Chapter 149

Power clashed with power, mana with mana, killing intent with killing intent. It wasn’t an even match… because Master was slowly being pushed back. As a mage, Master was on a completely different level. They were someone who could skillfully wield magic of all attributes. In comparison, that guy Tristan could only use earth magic. In terms of skill, Master was undoubtedly superior, but…

In combat, it was different. If Master was someone who could skillfully wield ten swords—fire, water, ice, lightning, earth, wood, wind, steel, light, and darkness—then Tristan was a master who had honed and polished a single sword, earth magic, to its absolute limit.

“Why’s that, Archmage? Your hands have stopped, your incantation has halted. Weren’t you going to kill me? Don’t tell me that’s all the resolve you have as a ‘man’?”

“Shut the hell up…”

Master seemed unable to unleash their full power, likely due to an injury to their left arm. If only we had a contract with the Spirit King… but that damn brat of a god was still refusing to return the contract, making excuses.

“This movement… is it Eastern martial arts? But using techniques with that arm is meaningless. Truly unbecoming of a ‘man.’ And for a mage to rely on such crude skills, it’s unbecoming of a ‘mage.'”

“Tsk… Horn of the Thunder Dragon…”

“Your incantation is long.”

Before Master could finish the incantation, the guy swung his stone arm. Master was too busy blocking or dodging the attack to launch a proper counter. Even when Master abandoned magic and attacked bare-handed, the guy either dodged or blocked with his stone armor.

This kind of scene… I’d never seen it before the regression. Tower Lord Gaius of Earth—I’d met him before the regression, but I never knew he was this strong. Back then, he was just a bandit in his youth. Of course, even then, he always carried himself with the weight of a Tower Lord. But I’d never seen any hint of this kind of strength or behavior. What happened to make him change like this?

The Black Round Table I killed was just a group connected to Master’s death. I thought they were just an assassination organization tied to heretics… but what the hell is this monster?

After I started my research… I just created an impenetrable barrier and locked myself in the laboratory, so I have no idea what’s been happening outside.

Suddenly, the conversation I had with that brat god came to mind.

[“No matter how many times you turn back time, regret always remains. Even if you go mad turning back time for one goal, there will always be things you couldn’t save or obtain. And… fate isn’t so easy to deal with. If you avoid one calamity, it’ll return with two or more.”]

[“You talk like you’ve experienced it multiple times?”]

[“Ah, I’ve only seen one person like that. Aside from that person, no one has ever overcome the fate of regression and achieved their goal. Well, even that person ended up with regrets.”]

[“Simple. I’ll just become stronger than that person. If I overcome the fate of regression without leaving any regrets…”]

[“Don’t make me laugh, brat. That person could crush your world like a biscuit with a single swing of their hand.”]

[“What…?”]

[“Don’t underestimate fate. This isn’t some benefit or favor I’m giving you. The regression I’m giving you is a punishment.”]

So that’s what it meant. No matter how you try to avoid fate… that damn bastard fate twists everything to see its predetermined outcome. The punishment was to watch without being able to change it…

What a load of crap, you damn brat god. Who would just sit and watch? Even without a contract with the Spirit King, I’m strong.

“Bullet of fire━━━”

Just like when Master was hit, a stone bullet came flying. Tristan ricocheted the bullet off nearby rocks, aiming for my thigh. My vision blurred. The pain nearly made me abandon the incantation.

“Daring to interfere in a ‘man’s’ duel… you’ve got some nerve. Even gods shouldn’t interfere in a man’s fight. And to challenge me knowing my strength… it’s irrational and unbecoming of a ‘mage.'”

It hurt. My mind was fading, and the incantation felt like it would break. If I give up now… hell no. This kind of pain is nothing. The cold corpse of Master, the indifferent gazes of others, my father who never cared, the strained relationship between my mother and father after Master’s death… compared to all that, this pain is nothing.

“Cut through the wind and advance.”

The bullet of fire shattered the stone armor the guy was wearing.

“Well done, Airi!”

Master didn’t miss the opportunity and kicked the guy in the ribs. The pain caused the stone arm he was wielding to crumble into dust. With that cumbersome arm gone…

“Horns of the Twin Thunder Dragons, pierce the enemy!”

