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It was not strange for Count Nordin, the person in charge of border defense, to be prepared for war at all times. However, if that was the case, why did he secretly trade with the merchant groups of the Kingdom of Divide and hide the goods here?
Desir was certain that he was gathering war supplies with a different intention. As Desir was lost in thoughts, Romantica frowned.
“There’s something over there.”
There were piles of supplies. And there was another steel-barred window behind them. Desir checked the number written on the top of the bars.
Fifty.
This clearly signified something.
“So there’s still a chimera remaining.” *Grrrrr*
The steel-barred window opened little by little. It seemed like it was set up to open if the iron gate was not opened in a normal manner.
Beyond the darkness, something stirred.
After identifying the enemy, the Starling Party got into formation in perfect order.
Adjest pulled out the Center of Ice and took the lead. Pram, whose body had not yet fully recovered, stood behind her and planned to target the enemy from the side.
Behind them were Ronde and Desir. Romantica stood alone at the very back. Desir looked at the bars attentively.
Once he had confirmed the enemy’s face, even though it was still indistinct due to the lack of light, Desir murmured disbelief.
“… Aaron?”
A King Class swordsman. One of the heroes who made a huge contribution toward them reaching as far as they did in the Shadow Labyrinth.
Desir had been a part of several joint operations with him in his previous life. ‘Why is he in the Hebrion Empire?’
Desir had heard about how Aaron had been exiled from city to countryside through Ayuls Communication. However, he was supposed to be in the Longgordt region. Why was he here in the Nordin Territory?
When Aaron stepped out of the darkness, Desir frowned.
Aaron was not in a human form. The Starling Party members were shocked to see such a figure.
“N-Not a monster, but a human hybrid?”
The body consisted of many different monsters with Aaron’s face positioned on the head. Aaron was merely one part of the body that made up that chimera.
Desir was lost for words.
Even though Aaron was his enemy, he was Desir’s comrade and also an honorable knight. He never dreamed of meeting him like this.
Desir’s heart ached.
How did he end up like this?
Millions of thoughts whizzed through Desir’s mind, leaving him dizzy as a result. It became difficult for him to breathe.
“Keukk!”
However, of course, he did not lose control. When Desir identified the tentacles sprouting from the chimera’s body, he arranged a defensive spell.
[Sigh of Kizard]
An ice shield materialized and collided with the tentacles. Even though they managed to block them, they were certain of one thing.
It was clearly an attack. “Kill… The enemy… ”
Desir was finally able to make out what Aaron was muttering.
It seemed as though he had lost his reason.
Follow current on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHe repeated that meaninglessly.
His eyes were completely unfocused, glazed over with an inhuman indifference.
His attacks continued shortly after. A monster’s body structure, which had been concealed within Aaron’s flesh, bubbled out and took on a grotesque form.
Just as the party steeled themselves to commence battle, Desir gave an unexpected command. “Get out of the cave first.”
“What?”
“If the cave collapses, it’ll all be over.”
As the three-meter tall chimera started to move aggressively towards the Starling Party, one section of the cave already started to collapse.
“It’s too dangerous in here.”
The other Starling Party members soon realized this as well.
They turned tail and immediately ran towards the cave entrance.
It was a self-evident fact that the whole cave would collapse if they fought here. “To the back! Through the iron gate!”
The Starling Party members started to run as a group.
The gigantic chimera was not one to let its prey escape. It gave chase by moving its enormous body.
What initially appeared to be a battle of strength suddenly turned into a battle of speed. ‘We need to get out first.’
They passed the iron gate. It was the gate that Pram’s had used his aura to cut down when they entered.
The space that Pram created by cutting the gate was just big enough for a single person to pass through at a time. The gigantic Chimera would not be able to pass through that quickly.
This was the naive belief that everyone held.
However, within five seconds of them passing through it, they realized their folly. *Claaang*
A loud and resonant sound made the party members cover their ears briefly. The chimera crashed into the iron gate and it crumpled like a piece of paper.
Upon witnessing a force capable of effortlessly crumpling an iron gate, their hearts dropped. How were they going to face off against such an absurd monster?
“Run and don’t look back!” *Thud*
*Crash*
*Crack*
It was impossible to not sense the chimera hot on their heels.
The amount of noise it created was terrifying.
It would kick the ground while grabbing the cave walls. Even though it had a gigantic figure, its speed was unbelievable.
The cliff and the ground were screaming in protest. One of the supporting pillars was unable to bear the weight and collapsed.
“Desir, it’s moving faster than us!” At the present rate, they would clash.
Desir turned around and spoke towards Adjest, who was at the very back. “Adjest, arrange a spell to support the cliff.”
As Desir spoke he started arranging a spell. [Winter Crystal]
Adjest did the same.
Two Fourth-Circle freezing spells were invoked. Ice started to form in the cave like crystal pillars.
The two ice pillars coiled together and formed a solid figure. The combination of Adjest and Desir’s magic was incredibly resilient and had given birth to a respectable obstacle.
*Thud*
*Crack*
*Crrraack*
A sound of crushed ice echoed through the cave.
The chimera was approaching as it smashed the ice apart with its extreme power.
However, they were not trying to stop it in the first place. They just had to slow its speed down.
