The Book Eating Magician Chapter 364:

Chapter 364 - Final Evolution (1)

Kukukukukung!

The earth under the sky was torn apart . A shockwave emerged from the space where the Unprecedented God-Sword had cut, and the ward protecting the castle shattered like thin glass .  The same was true for the enemies lurking in the castle .  A few managed to dodge a direct hit, but the numbers inside Cheonju Castle were reduced by nearly 80% . The monsters, which were hard to kill even with the right magic, died instantly in the aftermath of the incident . It was as if a violent earthquake had occurred as buildings collapsed and remnants of dead monsters flowed down .

“Ah . ”

One more swing could wipe out the remaining 20%, but Theodore didn’t do this . No, it was more correct to say that he couldn’t do it .

‘I somehow succeeded in combining the Heavenly Sword with the great magic, Abraxas . . . ’

However, the fatigue that came immediately afterward was several times more than the ultimate magic .

Kukukung . . . ! The earth shook below him as he staggered in the sky .  The blade, which had soared to the stratosphere, fell vertically . It was no wonder that magma sprang up since the sword had penetrated a few kilometers below ground and thinly cut into the mantle .

The castle collapsed in two pieces with a loud sound . In the meantime, Theodore didn’t lose sight of the dwindling variants . There was one whose momentum became stronger rather than weaken .

“My aim was a little off . Even so, I didn’t think he could survive that attack . ”

The aftermath alone caused changes in the earth . Looking at all the monsters that didn’t survive . . . Theodore himself would’ve avoided the attack if it had been coming for him . The god-sword, Heavenly Sword, and the great magic, Abraxas—the combination of these two was enough to shake the world .

Kuoooooh―!

Nevertheless, the variants that survived in the castle soared into the sky . With wings that resembled a bat’s and a body that resembled a tiger’s, the variants were monsters that couldn’t be called a species . Despite their broken bodies, they could fly hundreds of meters at a time . These monsters could treat wyverns as their prey if their physical condition were normal .

Memorize .

Theodore didn’t miss the monsters’ unguarded moment .

Ice Magic: Diamond Dust .

Compound Magic: Lightning Vortex .

No Attribute Magic: Force Cannon .

Three types of spells were cast in an instant . A snowstorm, a lightning storm, and bullets of pure energy poured out of the sky . The monsters were first frozen by the blizzard . Then they fell due to the lightning, and their bodies were turned into beehives . Of course, their breathing ceased .

“Their vitality is amazing, but I can’t acknowledge anything other than that . ”

After a few deep breaths, Theodore slowly descended to the ground of Cheonju Castle . He cared about neither the corpses of monsters nor the variants that stepped back as he walked . They realized that the person before wasn’t prey and that the relationship between prey and predator had been reversed .

[Huhahahaha!]

At that moment . . .

[How exciting . A foreign shaman! It isn’t enough to cut Cheonju Castle apart . You have to exercise magic powers to stir up trouble! I don’t know who the monster is!]

“You are?”

It was different from the other monsters . Theodore read the humanity mixed up in that laughing tone . In this situation, only one person came to mind .

[It isn’t possible for a visitor to come to this Cheonju Castle without knowing me . Maybe it is because my appearance is so different!]

“You use the imperial I/we . ”

[That’s right . I am the feudal lord of this Cheonju Castle, King Zhouyan . ]

Power could be felt from his exposed bones, and he had skin that looked like a rice paddy and scales that covered his face . However, the dignity in his body couldn’t be hidden .  He was a person who received the worship of all people in the empire, who ruled 32 provinces on behalf of the emperor . King Zhouyan, one of the eight feudal lords, sat on the throne . Of course, Theodore’s god-sword had broken the throne, but he still looked quite imposing .

“You didn’t lose your sense of self . ”

[Do you think that someone who carries of the name of a king will be someone else’s puppet…? I want to shout, but this is my limit . ]

“Can you talk?”

[Before that, get rid of these wastes . I can’t concentrate when they are around me . ]

The variants growled at the king’s words .

Grrrr . . . .

Kuhuhuhu . . . !

They looked quite impressive with their horribly distorted faces and muscular bodies that were holding onto knives and chains . These variants were different from those who didn’t know how to fight .  Theodore realized the reason and spat out, “A yaksha? It is a shame that enforcement officers who judge evil have fallen to this state . ”

If they were yaksha who were responsible for the punishment of sinners, their combat instincts would’ve awakened .  Unlike the others who lacked rationality, their instincts were still alive as the yaksha looked around . They looked ugly, but they couldn’t be happy about becoming Lust’s minions .

Kyaaaack!

‘I will kill them quickly . ’

In order to avoid the god-sword, they had to be faster than the speed of sound .  Moreover, they had powerful bodies that could even threaten a master class person .  A sword master’s winning percentage would drop to half or less if they had to deal with more than a dozen of the yaksha, and they were difficult to defeat in one blow with a great magician’s firepower .  

Therefore, Theodore stretched out both palms . He had never used it in practice before but now was as good as ever a time to use it .

Fire Magic: Inferno .

Ice Magic:  Blizzard .

Wind Magic: Gust Tornado .

Ground Magic: Gravity Bound .

Four elemental spells emerged from both of his hands . A person would be called a great magician if they could cast just one of these spells, let alone four . It was an astonishing sight, but this was from the point of view of a magician who went by common sense .  They were fools who didn’t understand the relationship between attributes .

