Chapter 18: Spell, Steel, and Silence

Naturally, Gaon adjusted the range.

If he hadn’t, the entire area would have collapsed.

Only the ground beneath the building trembled.

This was no easy feat.

Earthquake was a 5th Circle spell.

However, it was rarely used by 5th Circle mages.

The spell demanded immense output, which most 5th Circle mages lacked.

Of course, insufficient output could be compensated by pouring in more mana.

But just like output, the average mana reserves of a 5th Circle mage were often insufficient.

In short, unless a mage had abundant mana, used a magic array, relied on an artifact, or faced a life-or-death situation, they wouldn’t cast it.

Earthquake was a spell that only a 6th Circle mage could wield comfortably.

And to control it with such precision?

That required at least a 6th Circle Master.

Gaon, of course, was an exception.

The output of Circles formed with Pacheongi was staggering.

The power generated by his five Circles rivaled the average output of a 7th Circle Archmage.

And his control?

That needed no explanation.

Having touched the 9th Circle, controlling Earthquake was child’s play for Gaon.

Crack! Crack!

As the ground quaked, the building above it quickly became riddled with fissures.

It began to crumble piece by piece.

Gaon looked into the air.

The sorcerer hadn’t collapsed with the building.

Protected by a purple barrier of sorcery, they floated in midair.

But that didn’t mean they were unscathed.

“How… how…”

Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier, and the sorcerer’s face was etched with panic.

Gaon asked,

“Are you with the Abyss?”

“…!”

The sorcerer flinched, and Gaon was certain.

It was the Abyss.

Without hesitation, Gaon began chanting.

Having confirmed their affiliation, he had no intention of giving them time.

After all, there were two more to deal with.

“Ice Spear.”

Crack!

A massive spear of ice materialized with his chant and shot toward the sorcerer.

The sorcerer frantically extended both hands, muttering something.

A mass of purple energy burst from their hands.

The purple energy collided with the Ice Spear.

The sorcerer expected the spear to explode.

Against an ordinary mage’s Ice Spear, it would have.

But Gaon was no ordinary mage.

The Ice Spear pierced straight through the purple energy.

It struck the sorcerer’s barrier and exploded.

Crack!

The explosion shattered the barrier.

The extreme cold that followed began to freeze the sorcerer’s skin.

Desperately, the sorcerer summoned more sorcery to resist the cold.

Slash!

But before they could fully gather their power, a blade of wind pierced their throat.

That was the end.

The sorcerer’s body plummeted to the ground.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted where the body landed.

Confirming the sorcerer’s death, Gaon turned and headed north.

It was time to deal with the mage.

***

“It’s small, isn’t it?”

Taylor said, looking at the demonic rift in the sky.

“Indeed. I’ve never seen one this small,” Rotes replied, nodding.

He had seen countless demonic rifts in his time.

But the one above was smaller than any he’d ever encountered.

And with its size, the monsters it spawned would likely be low-level.

That didn’t mean they could let their guard down.

A monster was still a monster.

“About thirty minutes until the barrier disappears, right?”

“Based on experience, that sounds about right.”

Demonic rifts were protected by a barrier for a period after appearing, making immediate destruction nearly impossible.

Destruction typically happened after the barrier faded, and judging by the rift’s size, that would take about thirty minutes.

That meant they had to hold back the monsters for at least that long.

“But it seems you’re curious about something else. Speak up,” Rotes said to Taylor.

From Taylor’s expression, the rift was just a pretext.

Rotes was curious about what was really on his mind.

“Who is Gaon-nim?”

“Gaon-nim is…”

Rotes trailed off, recalling the distant past.

Gaon was an absolute being.

Untouchable by anyone.

“A truly remarkable person.”

“No, I mean, what race is he?”

“…?”

Rotes, lost in reminiscence, was puzzled by Taylor’s question.

Race?

Then, realizing something, he chuckled and asked,

“You’re not thinking Gaon-nim is a dragon, are you?”

“What? He’s not?”

Taylor couldn’t help but blurt out in response.

Rotes’s reaction suggested Gaon wasn’t a dragon.

“Of course not. Gaon-nim is human.”

“What? Then why…”

Taylor was flustered.

He had been certain Gaon was a dragon.

But a human?

Then why had Rotes reacted that way?

Who was Gaon, really?

At that moment, screams rang out.

“Kyaaah!”

“What are those things!”

“Monsters!”

As if by agreement, Rotes and Taylor rushed toward the source of the screams.

Soon, they spotted three Hell Hounds.

Two were on the main road ahead, and one was in an alley to the right.

“I’ll take the alley,” Rotes said.

“Yes!”

Taylor responded, turning to the Hell Hound in the alley.

Hell Hounds, infused with demonic energy, had strong mana resistance.

Not as much as ogres, but still considerable.

