Chapter 217 : Chapter 217
Chapter : 217
Even as he prepared the sealing magic, Evan could not help but question whether this was truly the right choice.
For a man who had once feared nothing in the world, the one thing that now frightened Evan Lisitoel the most was the situation his absence would bring.
As long as Iris Viden existed, he could not coexist with her.
Evan made his decision without hesitation—and acted accordingly.
Still, he worried.
‘If I am not there… will you blame yourself?’
More than anything, he wondered whether the adults stronger than you would truly try to protect the children.
It would be a relief if they did not simply try to use them.
The fact that everything after the seal broke had to be entrusted entirely to others weighed heavily on his mind.
He was no longer the arrogant Evan Lisitoel of the past.
He trusted the faculty who stood alongside him in the Academy—and above all, he trusted his son.
But once the seal was lifted, he himself would likely be little more than a burden.
After all, he would have poured every ounce of his mind into maintaining it.
Iris knew that as well.
Despite all the uncertainty, Evan felt strangely calm.
“It will be fine.”
It felt as though his wife, long gone, was whispering to him.
He could trust them.
No—he trusted his son.
He trusted the son who resembled both himself and Serena.
And by nature, a mage was one who prepared for everything.
Evan had his own contingency.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to call it a safeguard he had arranged in advance.
The pendants he had given to Theo and Lewen.
Those would surely become the hidden cards that could turn the situation around.
With that belief, Evan was able to devote himself fully to maintaining the seal without worry.
“Though I would rather not see it happen.”
Evan muttered, but Beatrice—who had ruptured her own eardrums to evade attacks—could not hear him.
Her expression seemed to ask, What are you saying?
Unbothered, Evan continued his quiet monologue.
“If the pendant has been broken, it means you were pushed to the brink of death.”
Theo resembled Serena in his recklessness, but he was not the type to waste a critical key without reason.
A pendant capable of rewinding the world’s time by five minutes.
Even for Evan, it was an artifact beyond easy creation—a treasure among treasures. Theo knew that as well.
That was why Evan trusted he would not use it lightly unless he had truly judged the situation to be impossible.
He must have held onto it until the very end, only to be forced to use it in the worst possible moment.
But Evan was a mage.
When he created the pendant, he had inscribed a sigil onto his own body, storing mana within it.
The moment the pendant shattered, the sigil would vanish as well—releasing the stored mana into his body and immediately allowing him to cast awakening magic.
If Theo had been driven to the point of using time magic, then it meant Evan’s absence had become critical.
A decision that might seem arrogant now proved its worth.
Even across a separated space, the instant the pendant broke, the stored mana surged into Evan, revitalizing him—and his awakening magic activated.
He still looked exhausted, but he was no longer in a state where he could not even move a finger.
If anything—
“More irritating than I expected.”
Evan muttered flatly.
Mana gathered at the tip of his staff, and from the air itself, a blazing red spear formed and pierced straight through Ouroboros’s body.
“KYAaa—!!”
The serpent’s body twisted violently.
Iris had claimed it would not be difficult to kill—but that had been a lie.
You lied to me again! Again! You wretched human!!
O God, why do you love such creatures?!
As Ouroboros writhed in agony, Evan’s expression only grew colder.
“Hey.”
Evan made a small gesture.
A faint healing spell shimmered in his grasp, and sound—previously lost—returned to Beatrice’s ears.
“This is just me venting my frustration at Ouroboros.”
Casting healing magic while bombarding the enemy with attack spells.
Healing magic was notoriously delicate—one misstep could result in harming allies or healing enemies instead.
Yet Evan showed no hesitation. If anything, his calm demeanor as he spoke only made it more infuriating.
“Shouldn’t you be denying that it is venting?”
“I cannot vent it on you, after all.”
At his blunt reply, Beatrice answered with a grim expression.
“Well, thank you for that.”
After a brief silence, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Now that she thought about it, it was fortunate the target of his frustration was not her.
If he had blamed her for failing to protect the children, she might have felt unfairly treated.
“How is your condition?”
“The worst. I do not think I have ever been this physically ruined.”
And yet he was suppressing Ouroboros with apparent ease.
Well, Evan Lisitoel only ever showed mercy to his students and children.
The reason he had never acted against Iris until now was solely for the sake of his former student—the Emperor.
Iris had been a necessary evil to maintain the Empire, and Evan had acknowledged that, choosing to look away.
Had he known it would come to this, he would never have made that choice.
