* * *

It was only a minute or so later that the ice thorns that covered Ergo’s flesh began to fail.

Tuk. Tuduuk.

The guts and flesh on the thorns melted away. The oozing flesh turned into a dark green mucus that soon began to wriggle and clump together. As all the flesh on the thorns melted away, the dense ice thorns gave off steam and slowly evaporated. The pieces of meat trapped in them melted away again, and the number of mucus clumps on the floor increased.

Of course, Cadel did not sit idly by as the slow recovery took place. However, even after being hit by a fireball, the mucus only spread for a while and then came together again.

‘Does that mean that the attack is not working during regeneration? That’s a scam.’

He clicked his tongue briefly and watched the mucus fueling the regeneration. The globs of mucus did not converge. Instead, they scattered, each one claiming its own territory. And when a certain amount of mucus had gathered.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

It began to transform at a rapid pace. It bubbled and puffed, rising and falling with its growing size. Six masses, each one asserting its presence by sucking up the tiny droplets of mucus around it.

Fortunately, the disgusting scene, which was like watching a tumor grow, didn’t last long. The mucus gradually took on a human shape.

Features were engraved along the rapidly growing limbs and neck. Like that, 6 Ergos appeared in front of Cadel and Lydon.

‘Is it cloning……. I can’t believe it in person.’

“Ahaha! It’s a clone, a clone! That’s fun! Why don’t you learn Cadel? The world would be much more fun with 10 Cadels!”

Cadel left the excited Lydon behind and examined Ergo’s clones. Outwardly, there was no discernible difference. He couldn’t tell which was the main body.

‘With so many, it’s going to be hard for Lydon to cast illusion.’

No, was it even possible for Lydon to cast an illusion? Many things were sealed, including his mana. If he didn’t have a clear target, the plan was likely to fall apart.

As if noticing Cadel’s concern, the corner of Lydon’s mouth quirked up playfully.

“Get ready to run, Cadel.”

“Have you already figured out what the main body is?”

“No! I don’t need to know.”

The movement of the pupils rolling under the closed eyelids stood out. After rubbing his eyes several times, Lydon slowly lifted his eyelids, revealing a clear magic circle engraved on the red eyes.

“Whether it’s the main body or the clones, I’m going to have to bewitch them all.”

It was a Lydon-like conclusion. He pushed the hesitating Cadel’s back lightly, blowing mana over his eyes.

No matter how well the illusion worked, he couldn’t be hidden. Lydon just showed an ‘illusion’ of Cadel standing still. So, in order to safely break through the 6 clones distributed throughout the area, a loud magic spell was needed to bury his presence.

[Fire Butterfly Dream]

Coincidentally, Cadel had a very suitable magic spell.

‘Duck under the explosion and sprint to the swamp. I will destroy the swamp while the illusion lasts.’

A flurry of fire butterflies quickly filled the wilderness. The soft flutter of their wings as they flitted from clone to clone. Six gazes followed the fire butterflies that flew before them.

“Now, Lydon!”

The illusion has begun.

* * *

A series of blasts rang out from all directions. A searing heat washed over him, making his skin crawl. Cadel darted out of the way of the pouring mucus.

‘I didn’t realize that even the clones could use magic……. If I don’t get rid of the swamp quickly, it’ll be harder to buy time.’

Six clones in all. Six Ergos were spewing mucus as fast as they could against the firepower of Fire Butterfly Dream, turning the ground into a scorching inferno that was terrifying to walk on, and making even simple running impossible without a barrier.

Sprinting through the smoke, Cadel flashed an impatient glare. He must get everything done before Ergo noticed. He was freshly regenerated, and he was distracted by Lydon!

Reaching his destination, Cadel ducked quickly. The near-black swamp reeked of a fetid odor that made him gag reflexively. Cadel held his breath, his mouth closed for a moment to keep from making a sound.

‘It smells so bad!’

The stench was so strong that it stung his exposed flesh and eyes. Barely swallowing his nausea, Cadel glanced across.

