I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain-Chapter 574

Boom—

The chaos-wreathed harpoon slammed into the golden barrier and burst apart on impact. Most of the shards splintered harmlessly against its radiant surface, scattering wide, though a few pinged off his armor. The strike failed to break through the barrier, pierce his armor, or even fracture his arm. All it did was hurl him backward with sheer force.

What the fuck!

Though he cursed inwardly, Ian thrust out his right arm, gripping the rope tightly.

Simultaneously, he pulled the rope with his Willful Grasp, winding it around his left arm like a spool.

Whir—

The shock of the explosion wasn't severe, but it was enough to sharpen his Concentration and Intuition. He could also control the Willful Grasp with greater finesse and speed than usual.

If only I could use it on myself, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

Ian continued to pull the rope in rapidly. His right palm grew warm as the rope, stretching across his back to his left arm, pulled taut. His body, which had been plummeting toward the sea, was now being reeled back toward the ship.

Splash—

A wave leaped up, washing over Ian's plate boots. The faint red divinity spreading across him mixed with the swirling mist, painting a reddish arc in the air. The hem of his fluttering cloak was the brush.

Well, it works, at least, Ian thought, frowning at his soaked feet.

Just as Sanford had sworn, the rope was tough and slightly elastic. The hook held fast, and the wooden frame didn't break.

He dismissed his Willful Grasp and spun around. The stern of the ship was already close.

Thud—

Ian landed with both feet on the relatively flat outer wall of the stern, coiling his body like a spring. He was essentially in a seated position with his feet planted on the wall. The remnants of wind still coiled about him, mingling with the faint glow of his hollow Blessing of Battle, granting him impossible strength and balance.

Swoosh—

His cloak whipped upward with a trail of crimson light, revealing his face as he lifted it toward the mist. In his eyes, swirling with ashen magic, the blue lights streaking through the mist on different trajectories became sharp and clear.

Only one’s aimed right, but the timing’s bad.

The thought flickered through his mind in an instant. Before the blast had even finished dispersing, before gravity could pull him down, Ian kicked hard off the hull.

Whoosh—

He once more shot into the mist like an arrow, the rope unraveling behind him like a tail. He fell faster than the approaching harpoon, just as he had expected.

Shwack!

Twisting his waist, Ian swung the Platinum Barrier. The Wind Blade surging around him shot out from the shield, scattering into the mist. The swirling mist met the incoming harpoon head-on.

Boom!

That was enough to detonate the chaos-infused harpoon. Ian pulled the shield up beside his face and used the Willful Grasp to reel the rope back into his right hand.

Whirr—

The taut rope reeled into his left arm. Ian, who had stopped and swayed in midair, was once again pulled rapidly toward the ship. This time, however, he couldn’t avoid plunging into the water up to his waist.

Cold as shit…

Ian winced as the stray streak of blue seared past his side.

Almost at the same moment, a mocking chuckle echoed in his head.

—Looks entertaining, don’t you think, Friend?

The whisper, stretched out by his heightened Concentration, sounded even more grating.

Entertaining, my ass.

Clicking his tongue, Ian looked up at the approaching hull. He continued to reel in the rope with the Willful Grasp, winding it around his left arm.

Crack, boom!

A blue explosion erupted against the curtain of ice that had bloomed in the air. Thesaya, standing beyond the railing, immediately clenched her fist around her outstretched gemstone.

Crash—

The curtain exploded, spraying shards forward. Other harpoons, flying in from a distance, struck the fragments and burst in midair. The outcome was more than satisfactory.

Clank, Thunk—

Yet Ian’s face remained expressionless as he ran up the ship's outer wall, pulling on the rope—not only because his legs were soaked through.

As I thought. Deflecting them all is impossible.

The Black Wave was no longer gaining speed;it had already reached its limit. Yet the blue lights in the mist only grew larger and sharper. There was no chance those ships would slow down. The crimson waves writhing behind them shone clearer with every breath.

There were more active crossbows than he had expected. Worse still, they were coordinating their fire.

They’re trying to bleed the mages dry, keeping them too busy to strike back.

Even now, the fleet was in perfect formation. A full barrage would likely begin once they were close enough to surround them. Magic would probably fly then, too. There were definitely spellcasters who had survived.

But I can’t use a grand spell… Wait.

Ian’s gaze flickered as he stood balanced on the railing. In the brief instant of exposure to Bukikia’s waves, their emotions had brushed across his mind. He turned his eyes back toward Thesaya, who was already gathering her next spell.

"Can you cast another Blizzard?"

"The Blizzard?" Thesaya’s head whipped around.

She looked up at Ian, veins twitching around her blue eyes. "I thought we couldn’t use that because of the archdemon."

"It won’t show up."

"It won’t?"

"Probably. And to find out, we need to—" Ian cut himself short, snapped his head around, and kicked hard off the railing.

Thesaya’s gaze followed the red streak vanishing into the mist. She blinked, staring at the sudden burst of light ahead in bewilderment.

