I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

85 – The Harmless Mage (4)

* * *

I had once discussed with Graktar how to face both Graktar and Durahan.

Durahan was a weapon master who could skillfully wield any weapon, and he was even rumored to be the first hero who had fought against the Demon King.

Unleashing all the magic I knew, or even drawing the Core Sword to draw him into a battle of attrition, wouldn’t guarantee victory.

“The answer is simple! We go with the ‘Boom─! Smash─! Kaboom─!’ operation!”

“What the hell are you talking about…”

Graktar then made some incomprehensible sounds at me, throwing punches into the air.

A jumble of sounds, like words exploding from a mouth – even I, someone lauded as a genius wizard, couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“To summarize, we’re going after the Dullahan’s helmet! The damn thing’s head and body are separate, remember!”

“…Keep talking.”

“First, use explosion magic for the initial shock to separate the head from the body. Then, freeze magic to stop it from casting spells. And finally, fire magic to turn it to ash!”

Grakhtar’s further explanation finally allowed me to understand what he was talking about.

The Dullahan was known for its independently moving body parts; the scariest thing was having to fight both the head, which cast spells, and the body, which freely wielded weapons, simultaneously.

“The Dullahan’s helmet and armor won’t just turn to dust so easily.”

“Anything is possible with enough power and skill!”

“No, that’s not the problem. A being who was once the First Hero wouldn’t have failed to prepare some means of negating magic, right?”

Even after hearing Grakhtar’s confident voice, I shook my head. It didn’t make sense that someone who was once the First Hero wouldn’t have *any* way to resist magic.

Just look at Kyle’s Ignite, the flame armor created by his Holy Sword; its inherent property of burning mana made it impossible for even weak magic to approach.

“Bellamora even nullified physical attacks and magic using dreams, and if you search this world, you’ll find plenty of anti-magic items.”

That’s also why I imbued my fists or swords with magic to suppress opponents. In the Demon Realm, there were enemies like basilisks with scales that completely deflected magic.

“The most standard method would be to load Silence magic onto my fist and trap the helmet with a silken thread, rendering it helpless…”

I first mentioned the typical method of fighting between wizards.

Someone who casts spells without incantation is rare, so a battle’s odds of winning increase depending on when and how you use Silence magic.

“Then its vision would definitely be obscured, slowing down its body! When facing an enemy with only armor left, it’s best to aim for the gaps!”

But,

“…However, the Dullahan’s helmet probably has runes inscribed on it, so these countermeasures probably won’t work.”

The opponent wasn’t just a normal wizard, but a Death Knight, a Dullahan, one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, so these methods were unlikely to work.

Inside that helmet, confirmed by eyes that could see mana, I glimpsed runic script, clearly appearing to be etched by Lord Odin himself.

“So what are you saying! There’s no way, is there?!”

“No, there are plenty of ways. We could sink the helmet and armor together in the deepest ocean where they can never escape, or throw them into a volcano pit.”

I scratched my chin, considering the possibilities. Even an existence that can’t be killed can be sealed so it can’t move.

“If there are so many ways, why are you worried…?”

“Because there are too many variables I don’t know.”

I took a deep sigh, recalling the fight against the Dullahan in my head. The variables I need to prioritize are, first and foremost, three things.

First, the problem is not knowing what the runic script etched on the Dullahan’s helmet means.

Since there was absolutely no information about the script mastered by Lord Odin, something that caused more powerful and mysterious phenomena than ordinary magic.

“The runic script on the helmet, the countermeasures against the Dullahan’s holy sword, and the thought of fighting that b*stard’s summoned horse… We have to think about all that.”

Secondly, the holy sword bestowed by Lord Odin was also a problem.

Originally, it was a weapon given by God to kill the Demon King, but I didn’t know what abilities a sword that drives out evil and tears through the darkness would have.

Finally, there was the jet-black horse that looked like the Dullahan’s familiar. The difference between a cavalryman and an ordinary combatant was like heaven and earth, so the chances of winning were better if we got the opponent off the horse first.

“…Yeah, it’s probably best to go with your way, Grakhtar.”

I was working out the best way to deal with the Dullahan, combining countless possibilities in my head.

“‘Thwack—! Crack—! Pow—!’ Operation, you mean! Kkhahaha! I knew you’d like it too!”

“No, more accurately, it’s about targeting and destroying the helmet first. Somehow, that seems like the most likely way to win.”

That way, the opponent will get off the horse to protect the helmet, and two of the three variables to watch out for will be resolved.

