chapter 131

Sheryl looked at Frey in shock.

In truth, anyone would have the same expression if they understood what he had just done.

‘Amazing.’

Frey had just covered the entire Blake property with the magic circle for dimensional movement.

It was unbelievable.

The size of his magic circle was hundreds of times larger than the one she’d been creating. Naturally, this meant that the mana required to activate it was tens of times higher and that the entire magic circle would have had to be redesigned.

Thanks to that, the dimensional movement spell had reached a level that made it comparable to a great spell.

And after realising that, it became even harder for her to guess just how much mana Frey had.

But there was something that was even more amazing.

‘The dimensional movement magic circle is covering the entire property, but it’s only targeting Apep.’

It wasn’t possible for Frey to accomplish such a feat if he only had an enormous amount of mana but no knowledge.

Magic computational power.

Sheryl was certain that the calculations Frey had done to create that magic circle would not have been possible even if dozens of 7 star Wizards worked together.

In fact, it was more likely that they would melt their brains if they attempted it.

Yet, he’d done it alone.

Chuk.

“Ah…!”

Frey suddenly started bleeding from his eyes, nose and mouth at the same time.

As Sheryl rushed over to assist him, Frey simply waved his hand, signifying he was fine.

This didn’t mean he was in good shape. In fact, he was so dizzy that he couldn’t even stand properly.

‘I used a stupid method.’

He had been too hurried in using his mana, which even he didn’t know the limit of.

Frey wanted to rest, but he couldn’t. The fight wasn’t over yet.

He looked up to the sky.

Heinz and Leita were exchanging moves, and when he narrowed his eyes, he was able to get a rough understanding of the situation.

Leita used divine power of wind, and a strong gale rampaged around her. Surprisingly, Heinz had the same power as her.

That might be the reason why he was in an iffy situation right now.

‘The difference in power is too great.’

Heinz could be said to have a backwards compatibility with Leita. Since they used the same power, it was hard for him to outwit her.

If it had not been for the fact that he was occasionally mixing spells into his attacks, he would have already been overpowered long ago.

No. Perhaps the reason he could last that long was because Leita was also paying attention to the situation while fighting against him.

“…”

Frey then looked at the sky, dumbfounded. The sky was steadily brightening… they didn’t have much time left.

“Sheryl, you have to help Heinz kill Leita. Before the other Demigods get here.”

“Is it possible? Her strength isn’t simple.”

“I know, but you have to do it anyway. “

It was suicide to try to fight two Demigods in his current state, but that didn’t mean they had to retreat right away.

They would have to at least kill Leita to make it worth all the trouble.

Most importantly, just because they wanted to retreat didn’t mean that Leita would let them go.

Frey took a deep breath.

‘My mana is low and my mental power is almost completely exhausted.’

His head was still swinging a bit because of the extensive calculations he had just done.

It was hard for him to use his physical strength if his mental power was exhausted.

Nevertheless, he had to continue.

Frey flew up into the night sky, and Sheryl followed suit.

“…”

Leita stopped attacking. Instead, she stared at Frey who had come to stop beside Heinz.

Why was this man standing here?

“…where is Mr. Apep?”

“I killed him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Check for yourself.”

Leita turned her gaze to the ground. However, the Demigod with the power of darkness was nowhere to be seen.

Her expression hardened.

“What on earth did you do?”

“I fought him, and I won. And now, it’s your turn.”

“That’s funny!”

Swoosh-

The winds around Leita began blowing fiercely.

If they relaxed for even a moment, their entire bodies would be sucked into the whirlwind and torn to pieces.

Heinz created a wall of wind in front of them while saying.

“My mother is much stronger than I expected.”

“Right, she is.”

Leita was much stronger than any Apostle Frey had encountered so far. Of course, she was still nothing when compared to the Demigods.

If Frey had been in his peak condition, it would have been no problem for him to deal with her alone. But for the worn-out Frey, she might be an even more difficult opponent than Apep.

“I can use one more 8 star spell.”

“Do you think that would be enough to end it?”

“I don’t know. But do we have a choice but to try it?”

“…true.”

Heinz nodded.

“The chanting will take a minute.”

With the current amount of mana he had left, Frey could not use chantless magic.

The stronger the spell, the more accurate and meticulous the chanting had to be to cast it. To cast it without the chant would require many times the regular amount of mana needed to cast the spell.

