SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar



Silence.

Pure decorum filled the entire aerial expanse as all the members of the Hero Party gawked at Legris emerging from the pillar of multicolored light.

How was that even possible?

That attack was a one-hit kill move which required the combined energy of all four members of the Hero Party to accomplish, and its energy consumption was also nothing to sneeze at.

Even if it was reasonable to expect some enemies to survive that attack, none of them could do so without sustaining at least some form of injury?

So how? How was this man not harmed in the slightest as he casually proceeded out of their attack?

At this point, everyone began to feel the same thing Zephyr felt when his blade shattered.

The ever-growing hold of FEAR.

It wasn't just because he had survived two surefire attacks in a row, but also due to the current state he was in.

Disgusting black energy, like a fine mix of tar and thick lack smoke, began to leak from his body. It felt so disturbing, unnatural.

The spectators found themseles trembling despite the confidence they had displayed not too long ago.

"W-what are you…?" 

No one knew who uttered the question, but they all agreed with it. This man before them couldn't be human, or any other reasonable entity.

He was different! They could feel it down to their soul.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" They all screamed at this point.

However, Legris did not even respond to their question. He only had a smile on his face as he slowly raised his hand.

He pointed at one of them, Drun. The way his pale finger was directed at the Dwarf… it felt oddly malevolent.

A single gesture caused the previously loud man to quiver in fright.

"You… I'll kill you first."

Silence once again seized the moment, causing everyone to widen their eyes as they interchanged glances between Legris and Drun. 

Then…

"I won't le—"

~FWISH!~

A dark line of energy surged from Legris' finger, instantly traveling from his position to the target's location.

The darkness, without mercy or consideration, pierced Drun's head, crushing all the defenses he had set in place—both with his armor and Magic.

In that instant, all of Drun's insides were corrupted by the single piercing line, and his brain corroded at once.

All of this happened within a single moment, and so the only thing everyone else could see was the thin line that proceeded from Legris… and the destruction of their friend.

~SPLAT!~

Like someone exploding from the inside-out, Drun's darkened body completely erupted, sending his body parts flying in multiple directions.

His blood, his gory insides, and his tattered flesh… everything found their way away from each other, like fireworks of death.

By the time the group of five, now four, realized what had happened… their eyes turned bloodshot.

"A-ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Screams of pain, sadness and fear, all at once, echoed in the air.

A longtime ally and friend had just perished in the blink of an eye, and now his remains clung on their body, stinking like rotten flesh mixed with the most despicable odor imaginable.

It overwhelmed their senses, causing the mourners to enter a frenzy.

"So noisy…" Legris' whisper caught all their attention as they turned to him almost instantly.

Their faces, previously reminiscent of calm experience, had now transformed into primal savagery.

"YOU… IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" 

Energy roared from all of them as they targeted their grief towards the rightful target—the malefactor himself.

~VWUUUUUUUUUUSSSSHHHHHHH!!!~

Power rushed through the air like an unstoppable current, and the entire space began to tremble as a result of the power being displayed.

Climbing higher and higher, the energies of the aggrevieved friends reached a climax. 

No, it even surpassed the climax! 

They all prepared their bodies and strenghtened their resolves, forgetting the fear and terror they had just experienced.

They only sought revenge, justice for their fallen friend.

Power rushed, and they commenced their charge, the heavens shattering in anticipation for the overwhelming force.

Any more and—

~SPLAT!~

~SPLOOSH!~

~SPURT!~

In that one second, the remaining three members of the Hero Party met their end the same way Drun did.

Their bodies exploded into bloody bits, leaving nothing left but gory remnants that reeked of rotting blood and death.

The only surivor, witnessing the instant deaths of his four friends, was Zephyr.

"H-haa… haaa…?"

His widened eyes couldn't believe what had just happened.

All of them—his friends that left their grand lives of adventure so they could all spend the next day in celebration—were dead.

He was certain that when they left their homes, none of them had thought that they would die today.

Even when they sensed danger and rushed to his aid, their demise must have never crossed their minds.

Zephyr wondered just when they thought they would die during th exchange.

He couldn't think of any moment.

He… even he had never once thought of a scenario where he would die.

"Haa… haa…"

So why? Why had his friends died despite all the plans they had for the next day? Why did this man take them away from this world?

As the questions surged through his mind, he lifted his gaze to look at Legris Damien.

He thought that perhaps he could get the anwers by looking at the face of his friend's killer. 

However, the face he met was not what he expected.

It was not a face with a motive, as one who desired something from the deaths he wrought, neither was it one of malevolence, as with the Demons he fought so long ago.

No… it was none of that.

"Y-you…"

The only thing on this man's face was emptiness. 

Absolutely nothing.

There was no motive to decipher, no malevolence to be seen. He had no justifiable reason to do what he did, but he did so anyway.

"... Who are you?"

At the sound of the question, the empty monster before him finally smiled.

His darkened eyes glowed with something Zephyr couldn't quite explain. It reminded him of the time when he was still in the womb, a moment he couldn't quite remember.

It was… absolute nothingness.

"Who am I?" Legris Damien muttered, almost in a chuckle.

Silence occupied their midst for a moment, until he answered the question.

"I am the end."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Once again, we are greeted by the sheer despair that Legris brings.

But where there is life, there is hope!

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/yMPNRURZJh