317 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Episode 317 In an instant, Victoria's vision was swallowed by darkness, leaving her with the terrifying sensation of being cast alone into an abyss of nothingness. "What the...?" Shocked by her own voice echoing in her mind, Victoria hurriedly tried to regain her composure in an attempt to understand the situation. It was a space where she could only think; nothing was visible, and she couldn't sense anything. Even as she panicked and tried to turn her head, it wouldn't move. A profound feeling of helplessness gripped her, as her limbs refused to respond, leaving her unable to control even her own body. The experience was so horrifying, it felt as if her very soul was being consumed by the darkness. "Am I... am I dead?" "No, no way. That can't be true!" "Aaaah!" She screamed in endless terror, but the scream couldn't escape her lips. The dark space made moments feel eternal. If she stayed there any longer, she feared she would be unable to think altogether. Her soul would be swallowed by the dreadful void. Instinctively understanding this, Victoria focused her thoughts sharply on what had caused this situation. The demon that had suddenly appeared, and the darkness that began with its gesture. Though she'd never seen or heard of it before, the grey currents she perceived were undoubtedly magical energy. If so, the darkness that had engulfed her must also be a product of magic. Two possibilities came to mind: either she had died instantly due to the magic and fallen into hell, or the magic had created this scenario. She quickly dismissed the first option. Confident she hadn't lived a life deserving of such an end, it also seemed pointless to struggle if that was the case. "I'll live!" Desperately, Victoria concentrated all her mental energy on overcoming her situation. Amidst her struggle, a distant childhood memory flashed through her mind. "Brother, do we really have to live like this? Can't we follow Mom and Dad?" It was probably when she had barely recovered after suffering the flu all winter. Upon opening her eyes, she saw her brother trying to spoon-feed her her share of porridge, and she couldn't help but speak those words. At that time, she thought that dying and going to heaven would allow her to meet her parents and live happily. Her brother's face had twisted in agony, yet he didn't scold or reprimand her. He simply replied in a calm voice. "Yeah. We have to live." "But why?" "There's no such thing as heaven to go to once you're dead." "No! The priest said there is a heaven!" "Mom said it." That name was full of longing. The name of the person she once thought to be the wisest in the world. And now, as an adult, she still found her mother unique. "No matter how hard life is, no matter how much you want to die, when the time comes, you'll want to live. That's probably because..." Perhaps people instinctively knew that after life ends, what awaits is not a peaceful rest but something more dreadful than their current suffering. "There can't be..." Her mother's words, relayed by her brother, held a persuasive force even her young self could understand. "So no matter how miserable life is, no matter how hard, she said to live." Yet, aside from acknowledging, there was one glaring fact that had shocked her young mind back then. "Then... can I never meet Mom and Dad again?" "No." She must have made a crying face then. Or perhaps she cried. Her only hope of meeting her parents again vanished. It was painful. She was suffering. Exhausted. "Why!? Why not!?" And then she noticed her brother's thin arm. "Mom and Dad wanted us to survive. So let's live, Ria." Even then, when hunger made his hands tremble as he tried to feed her porridge, her brother's arm was determined. "I'll protect you, no matter what." Her life continued amidst her family's harsh sacrifices and dedication. In that harsh life, she coincidentally found a benefactor and gained hope, eventually leading a normal life filled with hope. "How can I throw away a life I've lived through?" "This chance I'd fought so hard for." "I won't die!" The resentment and longing that spanned her entire life protected her soul from being engulfed by the darkness. Her inner light started shining brighter amidst the encroaching shadows. And with that heightened soul potential, she began to analyze the demonic gesture that trapped her in this situation, along with the magical currents and patterns now imprinted like a seal upon her soul. As the analysis neared completion, the senses she lost began to return, and she gradually regained control over her body. However, Victoria was hardly aware of this new development. Handling the deep brown "Mana force" that had begun to dwell within her soul was overwhelming enough. "This is bad." Observing that the Dark Celestial Barrier had completely enveloped an unexpected intruder, Louisa scowled. This caused the face of the magical avatar superimposed on her body by the Devil's Manifestation to twist menacingly, but with no one around to witness, it wasn't a concern. The problem was that the three spells she'd prepared to swiftly subdue a mage had targeted the wrong person. Her personal strategy, an evolution of the Tower's secret Macro Magic, allowed multiple spells to activate with a simple trigger. But now, it had backfired, complicating her plans. The Dark Celestial Barrier, Devil’s Manifestation, and the added 'Soul Corruption' of the Dark Celestial Barrier were all meant to instantly subjugate and brainwash a wizard. Each one a grand magic ranked highest among the Tower's 6th-circle spells, they managed to manipulate the attributes of 'soul' and 'dimension' known only to the Tower's wizards. "That's the problem. Damn it." Without careful preparation, even she, a sorceress, found it challenging to wield these spells. Before encountering the mage of the McLine, she had been confident that she wouldn't be discovered by anyone, which was why it had been a mistake to use 'battle' as a trigger. The intruder possessed enough skill that mere evasion wouldn't suffice in escaping. "What on earth...?" A fearsome demonic figure glared at the intruder trapped within the black mist. Although they seemed