Chapter 18

EP.18 Ant Nest (3)

"Wow, amazing..."

Beside me, Kaya's voice filled with admiration could be heard.

With the [Evil Exterminator] activated, my level is now 136, and my skill proficiency is at S-rank. It's a realm Kaya can't even dream of reaching.

I released the [Frost Barrier] that was protecting Kaya.

"Amazing, Sir Isaac..."

"Let's go."

I started walking forward indifferently. At the same time, my unique trait [Evil Exterminator] deactivated, and my body suddenly felt much heavier. I had returned to my normal physical state.

The frozen disaster ants looked even more threatening up close. They really are disgusting.

Kaya followed me. Despite the icy floor, she walked steadily without slipping.

The disaster ants we just encountered would be destroyed once the frost is lifted, but the ones further away would remain frozen. In other words, we couldn't thaw the ice in the cave recklessly.

"Haaah..."

I heard Kaya's breath. I immediately turned to look at her.

She had her arms crossed. Though she was trying to act nonchalant, it was clear she was cold.

The chill filling the underground maze originated from my magic. Since the caster is less affected by their own magic, I didn't feel particularly cold.

'I should have paid more attention.'

I was too focused on myself.

I took out one of the magic pouches from my bag. When I reached into the pouch, I grabbed a coat.

I stopped and handed it to Kaya. It was a school cardigan.

"Here."

"No, I'm fine..."

She clearly looked cold, yet she was refusing.

I roughly draped the cardigan over Kaya's shoulders and continued walking.

Kaya clutched the cardigan tightly and followed me with her head down.

"...Thank you."

[Kaya Astraean]

Psychology: [I feel a mix of burden and gratitude for the coat you gave me.]

As we walked through the underground maze, we occasionally saw disaster ants frozen in place. It was a tragic end for the demons who couldn't prepare for the sudden ice disaster.

There were no traps in the maze. Even if there were, they would have been frozen and rendered ineffective.

Just as we were advancing without any issues,

Thump─.

"......?"

It was small, but I could clearly hear it.

The sound of a heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump─.

We were about to reach the end of the underground maze. From beyond the maze's end, a steady heartbeat was echoing.

Kaya narrowed her eyes, showing her alertness. From her reaction, I could guess what she was about to say.

"I can sense it, this unpleasant mana... Is there a demon ahead?"

Her mana detection skills were at a level where she could sense unpleasant mana, but I nodded.

In any case, there was no need to detect mana. Just from the sound of the heartbeat, I could tell that something terrifying was ahead.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump────.

Finally, as we emerged from the underground maze, a vast space with a high ceiling stretched out before us.

The place had turned into an ice cave due to my magic. The orderly ant army stood frozen solid.

At the end of the road lined with ants like trees,

A massive heart was beating at a steady rhythm.

It was a golden heart.

The black, stretchy outer layer moved with the heartbeat, and the blood vessels extending from the heart to various parts of the cave displayed a harmonious blend of gold and black.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump───────────.

"What... what is that...?"

Kaya looked dazed at the grand sight.

"Demon."

I answered simply.

Inside the massive golden heart, the silhouette of a monstrous creature could be seen.

From the silhouette alone, its appearance could be easily inferred.

[Hidden Garzia]

Level: 110

Race: Demon

Attribute: Darkness, Rock

Danger Level: High

Psychology: [I want to kill you.]

<Magician of Merchen> Act 2, Chapter 4 mentions that Hidden Garzia's level is 140. So, it has been leveling up in this form.

The fact that it remained unharmed even after I froze the entire cave with [Severe Frost] suggests it has high elemental resistance.

Part of the reason is that I cast the spell from a distance.

'Is there a Zephirin?'

Garzia's mana residue had transformed into Zephirin items, scattered throughout the cave. Though frozen by my magic, the characteristic pale yellow glow of Zephirin was clearly visible.

Good, perfect.

Now, I just need to quickly finish off Garzia.

Rumble──!

As expected, it wouldn't just sit there.

Around the golden heart where Garzia was hiding, massive rock walls sprouted from the ground and walls. The rock walls had a black pearl-like luster.

「Cliff (Rock Attribute, ★4)」 + 「Black Rock (Rock Attribute, ★5)」 =

──────────「Adamantite (Rock Attribute)」

A black rock wall, as solid as iron, enveloped the heart and blood vessels. It was a sturdy, seamless wall like a fortress.

A spear and shield battle, then. I'll accept it.

"Sir Isaac?"

I approached Garzia's heart.

[Demon detected.]

[Unique trait [Evil Exterminator] activated!]

[Level and stats temporarily greatly enhanced!]

[Skill tree temporarily +10!]

「Cold Emission (Ice Attribute, ★1)」

I began to emit a pale mist of cold from my entire body to increase my magic output.

The cold mist, like a mist, seeped out and swirled.

It felt as if opening a window to ventilate a stuffy room, making it easier to increase my ice mana output.

[Hidden Garzia]

Psychology: [I want to crush you with [Rock Burial].]

Rumble────!!

The ice on the ground shattered, and rock pillars flew from both sides.

「Rock Burial (Rock Attribute, ★4)」

The massive rock pillars, overwhelming the air, seemed ready to crush me.

"Sir Isaac!"

I heard Kaya's worried cry. It's fine; this is nothing.

The moment I heard the activation sound of [Rock Burial], I was already swirling my mana-coated finger.

Following my finger's movement, thick ice walls shot up from the ground to the ceiling on both sides.

「Ice Wall (Ice Attribute, ★4)」

Rumble────!!!

The collision of rock and ice.

The rock mass created by [Rock Burial] couldn't penetrate the [Ice Wall] I created.

