Chapter 232: Fallen Monk (3)

“…You worry about truly useless things.”

McQueen, his face hardened, swung the stone staff in his hand once.

CRUMBLE!!

At the same instant, the arm of the stone statue, shattered by Lennok’s Multiple Extremes, broke off, and a new arm sprouted from its shoulder.

Considering how he had unhesitatingly sacrificed Arjumarta’s arm just before, it must mean the summoned creature possessed powerful regenerative abilities from the outset.

Lennok watched it plainly and brought up another topic.

“They say skyscrapers are designed with a certain degree of flexibility and elasticity to prevent them from being pushed over by strong winds.”

Lennok continued, looking down at the building trembling from the overflowing magical energy emanating from McQueen’s body.

“But at this rate, it won’t hold out much longer.”

“What are you talking about so nonchalantly!!”

McQueen roared in a stern voice, stepping back and swiftly finishing his hand seals.

He leaped onto the statue’s head, glaring down at Lennok from dozens of meters above.

The tattoos etched across his entire body rotated violently, and simultaneously, brilliant yellow Essence Light formed in both his hands, glowing intensely.

WHIRRRRRING!!

“You, too, accepted this job because you coveted the CEO position… Stop pretending to be noble and speak your true intentions!!!”

As the stone statue’s mouth gaped open, McQueen threw the Essence Light gathered in his hands directly into its maw.

Arjumarta, having swallowed the immense energy source, circulated it within its body before spewing it directly at Lennok.

[Pillar-Shattering Release Cannon]

The brilliant yellow beam that shot from Arjumarta’s mouth pierced straight through the spot where Lennok had been, pouring down onto the ground beneath the building.

CREEEEEAK-!!!

The secret ultimate technique of Parden McQueen, the Renegade Monk.

The highest-grade bombardment incantation of release magic, which temporarily unseals Arjumarta’s output and converts its internal power directly into firepower.

Not only did it melt away half of the skyscraper’s rooftop, but the beam, shot in a straight line to the ground, left a long scar on the surface.

If there had been enough space to evade, perhaps, but at the very top of the building, and with Arjumarta narrowing the evasion area to its limit, it was an absolutely unavoidable strike.

Wasn’t this spot chosen as the decisive battleground with Lennok precisely for this technique, which was by no means inferior in destructive power?

“Haaah, haaah…!!”

Large drops of sweat continuously fell from his wrinkled skin.

This was his first real battle in decades. And a powerful foe he had to face with all his might.

His aging judgment and clouded intent made precise mana manipulation difficult, and his daily weakening body couldn’t withstand the strain of using high-level techniques.

But even as McQueen gasped for breath, leaning on his stone staff, he relentlessly focused his power toward the spot where Lennok had been.

“Ughaaaaah!!”

[Mystic Line]

[Smoldering Harm Light]

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!

The bombardment spells, screamed out as he wielded his staff, poured down mercilessly.

The swaying, unstable building creaked under the excessive impact, slowly losing its balance.

Yet, even in that moment, McQueen was desperately trying not to lose focus for even an instant.

‘Where is he…!!’

How much research and analysis had he put into the wizard named Van for this battle today?

A wizard who freely wielded lightning-elemental magic, a field said to have no equal in firepower.

He skillfully used not only fire-elemental magic but also ice and manipulation-elemental magic, and was remarkably proficient with firearms.

How many had fallen before his formidable skill, which allowed him to fight warriors head-on with his unique sharp intuition and unparalleled combat sense?

It took over a full week to haphazardly collect all known information about his combat style, accumulated through his brilliant achievements as a freelancer, and formulate countermeasures.

In stark contrast to his incomparably immense firepower and endlessly diverse attack patterns, almost all of his defensive techniques to protect his own body were replaced solely with shield magic.

If he narrowed the range and unleashed powerful spells instead of giving space and time to evade, he would surely penetrate the defense.

But McQueen, even after successfully executing his scheme, never let down his guard.

This was not an opponent who would fall so easily.

A talent and judgment that pleased Olivera Ron Maize.

His experience and intuition, forged through countless battles, could not possibly end here.

McQueen knew that better than anyone.

He, too, had once been a Saint-tier Wizard who had overcome countless life-and-death situations to reach this position.

‘There’s no way it’s ending just like this…!!’

“Where are you!!”