The naming sense is terrible, but I thought it was the most useful way to deal with the Dullahan.

* * *

Thunk—! Clatter!

My fist, slammed into the Dullahan’s face, sent his head rolling away across the arena floor with a crisp sound.

He lost his head for a moment, defenseless, and I didn’t miss the chance. I drew Core Sword and swung—

But then,

“Kha, khahahaha!! Khahahahahahaaa!!!”

A laugh, so loud it made my ears throb, echoed from afar.

It came from the Dullahan’s helmet. He was roaring like a madman, blocking my blade.

“Quite the little trick, eh? Thought taking out the helmet would make me easy prey?”

“……!!!”

Contrary to my expectations, the Dullahan didn’t dismount to retrieve his head. Instead, he displayed monstrous strength, deflecting my sword.

The difference in height because of his mount forced me to kick off the Dullahan’s armor in mid-air, creating some distance.

“You truly are an amusing fellow. What other mage in this world would unravel a magic circle into thread and forge a mana core into a sword?”

“…Looks like the normal tricks aren’t going to cut it.”

I wiped the blood trickling from inside my ear. I had a hunch about the type of runes etched into the helmet’s interior.

Word Spirit.

His very words contained the power to destroy or repel objects. There’s no other way he could have harmed me, my body wrapped in a magic circle like thread.

Would a silencing spell work on that thing?

There was nothing left to do but try.

‘I had a feeling something like this might happen, so I attached a thread to the Dullahan’s helmet.’

The method of unraveling a magic circle into thread to wrap around my fists could be applied in other ways too.

I clenched the thread wrapped around my hand, creating a circular coil that completely enveloped the Dullahan’s helmet far away.

“That’s not enough to stop me. What a shame.”

The coil contained Silence, a silence spell, just as I’d planned. And yet, he was still speaking while surrounded by it.

Maybe runes and magic really were based on fundamentally different systems. It seemed there was no way to block the characters carved by the god who defined and categorized the study of magic itself.

“Harden, become stone, and stop.”

This time, I felt a crushing pressure, as if someone was striking down from above. My body became so sluggish that I could barely breathe, and I didn’t even see the Dullahan’s words coming at me.

I had no choice but to raise my Coresword to face the weapon that seemed to tear through space itself, distorting the surrounding scenery.

“…The spear that killed the largest creature in the world, Javelin.”

I barely managed to deflect its trajectory with the Coresword, but it was an attack that shaved off parts of my body covered in magic circles.

If I hadn’t blocked it and tried to dodge, or trusted the thread’s defenses and taken it head-on, that weapon would have blown a huge hole through me. I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded.

It was a mocking laugh born from disgust and contempt for the fool who possessed such power and still surrendered to the Demon King Ergosum.

I didn’t expect someone with the Weapon Master ability to fight with only a holy sword. It’s only natural to go into battle equipped with such a variety of weapons.

But,

If he had this kind of ability from the start, if he had these powerful weapons…

‘Shouldn’t you have at least tried to cut off the Demon King’s head?’

I gripped the Coresword so tightly that my hand ached. One reason was my disgust for the first hero’s surrender without a fight against the Demon King, and the other was my determination to never lose to an opponent like him.

“This time, it’s the war hammer that killed the smallest creature in the world, War Hammer. Let’s see if you can withstand this, too?”

“Ha, fuck. You talk like a total asshole.”

*KWAANG—!*

Each swing shook the ground, and the hammer, cleaving the earth, created footholds in the air.

If it were me, I’d have used this beforehand to turn the battlefield into favorable terrain. Seeing the opponent not doing so, I couldn’t help but think how pathetic they were.

No matter how outstanding your weapon is, or how exceptional your abilities are, if the user’s a moron, you get defeated in such a ridiculous way.

“Stop with the cheesy crap, and pull out that holy sword already.”

I reached my hand towards the sky and used the rain-summoning magic from before. Watching as dark clouds gathered and the world grew darker, I opened my mouth.

“The saying that you shouldn’t face a Blue Magic Tower mage when it’s raining… you’re going to pay the price for ignoring it.”

What I was about to use wasn’t Enchanted Rain Drops, with magic circles woven into each raindrop, nor was it an attempt to unleash all sorts of sword auras using the Coresword.

It was the ultimate magic that I, who had lived my entire life as a mage, had conceived.

A magic that could one day combine Kyle’s holy sword, Victoria’s divine power, Anima’s spirit magic, and even Tarion’s mysteries into one.

It seemed the time to use Idea had come.