Chapter 598: Form Change (6)
Crackle, crackle…!!
From the tips of her five tails, foxfires rose, rotating to form a colossal five-pointed star. As if commanding the intense lightning curtain erupting from behind the sunset-streaked prairie, thunder rose with Davi’s every step.
From within Davi’s growth form, which had grown far larger than Lennok, an overwhelmingly powerful lightning glow burst forth. Davi, who had long been stagnant at four tails, had finally awakened her fifth.
The Spirit Growth Promotion Ritual, created through human sacrifice. And the various high-grade catalysts and spirit mana that Hyman had separately prepared for the Creation Spirit that would be born from it.
Hyman’s plan itself was by no means flawed.
By merely absorbing the arrangements he had prepared in advance for the Creation Spirit’s growth, Davi succeeded in acquiring her fifth tail without relying on the power of the ritual created through human sacrifice.
Could he feel the reality of all his carefully prepared arrangements and rituals being stolen and reduced to failure more acutely than this?
Even Lennok couldn’t easily grasp the extent of Hyman’s sense of deprivation and emptiness upon witnessing the sight directly before him.
[I thought there was a limit to talent that breaks molds, to intelligence that transcends boundaries…]
Hyman, who had been silently staring blankly at Davi for a long time, slowly turned the enormous lion’s body around.
[My prediction was completely wrong. Now, I finally understand why the Dean cherished you so much.]
As Hyman bowed his head before the elegant form of the five-tailed fox, his abundant mane swayed with him.
[So, the creation of a spirit, which I have gone to such lengths to achieve, you succeeded at long ago.]
“…”
Even knowing that the ritual had failed entirely because the Creation Spirit he so desperately desired already existed. Even knowing that this Creation Spirit, as his adversary, had devoured all his preparations, Hyman didn’t seem particularly enraged.
He was so calm that he merely lowered his head slowly, in a tranquil silence that felt as if it could erupt at any moment.
[What does it feel like?]
Hyman asked, genuinely curious.
[What does it feel like, to so effortlessly seize the aspirations and achievements that others crave, and to watch their progress from far ahead?]
“You seem to be mistaken, Councilman.”
Lennok, enveloped within the shimmering lightning curtain, replied calmly.
Even amidst the intense fire that instantly incinerated the prairie’s bushes and sent its electrical charge surging to the horizon, Lennok’s body remained completely unharmed.
“Even a transcendent challenging Ascension, or a sage who changes the world’s fate, begins with scarcity and longing.”
[…]
“The power that draws forth unfulfilled aspirations. We simply call that ‘Mind Imprint’ and use it in a defined form. We must not forget the essence.”
[Haha… Are you trying to give me advice now?]
To Hyman’s bitter chuckle, Lennok slowly shook his head.
“It’s just personal experience.”
[Experience… Yes. I understand.]
Whoosh!!
As Hyman’s form, laughing hollowly, vanished like smoke, a faint electric current echoed.
[That greedy fruit born from your experience. I will personally reap it here.]
From the moment he realized the Creation Spirit already existed, had he intended to take Davi from Lennok?
The moment Lennok realized this and gave a wry smile, a silver flash appeared before his eyes, striking down in a long diagonal.
A sharp, heavy preemptive strike, as if trying to rip his head off alive.
But Lennok didn’t move, even as he watched the lion’s claw waver before him. Instead, he simply tilted his head slightly back and nodded.
Immediately after, a sapphire forepaw shot out like lightning from beyond Lennok’s shoulder, meeting the attacking lion’s lower jaw head-on and stopping it.
Clang!!
The impact caused the surrounding space to vibrate greatly and the ground to rumble, but the foxfires that had risen around Lennok by then perfectly blocked even its aftermath.
[Creation Spirit…!!!]
Enraged, Hyman clamped his jaws shut, simultaneously unleashing a shockwave that threw off Davi’s forepaw.
But Davi, as if anticipating Hyman’s movement, lightly moved back, taking Lennok with her.
Around the Cybernetic Spirit’s body, intense foxfire glows appeared, shimmering everywhere.
Whoosh!!!
As Davi’s size grew, the foxfires also transformed into spheres roughly the size of a person.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
A magnificent sight: five enormous lightning-infused foxfires revolved around the Cybernetic Spirit like asteroids.
Hyman, momentarily speechless from the sharp lightning storm, quickly regained his composure and bared his teeth again.
[Even if it’s a Creation Spirit, considering its origin, it must be a young entity not even ten years old… How dare you try to challenge me!!!]
As the silver radiance burst forth, something began to materialize, enveloping the massive lion’s body.
