Chapter 392: Pre-emptive Strike
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The atmosphere became tense so abruptly. Yates’ knuckles turned white from unconsciously gripping his magic staff too tightly with his left hand.
“Who are you?”
The pale-faced sorcerer turned around to face Grimm, his single remaining eye looked long and hard at Grimm’s figure. The sorcerer was certain that he had never seen anyone that looked like the man standing before him, nor were there anyone who emanated Grimm’s distinct life signal of a Dark Sorcerer.
“Caw! How dare you question who my young master is? My master is the dean of the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy, the great Peranos’…”
Grimm smacked Myna before motioning for him to shut up.
The foreboding expression on Dira’s pale face became even more apparent as soon as he found out about Grimm’s ident.i.ty as a Dark Sorcerer from Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy.
A few hundred years ago, back when he was a.s.signed with the task of escorting sorcerers apprentices across the Jewel Sea, it was this sorcerer from that particular Dark Sorcerer academy that hijacked the sea vessel that he was supposed to protect under the mission.
“Hmph!”
After a cold grunt, Dira raised his palms before a large, gray ball of fire started raging furiously, an intense wave of heat, derived from his soul rippled through the area quickly.
Grimm’s gaze from under the Mask of Truth had naturally locked itself onto this gray burning ball of flames.
Although it was the same Spirit Flame ability, the direction of the fulcrum’s laws was in an opposite direction to that of Third Ghostpepper’s. Third Ghostpepper’s Spirit Flame leaned more heavily towards a multipurpose, more active style of attacks. Dira’s Spirit Flame on the other hand, leaned heavily towards attacks on the enemy’s soul.
“You are Grimm?”
Suddenly, Yates’ giant bird asked excitedly, as it approached Grimm under the immense pressure of the unfolding battle. It seemed to have completely ignored the Level-2 sorcerer that was still in the process of hijacking their missions.
Back during the section academy wars, Grimm had worked together in missions with Yates from Ivory Castle Sorcerer Academy over a number of years under the false ident.i.ty of the Ashen Mask from Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy. Even then, his counterpart was already well-known as the top ten prodigies from Ivory Castle Sorcerer Academy.
After that, in the Holy Tower qualification battle.
To Yates’ misfortune, he had to face the Sun Child, Mina on the battlefield. What’s worse was that he had underestimated Mina’s ability, which further fanned the blazing temper of the extremely prideful girl. Under her insane quest for revenge, she had forced Yates into submission in the battle.
The silver lining for Yates was the sudden arrival of the small team, comprised of Solumn, Kyrie, Brianna, Robin, and Nina York. Thanks to the ongoing grudge between Solumn, Kyrie, Brianna, and the Sun Child, Mina, they planned to fight a battle in seek of revenge. This provided a chance for Yates to escape the encirclement.
Seeing that the Sun Child, Mina was bogged down in battle, the sorcerer-apprentices that lurked the surroundings prepared to launch a full-front attack in a desperate effort to grab points. It was in this critical moment that Mina’s sister, Millie arrived on the scene to save her.
Freezing-cold winds battered the ground as a show of force from Millie, which sent many sorcerers apprentices from Section 12 scurrying for their lives. The full force of the Ice Age, Millie was put on display that day.
It was also at this time that the champion from Section 15, Hill Woods appeared.
This sorcerers apprentice who specialized in Sound Wave Sorcery has been in Section 15 for ten years and remained undefeated till then, hence receiving the nickname of “Bell-Chime Dictator”. Just moments after the start of the Holy Tower qualification battle was declared, he lept into Section 14 and wiped out nearly everyone from that section.
Feeling that the sorcerer-apprentices from Section 14 were no different than those in Section 15, in that they had feared him even before the battle, he acc.u.mulated a large number of points before making his leap into Section 12.
And so, the legendary Ice Age, Millie representing the sorcerer-apprentices of Section 12, fought the final showdown with the tyrannical sorcerer-apprentice from Section 15.