very young, they not only wielded 5th-circle magic but also saw through the Tower's secret recognition-disruption spell. Even though she had blocked out noise with a sound barrier, the walls pierced by the ignorant magic of the opponent, which seemed to treat the Mage's Tower itself as a resource, posed a problem. While the solution was simply to overlay illusion magic, she was already maintaining three 6th-circle magics along with the sound-blocking barrier. Adding yet another spell was beyond even her capabilities. In the end. Bzzzzzt! ― "There's been an issue at the Tower!" Louisa couldn't help but frown upon hearing the noises emanating from various parts of the ground floor below the tower. "I have no choice. I must retreat for now." There shouldn't be too much trouble. The only person who discovered her, this intruder, would retain no memory of the events, and given there were no sacrificial victims, this would merely be treated as a simple accident. Louisa's eyes turned towards the black mist, which was slowly diminishing in size. A sign that the magic was coming to an end. "Well, considering they're a talented wizard, they're probably an important figure. Likely a disciple of the mage. That's somewhat bothersome." There were no wizards in this era who could comprehend the magic of the Tower. Perhaps the Imperial Royal Family could, but certainly not in this small kingdom. Even though no matter how powerful a grand spell is, methods to instantly corrupt a soul cannot perfectly brainwash someone. Nevertheless, being perfectly brainwashed in such situations is more dangerous to begin with. It would immediately show through bizarre changes in behavior. Simply causing them to initiate various accidents would be enough. "It falls short of the initial goal, but... if their beloved disciple causes trouble, pitting the king against the mage will suffice." ― "It's upstairs!" As the voices from below drew nearer, Louisa swallowed her regret and turned to leave. But at that moment, a massive brown fist appeared in her view. Boom! ― "Ah!" So it was a female demon? Victoria, having torn through the black mist, grimaced as she watched her strange but still high-pitched and sharp-screaming opponent. "Caught it! If you can't subdue it, kill it!" And at her command—or rather her will—a golem of three meters lunged like a bolt towards the demon that had been flung outside the tower. Unlike ordinary golems, which moved with potent yet somewhat sluggish motions, its movements were agile and bursting with elasticity. It moved swiftly, reminiscent of the kingdom’s famous superhuman, Wiken Kalia. The golem swung its massive fist like lightning. Boom! The impact created a crater over three meters in radius on the ground, showcasing the power of the attack. Though there was no trace of the enemy within the destruction, Victoria felt more exhilarated by the thought that it hadn’t been a one-hit kill. Buzzing. Six circles pulsated within her heart. This was an opponent worthy of testing the power she had just awakened. She had confirmed one thing already. "As I thought, there's no need to stick to the wind attribute." Standing on the steps of the tower, she could feel the earth's sensations transmitted through the tower itself. Within the reach of her mana, she could control battle golems at a long distance without wind attributes, much like her mentor. "Of course, the range would be narrower than my mentor's." The 'Attribute Enhancement' acquired through her awakening. The power of the golem created through single-attribute mana compensated for that shortcoming and beyond. Boom! The resilient golem, whose speed recalled Wiken Kalia and power evoked Luther Kyle, the great force, continued its destructive chase after the enemy. The sight filled Victoria's heart with pride and excitement. But it didn't end there. From the time she first dabbled in the magic of the Golem School, her specialty lay in handling multiple golems. She handled far more than her elder classmates could, even if they were at the same level. "You can't escape!" As her will extended her mana through the earth, another golem erupted from the ground just ahead of the fleeing demon. Boom! ― "Ack!" Caught off guard and trapped from both front and back, the enemy spewed blood and was thrown back. Although sweat beaded on her forehead, possibly from her excessive use of mana right after awakening, she didn’t feel fatigued at that moment. "Got you!" As Victoria cheered triumphantly, a gray mist burst forth from the fallen demon's entire body, rapidly expanding around them. Boom! Crash. Rumble. A series of explosions erupted from the dense fog. "What is this...?" Through the fog, surging powerful magics overwhelmed Victoria’s senses, making it clear her golems, having lost their target, were being routed. But. "I won't lose sight of you!" By closing her eyes and concentrating her mind once more, she could pinpoint the enemy's position by their footing on the ground. Just as she instructed her golems to attack once more, she detected movements scaling the tower wall toward her. Silent, yet detectable thanks to her extended awareness connected to the earth and everything intertwined with it. Thud. "Tsk!" Gritting her teeth, Victoria's mana traced another pattern in the air. This time, the tower's wall transformed into giant stone spears that impaled whatever had been climbing it. Shkkk. Crash. Crunch. ― "Kyaaaah!" With a piercing shriek, the gray mist dissipated. ― "Keiih!" Thump. Rumble. "Did my attack succeed?" Looking down from the tower, Victoria first glimpsed a massive gray snake falling below, its form fading as it spilled black blood. She then saw the remains of her destroyed golems and the dumbfounded expressions of knights arriving late to the scene. But what was most crucial was missing. "Tsk." She had lost the enemy. Yet, Victoria's eyes, though filled with anger, held no trace of regret. Despite landing a surprise attack, she was already aware that the enemy was a level above her—someone who had just become a mage. Above all else. 'I definitely sensed it through the earth’s perception. It wasn’t truly a demon. The figure within...' She had a rough idea of who the enemy might be.