Chapter 119. Hero's Defiance
Analysis preceded action. One could not solve a problem without first understanding what lay underneath. Such was a fundamental principle that even an archmage had to follow.
Levi stared at the tsunami in silence, the world fading away as he focused solely on the formidable threat. Great gusts of wind swirled around him as his magic thrummed beneath his skin, condensing and layering over itself dozens of times in preparation. His grey eyes were wide and unblinking as he took in every minute detail of the wave.
A thousand meters tall. Untold kilometers wide. Billions of tons of water infused with ambient magic so dense and potent that it caused the very sky above and sea below to shimmer with an ethereal dark indigo.
Levi absorbed all this information in less than a split second, his magic coursing through his brain and accelerating his thoughts. The second time this week now. Not exactly the best for his synapses, but now was not the time to be concerned about burning through his neurons. He could deal with the consequences later. There were more important matters at hand.
This titanic tsunami had been generated by the cataclysmic magical backlash of the Dragon’s Leyline being partially killed. It was the world’s rage made manifest.
Levi drew in a deep breath. Despite his outward bravado, inwardly he felt a faint sense of apprehension. Stopping this tsunami would be an incredibly difficult task, even for him.
In his old life, Levi’s main task as Death’s servant had been to, well, kill people. His entire skillset was hyperspecialized for maximum lethality. Send him to cut down dark lords, grandmaster warriors, or eldritch abominations, and he wouldn’t bat an eye.
But this? This was a whole different matter.
Because how the fuck was Levi supposed to stop an entire tsunami? This was quite literally a natural disaster. An unbridled force of nature. He had never dealt with anything on this sheer level of scale before. He’d take fighting the Chorus and Devourer over this any day of the week.
Yet, he didn’t have a choice.
When it came down to it, he was the reason why this wave even existed. This tsunami was his responsibility, and as such, it was his obligation to put it down.
He couldn’t afford to fail here.
Thankfully, he had two important advantages on his side.
Firstly, emotions were one of the purest and most powerful sources of magic. The higher the emotional resonance, the greater the mana. And right now his emotions sang. Not from anger, not from desperation, though there was a little of both, but rather from the indomitable determination to save everyone depending on him. In response, his magic blazed like the flame of a hearth.
Secondly…
He had the System.
Ding!
[Class Passive: [I Need a Hero] is active! Current number of souls to save: 793,434]
His magic roared into a raging inferno. Levi’s expression set.
It was time to act–
Subconsciously, his eyes fell onto the number displayed on the System message. The world seemed to fall away. His pulse thundered in his ears.
793,434…
A small seed of doubt sprouted within his mind.
What if he was wrong?
What if his calculations were off?
What if he made a mistake, and as a result, an entire city was wiped out?
Nearly a million lives would be lost if he failed here. His existing kill count would virtually be doubled.
The same sin committed twice over…
What if the System was wrong about him after all? What if he was just doomed to repeat? Cursed to make the same mistake time and time again, in some cruel cosmic loop of fate–
“This isn’t like you.”
Levi tensed as Anastasia stepped next to him. Her white dress flowed around her in delicate ripples even as a warm golden light poured forth from her form.
“You’re forgetting something, aren’t you?” she said. “You think you have to stop this alone. But you’re wrong. Because we’re here.”
Levi blinked.
Then, a small, almost rueful smile spread across his face.
Once again, Anastasia had read him like an open book.
In his old world, Levi had carried out all his missions on his own. Death hadn’t been able to help him even if he’d wanted to, as he was forbidden from direct interference in the mortal realm.
But in this new world?
Levi had the System, yes, but he had something far more important.
For the first time, he had friends.
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It started as subtle concentric ripples in the air. Amidst the violent winds, they would be easily missed if one so much as blinked.
However, not a single person with even the barest shred of mana detection could miss the maelstrom of magic that suddenly burst into existence, crackling and roaring with unrestrained fury. The figure of Levi Ironwood stood at the epicenter, his grey eyes filled with an unflinching resolve as magic rolled off him in incredible waves. His cloak billowed and fluttered around him, the arcane runes stitched into the fabric coming alive with a vivid white glow.
A terrible pressure exploded into the air, so heavy it was like the sky itself had fallen down. The entirety of the Resistance felt something akin to a shadow of death pass over them, ghostly shivers racing down their spines. Were they not high-tier warriors, they might’ve passed out altogether. As it was, sweat dripped from their brows as they stood frozen in place, unable to move, unable to even breathe.
Within a few seconds, the air was so inundated with mana that, to a magical sensor, it would’ve felt like a new leyline node had just appeared. It was a truly unfathomable amount, so much so that it was difficult to believe that it had all come from a single human. Indeed, in that very moment, several members of the Resistance doubted Levi Ironwood was even human; perhaps he was some fae or high elf who’d taken on a convincing guise.
Before them, the cataclysmic tsunami surged toward them with unforgiving certainty. The world’s retaliation at having one of its vital arteries severed and extinguished. The slope was less than a few hundred meters away from the shoreline. Less than an instant from wiping out an entire city of a million lives.
