The Forsaken Hero

*Please Read the Author's Note before reading the Chapter*

I froze at her words, running through my memory until I recalled the spell. Dispel Magic was branded as a neutral spell, meaning it didn't have any particular attribute. It attacked the magic of a spell, disrupting the flow of mana and countering or destroying it. The unseen battle pitted the casters' souls against each other, meaning weaker mages were powerless before anyone of strength who learned it.

Although fourth-circle spells had a long cast time, I couldn't do anything against it. My Aegis spell was growing weak against the combined assault of Kirla and Niece, and I had to place all my concentration on maintaining it. It was incredible already; it had lasted so long against such strong opponents.

The Dispel Magic fell upon me suddenly, seizing control of my spells. In the blink of an eye, it found vulnerabilities in my magic, and tore them apart. The spell went through three of my spells, only running out of power when it clashed against the third-circle Fortunate Parry, which negated several melee attacks. As I tried to recast the Aegis, I encountered the secondary effect of Dispel Magic: a disruptive field. The chaotic maelstrom of rent spells was still dispersing, preventing me from using magic for a short while. It was only a few seconds, but that was enough for them.

"Fire Sword!"

I fell back as Kirla's sword erupted into fire. She advanced, slashing several times. Her cuts lingered in the air until the spell finished, then exploded into fire. While the Fortunate Parry blocked her physical attacks, the intense heat brought a cry to my lips as my skin reddened with blisters.

At the same time, a dozen magic arrows strafed the ground around me. They were created with wind magic, and faded away the instant they collided with something, but the damage was just as real. Flinging myself out of the way, I avoided most of them. A few scraped the edges of my body, leaving long bloody gouges in my flesh, and one pierced my bicep.

I stumbled back, trailing blood and fought to keep the tears from clouding my vision. The pain was great, but still manageable. Both attacks were exceptionally powerful, but also gave me an opportunity. As they recovered from launching the attacks, I felt the mana clear up around me and surrounded myself with an Aegis.

I was dimly aware that the pain was fading away. Surprised, I looked down to see the burns disappearing at a pace visible to the eye. The blood streaming down my body also slowed, although the serious wounds healed much slower. Was this the effect of Soltair's ability?