Chapter 372

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[Aa, aaah! This damn... my wings, it hurt! It feels like my whole body is burning! I'll kill, I'll definitely kill you! You!]

Myla, sprawled on the ground, screamed while hurling curses of all kinds at Valeria.

The heat from the Chain Lightning was still lingering on the ground, causing Myla to experience excruciating pain throughout her entire body.

Amidst the continued screams, Valeria confirmed that Myla was in a state where she couldn't escape, then leaned against a tree and took a breath.

The corpses were everywhere.

The mages of 3rd Magic tower that had come to the Wantaramo Forest were all met with death, without exception. And it was done by a girl who had barely turned seventeen, to the point of being utterly crushed.

No one would believe it. Even Jin, who had personally experienced Valeria's previous life and witnessed this battle, was left dumbfounded.

'I knew the teacher was a monster, but I never imagined she'd be this strong at seventeen. No wonder she was never caught until now.'

Naturally, Valeria's mana was far from enough to match the twenty mages of the tower.

Drew Malaga and his subordinates were by no means weak.

However, the overwhelmingly decisive victory was due to Valeria Hister's overwhelming talent and unexpectedness.

Just as it had been in their past lives.

To Jin, it felt as though he was glimpsing a new horizon of magic from his teacher once again.

'When I first met the teacher in my past life, I wondered what I believed in and acted so haughty. I felt dizzy thinking about it now.'

Suddenly, Jin remembered the time when Valeria taught him how to use lightning magic and felt chills down his spine.

Sizzle...

Valeria took out a crushed cigarette from her pocket and lit it up.

It wasn't for her to smoke. She expelled the smoke left in her mouth when she lit it, and placed the cigarette in the center of the dead mages.

It was a cigarette to commemorate the Grey Owl Mercenaries. Valeria stared blankly at the cigarette for a while.

Valeria, gazing at the gruesome corpses and the cigarette burning desolately, and Myla struggling and cursing, created a scene of confusion.

And the Majins perceived that she was in a vulnerable state.

Indeed, she had helped the Felinoid tribesmen to create the passages and had nearly exhausted all her mana due to the recent battle.

Splatt!

The Majins all rushed towards Valeria at once. The scimitars stained with aura aimed at Valeria.

Of course, their strikes never reached Valeria. While their physical abilities had improved significantly compared to when they were human, they weren't as fast as Jin had missed.

As Bradamante and two scimitars collided, sparks flew. Jin attempted to use his scissors technique once more, but as if not willing to fall victim to the same move again, the Majins defended each other's back, deflecting the scissors to both sides.

"Do not disturb the mourning."

Fissst-!

Bradamante moved in a trajectory and slashed Rick's chest. Though it would've been a fatal wound for a human, the wound was swiftly healing.

Jin used scissors once again and examined the spot where the dead Majin's body was.

As Valeria explained, the deceased Majin had already oxidized, leaving only black residue behind and completely disappearing.

'I need to control my strength well. To leave evidence without any difficulty.'

It seemed challenging to capture them alive due to her regenerative abilities. Additionally, the Majins were weaker compared to Jin, but weren't so weak that they could be bound with ordinary tools.

'Regeneration, physical reinforcement, oxidation to prevent information leaks, and sanity. Is that about right for now? Ah, one more thing. The level of combat power."

Rick Helter.

When he was human, he was the leader, making him much stronger than the other imperial guards. However, after becoming a Majin, he showed no difference from the others. Whether an ordinary guard or Rick, they now possessed the same level of combat prowess.

The significance of that fact was enormous.

'The transformation magic for becoming a Majin might not require elite imperial guards, but rather individuals with some level of skill. Or perhaps even ordinary people could be turned into Majins with this level of combat prowess...'

Considering he had managed to kill three during their transformation, if all six of them had completed their transformation into Majins, Jin wouldn't have been able to handle them so effortlessly.

'If transformation magic can be applied to ordinary people, and if Vermont controls more than just a few Majins... the power balance of the world could completely shift.'

Jin had already experienced something similar in his past life.

Using the "Mirror," Colon's artifact, Zipfel had mass-produced 7-Star mages, solidifying their dominance on the world power. Jin had witnessed it firsthand, how they had further established their dominance.

'I need to leave the Majin' body as evidence and thoroughly investigate. I have to find out how far the Majin transformation magic has been developed. The reason it hasn't been mass-produced yet is probably because it is incomplete.'

Kagang! Jin increased his speed, forcing the Majins to shift on defense.

Even though they had become stronger through the transformation, the initial gap was too large. Despite the element of surprise, even if the Majins' weapons struck Jin, they fell short of piercing his Shadow Force Armor and dealing fatal damage.

'Considering their response to the scissors, it seems they have a learning ability, but it appears they don't retain memories from their human days.'

If the Majins had retained their memories from their time as imperial guards, they wouldn't have aimed for Jin's throat while sacrificing their bodies.

Thunk-!

