“This is not over. There is no way.”

A scream erupted from the depths of the abyss, as if it would be cut off at any moment.

The King of Ghouls, who had thought all living beings would cower in fear at his descent, suffered a huge blow to both his pride and existence.

Some fresh-faced young mage was brazenly preparing an attack.

And what was most humiliating was the severity of the damage.

With the possessed body destroyed, the main body was bound to take a hit as well.

“Because. Of. One. Stupid. Creature. I've. Lost. A. Lot. I. See.”

The King of Ghouls gathered his strength, scorning the dead mercenary.

If that greedy mercenary had done his job well, he could have possessed him at his leisure.

Wasn't it because he tried to hastily possess him due to the mercenary's mistake that he took this much damage?

At the spot where Buldahak had been, a dark power began to take shape, rippling.

"Strike down, Ferkuntra's Thunderbolt!"

“You. Think. The. Same. Attack. Will. Work. Twice. Presumptuous. Mage.”

The King of Ghouls scattered his form and dodged the lightning.

Then he spoke in a voice filled with cold fury. A grating voice, as if laced with noise.

“As. The. King. of. Ghouls. I. Will. Graciously. Give. You. One. Last. Chance. Submit. To. Me. Kneel. Before. Me. And. Swear. Loyalty. As. My. Vassal. Then. I. Shall. Spare. Your. Life.”

"Don't be fooled, Wardanaz! Once the possessed body is destroyed, the creature will soon be summoned back to its own realm!"

Raphael shouted as he drew his sword.

Unlike the swords of other knights, the swords of the Gral family were mixed with true silver and spirit stones.

It was the wisdom of a family that had long fought the undead.

"Begone, undead!"

“A. Bug. Dares. To. Thrash. About. Begging. To. Be. Crushed.”

Raphael's sword strike dealt damage to The King of Ghouls. As the blade touched, the sound of the form burning rang out.

But the damage was far too meager.

The King of Ghouls struck Raphael without regard.

Boom!

With a roar, Raphael was sent flying.

"Unfold!"

Yi-Han transformed the shape of the water to catch Raphael, then drew his sword.

A sword made of black purplestone. The Morning Star.

As it was a sword that absorbed mana, it was suitable for dealing with beings from other realms that lacked substance.

'Lightning magic doesn't work!'

From the brief exchange just now, Yi-Han instinctively felt it.

The enemy was reading the signs of magic.

Moreover, it was a being that could avoid attacks by scattering its form at will.

It would be difficult to land a direct hit with projectile or emission-type magic.

'In that case...'

Whoosh!

Yi-Han was propelled forward.

Thanks to his body enhanced by <Gonadaltes' Agile Steps> and exploding mana from his toes, it was a speed more fitting to say he was launched rather than running.

Even The King of Ghouls did not anticipate that speed. The Morning Star accurately sliced through its form.

“Ugh.”

'Damage went through, but...!'

The power felt from the enemy's form had clearly diminished.

Yet an immensely powerful strength could still be felt.

To think it was this strong even after the possessed body was destroyed and its mana absorbed by the Morning Star.

It was unbelievable.

Reminded of the strength of the King of Frost Giants he had encountered in the upper levels of Einroguard, Yi-Han immediately revised his strategy.

"Dolgyu. We're getting out. Get ready."

"...Don't you dare sacrifice yourself alone, Yi-Han!"

"I have no intention to, so move!"

“Where. Do. You. Think. You. Can. Go.”

The King of Ghouls's voice grew even colder and more frigid. The cave's temperature dropped to the point where breath could be seen.

And ghouls began to rise from all directions.

“Even. If. The. Plan. Is. Delayed. By. Decades. The. Bugs. Must. Be. Crushed. Today.”

"Shut up, undead! How dare you act so arrogantly before the name of Wardanaz!"

"..."

Yi-Han, pondering his strategy, was dumbfounded upon seeing his friends' rebuke.

These crazy bastards, who did they think they were provoking right now...?

Beings summoned from other realms, especially evil ones, wanted to remain in this world for as long as possible.

Because the desires and suffering of mortals were a sweet nectar to evil beings.

