Chapter 75

The flames did not spread wide but rose up following the swirling wind.

As Ian landed, regaining his stance, the flames around him were mixed with black smoke.

With a rumble, the smoke swirled around the burning flames.

Ian, looking at the diminishing flames, immediately prepared his next spell.

Soon, Ascolde, whose skin was slightly charred, burst through the smoke.

"Interesting! In all my long life, I've never met a human like you!"

As he shouted, he brought down his left hand, and the smoke storm behind him surged towards Ian like a reverse current.

Crack!

The frost shield formed just in time to block the surging smoke.

The surface of the shield was instantly scratched and worn away as if by tiny blades.

Ian leaped back to create distance.

In his hand, Ascolde, who had landed, now held a vial the length of his finger.

He drank its contents in one gulp.

Red liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Ian's brows furrowed.

'It looks like blood.'

Isn't healing a cheat?

Before his thoughts could fully form, Ascolde's body began to heal.

The swirling smoke around him grew even thicker.

It now looked more like fog or clouds than smoke.

"If you want to see my full power, I'll gladly show it to you."

Ascolde's head snapped back as if struck.

A throwing dagger was deeply embedded in the center of his face.

Black smoke spread from the wound, and Ascolde's mouth split open.

Clang.

When he lowered his head again, the dagger fell to the ground.

Ascolde smiled as he watched Ian charge towards him.

"Truly... it's a shame... to kill you...!"

Boom!

Contrary to his words, he swung his outstretched hand, and the smoke on the ground surged up, striking Ian.

Ian, spinning in mid-air, raised his hand.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted around him and then rained down simultaneously.

Ascolde extended the hand he had raised.

Boom!

The smoke curtain engulfed the flames.

Ian, barely regaining his stance in mid-air, launched himself into the center, enveloped in wind blades.

At this moment, he was acutely aware of every situation.

Bats flying towards him, being bitten and scratched, while he grabbed and tore them apart; Tesia, who was biting and tearing them; Charlotte, guarded by the shadow hawk Tesia had sent; Ascolde, preparing his next attack beyond the barrier; and the black smoke burning alongside the flames.

His ability to perceive in a concentrated state was improving with time.

Boom!

In the next moment, the smoke surged towards Ian like an explosion.

Indeed, it's similar.

Ian recalled the Blood Queen Tesia from the game.

Her attack patterns included something very similar to this.

Except for the color of the smoke, it was practically the same.

It seemed that Ascolde had gained this ability by consuming her blood.

So...

'The method to counter it should be the same.'

In the center of his palm, a low-grade essence, now swirling with mana, unleashed a spell.

Boom!

The surging smoke was scattered by the gale.

The basic gray spell, which in the game only caused knockback by emitting a powerful wind, became a massive wave of wind, dispersing the smoke when amplified by a pinch of chaos energy and the essence.

Ian, momentarily hovering in mid-air.

Beyond him, Ascolde's eyes widened.

A blue light began to glow from Ian's raised right hand.

"......!"

At the moment Ascolde's eyes trembled.

Boom!

Ian, propelled by the surge of divine power, streaked through the air, leaving a blue arc and delivered the Sword of Judgment.

Ascolde raised his crescent sword almost simultaneously.

Clang! Boom!

The attempt to deflect the Sword of Judgment failed as the blade broke.

But it was enough for Ascolde.

If this blow, which split his collarbone and pierced deep into his right shoulder, had hit his head or left shoulder, he would have been dead.

Sizzle-

The remaining divine power on the blade burned his flesh.

In the midst of excruciating pain, Ascolde summoned all the scattered shadow mist and familiars.

In a state of extreme concentration, only possible in life-or-death situations, Ascolde concluded that he had not sustained a fatal wound.

He would need to return to Glumir to recover, but he could regain his original form in a few years.

The shadow mist and familiars were gathering at the fastest speed possible and would soon sweep away this human who had displayed such an unbelievable ability.

And the blood of this human would infuse him with new vitality.

This conclusion, however, shattered the moment he opened his eyes, which had momentarily winced in pain.

"......!"

Ian's eyes, looking down at him, were filled with red mana and glinted coldly, as if seeing through his intentions.

For the first time, Ascolde realized that Ian's time flowed at the same speed as his own.

That this human, once just a character in a game, had chosen the characteristic of concentration, suitable for a knight or barbarian warrior, during his creation process.

That he could always maintain a high level of concentration in battle due to his high-level status, and possessed intelligence and mental strength values that supported his perception and endurance.

'How...?'

Ascolde was merely astonished that a mage could possess the innate talent to become a master swordsman, a talent possessed by only a select few.

Meanwhile, Ian's spell was rapidly completing.

Whoosh!

Smoke and bats surged from all directions.

For a moment, the world plunged into complete darkness.

'...No way.'

Ian dropped the sword he was holding and raised his left hand.

In Ascolde's eyes, as he fell back weakly, the essence, filled with crimson mana, burned brightly.

For a moment, it seemed like a small sun.

Boom!

Golden flames erupted from the essence, spewing in all directions.

Rumble.

The surging waves of fire engulfed the smoke and shadow familiars, spreading rapidly.

An endless wave of flames.

The surroundings instantly brightened like midday.

'Is he planning to burn the entire city?'

Ascolde's back hit the ground.

But he couldn't take his eyes off the wall of flames that was burning and spreading the smoke and familiars.