The answer to McQueen’s impatient shout came, surprisingly, from close by.

“I have little interest in the CEO position. Working for the organization is the same.”

McQueen, startled, turned his head toward his back, but something piercing through his stomach and bursting out was much faster.

STAB!!

“…!!!!”

His body, once disciplined through arduous training. His physique, which had led the charge in defeating countless enemies with his uniquely powerful martial arts, allowed the attack so easily.

His lips trembled as he confirmed the identity of the object that had burst through his stomach.

“Merlida’s Fang… Avid’s…”

Merlida’s tooth, possessing powerful magic resistance.

Even if it couldn’t break through spells created solely for defense, it was enough to pierce the body of a wizard saturated with mana.

Lennok appeared behind McQueen, on the head of the colossal stone statue Arjumarta, and calmly replied.

“But a mere nominal position is something I wouldn’t refuse. That’s probably all she wants, too.”

CRUNCH!!

As he twisted the fang in his hand, blood began to gush from McQueen’s side.

“Ugh…!!”

McQueen retched from the pain churning in his head, but even with his insides twisting, he did not take his eyes off Lennok.

Even after taking the Pillar-Shattering Release Cannon, the bombardment incantation that pierced the building’s rooftop and plunged into the ground, head-on, there wasn’t a single scratch on Lennok’s body.

What was the reason he could not only evade all those attacks but also toy with McQueen and get behind him, even when the high-rise rooftop, with no escape, was set as the battlefield, and relentless bombardment poured down without a moment’s rest?

Only after seeing Lennok’s slowly rotating left Mystic Eye did he grasp the truth, his eyes widening.

“Il-illusion magic… Were you deceiving me from the very beginning!!!”

“Do you understand now?”

Lennok’s unusually frequent eye contact with him.

And Lennok’s strangely passive counterattacks and responses.

The electric light scattered by Multiple Extremes was so brilliant, and the swirling electricity distorted mana and deceived the senses, preventing him from noticing the truth hidden beneath.

From the very beginning of the battle, Lennok had intentionally set up a scheme to deceive McQueen.

Using the Mystic Eye stolen from Eolara as a catalyst, he concealed his incantations and hand seals while deploying powerful illusion magic.

Amidst the rapidly unfolding battle and narrowed field of vision.

It wasn’t particularly difficult to exploit the moments between his extremely heightened concentration.

The important thing was to perfectly deceive his senses and approach him at that critical moment of using the Pillar-Shattering Release Cannon.

Taking advantage of that fleeting moment of sensory confusion, he used the Nyx Badge to conceal his life signature, traversing Arjumarta’s empty abdominal space.

At the same time he got behind him, he plunged Merlida’s Fang into McQueen’s side.

“A miscalculation…!!”

McQueen bit his lip, only now realizing the full extent of the deception.

Crimson blood streamed down, mirroring his frustration.

“I didn’t expect a wizard like you… to challenge me to close-quarters combat… from this close…!!”

“Your internal organs are severely damaged. You won’t last long.”

Lennok said, looking down at McQueen, who staggered and knelt.

From the moment he realized that the high-rise rooftop would be the decisive battleground, Lennok had a rough idea of what McQueen was aiming for.

Three days to prepare for the duel. For a wizard like McQueen, that would be enough time to analyze his opponent’s style.

It wouldn’t be strange even if he had thoroughly understood Lennok’s strengths, his preferred patterns, and which types of combat he avoided.

A wizard of his caliber would have noticed Lennok’s strange avoidance of close-quarters combat, for reasons unknown.

‘Whether it’s a geas or a physical issue, he must have thought the reason didn’t matter.’

His scheme was to conclude that close-quarters combat was out of the question and, choosing an unavoidable battlefield, seek a decisive victory through a direct firepower clash.

That’s why Lennok, conversely, used illusion magic to make his move at the critical moment.

By exploiting a gap in McQueen’s perception – close-quarters combat without using mana.

Lennok watched with cold eyes as McQueen slowly hunched over.

The moment the mana-resistant fang pierced his body, even moving his mana must have become difficult.

But McQueen gritted his teeth and clutched the stone staff he had once dropped.

“Not yet…!!!”

SWISH!!

At that moment, McQueen, who painfully pulled out the fang embedded in his abdomen, quickly distanced himself from Lennok as if disappearing from his spot.