Of course, mortals did not leave the evil beings summoned from other realms alone either.

As soon as word arrived, they would send forces to summon them back or at least succeed in sealing them if it proved difficult.

The King of Ghouls was an evil being sealed in the distant past, long before the Empire.

Originally, he should have been sealed forever with no chance of escape, but the long years and fickle fortune had destroyed the seal on the artifact and awakened The King of Ghouls.

Having barely escaped the seal, The King of Ghouls gnashed his teeth at the enemies of the past who had captured him, but he knew well that it was a meaningless act.

The lifespan of mortals was short, and his foes would have all turned to dust by now.

So The King of Ghouls focused on recovery.

The seal was broken, but his strength at his prime had all vanished, and he was in the pitiful state of relying on the artifact that had sealed him.

If this artifact were to be destroyed, he would be summoned back to another realm as is.

The King of Ghouls summoned ghouls with the few remaining feeble powers he had left and sent them out at night to drain the vitality of travelers.

But it was far from satisfying.

An immense amount of power was needed for him to manifest himself, and a few dozen travelers were woefully insufficient.

Thinking there would be no end at this rate, The King of Ghouls changed his strategy.

He would let a few creatures live to spread rumors.

If rumors of treasure spread, wouldn't greedy adventurers come seeking it?

If he could cajole such fools and steal their bodies, he could leave this cave without recovering his strength.

But...

A mage stronger than expected had come.

“Wardanaz. Was. It.”

"That's right. You should fear that name!"

The White Tiger Tower student's shout made Bijidek, who had been sweating nervously, finally realize.

The Wardanaz family!

The Empire's greatest magic lineage!

"...Why are you here!?"

"What are you saying, Bijidek! Get a hold of yourself!"

Gubon grabbed Bijidek's shoulders and shook him.

As a veteran participating in the party, what meaning would there be if he couldn't step up when an unexpected situation occurred?

He had to somehow find an opening in the enemy.

"R-Right. Sorry."

“Empty. Titles. Mean. Nothing. To. Me.”

The King of Ghouls was prepared to wipe out all the intruders today, even if it meant consuming all the power he had gathered.

Leaving them be, there was no telling what reinforcements they might call, and above all, the strength of the opposing mage was very tempting.

If he could seize a body of that caliber, it would be a far better choice than that pathetic excuse of an adventurer earlier.

“Seize them.”

Melee.

The most chaotic and fierce battle among all the fights today began to unfold.

It seemed every single ghoul in the cave was rushing this way.

"Won't you compromise, King of Ghouls! If you let us go, we won't attack any further either."

Yi-Han shouted as he attacked indiscriminately, creating a path.

The King of Ghouls let out a sneer-mixed reply.

“Trying. To. Deceive. A. King. With. Lies. You. Think. That. Will. Work.”

'Damn it. How did he know.'

Yi-Han clicked his tongue inwardly.

He had been prepared to put his family name and honor on the line if necessary, but The King of Ghouls had rejected any compromise.

"Split them with iron, my cloak!"

Tearing apart the charging ghouls with his cloak, Yi-Han shouted again.

"I will warn you one last time. King of Ghouls! If you refuse to compromise, we have our ways too."

-■■! ■■!-

-■■!-

-■■■!-

“Bluffing. Are. We.”

The King of Ghouls paid no heed.

The artifact housing his main body was located elsewhere, and he could read the opponent's magic before it was fired.

As the battle continued, The King of Ghouls's power would also be consumed, but the other side would fall first.

The limits of a mortal body were that absolute.

"Fine."

Yi-Han steeled his resolve.

He didn't want to do this if he could help it, but seeing the enemy's strength now, the more he backed down, the more dangerous it became.

Even if it was dangerous, he had to bluff.

"Blaze!"

“What. Are. You. Doing.”

The King of Ghouls was dumbfounded as Yi-Han chanted the spell.

After making such threats, to think he would use a low-circle flame spell at best.

Moreover, it was a pure flame summoning without any additional form, speed, or other attributes.

He had read and dodged even lightning-attribute attacks, so there was no way he would be hit by such an attack.

