Chapter 60 — Giant Hunter

1

Devils.

The inhabitants of the demon realm, consisting of 72 families recorded in the legendary magic book, Lemegeton.

Though they live peacefully, deep inside them remains hatred for Solomon.

Humans.

Their hatred for the middle realm was a root planted by their ancestors.

[Humaaaaaan-!]

“At least that’s fortunate.”

Rank 59.

Orias: a devil with a name similar to the Egyptian god Osiris.

Abilities include raising the dead and excellent physical attacks.

‘Surely, this was the one that appears in the crusade event later.’

As a mob enemy at that.

That’s even better.

It’s easier to gradually break them down than to take on all 72 families at once.

[Grooooaaaaar-!]

Unlike the mythical Osiris, the Orias in the game was just a brute with a bird’s head.

Boom-!

There are no dead bodies here.

So, he only needs to be careful of the main body.

“7 minutes.”

420 seconds, a terribly long time.

Manus sharpened his senses and moved his mana.

Boom-!

Massive feet crushed the floor as they charged.

Running on two feet is much better than testing the enemy’s power with half-hearted defensive magic.

His goal now was to endure, not to kill the creature.

Orias throwing a punch.

Vision becoming hazy as a thunderous sound erupted.

The ringing in his ears felt simultaneous, with no time lag.

[Fulgetra]

Crackle-!

Lightning ran along the devil’s arm.

Orias, trusting in its characteristically tough body, made no defenses, but this underestimated the mage too much.

[Grooooaaaar-!]

Immense physical force poured down on the convulsing devil.

Crash-!

A 2nd Class physical magic spell that strikes with a considerable amount of mana.

[Perio]

The devil’s posture crumbled for an instant as its knees were hit.

Manus wasn’t one to miss an opening.

In that fleeting moment, even a fairly long spell incantation was possible.

Two magic circles were created simultaneously.

Double casting.

The concentration that remained unshaken even while moving violently gave birth to technique.

[Lavio] — [Altus]

What happens when you add buff upon buff?

Users’ curiosity led to brilliant results.

The same was true for Manus.

[Double Spread]

[Consolidatio]

A solidly built castle wall can sufficiently block overwhelming physical force.

Crash-!

Gravel and rubble scattered in counterattack struck Manus’s entire body.

But he protected his vision by covering his eyes and completed the formula.

Another ability of the [Consolidatio] skill.

Double casting speed.

Plus, double power.

‘Only once, but-.’

In game terms, it’s an inefficient skill that requires three turns of preparation.

Buff, block the enemy’s attack, then attack.

Buffing in ways other than Altus increased power but consumed turns.

However, this was reality, and Caesar’s overwhelming talent didn’t allow useless time consumption.

Information about the enemy floated in Manus’s mind.

Orias.

Weakness: Light attribute.

‘Conveniently, the most powerful magic is holy magic.’

Rustle-.

A book filled with knowledge opened.

He took out a glowing recipe from his mind and implemented it in reality.

[Groooooaaaaar-!]

To deliver a powerful strike, he drew numerous simulations.

A picture of constantly checking and avoiding.

A picture of facing it head-on and breaking it.

Various other possibilities swirled in Manus’s mind.

[Interference begins.]

Pushing away the annoying message, he adopted the optimal scenario and faced the enemy.

He stuffed the recovered mana back into the magic circle.

Boom-!

The devil, having fully regained its posture, tried to crush him with a siege hammer far larger than the castle wall.

[Parum] — [Damno]

[Double Spread]

Ugh-.

A fishy taste rose from his throat.

Perhaps from using too much mana at once, the rampaging mana made his insides a mess.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Without this much power, that high-ranking devil wouldn’t budge an inch.

At least making it uncomfortable seemed necessary to endure.

That’s how brutish and impressive the devil’s physical abilities were.

‘Take the bones, give the flesh.’

He challenged his limits.

No matter how sky-reaching one’s talent, the time of blooming differs for each.

Advancing that time is the trigger to explode the potential crouching within.

Manus was trying to step forward, shouldering a heavy yet great talent.

Time slowed, and the enemy’s attack became clearly visible.

In countless split moments, human and devil moved desperately to achieve their respective goals.

[Groooaaaar-!]

Crash-!

He gritted his teeth against the dizzying pain and the intense agony that threatened to sever his consciousness.

Manus was sent flying by a punch containing tremendous physical force.

The aftermath manifested in the space’s end, with walls cracking and crumbling.

“Ugh-.”

Even the tough Manus groaned in pain, such was Orias’s strength and speed.

But-, by completing a shield to withstand the final blow, all the pieces of victory fell into place.

[Aegis]

Triple casting of 4th Class magic.

He accomplished this miraculous feat alone.

If someone had seen it, they would have said a god of magic truly descended.

Even in the moment his entire body was shaken, Manus didn’t let go of the thread.

It was complete.

A finishing blow composed of two 4th Class spells.

[Ah-]

An angel contrasting with the devil descended into the dark space.

In his fading consciousness, Manus breathed mana into the final line segment.

[Adoleo]

It was a declaration announcing the birth of a great mage.

The white angel that settled down raised a shield of light.

The devil once again wielded its marvelous physical force.

A clash described like a battle between light and darkness.

[Groooaaaaar-!]

Black blood splattered.

A disgusting sensation covered Manus’s entire body.

Huff-.

Thanks to ‘High Restio’, he barely overcame the moment of fainting.

“Whew-.”