They were particularly resistant to fire magic—more so than ogres.

Fire spells were highly inefficient against them.

Conversely, they were weak to water or ice magic.

That was the kind of magic needed now.

Having made his decision, Taylor began chanting.

“Ice Spear.”

As soon as the chant ended, an Ice Spear materialized and flew at the Hell Hound.

“Ice Spear.”

Taylor immediately began chanting again.

Even though Hell Hounds were weak to ice, a single Ice Spear wouldn’t kill one.

He knew spells that could kill in one hit, but with an unknown number of monsters, he had to conserve mana.

Ice Spear was the best choice.

Crack!

The first Ice Spear struck, half-freezing the Hell Hound.

Crack!

The second Ice Spear hit, fully encasing it in ice.

“Ice Break.”

Shatter!

The frozen Hell Hound shattered into pieces.

Taylor glanced at Rotes, who had already dispatched the two Hell Hounds on the main road and was watching Taylor’s fight.

“Well done. Perfect,” Rotes praised.

“Thank you.”

Taylor smiled brightly at the compliment.

Rotes turned to the demonic rift and said,

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

The two began moving again.

As they walked, Rotes spoke.

“You must have a lot of questions about Gaon-nim.”

“…!”

At the mention of Gaon, Taylor’s eyes lit up.

“You might find it hard to believe now, but I’ll tell you as we go. Who Gaon-nim really is.”

***

Whoosh!

The mage’s body, hidden in the north, burst into flames.

Confirming the corpse, Gaon turned.

Only the warrior remained.

As he headed east toward the warrior, Gaon thought,

Is it just these three?

His senses detected no other significant presences—just ordinary people.

Soon, Gaon arrived at the building where the warrior was—a café.

Like the sorcerer and mage’s locations, the café was empty except for the warrior.

“…?”

The warrior, sipping tea at a table, looked up, sensing Gaon’s gaze.

Their eyes met, and the warrior spoke.

“Hm? Something on my face?”

“Are you three the only ones?”

“…!”

The warrior flinched at Gaon’s question but quickly grinned.

“So you’re Gaon.”

From the warrior’s words, Gaon realized the Abyss knew of him.

And something else.

They think I’m someone with the same name.

It was clear they didn’t connect him to the Gaon of the past.

If they had, the warrior’s reaction would have been different.

Well…

It made sense.

A lot of time had passed, and Gaon currently looked like a boy in his early teens.

Assuming he was just someone with the same name was natural.

“Still, closing the distance so fearlessly… You must be young and inexperienced.”

Whoosh!

The warrior vanished from their seat, reappearing behind Gaon.

They swung their sword immediately.

Swish!

The blade cut through the air toward Gaon’s neck.

But it didn’t pierce his flesh.

Clang!

“…!”

The warrior was stunned by the sensation and sound of their sword striking something solid.

Stab!

A sharp pain followed, and the warrior looked down.

A blade of energy, formed from Gaon’s hand, had pierced their abdomen.

It was clearly a Magic Blade.

But something was off—it wasn’t made of mana.

What is…

The warrior was curious.

What was it made of?

What kind of energy was it?

But more pressing was the need to escape.

The warrior instinctively tried to pull back.

Crack! Boom!

Before they could, the Magic Blade exploded.

It tore through their insides.

“…!”

Overwhelmed by indescribable pain, the warrior’s vision blurred.

That was the end.

Thud!

The warrior collapsed backward, dead.

“Fire Wall.”

Whoosh!

Gaon incinerated the warrior’s body.

As he headed back to the Alion estate, he thought,

It’s definitely impressive.

He could have dodged the warrior’s attack if he’d wanted to.

He hadn’t, because he wanted to test the shield and Magic Blade made with Pacheongi.

They far surpassed mana-based equivalents.

At this level, even a Swordmaster wouldn’t be a problem.

He was confident in facing an Archmage.

But a Swordmaster had worried him slightly, given their entirely different combat style.

Now, after confirming Pacheongi’s power, that worry was gone.

He might not win, but he was sure he wouldn’t lose.

Entering the Alion estate, Gaon headed toward Oris, who was standing in front of the central mansion, watching the knights and soldiers head south.

“You’re here,” Oris greeted as he spotted Gaon.

“Have all the troops been sent?”

“Yes, they’re deployed.”

“Then head to the training room. Activate the magic arrays immediately and don’t open the door for anyone until I return.”

There were no Abyss remnants nearby now.

But they could appear while Gaon was away closing the rift.

Even if they did, the training room would be safe.

Gaon had reinforced it with additional magic arrays.

Unless a 7th Circle Archmage or a Swordmaster attacked, it could hold for a long time.

“What? You’re going too, Gaon-nim?” Oris asked.

Gaon turned to the demonic rift in the southern sky and replied,

“Yeah, I’m going to destroy it.”