Chapter 146: The Fine Line Between Hero And Killer (1)
Proxia was doomed to fall even if left alone.
Ray didnt bother to personally kill them.
He entered the castle solely for the legacy of the Age of Magic.
If he could obtain that, he would be satisfied.
Not knowing his way, Ray kept running toward a place that might house a library.
As he stormed through the front yard of Proxia, someone directed a fierce blade energy at him.
He dodged it easily by slightly tilting his head and showed no sign of stopping.
The attacker, who had sent the blade energy, was taken aback.
Hey, stop!
As a knight in splendid armor chased him, Ray increased his speed even more.
Once he started running seriously, not even Iriel could catch up to him.
No matter how skilled these knights were, catching him was out of the question.
Running at an incredible speed, Ray quickly turned his head, searching for the library.
Since the castle wasnt very large, he soon found it.
This is it.
Ray, who broke through a window, started searching for what he needed among the well-organized bookshelves.
He wasnt certain he would find texts from the Age of Magic.
The library was vast, but it was possible that precious magic texts had not been left in such an accessible place.
He rapidly pulled out books from the shelf labeled magic and perused them.
His brain absorbed the new knowledge and began to memorize it at a terrifying pace.
He found some books that were not even available in the Imperial Palace.
Although Ray had been practicing magic, he never fully grasped the theoretical level of those who studied it systematically.
He had given lectures based on his own discoveries, but that had only been possible for special classes.
In a regular course, he would have had to conclude the lecture without being able to teach much.
Ray skimmed through the books, tossing those worth reading into his backpack, and discarding the rest on the floor.
The entire inspection process took place in an instant.
He delved further into the collection and discovered books that werent just simple overviews but contained well-explained principles.
Proxia is doomed anyway.
Wouldnt it be a loss to humanity if he didnt take these treasures?
Of course, he intended to keep them all for himself.
Books that seemed to hail from the Age of Magic began to surface.
Unlike ordinary books, these were crafted with high technology, each page imbued with preservation and fortification spells.
They also featured complex locking spells, indecipherable without magical knowledge.
Ray crammed all the magic-enchanted books into his backpack and quickly vacated the premises.
Lingering any longer would mean confronting them, which would undermine his efforts in spreading the Black Death.
Rays footsteps steered not back the way he had come, but toward the forest.
Escaping through the forest would make it difficult for the soldiers to follow him.
However, a scouting party had already been dispatched into the woods.
Ray cast a spell on them.
Entangle.
Mana surged, beckoning the nearby plants.
Suddenly, entwined tree roots ensnared them, leaving them immobilized, and they let out screams.
Aaaaah!
Its magic!
They attempted to sever the roots with their swords, but to no avail.
His mana within the roots repelled the intrusion of their blades.
Ignoring the trapped scouts, Ray continued on his way.
His pace was markedly faster than when he had first entered the forest.
The once vast forest was rapidly left behind.
About ten minutes into his run, as Ray was nearing an elf village, a group obstructed his way.
It consisted of a strikingly handsome young man accompanied by seven middle-aged men in elegant robes.
Rays brow furrowed.
Each of them radiated a significant amount of mana.
Their aura dwarfed that of the aura user he had encountered in the castle.
The young man, surrounded by a chilly aura, stated, There are quite a lot of rats in our Magic Tower.
With his words emanated the natural presence of a sovereign being, causing a prickling sensation on the skin.
Ray waved his hand once to disperse the mana.
Hiding in these mountains, youre more like rats, arent you?
At his words, the young mans eyebrows twitched, and the middle-aged men stepped forward.
How insolent!
Fireball!
Wind Cutter!
A huge explosion ensued.
Incredible.
He had managed to unleash Wind Cutter with just an incantation.
This meant that everyone present was at least of the 5th circle level.
However, sadly, they were just soldiers of a nation on the brink of extinction.
Ray waved his hand as before.
Cancel.
His mana disrupted the casting of the spells, scattering the forming mana.
The fireball, shaped like a flame, and the flying compressed air blades disintegrated instantly.
Their eyes widened at the unbelievable phenomenon unfolding before them.
Ray could interfere with magical phenomena and cancel it with his own magic.
He had taught this technique in lectures to students and professors, but the difficulty level was so high that it was almost exclusively his technique.
For swordsmen, maybe, but for magic users, he was the worst opponent.
Think about it. What happens if magicians cant use magic?
At best, they would be slightly stronger than ordinary soldiers.
The young man and the middle-aged men were stunned, their spirits crushed at the sight of Ray cancelling their cast spells.
Of course, Ray was not kind enough to wait for their spirits to recover.
Wind Cutter.
As they felt the mana being drawn toward him, his magic had already materialized.
