Chapter 512: Counterattack

Nofton was one of the many small towns dying due to Randa.

A sudden battle had erupted on its outskirts.

It wasn’t the usual gang war you’d expect in the back alleys but a war between the wizards of the Tower of Magic and those from traditional schools, a topic that had been long debated by many enthusiasts.

The question was, who among the wizard groups was the strongest? The Tower of Magic’s new-age wizards? Or the wizards of the traditional schools, with centuries of history?

It was a tough question to answer.

The era of magic and industry was led by the young blood of the Tower of Magic, but the traditional schools had history and tradition on their side.

Since both sides had merit, many discussed this without reaching a conclusion.

There was only one way to determine the answer—an actual fight.

However, that was an impossible idea. Both groups would be held back due to various political, economic, and diplomatic reasons.

Only in a crazy situation would this be possible.

Ironically, a chance to find out indirectly had appeared here in Nofton.

And the stronger side was the Tower of Magic.

“Kiaaah!!”

A wizard from the Skadi Faction screamed in pain.

Derek had appeared out of thin air, causing a massive explosion that propelled him forward at an alarming speed, severing the wizard’s arm.

The severed arm spun through the air, spreading the stench of burning flesh and blood.

“Shut up.”

Derek Redhill stretched his hand towards the screaming Skadi Faction wizard.

At the same time, an explosion occurred, burning his opponent just enough to keep him alive.

“You bastard······!”

Two other Skadi Faction wizards, witnessing their comrade’s plight, created an ice path under their feet, closing in with unexpected speed.

Their speed was certainly threatening, and their magic was not bad either, but Derek didn’t panic. Instead, he regripped his sword, summoning a massive flame.

A curtain of flames, mixed with yellow and red, covered the vision of the Skadi Faction. Derek threw himself into the flames, completely hiding his presence.

It was a reckless act, even for a wizard from the Agni Faction, who had a resistance to flames. But Derek used his enhanced mana control to adjust the heat and charged the Skadi Faction wizards who had left themselves vulnerable.

“Kuh!”

One Skadi Faction wizard, startled by Derek’s emergence from the flames, tried to defend himself with an ice weapon, but Derek’s red-hot blade, concentrated with heat, cleaved through both the weapon and the wizard.

The sound of burning air and the sickening noise of flesh being cut rang out. Derek followed up by launching a crescent-shaped slash, infused with fire, at another approaching wizard.

Timing, magical synergy, and confidence—any lack of these would have made this aggressive attack impossible, but Derek executed it with ease.

It was so impressive that his peers would have been in awe. Yet, Derek wasn’t surprised.

After receiving intense, battle-focused training from Kevin and sparring twice with a monster incomparable to these wizards, finding this difficult would actually have been strange.

‘Xenon······.’

Derek thought of Oliver’s Tower of Magic name as he advanced.

To think he could locate an enemy by scanning the entire city. Derek already knew how monstrous Oliver was, but this was another level.

As Derek continued forward, he encountered more Skadi Faction wizards blocking his path.

“Damn it······. How many of you came here?”

Derek asked the Skadi Faction wizards, with no intention of waiting for a reply before charging at them.

Ice spears flew at him. The spears carried both physical and freezing properties, but Derek evaded them with his mana-enhanced body, cutting them down with his sword as he closed the distance.

Then, as if anticipated, white ice began to crawl along the ground toward him.

It was a typical Skadi Faction combat method, too old-fashioned and predictable.

Rather than engage in a mana duel, Derek jumped into the air, leaving his feet suspended, then fired up a strong flame from behind to propel himself forward, closing the gap between him and his opponent drastically.

The Skadi Faction wizards were visibly disturbed by the unexpected maneuver.

“Traditional School, my ass…!”

Derek sneered at these outdated sorcerers as he thrust his sword into them. It was a fitting treatment for those who had become lazy under the guise of tradition.

Shlunk!

The Skadi Faction wizard, feeling a combination of piercing pain and burning agony, screamed, but this was just the beginning.

