Volume 7, Chapter 48 – Antlers, Eyes, and Chaos?

“Hmm?”

Mana was consumed, yet Fia felt no sensation of successful spell activation. She frowned. Normally at such times, she’d have an intuitive sense of connection to a destination beacon. But now, there was no response, and no telltale blue light of teleportation magic appeared around them.

Could teleportation magic not be used deep within The Abyss?

Fia’s brow furrowed. Beyond a certain depth in The Abyss, elements and magical particles vanished from the air, rendering ordinary people unable to cast spells—a primary reason those who ventured in never returned. For some unknown reason, however, just as she could freely use magic within the Royal Castle’s [Citadel of Silence], she could still wield the World Tree continent’s magic even at the bottom of The Abyss. Given that, teleportation shouldn’t be restricted…

Wait.

Fia suddenly realized the problem.

She activated teleportation via a magic tool obtained from the Witch Hall. She could bypass the world’s restrictive rules, but the tools of this world could not. That was likely why the teleportation failed.

What a nuisance.

Maintaining [Wind of Exploration] and [Magic Perception], Fia scanned the high-mana individuals hidden within the Chaos sea below. There were five more entities like the one that had tried to harm Anastasia moments ago. Like herself and Claire, they were special types.

Specifically, they appeared as none of the rainbow colors in [Wind of Exploration], and the flow of elements within them was extremely bizarre. Under her detection magic, Claire registered as an ordinary 1st-tier, indistinguishable from a normal person. But when she switched to [Magic Vision], Claire became an outline shimmering with silver light.

As for the powerful entities hiding in the Chaos, in [Magic Vision] they appeared as shapeless grey masses. [Wind of Exploration] offered a clearer view: their bodies held only 1st-tier mana levels, but their eyes blazed with red light, surpassing even Ruth’s tier, who was extremely close to the 9th tier.

Ninth tier—at least that eye was ninth tier.

Fighting while protecting Anastasia would be a handicap. But if she flew back up above The Abyss, used teleportation to send Anastasia to Claire, and then returned… The round trip would take at least five minutes, more than enough for these Chaos to flee.

A binary choice.

Fia swiftly made her decision.

Returning meant facing the constant threat of a 9th-tier Chaos ambush. Eliminating the enemy at its root would free her from that worry. The choice was clear.

She applied a fresh layer of [Aegis of the Firmament] to Anastasia and brought her even higher, over two kilometers above the Chaos sea—beyond the reach of ordinary Chaos. Nothing could approach Anastasia without her noticing. Still, considering the Chaos might use spatial cracks to appear suddenly, she shouldn’t stray too far.

“If you sense anything wrong or see something approaching, call out immediately, Anastasia.”

“And you, Your Highness?”

“Those Chaos that attacked you are right below. There’s no reason to let them go—!”

Her ears caught the sharp whistle of wind from behind. Without hesitation, Fia spun and threw a punch. Her delicate fist erupted with dazzling golden light against the wind, the glow of successive [Strength Boost] spells lighting up. The tremendous force even caused the very space around it to shudder unstably.

Whoosh.

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Her fist traced an arc through the air, hitting nothing. In response, Fia saw a black crack in the space behind her, slowly closing.

Identical to when those withered arms attacked Anastasia. These golden-eyed Chaos are the same ones.

Though the enemy failed, being ambushed twice in succession grated on Fia’s nerves. At that moment, another vortex formed in the Chaos sea below. This one, however, didn’t dip inward but surged upward.

[Wind of Exploration] revealed a humanoid Chaos standing at the center of the vortex, crowned with the antlers of a reindeer. On its forehead was a single massive golden eye occupying half its face. The other four antlered Chaos were scattered in the sea around it, like guards lying in wait.

Its approach wasn’t fast. It seemed less like an attack and more like an attempt at negotiation. Fia suppressed her urge to strike. While she had no intention of sparing them, learning why they targeted Anastasia would be useful. Letting them live a little longer wouldn’t hurt.

“Your Highness, they’re coming.”

“Mhm.”

Blue-purple [Lightning Spears] materialized one after another behind her. Fia waited calmly. Since Chaos couldn’t rise higher than a kilometer, the antlered Chaos had to detach from the sea and fly the remaining distance. Black mucus peeled away from its body in large chunks, consistent with Anastasia’s statement that “powerful individual Chaos cannot leave the Chaos sea for long.”

They can’t survive detached for extended periods.

As she reached this conclusion, the antlered Chaos arrived before her.

“Who are you?”

She went straight to the most critical question.

“Don’t play mysterious. I know you’re different from the Chaos below. You speak Ancient Elvish. No matter—if you won’t answer, I’ll make you talk my way.”