Silver-white armor, drawing sleek yet angular lines of steel plating. An overwhelming appearance, the lion’s form now clad in heavy armor.
[Outer Beast Armor: Heavenly Form]
Clank!!
Instantly, dazzling magical light seeped from various parts of the silver armor that enveloped the lion’s entire body, and Hyman’s movements explosively accelerated.
He struck the enormous foxfire charging at him head-on, then instantly landed before Davi’s eyes.
Kwahhhng!!
The colossal lion and fox, transformed to sizes well over several meters, stood facing each other simultaneously, backed by the vast prairie.
The five forms of foxfire spun violently, centered around the two enlarged spirits.
The moment Lennok, standing behind Davi, drew up his magic and resonated it with Davi’s body once more.
[Outer Beast Armor: War Lion]
[Automatic Combat Algorithm: Spirit Combat Pattern Activation]
The two spirits, shimmering in silver and deep indigo, collided head-on simultaneously.
Kwoooong!!
The lion tore through the air with its armored claws, while Davi’s spirit form, avoiding Hyman’s strike, shook her head at close range.
Between gazes that flashed past at subsonic speeds, the eyes of the two spirits gleamed with dazzling magical light.
In the fleeting moment Hyman realized calculation formulas and character arrays were appearing at tremendous speed in Davi’s eyes, he faltered slightly.
[Melee Combat Mode Installation Complete]
Davi, raising her forepaw, struck Hyman’s maw like lightning.
[Emergency Execution]
Kwahhhng!!!
[Kuh-agh…!!]
From the impact, a part of the armor covering the lion’s face shattered completely, exposing the crushed spiritual body of the spirit.
Davi didn’t stop there; she instantly burrowed under Hyman’s mane, rotating as if sliding.
The Cybernetic Spirit’s five tails, rigidly bent, hooked Hyman’s leg, throwing him off balance.
Thud!!
The moment Davi emerged from behind the tilting lion spirit’s massive body, instantly climbed onto Hyman’s back, and stomped fiercely.
Dozens of lightning forms burst forth, rotating sharply as if finely dissecting Hyman’s back.
Spirit Hierarchy Common Magic Partial Deployment
[Thunder Break: Pistol Driver]
Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
Each time dozens of lightning bolts split and struck down, Hyman’s spirit body exploded as if crushed on the spot, scattering silver smoke.
However, Hyman also endured the impact of his spirit body bursting with the power of his armor, pressing down on the ground and collapsing part of the terrain.
Hyman’s armor, quickly flipping his body through the space created by the collapsed ground, began to regenerate.
The five foxfires, revolving wildly around Davi’s body, began to incant different spells.
[Lightning Sequence]
[Multi Spell: Penta Verse]
Whoosh!!!
The foxfires, rotating in a five-pointed star, chanted and unleashed various lightning spells, increasing their rotation speed crazily.
Rays extending from the tips of the five-pointed star converged at the center, brightly illuminating Davi’s spirit body.
The two spirits almost simultaneously clashed the magic they projected over the horizon of the sunset-streaked prairie.
[Outer Beast Armor: Battle Soul]
[Plasma Cartridge]
[Electronic Barrel]
[Call Advance]
Kwagagagaga!!!
The forms of the lion and fox intertwined as if sliding, then bounced away, and the magic of the rotating foxfires filled the gap.
[Lightning Bringer]
Spears and pillars of lightning struck down like artillery, impacting and exploding with light, once again overturning and burning the prairie landscape.
Each time the colossal five-pointed star of thunder spun behind Davi, it unleashed and scattered different lightning spells like thunderbolts, a brutal barrage of firepower.
Dudududu!!!
Hyman also countered with the silver armor and physical abilities, presumed to be spirit-enhanced, but he was merely battered as if his limbs were bound within the rain of lightning.
[Cough…!!]
Realizing that the scattered lightning was thoroughly calculated, a domain of numerical combat tailored to his movements, Hyman let out a low roar.
[A mere Creation Spirit, barely born… How dare you try to mimic a sorcerer’s way of thinking!!!]
The battle between the two spirits seemed desperate and fierce, but in reality, Davi rarely engaged Hyman in direct physical combat.
Unless it was an opportunity for Davi herself to land a perfect counterattack on Hyman, she wouldn’t deliberately aim for direct strikes.
She avoided and deflected all of Hyman’s physical assaults through the calculations of the automatic combat algorithm, bombarding him with foxfire magic like artillery in between.
Even Davi’s very first direct strike against Hyman was part of a psychological ploy to conceal her true style.
However, Hyman immediately grasped her intention and adopted the most unconventional movements possible to operate in a realm beyond calculation.