Through the narrow path formed by the [Ice Wall], I advanced and reached the heart.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

The vast heart, floating high, was a magnificent sight. Looking at it up close, my neck ached.

Garzia seemed to be angry, and the broad heart began to beat more roughly.

It's hurting my ears.

I extended my right hand toward the heart, which was encased in the seemingly solid [Adamantite].

Here, I need to use the most powerful short-range magic.

I condensed mana in my right hand and inscribed the incantations for [Frost Explosion] and [Black Ice] in my mind.

A pale blue magic circle appeared in front of my right hand, and behind it, a black magic circle overlapped. Thus, a dark blue [Frost Explosion] magic circle was formed.

I then released the highly compressed mana in my hand.

「Frost Explosion (Ice Attribute, ★5)」 + 「Black Ice (Ice Attribute, ★5)」 =

──────────────────── 「Black Frost Explosion (Ice Attribute)」

Kaboom───────!!!

Black frost exploded and surged toward the massive heart. Dark blue coldness raged, and the dim ice and my white hair were whipped by the air pressure.

Direct hit. The ice that erupted as if to engulf everything instantly enveloped the heart.

However─.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

Inside the black frost.

The heartbeat was still echoing. It hadn't penetrated the [Adamantite].

Rumble─.

Then, the sound of rocks moving inside the frost could be heard. It was clear that Garzia was restoring the [Adamantite] by emitting mana.

[Frost Explosion] is extremely powerful at the moment the frost bursts. With the added power of [Black Ice], which enhances the spell's potency, the magic I just cast was at my maximum strength.

In other words, my spear couldn't penetrate the demon's shield.

Despite the level difference being in my favor.

The heart-shaped Garzia, gathering its strength, seemed to have defensive magic proficiency and elemental resistance far exceeding its level.

It's as if there's a will, like a law, that Garzia must not be defeated.

'What should I do...?'

Should I slash with [Black Frost Explosion]? No, that would be a reckless act. Even in the [Evil Exterminator] state, the mana consumption of [Frost Explosion] enhanced by [Black Ice] is enormous.

Moreover, it didn't take long for Garzia to restore the [Adamantite] after being hit by my magic. The duration of the sound was enough to determine that.

In other words, if I kept firing [Black Frost Explosion] while Garzia continuously restored the [Adamantite], I would be at a disadvantage.

If I could just increase the power a bit more, my magic would directly hit Garzia.

There must be a way to deliver a powerful blow...

"That ice...?"

You were there.

"Kaya."

"Yes?"

I turned to look at Kaya.

In <Magician of Merchen>, there is a clear concept of joint attacks. When performing a joint attack, [Elemental Synergy] can be effectively utilized.

When [Elemental Synergy] is activated, the effect of my elemental magic when combined with another element becomes more powerful. In other words, I can unleash even more powerful magic on Garzia.

"Do you want to join in the fun?"

I recalled Kaya's psychology earlier. She seemed to want to be a righteous hero fighting against evil threatening the academy.

I asked Kaya as if doing her a favor, pretending to be relaxed.

Kaya's face brightened.

[Kaya Astraean]

Psychology: [I'm happy to have a chance to contribute.]

"Yes!"

Kaya wrapped herself in a pale green wind and quickly flew toward me.

Kaya landed lightly to my right.

I extended my right arm toward the heart trapped in the black frost.

Kaya extended her left arm, pointing her wand at the heart.

Whoosh──!

「Wind Generation (Wind Attribute, ★1)」

Kaya's wind began to swirl around us. The strong gusts mixed with the cold emanating from me, and her hair and clothes were wildly tossed.

The wind attribute is characterized by continuously generating wind to increase the power of subsequent wind spells.

She was generating wind to increase the power of the attack she was about to unleash.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Sir Isaac! I also wanted to test my magic against this demon!"

"Alright."

Kaya must think that someone at my level can easily defeat Garzia.

She probably sees the previous spell as just a test of the demon's defenses.

"Tell me the most powerful attack spell you can use right now."

"[Gale Fang]."

"Good."

[Gale Fang] is a 5-star wind attribute spell.

An ice spell that would complement this would be...

'...[Frost Flower].'

I inscribed the incantations for [Frost Flower] and [Black Ice] in my mind. A dark blue magic circle appeared in front of my extended right hand.

Right next to me,

A pale green magic circle appeared in front of Kaya's extended wand and began to slowly rotate behind her.

I dispelled the frost covering the heart. The frost turned into dark blue powder and scattered, revealing the heart encased in the solid [Adamantite] once again.

"I'll give the signal, and you fire."

"Understood!"

My [Elemental Synergy] in the [Evil Exterminator] state is S-rank. The joint attack I'm about to perform with Kaya will be at least twice as powerful as the [Frost Explosion] and [Black Ice] combination I used earlier.

Cold and frost, pale blue ice mana and black darkness mana, swirled together.

A cold, dark blue flame began to burn in front of my right hand.

「Frost Flower (Ice Attribute, ★4)」 + 「Black Ice (Ice Attribute, ★5)」 =

──────── 「Arctic Inferno (Ice Attribute)」

I released the cold flame.

"Now!"

At my command, Kaya and I simultaneously unleashed our magic.

Sharp pale green wind wrapped around the cold, dark blue flame. The wind drew a clean trajectory from both sides and soared toward the heart.

Whoosh────!!

The spreading cold flame storm.

The heart was enveloped in a fierce whirlwind, as if determined not to let its prey escape.

Like a pack of wolves pouncing and biting, the powerful wind wrapped in [Arctic Inferno] attacked the heart in rapid succession.

「Arctic Inferno (Ice Attribute)」 + 「Gale Fang (Wind Attribute, ★5)」 =

─────────────────「Polar Gale (Ice + Wind Attribute)」

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