“Move… aside…”

The speech was painfully slow, like an elderly person’s, yet Fia detected an unquestionable tone. It wasn’t a request, but a command.

“Outworlder… not… target…”

Oh?

It even knew she was an Outworlder.

‘Outworlder’ implied ‘native’. Yet these Chaos had spared the native Pope of Milcandis, targeting only Anastasia.

With a thought, a deep blue spear formed from [Enchanted Blade] appeared in Fia’s hand. She casually hefted the spear, taller than herself, adopting a playful tone.

“Since you deliberately attacked Anastasia when I was absent, you must also know you’re no match for me. Unless you have an absolutely compelling reason to target Anastasia, why not just stand down and save yourself the trouble?”

“Obstinacy… leads to… regret…”

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“Regret? Two vague sentences aren’t enough for me to understand.”

“No use… talking further.”

Perhaps incapable of complex speech, or perhaps weakening from being separated too long, the antlered Chaos lost patience. Its previously half-lidded golden eye snapped fully open, and the same golden magic circle Fia had seen earlier shimmered into existence.

But this time, Fia was prepared.

[Mind Blast]

Few spells were better against casters than an instant-cast mental attack. As expected, the moment [Mind Blast] manifested, the golden magic circle before the Chaos’s eye winked out. Abandoning magic, the Chaos forming its humanoid shape surged forward, forming a shield-like barrier.

Moreover, the Chaos seemed to understand that mere chaos couldn’t block mental attacks. Its golden eye proactively detached from the body, plummeting vertically towards the Chaos sea below.

Fia wouldn’t let this chance slip.

[Mind Blast] was powerful, but one strike wasn’t enough to kill a 9th-tier entity. Her instant kill earlier was likely because these antlered Chaos were inherently fragile. Perhaps, unlike World Tree continent creatures who were well-rounded, they focused entirely on offense at the cost of defense.

Helian had once mentioned that the individually powerful Chaos never reached the 9th tier; they overwhelmed the Sovereign and its subordinates through sheer numbers. Plus, their eyes were glaringly obvious weak points—like a game designer highlighting a boss’s vulnerability.

With a thought, Fia commanded the [Lightning Spears] behind her to converge on the free-falling golden eye. The spears’ speed far exceeded the eye’s descent. Sensing danger, the eye deployed three magic circles inscribed with floating, profound magical characters. Fia could vaguely recognize traces of Milcandis Holy Script among them.

Faith magic?

Who cares!

[Lightning Spears] potent enough to cripple one of Helian’s arms rained onto the magic circles. Instead of explosive impacts, they sank into the barriers like raindrops into a pond, stirring ripples before vanishing. The massive [Flame Wheel] that followed blew apart the first magic circle instantly, but the second one the golden eye conjured successfully blocked the attack.

Impressive magical ability.

But my assault doesn’t end here. What I believe in is saturation bombardment.

As the flames of the [Flame Wheel] dissipated, the deep blue throwing spear hidden behind it appeared in the golden eye’s field of view. Even from hundreds of meters away, Fia clearly saw the eye’s pupil shrink rapidly.

That’s the look of fear.

The hurled spear carried no additional magic, yet its mere physical force filled the golden eye with heart-pounding power. The speed that made space itself tremble carried the scent of death. The power enhanced by triple [Strength Boost] was enough to tear it to shreds.

It immediately let out a screeching cry, panic-stricken, calling for its companions. But it was too late. The deep blue spear pierced the golden eye in an instant, carrying force sufficient to crater the earth, and crashed into the Chaos sea.

For a moment, it was as if a meteor had struck. The Chaos sea heaved with a massive wave worthy of being called a tsunami. A giant depression over two kilometers in diameter yawned before Fia. The violent tremors caused massive chunks of the World Tree continent’s cliff face to collapse. Even the other antlered Chaos hiding within the sea were tumbled in the cataclysmic waves.

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I’m not just a magic caster. Stacking physical enhancements alone is enough to surpass most spells.

In her [Magic Perception] vision, the pierced golden eye was rapidly losing mana. However, Fia frowned as the remaining four antlered Chaos took advantage of the chaos to rush to the golden eye. Each grabbed a part of it and, like starving people fighting for food, tore off a chunk and shoved it into their own eye sockets.

Cannibalizing their kin?

[Wind of Exploration] confirmed the four Chaos’s power levels had indeed increased slightly.

Revolting.

The attack didn’t cease. As a second blue spear coalesced, Fia locked onto the nearest Chaos. Dazzling gold shone around her hand as she raised the spear over her shoulder. Seeming to sense the danger, one of the four Chaos was already fleeing in the opposite direction. No time to delay.

