The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board-Chapter 421

Eorian lay beneath the Darkness Dweller, motionless. The moment his invincibility faded, his life snuffed out.

Eorian let out a thin breath, "Finally… Free…"

"Eorian! Protect me! Protect…"

Thud…

[You have defeated Eorian, the Forced Guardian.]

[Eorian's power has returned to Maradum.]

[Maradum awakens a new power.]

[You have obtained additional rewards.]

Whir—!

The black pillar retreated somewhere.

Thud.

Seol descended through the gate Eorian fell from.

His indifferent gaze clashed with Maradum's despaired eyes.

Crack…

Another fissure appeared on the Stone of Time held in Maradum's hand.

"Th-This can't be! I'm an almighty Magician!"

Light erupted from the Stone of Time, the beam shooting straight toward Seol.

Whoosh…

Seol slipped past the beam, and then…

Slash—!

Severed Maradum's arm.

"AGH!"

"I was aiming for the stone…"

With a single move, Maradum's current situation became clear—he would die before he could even count to ten.

"You inferior beings… How dare you… defy me!"

Just as Seol was about to raise his sword for another strike, Maradum unleashed his final desperate move.

[Maradum used the charged Calamity to trigger a Catastrophe.]

[Maradum used Time Cocoon.]

[Maradum is protected by the power of time.]

[Time Rupture will soon activate.]

Whir…

An eerie blue light swallowed Maradum whole. Everyone there marveled at the light's beauty as if oblivious to Maradum's attack.

Bzz…

Just as Seol was about to unleash a slash toward Maradum's location.

"Stop! Seol, leave this to me."

"What…?"

WHOOM…

Maradum's magic activated.

"Everyone, stop."

[Maradum used Time Rupture.]

[Everything that has a will is frozen in time.]

[You can resist it with your will.]

Fwoosh—!

As the blue light exploded, everything froze as if it were a photograph.

Objects and living beings alike—those with wills struggled to resist Maradum's magic.

Although they couldn't move their bodies, they were able to briefly maintain their consciousness.

'Why did he stop him…?'

'Just why…'

Everyone thought that as they lost consciousness.

A few moments later…

Twitch…

Swoosh…

Twitch…

Swoosh…

Crack…

Crackle…

Ur's frozen body started twitching.

And then, he took a step forward.

In a world where time was frozen, and everything hung suspended around him—Ur moved.

The reason he stopped Seol's attack was justified.

After all, forcibly destroying the Time Cocoon could cause chaos in the timeline.

If that happened, they might end up wasting a few months trying to recover the coordinates of the Star Graveyard.

Of course, he didn't have enough time to explain the details, so all he could do was tell Seol to stop.

Still, it was fortunate that Seol had listened to him and stopped his attack.

It wasn't that Seol's method was wrong. In fact, it was mostly correct.

If it weren’t them facing Maradum, that choice would have been correct.

And they would have wasted many months here, thinking they had chosen the correct option.

After all, they wouldn't know the other way.

However, Ur did.

A way to return without wasting unnecessary time.

Crack…

Crack…

Like a snail trying to reach its destination, Ur slowly inched forward.

Everything had stopped: Maradum, his companions, the world. Yet only Ur was able to move when nothing else did. Why him? Why now?

If Maradum's consciousness still remained, he would have agonized.

After all, the white-haired monster was slowly closing the distance between them.

Creak…

Creaakk…

Ur wasn't moving his body himself—it was the mana surrounding him, the frost forcing his body to act.

Ur was like living mana itself.

Even if you lined up all of Pandea's Magicians, only Ur would probably be able to pull off something like that.

He was someone beloved by mana.

- Let's do it, Magician.

There was still quite a distance between Maradum and Ur. Yet, Ur was confident he could reach him.

Regardless of whether this was possible or not, Ur had chosen an unbelievably difficult path simply to save time.

Ur was that kind of person.

Perhaps the word mysterious wasn't a word meant for the Stone of Time, but for Ur.

Swoosh…

Maradum's pupils seemed to shift slightly. Perhaps he was still conscious.

- I know you're watching, Magician.

Ur was certain of his victory.

- Watch me defeat you.

Crack…

Craacck…

The human surrounded by frost advanced relentlessly.

But only for a moment.

- Damn…

Creak…

His body stumbled.

Ur realized something had gone wrong.

- This consumes more mana than I thought…

He'd reached Supreme-rank, but he wasn't in perfect condition.

This wasn't about his rank, but a simple matter of numbers.

To put it precisely, Ur was practically naked.

He was wearing clothes that could only serve as garments, not proper equipment befitting his status.

He was the epitome of arrogance.

That was the problem.

- I need to think of a way…

Ur pondered.

A great Wizard can always find a way.

He'd done everything alone since birth.

He had never genuinely cooperated with anyone. Even when he occasionally helped Seol, it was always for his own sake.

- I need to replenish mana…

Mana…

Mana…

There wasn't any mana here that Ur desired.

Maradum, the Calamity Magician, besides him being able to use time magic, was unremarkable—at least in Ur's eyes.

- No, there is…

There was still a hot mass of mana nearby. To Ur, who could see mana, his mana felt overwhelmingly hot.

- Seol…

Creak…

If he squeezed out all the mana he had, he might be able to reach Seol.

And if he took over Seol's body to advance…

No, that wasn't it.

- That wasn't the way…

He couldn't reach Maradum that way.

Think.

He had to think.

Ur, the Supreme Wizard.

- Ah…

He remembered.

And he despaired.

