VIP Chapter 425: The Charm of Magic
“Has no one ever told you that stopping time can only be used for defense, evasion, and elimination?”
Iaarel’s eyes widened as she looked at Will. He wasn’t as “depressed” as before. Even though his eyes couldn’t see the giant dragon before him, he raised his head and “firmly” looked at Al.
“There may be nothing else, but… on Iaarel, ‘time’ has an extra thirty seconds to be allocated.”
“Therefore, Iaarel will definitely be able to do it. During the gap when the opponent is focused on attacking, use these ten seconds to complete the magic array.”
It was Will who provided the solution to her, who had confidently proposed a complex but impossible solution at that meeting. It was the Young Master who, as always, came up with strange ideas on the battlefield but always hit the enemy’s weak point.
In the ten seconds that just stopped for the second time…
Iaarel tightened her grip on her shield. She wasn’t a speed-specialized fighter, but even so, even though she was casting spells until she was drenched in sweat, she had to complete the array floating above Al’s head. Above the Fire Dragon, which couldn’t be reached in the frozen sky.
Iaarel tilted her head up forcefully, straining her eyes to the fullest, staring intently at the sky that seemed to be stuck to its back. The sky here was forever frozen at the moment just before sunset, but Iaarel looked upward from the Fire Dragon’s back. She forcefully planted the “flag” of “Ice Array (Attack)” in the most precise spot. Then, she welcomed the ice-blue sky that belonged to her.
“During your third attack, when you were focused on offense, Iaarel paused time. She completed the meticulously unfinished corner of the magic array that you didn’t detect as a threat.”
Iaarel’s ears twitched. One part of it was surprise. If it were during a peaceful stillness, it would be easy to sense the stopping of time, because the “cold air” that had to be produced during that process was particularly easy to perceive in warm weather. This would be very difficult during combat. Yet, Will had also sensitively discovered that she had stopped time. Although she couldn’t see Will’s eyes and couldn’t discern his expression, her sensitive ears could tell… The Young Master was now… extremely, extremely, extremely happy. It seemed like a very, very long time since she had heard him this happy. Although it was just a small “idea” during a battle, and she was the one who ultimately implemented it, the Young Master, realizing his plan had come to fruition, was indeed “smiling.” Every word was “smiling.”
Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
Looking at Will like this, Iaarel felt her breathing and heartbeat gradually calming down.
“…Understood. It’s a good tactic that can truly deceive me. You didn’t focus on magic, but rather on trickery. Rather than a Mage, it’s a very traditional ‘Adventurer’s’ approach.” Al’s voice seemed to carry a hint of “disappointment.” It seemed to have expected some super magic far beyond her imagination, but the conclusion it reached was that it was somewhat uninteresting, like a trick it should have known.
“I’m truly sorry to disappoint you, the great Mage. If everyone could develop magic on the spot and create amazing things, humans wouldn’t be stagnating and stagnant as they are now.” Will couldn’t empathize with this kind of “genius.” Of course, he also believed that this person, who had the genius of five hundred years ago within her body, couldn’t empathize with him either.
“You think such a thing is impossible, do you?”
“To conjure new magic on the spot and respond directly to the current environment, how could…”
Will’s words were cut short. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel a strange sensation transmitted from underground, like the fetal movement beneath the ground. It was like the tremors before a volcanic eruption, bringing with it magma and something strange. But… He felt the true temperature of fire coming from in front of him…
“Young Master—fall back!”
“Ice Array (Attack) · Ice Shield.”
However, in the time between Will speaking and reacting, Iaarel had already more keenly sensed something was wrong. The first thing she did was deploy the ice shield in her hand, aiming it at Al before her. It blocked the magma and flame attack spewing from its mouth, protecting Will behind her. Of course… she noticed that Al’s attack was not aimed at the “harmless” Will. It was indeed aimed at her. With the momentum to destroy her right here. But… why could it still attack?! Under the descending ice-heaven, Al’s flames should have been suppressed, and at the same time, it should have depleted a lot of its magic while in the air. Unless…
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t intend to attack this gentleman, but this ‘new magic’ has too wide a range. If you don’t want to die here, you can step further away.” The flames didn’t stop, but Al’s voice came from before them. Its vocal organs didn’t seem to rely on its “mouth,” and even though it was constantly spewing flames, it didn’t prevent it from “chatting” with them.
The intensity of such flames was manageable for Iaarel. She was calculating how to advance and how to deliver a fatal blow while Al was on the ground, until she discovered… she couldn’t move her feet.
“What?!” Iaarel propped herself up with her shield and lowered her head to check what was happening at her feet. Then, she saw something that even she found extremely strange—scorching magma wrapped around her feet, like binding chains. If it were anyone else, at this moment, their feet would likely have been burned or even severed. But… Iaarel’s excellent ice armor and it had reached a perpetual balance, as if calculated beforehand. The magma, instantly frozen by the ice armor’s low temperature, trapped Iaarel firmly here. She couldn’t cancel the ice armor, or she would be injured instantly. But if she didn’t cancel it… it meant she couldn’t break free from the chains either. The surging “magma” and her ice shield formed a remarkably harmonious “balance,” and under this balance… she was trapped in the opponent’s restraints, at least for now, letting herself be at their mercy.
“From the sky to the ground, am I truly defenseless? Rather, from ancient times to the present, the ground on which you stand has always come from fire and magma, and will eventually turn into ashes within fire and magma.” Al explained the “principle” of all this in a majestic tone. But to Iaarel, it seemed like mere “arrogance” from a magic genius. As long as it wished, it could cast such magic anytime, anywhere.
“Feel it, this is the charm of magic—”
“The endless possibilities of this world, coming from rules, history, and the future—”
At the same time, drawing new flames from the ground, Al’s next wave of flames struck again.
