Chapter 323 - Eve of the Storm (2)
Two days passed by after that. It was a long and short amount of time. After detecting the approach of the undead army, Theodore and the complete power of Elvenheim were busy preparing for the unprecedented battle. Although it wasn’t perfect, they did their best.
The brilliant amulets hanging around the elves’ necks, the arrows in their quivers, and the wide ward surrounding the south were all Theodore’s work. It was the result of using his magic power to the limit that could be recovered, without wasting even one hour.
‘This is all I can do.’
On the front line at the outskirts of the southern forest, Theodore blinked slowly. Since when had his vision already surpassed his physical limits...?
From beyond the horizon that even the elves couldn’t see, the movements of the countless undead were reflected in Theodore’s retinas. These were monsters that didn’t need to breathe... The barren Red Plateau couldn’t stop the corpses from marching.
The ugly wave was overflowing from the horizon.
“...Ahh, the parent tree.”
“Our ancestors, please protect us...!”
The elves who saw it first started praying. This was because rotten flesh, blood flowing with maggots, and abominable things now filled the horizon. It was fortunate that the Red Plateau was windless. How awful would the stench be from more than 100,000 undead? It would enter their noses and might even lead to poisoning.
As the undead neared, the twilight illuminated their naked bodies.
The skeleton knights were moving with a red light among them.
An undead with a body that was larger than an ogre’s roared.
The translucent bodies sang of a terrible future.
There was even a bone wyvern flapping its wings in the air.
‘How terrible.’ Theodore felt nauseous as he looked at the waves of nightmare-like corpses. He also noted the presences of the doom knights, banshees, and lich, as well as the evil dragon behind them that was the true enemy. Meanwhile, the army of death continued to move forward.
Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung! Loud noises rang out as the army marched onward, narrowing the distance to their destination. There was no need for trumpets or horns. The undead were just puppets controlled by one necromancer. They followed the commands of the conductor wielding his baton.
If he asked them to move forward, they wouldn’t stop until their bodies were broken. If he said stop, they wouldn’t move even if a natural disaster occurred.
Kung!
...Like right now.
“...S-Stopped?” Someone stuttered out loud.
Theodore moved forward. The enemies were still a few kilometers from the forest entrance. Nevertheless, they had stopped for a reason.
“Jerem, is it you?” Theodore’s voice spread out and crossed several kilometers.
[Finally, I will show mercy to you,] the great warlock of death who controlled the bodies answered. [If you offer your body to me now, I will spare your kingdom and its people. As long as the great Nídhöggur descends upon this material world, there is no possibility that you will win.]
“Hah, do you think I would just agree?” Theodore wasn’t pushed back by the voice that pressured his mind. “This situation wasn’t unexpected. Did you die from greed or old age? Do you think that you are a real king because you gathered your subordinates and played a role? Hey, antiquated warlock. Wouldn’t it be better to go back to your grave before you become uglier?”
Upon hearing Theodore’s words, Jerem briefly fell silent. Maybe he was so angry that he couldn’t speak. After all, this was the soul fragment of a 9th circle great magician whose pride of reaching the highest peak of humanity was so high that its end couldn’t be seen.
If Jerem were still alive, he would’ve killed Theodore before more than a few cheeky words could be spat out. However, a few seconds later, his cold voice spoke up, [...Fool, you don’t know that victory or defeat has already been decided.]
Chill. At that moment, Theodore felt a chill and stepped back. Meanwhile, Jerem released the reins of the undead that he had stopped. [I will let you die as you wish!]
Simultaneously, the undead started to run wildly.
―――――――――――――!!!
They let out a roar that was difficult to describe in words. Something wailed, something else made a strange sound, and something else screamed. In a dictionary, the word ‘undead’ meant ‘one who didn’t die.’ However, the magicians added another line—‘death was taken away.’
The undead were deprived of their last resting place at the end of their journey and surely hated the living.
“Come onnnn!”
The death coming from the horizon flowed quickly. They were low-grade undead, but their bodies were bathed in black magic and were more powerful than they had been while alive. A distance of 3 kilometers was crossed in just five minutes, and this speed was maintained permanently.
The elves fought the reflex to pull back their bowstrings as they watched the undead approach at a fearsome pace. Prepared to shoot at any time, their archers’ swollen arm muscles strained from pointing at the enemies’ heads. However, the archers still had a long time to wait before they could act.
‘Titania, get started!’
-Understood.
Theodore conveyed instructions through Ratatoskr. No flags or messengers were needed. As long as they were in the forest, Theodore could communicate with the high elves at any time. Titania nodded and moved. “Elementals! Summon your wind elementals!”
The elves responded quickly because they had been trained previously. More than 100 hundred elves who could summon intermediate wind elementals exerted their strength simultaneously. Shuriel was the lieutenant of the wind elementals. The eagle-shaped wind elemental, that was around 10 times larger than an eagle, fluttered its wings.