Derek activated a technique he had learned from Kevin.

It wasn’t just fire that he infused with mana; it was a fire magic that consumed mana by its own power.

As he executed this different type of fire magic, the Skadi Faction wizard was engulfed in flames, transforming him into a massive, living torch.

Even Derek was momentarily surprised at its potency.

Whoosh━━!!

The flame grew to the height of a two-story building, displaying a power so immense that it instantly melted even the ice occupying the space.

It was expected, given that a whole wizard was burned up as fuel.

‘Even so, this guy wasn’t ordinary. To possess enough mana to create a flame this potent… ······Could the Skadi Faction really be this interested in the World Tree?’

Derek wondered at the level of wizards deployed to secure Eve, but he decided to put such thoughts aside for now.

The flame, which consumed mana on its own, began to devour Derek’s flame as well.

If he continued getting distracted, even Derek would meet the same fate as the wood.

‘Which crazy mind came up with this technique!!’

Derek cursed inwardly, but focused his mind to control the flames as best as he could.

One slip-up would spell disaster, but Derek couldn’t bring himself to hate this gluttonous fire. Whatever it was, its flame power was unmatched.

[Wave of Flame]

Derek sent the massive flame that had used the wizard as fuel flying forward.

The wave of fire advanced, scorching the earth as it moved. The Skadi Faction wizards fired off ice walls and blasts of cold air in an attempt to extinguish it, but it was no use.

The overwhelming firepower melted the feeble ice and cold air as it pressed on.

[Pulsation of Water]

He could hear the chanting from below.

The ground seemed to shake, and then the manhole covers exploded into the air as a massive pillar of water burst forth.

It was one of the Skadi Faction’s water-flow spells, a powerful spell with high destructive potential but often considered inferior to ice magic due to its dependency on a water source.

Now, a large amount of water surged up from the sewers, extinguishing Derek’s flames.

Sssssss······!!

The powerful flame, which consumed mana on its own, started to die out when masses of water crashed in from all directions, turning into steam as it gradually faded.

However, that wasn’t the real issue.

It was true that water was necessary for water-flow spells, but the more water available, the easier it became to wield ice magic.

“Oh, damn it!”

Derek shouted curses as water soaked his body and submerged his feet.

Just as expected. At that moment, when his vision was obstructed by the steam, ice started to close in.

The intention was clear; they meant to freeze Derek solid while he was drenched.

He realized it but found it difficult to escape due to being soaked all over. Unless he could fly.

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Something quickly flew in from the sky and grabbed Derek.

It was Unner, with her wings crafted from blood. Despite her frail appearance, she displayed incredible strength, swiftly carrying Derek up into the sky.

Thanks to her, Derek managed to escape the lethal cold.

“I told you, I should have taken the main route, didn’t I?”

“You got careless!”

“Yes, I see-”

-Schwaak!

As Unner responded, a massive ice spear cut through the steam, tearing one of her wings.

Losing one wing, Unner lost her ability to fly and slowly descended to the frozen ground, while the Skadi Faction wizards quickly approached, sliding on the ice.

[Ice Shot]

[Snowstorm]

[Icicle]

Ice projectiles, snowstorms, and icy spikes flew in from three directions.

Unner deactivated her remaining blood wing, wrapping it around one hand and using blood magic.

[Blood Bat Blade]

Unner swung her blood-covered arm, and the mass of blood transformed into countless bats with the intent to kill, armed with blades of malice and mana.

The bat-blades, made of blood, intercepted all incoming attacks like living creatures, creating shockwaves and slashing down the approaching enemy wizards.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Limbs were severed, abdomens and necks torn apart.

Unner demonstrated excellent control, commanding the bats to absorb the blood, allowing her to activate another blood magic spell.

[Blood Flames]

The blood began to boil and then ignited like oil—a gruesome fire, red and viscous like blood.

The fire, ominous to behold, evaporated the steam with its intense heat, clearing the front view.

Ahead were the Skadi Faction wizards. They were setting up a ritual on top of a massive ice formation, created from the water drawn up from the sewers.