It was miserable.

Many 4th Class spells were unsuitable for indoor use.

Moreover, it was magic used with various passives, Cadenza, and buffs created by that Cadenza.

Rumble-.

“…I made a mistake.”

The foundation of the ruins began to shake.

The devil, Orias, was howling in a truly battered state.

To exaggerate a little, it seemed about to die.

Manus dragged his barely moving body away from Orias.

A situation where neither had died, but neither could attack either.

Moreover, the entire ruin site began to shake.

‘Still, there should be changes above.’

The barrier seems to have disappeared as the building shook from the impact of the collision.

Huff-.

He looked up, swallowing the intense pain.

Footsteps were heard.

Many of them.

2

Ruins about to collapse.

The aftermath of violent mana.

Intermittent monstrous cries.

All of this made even the usually calm Invidea quicken her steps.

‘What on earth… what have you been doing while I was gone.’

The powerful mana waves and aftermath of fierce battle felt even on the surface.

Invidea bit her lip hard and used boost-type magic as she descended underground.

The words asking to come rescue him.

She couldn’t understand why those words pressed so deeply on her heart.

Still siblings after all.

Still family after all.

Invidea felt this as she moved forward.

“Manus-!”

“Young master!”

“It’s a devil!”

A giant whose lower body had been blown away, slowly crawling towards Manus.

Seeing this, Invidea couldn’t suppress the rising emotions.

How dare-.

How dare-.

“How daaare-!”

Crackle-!

Mana filled with anger poured out.

A torrent of mana incomparably larger than Manus’s.

Mana raging wildly, synchronized with emotions, instantly drew a magic circle.

[Ardor — Judex]

A beam of fire, intense and hot as if drawn from the sun’s heat, scorched the devil’s body.

Like in someone’s childhood, or a time when they had too much time on their hands.

It was a cruel and terrible magic, like burning ants with a magnifying glass.

[Groooaaar-! Groooaaar!]

The devil convulsing while emitting monstrous cries.

Invidea, hating even that sound, scorched its throat.

Soon, hoarse sounds echoed.

It was a terrible and cruel sight, but no one felt sympathy for the devil.

“Young master. Young master, are you alright?”

“…Yes.”

In truth, he felt like dying.

The wall of triple casting.

Consecutively deploying 4th Class magic.

If he weren’t a Caesar.

If he weren’t a character receiving bonuses.

And if it weren’t for the inner strength he had built up until now, he surely would have died.

“From now on-.”

Aden rushed over in one breath and wiped Manus’s blood-covered face with her hands.

The droplets welling up in her eyes were clearly tears.

Manus smiled faintly and said.

“Is it okay for an assassin to cry like that?”

“From now on, never leave me behind.”

Discovering the desperation in her trembling eyes, he quietly nodded.

Aden looked at Manus with eyes mixed with guilt, relief, and fear.

Meanwhile, the devil that had been convulsing with thuds completely stopped moving.

Everyone let out a deep sigh.

In the end, the second young master Manus had resolved most of the situation again.

Invidea also rushed to Manus in one breath and checked his condition.

“Are you alright?”

“More or less.”

“You don’t seem to have the strength to use recovery magic.”

Mana was recovering very slowly, but what can you do by adding one cup of water to a bathtub?

Manus entrusted his body to the warm light soothing the pain.

As the adrenaline that had been secreted violently subsided, the intense pain he had been suffering eased.

“My lady. The ruins are about to collapse.”

“Knight corps, secure the devil’s corpse. We’ll quickly escape this place.”

“Yes-!”

The cleanup was carried out swiftly.

Manus staggered to his feet and looked at the two women.

They were all filled with worry, but while it was understandable for Aden, he didn’t expect Invidea to give such a look.

He thought siblings within the family couldn’t be trusted and only checked each other.

But experiencing actual combat, it seems that’s not the case.

“Don’t do such reckless things again. Understand?”

“I’ll try.”

“Still, this time… your contribution was big.”

It was an obvious statement.

If they had been a little later, that big devil would have rampaged targeting the weak.

There’s no need to say that it’s much more efficient to trap and beat it like this than to deal with indiscriminate rampaging.

That decisiveness.

The wisdom to judge the situation.

Excellent magical skills on top of that.

‘Haha, well well, another star has appeared in the family.’

Avon, watching the three, smiled deeply.

Caesar Manus.

Evidence that the family’s power is growing even greater, and the appearance of one who strongly inherited the Caesar family’s bloodline.

He proved that the Caesar bloodline and talent were never wrong.

A mana storm that made bodies tremble and hair stand on end.

The devil, now a corpse, felt like it had stronger remnants than ordinary monsters.

He faced such a devil alone and achieved victory, albeit immaturely.

‘What a shame, what a shame.’

It would have been nice to see that battle scene directly.

If he had witnessed that desperate yet sublime duel, he would have captured a once-in-a-lifetime experience in his eyes.

“May the Caesar family’s future be filled with brilliant glory-.”

As Avon said, that place was truly shining dazzlingly.

They will lead the family to glory in the future.

Moreover-.

“They say heroes emerge in turbulent times. Vermin are running rampant.”

He felt the creaking of the world slowly turning.

Oh God, with what plan are you disturbing the world?

Avon sincerely asked someone invisible.

The ruins were quiet, and the mission was successfully completed.

[Sub Quest Completed]

[Rewards will be given.]

And the most awaited moment arrived.

–TL Notes–
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