Chapter 251 - Episode Forty-Eight - The Collector (18)

The collector kicks up in the air and jumps up.

The black light covering the collector changes shape and becomes like a dragon, spreading its large wings of light from the tip of the collectors shoulders.

The collectors body is now completely fixed in midair.

The collectors figure blurred back and forth, left and right, in multiple layers.

At that moment, the Ortem and Lapides Sword moved between me and the collector.

Eh

Five Consecutive Bahamut Roar!

Five huge blue slashes made a number of cracks in the crystal scaffolding I was standing on.

The slash that should have barely hit me was caught by the Lapides Sword with its blade, from the other side, the World Tree Ortem physically suppressed when I was about to be hit.

I could prevent it, but the blade of the Lapides Sword became tattered and decayed.

D-Did I just get attacked just now!?

I couldnt make out any movement at all.

I think I need to change the shape of the Lapides Sword and also keep some defensive Hydeem Magimetal on hand.

Fuhahahahahaha! Wonderful, what a wonderful power! But Ive seen that long range attacks are not enough to defeat you! Defend yourself with all your might, and Ill decide next time!

The black magic armor that covers the collector becomes even stronger, and the collectors body floats even higher into the sky.

You say youre coming in close, but youre going to keep your distance?

No. He should have moved away to gain momentum.

Im sure hes planning to swoop down and finish me off at once.

A slash with magic power alone is this powerful.

If you get that stupid distance and directly hit me with your self-admonition sword, it could wipe out the entire foothold in this crystal.

Id like to counter it somehow, but the most instantaneous firepower I have is Levis spear.

However, in this space, normal teleportation magic cannot be used

The reason why Altamir can interfere is probably because she has done research on this space and developed specialized magic.

The collectors Ravenous Dragons Tool Bag is one that creates a subspace inside, so it would not be subject to this restriction.

Its not easy, but the only way to avoid the attack is to hit the falling collector with the Abel ball and use Hydeem Magimetal to create a foothold.

I cant predict at all how much damage that thing will take, but if I bide my time, there will come a time when the effects of Amrita will wear off and he wont be able to withstand the recoil of the self-admonition sword.

Huh ?

The image of Levi spinning his palm at high speed flashed through my mind.

W-Why!? Was it because of that flimsy warding!? Isnt the power of the spear supposed to take precedence over any other magical interference? Return to my hand!

The power of the spear takes precedence over any other magical interference.

If that is true, then it would be effective in the singular dimension as well.

I was once able to interfere with it with my wards, so its not very credible, but its worth a try.

I raised my arm in the air and put magic power into the summoning mark of Levis spear on the back of my hand.

The summoning crest began to glow, but I felt a strong repulsive force and the spear did not appear. As I put more magic into it, the light swirling in the distance in space the vortex of chaos becomes deeper and more distorted.

That can work?

Hmph.

When I put a lot of magical power into it, a big mysterious spear entered the entire space, and a huge blue shining holy spear, Levis spear, appeared in front of me.

What, so you can do it!

The summoning mark of Levis spear is different from the normal summoning mark.

Basically, summoning and teleportation are the same kinds of magic, but its hard to say that Levis spear is the same as normal teleportation magic.

I guess it was not caught by the regulations.

Ill have to ask Altamir about this again later.

Transmute

I quickly chanted a spell and formed a magic circle, creating a huge arm made of Hydeem magimetal to hold Levis spear.

When I put magic power into the back of my hand, Levis spear glowed and shone in conjunction with it.

Lets go, Abel! I, with this blow, will carve my name into the end of the myth!

The collectors excited voice echoes.

It looks like its about to happen

If the collision occurs on this side, the repercussions will be severe. Ill let it go as soon as possible.

There.

I pointed my finger at the sky, and the magic metal arm moved in tandem with it.

Levis spear shot into the sky in a straight line of light.

True Bahamut Roar!

A black mass of light the collector descended from the sky with great force.

It collided with the light from Levis spear.

