**Chapter 109: A Subtle Crisis**
“Close call…!”
Using the spell **High Accelerator**, I narrowly dodged an attack from the Subnock’s massive tongue. If I had been even a moment slower, that gigantic tongue would have crushed me.
(This isn’t an attack that can be blocked by a magic wall. I could absorb it with **Dark Star**, but its size and momentum would kill me before I could completely draw it in…!)
“**Heal**!”
I restored my eardrum, which had been ruptured by the roar. Sounds returned to my surroundings, banishing the silence that had enveloped me.
“Alright… but this is seriously troublesome…”
Just being roared at had nearly knocked me out. Truly, the Lord of the Demon Territory is no joke. I never thought it would be easy to defeat him, but… he’s undeniably strong.
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Several Corruption Beasts shot streams of corrosive saliva at me. I defended against the onslaught with an earthen wall. The saliva began to dissolve the wall, but I retaliated immediately with magic.
“**Thunder Bolt**!”
“GYAO!”
The advanced lightning magic exploded, striking down the Corruption Beasts. However, they quickly rose again, growling menacingly.
“Regular advanced magic won’t deal a fatal blow, huh…”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“Damn…!”
The Corruption Beasts unleashed their tongues and streams of corrosive saliva once more. I activated **High Accelerator** to evade, then dove into their midst… unleashing **Star Devourer** at point-blank range. The Corruption Beast was sucked into the **Dark Star**, vanishing without leaving a single hair behind.
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Yet, more attacks came from all directions. The Corruption Beasts didn’t cluster together; instead, they spread out, maintaining their distance while attacking. If they had grouped up, I could have wiped them out in one go, but their scattering made that impossible.
“…They’re wary of close combat. They’re trying to cut off my escape route!”
I clenched my jaw, my expression twisting in frustration. I used **Dark Star** to absorb a stream of corrosive saliva, but an attack from another direction grazed my arm.
“Damn it…!”
Corrosive saliva seeped into my body. In a panic, I severed my arm with a blade of wind. Accelerating my body, I fled the scene and activated healing magic to treat my injury.
“This is a pain…”
Losing my arm was a desperate measure. If I hadn’t done that, the corrosive saliva would have traveled through my bloodstream to my heart and brain, and I would have lost my life. As I focused on healing while dodging enemy attacks, my severed arm slowly began to regenerate.
“I was seriously worried it wouldn’t heal… I was really panicking.”
Regenerating a lost limb is considered a high-level technique in healing magic, but I can do it. This is because both healing injuries and regenerating lost parts are possible with **Heal**. I learned this in class at the academy… The key issue in restoring lost limbs is the amount of magical power required, and simply increasing the magical energy spent on **Heal** clears the conditions.
(I guess it would have been impossible without infinite magical power… If I couldn’t become a Court Magician, maybe I should live as a priest or healer?)
As I joked to myself, my severed arm completely regenerated. I waved it lightly to check, and there were no abnormalities. The damage was gone, but… I was still in a pinch. The Corruption Beasts were obstructing my focus on the Subnock. There were at least twenty of them in this area.
“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“…………!”
To make matters worse… the Subnock roared again. Drawing from my previous experience, I conjured a **Wind Shield** to block the sonic blast. This time, I managed to endure without rupturing my eardrum.
“**Smoke Screen**, **Amplification**, **Wind Control**!”
I activated the spells in a **Trio**. I released a thick white smoke screen, controlling it with wind magic to prevent it from being blown away. My vision was completely obscured, but I layered more magic. Using **Life Search**, I pinpointed the enemies’ locations.
“**Accelerator**!”
“GYA…!”
Then, I closed the distance and unleashed **Star Devourer**, reducing their numbers. I aimed to literally wrap the enemies in smoke and diminish their ranks without them realizing my position, but…
“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“Just as I thought…!”
As expected, the Subnock blew away the smoke screen with its roar. I manipulated the smoke with **Wind Control**, but the sonic blast mercilessly scattered the white mist.
“Even when I try to devise a plan, they keep countering it one after another…!”
I used every magic at my disposal, but they shattered each attempt. The sheer size of the beasts and their corrosive saliva were dangerous, but their cunning was even more troublesome. In fact, that might be the greater nuisance.
(Humans are supposed to win against beasts through wisdom and unity… but if the monsters are outsmarting us in a battle of wits and teamwork, isn’t that cheating?)
I was fighting alone. If I had at least a reliable team to fight alongside, it might have been easier, but there was no one around to support me. Bringing someone like Danira would only be a hindrance, so I hadn’t brought him along from the start.
“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“Ugh… this is seriously annoying…”
I realized the situation was gradually worsening, but I struggled to think of a way to turn it around. However, of course, the enemies weren’t going to wait for me. They unleashed relentless attacks aimed at me.
“Armakain Sword Dance… ‘Breaking Chapter’!”
“…………!”
But then, an unexpected event occurred. A shadow dove in, slicing through one of the Corruption Beasts with a clean cut. The figure wielded a white blade—a long, curved sword resembling a Japanese katana.
“Well, well, it seems there are quite a few worthy opponents gathered here.”
The figure was well-groomed but wore a gloomy expression. Their eyes were obscured by hair, making it impossible to discern their thoughts.
“Lyubase…?”
The top student of the Knight Department. The sword saint who despises women. Wilhelm Lyubeth stood before me.