The method he thought of was something he had never tried before—and never wanted to.

But in this situation, he had no other choice.

- Will I be able to do it?

Could someone like him share half of himself with someone else?

Ur hesitated.

But yet, he had to.

After all, someone who bore the name Ur had to always win.

Crack…

Craacck…

His hands rested on Seol's shoulders.

- Seol, can you hear me?

There was no way he would answer.

No matter how strong one's will was, it couldn't surpass Ur's. Even Ur felt like he would lose consciousness to the flow of time at any moment.

- I never understood anyone. That includes you, Seol.

He hesitated.

As far as he knew, this method only worked when both parties relied on each other.

He didn't know Seol's heart, and his heart was firm.

- I just thought you were lucky. You somehow got lucky, crawled into Alcatron, and reached and took me.

Ur's muttering continued.

- Somehow, you luckily gained power and survived. Somehow, you broke through every hardship you faced, got lucky and grew. Really, somehow… you achieved everything I wanted as if trying to show off.

Ur paused for a moment and despised himself.

- Yes, it's nonsense. Such luck doesn't exist anywhere in this world.

Swoosh…

A chill emanated from Ur's palms.

- It's been quite some time since I met you. I still can't understand you. Perhaps I never will, but…

Swoosh…

His hands moved to Seol's back. And from then, a change began.

- Now, I respect you.

FWOOSH—!

[You enter the Night Crow form with Wizard ‘Ur, the Frost Storm’.]

[You absorb Ur, the Frost Storm’s stats.]

[You lack synchronization.]

[The state is unstable.]

…

Crack…

The internal synchronization with Seol was insufficient, and it felt like he would be thrown off at any moment.

An immense energy erupted from Ur.

- Don't make me laugh. I just have to analyze it.

[Ur, the Frost Storm’s Wizardry activates.]

[Ur, the Frost Storm, deciphers the Exceptional Skill.]

[Exceptional Skill deciphering in progress.]

…

The mana raged. But only for a brief moment.

…

[The Exceptional Skill has been successfully deciphered.]

Whoosh…

Whoosh…

Unlike the sharp or angular forms of other Night Crows, the form Ur took was somewhat blunt.

Their body looked as if it had been made of clay. Even the fluid-like body undulated in a constant flow.

Guoo…

A blue chill continuously emanated from its eyes and mouth.

Ur thought this form might be the closest to magic.

[Your class is changed to Wizard.]

[The shadow hands are transforming.]

[You are able to use Frozen Truth.]

[You are able to use Wizardry.]

[Your Spell Power has increased.]

[Your mana has greatly increased.]

[The mana recovery rate has greatly increased.]

- Hey, Seol, can you hear me? This feels a bit…

However, no answer came back.

Ur was used to being alone.

- Well, anyway. Leaving that aside, this mana…

The mana Seol possessed far exceeded Ur's expectations. He had a monstrous well of mana that made him wonder if he'd devoured a dragon.

Seol was someone equipped with incredibly rare gear. How much effort had he put to amass such an amount of mana?

Crack…

Craacck…

One deliberate step at a time, the Night Crow advanced toward Maradum.

The steps were still awkward but better than before.

- Time magic really should disappear from this world… This doesn't make sense.

Even though he was overwhelmingly stronger than the opponent, he couldn't easily go against the flow.

While thinking they were truly bothersome beings, Ur reached Maradum's Time Cocoon.

He placed his hand on the barrier.

[Ur, the Frost Storm’s Wizardry activates.]

[Ur, the Frost Storm, deciphers Time Cocoon.]

[Skill deciphering in progress.]

…

As if even his skill was slowed down by time, Wizardry took longer to finish.

No, it wasn't just time that was being consumed.

- Ugh… To think it would also take the mana.

Ur's magic was already running low, and Seol's mana had been wasted from conducting numerous tests on Eorian.

Because they weren't in top condition, their mana was running precariously low.

[Skill has been successfully deciphered.]

And then, the moment the cocoon opened.

Thud…

An intense mana shockwave flowed from Maradum.

It was a magic trap set in advance for the moment the cocoon was released.

He wasn't expecting it at all.

- Ugh… Damn it…

Ur blamed himself.

For the first time in a while, the word 'failure' crossed his mind.

This was a mistake.

A fatal one with no room for excuses.

When facing a Time Magician, one needs to concentrate more than usual. An absolute focus and overwhelming skill were the only ways to deal with them.

But just now, focus had momentarily slipped away from his grasp.

He was going to be thrown off.

If that happened, he would either die or wither forever—no, that was the worst outcome, and Ur would find a way.

The problem was that even if he found a way, it would be after an era had passed.

He remembered the long time he'd spent locked inside Alcatron.

- I don't want that…

Ur's ominous premonitions were always right.

Thud…

His spirit was about to be thrown off the Night Crow.

But just at that moment.

Whir…

Something sucked him back and settled him back in place.

- What…?

Whoosh—!

The Night Crow's eyes turned blue, and a more powerful energy wave flowed from their body.

Pif…

The sharp hand severed Maradum's remaining arm.

Ur simply watched the entire process.

- Seol… So you hadn't lost your consciousness.

Whoosh…

Whether it was Seol's final struggle or not, the blue light in the Night Crow's eyes soon faded.

- What a mysterious guy… Are you saying you still have more experience than me?

The one thing that defied his expectations.

It was Seol's existence.

And here, another thing that defied Ur's expectations happened.

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Thud…

Roll…

The orb fell from Maradum's grasp and slowly rolled away.