Nodding at Frey’s words, Sheryl said.

“Heinz and I will buy you time.”

“Thanks.”

Frey immediately closed his eyes and began chanting while Heinz and Sheryl faced off against Leita.

The fierce winds were becoming stronger and stronger.

“I’m curious as to what kind of relationship Rounder Sheryl has with Frey.”

“I think this is a bad time to ask such a question, Honor Heinz.”

“It seems like a long story.”

Sheryl chuckled at those words.

“Well. Don’t be impatient. If we survive, you’ll find out sooner or later. After all, we’re in the same boat.”

“Do you intend to leave the Phisfounder Armlets?”

“If he wants me to.”

“…”

Heinz fell silent.

This was because Sheryl was one of the oldest members of the Phisfounder Armlets. Even if she preferred to wander the continent instead of doing any work in the circle, that fact didn’t change.

He found it hard to believe she would leave the circle immediately at a single request from Frey.

Who was Frey exactly?

Kuaaah~

The gale intensified.

Just as Leita’s fingers were about to move, her eyes met Sheryl’s.

Throb.

“Kuk…!”

Then, she suddenly frowned as she felt a sharp pain in her head.

“Psychic domination… you have a very troublesome power, vampire.”

“Hmph.”

Sheryl snorted briefly, but she wasn’t relaxed either.

The minds of Apostles were already deeply connected to their Demigods. Therefore, it was impossible to take control of them.

It was possible to break their concentrations, but she couldn’t go in for the kill.

‘It’s fine.’

Her goal wasn’t to kill Leita, it was simply to buy time.

Kwakwakwa-

Thanks to this, she was able to realise that the power of the gale was much greater than she expected.

Sheryl created shields from her bats, and Heinz tried to offset the power of Leita’s attack with his own wind power.

Leita turned to look at Frey, who was standing behind them.

“It seems like Frey is preparing to do something, so you guys are trying to buy time for him.”

She smiled coldly.

“I can’t let that happen.”

Paht.

“…!!”

Leita’s figure suddenly disappeared.

Heinz and Sheryl hurriedly tried to follow her movement, but they couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Kuk…!”

Then they heard Frey grunt from behind them.

Before they knew it, Leita had appeared behind Frey with her fingers stretching forward.

Pipipit.

Frey hurriedly leaned to the side.

He was capable of triple casting, so he could use Blink, but at that moment, he was focused completely on casting the spell, so he couldn’t.

In addition, he was already using flight magic.

Despite his dodging, something invisible still brushed past his chin.

Shuk.

‘Was that extremely compressed air?’

It was highly destructive. In addition, it was obscenely sharp.

Because of its blade-like shape, if the attack had connected, not only would it have easily pierced his body, his flesh would have been severely mutilated as if he had been stabbed by a blade with a jagged edge.

‘If even one attack lands, it would be near-fatal.’

Leita’s attack had been simple but also tricky.

Moreover, she had moved at a speed that surpassed their imaginations. Not just Heinz and Sheryl – even Frey had lost track of her for a moment.

“Master!”

Sheryl hurriedly went to his side.

Heinz looked around.

“We don’t know where her attacks will come from next, so it would be better to protect you from the side than from a distance.”

“I agree.”

Meanwhile, Leita had disappeared once again.

Heinz then muttered in a low voice.

“She isn’t moving at a speed that exceeds our perception. Instead, she’s hiding in the wind.”

“Hiding in the wind?”

Sheryl couldn’t help but frown at the almost unbelievable statement.

“Anyway, all that is important is that she isn’t moving at an imperceptible speed.”

“Right. While it’s still tricky to deal with… at least we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Hm?”

At that moment, Heinz clenched his fist.

Hoooo-

Without warning, a blizzard erupted from his body.

Sheryl couldn’t help but shiver at the sudden cold.

‘A spell?’

No, she couldn’t feel any mana. There had also been no signs of chanting or casting.

Above all, the power that was currently erupting from Heinz’s body was not mana. It was divine power.

The raging blizzard spread out in an instant, exposing Leita’s position.

She had been hiding nearby, and when the snow surrounded her, the empty space revealed where she was lurking.

Ssuk.

Leita reappeared.

She was glaring fiercely while being bombarded by the snow and heavy winds. Then, with an angry voice, she said.

“Heinz! Are you really going to use the power of ice here?!”