“She is not my student—and there is no reason to show mercy to a monster that seeks to devour the world.”
A perfectly valid statement.
How could a single person be this reassuring?
The suffocating despair Beatrice had felt moments ago seemed to vanish entirely.
“You are the best, Evan.”
“Subdue it quickly. Then we enter the space.”
He could not leave the children—Theo and the others—to face Iris alone.
A pure white light gathered at the tip of Evan’s staff.
Using the spear lodged in Ouroboros as a marker, divine magic struck it, and the serpent writhed violently.
For a being cursed by the gods, divine magic was devastating.
“Lady Freya of the Doctrine Blade.”
Evan called her flatly.
“Yes—yes!”
Though she knew there was no need for honorifics, Freya instinctively spoke formally.
Despite the rumors of his terrible personality, his overwhelming power forced respect from her.
Ignoring it, Evan continued.
“If we are to eliminate Ouroboros within one minute, I will need that blade.”
“My blade?”
“Yes. Lend it to me for a moment. In the meantime, pour mana into this staff.”
With that, Evan practically shoved his staff into her hands.
Startled, Freya grabbed it with both hands.
The moment she did, an immense pressure bore down on her, nearly stealing her breath—but she managed to maintain the spell.
What is he planning?
Her question was quickly answered.
Evan took her sword and charged straight at Ouroboros.
Watching him, Beatrice muttered under her breath.
“…Ah, he is really angry.”
Evan had picked up something he should not have.
Realizing that something truly dangerous had just been unleashed, Beatrice silently prayed for Ouroboros’s soul.
“Count Belphiar? What do you mean by that?”
“Lady Freya, just focus on maintaining the staff’s magic.”
If the binding magic in the staff were to break, then it would not be Ouroboros who needed prayers—it would be Freya.
At the chilling tone, Freya tightened her grip.
She did not know why, but holding that staff suddenly felt as heavy as holding her own life.
“Have you ever heard of the Black Tempest? It was quite famous about twenty years ago.”
“Ah… I remember.”
A mercenary clad in black robes, his identity hidden, once famed across the Empire.
Why bring him up now—wait…?
“The Black Tempest was—”
“Evan himself. By the way, it is one of his embarrassing pasts, so be careful bringing it up. You might get hit.”
Beatrice added lazily.
---
The Black Tempest.
A legendary mercenary once known throughout the Empire.
But the fact that he had disappeared twenty years ago—and that he was actually Evan Lisitoel—was impossible to believe.
Freya stood there, stunned.
“Come to think of it…”
The timing of Evan becoming a professor matched perfectly with the disappearance of the Black Tempest.
Yet no one had connected the two.
Because Evan was the Empire’s greatest mage—while the Black Tempest was its strongest mercenary.
No one could imagine a single person reaching the pinnacle of both magic and swordsmanship.
“…Is Count Evan Lisitoel even human?”
As she maintained the magic, Freya realized something.
Would anyone ever surpass his magical achievements?
Even if such a mage could wield a sword moderately well, it would already be astonishing.
But to be the strongest?
Even Pell, blessed by the gods, could not achieve such a thing.
It was as though he had been deliberately crafted into a perfect being.
“This is ridiculous!”
At Freya’s outburst, Beatrice laughed.
She agreed wholeheartedly.
If you excel at magic, you should not be able to use a sword well—and if you excel at the sword, you should not excel at magic.
Yet that man lacked nothing.
That was why she had competed with him, envied him—and ultimately respected him.
“Beatrice. You seem to have time to talk.”
“Not at all!”
She snapped back immediately.
She clicked her tongue. Enough talking—there was work to be done.
If she spoke any longer, she would surely pay for it later.
Beatrice focused on her magic circle.
Her task was clear.
The fourth modification of the sealing magic.
She would fix the limitations using Evan’s inscriptions.
She would remove the restriction that only Academy students could enter—and support Theo’s side somehow.
That was the goal she had to achieve.
It was not impossible.
Satisfied as she saw Beatrice concentrate, Evan looked down at the serpent writhing beneath his feet.
“So, you dared to target my life.”
Ouroboros writhed.
God, why do you turn away from me?
I only wished to have your love for myself!
Ignoring its cries, Evan swung his sword lightly.
“Then die.”
With that indifferent sentence—
SCHK.
Ouroboros’s head separated cleanly from its body.
It was a death so effortless that it was hard to believe this was the same monster that had overwhelmed dozens of Inquisitors alone.