Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 238

#238. Lake of Memory (3)

As the giant fist flew towards him, crushing the water, the boy was left with an age-old question in his mind.

Does mana have life?

I’ve thought about it that way to some extent.

The colors and whispers of mana.

The texture and scent of mana.

For the boy, mana was a substance that could be seen, heard, felt, and smelled.

But if you ask me whether they are living beings that radiate life force like plants and animals, I can’t be sure.

So, right now.

─────!

Until I felt the intense anger radiating from the two jewels’ mana.

At that moment, the boy was able to have complete confidence that Mana was a being with self and emotions.

Also, I felt more deeply connected to Mana and spirit than ever before.

Be angry.

The hot breath you breathe out and the heated beating of my heart are no different.

The anger that the boy and the two jewels simultaneously felt resonated with each other, causing a violent synergy.

Woooo …

Mana from the two jewels ran through the boy’s entire body.

The first place we arrived at was the circle.

Three rings, each layered with yellow and green halos, gently wrapped around the other.

The ring’s mana sympathized with the rage held by the jewel’s mana.

They all started to vibrate at once as if the engines had started.

Also, the point of mana drawing the fourth ring increased its orbital speed like crazy, leaving a burning sensation in the chest.

The next target awakened by the mana of the two jewels was the mana of the spirits dissolved within the boy’s body.

The spirits’ mana, which had become close to infinite purity through countless refinements, also sympathized with the anger.

Woooo …

The boy’s whole body began to run along with the heat and excitement emitted by the jewel’s mana.

It was then that the ancient letters, rippling ominously, were engraved before the boy’s eyes.

[Get out of here.]

A crimson fist full of malice and anger was right in front of my nose.

At that moment, all the will of mana within the boy’s body became one.

───────!

A dazzling light bathed the entire lake in colorful light.

After a split second, a giant hand appeared where the light had cleared, clutching a crimson fist.

Strictly speaking.

The light was gone, it was impossible to tell.

because.

Because the owner of the giant hand was a giant whose entire body was made of splendid light.

The body was dominated by a mess of green and yellow hues, like paint.

All the other colors of light that existed were twinkling like stars here and there, each in its own proportion.

Although similar in height, he was the complete opposite of the shadowy, crimson giant.

[… … !]

The mana that formed the crimson giant rippled greatly as if revealing a nursery rhyme.

[I tried struggling…!]

The crimson giant swung his fist hard on the other side that was not caught.

But likewise, he was caught by the opposite hand of the light giant.

I tried with all my might to shake it off, but the hand that was wrapped around my fist wouldn’t budge.

Rather, beyond it.

Paat──!

The transferred multi-colored light began to instantly devour the crimson mana.

[what…!]

Embarrassment, confusion, fear.

Colorful mana symbolizing the withered emotions spread out in a hazy manner around the heart of the crimson giant.

However, all of those emotions were immediately covered by the crimson mana that poured in from all directions.

[How dare you! How dare you! There is no place left for you to return to!]

The malice and anger that was spewed out so roughly was mind-numbing.

The crimson mana that made up the giant’s entire body suddenly became poisonous and dark.

As if in response, all the crimson mana spread throughout the lake began to be rapidly sucked in.

Right into the heart of the crimson giant.

─Clang! Clang! Clang!

The crimson giant’s body absorbed mana and grew larger.

The face gradually became higher and higher, to the point where I had to bend my head to look up.

The fist also began to expand and break free from the light’s grasp.

But it only lasted a moment.

[You’re not the only one who can do this.]

All the other colored mana in the lake, except for the crimson mana, also began to be sucked into the light giant’s body.

The light giant grew in an instant, catching up with the crimson giant’s height.

The red fist that was about to break free was once again caught in the hands of light.

The growth didn’t stop there.

The waters of the lake began to form violent whirlpools, centered around the two giants who were growing infinitely larger.

[Goooooooo──!]

The mana within the vortex stirred.

They collided, bounced, jumped, scattered, shattered, and screamed.

In the midst of the chaos and commotion, two giants clashed.

The crimson giant tried to thrust his two sealed fists forward, and the light giant put all his strength into his two grips that held onto his opponent’s two fists.

[Why are you bothering me?]

[Because I feel angry towards you.]

A multicolored ball of light moved fiercely between his fist and his hand.

Light tried to erase the darkness.

Darkness tried to drive out the light.

The ancient, crimson letters swirled along the rough waters of the whirlpool.

[Go back. I warn you.]

[There’s no point in struggling.]

[You can’t stop me.]

[Don’t go back any further.]

The giant of light attempted to express his will by reacting to the old letters.

But then a vague image flashed through my mind.

That was the scene.

A scene where a rock deer with a body made of transparent water runs through the sky as if looking for someone.

The lake’s mana was being absorbed into the body, and Blue’s memories were being regenerated.

The giant of light concentrated his mind and recognized the chain of memories.

In a split second, I went back through countless times in my memory.

And the memory we face at the end.

─Search thoroughly! The blue jewel must have been smuggled here!

─Don’t keep your hands to yourself! Attack the core of all the annoying spirits and destroy them!

They were red-robed wizards attacking the forest spirits.

It was assumed to be another forest from an old era, not the last forest of the elves.

The giant of light had an intuition that it was the memory that had been located at the very bottom of the lake, next to the stone slab.