In the midst of the battle, Millie had seen the desperation of this sorcerer-apprentice from Section 15 to fend off her attacks. In the end, Millie activated her trump card, the Ice Age Sealing technique, sealing off Hill Woods in a matter of seconds.
Seeing that the unexpected visitor from another section was finally defeated, the crowd sighed in relief, thinking that the ordeal was finally over.
However, perhaps due to sheer coincidence or purely out of fate, Grimm’s Fire Blast Spell cast into the ground bud had exploded into the air, accidentally breaking down the Ice Age Seal in the process, which released Hill Woods from Millie’s spell. The unthinkable had finally occurred.
Lament, resentment, and hatred. These were how the people of Section 12 viewed Grimm at the moment. This guy’s existence was so seemingly redundant, how d.a.m.n ignorant could he be?
There was no need to further explain to the crowd.
With the Gadfly’s help in intoxication sorcery which doubled the recovery rate for his body’s cells, and with Grimm’s Dissimilation Sorcery, his signature triplex sorcery, as well as the transcendent Fire Blast Spell originating from Destructive Energy, and lastly, the Friends.h.i.+p Key of Black Isotta. Grimm was confident he could turn the situation around rather quickly.
After a brief round of an intense battle, Grimm shot down Hill Woods without breaking a sweat, which was when he earned the nickname “nightmare sorcerer-apprentice” throughout his apprentices.h.i.+p years.
The nightmare of the Holy Tower qualification battle had finally begun!
Section 11, Section 12, Section 13, Section 14, and Section 15.
With Claudia’s a.s.sistance, Grimm wiped out all the sorcerer-apprentices that posed a threat to his quest to find the World-Core Fragments. Even when he rose to the apex battle of the Holy Tower, Grimm realized that there was no one left to challenge him. It was only him versus the three Level-1 creatures from a foreign world.
Yates, who began to resent Grimm for the troubles he created, released Hill Woods the terrible.
In the following heated battle between Grimm and Hill Woods, Grimm’s victory stunned the crowd as they all went silent, their eyes widened in disbelief.
And as the giant bird descended into the Black Isotta secret territory, it crushed Hill Woods’ body into a pulp under its ma.s.sive claws. Yates was now left with only admiration for Grimm’s sheer power. He had gotten his answer from witnessing the battle unfold before him and being satisfied with it, he handed over his points to Grimm without offering any resistance, before Grimm left the territory for good.
“Black Isotta Grimm, go take back our glory in the name of us, sorcerer-apprentice from Section 12! I bestow upon you…my points as a gift! Ku ku ku ku!”
Yates’ words marked the beginning of Grimm’s position at the peak of all sorcerer-apprentices.
Grimm had no innate abilities, nor was he blessed with a miracle from the heavens, nor did he have a strong lineage of sorcerers preceding him. There was no hatred or grudge that compelled him to strive higher. He was just another prodigy that blended into the crowd. And yet, relying on his own intelligence and hard work, he plowed his way through the cruel Dark Sorcerers’ laws, gradually becoming the story’s protagonist for the batch of sorcerer-apprentices from the “big-six” sorcerer academies in Section 12 for a hundred years.
The protagonist that was Grimm, was not one that gets moulded by the story. On the contrary, it was the protagonist’s non-stop effort, his thirst for growing into something greater, and over time, it changed his own fate, pus.h.i.+ng the boundaries, rewriting history one line at a time.
Standing on the black flying carpet, Grimm calmly nodded towards Yates.
Yates had received his answer. His muddled eyes lit up, with nothing more to say. Rather, there was no need for further useless talk. At that moment, the only thing left audible was the sound of steady breaths.
The sorcerer-apprentices huddled behind Yates, trembling with fear.
From the perspective of these children, the pressure exerted by a Level-2 sorcerer, was comparable to Grimm’s first experience of meeting the Fake Faceless Sorcerer back on the cruise s.h.i.+p. It could only be described as pure-fear, nothing more, nothing less. Even now, Grimm could not forget that feeling he felt on that day.
Some of the kids looked at Yates, unable to comprehend what was going on. Their destiny was completely out of their own control.