Numerous invisible blades rained down on them.
The middle-aged men hastily tried to conjure magic.
Shi, Shield!
Shield!
As a translucent sphere began to form, Ray disrupted it again with his mana.
Cancel.
The shield vanished as the mana could not maintain the sphere, and it reverted to nothingness.
The wind blades not only cut through their bodies but also carried enough force to slice the trees behind them.
Their blood spattered everywhere, soaking the forest, as the sound of tearing air filled the air.
Limbs flew through the air in a gruesome display, but the young mans expression remained unchanged.
In the blood-soaked forest with a completely altered view, only two remained.
Now, its just you, rat.
Ray wanted to quickly finish the rest and return.
It was time to go back and think about medicine.
If it werent for the constant interruptions, by now he could have trained quite a few decent beginner doctors.
Just one question have you reached the realm of a Lord?
The realm of a Lord.
It signifies a level above the 7th circle.
Ray shook his head in response to the young mans calmly posed question.
To be precise, he has no circle.
Thats why he couldnt be considered a Lord, as talked about in the world.
After all, Lord is just a term for those who have advanced to a high circle.
He didnt need to be revered as a Lord, not even being at the first circle, let alone above the seventh.
However, he differed from other magicians in that he could use any magic as long as he knew the theory.
The young man nodded at Rays denial.
I thought so. The status of a Lord is noble. You, who can barely do a few Cancels, dont belong there.
Right. If were done talking, rest in peace.
How dare you be so brief in my presence.
Hold.
The young man smirked at his magic.
The Hold spell only works on those who are of a lower circle.
He considered himself the first Lord of the continent.
Who would dare cast a Hold spell on him, a 7th circle magician?
Now that he had regained his youth by reaching the realm of a Lord, he was brimming with confidence.
Even a Sword Master couldnt match him, he knew unconsciously.
His overflowing power could disrupt a nation, and a slight serious use of magic could overturn the balance of power.
Hold against him? It was a laughable suicide method.
Deciding to end the joke, the young man began to gather mana to manifest magic.
A massive flow of mana should have surged from his circle.
But, contrary to his expectations, he couldnt move a finger at will.
The young mans face turned pale.
Im caught in Hold.
Did this mean the man was of a higher circle than him?
Above his own 7th circle?
8th circle or higher?
The thought was ludicrous.
Reaching the 8th circle was deemed impossible, even for elves brimming with talent and blessed with long lifespans.
Moreover, he found it hard to imagine someone capable of restraining him, especially since his mana quality had evolved after he reached the 7th circle.
Nonetheless, Ray was indifferent to the young mans thoughts.
Keeping you alive would be dangerous.
Should he be spared, he might rebuild Proxia or cast magic in the Holy Kingdom recklessly, causing Ray a headache.
He had no desire to spare a potential major problem.
In a way, this signified that he recognized the young mans strength.
With such might, even the current Iriel or Zik would be no match for him.
Should the young man seriously cast magic against the Holy Kingdom, they would face near obliteration.
Having encountered several 6th circle magicians in the Kingdom, none possessed the aura of this young man.
Perhaps he was the 7th circle great magician Ray had heard about while dealing with the Necromancer.
The true master of magic, a Lord, as esteemed in this world.
Had it been an ordinary army, they would have perished without laying a finger on him.
Hence, he couldnt let him live.
It would spell trouble if he sought revenge.
Ray conjured an Aura Blade in his hand.
Without time to marvel at the manifested aura, Ray thrust the sword into the young mans heart.
While immobilized by Hold, the young man couldnt even scream, merely coughing up blood.
But this alone wasnt sufficient to guarantee death.
Consider Ziks case; his heart was destroyed, yet he lived.
Ray pulled the sword from the heart and then pierced the upper part of the lung, above the rib cage.
A punctured lung could no longer maintain a vacuum state.
It could not inhale oxygen or exhale carbon dioxide.
This would lead to death.
To ensure death, an attack on the brain would be best, but not doing so was the final consideration for someone who had reached the realm of a Lord with a human body.
Ray, noting the blood flowing back and the young man shedding tears of blood due to the effort, watched him for a moment before moving on.
The Lord was dead.
This signified the complete annihilation of Proxia.
No matter how many soldiers there were, they were nothing compared to a 7th circle Lord.
He sighed and, turning his back on the bodies, headed towards the elf village.
He always felt it, but killing people was not a pleasant feeling.
Having always saved lives, that emotion was even stronger for him.
Somehow, in the modern world, he saved lives to save people, but here, it felt like he was killing to save lives.
By killing Proxia, he saved many lives that would otherwise have been lost to it.
To some, he might be a hero, but to others, just a mere murderer.
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