to go. Veronica and Sylvia aren’t in the village. If both of them were present, the monster’s mana would collapse as soon as it approached the ward."

“Okay, I will move as you command.”

“Thank you.”

Aquilo readily accepted Theo’s orders, and Theo reached out to the monsters who had yet to recognize their existence. The monsters had master class mana, but they didn’t know how to operate it properly. Skin harder than steel? Recovery beyond a troll? He had dealt with opponents of this caliber even becoming a master.

“Geotia, assistance.”

[Starting the secondary assistance. Aligning the lightning formula.]

Lightning shone in front of Theo’s body.

Memorize. All Slots Open. Nonuple Keraunos.

Nine lightning spears appeared around him. The sparks coming from them was proof that they had the power to melt iron. Nevertheless, Theo still wasn’t satisfied. He had already been capable of this level before becoming a transcendent. His hand closed around the lightning bolts, and they started to glow blue and grow. The influx of magic power was turning the lightning into plasma.

「I will borrow the authority of the lightning god. 」

It was only then that they noticed his existence. The people inside the ward looked up at the man on the hill surrounded by lightning while the monsters stampeded toward him. However, Theo’s ultimate spell was already complete.

「Destroy your enemies, Keraunos. 」

He had set the target as the dangerous monster that could damage the ward. The lightning spears that became plasma cried out loudly,

―――――――――――――!!

The flash wiped out any monsters, trees, and earth in its path as it smashed into the three meter tall monster. It had taken less than a second to land. It defied the defense of the monsters and killed them instantly while shattering several hundred meters of the ground. If magma flowed under the Baekun Mountains, it might’ve erupted at the shock.

“Aquilo, create a fog across the battlefield.”

“Ah, yes!”

Aquilo shook herself free of her shock as Theo prepared his next move. The moisture in the area quickly gathered near the ground, soaking the monsters and leaving no gaps for escape. The monsters would die from just a lightning strike.

“Compression worked out quite nicely, so shall I try expansion?” Theo murmured to himself as he raised his hand high.

An unexpected sight unfolded over the Baekun Mountains.

“Ahh...”

Someone looked up at the sky and fell to their knees. Someone else gathered their hands together while praising God’s name. The monsters didn’t dare look up and held their breaths.

In the dark moonlit sky, lightning shone through the clouds.

「 Descend, Keraunos. 」

The skies seemed to part, and a golden punishment appeared. This was the moment a thunderstorm descended from the night sky of the Baekun Mountains.