[Moirai School: Memory Reconstruction]

[Life School: Body Composition]

[Skadi Faction: Blessing of Cold]

As complex rituals involving elements from three different schools materialized, the ice gathered around the foundation, shaping itself into a giant humanoid figure.

The moment they saw it, Unner and Derek immediately pictured a giant.

A creature from another world that could only be summoned through the magic of the Space School.

The giant made of ice was crude in appearance, with only an upper body and no lower half, but it was still intimidating.

As proof, the ice giant raised its massive arms and struck down, extinguishing the oncoming blood fire.

The fire, carrying a mix of mana and emotions through its blood medium, was snuffed out.

“Huff······!”

As if that wasn’t enough, the ice giant inhaled deeply.

It intended to unleash a freezing breath. One look at its formidable strength, and it was clear this move was deadly, but Unner and Derek weren’t scared. They both summoned their mana, ready to counter.

Just as the ice giant and the fire wizard, along with the blood wizard, were about to clash, a massive iceberg shot up into the air, revealing Yareli.

Using the momentum from the iceberg’s emergence, she landed on the giant’s head, channeling her mana to seize control.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The ice giant cracked under the immense pressure of Yareli’s mana—a clear indication that her assault was effective.

It was an even more surprising sight than the ice giant’s initial appearance. But Derek, while amazed, found it plausible.

After all, Yareli, who had traveled to Gallos to fight the Flesh Cook, had returned with the title of hero and had fully awakened her unrestrained Demon Eye.

She now possessed the miraculous vision that could freeze anything with just a glance.

However, that wasn’t all she gained. Her overall magical abilities like mana capacity and control had also amplified.

Proof of this was Yareli gradually taking control over the ice giant, making it turn away from them.

The Skadi Faction wizards tried to interfere, but Yareli defended herself with a combination of her Demon Eye and magic.

Derek and Unner rushed forward to assist Yareli.

With flames on his feet and back to boost his speed, Derek propelled himself towards the distracted Skadi Faction, slashing out a fire-infused strike.

A massive crescent of flames flew through the air.

At that moment, a large figure, who had been waiting in the back, swung an ice-crafted halberd, extinguishing Derek’s flames before smashing Yareli’s ice giant.

With just two attacks, it was enough to reveal his incredible skill. By instinct, Derek could tell this one was the leader.

“Huff!!”

The large figure, almost as big as a bear, inhaled deeply before raising both arms and striking the ice.

[Swirl Snowstorm]

As the bear-sized figure struck the solid ice, a powerful, swirling snowstorm erupted from the impact.

The snowstorm was not just filled with snow and cold but also lethal shards of ice.

Faced with this threat, Derek, Yareli, and Unner all hesitated for a moment. During that time, the large figure planted his hands into the cracked pavement, hoisting it up like flipping a table.

“No way······Is this guy insane!?”

Bad predictions never miss. Despite his massive size, he displayed an unbelievable strength as he flipped the ground.

This wasn’t a figure of speech; he literally flipped the pavement.

And it was done entirely with physical strength, without magic.

Seeing such an incredible sight, even with their own eyes, made everyone’s mind freeze, a potentially fatal mistake.

The bear-sized figure stretched out his rough hand to seize them.

“My name is Victor! Die, whelp from the Tower of Magic······!!”

Caught off balance and floating in midair, Derek couldn’t dodge or defend against it. At that moment, a flashing light bulb appeared on Derek’s right, and a hand flew in to grab Victor’s hand instead.

“My name is Xenon Bright.”

It was Oliver, with his mechanical arm made of mana, holding a quarterstaff and pocket watch.

He grabbed the hand that had flipped the pavement and helped Derek.

“Are you alright?”

“No, it’s embarrassing.”

***

Derek, lying on the ground, looked up at Oliver and responded in embarrassment. Then, he asked a question.

“But how did you get here so suddenly? Do you know space magic?”

“No, I used an item obtained from the Road Gang.”

