Chapter 251 - Infinite Mage

The sensation of slicing through flesh still lingered at his fingertips. It was the first time in his history of assassinations that a retaliation had followed this feeling. “Sh-Shirone…” Amy's voice trembled with emotion. She had no way of knowing how Shirone had deflected Xenoger. Even if he had altered the flow of consciousness, the casting speed and power was not something a magic school student could wield. The spiderwebs restraining Shirone combusted into a red light, quickly turning into brittle ash and breaking apart. The precision needed to direct heat into a spiderweb as thin as a millimeter wide with a laser was also beyond what Shirone could currently perform. Having just felt relieved that Shirone was alive, Amy now sensed something amiss. However, when Shirone thudded heavily to the ground below, her mind blanked out once more, and she leapt to her feet and dashed forward. "Shirone!" "Don't move!" Xenoger, who had been flung away in rage, flew back and pinned Shirone’s head, pressing him down. Yet Xenoger’s eyes wavered, unaware of the unfolding events. ‘What on earth happened?’ In the fraction of a moment, the world seemed to have changed entirely. Even the women he had bound in spiderweb nets were now free, and their positions scattered. ‘I’ve fallen for something.’ Caught in the temporal trap, Xenoger had no means to grasp the current situation. However, his years of experience allowed his mind to quickly discard meaningless variables. Something unperceived had occurred. As long as he kept the current enemy in mind, the last one standing would be him regardless. “Xenoger! Kill him! Right now!” Zion shouted, having completed his calculations. With Arius having escaped and Shirone still alive, he would bear the full weight of responsibility. Killing Shirone and all those involved in today’s incident was his only path for future planning. “You think I’d let you do that?” Amy charged at Xenoger. This time, there would be no mistakes. Even if it cost her life, she would ensure Shirone lived. Xenoger's movements were quicker. He drew out a filament and fashioned it into a noose around Shirone’s neck. Yet, just before he could pull it tight, a red light concentrated around Shirone and a high-output laser shot out in all directions. As soon as a beam touched Xenoger’s shoulder, it pierced straight through the bone. “Huh? What is this… Arghhh!” Amy’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had witnessed the power of a laser many times, but could not believe its immense strength. Even when Shirone had cast spells at full power, it wasn’t this potent. Sensing danger, Xenoger flattened himself against the ground. Keeping his eyes on Shirone, he moved his limbs to retreat, climbing up the wall in reverse to perch himself high in the ceiling’s corner where spiders favored most. With Xenoger’s failure, Zion decided to take Shirone down himself. He extended the blade of his gauntlet and charged forward. “Die! You insignificant wretch!” “Your Highness! No, please retreat!” Despite Xenoger’s plea, Zion didn’t stop. Shirone, head hung low, staggered and reached out a hand toward the approaching Zion. In a split second, a thin laser pierced through Zion. It took a second for the reaction to manifest. “Arghhhh!” Zion toppled over as if struck by a fierce wind, clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground. He had no idea where or how he’d been hit. He only felt tremendous pain in his abdomen. - Perforation detected in the abdomen. Maximizing cellular regeneration ability. Injecting substances to block nociception. Physical capability reduced by 48 percent. Estimated recovery time: 3 minutes and 47 seconds. Rest advised. “Are you alright, Your Highness?” Xenoger, crawling like an insect, supported Zion’s upper body. All the while, his left eye kept track of Shirone’s every move. As an assassin of the Spatur family, he had his own manual for dealing with wizards. However, he’d never encountered magic so straightforward. Had Zion’s brain been pierced, he would have died instantly. Shirone had not uttered a word up until now. He merely staggered as if drunk. Then, after firing the laser, he shivered violently. A rough cough spewed a mouthful of bloody phlegm from his lips. “Damn, this human body…” When Shirone slowly lifted his face, Amy covered her mouth in terror. His pupils had turned pitch black, with bulging vein-like nerves around his eyes and temples. Amy realized the expansion of his nervous system had enhanced Shirone's magic. But it wasn’t normal. The monstrous disposition seen at the first-depth was being felt in Shirone as well. “Shirone, are you really Shirone?” Shirone did not respond. He was certainly Shirone, but only after merging with Behemoth at the