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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Undead were notoriously difficult to kill.
Even if you severed their limbs, they would continue to attack.
That’s why people usually aimed for the head.
Or used overwhelming firepower.
Even undead couldn’t withstand the intense heat of fire magic.
Whoosh—!
Several streams of fire, like sentient snakes, shot towards the undead horde.
Sepia’s flames engulfed the zombies, melting them into puddles of goo.
The flames moved on to their next target.
Sepia gestured gracefully, her movements precise and elegant.
The flames followed her every command.
She took a deep breath.
Her lungs burned.
She absorbed the demonic energy from the air, converting it into mana.
The denser the demonic energy, the more mana she could generate.
And she used that mana to create even more powerful flames.
This was the ultimate technique of the Logness family, renowned for their demon-slaying mages.
A pile of melted corpses grew at the entrance.
‘She’s… strong…’
Tia gasped in awe.
She had placed Sepia third on her list of people to watch.
But Sepia’s magic was far more powerful than she had anticipated.
‘She’s definitely strong. Maybe even stronger than Tesha.’
Why was such a powerful mage ranked 16th overall?
‘But… the enemy isn’t just undead…’
If it were just undead, Sepia could have handled it on her own.
Her firepower was overwhelming.
Zombies, skeletons, and ghouls were melting before her flames.
And she didn’t even seem tired.
‘How much mana does she have?’
There was no wasted mana.
She was creating powerful magic with minimal effort.
Tia couldn’t comprehend the extent of her mana control.
Whoosh!
Something flew towards them from the entrance.
It was fast, like an arrow.
Aimed at Sepia.
Clang!
Anya intercepted the projectile with her hammer.
It was an axe.
If Anya hadn’t reacted in time, Sepia would have been hit.
Sepia’s flames flickered and died down.
A few ghouls rushed past the entrance.
It was easy to defend a narrow passage.
But it was difficult to track and eliminate scattered enemies with magic.
Sepia quickly created a semi-circular wall of fire.
“Who’s there?!”
Anya shouted.
Only the sound of clanking armor answered her.
The black knight stepped through the wall of fire.
He was completely unharmed.
Sepia unleashed another wave of flames.
The knight casually swung his halberd, slicing through the flames.
The flames dissipated.
A red aura flickered around the knight, like a living creature.
The Death Knight.
His presence alone exuded an aura of fear and dread.
“My magic is useless?”
Sepia scoffed.
Then she would just use stronger magic.
The temperature in the area plummeted.
Sepia launched a shard of ice towards the black knight, aiming for his armor.
Bang—!
It was a straightforward attack, no tricks or deception.
The black knight blocked it with his halberd.
But as the ice shard connected, it exploded.
Hundreds of ice fragments scattered, freezing everything in their path.
Clank… clank…
The knight’s red eyes glowed menacingly.
The freezing magic spread from his feet, up his legs, past his waist, and towards his torso.
Crack—
A strange sound echoed through the air as the metal froze.
The knight tried to move, to resist the magic.
But the ice had already reached his neck.
The freezing process accelerated.
“What did you do to Ethan?”
Sepia finally asked the question that had been burning in her mind.
A brief silence followed.
“A pointless question. Ethan couldn’t possibly be defeated by the likes of you.”
The ice completely encased the knight.
A cold wind swept through the area.
“Is… is it over?”
Sepia clutched her chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
She felt dizzy. She had used too much mana.
Now that the knight was frozen, the demonic energy in the area had dissipated.
“Anya… I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“O-okay! Leave it to me!”
It was Anya’s turn.
The flames at the entrance were dying down.
But the situation was still dire.
There were hundreds of undead.
Anya charged towards the approaching ghouls, her hammer a blur of motion.
Heads exploded.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She effortlessly crushed her enemies, holding her own against dozens of them.
Then she heard an ominous sound.
Crack…
The sound of ice cracking.
The frozen knight shattered, ice fragments scattering in all directions.
He was emitting an even stronger aura of demonic energy now. His red eyes glowed brighter than before.
“Uh… um… what do I do?”
Anya was flustered.
More undead were approaching.
If she fought the undead, the knight would attack.
“Everyone, retreat into the castle!”
Tia shouted.
There was only one option left.
Wait for Arthur and Tesha to defeat the necromancer.
They had to hide in the castle until then.
“Run…!”
Even as she said those words, Tia knew that they couldn’t hold out much longer.
The situation was dire.
Bang—! Boom—! Boom—!
A series of explosions rocked the castle entrance.
Flames erupted from the inner wall.
A wave of heat washed over them.
‘Flames…? Could it be… Professor Cassia?’
The ravens must have reached the professors.
It was a possibility.
“Everyone! Reinforcements! The professors are here!”
The professors of Neydia Hero Academy were the best in their respective fields.
They were powerful and influential figures.
And they wouldn’t have come alone.
A glimmer of hope appeared in the darkness.
‘They’ll definitely send someone who can defeat this undead army… What?’
But only one person emerged from the flames.
A warrior with black hair.
A black blade, wreathed in flames.
A blue aura flickered around him, and a high-level spirit hovered behind him.
“Ethan…?”
Everyone stared at the entrance.
Even the undead were distracted, their attention drawn to Ethan.
“Damn it, there are so many of these zombies!”
Ethan couldn’t help but curse.
He swung his sword repeatedly.
Undead were consumed by flames, swept away by the force of his attacks.
The flames spread, incinerating dozens of undead at once.
He was like a one-man army.
‘Ethan… he’s alive…!’
Tia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Ethan gritted his teeth and swung his sword again, an upward slash.
Flames erupted, engulfing the undead.
Runtar stood guard behind him.
‘He’s so strong… he’s already in sync with his spirit…’
Crack! Crack!
Whirlwinds of fire erupted from Ethan’s sword.
He was fighting recklessly, disregarding his own safety.
‘That’s dangerous…! Ethan, if you keep using fire spirits like that…!’
Even Spirit Summoners weren’t immune to fire.
She suddenly realized that she hadn’t explained how to properly use a spirit.
Whoosh—
The flames climbed the castle walls, spreading rapidly.
All the undead turned their attention to Ethan.
“Come on! Bring it on, you bastards!”
Ethan roared, unleashing another attack.
The flames spread from one corpse to another, turning the area into a blazing inferno.
‘Is he… Is he sacrificing himself to protect us?’
The undead stumbled and fell, consumed by the flames.
None survived.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky.
“Undine! Diene! Neun! Extinguish the fire! Now!”
Tia couldn’t just stand there and watch.
She quickly summoned her water spirits.
They had to put out the fire.
Tia focused her remaining mana, trying to control the flames.
The black knight had stopped attacking.
He was watching the scene unfold, a strange glint in his red eyes.
“Ethan…! Are you okay?!”
Tia shouted towards the flames.
Sepia also used her magic to try and extinguish the fire.
Had he planned this from the start?
To sacrifice himself and take the undead down with him?
‘Was that your plan…? I… I thought I was finally free from guilt…’
She had been relieved when she saw him alive.
‘You saved me… twice…’
He had sacrificed himself.
He hadn’t been afraid of death.
What a noble sacrifice.
Tia bit her lip to stop herself from crying.
Thump.
Ethan emerged from the smoke.
His face and clothes were covered in soot, but he was unharmed.
“Sepia, Tia, Anya…”
Ethan gasped for breath, his body swaying.
He straightened his posture.
“And Knight Lien.”
The black knight clanked his halberd in response.
“Stop picking on them. Your opponent is me, you bastard.”
Ethan raised his sword.
He was ready to fight again.
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