“Didn’t you give me this power so that I’d use it?”

“You dare…!”

Heinz Blake.

He was an incredible sample created after countless experiments. He was the only one who had been able to use two powers.

Her owner, Leyrin, was greatly pleased by this discovery. If she continued to study Heinz, she might be able to recreate such results in not only creatures but even in the Apostles.

For this reason, Leita adored Heinz very much. Much more than her eldest son, Mischael, or even her husband, Isaka.

And now, this Heinz, whom she so dearly loved, was baring his fangs at her.

Now that it had come to this, Leita no longer intended to hold back.

Just as Leita was about to unleash her full power.

Pit.

“…?”

She suddenly felt a chill in her chest.

This wasn’t from Heinz’s blizzard. It was a different type of cold.

But what exactly was this chill?

“Kurk…!”

Leita suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood before looking down at her chest.

Blood gradually spread on her clothes.

She lifted her head heavily and stared at Frey. Smoke was slowly rising from his finger tip.

“This… what is this spell…?”

Frey wiped the blood from his lips before saying.

“I haven’t named it yet.”

“…you… created it?”

He didn’t answer.

It wasn’t grand enough that he would say he created it, but Leita couldn’t hide her astonishment as she interpreted his silence differently.

“…ha. Impo… ssible.”

It was a bit shabby for her last words. Especially when considering that they were the last words of the Blake family.

Leita’s body collapsed backward, falling to the ground.

Frey breathed a sigh of relief.

They were lucky.

The spell he’d used was just a modification of the Magic Arrow spell, so to speak.

The power and speed were hundreds of times greater than a Magic Arrow, but the concept was the same.

What was different was that unlike normal Magic Arrows, its appearance didn’t stand out.

“I-, is it over?”

He nodded at Sheryl’s words, causing her to sigh in relief.

Heinz was looking at his mother’s cooling body with a bitter expression on his face.

However, this wasn’t the time for sentimentalism.

He hurriedly spoke to Frey and Sheryl, who had returned to her senses.

“Ah. This isn’t the time for this. We have to leave this place quickly. The Demigods will…”

“…no.”

Frey shook his head while looking off into the distance.

“I’m sorry. I took too long.”

A light could be seen coming from the east.

Sheryl’s expression hardened.

Dawn had come.

Kooo-

Suddenly, a pressure descended upon them. They couldn’t even lift a finger.

A man and a woman were standing in the sky. Their appearances were different but also similar in that they both had exceptionally cold expressions.

They didn’t need to guess their identities.

The Demigods that Leita had called as reinforcements had finally arrived at the Blake family residence.

The man then spoke in a cold voice.

“I don’t see Apep.”

“I don’t think these bugs could’ve done anything to him.”

“Hmph… we can just find out by asking them. It wouldn’t be difficult to find out what happened here.”

The Demigods slowly descended to the ground.

Frey fiddled with the Great Sage’s Staff in his hand.

If he used the Warp spell that was stored there, he would be able to escape without any problem.

‘But…’

He’d need some time. It would take less time than it took to blink, but his opponents were Demigods. If he moved hastily, they might attack immediately.

‘I need to think.’

What should he do? Should he pretend to have a conversation? Should he pretend to be ignorant? Should he force a pause by mentioning Apep?

All those options were gambles.

In the meantime, the Demigods had walked closer to them.

Just as Frey grit his teeth and decided to open his mouth.

Crackle-

The space behind them split without any warning.

Sheryl looked back in confusion.

This was a sign that a Warp spell was being used.

Juk.

A group of people walked out from the rift in space.

Sheryl gulped subconsciously.

They were all beings of different shapes and sizes, but the one at the front was particularly gruesome.

It was a Lich who exuded a bloody red aura.

However, Sheryl had never seen one who had such powerful, eerie energy. Her body had become so filled with fear that it completely erased the image of Liches that she’d had before.

“There were… more?”

Despair filled Heinz’s face.

They were completely surrounded. There was absolutely no way they could escape now.

But the Demigods looked at the group of people with strange expressions.

“Who are you?”

[Paragon.]

The Lich slowly opened its mouth and spoke.

When he heard those words, Frey realised that the gamble he’d taken three days ago had paid off.

[…We came here at Cairo’s request, Frey Blake.]

Frey’s request for reinforcements had been accepted by none other than Cairo Wilsemann, the Eleventh Tower Master.