Both Leona and Lubella wanted to yell right into Glen’s ears that they also had the right to choose and smack sense into that unbelievable head of his. For their mental health, Zich didn’t mention that they really would’ve ended up as Glen’s companions if he hadn’t intervened. There was no need to bring up something that wouldn’t become a reality anymore and sour everyone’s mood, so Zich quietly agreed with them.
“It’s not even that surprising considering how crazy that bastard is.”
“I didn’t think he would be this insane! Ah, it gives me the chills!”
As if bugs were crawling all over her body, Leona scratched her arms, and Lubella also shivered as if she was feeling great chills. It soon appeared that Glen noticed those two.
<Aine...Leona...>
“That guy is calling my name.”
“Mine too.”
<Why...are...my companions...standing next...to villains...?>
“It seems it is just as Sir Zich said.”
“I didn’t think Zich would’ve been wrong, but I really hoped that he was wrong this time.”
The two looked at Glen with disgust. Perhaps, Glen felt their gazes, and the mana that burst out of him became stronger.
<Must...kill the...villains...>
“As I said, you are the villain, Glen.”
“There’s no point in talking to him, Leona. No words can get through to him.”
<Must...save...my companions...!>
“At least he has the will to save his companions, though.”
“We aren’t his companions!”
<They must...be...my companions...so that...I can...shine brighter...and become...greater....>
“...I suppose that wasn’t really it either.”
“...I thought Ultel was bad, but that guy is outright disgusting.”
“...Even among the Bellid bugs I’ve seen, he is among the top.”
“...I have seen all sorts of lunatics among the mercenaries, but none of them are like this man.”
Whooosh! Glen’s immense mana swirled in all directions and began to destroy the tower that had already weakened and become less durable.
<I must create the perfect life!>
Mana gathered inside Glen’s hands.
“He’s coming!” Zich stepped forward while holding Estellade. All his companions held their individual weapons and supported Zich.
Baaaam! A massive shockwave struck with a deafening boom, finally blowing apart the tower that was barely managing to stay in one piece.
Crumble! A cloud of dust along with a loud explosion signaled the end of the tower as it disintegrated into pieces and fell.
For every being on the island, the fall of the tower was calamity itself.
Bam! Bam! Bam! The tower’s fragments created large holes in the ground and giant clouds of dust as they crashed. Though the island was quite big, the tower’s immense height brought everything on the island within range. The majority of the monsters remaining on the island were crushed by its mass, and naturally, those inside the tower were also affected. It appeared as if no one would survive the catastrophe.
Of course, just as Zich's comrades had confirmed to him earlier, none of their lives was at the slightest risk.
Whoosh! Between the falling tower remains, there stood Til. He didn’t have any method to block the fall of debris over him since he had only honed his physical abilities, but he had no intention of staying still either. When the debris fell near him, Til moved and stretched out his leg.
Boom! His leg collided with the debris, but it was the debris that crumbled into small pieces, and Til straightened up again without any injuries. Above him, more debris fell, and Til raised his sword straight.
Whoosh! It was a giant swing enveloped with mana. Falling fragments disintegrated and bounced off elsewhere. The shockwave created by his swing swept his surroundings in a fierce dust storm, and soon, the bright, clear blue sky shone only over Til’s head.
Hanging his giant sword over his shoulder, Til looked around in search for his companions.
Flick! Flick! Flick!
He heard light footsteps in a space where only heavy collisions should’ve sounded. He looked up and saw Leona coming down swiftly while stepping over the falling debris. Til looked at her in admiration as he knew he couldn’t ever be as agile as her. Even her last landing step was light, and Leona landed softly next to Til.
“What about the others?”
“I’m also looking for them.”
“Yeah. I’m sure nothing happened to them, but let’s look for them quickly. Zich and Lubella must not be too far away from here.”
“You really are an annoying elf. Didn’t you forget one person?” Walwiss reprimanded Leona as he descended from the sky, supported by flying magic. Yet, Leona paid no heed to his words and simply ignored him.
“Besides Zich, we have to find Lubella first...” Rather than Zich, who seemed like he would crawl out completely fine even if he was cast into a pool of lava, they needed to first find Lubella since she had comparatively fewer battle abilities as the healer.
Til and Leona simultaneously looked above them and saw a white sphere penetrate through the cloud of dust and fall down.
Boom! With a loud commotion, the sphere crashed onto the floor and the tower’s fragments poured down over it. Yet, nothing pierced through the sphere of light.
Sparkle!
Light shot out of the sphere and shone off into the sky. All the fragments that touched the light bounced off, and after securing the safety of its contents, the sphere gradually disappeared and revealed Lubella inside. She dusted off her clothes, not appearing injured in the slightest.
“We found you, Saintess.”
“Yes, thank you.”
At the same time, the debris that seemed like it would fall forever stopped. The tower that had stood in the middle of the island was no longer visible. The dust covering the ground and the debris lying under it were the only signs left of a once grand tower. However, no one was interested in the tower’s collapse.