At the point of impact, the sky turns black and the ground Im standing on turns white.

With a tremendous sound, the cracks in the space spread rapidly, and red liquid spread.

As the number of red liquid increased, it mixed with the black and white, flooding the space red.

I-I was told that this space is not something that can be destroyed.

I was so dazzled that I covered my vision with my arm and slightly averted my eyes to see the figure of the collector.

In the light, I could faintly see the collector with his sword outstretched. The collector was slowly but surely being forced to retreat before the power of the spear.

The self-admonition sword shone brighter and brighter in response, but Levis spear still had the advantage.

In addition, in proportion to the increase in the shine of the sword, the body of the collector, starting from the arm holding the sword, whitened, and the skin itself seems to be collapsing.

Tha- That is!? Why, why is Levis spear here! What, what the hell is happening!?

The collector screamed, inching back.

Thank god I think I can handle it

But its not absolute.

Its not impossible that the collector will revert things from here.

Its not surprising that he still has some strange magical tools hidden away.

Maybe I should use double chanting.

I waved my wand and conjured up a magic circle.

At the same time, the eyes of the World Tree Ortem beside me lit up, and a magic circle almost identical to the one I had conjured appeared in midair.

Flame, form, ball

I recited the spell, and the World Tree Ortems mouth is twitching as it mimicked my voice and recited.

Flame, form, ball

This is the ultimate move of the Marren tribe, double chanting.

It was sometimes called the Ortem Call.

With this, even magic that requires complex concentration can be effortlessly deployed in parallel.

The fire is compressed by wrapping it in a spherical ward, and the magic power is inherited inexhaustibly.

This is probably the last time Im going to be able to do this, so I wont have to spare any magic power.

Looking at the collectors state, a little bit of it will not do any good damage to the collectors body.

I pointed my wand at the collector, who was fighting the spear inside.

The two Abel ball was shot at the Collectors defenseless abdomen.

Impossible! Two cups of Amrita and the self-admonition sword Cudlarg have given me power equal to that of a god! Answer me, Abel! Where did you get this spear Hm?

The collector saw the two Abel balls in his side and glared at me with fear in his eyes.

A-Are you a fool! You cant do that! Cant you see that I already have my hands full! This much is enough now!

The two Abel ball pierced through the collectors magic armor and gouged his body wide open.

The self-admonition sword, which has lost its support, flies to the end of the Altamir space. Then Levis spear, with nothing in its way, pierced the collectors chest.

Levis spear flew in a straight line and eventually disappeared from sight.

The collectors body plummeted as if it had been knocked off by Levis spear.

The collectors body was completely whitened and hardened like a sculpture. It dispersed in the air and turned into many pieces, which turned into powder and drifted in the space.

However, the collectors body, which was barely connected to his head, shoulders and waist, gradually regained the color of flesh and blood, and the body was reconstructed.

Oh youre still alive

Thats the power of Amrita.

However, Amritas excess life force may have finally run out, and the collector looked sluggish and bloodless.

However, the collectors body fell to the end of the space chaos place.

I held up my wand, and the collector, looking exhausted, controlled it with his hand and waved his arm.

I remembered that among the collectors magic tools was a sword that ejected a chain of blades. I guess hes planning to use that to get back to us.

The collector held out his empty hand toward me.

Ahhhhh, It is my loss Ill keep my promise Hm?

What are you doing?

Naturally, the collectors body collapsed and he fell down.

For a while, the collector just let himself fall, but then he started struggling, flailing his arms in panic.

W-Why!? Why is that!? Why is it that the Ravenous Dragons Tool Bag is not working!?

Transmute!

I hurriedly waved my wand and smelted some ivy made of Hydeem Magimetal and dropped it on the collector.

The collectors arms grabbed the metal ivy, and the collector clung to it, breathing hard.

W-Why is that Is it because of the reaction of Amrita and Cudlarg, or is the magic in bad shape ?

Then he looked down, a look of astonishment on his face.

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!?