Even with blood pooling from his gaping abdomen, there was no flaw in his movement-based spell.

As the wound on his stomach, inflicted by Merlida’s Fang, healed, Lennok felt a familiar trace of mana from the blood puddle at his feet and couldn’t help but smile.

“So you used the blood of your subordinate, the blood wizard, for doping… Yes, this is more like it!”

“…!!!”

McQueen, whose scheme of using Avid’s blood to boost his overall physical strength and regenerative abilities was instantly seen through, gritted his teeth.

He quickly formed hand seals with one arm and slammed his stone staff down, causing Arjumarta to move.

Lennok immediately tilted his shield and gathered mana, but the statue’s arm was aimed in a completely different direction.

CRASHHHH!!

As it struck the side of the building that had been supporting its body, the upper part of the already swaying building snapped off.

SCREEEEECH!!

Instantly, the statue’s massive body tilted sharply to one side, and the two individuals on its head also fell downwards.

The statue, over ten meters tall, and the two wizards plummeted 800 meters down, buffeted by the strong winds.

As soon as he realized that setting the battlefield narrowly had been a losing move, he unhesitatingly shattered the entire upper section of the building, changing the combat zone.

WHOOSH!!

Buffeted by the wind, Lennok immediately turned his head toward McQueen.

Even as he fell toward the ground with his summoned creature, there wasn’t a trace of agitation on his face.

Rather, he simply sat in the very center of the falling statue’s chest, clutching his stone staff, his eyes closed.

As his hands moved fluidly, forming hand seals, Arjumarta’s arms also smoothly traced an arc.

Dual incantation, performed as master and summoned creature became one.

WOOSHSHSHSHSH!!!

It wasn’t hard to imagine what awaited beyond the profound secrets of summoning magic, which drastically inflated the scale and power of the spell.

McQueen’s blood, flowing out due to Avid’s blood serum, enveloped both the wizard and the statue, forming a colossal blood membrane that protected against external attacks.

The blood serum, created by a Level 6 blood wizard with the lives of his subordinates as collateral, assisted his superior’s spell, instantly accelerating McQueen’s consciousness.

Lennok, falling backward, watched it and smiled.

It was too late to interfere with the spell.

And he had no intention of stopping it from the beginning.

An old and exhausted Level 7 Saint-tier Wizard.

Even though he forcibly boosted his condition with blood serum, his rusty combat sense couldn’t even bring out Lennok’s full power.

The battle had been decided the moment he feared intricate psychological warfare and complex stratagems, and was instead deceived by Lennok’s illusion.

Lennok could have killed him in at least twenty different ways the moment McQueen grasped his staff to resist.

But why didn’t he?

The reason for his persistent, thorough, and perfectly executed plan, without an inch of carelessness or waste, yet without delivering the finishing blow.

Lennok knew the answer.

‘An opportunity like this won’t come again.’

Because if not now, he wouldn’t get the chance to experience a domain clash between high-level wizards.

No matter how sharp and keen the enlightenment one obtains, it is difficult to fully grasp its true power without wielding it directly.

That’s why Lennok needed to confirm it right now, not in a precarious moment where his life was on the line.

In this convenient environment – a one-on-one duel between wizards, most comfortable for Lennok, where no interference had to be considered.

To what extent could the answer he had found reach?

As he clutched the Mana Core that shot out from his sleeve, McQueen’s incantation finished, and his eyes snapped open.

With a concentration so intense that his pupils rolled back, leaving only white, he shouted with a powerful voice amplified by mana.

“Ughaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

A fierce will flowed through space, instantly beginning to transform everything around.

[Domain Expansion]

[Mental Imprint]

[White Rakshasa Temple]

DUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUM!!!

A swirling white wind.

The air that brushed his cheeks was icy, mercilessly lashing at his earlobes.

His nose instantly cleared, and his ears became muffled.

A strange phenomenon, as if the atmospheric pressure had suddenly changed.

But the scene that appeared before Lennok’s eyes was even more mystical than those internal changes.

A snow-covered mountain, blanketed in pristine white.

In the middle of that immensely high mountain range, where no sign of human civilization could be seen in any direction.

A huge temple, painted bright red, stood tall.

An isolated snowy plain, surrounded by high mountains.

In front of the massive gate of the temple, built through ancient times.

A man, buried in the snow, knelt with his head bowed deeply.