Fwoooooooooosh!

However, the flames Yi-Han unleashed soared madly.

The flames rose as if to pierce the high cave ceiling, and The King of Ghouls was finally startled by their range.

“What.”

It was a sight The King of Ghouls, who had defeated countless mages in ancient times, was seeing for the first time.

When using a wide-area flame spell, it was natural to use a high-circle spell, and if one's level was insufficient and they used a low-circle spell, they should use a narrow-range, limited flame spell...

But right before his eyes was a mage using a low-circle spell to demonstrate a wide-area effect.

It was the epitome of inefficiency, but the effect was certainly impressive. Yi-Han waved his staff, calling forth even more flames.

"Blaze, blaze, blaze!"

The flames, imbued with strong mana, overlapped and amplified each other, growing even more intense.

At some point, Yi-Han felt the flames in the cave were no longer under control.

He had raised the scale of the flames to a level beyond his elemental control.

“What. Are. You. Thinking.”

"Can you run away like before in the midst of the flames?"

“You. Will. Burn. To. Death. First.”

"Can’t a mage control his own magic? You’re more foolish than I thought."

Though frantically anxious, Yi-Han spoke without blinking an eye.

At that moment, the flames changed direction and struck Yi-Han.

'Damn it!'

Yi-Han circulated mana throughout his body and steeled himself.

If it was revealed that these flames were uncontrollable, the situation would be complicated.

At that instant, a warm power flowed through his body.

It was the power flowing from the mark left by the phoenix.

"...!"

Yi-Han felt the phoenix's mark repelling and controlling the surrounding flames.

To the point of being grateful to his past self who had not killed the phoenix (though in reality he couldn't), it was a power he desperately needed in the current situation.

'I don't know how much time I have!'

Before the mark's power faded and ended, Yi-Han swung his staff.

The surrounding flames surged like waves, sweeping away the nearby ghouls.

"See, you undead bastard. This is Wardanaz!"

"It is the power of Mr. Mage!"

The students and adventurers, holding weapons dripping with ghoul blood and bodily fluids, let out a battle cry.

They too had not thought these flames were uncontrollable.

'Sweep away the remaining ghouls as quickly as possible and create an escape route!'

While The King of Ghouls hesitated, Yi-Han swung his staff once more, sending flames. The number of ghouls was greatly reduced.

Separate from The King of Ghouls considering Yi-Han a threat, Yi-Han had no intention of seriously defeating The King of Ghouls.

Turning the surroundings into a sea of flames to prevent escape and then engaging in a life-or-death battle was something more suited to Professor Boladi than himself.

Yi-Han just needed to escape somehow.

If the opponent agreed to negotiate, that would be good, and if they didn't and hesitated, he had to take advantage of that.

'...It's done!'

Yi-Han almost let out a cheer.

While The King of Ghouls was distracted by the flames, he had burned away all the ghouls gathered in the back.

Now that an escape route had been created, they just needed to flee.

"Wardanaz, I understand!"

"Raphael. I don't know what you understand, but right now shut up and..."

"I know why it's acting like that! With that much power, it makes no sense not to come out of the cave! And being that resistant to attacks even without a host! There's only one answer! That's an avatar! The artifact housing its main body is somewhere else!"

Yi-Han was about to reply, 'Yes, you're so great, so let's go out and talk.'

But Raphael, excited by his realization, shouted to Dolgyu and Anglago.

"Let's go. It's the chance Wardanaz has risked his life to create for us! We must destroy the artifact!"

Raphael ran like a madman through the gaps in the flames, rushing deeper into the cave.

Anglago immediately followed after him.

Dolgyu looked back and forth between Yi-Han and Raphael, flustered like a donkey caught in a haystack.

Yi-Han sighed.

'It's my fault for bringing along the White Tiger Tower bastards.'

"Go. Sharakan. Help those idi... those guys!"

“How. Dare. You.”

"You should have let me out then, it would have been good for both of us. Flash forth!"

Yi-Han gritted his teeth and unleashed the spell.

Perhaps it was his mood, but the lightning shot out far more violently than before.