The twin dragon-shaped lightning severed Tristan’s right arm and pierced through his chest. No one could survive a spell like that.

“Thanks to your disciple, you’ve saved your life, Archmage. Can you still call yourself a ‘man’?”

The guy was still alive. He regenerated his stone arm and stopped the bleeding from his severed arm. But blood was still flowing from his chest, though he didn’t seem to care.

Master ignored him and spoke.

“To get up after taking that… are you, by any chance, like that bastard Felinoir with some special constitution?”

“No.”

Tristan adjusted his slightly crooked sunglasses and said.

“This is the ‘grit of a man.’ Did you think I’d stop just because my arm was cut off and my chest was pierced? Did you think I’d stop proving myself over something so trivial?”

“Ever since earlier, you’ve been spouting nonsense about being a ‘man’ and proving yourself…”

“Think whatever you want. I don’t expect you to understand, Archmage. Even for a ‘man,’ expecting understanding from someone whose life I’m about to take is too greedy.”

“What now? I have no intention of dying.”

“Good. When mutual understanding fails, we settle it with a life-or-death fight. That’s what a ‘man’ does.”

“Ah, so you’ve forgotten the means of conversation?”

“I have no more conversations to have with this rotten world. And since tricks like that can be interrupted… let’s pick up the pace.”

With that, the guy stood up and fired stone bullets again. This time, he ricocheted them. The bullets bounced at high speed from all directions, making it nearly impossible to predict when they’d strike. Of course, Master focused on the sound of the ricochets and dodged by a hair’s breadth… but the ricochets kept coming, relentlessly targeting Master’s body.

And it wasn’t just the bullets.

“Seems you’ve forgotten about my arm, Archmage.”

The irregularly flying bullets from all directions, and the stone arm that could kill in one hit—it was impossible to dodge everything, let alone attack. If only those rocks around us weren’t there… but Tristan isn’t a fool. If I destroy one rock, he’ll immediately counter.

Earth magic boasts the highest durability among all magics. With my current strength, destroying all the rocks in this area at once is nearly impossible.

“… But who cares about impossible?”

If I gave up because something was impossible, I wouldn’t have regressed in the first place.

“Bullets of fire…”

“Another cheap trick in a ‘man’s’ duel…”

“Cut through the wind and advance.”

I didn’t need to destroy all the rocks. I’d already identified the key rocks responsible for the ricochets. So… destroying just those would be enough.

Thanks to that, the ricochets stopped, and I managed to seal one of Tristan’s moves. But a problem arose. I was so focused on the attack that I didn’t notice the stone arm he swung.

*Whoosh!* The sound of wind being cut, followed by a heavy impact, enveloped my entire body.

“Airi!”

“Master, don’t come closer. If you rush in, you’ll just get hit again.”

Tristan was furious. Good, that’s what I was aiming for. What made this guy truly terrifying was his calmness and composure. Even with the bullets he’d fired earlier bouncing chaotically in all directions, he’d calculated their angles in advance and moved accordingly, pressuring Master.

“Archmage, you’re truly pathetic. You couldn’t even save one weak disciple…”

“Shut up, you damn bastard!”

“The weak can’t protect those they love. The weak just cling to corpses and make promises they can’t keep. The weak don’t deserve to be called ‘Master.’ The weak don’t even deserve to have disciples. Young and powerless Archmage… you don’t even deserve to be called a ‘man.'”

Master seemed shocked.

This bastard…

I spoke in a voice only he could hear.

“Then you’re not a man either.”

“What…?”

“Now I remember… our Master is someone who would risk their life to save me… but you’re the heartless Master who let your disciple die. The one who’s not a real man is you. Why don’t you cut off your lower half and die already?”

I succeeded in provoking Tristan’s anger even further.

“Archmage, today you will lose everyone dear to you. Your disciple will die by my hand, and your fiancée will die by my comrade Kay’s. Watch helplessly and blame your own weakness.”

“Ha, what a joke. You think Glacia would die so easily? That woman would cut her way out even if a dragon swallowed her. And Master is the most talented…”

“Who decided that standard of talent?”

“Huh?”

“I will deny and prove everything. Even if it means denying magic, the world, and the gods!!!”