Chapter 596 – Third Round
As if resisting the overwhelming pressure of transcendence itself, the snow that had briefly calmed now surged even more fiercely, even more violently.
Visibility was so poor that it was difficult to distinguish even objects a few meters ahead.
The three magi who had been flung away barely managed to halt themselves midair, using
Crack.
Osgar clenched his teeth, enduring the agony of his shaken organs.
Foamy blood dripped from between his teeth.
"Just being exposed to the shockwave of that qi ravaged my insides this badly…! You two, can you see what's become of Adrian?!"
[Since we survived, he must also be fine. The point where the previous strike landed was closer to our side. But that also means Sandir Paen decided to eliminate us first.]
Did the Transcendent find the mages' assistance troublesome while facing Adrian, or did he simply want to devote his focus solely to him?
Whatever his intent, one thing was clear — the situation was perilous.
"Ugh…"
Piiing…
A strange resonance rang endlessly inside Yurgien's head. Hot blood streamed down from both ears.
His eardrums had ruptured.
For someone whose magic required exceptional concentration, the collapse of his mado was inevitable.
With their inner connection severed, direct speech was now the only means of communication.
For Adrian, it was impossible to grasp the situation precisely at the moment.
[Yurgien, are you all right?]
"Just a little more, just a little recovery, and I'll be able to manifest magic again…"
Even as cold sweat poured down his face, Yurgien gave a firm answer.
To recover from the scattered formation and reestablish a perfect encirclement around Sandir, they needed time — even if just a little.
But to a Transcendent who could move within a fraction of an instant, even that little time was long.
"?!"
Sensing an ominous presence approaching, Osgar was the first to react.
A bright yellow flame that tore through darkness.
Sandir, facing it head-on, kicked off the air with the stance of a lance charge, thrusting forward the spear fixed along the inside of his arm.
Piercing Heaven
───Thud!
"Gah…!"
The spear pierced straight through Osgar Fargon 's side.
Then, by the momentum that followed, his body was dragged down to the ground — a chaotic mess of avalanches and landslides.
[Osgar!!]
Melard called out his name, but there was no time to worry about others.
Huff.
Silencing the Sage of Power, Sandir rushed in without pause. The tip of his spear aimed straight at Yurgien.
A corrosive tide surged forth like a gigantic hand, blocking his path — yet Sandir advanced by treading irregularly through the air, allowing not even a single droplet of water to touch his body.
Thunk!
In the blink of an eye, a blue-edged spear pierced Melard's abdomen.
The unique energy of Sandir Paen destroyed the insides of others — wounds that could barely be healed even by ordinary potions.
Even though Melard was controlling an Arch Lich, she had already anticipated that the damage would somehow reach her real body outside the battlefield.
Thus, she reinforced the connection with the Arch Lich more firmly than before, ensuring his consciousness wouldn't collapse from any shock.
At the same time, her true body had taken Lysandro's Fruit Potion, to secure recovery upon injury.
That was why, unlike Osgar or Yurgien, her damage was relatively minor.
But still—
[...!!!!!]
Melard felt a pain so excruciating it was as if she had truly been pierced. She couldn't move even a single arm of the Lich at will.
"I normally keep my qi's nature forcibly sealed", Sandir said, pulling his spear out swiftly and gripping it again. "If I didn't, challengers would lose their will and die too easily. But now, with my technique Yongdo, I've completely released all restraints I'd kept until now."
He grinned.
"Now, experience it for yourself."
Splitting Heat
A torrent of spear thrusts, unleashed from close range, filled Melard's entire vision.
"No—!"
Yurgien hastily tried to restrain Sandir's movement to interrupt the technique, but it was already too late — dozens of spear strikes had already pierced through.
The water coating the Arch Lich's bones turned crimson, and Melard's body fell helplessly, leaving behind only a faint groan.
Crackle!
Yurgien's matter-enchantment magic shattered, unable to withstand the strain.
Sandir licked his lips.
"Nameless mage, do you even know what it means to die?"
"Heh… How could I, one who's spent a lifetime among the living, possibly know what death is? I don't — and I don't wish to."
Yurgien gave a weary laugh, his half-closed eyes dull, as he raised his staff.
"At least… not until my grandson meets his beloved and marries her."
Mado
Once again, his mado opened. The severed inner link reconnected — and from below, a human silhouette shot upward.
Clang!
The clash of light-sword and spear shaft rang through the air.
As Adrian passed Sandir's side and ascended sharply, Yurgien traced a small circle with his staff.
Magical footholds formed in the air, allowing Adrian to shift direction — colliding with Sandir and driving him down with all his might.
(He's targeting you all. Fighting him in the air puts us at a disadvantage.)
(Understood.)
At that thought, Yurgien quickly began descending.
Kwaaang!
Adrian and Sandir crashed to the ground, engaging in a fierce battle. Dirt and snow scattered in all directions, and the sound of clashing metal never ceased.
"Not enough."
As Adrian tilted his head aside, the spear blade tore through part of his trapezius muscle.
Sandir, on the other hand, had only a few strands of his hair damaged.
"I said, it's not enough!!"
A kick from an angle struck Adrian's jaw. In that instant of lost balance, Sandir's form vanished.
The Transcendent's crazed gaze shifted toward Osgar.
An unavoidable strike.
So Osgar did not even attempt a feeble dodge — instead, he widened his eyes. In a blink, half of his upper left arm was torn away.
This was Sandir's plan — to slaughter the mages in the most agonizing way possible, thereby crushing Adrian's psyche.
Only then would the boy move more recklessly, more extremely.
And then, Osgar unleashed his decisive mado at full power.
"Got you."
After enhancing his reflexes, he poured all accumulated physical damage into magical power, pressing his staff against the spear.