[Spirit Breath]
As intense magical light concentrated inside the wide-open maw of the lion, he unleashed it as if spewing fire.
A magical projectile, distinctly different from conventional physical combat, fired by converging magic.
Davi’s form, with no time to evade, was swept up entirely on the spot and faded.
But surprisingly, a voice was heard from within the flames Hyman himself had spewed forth.
[I’m not mimicking.]
A completely unfamiliar tone, unlike anyone else present.
The moment Hyman’s eyes widened, realizing it was the will of the spirit standing before him.
[I understand and analyze, and then ultimately reverse-engineer.]
Whoosh!!
Davi, who had casually emerged from the flames Hyman had spewed, spoke.
A clear voice, inaudible to the unconscious Dean, but distinctly echoing to Lennok and Hyman.
Davi, communicating her will to a living being other than Lennok for the first time, opened her mouth as she looked at him.
[Shedding a human body to become a spirit, attempting to become something more through ritual, even the structure of this space you define as the Spirit Realm.]
[E-even for an intelligent Creation Spirit, this… this is impossible.]
At Davi’s distinctly echoing words, Hyman took a slight step back, appearing terrified.
Surprisingly, Hyman seemed more astonished and horrified by this fact than by any other variable so far.
[Jinwa’s language is a miracle granted only to intelligent beings with physical bodies. How can a Creation Spirit, born under human will…!!]
Hyman mumbled up to that point, then, as if realizing something just then, his silver eyes widened.
[Th-that’s right. If it’s not will and Mind Imprint granted to humans in the first place…!!]
Spirit-type Common Magic
[Nova Spear]
A pillar of light that burst forth right next to them became a lightning spear, piercing the lion spirit’s flank.
Crack, crack!!
Not stopping there, five consecutive lightning spear shafts rose, impaling Hyman like a skewer and lifting him into the air.
It wasn’t a chanted lightning spell, but a certain hit: the foxfires themselves transformed into gigantic spears and embedded themselves into Hyman’s spirit body.
[Aaaaahhh!!]
Did he instinctively realize that the battle was irrevocably decided?
[Show me how you obtained the spirit’s spiritual body. Even the Mind Imprints of the organic entities sacrificed in that process.]
Watching Hyman scream desperately with a beast’s growl, Davi spoke, quietly closing her eyes.
[So, I…]
Whoosh!!
From within the Cybernetic Spirit, now in the form of a five-tailed fox, deep colors spread like ink, sinking deeply into darkness.
As if embodying the abyss of the universe, Davi, binding the softly glowing starlight under the spirit’s mantle, sat coiled and watched Hyman.
[Hah, hah…!!]
An overwhelming Mind Imprint, difficult to imagine any living form containing.
Quietly rustling her black and blue fur, Davi, her head bowed with the starlight of the universe, spoke.
Unlike moments before, her voice now extended an infinitely deep resonance and spirituality, declaring Hyman’s end.
[By burning your spiritual essence here, I intend to comfort them. You pitiful existence, neither human nor spirit.]
Whoosh!!
At that moment, the form embodying the abyss vanished like an illusion, and Davi, returning to a dazzling lightning form, slowly moved her tails.
Not merely swaying instinctively, but performing intersecting movements with clear images and purpose.
The moment Hyman, realizing that these movements were changing the properties of magic and distorting space, much like a wizard’s hand seals, groaned with a choked sound.
[Domain Deployment]
Spirit Hierarchy Mind Imprint Realization
[Dream-Thought Electric Will Mirror: Partial Deployment]
Paaaahhhh!!!
Partial Domain deployment, centering on the foxfire that had pierced Hyman’s spirit body.
The Cybernetic Spirit controlled and directed this partial deployment application, which Lennok had only grasped outlines of and never used in real combat, within the realm of calculation.
A partial Domain of the Dream-Thought Electric Will Mirror, using Lennok’s Mind Imprint as power, adding Davi’s own pure will, embodying the Cybernetic Spirit’s most fundamental essence.
Within it, Davi’s greatly amplified Cybernetic Domain designation command was directly materialized and extended into reality.
[Prime Order: Anti-Balance]
Kwagagagaga!!!
Five-layered resonant deployment, where the five foxfires simultaneously chanted a single spell.
The moment the pale pillar of light, materialized through it, struck Hyman’s form squarely.
The silver armor surrounding the lion’s body disintegrated, and even the spirit’s physical form began to gradually fade and vanish.
Realizing that it wasn’t just killing a spirit, but completely dismantling the spirit body known as Hyman Kilberg, the lion thrashed madly.