“...As expected, we didn’t have to worry about her either.”
“Of course, she’s the Karuwiman Saintess. Only monsters have taken up the Karuwiman Saintess position for generations. The Saintess for this generation seems to be particularly special.”
“What do you mean, monster? Sir, aren’t your words too harsh?” Lubella grumbled as she walked to Walwiss’ side. Then she glanced at her companions. “What about Sir Zich?”
“We don’t know. We’re looking for him right now,” Leona replied.
“Well, is there a need to look for him? He’s Zich after all. It wouldn’t be strange at all if he suddenly appeared while fighting that hero idiot...”
Baaam!
“...You said you left your position as the master of the magical tower, right? Why don’t you set up a fortune-telling shop instead?”
“I can’t believe I found a new talent at this age. I’m so happy that I’m rather flustered.”
A blast came from the sky. The fierce collision of mana reached the ground and signified the intensity of the battle. Two figures were colliding in the sky; one person was emitting light as if they were a bright sun fighting against the darkness, and the other person was using an enormous amount of mana to push back their opponent by sheer force.
Baaaam! There was another explosion—the shockwaves touched the lake and caused a strong wave.
“Is Zich able to fly?” Walwiss asked.
“Rather than flying, it seems more like he is kicking the air with powerful mana and moving in the sky,” Til replied.
“Can you do that as well?”
“I can if I want to, but I can’t move as precisely as him.”
“He’s a young man who surprises me in many ways. I’m happy to have met him in my old age.”
“Is it okay for us to stay so relaxed? No matter how you look at it, Zich is getting pushed back,” Leona said.
Zich was fighting Glen with all kinds of fancy and sophisticated techniques, but his opponent’s mana was simply too overpowering. It was clear that Zich was getting overwhelmed by each and every one of Glen’s attacks.
“Of course, we’re not just going to stay still and watch.” Walwiss infused mana into his staff. The mana combined and changed according to his will to create a large fireball. “Now, we’re quite far from Zich, but I’m sure we have our own way to help Zich. Let’s quickly give him a hand.”
“Will that spell be okay? Even from a glance, its firepower looks huge. Zich could get caught up in it.”
“Caught up? Who are you talking about?”
“...My bad. I misspoke.” There was no way Zich of all people would get caught up in an ally’s attack. It was unimaginable.
“As he said, as long as we support him with proper judgment, he’ll take care of the rest. This is why it’s convenient to work with someone talented.” Walwiss pointed his staff toward the sky. The fireball moved, and at the same time, Zich was in the midst of a fierce battle with Glen.
Baaaaam! A huge torrent of mana stretched out of Glen’s hands. The scope of the attack was too wide to avoid. Zich kicked the air with his feet full of mana. At the same time, he infused mana into Estellade, and Estellade let out a brilliant light.
Flash! Zich’s sword penetrated the waves of mana. It concentrated on one point and made a hole in the wave. Zich avoided the attack by slipping through this gap. However, even after that, an overwhelming amount of mana poured behind him.
‘He’s strong.’ It was an extremely simple assessment. However, Glen’s ability could be summed up with just this word. Glen’s movement hadn’t become significantly better. In terms of technical ability, he was the same as before. If anything, his movement had become more simple and obvious. The problem was the sheer amount of mana he could let out.
‘I’m getting overwhelmed by his mana. It’s an experience that I’ve never had since I unleashed all my mana.’ However, there was no other reason why he was getting pushed back by Glen. ‘I’m still holding out because that idiot can’t use his mana properly, but if he could, this battle would have already been over.’
This was very fortunate for Zich, but it was also clear that if this continued, it would inevitably lead to his defeat.
‘I’ve roughly guessed the origin of his mana.’ Glen’s chilling mana, which Zich felt above his skin, gave off a very similar feeling to the World Tree’s clones. ‘I have a rough idea of what happened.’
Ultel said that Glen had crossed the threshold of regression, and Glen’s power was something that the last emperor of Clowon also had.
‘So, if you continue to regress even after crossing the threshold, you reach that state.’ It seemed like a form of going berserk; it was obvious from a glance that Glen’s mind was focused only on fulfilling his goal. However, unlike after he had just crossed the threshold of regression, when he could still think rationally and create plans, he was now blindly muttering his wishes and using his strength like a wild beast.
‘Perhaps, the fear that a person feels before reaching the threshold may be a kind of warning from their sixth sense before they reach that state.’
However, what was important was not whether Glen was completely out of his mind or had some of his mind intact—it was the enormous power that he was wielding.
‘Is he able to naturally draw and use the World Tree’s mana from the continuous exposure of the World Tree’s mana through repeated regressions?’ Maybe that was the reason why he had gone berserk. However, this was only a guess, not a definite answer. More importantly, this was the least of his concerns.