NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 166
No matter how powerful Black Magic is, there’s no way you’re blocking all the magical bombardments coming from the Square. Even if you claim superiority in magic power, there’s a limit, right?
Sure, if it’s not fully cast yet, maybe you could manage. You might fend off up to the third stanza of magic, but once it hits the fourth, well, just protecting your skin might do the trick.
But blocking a fully completed Great Magic? Forget about it! Especially if it’s from the Square Master — that’s a whole different league.
And speaking of leagues, the condition of the Plague is looking pretty shabby. It’s gasping for breath, and its forces are half-decimated, creeping along like a wounded beast. Many of them are squashed or broken, unable to move, and some are burnt to a crisp, reduced to mere lumps of flesh.
But honestly, who cares about those pathetic groups? They’re not even a threat to the Wolf.
The real concerns for the Wolf are the monster of the Plague, the calamity of Disease, and the countless spells falling from the Floating Island.
“…!”
The Wolf, having lost a leg, transformed its tentacle. The next level of transformation crafted a more complete leg, morphing the severed limb into an entirely different form as envisioned by the Wolf.
The resulting figure, with horns sprouting from its shoulders, grew larger and more ferocious than before. Red scales, which it never had, emerged, enveloping the Wolf like armor, gracing it with an appearance befitting the name Marang.
This wasn’t just about the change in shape; it brought along the characteristics as well. The Wolf had a skill that allowed it to take on traits of the entities it had consumed. The transformed trait was that of the Volcano Ceratops, the strongest enemy the Wolf had ever devoured.
It looked like the Ceratops was armored with its skin and horns. Of course, it could never truly replicate the real deal.
The scales were soft compared to the Ceratops’s Dragon Skin, and the horns were barely tougher than paper. The spirit of the Volcano, that ironclad power, came from the stats that the Ceratops held. The Wolf’s strength and stamina were nothing compared to it, making true replication impossible.
To even think it could mimic a creature as formidable as the Volcano Ceratops with a D-rank skill in Transformation was ludicrous. But if it could snag even a fraction of that power, that would be enough. Just a bit of that sturdiness would suffice.
There was no way to escape the magical bombardment blanketing the skies.
Ultimately, no matter what the Wolf tried, the magic would reach it. Thus, it changed form, utilizing both Transformation and Hardening, finally completing its preparations.
***
The Mages were already spent, having dumped most of their magic power. Among them, Baek So-yul, who surpassed average mages, gasped for air yet began to chant once more.
The only third stanza magic she could cast was the White Explosion taught by Hong Yu-ri. Thus, she had no choice but to repeat it endlessly.
The constant repetition demanded rapid mastery from Baek So-yul, and her incantation sped up.
She felt she could still hold on. It wasn’t magic addiction or pure stubbornness. Even after casting the Great Magic over ten times, her magic power hadn’t run dry.
No, she still had more than half left. As the altitude of the Floating Island decreased, so too did her residual magic power. The magic power wasted when casting spells kept gathering around her.
With cold sweat trickling down her face, Baek So-yul noticed the earlier monster was drawing closer to the island. Each one of its countless tentacles crashed against the air, making her feel like her eardrums were about to burst.
No, it wasn’t just a feeling; warm liquid was actually trickling from her ears. Without realizing it, as she brushed her hand against her face, Baek So-yul bit her lip and continued her chant.
Gradually, her senses began to change. It’s like how a blind person’s hearing becomes more acute; when she couldn’t hear anything, her focus sharpened her vision, allowing her to perceive more than usual.
Red hues lingered as afterimages, but things that had been invisible before began to materialize one by one.
Black tentacles were swaying, pursuing something. It was a sight she had never seen — covered in red scales with horns sprouting; there was no mistaking it. Baek So-yul instinctively knew it was the Alpha.
Before pondering why it was being chased, the thought of needing to save it filled her mind.
And so, Baek So-yul completed her spell.
“Here comes your death—!”
She hoped it wasn’t too late.
***
A scorching heat, hot enough to fry before touching the flames, enveloped the Wolf. The source of that heat was the magic cascading down from hundreds of meters above. The Wolf raised its head to read and assess all that magic.
Not just understanding the magic itself, but rather gauging the amount of magic power contained within it. With keen intuition, the Wolf understood and turned its body.
When it turned, its view was filled with black tentacles. They were ripping through the air, eyeing the Wolf’s demise. Given the powers of Disease, just a flick would surely result in mortal wounds. One slip-up could lead to irreversible death.
Yet, the Wolf gladly charged towards that deadly line.
It figured the path to survival would only materialize after dancing on that boundary.
“――――――!”
Instead of running away, Disease, annoyed by the Wolf rushing towards it, unleashed a scream infused with magic, warping the air and causing the Wolf to stagger.
Thanks to that, the tentacles managed to narrowly miss the Wolf. Even so, the mere brushing against it contorted the Wolf’s leg into a bizarre shape.
The injury healed instantly. No, it actually created a new leg. Once fully within the Black Forest, the heat surged, and the bombardment from Red Square loomed ever closer.
But it was inevitable—
“――――――!”
