Chapter 96 - Those who Seek Their Own Destiny (5)
-Hmmm. What is it? Is it really possible to see this far into the distance?
They were moving fairly quickly, and they had already traversed 5 kilometres. However, they hadn"t reached their opponent yet. The range of the surveillance was beyond Kairen"s common sense.
Azell spoke.
- This person is using a relay system of Magic Eyes.
- Relay?
- Only the very high rank magicians can use this method. It requires a high amount of skill and magical energy.
A magician could only send the Magical Eye to a distance of several hundred meters. This was why there was a limit on how high the Magical Eye could move up into the sky to look down on its surrounding.
The relay magic was a magic designed to overcome the Magic Eye"s limits. The magician had to put down a marker nearby to maintain the magic, and the farthest Magic Eye links to the nearest Eye, the next Eye links to the next closest Eye, and so on. It was possible to observe far distance using such a method.
‘This is the first time I"ve seen it since I"ve woken up.’
It was a magic used occasionally in the Dragon Demon war, but this was the time he had seen it used in this era. Azell was swept up by a queer feeling.
-We won"t be able to escape from the enemy"s surveillance using this tactic... Let"s change it up.
-How?
-That is…….
After a moment, Azell and Kairen started running at frightening speed.
At the same time, other Azells started appearing from various parts of the forest. The Clones formed by Azell possessed a presence, and the real body disappeared from sight in an instant using a Cloaking skill. He disappeared once he pa.s.sed beneath a tree.
Then he increased his speed again as he ran forward faster than his Clones. His Clones were running at high speeds, but they couldn"t hold a candle to the real Azell, who was moving silently through the forest. He wanted his opponent to be caught off-guard by making his opponent think Azell was still far away. He planned on capturing his opponent in one fell swoop.
However, his plan became obsolete the next moment.
‘The gaze disappeared?’
The Magic Eyes set up in various location vanished. It was as if the other side had given up the surveillance on them.
Kwah-ah-ahng……!
Then he heard an explosion from the other side of the forest, and the flames brightened the darkening sky.
8
Niberis was walking through a ruined ancient castle. The sun had set, and her surrounding was becoming dark. A much deeper darkness rippled around Niberis" body as her ebony hair billowed around her.
“I"ve read your file... I have a question I want to ask you.”
Her whole body was filled with power. As a magician, the source of her power was Darkness. When night arrived after the sun set, her powers became much stronger...
“Actually, I have an additional question I want to ask before I ask you the other question.”
“If I give you an answer… Will you let us live……?”
Yuren replied with a labored voice.
Niberis queried.
“Do you really expect me to follow through on such a request?”
“No. However, aren"t you suppose to tell me you will?”
“You aren"t worth lying to. I have no thoughts on debasing myself by doing so.”
“Wow… You really... The arrogance suits the direct descendent of the Dragon Demon king....”
“I"ll ask my question. Why did you run away towards the land seeped in sin?”
“The way you keep referring to this place.... I"m fed up with it. This land... Why is it seeped in sin....?”
Yuren giggled.
Niberis" brow furrowed.
“It isn"t as if you don"t know the reason behind the name, so why are you asking? What is your purpose in coming to the land of the great sinner Azell Karzark?”
They were within the County of Karzark. Moreover, they were at the heart where the castle of Karzark was located at.
Niberis spoke.
“Did you perhaps think I wouldn"t follow after you into the territory of the Dragons? You don"t look that dumb...”
The County of Karzark wasn"t designated as being a Cursed land just because there were a lot of monsters here. Amongst the 13 Dragons, who had destroyed this land, seven of them had taken residence here in this land. This was why Bijes kingdom had no choice but to give up on this bountiful land.
Yuren spoke.
“The knowledge... A price always follows... If you are a magician... Shouldn"t you....have more sense?”
“I guess you will refuse to answer me. All right. If you want to speed up your death, I"ll....”
The darkness around Niberis" body rose up like flame. At the same time, a powerful magical wave started to emanate from Yuren"s body.
He suddenly spoke.
“…I haven"t reached my end yet. No, let me rephrase that. Not here.”
“What did you just say?”
Niberis was surprised. Yuren had been half dead, yet his condition was rapidly changing. Power was being infused into his voice, and his body looked to be overflowing with energy.
‘Is it a regeneration ability? No, if he had that, he would have used it sooner. Then what is he... Mmmm?’
Soon, she realized what Yuren was doing. She was further taken aback by his actions.
“He called for a demon, and he let it in.... Is he nuts?”
A black smoke was gathering behind Yuren, and a figure was taking shape. It looked like a horribly deformed silhouette of a human. At the same time, an evil energy started to spread, and it was hard to breathe from just approaching the figure.
Niberis was someone, who played with the lives and souls of beings through black magic, yet her body was shaking. This was how deep this evil was.
Its hatred for all living creatures was so immense that it wanted to destroy the world.
It was a Demon.
Even the black magicians avoided approaching one, yet it was a being one must meet if one wanted to earn the knowledge of black magic. If not for a very specific situation, the Demons couldn"t deliver their voices into this world. They didn"t have any substance. There weren"t much information known regarding the Demons, yet it was known that they possessed the source knowledge that was filled with evil and hatred.
