Chapter 40: Demon Simulation Battle (4)

Chapter 40: Demon Simulation Battle (4)

"What did you just say?"

Lee Hanwol rubbed his ear with a ballpoint pen and muttered, and his expression was that of confusion.

Baek Yu-Seol, undeterred, spoke again.

"I said it's five. I'll call out the list now."

Lee Hanwol shook his head, his tone incredulous. "Have you finally gotten insane? Well, I knew you were crazy, but this is a bit too much..."

Baek Yu-Seol responded calmly, "When did I go crazy?"

"Think about it with your hand on your heart.

Baek Yu-Seol frowned, and then shrugged his shoulders, while Eisel announced the list of five demons.

"Blaze Dragon, Shadowhorn Beast, Black Mantis, Flash Fish, and Grim Hunter. Please summon them."

Her words carried more weight, and Lee Hanwol immediately nodded and ordered the demons to be summoned to the Stella Dome Control Room.

Within minutes, all five Intermediate Demons appeared, and the group of demon researchers who had been observing the performance opened their eyes in surprise.

"That combination Hmm?"

One of them muttered, unable to hide his shock at the unusual lineup of demons.

Since they were the ones who fully understood the hidden characteristics and traits of demons, they had already visualized that combination in their minds.

However, only those with extensive professional knowledge or practical experience like Lee Hanwol could imagine the uniqueness of this combination in his mind. Others present in the room, even the seniors, were perplexed.

Even the magic professors were struggling to understand, let alone ordinary students who couldn't catch any hints from this obscure combination.

"Hey, Mayuseong. Do you get anything?"

"I'm not sure..."

Hong Bi-Yeon and Mayuseong were just as clueless, and even Edna, who was silently observing from behind, couldn't find any hints in this enigmatic combination.

"Summon complete. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Oddly enough, Eisel and Baek Yu-Seol took the center of the arena, surrounded by the five Intermediate Demons.

Eisel tried to calm her pounding heart but it didnt work. After all, it was her first time using this method in real combat.

"Hey, can you do it?"

"Of course."

"You just have to trust me completely."

"Do I have to keep hearing that from you?"

"Sorry, it was a trendy phrase in my hometown."

"Well, I think it must have been outdated there too. What you said sounds like an old man's bragging."

"... How did you know?"

"Heh, it was obvious."

As Eisel turned her head and caressed her staff, she suddenly realized that she felt relaxed now. It was all thanks to Baek Yu-Seols rambling.

"Phew..."

With Eisel beginning to calm herself down, Baek Yu-Seol looked at the five Intermediate Demons standing opposite him.

Attacking five Intermediate Demons with just two people was simple.

To take on two or more Intermediate Demons in Aether World, players had to face countless challenges.

With hundreds of demons to choose from, players could create many different combinations.

A certain player discovered that certain demons react to the characteristics of other demons.

If one knows that, the remaining method was simple.

One just needs to dig deeper into those characteristics and create a situation where demons were hostile to each other.

It was called borrowing a knife to slay the enemy. It was a strategy of killing the enemy using someone else's sword without revealing your own strength.

"... One last thing, who decided on the placement of these demons?"

"I did."

"I see. You're a knight, so you can still score points in these extreme situations. However, priests cant do that. Isn't this strategy too harsh for a priest?"

In response to Lee Hanwol's sharp question, Baek Yu-Seol confidently replied,

"No. This is a strategy designed exclusively for priest."

People whispered at his words, but Lee Hanwol nodded his head slightly, believing Baek Yu-Seols words to some extent.

"Well then, let's begin."

As soon as his command was given, the demons who had regained control of their body turned their gaze to Baek Yu-Seol and Eisel in the center.

The distance wasn't too far, just enough to reach them in an instant if a gap was created.

During the time when the demon regained their sanity and looked around to find their prey, a change was detected in Eisels body.

She detached her staff from her hand and lifted her body slightly off the ground.

As soon as the resonance of mana spread out with a booming sound, the professors were amazed and stood up from their seats.

"That's... Resonance Phenomenon!" one professor exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's impossible... Resonance Phenomenon can only occur when a Class 6 or higher mage completely submerges himself in the sea of consciousness!"

Through closed eyes, Eisel stretched her arms wide with her staff spinning in front of her, gathering mana.

It was a deep blue, cold, and icy mana.

"However, the Resonance Phenomenon cannot be performed unless the safety of the performer is fully guaranteed.

"Even if it's just an illusion, there's a risk that the mana could backflow and turn Eisel into a cripple when the demons attack.

"Hey, Instructor! Stop the performance evaluation immediately! It's too dangerous!"