Boom!
An irresistible gravity wrapped around both their weapons, warping them. The weight was so immense that even Sandir could not control it, and his spear was driven deep into the ground.
The moment the light-sword swung from the side and struck against the twisted spear shaft, Adrian and Osgar simultaneously thrust out their remaining arms.
BOOOOM!
A burst of gravity and a bare fist smashed into Sandir's chest and face.
For the first time, the man dropped his spear, skidding backward as the friction of the ground slowed him.
The two didn't miss the decisive opening — they rushed forward, while Yurgien used
"Amazing. You've prepared… much, and well", Sandir said calmly. "Even after being struck by my qi, you've found some unknown way to recover, you've strengthened all your other abilities, and your emotions now shine even brighter than when I first saw you."
The Transcendent's hands blocked every possible path of their joints in advance, parrying all incoming attacks.
"Especially you, Osgar, was it? You seem quite gifted in many areas, but in other words — that makes you vague. No matter how you enhance certain abilities through magic, your base remains as it is."
Sandir spoke with certainty.
"One specialized in one thing cannot handle another who's even more specialized, and one who's vague cannot ever surpass the specialized."
Adrian's forte was his remarkable agility, yet it could not surpass Sandir's.
Osgar was versatile, yet none of his aspects matched Sandir's speed.
"If you can't reach me, it's meaningless."
Never Fall
Using his master Raymon qi art — defense, then counterattack.
Crack!
An elbow strike that seemed ready to shatter his abdomen bent Adrian's waist.
A rising diagonal kick slammed into Osgar's staff, damaging it, then explosively struck his right arm and torso.
"Gah…!"
The Sage of Power bounced across the ground several times, colliding with huge uprooted trees from the avalanche.
Sandir let Adrian's blade slip past his bare hand, channeling qi through his body.
"Still too slow, Adrian Chambers! I told you! If you hesitate even a moment, those mages will die!"
Sandir twitched his fingers.
The spear lying on the ground shot up, moving by remote control — and pierced through Yurgien's shoulder, the one maintaining his unique magic.
A brief scream echoed. The restraining spell
Slash!
Right then — Sandir's right arm, which had been deflecting Adrian's sword, was sliced open from palm to elbow, blood flowing freely.
He'd failed to defend — he'd been cut.
Crack!
The next powerful back kick smashed brutally into Sandir's solar plexus.
The distance — about twenty paces.
Adrian exhaled.
The flying spear returned to Sandir's hand.
"Faster."
As if by agreement, both charged straight at each other — unwavering, direct. Instinct alone guided their paths.
Three spear thrusts, one sword slash.
"Faster…!"
Adrian once again felt that familiar sensation.
Back when he'd been ordered by Bohemirn's magic tower to eliminate a target in the Midros Autonomous Territory — when he'd sought the reason for his own weakness, emptied himself, and left behind only pure purpose.
Two spear thrusts, one sword slash.
His technique sharpened.
He was climbing to heights he had never reached before.
"Faster… FASTER!!!!!!!!!"
Sandir's roar shook the entire mountain range.
Slash!
The light-sword tore through Sandir's shoulder muscles, while the spear dug deep between Adrian's ribs.
Both blows landed simultaneously.
The pressure and speed blasted snow and soil high into the air all around them.
Now, it was impossible to follow their movements with eyes — even senses could no longer keep up.
Melard, barely holding on to consciousness, tried to cast a spell, but couldn't fix her aim at all.
[At this rate, we can't even help them…!]
"Does that look like it needs help?"
Osgar leaned against a fallen winter tree, struggling to steady his breath.
A faint smile curved his lips.
"I said it before, didn't I? Maybe we're not that old after all… when we can still witness sights like this right before our eyes."
Adrian's mind blurred — he no longer knew who he was. If he couldn't overcome this, he would die. Only sheer will ruled his body now.
The light of emotion radiating from him grew even brighter.
Splitting Heat
Wild Dance
Unlike before — when defeat had been one-sided — this time, he wasn't being pushed back at all.
What couldn't be avoided, he endured. What couldn't be blocked, he accepted.
And what could be cut — he cut.
As the fierce battle went on, his sword path grew simpler, but his will and momentum tangled into something ever sharper, ever more complex.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Sandir Paen finally couldn't contain himself — he burst into mad laughter.
The light now radiating from Adrian was the same as the brightest one Sandir had ever witnessed — and it held the potential to outshine even that.
Just a little more…!
Just a bit closer…!!
The ideal he had long yearned for was right before him — madness consumed instinct. Even knowing his surgically transplanted body would break apart, the transcendent qi current swirled at his fingertips.
He was certain — only by doing so could he harvest every last drop of that radiant emotion.
And then—
Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.
From far within the clouds, a flicker of blue light began to approach — bringing thunder with it, aimed straight at Adrian.
"Cover me!!!!"
Osgar shouted, soaring into the air with his wounded body.
At last, Melard and Yurgien understood what was happening. Gritting their teeth, they poured all their strength into shielding their comrade.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAANG!
A massive bolt of lightning struck down, punishing Osgar who blocked its path.
Even the defensive magic crafted by the Sage of Wisdom and the highest elder of the Ostea Tower couldn't withstand it — it shattered into pieces.
BOOM!
Electricity exploded from Osgar's healing left arm — but in exchange, the trajectory of the lightning bent, crashing into the earth.
───!
The thunderbolt, which had absorbed all the moonlight around it, split the darkness with a blinding flash, mercilessly driving away the night.
It happened in an instant.
And that instant was fatal.
The lightning robbed him of vision.
Losing all sense of distance, Adrian's sword strike missed its exact point.
Thwack—
Sandir's spear pierced straight through Adrian's right chest without resistance.
... (to be continued)