Levi Ironwood moved.
In a split second, he shot into the sky, the black sand beneath him cratering as he rose hundreds of meters into the air. This high up, it was almost like he’d come face-to-face with the tsunami. Time seemed to stand still as he regarded the massive wave with an almost curious expression on his face.
Then, his grey eyes hardened. He raised both his hands, slow and trembling, as if he were resisting some tremendous gravitational force.
And he spoke:
“[Hero’s Defiance]!”
One of the [Hero] Class’s ultimate skills, [Hero’s Defiance] was the perfect crystallization of a hero’s selfless, selfish desire to save everyone, no matter the impossible odds. It was meant for a hero’s last stand, and as such it manifested as their single most important, defining technique.
So for the [Hero] known as Levi Ironwood?
How could it manifest as anything other than a storm of blades?
For Sever and Cleave was the first spell he had mastered.
For Sever and Cleave was the reason why he had attracted Death’s attention and became his faithful servant.
For Sever and Cleave was what had started his story all those years ago.
And now, Sever and Cleaves poured forth.
He asserted his will, and the accumulated mana in the air twisted and coalesced into the familiar shapes of his technique. Behind him, to either side of him, above him and below him, Sever and Cleaves materialized into existence, a wall of blades that extended from the black sands below to the swirling clouds above. The air became distorted from the shimmering translucent blades of pure mana.
For a moment, it was as though time stood still.
Then, Levi Ironwood brought his hands down in two descending slashes and unleashed the million Sever and Cleaves.
No. Not quite a million.
Even though the technique had been automatic, facilitated by the System, Levi somehow instinctively knew in his heart and soul how many blades there were. He didn’t know if it was a mere coincidence, or if the System had done it on purpose.
But there were exactly, precisely, 938,246 Sever and Cleaves.
One for every soul he’d slain in his final task.
The Sever and Cleaves blasted forward with astonishing speed, expanding outward as they streaked through the air. A thousand meters tall and untold kilometers wide, the tsunami crashed into the storm of blades. The wrathful ambient mana of the world against the unrelenting magic of an archmage. The two inexorable forces slammed into each other with a deafening roar, so loud and resounding it was like the sky itself was being sundered apart.
Water and mana strained against each other, each seeking to push the other back and neither giving a single inch. The wave thrashed and surged as the magical blades tried to carve into it with an earsplitting screech. For several moments, it seemed like it would be a stalemate.
Then, down below, the High Priestess Anastasia finished her holy prayer, head lowered and her hands clasped before her.
“–O Goddess, grant this city thy unceasing grace, allow no more ruin take root, and let the world’s rage be quelled with your undying flames!”
A High Priestess’s power tended to be largely variable, as they primarily channeled the Goddess’s holy power rather than their own mana. As such, the strength of their magic depended on the strength of their faith. With her high innate divine affinity, Anastasia had always been one of the strongest priestesses, able to wield and control a staggering amount of holy mana even on a normal day.
And right now, she was sustained by something more than faith.
Multiple conflicting emotions roiled within her.
Regret that the Church had abandoned the people of Yukihasa to their gruesome fates.
Determination to not let any more innocents die.
But above all, the simple, earnest desire to help a certain man realize a beautiful dream.
Her eyes snapped back open, revealing a brilliant emerald, and high above, the skies opened up, dark clouds parting to let a luminous golden light shine through.
And her voice rang clear.
“[Divine Flames of Salvation!]”
The light burst into flames, a colossal pillar of holy fire blasting down from the heavens and striking the tsunami in a divine conflagration. The golden flames burned hotter and brighter than the sun, and in an instant, it spread across the entire length of the tsunami, causing the water to instantly vaporize at the point of contact. Gigantic clouds of steam billowed upward and outward as the tsunami visibly began shrinking in size, the mana-infused water consumed by the divine flames.
A little ways behind Anastasia, a certain archdemon hissed and shied away, her face slightly paler than usual.
Anastasia paid her no heed. All her attention was focused on maintaining control over these hallowed flames. This was by far the single most powerful attack she had called forth in her entire life. Sweat poured down her face. Her skin was feverishly hot. In this moment, she was channeling so much holy mana that any normal priestess would’ve been instantly incinerated. Indeed, Anastasia felt like she was burning up, her vision blurring and her arms trembling.
Yet, she continued the attack.
For the scorching holy mana coursing through her was proof that the Goddess had heard her pleas. That she had sensed Anastasia’s resolve and in turn bestowed upon her an immeasurable amount of her power. Anastasia refused to let even a drop of it go to waste.
And so the flames continued blasting down from the heavens above as below the steadfast shield of Sever and Cleaves raged against the wave.
Perhaps if the tsunami only had to deal with one of the attacks, it would’ve reigned supreme.
But against the combined might of a hero and a priestess?
It stood no chance.
With a devastating groan that seemingly echoed through the entire world, the tsunami burst apart under the storm of blades, dispersing into a spray of fine mist as billions of tons of water rained down back to the sea below.
Through the mist, illuminated by the receding flames, shone the faint outline of a rainbow.