Chapter 203: Life Force Vessel
Chapter 203: Life Force Vessel
Magic clashes against magic in a process of annihilation.
Kwaaaang!
Boom!
Flames and ice shattered, scattering fragments in all directions.
"Keugh!"
Bairodoom mustered all his strength to summon his magical power.
His head felt as though it was about to explode from the numerous incantations, but there was no time to rest.
Not even for a moment.
A single second of misjudged response could be fatal.
Even in this very moment, he had no choice but to counter the endlessly falling multitude of spells and the barriers reinforcing and distorting them.
[Pentaple Shield is deployed!]
The relatively weaker attacks were blocked by the shield.
The unmanageable ones were completely avoided.
Bairodoom, more than anyone, knew there was no room for error in each and every move he made.
"Just... one minute."
Such an absurdly powerful grand-scale spell couldn't possibly last forever.
Somehow.
No matter what it took, he had to buy time.
"If I can just use a 7th-circle spell once..."
Bairodoom concentrated his mind to cast a new spell.
However.
[Lv4 'Red Magic Bullet' is activated!]
Pop pop pop!
"Aaaargh!"
The swirling red flashes pounded the shield, shattering the already weakened magic circle into pieces.
Concentrating was impossible.
Any attempt to create a new variable, and that despicable human's attacks followed relentlessly like a specter.
"You think I'll just keep taking hits?!"
In this situation, one had to counter-attack, even if it meant sustaining some damage.
As long as the Life Force Vessel was intact, even fatal wounds wouldn't cost a lich its life.
Bairodoom, having blocked the Red Magic Bullet with his bare body, gathered all his mana to complete a large magic circle.
Whooosh!
[Bairodoom activates the 7th-circle 'Flame Eater!']
A gigantic fireball, about 3 meters in diameter, materialized.
The scorching flames raged at hundreds of degrees.
***
"Fire magic, huh..."
Cute.
Jinhyuk waved his hand lightly.
[The infinite magic 'Hellfire' is activated!]
Flames of a different caliber scorched forth.
Kukukukuku!
Bairodoom's flames turned to mere dust.
It was a natural principle, small flames consumed by a larger, blazing conflagration.
"This is... absurd..."
Just the presence of the flames seemed to scorch his entire body.
Faced with a high-rank spell of ridiculous strength, he could only sigh.
He had to escape.
That was the only thought filling Bairodoom's mind.
Quaquaquaquaquaququa!
The firestream that reminded onlookers of the sun's halo streaked across the sky.
Almost instantaneously, Bairodoom's body dispersed into black smoke.
Blink.
The short-distance spatial movement spell allowed Bairodoom to reappear about 20 meters to the left.
Of course...
"Obvious."
Jinhyuk had precisely calculated the coordinates.
[The infinite magic 'Frost Witch's Sigh' is activated!]
This time, it was an ice spell.
Patstssts!
A line pierced through Bairodoom's chest.
Cherjerjer!
His body did not take even a second to freeze completely.
Unsatisfied with just that, the ice quickly began to extend upwards towards the sky and downwards to the earth.
In a split second, a gigantic ice tree connecting heaven and earth had formed.
Naturally enclosed, Bairodoom could not even twitch a finger.
Jinhyuk, who had taken flight with anti-gravity magic, approached right in front of Bairodoom.
"You still have about 40 seconds left. You know it's pointless to go on, don't you?"
He stared directly into the rage-filled red glow of the lich's eyes.
And at that moment.
Pop pop!
The ice tree exploded, and black thorned vines pierced through Jinhyuk's body.
Or so it seemed.
Right before touching Jinhyuk, the vines disintegrated into molecular fragments.
It was the first time even Bairodoom had seen such high-circle defensive magic.
"There cannot be... magic unknown to me. That's impossible!"
[Bairodoom draws the 8th-circle 'Dark Sword'.]
Just as knights have Aura Blades.
A lich has a sword constructed of mana-based attributes.
Bairodoom gripped the sinister sword emitting a dangerous aura.
But.
Even his most powerful magic.
Compared to his adversary, was but a speck of dust.
[Infinite magic, Glacial Sculpture 'Sword of the Heavens' appears!]
Cutting through the clouds, a sword descended from the sky.
This sword was different in size from any other used before.
Kukukukuku!
Whatever Bairodoom drew forth, it was mockingly countered by an even higher rank spell.
A spell of such caliber that it was beyond reach.
In overwhelming despair and defeat.
"Aaaaargh!"
The sword, almost tens of meters in length, plummeted to the ground alongside Bairodoom.
Kwaaaaaang!
A vast crater was formed in the earth.
Within a pit dug about 10 meters deep laid a dirt-covered Bairodoom.
The fact that he still maintained his form after such a blow proved that the resilience of a lich was indeed comparable to a cockroach.
'Looks like I need to destroy the Life Force Vessel to truly eradicate him.'
Jinhyuk glanced briefly at the outskirts of the palace.
It should be time for them to appear...
Just as that thought crossed his mind.
Boom!
A heavy shock struck the shield.
Bairodoom, having somehow regained his composure, had launched a fire spell.
Though his entire body was close to tatters, he rapidly absorbed mana from around him and regrew the shattered parts at an incredible pace.
"I... will not admit defeat."
Even if defeated in battle.
He would not be defeated in war.
With an endless supply of mana and the trait of immortality, a lich could continue to fight indefinitely.