Kuuoooh―!
It started as a small vortex. Dust rose on the Red Plateau where the undead were moving, and it soon became a vortex that was more than 100 meters high. Then it became a tornado.
Originally, this wasn’t a phenomenon that would appear in the wilderness without any clouds, but it wasn’t surprising when so many wind elementals joined together. Additionally, it wasn’t just one or two; at least eight tornadoes faced the undead army.
However, the elves who summoned the tornadoes turned to Theodore with uneasy eyes. The power of the tornadoes wasn’t very high. Even if the intermediate-level undead were blown away by the tornadoes, they could still survive.
‘I was expecting this much!’ Theodore detected the approach of the undead and pulled out the Azoth Sword from his pocket.
The shining jewel in the sword was the Philosopher's Stone. This was the sword he received from Paragranum in the past. The stone was a legendary artifact that could change the form of a substance. Of course, there was a limit. However, Theodore was going to use all of its power today, even if it meant destroying the Philosopher's Stone.
“Ars Magna!”
The Azoth Sword glowed intensively as it was aimed at the tornadoes in the wilderness. All of the sand swirling in the tornadoes was discovered by the alchemy magic.
“Turn into white phosphorus!”
It was burdensome to convert an enormous amount at once, which caused the Philosopher's Stone to creak. Nonetheless, Theodore didn’t stop using his magic power. He needed to succeed at least once. If the eight sandstorms turned into a white phosphorus storm, then he could destroy tens of thousands of undead. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, the sandstorm was covered with a white light.
‘Success!’
Theodore didn’t enjoy this moment as he shouted, “Veronica, now!”
“Suuuuop...” Was it because of their soul-connected relationship? Veronica winked and took action the moment Theodore yelled.
Kuaaaaaaah-! She fired a dragon breath toward the white vortex!
The flames which could melt metal poured toward the ignitable material. The tornadoes started burning even before the breath reached them, turning into a pillar of fire that connected the sky and earth. It happened just five seconds after the sandstorm turned white.
A super hell was unfolded. The undead were caught by the tornadoes, and their skin and bones became good fuel for the flames. Suddenly, all sides were filled with burning undead.
It was an unquenchable fire that would continue burning even if water were poured on it. The undead in the white storm were turned to ash. Aside from the ghost type undead that weren’t affected by physical force and the senior undead that were protected by black magic, all the other undead were set alight as soon as they entered the range of the flames.
Theodore was briefly captivated by the firepower of the plan that he had envisioned.
‘...It is a technique that shouldn’t be used against a living person.’
It was awful. If the target of the attack were human, Theodore would’ve been filled with guilt. The attacking undead were filled with regret! Nevertheless, the undead didn’t stop as they tried to push through the white storm.
Kieeeeeeek-!
One of the four horsemen, White Knight Hipatia, screamed and put out the white flames around her. It was like a foul, as she twisted fate by interfering with the physical laws. Furthermore, apart from Hipatia, there were many senior undead.
They were confused by the white storm, but the inflamed air could not do any damage to the senior undead. As the magic of the lich cut off the oxygen and a cold chill spread, the burning of the white phosphorus ceased and the force of the fire was reduced.
Kulkul...kul...kululul… The undead regained their composure and laughed. They didn’t care about the trivial undead being burned. A different means was needed to deal with the senior undead. For example, a sword master’s Aura Ability or a 7th circle attack magic.
So, Theodore decided to give it to them.
‘Memorize.
‘Four Slots Open.’
His eight circles opened, and he poured magic power into his right hand.
“Goetia, assist.”
[Yes, my master!]
Four magic spells were activated simultaneously. However, the number of spells wasn’t important. If Theodore’s attempt was successful, it would even surpass 8th circle magic. The great magic, Abraxas—its destructive power was enormous, but it was limited by the number of times it could be used and its long preparation time.
‘It is possible now.’
Theodore added to the stability with the power and control of his eight circles while calculating the different elements. A golden halo rose and wrapped around his body. The magic power was so powerful that the flowing mana itself formed a protective film.
Great magic Abraxas (ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ)...
Theodore had previously obtained a clue in his fight with Pan Helliones. Why did he need to divide Abraxas into chapter 1 and chapter 2? It was because he had the bias that only two antithesis elements could be used together. However, he would now use all four major elements for the complete form of Abraxas.
‘Final Chapter.’
Four spells came to Theodore’s mind. They were magic that could kill 1,000 soldiers and tear up the earth.
The red bead that symbolized fire.
The blue bead that symbolized water.
The yellow bead that symbolized earth.
The white bead that symbolized wind.
The four magic beads, which had the same colors as the magic towers of Meltor, were united in Theodore’s hands. They swirled in a manner that was hard to control, and he barely managed to aim them.
‘Think of this as my greeting, rotten lizard!’
Then he unleashed the power toward the center of the undead legion.