Chapter 500: The Sun and the Sorcerer

The sun was shining today. In the sky covered in death snow, the sun was awfully close, overlooking only the capital of the Bolvat Dynasty.

Bathed in the sunlight, Poisonous Junelva spread his wings and looked down on the world below from the sky.

There was a struggle between humans and hordes of demons. The fury of fangs and spears consuming each other’s lives.

But everything was tiny when viewed from the sky. He felt like yawning. Not even the music unique to the battlefield or the barbarian cries reached his ears.

The sky felt nice and wide, but in truth Junelva didn’t like flying that much.

The sky reminded him of a time in the past, when this entire sky had belonged to him.

Those days when he reigned like the sun, caressing the earth with his wind. He once had the glory of possessing faith and power.

A silly nostalgia nearly crossed Junelva’s mind. That’s he didn’t like to flap his wings.

But the sky always had an advantage over the ground. A muddy beast that crawled on the ground wouldn’t catch a falcon that soared through the sky.

Things always fell from the top down, but they never crawled up from the bottom up. It never changed.

So what was about to begin was not a battle, but a massacre.

Junelva looked closely at the world below, and it seemed that the humans had gained the upper hand in the battle. His eyes narrowed in astonishment.

It seemed that after a few hundred years since Altia had defeated demons and magical devilish beings alike, the demonic intelligence had regressed considerably. When Junelva woke up, he realized that they didn’t even know their own species.

No, maybe they had even forgotten the concept of species.

That couldn’t be helped. In a world where magic had weakened considerably, demons slowly degenerated into magical beasts. The true nature of intelligence became corrupt.

The state of the battlefield was clear from above. The demon army was drawn too far to the right wing of the human side. They also had the instinct to strike the enemy’s weak points.

This was taken advantage of, and the center was thinned out. This meant that the center of the demon army would be devoured by the human rebellion, and the demon army would be caught in a pincer attack.

The one commanding those humans was clearly used to fighting. And was good at it. Junelva even showed a kind of admiration. It seemed that in terms of tactics, humans, who considered their army as a single entity, were superior to the demons, who formed an army by utilizing the capabilities of each individual.

But still. It was meaningless.

Because a mass of mediocre individuals existed to be crushed by a single powerful entity.

A loud sound pierced the surrounding space the moment Junelva quietly opened his beak. There was a tremendous echo as Junelva’s magic spread in the sky.

The end came immediately after that.

…The sky was rotting and falling.

The dull sky, which looked like mixture of white and gray, was eroded by a poisonous dark mud. The eerie-colored mud spread and swayed in the air, centered around Junelva.

Junelva’s magic became poison, rotting, dissolving, and invading everything it touched. It rained down on the earth, becoming a ferocious beast that gave nothing away, only taking and scattering without mercy.

A drop of that eerie magic fell on a nearby roof. That drop turned into a hole and ran through the entire roof. It became a flood that tried to swallow up the walls, the bricks, and everything in its path.

There was no need to imagine what would happen if that vicious magic were to hit a human.

Just a few drops and a bunch of people would die. It wouldn’t be that easy to escape in a crowded place.

「…Retreat! Retreat! Protect your lives! 」

But the humans reacted quickly. The Bolvat forces in particular had seen it once before. They knew what the poisonous mud looked like.

Those humans retreated after cutting off the minimum amount of damage and even abandoning their advantage over the demon army. It was a magnificent sight.

Just as they were about to retreat further, Junelva distorted his eyes as he spat out more venom.

…That retreat was too impressive no matter how he looked at it.

Humans couldn’t respond to an emergency no matter how well trained they were. Even if they were ordered to retreat when a magical devilish being approached, because they would usually hesitate. And yet, the reason they retreated like that was as if they had known that he was coming.

A thunderous sound grazed the side of Junelva’s cheeks as if to dispel his doubts. No, not just one, two, three, four…countless magical flashes covered Junelva’s surroundings.

The sorcerers hiding in the houses were still safe because those houses had not yet melted down. If those demons had their previous intelligence, they would try to strike those sorcerers stuck in those houses. It would be enough to send their bodies flying.

Of course, it was meaningless to these demons, as they lacked intelligence. And that was fine by those sorcerers.

…It would buy them some time until a good opportunity arose.

Thunder. Roar. Raging. A violent lightning pierced Junelva’s entire body.

Mastigius La Volgograd’s black hair flew in the air, and it was visible even from the sky. Junelva saw someone he had seen before. A brave warrior he had seen on the battlefield.

Part of Junelva’s wings burned, lowering his altitude. The heat was enough to injure a magical devilish being. That human was undoubtedly a hero. He had already stepped outside the ranks of humanity and taken half a step towards the demons.

But Junelva hadn’t expected that such magic would hit him so well. He must have made considerable preparations, including a magic circle.

「…I see. I’m the one who’s ignorant. Haha, haha. 」

Then, it finally dawned on him. The swift movements of the soldiers, the well-aimed mass fire against the demons, and the great magic that was strong enough to inflict injuries on a magical devilish being.

In other words, Junelva had been lured in. This battlefield was a trap. Junelva was really supposed to be here.

And if they knew he was coming, then even the demons would be their prey.

Junelva’s giant bird face broke into a smile. Then, he let out a loud laugh. He folded his slightly injured wings. His poison slightly weakened its invasion.

It was a simple, yet grand trap. The humans knew it too. This wasn’t a battle between armies. It was a contest to see how best to crush each other’s strong individuality.

「Oh my, oh my. How incredible. It’s been a long time since I felt pain. 」

「Then, it will be more endearing if you make a bitter face. 」

Only one person faced the magical devilish being. This was no longer a battle between armies, but a battle between individuals.

Junelva’s smile flickered, then he opened his beak and spoke.

「I don’t know. I should’ve spent the rest of my life playing around in the garden, enjoying it. 」

「That’s my intention. Right now I’m exterminating the pest birds that are destroying my garden. 」

Mastigius was still overflowing with magic. Thunder spurted from his fingertips. He stood bravely before the magical devilish being, no longer as a general but as a sorcerer.

Mastigius thought. There was a hero behind him even if he died. Although Lugis had changed his appearance considerably, he had told his soldiers to withdraw the battle line to his front line in the worst-case scenario.

So, for once, Mastigius would fight without any hesitation. Just as an individual.

Seeing Mastigius’ heroic figure, Junelva was once again filled with admiration and a little pity in his heart.

Mastigius, the sorcerer who stood before him, overcame the fear of death and burst forth with a fighting spirit. He possessed the skill that had drawn him in, the ability to command soldiers, and utmost courage.

Now, Junelva would have to kill such a wonderful person, and his soldiers afterwards.

The magical devilish being felt a little pity for Mastigius.

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Happy 500^th chapter!!!

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