The scimitar was deflected by Jin's Shadow Force Armor and rebounded. Taking advantage of the recoil, Jin swung Bradamante and slashed Majin's waist.

The blade enveloped in shadow force silently passed through flesh and organs. The dull sensation of a spine being severed transmitted through the blade, and Jin swung his weapon again, cutting the mine into a cross.

Despite being split into several pieces, the wriggling body segments seemed to possess enough regenerative power to recover.

However, the Majin chose oxidation over regeneration. It was a clear indication of the creator's intent: to leave no evidence behind.

Now only one remained, the Majin once known as Rick Helter. He too was about to fight until the end and then oxidize.

Whooosh...!

Suddenly, sparks of blue flames flickered around Bradamante.

Tess's power, blue flames. As that energy gathered, the Majin's weapon noticeably slowed down.

It was the power of "Heavy Pressure," suppressing him to the point where he couldn't move properly. Even when he could exert his full power, he wasn't a match for Jin. All the Majin could do was oxidize at this point.

Although only his arm had been severed, the Majin showed signs of oxidation. He was turning into ash like other dead Majins.

Normally, oxidation happens very rapidly.

However, the heavy pressure was affecting not just the Majin's movements, but also delaying his disintegration.

"Valeria, now!"

As Jin closed in on him like an arrow, he cut off both arms of the Majin and shouted. As Valeria asked, Jin gave her a signal before dealing the final blow to Majin. It was time to act on her words.

Despite the pressure slowing the rate of oxidation, with each second, the Majin's body segments were noticeably shrinking.

Phwooosh-!

A single thread of mana, imbued with the freezing attribute, flew from behind. As the mana touched the Majin's body, it swiftly formed a seal of ice barrier magic along with a melody sound.

Fortunately, the completion of the magic seal happened faster than the process of oxidation.

The seal, which had fallen to the ground, produced a dull thud. It took the shape of a sphere, containing only the head and chest of the Majin within.

Jin had already cut the two arms in advance, and the rest of the body had already turned to ash in the air.

"If you had been a little late, we might have missed it."

Jin wiped his forehead as he looked down at the magic seal. Valeria approached him and nodded.

"If it wasn't for the power of blue flames within your sword, it would have been much more precarious. I could barely manage to seal about half of the head."

"Anyway, you did well. Now, all that's left is to visit the tomb before additional reinforcements arrive."

For a moment, the two of them stood silently, gazing at the seal containing the Majin's head and chest.

"Jin Runcandel."

"Yes."

"You told the Majins not to disturb my mourning. Why did you do that?"

"It's hard to think about anything other than mourning when you're lighting a cigarette you don't even smoke. Plus, you told Drew about the people trampled by Zipfel and your siblings who were killed."

Actually, Jin knew Valeria's actions were for tribute due to the memories from his past life, but answering like this wouldn't be strange either.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't seem particularly surprised by the fact that I used a dagger."

"Among mages, there are those who train their bodies and martial arts. Your dagger skills were quite impressive. It's a shame you couldn't use aura."

"It was the first time I have revealed my real name, and you casually called me Valeria a little while ago."

He barely suppressed a flinch.

"Is that strange? I don't really know what you're trying to say."

Valeria shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it doesn't mean much. I was just curious why you did it."

"You revealed your real name when I was listening means I've gained that much trust from you. I liked it, so I thought I'd call you by it."

Valeria stared intently at Jin.

Jin met her gaze calmly, waiting for her next words.

[Aaah! Aaaah!]

The sound that came first was not Valeria's response but rather the screams of Myla still rolling on the ground.

"…First, we need to ask the queen of descendants of the fairy tribe how to deal with that."

"I agree, Valeria Hister."

***

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Wantaramo Forest.

Two mages with puzzled expressions were searching for their horses.

They were mages from the 3rd Magic Tower who had accompanied Drew Malaga to the Wantaramo Forest.

Originally, their purpose was to track down Jin. However, Drew had instructed them to report to the Zipfel main house as quickly as possible.

The content of the report was about the presence of a mage using "Record Magic" within the Wantaramo Forest.

"A record mage... Things are going to be chaotic for a while."

"Just by reporting this, my promotion is practically guaranteed, and I can raise my library access level..."

Thunk!

The mage who was answering suddenly slumped forward.

"Hey, you! What's wrong? Are you okay...!"

The remaining mage couldn't finish his sentence either.

A long stinger, from an unknown source, had pierced right through the middle of his throat. The two mages didn't even realize the fact that they had been "killed" until the moment of their deaths.

"Hmm, hmm-."

And behind their two steps, there was a woman humming a tune.

The woman cheerfully rummaged through the belongings of the deceased mages, and amidst them, she found a letter with the name of her beloved youngest brother written on it. She smiled broadly as she looked at it.

"Well, my youngest brother has a sloppy side, it seems. Hehe."

It was Yona.

After picking up the letter, she said.

"I was wondering what to do and have fun during my vacation. Maybe I'll spend it killing those guys who came looking for my youngest brother?"