The long stretches of pillars in the cave were certainly capable of doing just that. “Kaaarrrghh!”
The chimera’s horrible shriek echoed off the cave walls and struck Desir’s ears.
Such a bone-chilling scream had come from a human’s vocal cords.
Desir lost hope.
‘Are we… enemies?’
The honorable comrade that he remembered was no longer there.
There was only a monster obsessed with slaughter.
It was running amuck, trying to kill Desir.
‘I don’t have any choice but to kill him… to kill it… ’ Desir pulled himself together.
Outside the cave was an open forest. The Starling Party, who managed to come out of the cave first, found a spot and established a formation before the chimera could follow.
*Shinggg*
Warriors at the front and magicians at the back. Immediately after they established a formation. *Crack*
*Crrraack*
The sound of crushed ice approached nearer and nearer. The sound of footsteps was becoming louder.
As the sound of the footsteps reached a crescendo, the Starling Party’s attack was released like a flood.
Adjest was the first to move. [Frozen Palace]
Adjest’s imagery magic.
A palace appeared. It was beautiful, but in reality, it was an inexhaustible operational space where hundreds of spells were materializing simultaneously.
Dozens of Third-Circle spells were arranged and fired at the gigantic chimera. The spells, shot within an extremely low temperature, approached the chimera to seal its movement.
The chimera raised its arm. A spear made of ice and an enormous ice sphere struck its arm while a layer of pure frost began encroaching upon its feet.
“Kreeuuk!”
After the magic wave ended, the chimera started to move. “Argh!?”
*Thudddd*
When the chimera struck its arm against the ground, a large part of the Frozen Palace collapsed. The Starling Party had never encountered something capable of rendering Adjest’s imagery magic so futile.
When the flow of mana reversed, Adjest frowned.
The number of spells she could deploy had been significantly reduced. The chimera regained its movements and strode towards Adjest.
*Baaang*
Romantica wasn’t wasting her time. A sniper works best when they’re unexpected. Her shots were strong, having both power and accuracy.
She had blown off the arm of the chimera, the very arm that had proven capable of decimating a solid iron gate.
Follow current on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Kekyaaaarghh!”
A shriek resounded.
The moment it stopped moving, Adjest restored the Frozen Palace. For the second time, dozens upon dozens of spells were shot towards the chimera.
‘It won’t be easy to suppress this one.’
Judging so, she decided to devote all of her energy in this attack. [Ice Empress]
She released the power contained in her sword, the Center of Ice.
A vast amount of intensely cold air was focused inside her body. Her white-blonde hair started to turn platinum-silver.
Immediately after her last strand of hair turned silver, her new form catapulted out towards the creature in front of her.
Noticing her existence, the chimera continued to launch attacks on Adjest while under attack from the Frozen Palace. The tentacles on its back rushed towards Adjest.
*Crack*
*Crack*
An imposing ice spear formed and targeted the tentacles one by one. She was able to arrange any spells and direct them wherever she wanted, as long as it was within this space.
While Adjest was keeping it busy from the front, Pram made his move.
Pram may not have been able to kill the beast in a single blow, but he could certainly strike down a tentacle or two after filling his rapier with aura. The chimera was instantly wary of him and tried to minimize the amount of damage Pram could inflict, but was forced to direct a majority of its attention towards Adjest.
“… It is menacing… But it doesn’t seem like the chimera is too dangerous… ”
Pram, hiding a fragment of his anxiety, continued fighting.
And while the swordsmen were confronting the monster, the magicians’s spells were completed.
[-Step back.]
It was Desir’s order.
With the near-instantaneous delivery of Desir’s communication spell, it was as though his party was able to read his mind. Pram and Adjest had both stepped back before the chimera even realized that one of them had stopped attacking. The chimera lurched forward to re-engage, but the Frozen Palace had already followed Adjest’s commands and neutralized its movements.
Ronde and Desir’s spells simultaneously burst towards the chimera. [Volcanic Cannon]
A freshly forged cannonball made of pure flames, hot as lava from a volcano, slammed into the chimera’s core.
*Boom*
Along with a heavy explosive sound, the chimera’s massive body tilted greatly. The chimera confirmed the magician’s existence. It changed priorities and had begun to move towards Ronde when Desir’s spell hit.
[Fire Storm]
This was a battlefield for magicians.
In this current situation, where the frontline tied up the enemy and allowed the magicians to keep their distance, Desir was able to unleash the true power of magic.
A cyclone of pure flame engulfed the chimera’s entire body.
Feeling the heat, Ronde covered his face. It was so bright that everyone had to look away or cover their eyes. Adjest used her Center of Ice to keep both her and Pram from being melted alive. Ronde’s face brightened. Even if it was a chimera, it was surely an organism made up of flesh and blood like humans. There was no way it could endure that kind of attack.
“Did we bring it down?” “No.”
When Desir shook his head, Ronde gazed at the fire. At that moment, he was not able to believe his eyes.
Within the blazing fire.
There was a figure.
“It’s- It’s alive? How in the world?” The dust started to clear.
They found the reason not too long after.
A bluish energy surged from the chimera’s whole body. “What in the world is… ”
“It’s aura.” Desir answered.
“That chimera knows how to wield aura.”