Before reaching the Wolf, it first struck the Black Forest as Disease screamed for it to leave. The wails of Disease resonated throughout the area. The gigantic mass of tentacles, reminiscent of the Black Forest, began consuming the magic flames one by one, just like before.
The burning Black Forest wouldn’t easily succumb to the flames of magic. But the pain was real. As Disease twisted in agony, flames began to seep through the gaps in its tentacle barriers, eliciting a grimace from the Wolf when they touched it.
Unlike Disease, the pain was bearable, but it was hard to endure. Progress would prove challenging. Thanks to using Disease’s tentacles as a shield, its power was considerably diminished, but the Great Magic from the Square Master and the heir was not something to be taken lightly.
Perhaps there was a way to break through and climb upward, but that made clear just how absurd that thought was.
The Wolf whipped up a gale to disperse the flames as it charged downward, causing the green smoke that had been gradually rising to scatter.
Even having touched flames for just a brief moment made the Wolf acutely aware of how humanity had managed to fend off both disasters. Directly facing that power was impossible.
But magic wasn’t the only problem.
Disease slammed its long tail against the ground, sending debris flying, and countless chunks of earth soared towards the Wolf, aiming to shred it apart.
The makeshift foothold crumbled under the fragments. Instead of making another foothold, the Wolf dashed across the airborne debris, falling toward the ground.
To the earth-eating insect, it seemed as if the Wolf was blazing a path with fire at its heels. It took only a brief moment for the sight of the Wolf galloping through flames to leave one in awe.
Suddenly, with a mighty quake, the ground began to tremble.
The earth rose, becoming a rock mountain, as Disease’s giant leaped forth, gaping wide to swallow the Wolf whole.
In the sky, flames plummeted while the ground shifted; just as Disease’s jaw filled the Wolf’s view, the winds encircled the Wolf and erupted.
The explosion of the gale disrupted the air currents, and for a fleeting moment, it barely nudged the falling magic.
That meant nothing. It was already a foregone conclusion that layers of magic would descend upon the land. Even the storm was just a gentle breeze compared to the magical bombardment.
What the Wolf desired was merely a little time. Time enough for Disease to temporarily lose track of it. And miraculously, that plan succeeded.
Just as the magic was about to close in above its head, wherever it tried to run, the Wolf was nowhere to be found. When only a faint black mist lingered as an afterimage, Disease’s keen senses finally detected the Wolf.
There, right beneath its jaw, lurked the Wolf. In a grotesque twist, it seemed the Wolf was attempting to use Disease itself as a shield. The moment the tentacles reached for it—the entire thing melted away.
Finally, the magic of the Square hit home. While the world turned scarlet, Disease writhed in pain, and when the fallen giant of Disease crashed onto the ground, the Wolf recalled a similar sight from long ago.
Earth Serpent—like the time it met that thing, when Disease collided with the earth, the ground shattered completely.
As dust swirled upward, it was suffocated by the overwhelming magic.
The giant of Disease fell and met the ground with an immense shockwave, sending even the Wolf hiding in the shadows underneath its chin reeling for a moment. Still, as long as the terrain remained intact—the shadows wouldn’t disperse. Even amidst such shock, Disease didn’t halt.
Rather, it writhed as if to hide deeper underground.
When the Wolf saw an undulating something blocking its path, it realized it was faced with an unknown barrier.
Should it forcibly break through that or endure the magical bombardment?
And it was that very dilemma that robbed Disease of its choice.
Because the moment the red magical bombardment finally landed on the fallen Disease, it struck with full force.
Unlike the Wolf, Disease could endure magic. It would incur injuries but would regenerate over time.
The magic that erupted upon the monstrous calamity inflicted an agony far more intense than it had ever imagined, much worse than those it had endured before.
Why? The answer became apparent quickly.
Because chunks of Dragon Skin were being ripped off here and there. The attacks from the Wolf, while luring it in, were more than mere annoyances. Indeed, they had successfully inflicted significant damage.
No, that wasn’t it. It was more complicated than that.
The creeping decay continued relentlessly, gnawing away at the scales of Disease. Caught up in its own turmoil, Disease was oblivious to this fact.
When Disease finally realized that truth too late, it dedicated most of its magic to creating a magical barrier. As the barrier enveloped its entire body from within, the Wolf sprang forth from the shadows as well.
The magic that exploded without the protection of scales achieved success in inflicting horrific pain and damage on Disease.
But that was true for the Wolf too. The Wolf, clinging beneath Disease’s chin, ground its teeth as scorching heat engulfed it.
Even wrapped in Black Magic, it felt crushed and summoned a storm. Mostly, Disease mitigated it; however, the flames, suffused in red magic, impacted the Wolf as well.
The red scales mimicking the Ceratops melted, and the borrowed horns lost their shape. Though it bought a little time, this was pushing it too far. Just as the thought of being engulfed by endless flames loomed, a flash of white light burst forth before the Wolf’s eyes.
It was like a dazzling explosion shining like a beacon, sweeping away the fire of magic and creating a mere crack, prompting the Wolf to charge towards the light.