“How funny.”
His brown hair was whipping about as his gray eyes started to turn red.
“You are from the Dragon Demon race, yet you are showing aversion to this being. What nonsense. The Dragon Demon race is the amalgamation of Dragons and Demons. The Demons are your father and mother.”
It was as he had said. The Dragons thirsted for knowledge, and the Demons pined for a physical body. The two sides fused to form the Dragon Demon race. The first of the Dragon Demon race was Atein, and after his birth, a numerous number of the first generation Dragon Demons was born. Even now, such births may be occurring some place in this world.
Niberis glared at Yuren.
“You are right. However, great Dragon Demon King had spoken about this. The Demon race may be our father, but not all fathers deserve our admiration and love.”
“Yet you guys still exploit this relationship. Even now, you are throwing test subjects to the Demon race to earn more knowledge. Moreover, you are trying to create monster through this union, yet you dare to say such words?”
If one kept contact with the Demon race, it was like crawling into a swamp of destruction. When a normal human came in contact with a Demon, the human lost his mind, since he couldn"t overcome the terrifying energy filled with malice and hatred. Still, there were a lot of cases where magicians sought knowledge and wisdom from the Demon race. They went in with plenty of preparation, yet their mind became unknowingly polluted. This made the magicians repeat unbelievably stupid acts as they were driven towards their destruction.
The Demon race loved powerful souls. When they were called into this world, these strong souls were able to resist their natural malice and hatred. However, the Demons worked towards corrupting and ruining these souls. It was the ultimate pleasure to eat these souls in the end.
However, it was also true that one could earn something really valuable in the process. This was why the Dragon Demon king worshippers gave humans and Dragon Majin to the Demons as commodity. The Dragon Demon king worshippers "farmed" these knowledges from the Demons.
Yuren spoke.
“I"m the monster of your own creation... Actually, I wasn"t really raised as a test subject. Well, whatever. Just the thought of killing a direct descendant of the Dragon Demon king makes me elated.”
Yuren had called forth a Demon, and he was receiving power from it. It wouldn"t have been strange if he went mad, but surprisingly, Yuren had been successful in keeping control over his power. He converted the Demon"s power into his own magic.
Niberis" expression turned cold.
“You don"t know your place.”
Ggwah-gwahng!
After the sound of an explosion rang out, both Yuren and Niberis took a step backwards.
The ruined ancient castle shook as stone dusts fell from the ceiling. The two of them moved as if they were sliding across the floor, and they started exchanging flashy magical spells.
Paht! Pah-baht! Pah-pah-pah!
Each immense magical spells was powerful enough to kill each combatants a thousand times over. However, there was no outward phenomena occurring between them. The air shook, and a weak spark formed between them.
However, this was how a high level magical battle was fought. Before each other"s magic could take form, they cut off the magic.
Kwah-kwah-kwahng!
Finally, an explosion occurred, and a hole was formed in the wall. Yuren and Niberis exited the ruins of the old castle.
Niberis made a cold a.s.sessment of Yuren"s battle capability.
‘In terms of magical energy, he exceeds me.’
Surprisingly, Yuren"s magical energy exceeded a direct descendent of the Dragon Demon king. This was still true even if one took into account the fact that the Dragon Demon magic was much more effective than magic.
‘Moreover, we are almost equal in terms of technique. How could such a young human...’
To be precise, Yuren was better at fine control of magic, which needed only a small investment of power. On the other hand, Niberis was better at manipulating magic, which affected a large area. These kinds of magic required the investment of a lot of power.
Normally, Niberis would be at a disadvantage in such a situation, yet the battle was tight right now. This was true, because Yuren was in a tenuous situation.
“Kook……!”
Yuren let out a groan. It was obvious that he was more skilled in focused magic. If he was steady in his progress, he would be able to dominate Niberis in all facets.
However, his control over his magic was becoming spotty. The cause was the Demon.
In the first place, it was considered impossible to receive power from a Demon, and control it. The fact that he was able to do it without being influenced by the Demon was commendable.
However, at the same time, he couldn"t prevent the Demon from eating away at him.
Niberis let out a cold smile.
“You were boasting about a power you cannot fully control... You are a failure as a magician.”
“I"m sad that I cannot refute those words. However, the Dragon Demon king"s direct descendent will die here today.”
Oh oh oh oh oh oh!
The shape wavering behind Yuren grew to twice its size. The evil demonic energy amplified by several orders, and it pushed forward as if to swallow Niberis" Darkness.
“You plan on going for the winning move by hastening your own destruction?”
Yuren voluntarily took on a larger burden of hate and malice. It allowed him to bring out a much larger amount of power. The power was immense, yet if Niberis could maintain her defense, she"ll be able to see Yuren basically kill himself.
“I guess I"ll have to show you that I"m on a different level. What a foolish traitor.”
Niberis" eyes shone. At the same time, the darkness around her swirled around as it surged forward.
She spoke with a dignified voice.
“Come! Come into the hands of your proper owner! Dragon Arts - Book of the Dark Soul.”
Koo-koo-koo-koong!
A black thunderbolt struck in front of her, and the evil energy that had been encroaching towards her was shredded to pieces.