Chapter 202: I won.
The barrier protecting the Elephant’s body broke almost instantly.
The energy penetrated its body and exploded.
A huge bloody hole appeared in the creature’s back.
Blood sprayed like a waterfall.
But it did not even manage to reach the ground.
The energy of the brilliant light turned into glowing dust in the air first.
Even with its monstrously resilient physique, the Giant Elephant could not withstand that attack.
The creature roared at the sky.
Its gigantic body began to lose strength.
Then it fell.
The Elephant disappeared.
And Lorgy’s body appeared again.
He fell unconscious.
— Quick! George! Have your Golem collect that bastard’s life essence!
A voice came from beside me.
I almost jumped.
Ruby was standing there.
Her face was red.
Her eyes were shining with excitement.
The only one who had truly lost in that situation was Lorgy.
And I had no intention of killing him.
We were within the Mage Tower’s sphere of influence.
If he could enter this place with his bloodline and cultivation, he certainly had some connection to important Mages.
Seriously injuring someone was one thing.
Killing him...
That would be something completely different.
If I killed him without sufficient reason, I might not even be able to return to the Tower before someone came after me.
So I silently gave the Golem an order.
"Collect the blood. Leave no traces."
Then I turned around.
— Let’s go.
I grabbed Ruby and began moving away.
Since the beginning of the battle, my senses had detected something strange.
Perhaps eight waves of mana.
They were too weak to be identified precisely, but powerful enough for me to know that their owners were hiding nearby.
My Light Golem dispersed the hurricane of light.
Then its body transformed into a beam of light and flew toward me.
The Basilisk also freed itself from Lorgy’s unconscious body.
Its body was severely damaged.
Even so, it began sliding through the grass and following us.
None of us noticed what happened before it left.
The Basilisk tilted its head.
Opened its enormous mouth.
And discreetly swallowed a large amount of soil.
Soil mixed with Lorgy’s blood.
Then it disappeared into the forest.
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POV: Acolytes from Mage Families in the Kar-Dur Tower Area
For several seconds, only the destroyed battlefield remained.
Then two figures appeared beside Lorgy’s body.
— Lorgy is a junior of your clan. Are you going to let that boy leave here like this?
The second figure was hidden behind a dense black cloud.
Only two strange flames could be seen in its eyes.
Its voice was cold.
— Hmph.
— If Pretel hadn’t stopped me, do you think anyone would have walked away alive after intimidating a member of my great and noble Prokel Family?
The first figure seemed surprised.
— Pretel? Ah... that’s right. It’s his turn to serve in the Mage Tower now.
There was a brief pause.
— Is that boy a new member of your family?
— No.
The voice answered immediately.
— I believe he was sent by the Lumentrix Association.
— He’s just a newcomer carrying out a mission from his tower here.
The first figure fell silent for several seconds.
Then his voice revealed interest.
— Such a great talent among the newcomers?
A low laugh echoed.
— Once I finish my calculations, I’ll find a way to dissect him.
After a brief conversation, the two nodded.
The first figure disappeared among the trees.
The second bent down.
Picked Lorgy up in his arms.
Then the black cloud spread.
And both of them disappeared.
Once again... the forest fell silent.
Only the devastated field remained.
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POV: George Gill - Mc
Although my mind was filled with worries after everything that had happened, the journey back to the Mage Tower went surprisingly smoothly.
The battlefield grew farther and farther away as Ruby and I crossed the forest.
After making sure no one else was following us, I stopped for a moment and looked at the Light Golem.
— RutiNulary.
I pronounced the secret magical word I had prepared to undo the Golem’s elemental structure.
The next instant, the enormous white body began to disintegrate.
Particles of wind and light scattered through the air.
The golden armor disappeared.
The arms, legs, and torso lost their shape.
And within just a few seconds, that enormous elemental warrior that had fought Lorgy simply disappeared.
Seven dazzling crystalline magic cores remained floating before me.