avatar level. This integration differed from possession where two egos share the avatar. Integration meant they were truly blended together. It wasn’t the pure Shirone as before, yet if this was Shirone’s avatar, then he certainly was Shirone. “Answer me! Who exactly are you?” With a chilling smile, Shirone spoke. “It’s me, Amy. Don’t you recognize me?” Amy was certain. The being before her was not Shirone. “Liar! You’re that monster from before! Bring Shirone back to the way he was!” Shirone’s demeanor was usually cold. But now, it was as if she was facing an active volcano with lava boiling beneath its surface. Ignoring Amy, Shirone scanned his surroundings. The only emotion driving him was fury. A rage that threatened to burst from within if it wasn’t released immediately. And the direction of that fury was Zion. He had already recovered from his wounds, retrieving the blade of his gauntlet and preparing for another strike. “Do you think a commoner can beat me, someone like you?” Xenoger cautiously proposed. “Your Highness, perhaps you should retreat for now…” “Silence! Where do you expect me to run after being dealt a critical injury by a traitor against the prince of a nation?!” It wasn’t just pride fuelling his defiance. If the incident concluded as it stood, Zion would have to pay for attempting to assassinate Shirone. However, if they killed Shirone here, they could frame him as a traitor to sweep the incident under the rug seamlessly. “Xenoger, distract him. I’ll strike from behind.” “Understood, Your Highness. It doesn’t matter if I die, but please, preserve your noble self.” Shirone gazed indifferently at Zion and Xenoger. Inside, however, a colossal chemical reaction of rage was about to make his consciousness explode. “Here I go, Your Highness!” Xenoger charged with a purely offensive posture. The one thing he knew as an assassin was that confronting Shirone now meant certain death. Yet he willingly sailed toward his demise. “For Empress Theraze! Long live the Spatur family!” Xenoger unleashed his filament with all his might. He didn't hope for a fatal wound. He just needed to buy enough time for Zion to realize reality and escape. Today's sacrifice would ensure the continuation of the Spatur lineage. “What?” There was nothing where the filament stretched. Arriving at where Shirone had stood, Xenoger turned around and shivered. A truly explosive speed of teleportation. Shirone had reached Zion, seized him by the neck, and slammed him against the wall. “Urgh!” Zion was suspended off the ground, his neck in a chokehold. In his strangled state, Zion saw Shirone's distorted face. His pupils were even darker; the bulging nerves around his eyes extended to his cheekbones. “Heh, found you. It’s you.” Zion’s face felt both familiar and alien. But that was irrelevant to the current Shirone. The instant he saw Zion, an immense fury ignited within him. When a glint flickered across Shirone’s eyes, for the first time, Zion realized that even in darkness, light could dwell. His face was ashen with terror. Armand was too occupied supplying oxygen to the choking Zion to devise another strategy. Moreover, that was Zion's sole command. Although he should have suffocated, Zion continued to shiver, frustrating Shirone. Noticing the limp tendrils, Shirone smirked. “So, it’s an object. How about this, then?” Shirone’s nerves thickened as they surged down his arm, lifting the skin around his wrist. The grip strength increased. The capillaries in his eyes burst with an audible pop, and his eyelashes were stained red with blood. ‘My neck… my neck…’ Shirone intended to snap the neck. Despite Armand’s bodily enhancement abilities, a creaking sound emanated from Zion’s neck as it twisted. Zion, overwhelmed with dread, wet himself. “X-Xenoger…” He cried out desperately, but no answer came. Deciding Zion’s survival was impossible, Xenoger had fled to warn the clan of Theraze’s impending retribution. “Annoying. It still doesn’t break. Or is my body just weak?” In fusion with Behemoth, Shirone’s avatar forcibly expanded his consciousness. While the magic’s power heightened, so too did the excruciating pain of his brain being torn apart. Choking Raphael meant the object sucked in oxygen, and snapping the neck was hindered by insufficient muscle strength. This perpetual frustration was inevitable. Shirone’s words echoed with terror in Zion. After an experience akin to a near-death experience, the world appeared differently. For humans, nothing was dearer than life. “I-I… suppose you could kill me…” Zion summoned the last of his strength to yell. “But if you kill me, you won’t be safe either! I am Theraze’s son!” At that, Shirone tossed Zion to the opposite side. Zion tumbled, clutching his neck, choking out gasping noises. Water and saliva dribbled from his eyes, nose, and mouth indiscriminately. Shirone clicked his tongue, rubbing his wrist. The ligaments seemed stretched, causing significant pain. He couldn't snap the neck with his body. In the mental realm, he was quite pleased, yet he hardly cared about physical enhancement. As Shirone approached, a shiver coursed through Zion. Barely escaping death left his head spinning. The reason Shirone had spared him—it was upon hearing the name Theraze. ‘Even for a psycho, he must be scared. How could he face the aftermath after killing me?’ Contrary to Zion’s expectations, Shirone wasn’t scared or particularly contemplative. He merely recalled a poignant event from long ago. “Theraze, huh. A name I haven’t heard in ages. That woman’s quite intriguing. So… what about Theraze?” “I told you, I’m Theraze’s child. If you kill me, my mother will hunt you down to the ends of hell.” Shirone tilted his head quizzically. “What are you talking about? Are you… a woman?” “Hmph! I know about the matrilineal rule myself! But still, blood is blood! Even my younger sister likes me! If you lay a hand on me, all of Theraze’s forces will hunt you down.” “Pfttt…” Air slipped through Shirone’s vibrating lips. “Pwahahaha! Pwahahaha!” Avatar's Master (3) As Shirone erupted in laughter, Zion’s face flushed with embarrassment. For such a lowly commoner to look down and mock him—this was the first time he’d faced such indignity in his life. With remnants of laughter still on his face, Shirone shook his head. “Is that so? I suppose time has passed quite a bit. You seriously know nothing?” “What do you mean?” “Theraze doesn’t have sons. She only bears daughters. You’re just a shell for Theraze.” Zion’s face went blank with disbelief. What did he mean, no sons? Only daughters? Then who was he? Can there be a child without parents in this world? Zion scrunched his face like a wounded beast. “Shut up! What would someone like you know about that? You’re insane, devoured by that monster and driven crazy! Who are you to speak ill of my mother?” “Didn’t Theraze tell you? Seems you were quite a pathetic one. Even when not a blood child, she treats those of outstanding ability properly. Seems you weren’t even worth that.” "When did you ever meet my mother?!" Zion, losing all reason, charged forward. He had always lived with the pride of being Theraze's son. Now Shirone was calling him merely a shell? No, it was the rambling of a madman. How could some lowly commoner have ever met Theraze, the Empress of the continent? "I am royalty! I’m not someone a bastard child can disrespect!" As the blade of his gauntlet aimed for Shirone's neck, a photon cannon struck Zion's abdomen with force. Zion vomited a gush of blood and was sent flying ten meters, crashing into a sack of flour. “Ugh! Argh!” The sack tore, cascading flour over Zion like a waterfall. Covered in a mix of flour and blood, his face resembled that of a clown. Armand communicated: Combat unfit. It was the only information Zion could truly comprehend. Shirone advanced, holding the photon cannon in his palm. "Humans cherish things like that—kings, bloodlines, heritage, families. But Theraze, whom you trust and follow, once said this to me." Zion struggled to lift his head. He watched, entranced by the growing, vibrating light in Shirone’s palm. Mimicking Theraze's speech, Shirone continued. "Even if you are royalty, you're just a product of human legacy. However..." The photon cannon in Shirone's hand swelled with power. Zion, half-dazed, seemed unaware it was a spell meant to assault him. His dazed eyes were fixated on the light. Shirone grinned, raising the photon cannon. "Talent is a gift from the heavens." The photon cannon arced dramatically before descending. Tears streamed down Zion’s cheeks as he helplessly watched the light’s trajectory. A powerful impact rocked the storeroom. The photon cannon, embedded within Armand’s fibers, pummeled Zion’s stomach, tearing into his organs until its energy was exhausted and it dissipated. Flour dispersed in rings, enveloping everything in a thick fog. Amy and Reina anxiously scanned the white mist, their feet fidgeting in agitation. A shadow emerged as Shirone came into view. Amy dared not speak to him. Even if that boy was Shirone, the aura emanating from him was perilous and unstable, like holding a ticking time bomb. "I will ascend to the surface. You need to escape as quickly and as far as possible. I'll handle things here." The moment when fear became reality. When someone tells you to flee quickly and far, it’s akin to warnings given for natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes. "What on earth are you planning to do? Whoever you are, you need to get treated for your injuries first. That body belongs to Shirone!"