‘I can never destroy Ergo’s magic circle by scattering my power haphazardly. I must channel my mana directly.’

All the clones were turning their backs on the swamp. If he was going to hit and run for sure, now was the only chance.

Swoosh.

Cadel’s right hand was engulfed in flames. With a barrier on his hand, he plunged his right hand into the swamp.

‘Like when disabling the witch’s magic circle. Concentrate on detecting Ergo’s mana.’

Snatch the stems of fast-circulating mana and blow his own mana to break the flow.
In the endless swamp, Cadel could feel the flow of mana, dense and tightly woven. It would be difficult to reverse the mana circulation.

‘Mana detection itself is not hard. I’ll destroy it properly.’

Everywhere he stretched out his hand was mana. If that was the case, just destroyed whatever he caught.

The stem of mana that touched the condensed flame on his right hand was severed. The swamp, where the disintegration of the formula had begun, was bubbling and boiling. Cadel unsparingly poured his mana into the swamp.

‘A little more…… Just a little more……!’

The point was to destroy the swamp as quickly and completely as possible before Ergo noticed the disintegrating formula.

Sweat dripped like rain onto the swamp, but there was no time to wipe it off. His unwavering concentration did not allow for even the slightest blink of an eye or a quick breath.

Almost there. Cadel smiled with satisfaction, feeling his mana that covered half the swamp. If only he could twist the flow.

‘Okay, that’s it!’

He could surely destroy the swamp. So thought Cadel.

“Tsk tsk……. Lovely fairy…… Don’t use your precious eyes carelessly like that. They’ll crack.”

Along with Ergo’s displeased voice, Lydon’s short scream was heard. His concentration was broken for a moment.

Cadel’s gaze returned reflexively. There.

‘Lydon……?’

There was Lydon on his knees with both hands covering his eyes. Lydon curled up, rubbing his eyes in agony. Vivid blood trickled down his crooked fingers.

Cadel’s eyes widened at the sight.

‘Why does the blood…….’

Cadel didn’t know much about illusions. He didn’t understand how it worked, or the burdens it placed on the caster, so he didn’t understand Lydon’s condition at once.

‘Did he overdo it? Is it because his power is sealed? What the hell? What happened!’

The disintegration of the magic formula was still in progress, but in that state, the illusion magic could not continue. He could not leave the defenseless Lydon alone. Cadel pulled his hand out of the swamp and tried to retreat by reinforcing the barrier surrounding Lydon.

However.

“You’re stupid, so stupid.”

A long arm protruded from the swamp where mana had been injected until now. His ankle was grabbed unexpectedly. Startled, Cadel launched a fireball, but the mucus that immediately rose blocked the attack.

‘Ergo’s body……? When!’

Ergo rose slowly over the swamp. Cadel’s eyes shook as he twisted his ankle desperately. Since when had he been there? If the main body was hidden in the swamp during the creation of the clones, it meant that Ergo was hiding inside the swamp all the time Cadel cut off the swamp’s magic formula.

‘Why didn’t he stop me?’

Given a little more time, the swamp would have been destroyed. Cadel didn’t think Ergo didn’t know that, so why was he still holding on?

A flash of realization flashed through his confused, brown eyes.

‘He’s been waiting for Lydon to fall!’

Ergo was a demon. He was not only at odds with the fairies, but he had eaten them, so it was unlikely that such a creature would be unaware of the existence of the ‘illusion magic’. He knew the strain it put on a fairy’s body. That was why he had waited for Lydon to reach his limit.

‘When did he notice the illusion? When I ran to the swamp? Or did he notice the abnormalities in his bewitched clones? How did he…….’

What could be more hopeless than that? All their plans had been blown. They had been playing into Ergo’s hands from beginning to end.

The image of Lydon surrounded by clones was reflected in Cadel’s unsteadily swaying eyes.

“Lydon! Run away!”

Cadel shouted as he rained lightning down on the clones. But Lydon remained crouched, unmoving. Blood dripped from the palm of his hands that covered his eyes.