The collectors movements completely froze as he let out a scream that was a mixture of sorrow and surprise.

The breakdown was so brilliant that I thought he had forgotten how to even breathe.

I followed the collectors gaze and stood on the edge of the crystal, looking down.

Ah

Below the collector, I saw more and more glittering treasures falling and being swallowed up in the vortex of chaos.

There were golden swords, crowns and other more humble items that looked to be of little value.

A shield with a grimoire, a map of some kind, or an austere crest that looks like it belongs to some royal family.

A great number of treasures were falling. Together with it, there was even the sword that ejects chain. There was one, but it was swallowed by the vortex and quickly disappeared.

I suddenly thought back to the figure of the collector who had been pierced by the spear.

At that time the magic of the collector with the self-admonition sword in his hand and the magic of Levis spear, and then theres the Ravenous Dragons Tool Bag, which is sandwiched between two Abel ball, may have created a hole in it.

And after that, the collectors heart was gouged out clean and then regenerated. It had been completely cut out of the body.

W-What a waste

I bit my lower lip as I stared at the treasure being bottled up in chaos.

The last fragment of the Ravenous Dragons Tool Bag is probably in there too.

Collector, youve done a hell of a job.

Collecting all the treasures in the world and then illegally dumping them all into the vortex of chaos.

This would be a historical loss on a global scale.

Considering that there were several history books and grimoires, there must be many past histories and sorceries that have become forever unknowable at this moment.

Its too bad.

But the shock to the collectors is probably far greater than mine.

Its hard to blame him.

I think the first thing to do is to comfort him.

A-Are you okay, Mr. Collector? But, look what the collector was looking for was not a treasure, but a sense of accomplishment. So, what can I say, I hope you keep up the good work.

My treasure, my treasure! Mine! Its mine, you know!

The collector kicked the metal ivy and jumped down into the chaos.

I hurriedly manipulated the metal ivy and wrapped it around the collectors body.

Please calm down! Something good will happen to you if you live!

Chaos is a phenomenon without a will. You cant just tell a phenomenon to give it back to you.

Even if you were to yell and hit it, your body would just be blown to pieces and sent to another space.

Dont stop me! You, what are the likes of you know! That thing, that thing is all I have, all I am! Dont stop me!

Youll only die if you jump!

Then kill me! It took me 300 years to collect it! And on top of that! If you look around the world, how many treasures are there that are worth more than the one that just fell Aaaaaaaah! Im not going to be able to make up for what Ive just lost with a hundred years of life, now that Amrita is gone! Kill me!

In the midst of the wailing of the collectors, the last of the treasures, the Vase of 100 Karma, fell.

There was something desperately striking the inner surface of the jar from the inside, shaking it violently with a bang, but the jar did not falter.

It was bottled up in the chaos and disappeared.

As I pondered how to comfort him, I noticed that the colors in the space were changing rapidly, and the chaos vortex was getting stronger.

The collapse of the space was beginning in earnest.

In addition, the cracks in the crystal from the previous battles were growing larger and cracking, and the crystal was being swallowed up by the sea of chaos from one end to the other.

O-Oh no ! Mr. Collector! This place is going to collapse! Weve got to do something, something to stop this Come on up for now!

Kill me!

No, Im not getting through to him.

As I was panicking, I heard a noise from behind me as the crystal collapsed.

I turned around and saw that it was Altamir.

Her shoulders were shaking, and she was glaring at me with tears in her eyes.

Altamir-san! Just in time buoh!

She floated up to my face and punched me in the cheek with her fist.

Since the battle was already over and I had turned off the World Tree Ortem and Lapides Sword, I was hit as normal.

She mounted me as I fell and cried out.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah! What did you do!? You, what did you really do!? Uwaaaaaaaaaaah

Plea-, please calm down! I dont know what youre talking about, but Ill apologize as much as I can later, so please hurry and take me back to the tower!

That tower! It just collapsed without a trace due to the magic wave that leaked from the dimensional distortion!