‘It is time to transcend common sense . ’

Just before the four spells burst against each other, Theodore’s Sorcery intervened .

Coexist in harmony—it was neither a harmony that enhanced the power nor a forced harmonization that forcibly combined conflicting attributes .

It was a waste to put these four elements together in the shape of Abraxas just to get rid of the yaksha . Therefore, Theodore came up with a different application—Elemental Cluster!

The yaksha were sucked into a vortex of four elemental spells . A heat wave, cold winds, a storm, and a gravity phenomenon occurred independently in one space .

The vortex burned, froze, tore things apart, and destroyed . It was absurd, like an iceberg floating on top of magma . This was a scene that never could’ve happened with the normal laws of physics .

■■■■―!

Nevertheless, it pierced through .

■■■■■■■――!

The yaksha couldn’t stop the violence of nature itself . With half their limbs torn off, the monsters were turned to charcoal . Theodore had read this ending from the beginning .

Kakiing .  With Soul Calibre in his right hand and the Heavenly Sword in his left, they crossed in an ‘X’ shape .

“ . . . Sigh . ”

This was the end . The yaksha spasmed one last time before they finally stopped moving . They had been reborn as imperfect beings and died challenging a transcendent .

[Fantastic!] King Zhouyan clapped loudly . [The double sword is the romance of all men . In fact, it is actually weaker than one sword, but I don’t think that is the case with you . ]

“In the end, it is about the user’s capabilities rather than the weapon . ”

[Hahaha! You are absolutely right . Now, we are ready to talk . I don’t have a lot of time . ] King Zhouyan laughed like the conversation with Theodore was interesting and got up from his seat . The throne was broken, but neither of them cared because there would be no further use for it in the future .

King Zhouyan wiped away all the laughter from his face and said, [I was born with great blood and tried my best to watch over thousands of people . ]

His dry tone might be his way of hiding his true heart . [I killed my loyal servants and people with my own hands, making them the prey of monsters . I have tried to stop a few times, but I can’t do anything about this cursed body . ]

“It isn’t your sin . ”

[It doesn’t matter who holds responsibility . I carry the name of the king . Since I couldn’t prevent this tragedy, I became a deadly sinner . ] Guilt, hatred, and a desire for revenge filled the eyes that were looking at Theodore .

The king had a tortoise’s shell and a dragon’s head .  With such distinct characteristics, it was rare for humans not to recognize it . Thanks to Seimei, Theodore remembered the details of the top species on the East Continent . Spirit tortoise, one of the four axis beasts and a symbol of longevity—it was a higher species comparable to a divine creature .

[Please . End this life before I tell you everything,] the king said, putting down his pride .

Theodore responded to this request, “Yes . ”

Shortly after that, the king who turned into a beast confronted the magician .

 

*     *     *

 

Kururung! A slight thunderous sound was heard .  

However, it wasn’t magic . Instead, it was from the dark clouds that came to wash away this **** earth . Theodore looked up at the sky where one or two raindrops had started to fall from, before looking in front of him again .

[ . . . Cough . ] 

The tortoise’s shell, which was harder than a dragon’s scale, was shattered . The king knelt down while bleeding from the dragon’s mouth . At the end of his life, he finally regained the freedom of his body .

[Behind the imperial family . . . The monster, who is acting behind the scenes . . . in front of us, talked . . . ] The hatred grew stronger as his voice faded . [ . . . You . Great one… nutrients . Obediently serve him… die like a lowlife . And, you . . . a few words about you, too . ]

“Tell me . ”

[This… world, last transcendent . Perhaps you, being watched… from the moment I met you . ]

Theodore knew it as well . There was a gaze licking at him from a distance that couldn’t be measured .  It was surveillance that had started from the moment he attacked Cheonju Castle . Perhaps Lust had read his attack from behind the eight feudal lord’s eyes . Otherwise, the response wouldn’t have been so quick .

[Please… careful . You… Birth of evil… have to stop . . . ] Until the end, King Zhouyan was concerned about his kingdom as his eyes stopped .  

It was great that he could speak despite his heart being torn and his body burned . This was a feat only possible because he was a top species .

“ . . . Rest easy . You have fulfilled your duty . ”

It was a horrible-looking body, but Theodore didn’t turn away, watching the king to the very end .  Then Theodore moved his fingers, and earth assembled around King Zhaoyan, creating a grave . He couldn’t give the king a proper funeral, but he didn’t want the body of King Zhouyan to be used for anything . Just as Theodore was about to fly back into the sky . . .

“Tch . ” He felt dizzy, and his feet were shaking .

‘I consumed more power than I expected . I didn’t know that such an enormous presence would appear, and the fight took longer than expected because I didn’t want to kill him immediately . ’

The other variants were unknown, but King Zhouyan was a species similar to a divine creature . Having used ultimate magic and then the god-sword, it was natural that Theodore couldn’t hide his fatigue . Among the Japanese troops, only Shuten-doji, Tsuchigumo, and Daitengu might be strong enough to win .

“It can’t be helped . I will take a short rest before going . ”

Then he decided to have a conversation with Gluttony .

“Gluttony . ”

-I know what User wants to ask .

“Yes, King Zhouyan’s will . What does he mean by ‘birth’?”

It was a lightly spoken question . At the most, a strong mutant would be born . This was what Theodore thought . However, Gluttony didn’t answer for a while .

“ . . . What?”

Theodore felt the weight of the silence and was about to ask one more time when the grimoire sighed .

-The advent of a demon—it is the starting point of the disaster .