Without hesitation.

The second spear was launched.

“Combine forces!”

Amid the roar of the tsunami, Fia caught the antlered Chaos’s shout. The one targeted by the spear directly abandoned its body, letting its golden eye detach just like its predecessor, narrowly escaping the spear’s impact. But this left it even more vulnerable, swallowed in the blink of an eye by the rising black giant wave and plunging into the depths.

Simultaneously, black spatial cracks appeared around Fia. The three antlered Chaos vanished from her direct view, reappearing to attack from above, behind, and the side.

However, their speed, which might seem a blur to others, was almost laughably slow to Fia’s perception. She had time to distinguish between the three.

Even among the antlered Chaos, there was division of labor: one used magic, one a shield bash, and one a spear thrust. The magic-user was even chanting in Ancient Elvish.

Chaos that chant spells… truly novel.

“Magic prowess alone… is nothing to fear!”

The first to reach her was the spear-wielder, its weapon condensed from Chaos and inscribed with unfamiliar magic characters, radiating intimidation. Fia simply blocked the thrust with her [Aegis of the Firmament]. Though a magic circle flickered at the spear’s tip, it only produced a dull thud against the barrier.

At the same time, Fia manifested an [Enchanted Blade] in her hand. The sword-shaped weapon sliced straight towards the shield-bearer dropping from above. Like the spearman, its massive descending shield bore magic characters, its rapidly oppressive feeling enough to make one suffocate—but to Fia, it was just one slash.

Like a hot knife through butter, the shield was severed effortlessly. Then, the shockwave of [Mind Blast] slammed directly into the Chaos. The shield-bearer was even frailer than the first ambusher; it exploded without even a screech.

Seeing the futility of attacking Fia, the magic-user swiftly changed its target to Anastasia higher up.

Fia gave it no chance. [Airflow Control] combined with [Flight], and she was behind the caster in an instant. She didn’t stop, flashing past it. The [Enchanted Blade] that had severed the shield sliced horizontally through the caster’s head. A second later, the upper half of its eye slid off, revealing a smooth cross-section before Fia. Black plasma sprayed wildly as the eye rapidly shriveled.

Losing two companions in moments, normally the remaining spearman would think to flee. But the scene Fia witnessed earlier repeated: the spearman seemed possessed as it desperately rushed toward the caster’s severed eye. The golden eye on its forehead trembled violently, showing signs of unsteadiness.

Probably trying to consume its companion.

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Wasting no time, Fia observed that the spearman in its bizarre state wouldn’t react to her movements. One more slash ended it.

As for the Chaos that had dived into the deep sea trying to escape, Fia didn’t let it go. She charged [Ready Stance] for a full minute, then hurled the triple [Strength Boost]-empowered spear viciously into the Chaos sea.

The splashing black tidal waves nearly reached the hem of her skirt.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Fia thought she heard the Chaos’s final, hoarse words: “You will regret this…”, “The tide has turned…”.

Just words meant to delude the heart. If you say I’ll regret it, why not speak clearly?

Dismissing the antlered Chaos’s last words, Fia looked down at the [Enchanted Blade] in her hand. During the fight, it had proven more effective than magic, but that likely wasn’t solely due to the triple [Strength Boost].

Perhaps it’s related to the nature of mana.

Just as the Elf God, dense with Divinity, was resistant to magic, but helpless against my [Enchanted Blade] forged from my own mana.

Only by having Claire try as well could we confirm this.

Still, if I pose the greatest threat to them, why were they fixated on Anastasia? I don’t understand.

Too many incomprehensible points. Fia chose to shelve them for now and focus on solvable problems. She flew back to Anastasia, clapping her hands lightly, her expression relaxed.

“Alright, problem solved. Let’s test [Blessing of the Mother Goddess] and [Incinerating Fire Dragon] again. I wonder what [Hyper-computation] will turn them into when enhanced to the 8th tier.”

“Uhh…”

“What’s wrong?”

Noting Anastasia’s stiff expression, Fia tilted her head in inquiry.

Anastasia swallowed hard, clasping her hands together, looking extremely conflicted.

“Your Highness still wants to test magic… should I commend your mental fortitude? Most people would retreat first to report the situation…” ¹ come on… report to whom? Can anyone handle this other than the person in front of you? =v=

“Just a minor interruption. Reporting can wait until we return. Testing won’t take long. Just wait a moment, Anastasia.”

Considering Anastasia’s ability to handle this, Fia didn’t waste time. She turned to face the Chaos sea and began chanting.

“O starry sky that guides the lost—”