How badly did his eyes hurt? If only he’d been calmer, if only he’d looked at the situation more carefully. If he had paid attention to Lydon’s hesitation when he requested the illusion magic.

The sealed Lydon had all of his abilities halved. If Cadel had been fully aware of that fact, he would have searched for the main body first, slowly but surely, instead of accepting Lydon’s reckless choice.

Time and time again, Cadel thought to himself, this battle would be won by the one who could keep his composure longer. From the moment he rushed to destroy the swamp, the battle had already been won by Ergo.

“Dealing with lesser humans is boring as ever.”

Ergo’s body, which came out completely, hugged Cadel from behind. Fortunately, there was no acid in the mucus that covered Ergo’s skin, but the sensation of the mucus flowing down his body was terrible. Cadel gritted his teeth and condensed his mana.

‘I can’t just get caught like this.’

Cadel knew that magic cast at close range was tantamount to a suicide attempt. But he had no choice. If he was captured by Ergo, there would be no one to protect Lydon.

‘How long have I been a guardian?’

Simultaneous casting of barriers and attacks. All Cadel could do was defend himself as best he could and let his magic fly.

Cadel opened his eyes and created a fireball. The moment he turned around and tried to launch an attack toward Ergo behind him.

“Uuh uup……!”

Ergo’s damp palm covered Cadel’s mouth. An unidentified liquid flowed through his gaping mouth. The gooey, disgusting liquid filled his mouth in an instant.

Without giving him a chance to spit it out, Ergo clamped his nose shut. When Cadel was forced to swallow the liquid, Ergo let out a small chuckle as he released him.

“Uurk…… Uuegh……!”

Cadel, who was immediately clutching at his throat and gagging, nervously launched a fireball. Ergo, who dodged the attack lightly, smirked.

“What did you feed me!”

“Would knowing make you feel better?”

Fireball after fireball targeted Ergo, but he didn’t flinch, parrying every attack with his mucus.

“Tsk tsk……. Stop running wild, though. It won’t work, and it’ll only make you suffer.”

Ergo’s greedy eyes flashed. Cadel met his serpentine gaze, swiped at his mouth, which still tasted horrible, and spat.

“I don’t know what you’ve done, but you’ll never get Lydon. Reinforcements will be coming soon. You don’t seem to be in very good shape, but if you get out of here, won’t you be able to save your life?”

At this point, the safety of Lydon was more important than stalling time. Cadel had deliberately announced the presence of reinforcements, hoping to force Ergo to retreat. Being the cautious person he was, he could have chosen not to be greedy here.

However, Ergo narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t care at all. Moistening his lips with his long tongue, he pointed at Cadel.

“You, a human being, are concerned about the health of this body? You’re only as good as a clown. Feel it, child. Flowing through your body…… that terrible death.”

……Death?

Was he saying that the mysterious liquid he had fed Cadel was some kind of poison? There was a pause, but Cadel managed to keep a straight face.

‘It doesn’t matter if it’s poison, I have the antidote ready. I only need to take the medicine before the poison spreads. If the poison was deadly, I would have collapsed immediately. I’m still feeling fine.’

He couldn’t let his anxiety get the better of him and confuse his priorities. Right now, the most important thing was to get Ergo away from Lydon.

That was what Cadel thought, until a sharp pain shot through his body. A strange twisting sensation in his gut, followed by an unbearable feeling of nausea. Reflexively clamping his mouth shut, Cadel’s eyes hardened.

“Noww……. So, shall I move then…….”

Ergo slowly swept past Cadel’s side. Cadel was unable to move, even though he knew that the ever-distancing Ergo was aiming for Lydon.

His balance faltered on his weak body. Cadel, who had fallen to the ground along with his bent knee, let out a sharp gasp.

An unbearable feeling of nausea washed over him. Cadel’s chest heaved. His body heaved, threatening to spit out his insides, but he managed to gulp them down.

And.

‘Damn it…….’

Cadel’s face twisted into a grimace as he spotted the green mucus soaking the floor.