That’s when the image changed.

It was the young Rockdeer’s point of view.

A woman in a purple robe was handing me a blue jewel.

The soft lips revealed under the hood moved with earnest desire.

[Protect me. Be sure to tell that person who will return someday.]

The woman placed the blue jewel on the young rockdeer’s forehead with trembling hands.

And then he quickly disappeared into the forest beyond where screams and shouts were coming from.

The next moment.

Kugugugugugu──!

Part of the forest where the young rock deer was located began to rise in the shape of an island.

The island safely gained altitude amidst the desperate defense of the old spirits.

The eyes of the young spirits who boarded the island reflected the increasingly smaller forest on the ground.

And the first blue was seen.

A clearing in the center of the forest.

A woman in purple robes surrounded by red wizards.

Then, a man of enormous build with a blood-red jewel attached to his staff walked out from among the wizards.

─Redran.

[Redran.]

The lips of the woman from the past and the giant from the present moved simultaneously.

[Doctor, you were the Red Guardian after all. You joined forces with the other Guardians to seal the Blue Guardian, but then you caused discord among the other Guardians and started a war again.]

*

The spirits around the lake looked up at the sky.

Outside the island, mana was pouring down like rain from a crimson sphere beyond the clouds.

[That’s…!]

[The blue horn protection surrounding the island has disappeared…!]

There have been attacks from the crimson spheres before, but they have never penetrated the blue horn’s defenses.

But things were different now that Blue Horn, the manager of the defense, had lost consciousness.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sticky raindrops fell indiscriminately on the lake and the ground outside the lake.

… was endlessly ominous and repulsive.

It gave me the exact opposite feeling of the boy’s mana that had aroused my instinctive attraction.

The crimson manas that fell to the ground took on the forms of animals, imitating the appearances of the spirits.

[Those things…!]

[Surely this is what we look like now…]

The spirits felt intense anger, but did not rush in right away.

It was because there were too many enemies emerging everywhere.

[Those who are quick on their feet run into the forest and summon all the spirits, immediately.]

[Gather in one place! Prepare for battle! Protect the Blue Horn and the children here with your life!]

Under the command of the most powerful chief spirits, the actions were carried out in unison.

Some ran into the forest with all their might, while the rest gathered around the cubs and the unconscious Blue Horn.

And when the crimson animals finally took shape.

Kwarrung!

A battle broke out.

Spirits transformed into colorful manaches roamed the battlefield.

Hurrruk! Dismissal!

Sparks flew and electricity flew.

Whioooo!

A cold, sharp wind blew.

It’s a blessing in disguise.

The fighting power of the crimson animals was not that high.

Every time the spirits struck, the sticky mana scattered and fell to the ground.

The only problem was that the number was endless.

Phillip, a fox spirit whose entire body was made of orange mana, flew high into the air, dodging the crimson raindrops here and there.

I stared at the small, crimson sphere beyond the clouds.

‘That big ball is too far away for us to attack.’

The source of mana that makes up the crimson animals is a sphere beyond the clouds.

The spirits are fighting while absorbing the island’s mana to recharge their depleted power.

In other words.

The outcome of the battle could be said to be a matter of which one, the island’s mana or the sphere’s mana, would be depleted first.

Philip turned his head.

I looked down at the opaque lake.

If there is one thing that can be the only variable in the current situation.

‘… … !’

It was at that moment that something unusual occurred on the lake where ripples were spreading due to raindrops.

A whirlpool suddenly began to form in the middle of the lake.

Kwakwakwakwa──!

In a split second, it spread across the entire lake.

The huge, violently rotating waves seemed ready to tear apart anything they caught in like a sheet of paper.

‘This is… … .’

Philip shivered, forgetting the urgency of the situation.

I was proud to say that I had the second most memories of the island after the Blue Horn. But I had never seen anything like this in any of my memories.

Then the water began to rush back, revealing the space in the center of the whirlpool.

What appeared there were two giants, locked fists and fists, locked in a wrestling match.

[Redran, that’s your name.]

[I don’t know how much I’ve figured out, but it’s all useless. My research is already close to completion.]

The manas in the vortex continued to draw lines in the air and were sucked into the bodies of the two giants.

At the same time, the vortex quickly evaporated due to the vibrations and heat emitted by the two giants.

The two giants grew infinitely until they filled the lake, exposing their upper bodies.

The light giant had the upper hand in the fight.

But the raindrops fell on the crimson giant’s body and were absorbed, and it began to tilt towards equilibrium at a rapid pace.

There, the crimson animals stopped fighting all at once and ran across the air towards the crimson giant.

If things continue like this, it is clear who will win or lose.

Orange Tail desperately racked his brain to figure out a way.

───.

It was at that moment that a fragment of memory passed down from long ago shone with a sharp light.

Orange Tail, whose task was now clear, immediately became determined.

Woohoo──!

The surrounding mana drew a picture following the trajectory of the will, and all the spirits who raised their heads upon sensing the presence accepted the message of the orange tail.

The spirits turned their heads toward each other, and the message was transmitted in an instant.

To the spirits who were too tired from battle to look up at the sky.

Even to the spirits who had just arrived at the lake and were unaware of the situation.

It didn’t take long for the wills of all the spirits to become one.

The spirits began to run through the air towards the giant of light.