The False Hero, Volume 12, Chapter 18

Chapter 18

----- Lumina -----

“We’re ready!” Lumina nods enthusiastically.

“I finally get to do something.” Lyle wraps his enthusiasm up in his usual negativity.

“Don’t get too excited,” Lutz says. “We didn’t hit the jackpot.”

Lumina looks out over the battle. She’s on the ground, so her vision is limited, but she can feel the mass of mana from the thousands of troops spread out before her.

In the best-case scenario, having the center of the line fall back would draw in more enemy troops as they attempt to push their advantage. However, either they could see through our ruse, or they simply opted to avoid such a risky maneuver.

Whichever the case may be, the result is that our concave formation hasn’t altered the battle in any meaningful way. Yet it still puts us in an advantageous position, even if nobody else understands why.

“This is still an acceptable result,” Lumina says. “Unless something has changed?”

“No.” Lutz shakes his head. “Everything’s going according to plan. Well, except the whole Cedric thing. That came out of nowhere.”

“Upon consideration, he always prided himself on his reputation. It seems he left that pride behind when he turned, only to realize that even death was preferable to being a traitor to his people.”

“I don’t trust him for a second.” Lyle looks in the direction Cedric went. “He’s got to be a spy, or something.”

“There’s no need for a spy when the mad god can see and hear nearly everything.”

“Except for us, right? Because of this party whatever.”

“I’d assume that’s why our brother paired him up with such an insignificant group. There’s no information to be gleaned from their members.”

Lyle huffs. “Still don’t trust him.”

While Lyle is correct that distrust is the correct response, measures have been taken to ensure that Cedric would only be able to inflict minimal damage in the case of a second betrayal. Hence, focus on the mission takes priority.

To that effect, Lumina refocuses back on the army of fiends in the concave center of the battle line. Even though the enemy didn’t take the bait and swarm the center with additional troops, a concave line is essentially a semi-circle. And as Lutz said when forming this plan, spell AoE’s are circles, so if we can get the enemy army into a semi-circle, then…

We can maximize the damage of the spell.

“The line’s starting to stabilize in its new position.” Lutz turns to Lyle. “You sure you mastered that thing?”

“I already said that I did.”

“Still that confident, even though you haven’t actually cast the spell before?”

“It’ll appear.”

“Then you might as well start channeling now.”

Lyle does as Lutz suggests, beginning the process of crafting the spell formation within him. It’s so complicated that even I cannot comprehend its design, as to be expected from an ancient magic.

Walking up behind her brother, Lumina places her hands onto his back and allows her mana to flow into him. She’s done this many times now during their practice sessions, but this one will end quite differently from the rest.

Lyle has above average mana capacity for a mage. He can’t be called exceptional in that capacity, but nor is there a reason to be ashamed. Yet despite being level 91 like Lumina herself, Lyle can’t cast the ancient spell on his own. He simply doesn’t have the mana required to bring it forth.

However, Lumina does. Her Unique Skill, [Mana Fountain], gives her a full fifty percent more total mana than she would have normally. And as Lutz said before, her Intelligence growth is maxed out, meaning her base mana is also exceptionally high.

Combined with the additional buff from her second Unique Skill, [Prime Oracle], and Lumina has a total mana capacity nearly triple that of the average mage her level.

“It’s nice to have a walking mana battery around.” Lutz nods in satisfaction.

“I’m more than a battery!” Lumina gives him a pout in return.

“Your prattling isn’t helping.” Lyle complains, even though he hasn’t made even the slightest error in the formation.

Normally, it’d be unheard of for a mage with full mana to be unable to cast a spell on their own. Even Divine-Class magic isn’t so unforgiving. Yet despite being level 91 and having above-average mana, Lyle requires additional help in order to fully power the magic he intends to cast.

Divine-Class, or fifth-tier as Lutz refers to it, is the highest known classification of magic. It can only be cast by mages who reach level 75 and dedicate themselves to a singular element in hopes that they will one day acquire it. Until recently, only the elven hero, Myra, had achieved such a feat.

But today…

…today, what was once unobtainable has been reached.

“I’m ready.” Lyle raises his arms, a gesture he continues to do, despite it being unnecessary now.

“Please proceed at your leisure.” Lumina keeps her hands on her brother’s back, despite having already given enough mana to complete the spell.

She had spent time training for this moment as well, so she wanted to maintain her shared mana connection all the way until the end.

“I’ll end this war myself!” Lyle lets his spell loose. “[Plasma Nova]!”

Beyond the battle, where men and fiends are dying, is an empty field of grass, separating the soldiers from their leader, the Lord of Chaos. He has yet to so much as take a single step, much less join in the fighting.

With his god-like senses and vision, the Lord of Chaos has a clear view of the innocuous white bubble floating down in the center of that empty field of grass. At a glance, one might be forgiven for believing it to be a large marble somehow defying gravity as it slowly descends to the ground.

But the Lord of Chaos knows the truth. That innocuous white bubble contains a power that the world has not seen in over 10,000 years.

Sixth-tier magic.

The white bubble explodes, expanding at a rate that cannot be measured by even the most advanced instruments and techniques in the world. The expanding spell’s circumference hits the ground, vaporizing the grass and charring the dirt a deep black.

It grows further, appearing as a bright, white dome rising from the center of the empty field of grass. The edge of the dome bubbles with power, containing temperatures within high enough to turn metal into slag in a blink.

The superheated plasma engulfs the rear ranks of the enemy, turning the low-class fiends into ash before they even realize they’re under attack. Even the Berserkers with their incredible Fire Magic resistance are burned to cinders when the expanding bubble reaches them.

Thousands upon thousands of fiends within the concave semi-circle at the center of the battlefield simply vanish from existence. In a single moment of time, the entire battlefield has been reformed.

“What in the name of the Goddess is that!?” A nearby reserve soldier stares up, captivated at the [Plasma Nova] that now dominates the battlefield.

“A spell that powerful can’t exist!” One of the mages goes pale at the strength of the [Plasma Nova].

It lingers over the battlefield, a monument to the graves of countless fiends. After etching its visage into the gazes of all who bear witness, the spell dissolves like parchment thrown into a fire.

The scene left behind can only be described as apocalyptic. Scorched earth, littered with the ashes of creatures that once breathed and lived, as the remnants of the plasma’s powerful electrical energy remain as a tangible static in the area.

“How’s…” Lyle takes a long breath. “...that?”

“You should have taken more of my mana instead of using so much of your own.”

He stands up a bit straighter. “I took what I needed.”

“Well,” Lutz says. “The result can’t be denied. You wiped out a quarter of their army in a single spellcast.”

“Like I said, I’ll be ending this war myself.”

“You completely turned it around for us, but we can’t get complacent here.” Lutz brings out a large Spell Orb. “So excuse me while I capitalize on your spell.”

A pedestal appears, on which he places the orb. With his hand atop its surface, he prepares the magic held within.

“That mad god should have brought more fiends with him if he wanted to win.”

He activates the Spell Orb, and for the second time in the span of a few breaths, the battlefield has been remade.