Oliver showed the pocket watch. It was a space magic item from the Ilmarinen Workshop, previously used by Hogg.

Initially, it was an item that returned to a stored location, but Oliver tampered with its rituals, making slight modifications. For example, instead of a fixed point, it could return to a specific person’s shoulder (Derek).

It wasn’t easy, but he succeeded, enabling him to arrive quickly.

“You’re a complete maniac.”

Derek responded in disbelief. At that moment, a third voice interjected.

“You bastards······!”

It was none other than Victor, who was enraged at Oliver and Derek. Chatting casually right in front of him—what a humiliation.

Feeling utterly disrespected, Victor intensified his grip, intending to crush Oliver’s hand.

Creak······!

The sound of a heavy object being squeezed echoed, but Oliver’s expression remained emotionless.

It was Victor who ended up shocked. Despite applying enough force to crack the ground beneath him, nothing happened, leaving him bewildered.

All the while, Oliver’s body seemed as fragile as ever.

“You······. Are you wearing an artifact or something?”

“No······. But you certainly are, Victor.”

Victor, having been caught off guard, tried to use ice magic to freeze Oliver’s hand to pieces instead of replying.

If strength was ineffective, he would subdue him with a freezing touch that spread like poison.

However, Oliver deciphered the spell behind the freezing effect, reconstructing it. He used it to armor his own body.

A fusion of elements and the body, something only achievable by those who had mastered the Elemental School.

Using this, Oliver turned the tables, attempting to freeze Victor’s hand instead. Feeling the chill of fear, Victor hastily pulled back, widening the distance.

This guy… He had a deeper understanding of ice magic than even a Skadi Faction member like Victor.

“So, this is a belt made from a giant’s tendon, huh.”

As Victor stepped back, Oliver held up a belt, mumbling to himself.

Feeling his waist suddenly light, Victor checked his body and shouted.

“When the hell…!”

“I borrowed it when you stepped back earlier.”

“We call that theft.”

Derek, standing up, chimed in. Meanwhile, Yareli and Unner, who had been thrown earlier, had now returned.

Thankfully, they didn’t seem too hurt. Just as Oliver was about to greet them, Yareli spoke up.

“It’s definitely a theft.”

“······Excuse me?”

“The belt······. What Derek said is right. You stole it.”

Yareli pointed out something that didn’t need to be mentioned. It was a light-hearted joke they could afford to make in the middle of battle, but because Oliver said it, it somehow didn’t sound like one. So, it needed to be corrected.

“Where I’m from, we call it borrowing.”

“······.”

“Just kidding.”

“Ah······.”

Everyone let out a breath of relief. For some reason, that was incredibly stressful.

Victor, observing all this, became enraged again, feeling once more disregarded. Together with his allies, he initiated another ritual, drawing sewer water to create a massive glacial mountain, charging it straight at Oliver.

If they couldn’t win with precision, they’d crush him with sheer numbers.

It was not a bad idea. When magicians of the same school worked together, their power increased severalfold.

But Oliver responded by utilizing the stored mana within his body to make ice spikes shoot up from the ground.

Compared to the mountain Victor created, the scale was tiny, but the spikes were aimed with precision at the weak points in the mountain and the ritual.

As expected, Oliver’s icy spikes shattered the mountain.

Surprisingly, Victor wasn’t deterred by the overwhelming scene. He squeezed through the collapsing mountains and tried to attack.

However, Oliver gathered the ice armor surrounding one side of his body into his palm and swung. This blew away and froze Victor, who had been desperately approaching.

The difference in power was overwhelming.

Victor screamed in frustration, anger, and injustice.

“Aargh…! Lilith, how much longer?!”

Yelling at the communication device on his chest, Victor caught Oliver’s reflexive question.

“Is this Lilith the one who provided you with that belt and the magitech weapon?”

“Yes.”

The communication device, which had been silent, responded in a very beautiful voice to Victor’s outcry.

At the same time, a strong magical flow spread across the entire floor. A magic circle formed beneath Oliver’s feet, and he disappeared to somewhere.