LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 75: Chapter 75
The surging energy erupted, and golden light flooded the entire cave. What truly terrified Wilson was that the energy radiating from Ethan's longsword seemed to directly counter his death energy.
He wanted to question Ethan, what kind of energy was this? But Ethan paid him no mind. As the energy on the longsword peaked, Ethan swung it downward, releasing the energy in a golden beam of light that shot straight toward Wilson.
"You can't beat me!" Wilson roared.
The fear clawing at his soul made him restless. As if to reinforce his own belief in his invincibility, Wilson made the worst decision possible. Instead of dodging, he raised the bone tower shield that had just formed in his left hand, meeting Ethan's attack head-on.
The moment Wilson raised his shield, the golden beam struck. The shield, brimming with immense death energy, melted away slowly like snow under the sun. The golden energy then surged toward Wilson's bone armor, its vitality-rich light tearing apart the death energy infused into the armor. Even Wilson himself, encased within the armor, suffered significant damage.
"Arghhh!"
Wilson's scream reverberated through the cave, striking at Ethan's very soul. It momentarily shook Ethan's concentration, but his hands remained steady, maintaining the posture needed to sustain the energy output.
"Be purified by the Holy Light!"
Ethan's technique used a magic circle to convert magical energy into holy light energy, a force designed to suppress and destroy death energy. He then imbued this energy into his longsword and unleashed it.
He had been contemplating this technique for a long time. Although he was more familiar with flame magic, he ultimately chose holy light because of its extreme effectiveness against death energy. The total energy capacity of the magic stone in the Book of Inheritance wasn't very high. Flames could suppress death energy to some degree, but their effect was far inferior to holy light. Without enough raw power, Ethan had no choice but to rely on the more targeted holy light energy.
Of course, the holy light Ethan created wasn't true holy light, it was a simulated version constructed based on his understanding of positive energy. He had studied the nature of death energy and reversed its properties to create an opposing force. The result was an energy rich in vitality and positivity.
The process was extraordinarily complex, and even the slightest error could cause the technique to fail. But Ethan had gambled correctly, his casting method and simulated holy light worked exactly as he had envisioned.
Now, as long as he maintained his focus and didn't falter, eliminating this fool named Wilson was just a matter of time. Even as Wilson desperately unleashed soul-shattering psychic attacks, Ethan gritted his teeth and endured.
With one final surge of holy light, Wilson who had been hanging on by a thread was finally consumed by the golden radiance. When the light began to fade, nothing remained of Wilson. The spot where he once stood was empty, save for the death magic stone, which still floated in the air. The undead creature named Wilson had been erased completely.
Ethan exhaled heavily, relief flooding through him. That single move had drained an enormous amount of his mental energy, and maintaining such a powerful output had been a grueling physical strain as well.
Just as he prepared to lean on his longsword for support, he noticed it slowly disintegrating into countless specks of light. The weapon vanished entirely.
"Damn... this technique takes a serious toll on weapons."
Though unexpected, it wasn't entirely surprising. Ethan had already anticipated this possibility. Unlike his bracers, which were designed to withstand powerful energy, the longsword wasn't built for this kind of strain. Forcing an immense amount of energy into it provided temporary protection while the energy remained active, but the weapon couldn't withstand the residual effects once the energy dissipated.
It was the inevitable side effect of using such a crude, unrefined method for the first time. Ethan had implemented the technique in the simplest, roughest way possible, and as a result, the sword had taken the brunt of the damage.
Looking at his empty hands where the longsword had once been, Ethan sighed. His gaze shifted to the space where the lightning iron rod had been destroyed earlier. Both weapons he had brought back from the dark world were now gone, lost in a single battle.
After catching his breath, Ethan turned his attention to the magic stone still floating in the air. The positive energy he had released had significantly reduced the amount of death energy in the cave. The oppressive, cold atmosphere had lessened, but as long as the magic stone remained, it would continue to release death energy, restoring the cave to its former state over time.
Standing in front of the magic stone, Ethan didn't immediately reach for it. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and let a strange smile spread across his face.
