Chapter 18: - Ant Cave (3)

༺ Ant Cave (3)༻

“Th-that’s amazing...”

I heard Kaya’s admiring voice from next to me.

The trait [Hunter] was active, making my current level 136. With each skill’s proficiency at S-class, Kaya couldn’t be compared to me.

I released the [Ice Barrier] that was protecting Kaya.

“You’re amazing, Sir Isaac...!”

“Let’s go.”

I started walking forward, unbothered. At the same time, the unique trait [Hunter] was deactivated, and my body became heavy. My body had reverted to its original form.

When viewed up close, the frozen Disaster Ants appeared even more menacing. Seriously, it looked disgusting.

Kaya followed behind me. Even on the icy floor, she walked smoothly.

If I unfroze the Disaster Ants I just met, they would die, but the ones further away would remain frozen. In other words, I couldn’t recklessly unfreeze the frozen cave.

“Haaa...”

I turned to face Kaya as soon as I heard her breathing.

She pretended to be fine with her arms crossed, but she seemed to be feeling cold.

The cold that pervaded the underground labyrinth came from my magic. Spellcasters aren’t affected much by their own magic, so I hardly felt cold.

‘I should have paid attention.’

I was only thinking about myself.

I took out one of the magic pouches from my bag and reached in for outerwear.

Then I stopped walking, took it out, and handed it to Kaya. It was a school uniform cardigan.

“Take it.”

“No, I’m fine...”

You look cold at a glance, so why are you refusing?

I draped the cardigan loosely over Kaya’s shoulders and moved my feet again. She clutched the cardigan and followed behind me, her head bowed.

“...Thank you.”

[Kaya Astrean] Psychology: [Feels burdened and grateful that you gave her the outerwear.]

As I made my way through the underground labyrinth, I came across Disaster Ants that had turned into ice statues. It was a terrible fate for the demons who were unprepared for the sudden icy disaster.

There were no traps to be found while traversing the labyrinth. Even if there were, they would have frozen and ceased to function.

I was moving without a hitch.

Thump-

“...?”

It was small, but clearly audible; the sound of a heart beating.

Thump, thump, thump-

We would soon arrive at the end of the underground labyrinth. From the other side of the labyrinth, the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.

Kaya’s eyes narrowed, showing her wariness. Her reaction alone told me what she was going to say.

“I can feel it, this nasty mana... Is there a demon in front of us?”

I didn’t feel any unpleasant mana because my mana perception was so low, but I nodded.

There was no point in being tired trying to feel the mana.

However, just hearing this heartbeat gave me the feeling that something terrifying was up ahead.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Finally, as I walked out of the underground labyrinth, a high ceiling and a wide space spread out before my eyes.

Because of my magic, this place had transformed into an ice cave and the ant legion, which was standing in order, was frozen solid.

At the end of the path where they were arranged in rows like trees, there was a very large heart, a golden heart, which beat at regular intervals.

The black gum-like exterior moved with the heartbeat, and the blood vessels leading from the heart to various places in the cave radiated a harmonious color of gold and black.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—

“W-what is that...?”

Kaya appeared to be stunned by the magnificent sight.

“A demon,” I answered simply.

Inside the huge golden heart, the silhouette of a hideous creature glowed.

It was easy to infer what it looked like just by looking at its silhouette.

[Garzia the Hermit] Lv: 110

Race: Demon

Elements: Darkness, Rock

Danger: High

Psychology: [Wants to kill you, the intruder.]

In Act 2, Chapter 4 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, Garzia was level 140. He had been raising his level in this manner.

Even though the entire cave was frozen with [Frost Wave], he looked fine, it seemed to have high elemental resistance.

It must be because I used magic from afar.

‘Is that Zephrim?’

Garzia’s mana remnants were transformed into the magic stone called Zephrim, and it was nestled in every corner of the cave. My magic had frozen it, but the pale yellow light that was unique to Zephrim was clearly visible.

Perfect.

Now, the only thing left to do was kill Garzia in one swift motion.

Dre-re-re-re-re-re-rek──!

As expected, he wouldn’t stand still.

Around the golden heart where he was hiding, a massive wall of rock erupted from the ground and enclosed it. The rock wall was a pearly black color.

「Rock Wall (Rock Element, ★4)」 + 「Black Rock (Rock Element, ★5)」

“Yes!”

Kaya flew towards me quickly, with light-green wind wrapped around her body, and landed lightly next to me.

I stretched out my right arm toward the heart encased in a block of black ice. Meanwhile, Kaya also stretched out her left arm and pointed her wand toward the heart.

Whooooo——!