I extended my hand to collect them.
But Ruby was faster.
— Hey!
She practically jumped in front of me.
Before I could stop her, the seven cores were already in her hands.
Ruby observed them with an expression that was almost... affectionate.
She caressed each crystal with extreme care, turning them between her fingers and observing the light moving inside them.
Her face was completely focused.
As if she were holding something precious.
After a few seconds, she took the main core and brought it close to her face.
Then she began gently caressing it.
Tiny sparks of Light escaped from the surface of the crystal and touched her skin.
Ruby slightly closed her eyes.
— What a pleasant sensation...
I stared at her.
...
Come on.
It was just a collection of magic cores.
Beautiful?
Yes.
But those small crystals were, in practice, the compact form of an enormous Golem capable of unleashing energy storms and piercing a Pseudo-Mage with light.
Ruby had just watched the Golem nearly turn Lorgy into charred meat.
And now she was caressing its cores as if they were pets.
I sighed.
— I really think there is something wrong with most people who choose the path of a Mage.
Ruby opened one eye.
— What did you say?
— Nothing.
I approached and carefully took the cores from her hands.
— Hey! I was still looking at them!
— You can look at them later.
I stored the seven cores.
Unlike the Basilisk, all of the Light Golem’s cores had survived the battle completely intact.
That made me satisfied.
I took out a blood-red crystal.
I tossed it to Ruby.
She caught it immediately.
Her eyes lit up.
The Black Rock Basilisk had done its job better than I expected.
Thanks to its ability to control the Earth Element, separating Lorgy’s blood from the dirt had not been particularly difficult.
The crystal now contained a large amount of blood belonging to that bloodline Pseudo-Mage.
Ruby squeezed the crystal tightly.
She looked extremely satisfied.
Meanwhile, my thoughts turned to another matter.
I sincerely hoped that Lorgy had not lost too much strength because of the battle.
Not because I was worried about him.
Quite the opposite.
If he had truly suffered a significant decline in power, he would probably become even more desperate for revenge.
And desperate enemies were always more dangerous.
Ruby looked at me.
— Are you worried about him?
— I’m worried about myself.
She seemed to understand.
The smile on her face disappeared for a few seconds.
I then took out another core.
The summoning core of the Black Rock Basilisk.
And my mood immediately worsened.
Even after the violent battle against Lorgy, the seven cores of the Light Golem were intact.
But the Basilisk’s core...
Was severely damaged.
I had forced a Level Three creature to restrain a Pseudo-Mage who possessed a powerful bloodline.
The result was obvious.
The elemental structure of the core was in complete chaos.
Tiny particles of energy continuously leaked from its surface.
— Biochip, complete analysis.
[Analyzing.]
[Final result: summoning core structurally compromised.]
[Possibility of repair: nonexistent with currently available resources and knowledge.]
I stored the core.
There was nothing I could do.
Perhaps, in the future, when my knowledge of Golems and Elementals was greater, I could try to find a solution.
But at that moment...
The Black Rock Basilisk was lost.
After organizing everything, Ruby and I finally returned to the Mage Tower stealthily.
The night was silent.
When we reached the main entrance, everything seemed normal.
The two enormous stone statues were still positioned at the entrance.
I had passed by them countless times.
I had always considered them simple decorations.
Then one of them moved.
CRRRRRRACK!
I stopped immediately.
Ruby did too.
The statue on the left slowly tilted its head.
Stone scraped against stone.
Its stone eyes moved.
And stopped directly on me.
— Hey, Acolyte.
— Official Mage Pretel asked you to pay him a visit at his residence.
The statue returned to its original position.
As if it had never moved.
I stared at it for several seconds.
— Biochip.
[Yes?]
— I’ve passed by these things dozens of times.
[Affirmation confirmed.]
— And you never thought it was important to inform me that they were automatons?
There was a brief silence.
[Target had not been identified previously.]
...
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