The professors were in a state of panic, but Hanwol paid them no heed. He didn't think there was any real danger, and in the first place, Eisel seemed to be calm.

<em class="chakra-text css-0">Has it begun?

Baek Yu-Seol briefly admired the scene unfolding before his eyes. Her concentration power was so immense that it could easily be described as monstrous.

There were only a handful of geniuses in the Class 3 who could perform Resonance, and besides Eisel, Baek Yu-Seol knew of no other.

"Well then, maybe I should give it a try."

As she started to concentrate on her task, it was now Baek Yu-Seols turn.

[Flash]

He turned into a blur and suddenly reappeared behind a Intermediate Demon named Blaze Dragon, stabbing it in the abdomen with his Argento Sword.

"Aaaaargh!"

Just as they were about to make that judgment, Eisel stretched out her opposite hand into the air.

Until then, no one had noticed.

The blue light cluster that had been serving as the petals of the Crystal Flower still hadn't disappeared.

Everyone had thought it was part of the ice flower. It bloomed with the ice and turned into leaves.

But, that was a misconception.

Her specialty was magic that combined ice and lightning at the same time.

Zzzt, Zzzt!

The mages gasped in astonishment at the sparks flying through the air.

Since ice was close to an insulator, electricity could not be conducted effectively. Therefore, people assumed that Eisel had cast the Crystal Flower magic by sacrificing her other specialty which was lightning.

Unfortunately, she was not content with just being born with the blessing of ice; she also had a great love for lightning.

She couldn't resist the urge to summon it.

That was when Baek Yu-Seol came up with an extraordinary plan.

"Why don't we freeze it and then melt it again?"

Drop! Drop!

The sound of dripping water from the melting ice echoed, and the liquid form of water was an excellent conductor of electricity.

"Uh...?"

"Wait, could it be...?"

As the people finally realized what was happening, they began to moan in despair.

"Strike it down."

A beam of blue light plunged into the ground.

Crack!

The sound of deafening lightning rang through the vicinity.

The world was bathed in a blue glow, and the flower bloomed.

This time, it wasn't the Ice Flower or the Crystal Flower.

It was a blue flower.

A flower that shone brighter and more splendid than anything else in the world.

Could one really say that the pure beauty created by magic was not art?

If it could resonate with the human psyche, one could dare say it was a work of art.

Her magic was close to art, a highly destructive art aimed at annihilating her enemies. As long as her attacks did not hit Baek Yu-Seol, anyone could be amazed at the beauty of the artwork she created.

"Hah..."

Eisel stared blankly at the spectacle she had created.

"This is my magic..."

She could hardly believe it. Even the formidable Hong Bi-Yeon had not demonstrated such magic.

It was a magic that was only possible because of her.

"What the hell is this plan? Its a perfect plan, right?" she asked him.

"Of course. About 1%, though," he replied.

What did he say?

Eisel remembered how stunned she was when she first heard that from Baek Yu-Seol.

"The remaining 99% is up to you. If you don't do your part, I'll be the one who's screwed."

"Me...?"

She couldn't believe it. He entrusted her with that grand plan of defeating five Intermediate Demons.

"You can do it," he said.

"That's..."

"No, you have to do it. My score depends on you.

She thought he was crazy. If he did this just to boost her confidence, it was a complete failure. She believed that whatever plan he had, he would inevitably fail if he trusted and relied on someone like her.

But, Baek Yu-Seol smiled confidently as he spoke, and seemed to trust her more than anyone else.

"I believe in you," he said.

"That's..."

"So just trust me once. Because you can really do it."

That was the first time he seemed serious. Although he was still smiling, his expression and tone were sincere, creating a sense of burden in her chest.

However, it was not a bad feeling.

"You can do it, right?"

Eisel reluctantly nodded her head.

"Yeah."

Somehow, she came to trust him.

Was she persuaded by his foolish words?

She didnt know herself.

If there was someone who could resist his sincere appeal, that person must have no heart.

So... She ended up doing such a dangerous thing, all while being lost in the belief of Baek Yu-Seol.

"Ah..."

But then

"Its pretty..."

He didn't even know that she could do it so perfectly.

Eisel slowly closed her eyes, giving a last fleeting glance at the blue flower which currently encompassed the world, and dwindled on the brink of extinction.

She was someone who had lived with just a tiny flicker of hope.

But, even that small hope was fading away.

That was when Baek Yu-Seol pulled her out of the darkness, proving that she could do something this amazing.

Until now, she had felt like she was adrift in an endless sea.

No matter how hard she tried to charge ahead against the waves, there were times when she wavered, wondering if she was on the right path.

But, not anymore.