「Wind Generation (Wind Element, ★1)」

Kaya’s wind began to swirl around her. The rough and disorderly wind blew fiercely and shook my hair, Kaya’s hair, and our clothes indiscriminately, carrying with it a chill that emanated from me.

The wind element was characterized by the continuous generation of wind to increase the power of subsequent wind spells.

She was creating wind to increase the power of the attack she was about to unleash.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Sir Isaac! I also wanted to hit that demon with my magic!”

“I see.”

Kaya seemed to think that I could easily defeat Garzia.

She must have thought that the magic from earlier was only at a level to gauge his defense capabilities.

“Among the attack magic you can use right now, tell me which is the most powerful.”

“It’s [Gale Fang].”

“Good.”

[Gale Fang] was a 5-star wind spell and if I could combine ice magic with it...

‘...[Frostfire].’

I engraved the spells of [Frostfire] and [Black Ice] in my mind. Then, in front of my right hand, a dark blue magic circle appeared, stretching toward the heart.

Meanwhile, right next to me, a green magic circle formed and began to slowly rotate in front of Kaya’s wand, which stretched toward the heart, and behind her.

I released the ice block that was covering the heart. The block of ice disintegrated into glowing dark blue powder and scattered, displaying the heart wrapped in a sturdy [Indestructible Iron Body] intact.

“When I give you the order, you’ll shoot.”

“Yes!”

In the [Hunter] state, my [Elemental Synergy] was S-class. The joint attack I unleash with Kaya should at least be twice as powerful as my previous combination of [Frost Explosion] and [Black Ice].

Cold air and frost, pale blue ice mana, and black-dark mana were all swirling together.

A cold, dark blue flame formed in front of my right hand, and it began to burn.

「Frostfire (Ice Element, ★4)」+ 「Black Ice (Ice Element, ★5)」

= 「Winter Hellfire (Ice Element)」

As it was, I fired the cold flames.

“Now!”

At my cry, Kaya and I shot out the magic at the same time. The cold, dark blue icy flames were surrounded by a sharp light green wind. The wind drew a clear trajectory from both sides and rose obliquely toward the heart.

Whiiiiiieeee────!!

A firestorm of cold air quickly erupted. As if it didn’t want to miss its prey, the heart was engulfed in a vicious whirlwind

As if a pack of wolves rushed in and bit it, the strong wind that swirled around the [Frostfire] hit the heart with a series of blows.

「Winter Hellfire (Ice Element)」 + 「Gale Fang (Wind Element, ★5)」

= 「Glacial Tempest of the Endless Night (Ice+Wind Element)」

Chaaaaaaak─────!!!

Chaaaaaaak─────!!!

Hwarrrrr─────!

Kwaaaak─────!!

Rock debris flew everywhere.

Amidst the billowing cold and raging gusts of wind, the [Indestructible Iron Body] shattered and fell apart. A viscous pale yellow liquid gushed out like a waterfall.

The heart’s blood vessels, which were guarded by the [Indestructible Iron Body], were severed by the [Glacial Tempest of the Endless Night].

The golden heart was consumed in cold flames and collapsed powerlessly in front of Kaya.

Kuwuwuwong─!!

[Kkiueueueu..]

A strange whimpering sound was heard right in front of us. Kaya and I lowered our heads and gazed at the source of the whimpering – a human ant with huge horns on both sides of his head and razor-sharp claws in front of his mouth.

Its body was full of sharp claws, a pale white skin, and a female-like form armored in black. Just like an ant, there was a large pocket behind the buttocks, like an ant’s belly.

Garzia the Hermit.

His golden eyes gleamed as he laid on the floor, glaring at us.

He was slightly smaller than what I had seen in game, but he was still well over 4 meters tall. Our magic seemed to have pierced the [Indestructible Iron Body] and ruthlessly rammed him, judging by the green blood flowing all over his body.

It was a terrible sight.

“This is the demon...” Kaya furrowed her brows.

[Garzia the Hermit] Psychology: [I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you I want to kill you. I want to kill you.]

Fully formed, Garzia stood well over 4 meters tall and leads his minions, the Disaster Ants, in an attack during the Academy’s practical training. He was like a killing machine who aimed to kill many students, which included Ian.

I approached Garzia and extended my right hand to him.

“It’s a pity that you couldn’t fulfill your ambition.”

I condensed mana into my right hand.

A light blue magic circle formed in front of my right hand.

[Kkiueueueueueueueue...!!!]

And the condensed cold mana exploded in an instant.

「Frost Explosion (Ice Element, ★5)」

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa───!!!

The ice rushed toward Garzia.

A torrent of cold.

It was the finishing blow.