In contrast, Jinhyuk, with his limited resources, was at a disadvantage as time progressed.
Only 10 more seconds remained.
Only one spell left to activate.
Then...
Jinhyuk used the last of his mana to draw a brilliant white magic circle.
[The infinite magic 'Eternal Redemption' is activated!]
One of the most powerful spells of the holy series unfurled before him.
Wooooong!
With an indescribable energy surge.
All sight was whitewashed.
And soon after, as vision returned.
Chiiiiik!
Fog rose from where the holy series magic had swept through.
As expected, its efficiency against undead monsters was unparalleled, and its power beyond imagination.
However.
"Kekeke... Hahahahaha!"
Bairodoom had not vanished.
The skeleton was half gone.
His black robe had turned to rags.
But his life was not yet extinguished.
After a long bout of maniacal laughter, Bairodoom stopped.
"It seems I'll have the last laugh after all. I'll admit your magic surpasses mine, but that's all there is to it."
The smoke began to clear.
There stood Jinhyuk, utterly drained after the 'Infinite Magic' had ended.
"Just remember this well. It's not the strong who survive. It is the survivors who are strong—Huh?"
But then.
Mid-sentence, Bairodoom cocked his head in confusion.
He had no choice; for, aside from Jinhyuk, there were other little figures gathered around.
***
"Mogi!"
"Master, did we do well?"
"We were exactly where you told us to be?"
"Everyone be quiet. It's noisy."
Goguma and the elemental spirits surrounded a rather hefty-looking orb, each voicing their excitement.
No doubt about it.
That was Bairodoom's Life Force Vessel.
"How...? I... I! I definitely changed its hiding place. I concealed it so it couldn't be found by anyone!"
Ah... this?
Jinhyuk scratched his head.
"If you wanted to hide it, you should have hidden it properly. You focused so much on erasing the mana that you neglected to erase the scent."
"Scent?"
"Yes, scent. Seems like you don't know, but our Goguma has an incredibly keen sense of smell."
Jinhyuk patted Goguma's head.
"Mogi!"
Proudly puffing out his chest, Goguma exhaled roughly.
Watching in a daze, Bairodoom let out a deep sigh.
"Using scent to detect the Life Force Vessel, because you predicted mana would be concealed...?"
He had thought that erasing the faint traces of mana would be sufficient.
But such complacency led to irreversible consequences.
"So. What now?"
Jinhyuk smiled triumphantly, balancing the Life Force Vessel in his palm.
It looked precariously unstable.
A small stumble and it would fall and shatter on the ground.
"Be, be careful. If that drops..."
"Then it would be a pity, but what can be done?"
Just think of it as losing a pretty piece of glassware. What's the problem?
After all, it's not my own bones that will be broken.
Thinking this, Jinhyuk's hand movements became even more delicate.
"Don't worry too much. I'm not planning to destroy it right away."
There was one thing he still needed to get from Bairodoom.
Fulfilling the copying condition of 'savoring the taste of life' required a more creative approach.
After musing for a moment, Jinhyuk handed the Life Force Vessel to Goguma.
"Mogi?"
Goguma clutched the orb tightly in his hands.
"Go ahead and play with it."
"Mogiiii!"
"Oh! Master, is it ball time?"
"I want to play too! Me too!"
Goguma and the spirits gleefully tossed the Life Force Vessel back and forth to each other.
It was almost like playing dodgeball.
And when Jinhyuk casually added a 'To Throw or Not to Throw for 1.5 Hours Repeat' video feed to the scene, the setup seemed quite fitting.
Of course, from Bairodoom's perspective, who was anxiously watching the Life Force Vessel nearly hit the ground, it was nothing short of nerve-racking.
"St, stop it."
Bairodoom's fingertips trembled.
"Please, please stop! That's not a toy. It's my... my life line. You cruel creatures!"
His voice broke into a plea, but the spirits paid no heed to such entreaties.
[You have met the copying conditions.]
[You may now copy one of the skills possessed by Bairodoom.]
A notification for successful copying appeared.
'Finally, even this has succeeded.'
Truly, he'd had many hardships, all the way to this foreign land.
Just when he thought it was all over.
Boooooom!
With a terrifying noise of tearing air.
Suddenly a sword, bristling with vigor, rushed toward Jinhyuk from the side.
Fast.
"...Huh?"
With magic and stamina nearly depleted, he didn't have the strength left to react to the attack.
Let alone strike back, even evading was out of the question.
Jinhyuk quickly pulled Goguma to his chest.
The ultimate ancient creature shield.
With the world's sturdiest shield, perhaps even a sword's energy could be withstood.
Perhaps... well, maybe.
"Mogi, Mogi!"
Startled, Goguma squirmed in Jinhyuk's grip.
But it was only for a moment.
Then, as if hit by the realization, Goguma quickly grabbed Undine, who was in front of him.
Like master, like summon.
Goguma had learned perfectly how to respond in a crisis through his time with Jinhyuk.
Another shield added on top of a shield.
Now the target had shifted to the foremost Undine.
"Kyaaack! What is this?!"
Seeing the approaching sword, Undine instinctively reached forward.
There lay her only hope of defense against the incoming attack.
Without hesitation, she placed it directly in front.
That object was.
Bairodoom's Life Force Vessel.
Crack!
The moment the sword made contact with the glass surface.
"No, noooo!"
Bairodoom's desperate scream reverberated throughout the palace.