"Do you think you can save yourself by doing this? It's not wrong to call you ignorant."
Ethan had already noticed something was off with the magic stone. As a mage, he was far more sensitive to spiritual power and souls than ordinary people. Although Wilson's body had been destroyed, his soul had not.
One of the key advantages of being an undead was the ability to abandon the body and preserve the soul during a crisis. While this came at a great cost, it allowed for the possibility of resurrection as long as the soul remained intact.
Ethan retrieved the Book of Inheritance once again and cast a magic shield.
This time, however, he used the magic shield differently. A translucent white sphere of light enveloped the entire magic stone, creating a flawless cage.
He opened the Book of Inheritance and inscribed a new transformation magic circle onto its blank pages. The white shield gradually began to take on a golden hue, its properties shifting toward the energy of holy light.
"Ahhh!"
As Ethan worked, the magic stone emitted a sharp, piercing scream. This wasn't a physical sound but a mental assault that felt like it was speaking directly to the soul.
"You'll regret this! You'll die a horrible death! Mr. Beckford will avenge me! Aaaaahhh!"
In the end, Wilson's voice left behind only this ominous curse. Ethan frowned. It seemed things were more complicated than they appeared. Wilson wasn't acting alone, there was someone behind him. Someone named Beckford.
"Have I just disrupted some evil villain's plan?" Ethan muttered.
Setting the thought aside for now, Ethan focused on completely annihilating Wilson's soul. Once it was done, he withdrew the magic shield and reached for the death stone.
The energy contained in the death stone was astonishing. If Wilson had been skilled at utilizing this energy, his combat strength would have been terrifying. In such a scenario, Ethan might have been able to protect himself, but only barely, and it would have been impossible to save Helena and the others. Escaping alive would have been the only option.
However, Wilson's understanding of soul manipulation was shallow. Despite the immense energy of the death stone, he hadn't hidden his soul within it. Instead, he had attached himself to the stone's surface, concealed beneath the escaping energy. Perhaps he hadn't been able to enter the stone, or maybe he hadn't dared. Either way, this mistake gave Ethan the opportunity to eliminate him completely.
In the end, Wilson's desperation had revealed another threat—Beckford.
"I'll need to keep an eye out for this Beckford in the future. If Wilson was in contact with him, he's likely a powerful figure from the other side of the Sea of Storms."
Placing the death magic stone on the ground, Ethan used the Book of Inheritance to cast a simple sealing spell. The earth and stone beneath the magic stone rose to encase it, forming a fist-sized clod that fully suppressed its energy. Though the seal was temporary, it was sufficient for now.
With that task complete, Ethan let out a sigh of relief and put away the Book of Inheritance.
Without the magic stone's glow, the cave was plunged into darkness. Even when the torches were relit, it would take some time for Helena and the others to adjust to the dim light.
While the cave was still dark, Ethan used the light of his flashlight to guide his actions. He activated the space-time magic circle on his left hand to absorb the spatial energy at the top of the cave.
However, he quickly discovered that the space-time orb in his left hand couldn't store the energy. As a workaround, Ethan used an empty cigar cylinder he'd prepared for energy storage. The cylinder, which normally preserved the magic power infused into his cigars, served as a temporary container for the energy.
Coincidentally, he'd been planning to use a cigar to recover some strength, making the timing convenient.
After finishing his preparations, Ethan, now holding the sealed clod containing the death magic stone, walked over to Helena. A cigar dangled from his mouth as he handed her the sealed stone.
"This is the magic stone you were looking for. It's incredibly powerful, but I wouldn't recommend using it yourself."
Helena understood without explanation. If she didn't use it herself, the stone could still be sold to the guild in exchange for a magic stone of similar grade.
However, Helena shook her head and didn't take the stone. "I'm not qualified to accept this magic stone. It's entirely your trophy."
The events of the day, particularly the battle that she couldn't even participate in, had only deepened her determination to grow stronger. But she refused to rely on the charity of others to achieve her goals.
"I will fight for a future that truly belongs to me with my own hands."
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