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Vol 2 Chapter 29: Against The Master
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“‘Master Ember’ awaits inside, please proceed.”
Following the bck-cd escort, Sisi desded into the depths beh the stronghold. The location appeared to align precisely with the tral clearing above. Taking a posed, deep breath to steady herself, Sisi pced her hand upon the door and pushed it open.
“...So, you've e.”
A slender man with gsses was adjusting various plex instruments. Upon hearing the creak of the opening door, he turned around with deliberate slowness.
“I called you here today because the pn is advang to its stage.”
The man spoke with a measured calm as Sisi stepped in and quietly closed the door behind her.
“You've likely heard by now: we've successfully secured the target known as Marlyno.”
Sisi's brow furrowed at this revetion, though she swiftly posed her expression.
“She is a unique creation among those wrought by ‘the Great One’. With her in our possession, the revival of ‘the Great One’ is all but assured.”
‘...Revival!?’
Sisi’s mind raced. She had read Marlyno’s letters and knew well that the creator of Marlyno had been vanquished. Yet, this man spoke of using Marlyno to resurrect that very being.
Before she could fully process her astonishment, the man pressed on.
“For the stage to succeed, your assistance will be crucial. It may very well determihe ritual’s oute. Do you uand?”
“...Uood.”
Regardless of the circumstances, Sisi realized that being present for this ritual would afford her opportuo sabotage it from within. Regaining her posure, she nodded in response.
“Excellent. Now, what I require from you is... to die.”
In an instant, an orb of searing fme materialized in the man’s palm, ner than a human head yet radiating a fearsome, destructive heat. Without warning, he u directly at Sisi.
“Gah...!?”
Sisi’s adventurer instincts kicked in, and she barely mao dive out of the way. Still, the fireball's intense heat scorched her arm, leaving a painful burn.
“Impressive, truly. I had assumed that without that Chimera of yours, you'd be nothing but fodder. It appears I uimated your tenacity.”
“...Spare me your insincere praise.”
His words held a sliver of admiration, but Sisi knew better than to trust any siy. The fireball had struck the wall behind her, redug it to molten sg. O from su attack would leave her grievously wounded, if not dead ht.
And, wly, it was clear the man hadn’t eveed his full power.
“How clever of you,” he sneered, his eyes narrowing. “I suspected you lot would attempt a rescue and infiltrate disguised as one of our own, but I hadn’t expected you to fall so easily into my trap.”
“...So, you id a snare for us, hoping we'd waltz right in. I see.”
“Think what you will.”
Raising a hand, the man jured several more fireballs.
“As a side note, while I may be the leader here, I am far from the stro.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your little friend has likely gone off in search of the teleportation array and barrier geor, yes? If she’s fortunate enough not to locate them, then perhaps she’ll escape unharmed. But should she find them, her fate will be far worse than a simple death.”
The man’s voice darkened ominously. “The one awaiting her is leagues strohan I and has even been blessed by a divine being. An ordinary mortal stands no ce.”
In this world, divine beings were entities that had surpassed the Tenth Tier. From the First to the Tenth Tier, all living creatures still resided in the mortal realm. Yet, those who transded that limit and gained certain qualifications asded to the realm of deities, being divine beings.
Most deities in the divine realm grew their power by sending projes into the world, developing religions to worship them. The rgest of these faiths was the Church of Holy Light.
Occasionally, these gods would bestow their favor upon mortals, imbuing them with enhanced power and even granting access to limited divine abilities.
The man before her appeared to possess the strength of a Seventh Tier. By his admission, this other person was even stronger, with divine favor, making them at least a Ninth Tier.
Even a Seventh Tier oppo was beyond Sisi’s abilities, given she was only at the Fifth Tier. And the thought of fag someone of the Ninth Tier was utterly daunting. She couldn’t eveimate Aris’s true strength, despite Aris’s ties with the former Dragon King and the demonkind.
After all, humans rarely reached the Ninth Tier. It was a feat so improbable that calling it one in a million seemed an uatement.
‘...Miss Arymm, please...’
“Perhaps you should worry about your own plight first, instead of fretting over others.”
The man, notig her momentary distra, hurled several more fireballs her way.
“‘Acceleration!’”
Sisi hastily cast a spell to enhance her speed, narrowly evading the ining barrage.
‘Thank goodness I learned a bit of supportive magic.’
Even so, her predit remained dire. Dodging endlessly would exhaust her, and her limited mana wouldn’t sustain her evasive maneuvers for long. One wrong move, and she’d be incapacitated instantly.
‘Is it time to use that teique?’
As she dodged, Sisi gathered her mana, preparing for a decisive blow.
Her foe, realizing her i, intensified his assault, his attacks being swifter and more uing.
"...?!"
‘This... this is explosive magic?’
“What are you pying at?” the man demanded, his voice ced with irritation. “Using such destructive magi a fined space... are you aiming t us both down? Or have you fotten your friend is still in this pound?”
Sisi offered no reply, tinuing to focus her energy.
“Tch! Damn you!”
Realizing her resolve, the man dispelled his lesser fireballs, summoning instead a massive fgration.
“‘Hellfire of the Inferno!’”
The fiery orb, swirling with hues of bd crimson, began to pulse with rapidly esg heat. But it was too te.
“Feel the full fory power! ‘Explosive Magic: Modified!’”
Two intricate magic circles appeared, oh the man’s feet and the other above his head, detonating in a massive explosion. The bst swallowed even his summoned inferno, snuffing it out.
Sisi had taken Marlyno’s advice to heart and re-engineered her explosive magistead of scattering the force over a wide area, she focused it into a trated strike, amplifying its potency to a level that surpassed the man's attack by two whole tiers.
“...Haah... haah...”
Drained, Sisi struggled to stand. Explosive magic drained energy retive to the mana ied, and she had poured in every st drop. Her pallor was ghostly, limbs trembling with exhaustion.
“Ngh... I ’t... fall yet...”
Using all her willpower, Sisi forced herself to her feet, hands brag against the cold stone.
“...That was quite a powerful strike.”
“What...!?”
To her horror, the man still stood, battered but very much alive. His clothing and scorched skin bore the scars of her spell, yet he remained upright.
“That was an intriguing spell indeed,” he mused. “As a reward, before you die, I’ll let you exge a few words with her.”
He gestured, triggering a meism that caused a se of the wall to slide away. Behind it was a beautiful woman, bound arained by numerous magical s.
“...Sisi?”