[No, no!! How, how could this happen…!!]
[Canceling]
[Aaaaaahhh!!!]
Hyman’s form gradually scattering and disappearing on the spot, accompanied by a desperate scream.
Kwagagagaga!!
From the shock of Hyman Kilberg’s entire existence disintegrating and vanishing, the very space of the prairie shook wildly and began to fall apart.
Lennok, startled by the intense vibrations, lifted the bewildered Dean onto his back and glanced over.
“Evan…? What on earth is going on…!!”
The Dean said, looking around, then his eyes widened at the sight of Davi, enveloped in a pale pillar of light.
[I won’t… I won’t let it end like this!!!]
Just as Hyman, fading away amidst all this, squeezed out his last reserves and lunged towards Lennok.
[Spirit Hierarchy Common Magic]
Davi, standing right beside him, opened her mouth and simply swallowed Hyman’s charging spirit body.
[Bite and Swallow.]
“…Davi?”
Even Lennok, who had been quietly reviewing the flow of combat from behind, involuntarily stood up, so sudden was Davi’s action.
But Davi wagged her tail as if to say it was fine, then chewed Hyman as if gnawing on him, mumbled something, and spat him out.
[Tastes awful!!]
[Kuh-aaaagh!!]
The colossal lion’s body, now in tatters, completely disintegrated and vanished.
Crash!!!
From that impact, the prairie landscape shattered completely, and the magical radiance Davi had unleashed enveloped the sky above the library’s roof.
Clunk, clunk…!!
Only silence permeated the train as it rattled away from Rebatenon Magic University.
On the faces of the disheveled students, covered in dust and cobwebs, only a sense of dejection lingered.
They couldn’t shake the guilt of having barely escaped the school by using Evan as a decoy in the final moments.
“…Priscilla, she stayed at the school until the very end.”
“She must be planning to help the Assistant Professor. Only Priscilla handled the masked assailant with the leopard mask earlier.”
“Damn it, we ended up being completely useless, didn’t we…?”
They muttered self-deprecatingly, but the students also knew that they shouldn’t have refused Evan’s consideration there.
Because they had been thoroughly taught by various professors just how helpless a wizard without combat training is in the field.
Simply knowing how to use powerful magic isn’t enough.
The composure and coolness needed to chant and materialize magic on a chaotic battlefield.
The judgment and manipulation skills required to precisely aim and hit the enemy with the raw firepower in hand.
All those abilities necessary for combat can only be acquired after countless practical experiences, including simulated training.
Even combat wizards actively operating in the field often become cold corpses due to a single mistake.
All undergraduates at Rebatenon not only handled magic but also understood to some extent what kind of lives wizards led.
If they had rashly stepped forward to help Evan or Mila, it would have been a miracle if they hadn’t accidentally killed their fellow students or allies.
The students weren’t foolish enough to think they could compensate for their insufficient capabilities with mere bravado and pride.
“Ah, the signal is back.”
“Everyone has their phones, right? We need to quickly contact our acquaintances and inform them of the situation…!!”
“I’ll leak Assistant Professor Evan’s name to the media to raise public attention. We need to find a way to resolve this as quickly as possible…!!”
Kwahhhng!!
At that moment, a powerful roar echoed from the back window of the train, which was rapidly moving away from the school facilities.
The startled students turned their gaze towards the back of the train, and saw a pale pillar of light rising towards the sky in the distance.
“Where is it? What’s the location?!”
“It’s the Central Library…!!”
The moment the pillar of light pierced the library’s ceiling and soared high into the sky, the sound of glass shattering and breaking resounded.
Crash!!
Along with that, the previously blurry and difficult-to-discern internal landscape of the university came clearly into view, and the pale flash of light began to scatter and vanish on the spot.
The students, who had been staring blankly at the sight, discovered something and urgently pointed and shouted.
“Look, something’s falling!!”
“Who is it?”
A form, enveloped in the fading flash of light, falling straight down to the ground.
The moment the students, realizing it was the form of a giant fox, opened their mouths with expressions of emotion.
The illusion of the fox, hovering in the air, mumbled something, then spat it out before vanishing.
The students froze, stunned by the completely unexpected sight.
“…Davi, wasn’t she fighting a spirit?”
“Guess it didn’t taste very good.”
“Well, she never ate spirit feed unless it was high-grade anyway…”
“Th-that’s not the point about taste, is it?”
…
The Ghost God Palace terror incident that attacked Rebatenon Magic University.
Despite realizing that all of it had finally concluded thanks to the power of the Assistant Professor of Elemental Studies and his spirit, a strange silence settled within the train.