They did not understand that on this day, the success or failure of the Level-2 sorcerer’s hijacking would be the single factor that determines the rest of their lives.
Grimm left it to Myna to bring the kids safely down onto the ground, as he remained floating mid-air, facing Dira.
Grimm said to the sorcerer monotonously, “Sorcerer Dira, perhaps you have forgotten about this, but six hundred years ago, on that s.h.i.+p that was seized by Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy, there was this normal child named Grimm.”
Dira’s facial expression froze as the gray-colored ball of flames remained burning intensely on his palms.
Dira glanced at Grimm, that gray-white mask hid covered his face, his body was almost entirely covered by yellow sand, and in his hands, he gripped the Sabbatic Goat Staff. It was impossible, to think that this person was on that s.h.i.+p six hundred years ago…
As for his own memories about the things that happened on that s.h.i.+p…
All he could remember was the continuous attacks by the dense pack of crows. Dira could never forget the fear and frustration he felt in his heart on that day!
“If that’s so…then were you a member on that cruise s.h.i.+p?”
Dira asked slowly, with tinges of pain and reproach evident in his voice.
At that time, it wasn’t just the responsibility for the mission that Dira had lost. He had lost his dignity serving at Lilith Sorcerer Academy, as well as the s.h.i.+pload of future Bright Sorcerers he was escorting.
And yet!
A few hundred years later, on this day, he was now face to face with a sorcerer who had originally belonged to Lilith Sorcerer Academy. Had that hijacking not happened, Grimm would have been an Arcane Sorcerer from that academy.
This was truly a huge tragedy!
All this, stemmed from his own negligence while performing his duty.
Closing his eyes shut, Dira took a deep breath filled with sorrow. He looked at the Level-2 sorcerer before him and said painfully, “So you are Grimm? Please leave these children to me. You must go. As a Level-1 sorcerer, you should be well-acquainted with the powers of a Level-2 sorcerer.”
“I cannot leave these children behind.”
Grimm replied calmly, yet solemnly.
“Hmph! Maybe you really are strong and confident. I too was once revered as a talent among my fellow Level-2 sorcerers. But what meaning does it hold? I still remained powerless to the attacks by Nilmar.”
Dira gradually recovered from his painful memories, as his voice became firmer and his words, more rational.
“You should know how brutal the Dark Sorcerers are. Don’t tell me you want them to turn into heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds like you are? They would go through a healthier growth process at Lilith Sorcerer Academy. This isn’t just about compensating for what I lost on that day, It is also for choosing a better path for these helpless children!”
Dira’s argument had a point, and it seemed rational.
Grimm lowered his head to look at the group of fourteen sorcerers apprentices peering back at him from the ground below.
Perhaps among these children, one of them was like himself a few hundred years ago?
Grimm did not know.
What he knew was that backing down was not an option. This wasn’t for the mission, nor was it for the trust of Peranos. It was just to prevent another tragedy like his own from happening for any one of the fourteen recruits he gathered.
Once again, Grimm raised his head. His eyes met Dira’s br.i.m.m.i.n.g with adamance.
“Their fates now rest on both our hands. There are no “better” fates in this world. In the future, they would only resent their own powerlessness to control their own fates! For now, destiny has chosen for them to become Dark Sorcerers and I will be their guide. I will prevent them from experiencing the burning regret of not becoming a Dark Sorcerer when they start witnessing the deaths of their fellow comrades on the battlefield in the Section Academy War that is to come…”
Finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, a ball of fire started burning on the tip of Grimm’s Sabbatic Goat Staff, sending waves of heat across all directions.
“Just like before, Sorcerer Dira, you chose to launch a pre-emptive strike on Sorcerer Nilmar. For that, I cannot give any excuses for you neglecting to safeguard my own fate. As for now, it is an excuse for me to protect these children!”
Immediately after, the fireball shot out from the tip of Grimm’s Sabbatic Goat Staff.
Boom!
Flames exploded through the sky. The strength of this attack in comparison to that of typical Level-1 sorcerers was much more powerful, much more terrifying.