'...But, it's beautiful.'

A wave of fire, like a wave, also poured over him.

'That's why Plan B is important.'

Ian, watching the flames burn the smoke and bats, extended his hand.

Advanced Red Magic, Flame Tide.

One of the new skills Ian had learned.

He chose it because of its fast casting speed and wide range, and its firepower exceeded expectations.

'The mana consumption and control are intense, but...'

In situations like this, where enemies surround him from all sides, small sacrifices are inevitable.

Ian focused his mind and did his best to control the flames.

Whoosh!

The waves of fire spread roughly and quickly.

"Kyaah-!"

Tisia, lying flat on the ground, screamed.

The battle with the shadow familiars was intense, and her movements were like those of a wild animal.

Remarkably, she still clung to Charlotte's collar in the midst of the chaos.

Whoosh!

The flames that engulfed all the smoke and bats rose high into the air and then evaporated.

With everything converging towards Ian, this was a complete sweep.

Sizzle...

The essence, which had been rotating like a wheel, lost its light and fell with a puff of smoke.

Darkness and silence descended.

Ian's gaze turned to the side.

He saw Ascolde.

Despite being reduced to a lump of charcoal with the Sword of Judgment still embedded in his right chest, Ascolde was still alive.

"Here... in my long... life..."

Ascolde's lips moved as if sensing Ian's approaching footsteps.

Pieces of skin fell off.

"I thought... I would be... the end..."

Ian, letting the whispered words pass by one ear, pulled the Sword of Judgment from Ascolde's chest.

The heated blade felt like it would burn his hand, but it felt good now.

"You... in the end..."

Ah, kid. You talk a lot even at the end.

Ian, clicking his tongue, plunged the sword into Ascolde's heart without hesitation.

Thud, the surroundings were crushed as the blade pierced the heart.

Sizzle- The sensation of something burning was transmitted. It was the sound of the remaining blood being completely consumed.

Ascolde's body stiffened and soon began to crumble into ashes.

"Ha..."

Just as Ian was about to pull the sword out.

Crack!

"......!"

Something flew out from the pile of ashes. A black bat made of shadows.

A final desperate act? Or a contingency plan of his clan that he himself didn't know about?

While thinking, Ian launched a fireball at the fleeing bat.

The fireball hit the bat precisely.

Whoosh!

The flames illuminated the air.

Unexpectedly, the fireball failed to completely burn the bat.

A tiny piece of shadow broke through the fire and eventually disappeared into the darkness.

"...Tsk."

Ian clicked his tongue.

But it didn't matter.

Given that the quest was completed, Ascolde was definitely dead, and the small piece, whatever it was, seemed insufficient to fulfill its original purpose.

Thud-

Ian finally sat down.

Throbbing headache and dizziness. The pain from the wounds inflicted by the crescent blade finally became noticeable.

But the satisfaction was ample.

He gained an ability point and a significant amount of experience from the completed quest.

He was even close to leveling up.

At this rate, he would soon experience his first level-up since falling into this world.

"It's over, it's over...?!"

Tisia, who had been lying flat on the ground, lifted her head.

"Yeah."

Ian, answering with a tired voice, looked down at the pile of ashes that was Ascolde.

A faint mana could be felt amidst the piled ashes.

Reaching into the ashes, he unearthed the magic box containing the mermaid's scream, the vial of blood, another unknown box, and a necklace with ominous patterns.

They had somehow maintained their shape despite the fire.

At least the necklace could be identified.

It was a rare-grade opal necklace that slightly increased mental strength, several resistances, and the rare option of mana regeneration.

"Believed, believed in you...! Ian! You're really the best...!"

Tisia jumped and shouted.

Ian, putting the necklace into his subspace, said:

"Charlotte?"

"Unconscious and sleeping. This useless beast!"

Tisia, laughing and kicking Charlotte, moved towards Ian.

Ian turned his head sharply.

"Don't come closer."

"Huh...? Why?"

"You're bleeding. Keep your distance."

"Ah, okay...! Got it. I'll do that."

Through this incident, Ian confirmed that his blood emitted a scent that caused vampires to lose their sanity.

The reason or cause was still unknown, but it wasn't important.

Tisia, nodding, added softly:

"Can I just lick a little?"

"Is that possible?"

"Actually, I didn't expect it."

Tisia, shrugging, threw off her tattered clothes.

Her gaze swept over the quiet night streets.

The deeply rutted roads and buildings with clear marks of fire.

The square at the intersection of the roads was a mess.

Tisia, smiling, added:

"Then, should we quickly leave before the people in this city wake up?"

"Leave...?"

Ian laughed hollowly.

If it were the frontier kingdoms, it might have been fine.

But this was the empire's territory, albeit an autonomous region.

With his identity recorded, if he fled now, his name would end up on the list of criminals.

"Take care of Charlotte and stay in the room. Put on some clothes."

"Ian?"

"I'll wait here until dawn. If I stay, the misunderstanding will be cleared up faster."

Actually, most of the chaos was due to his spells.

The dead can't speak, so blaming it on Ascolde would resolve the issue.

"You and Charlotte don't know what happened. You were asleep."

"Alright. I'll go in and rest first. Good work."

Tisia, nodding briskly, picked up the unconscious Charlotte.

She moved quickly to the inn's door and suddenly turned back to Ian.

"Ian. Can you invite me in when you go inside?"