Chapter 205 — Words of Power (言靈) or Word Command (言令)
Flash!
Elric instantly cast a spell, widening the distance between himself and Reda.
[What do we do?]
His voice trembled. The deeper the duel went, the clearer it became — Reda was beyond him. Utterly overwhelming.
For a brief moment, Elric had even considered unleashing Boreal Wind — summoning every guardian at once, overwhelming through sheer numbers. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
‘Boreal drains mana even faster than Winter’s Dominion. If I miscast it, it could shatter Nachtlam’s possession entirely.’
Worse still—
‘That curse… the mental interference is too strong.’
Unlike Judas, Reda was using his sigils perfectly.
With the Mark of Fame on his right wing, he crushed Elric with sheer power. With the Mark of Madness on his left, he clawed at Elric’s mind — scratching, twisting, whispering.
A curse. It gnawed at Elric’s sanity — stirring his blood, clouding his judgment, turning dread into despair, resolve into fear.
Only his iron will — tempered under Otto Han’s countless trials — kept his mind from splintering. Without it, he might already be Reda’s puppet.
Victory felt impossible.
He even considered summoning another of the Six Winter Wraiths. Each had unique specialties; perhaps one was Reda’s natural counter. But none answered his call. They remained deep within his unconscious, silent watchers in the dark.
They were awake — Elric could feel them — but they refused to move. That silence was more agonizing than any wound.
He even thought to summon Hermann or Sailor — but Reda never gave him a second of reprieve.
And now, suddenly — Mephisto claimed to have a counterattack?
How could he not be tempted?
『Ever notice,’』 Mephisto said lazily, 『that your spell activation system is outdated?』
[What…?]
Elric froze mid-retort. His eyes widened.
Mephisto’s grin deepened. 『Ah, so you do get it.』
[Explain — I don’t have time to think right now!]
Reda’s gaze swung back toward him. The pressure alone made Elric’s knees tremble. His heart pounded like thunder — Nachtlam’s pulse hammering through him. The shadows at his feet rose like a living tide, trembling with fury.
『Our kind has suffered your “Melvinger” line for ages,’』 Mephisto sneered. 『And now I must lecture one of them myself. My magnanimity truly knows no bounds—』
[Stop gloating and talk!]
Elric’s shout finally cut through the demon’s theatrics. Mephisto chuckled, then sighed theatrically.
『Change the activation system.』
[Activation… oh!]
Just that phrase — and Elric understood.
『You bear the Sigil of Frost — one of humanity’s finest creations, even by my standards. And yet you channel it through mere Words of Power?』
Elric remembered. Mephisto had warned him before — his sigil had evolved, but his language hadn’t.
It was like inventing superior gunpowder but firing it from a flintlock cannon — inefficient at best, self-destructive at worst.
『If you’re casting trivial frost spells, fine. But to wield Authority-level magic with that rusty mechanism? Impossible. You’ll never achieve full embodiment.』
Authority — the realm beyond magic. To wield it properly, one needed a true ignition system.
Elric felt as though struck by lightning.
『So. What will you do?』
[Get one.]
Reda’s wings spread wide, preparing to dive — ready to erase him.
『Get what, exactly?』
[Something stronger.]
Elric gritted his teeth, pulling a new spear from the ice at his feet.
He didn’t aim it at Reda.
Charging head-on was suicide. He needed time. And someone to teach him a higher language — beyond Words of Power.
He had just the teacher.
Not Mephisto — demons used sigils by instinct, without structure. No, this teacher spoke the ultimate tongue — the Dragon Tongue, the Language of Creation.
BOOM!
Elric slammed his spear into the ground. The winter storm surged, cracks webbing through the frozen cavern floor. Ice fragments exploded upward like shrapnel.
“More foolish tricks, Melvinger?” Reda scoffed, slicing through the rising mist. His grin dripped with mockery — confident that no storm could harm him now.
But Elric smiled faintly.
“We’ll see who’s foolish.”
He spoke a new Word.
“【Detonate.】”
『Pahaha! Now that’s my student — the cunning one!』
Mephisto’s laughter echoed as the mist exploded.
A chain reaction — the powder-fine ice particles ignited in midair. A dust explosion.
In dry air, even a single spark could unleash a massive blast. Elric had calculated it all — rearranging his mana fields, pulling the trigger with a single command.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire cavern erupted in a storm of fire and ice.
“Child’s play…!” Reda growled, scattering demonic energy to dispel the blasts. But he’d overlooked one thing—
The cavern was already half-collapsed from their earlier battle. The ceiling shuddered—
CRACK! RUMBLE—!
The mountain caved in.
Amid the chaos, Elric threw up barrier after barrier around the dragon, ensuring the wounded beast survived. Then he looked down — at his shadow.
“Hey.”
『What?』
Hyul’s will still hadn’t guessed his intent — his tone seethed with humiliation and hunger. Being pushed this far by Reda was unbearable.
“You hate that bastard, don’t you?”
『What are you implying?』
“I’m saying… go wild.”
『Oh? You’d really allow that?』
Hyul — once the mortal enemy of Augustine and the ancient Melvingers — was shocked. To unleash him was unthinkable.
Elric’s answer was cold.
“Why not? My seal, my rules.”
He still held the reins — the sigil binding Hyul’s essence. He could always pull it back.
The ceiling above cracked open, rubble falling.
Elric whispered a single command.
“【Unleash.】”
Click—click—click. Chains unlocked, one after another.
『You’ll have your wish, Master.』
The shadow rose higher — swelling, deepening. Something vast stirred beneath the surface — a beast emerging from the depths of the abyss.
RUMBLE! CRASH!
The cave collapsed completely.
Rumble… rumble…!
“W-what’s happening?!” “The cave— it’s collapsing!” “The Holy Grounds—!” “The Guardian Dragon—!”
Outside the lair, all eyes turned to the mountain — humans and demons alike frozen in shock.
The Star Legion trembled, knowing Elric was still inside. Gregory’s forces panicked — uncertain whether Reda had survived. Even the Vorfurr tribe, guardians of the sacred site, went pale with horror.
Only Sarnai, the blind priestess, stayed calm — until her head suddenly snapped upward.
“It’s emerging! Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
No one understood her meaning — but instinct screamed: danger.
BOOOOOOM!
A titanic explosion tore open the ruins of the cave. A freezing wind followed — a winter storm spiraling upward as something rose from below.
“W-what is that…?”
“Impossible…”
They all stared — breath stolen — as a new presence filled the air.
A beast of pure shadow.
Massive — towering over them all. Feline in shape — lionlike, pantherlike — its eyes glowed in the dark.
『The air… how sweet. And such abundance to feast upon.』
Hyul (獝) — the Demon King who once plunged the Eastern Continent into terror — had opened his eyes again, after decades of slumber.
The Talent-Swallowing Magician.