She snapped her gaze back to the stern and thrust out her left hand.

In an instant, the magic condensed in her gemstone surged forth.

Crack—

At her gesture, a curtain of jagged frost bloomed in the mist, stretching out to shroud the long expanse behind the stern. Even as a blue explosion flared beyond it, Thesaya did not stop. The growing wall of crystals stretched long across the stern, sealing it in a veil of frost.

Boom!

Seeing the crimson streak whip back toward the ship, Thesaya finally clenched her fist. The wall exploded, spraying sharp fragments forward. As more small explosions erupted in the distance, Ian’s shout came from below the hull.

"Get the blizzard ready now!"

"O-Okay! Just a second!" Thesaya answered quickly, fumbling in her robes for a magic stone pouch, ignoring the blood dripping from her nose.

As she detached the spent magic stone from her gemstone, she continued, "Are you sure this will work? It takes a while to prepare. If they notice I’m casting, those bastards will—"

"Don’t worry."

Thump.

Clutching the rope as he sprinted up the outer hull, Ian swung onto the railing and added, "They think there’s only one blue mage on this ship."

Thesaya’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. In the middle of his gaze, already swirling with violet, a surge of blue magic had begun to boil.

"O-Okay, Ian!" she stammered, snapping back to her senses and ducking behind the wooden frame. "It’s going to be rough, but I’ll do it!"

"You’re the one who’ll have it rougher. Watch out for magic exhaustion."

With that, Ian jumped down from the railing and looked back, pulling his hood down low to hide his eyes.

As he dismissed his Platinum Barrier, Yog’s whisper brushed past his mind.

—Watching you fight for your life is always such fun, my friend.

You’d better hope I don’t get to you when this is over.

Staring at the stern, he completed the spell and extended his trembling right hand. Chaos-infused magic erupted with enough force to make his palm tingle.

Crack—

The mist that had been creeping up behind the ship instantly froze. An amplified Glacier Wall, infused with chaos power, rose, completely obscuring the stern. It sank the moment it formed, but Ian paid it no mind.

Boom! Boom—

It was more than enough to block the incoming arcs that came at the ship in staggered intervals. Lowering his arm again as he prepared his next spell, he fixed his eyes on what lay beyond the ice wall, fading like mist into the distance.

Hiss…

Beyond the sparse line of blue lights, the crimson swarm, shimmering like a heat haze, was becoming clearer. The sea beasts that had fallen behind were catching up faster than expected. To Ian, the scene now looked a little different.

—They’re definitely falling for it.

Yog whispered, having somehow moved from Thesaya to the wooden frame, crawling over the embedded grappling hook.

A faint smile played on Ian’s lips beneath his hood. "Let’s make sure they’re thoroughly convinced."

He extended his hand again. The encroaching mist coalesced into another massive ice barrier. This time, Ian pushed his magic to its very limit.

Boom, boom, boom!

As the faint sound of explosions reached him, Ian staggered. A sudden wave of dizziness and a headache washed over him. Although his magic wasn't depleted, he had used too much in a short period.

I’ve used it a lot, but still… at my level, this shouldn’t be happening already.

Clicking his tongue, Ian straightened up to cast another spell.

"You can let that one scatter, Ian," said Thesaya from his side.

Opening her glowing blue eyes, she turned and strode to the opposite side of the deck from him. "Step back. Rest for now."

Ian nodded and moved back as Thesaya thrust both her arms forward.

Swoosh—

In her palms, the bright blue gemstone unleashed its condensed magic as if it had been waiting. The mist instantly swirled into a massive vortex and froze.

Crack, crack, crack—

A frigid gust of ice crystals tore through the mist, staining it white. To Ian, it even seemed to clear his sightline. Almost as if waking late to the danger, the enemy fleet answered with a volley of blue bolts from beyond. However, the storm swallowed them, sending some spinning off course and others crashing straight into the sea. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Boom— Ba Boom—

Blue explosions flashed everywhere as the snowstorm continued to grow, threatening to swallow and freeze all the mist in the area.

I’d believe if this were the Northern snowfields

Ian fixed his gaze on the distant ships, their outlines barely visible beyond the howling storm. Despite the rougher waves and raging storm, it was easy to see the chaos among the corrupted sailors on the briefly visible decks.

had had little

The remaining ships of the archipelago were swallowed by the snowstorm, a storm that matched their pale blue light.

—Now I see. It wasn’t the snowstorm that the half-formed creature reacted to.

The creature was staring at Ian, as if it had sensed Ian hadn’t let down his guard.

—It was your lightning. That’s what it responded to… wasn’t it?

Ian merely nodded in response. The chain lightning had been lethal, but the storm itself hadn't had much effect on the sea beasts. At most, it inflicted shallow wounds and a slight slowdown, which they seemed to shake off simply by diving underwater.

—To make such a judgment in the middle of all this. You’re bold. Or should I call you reckless?

There was simply no other way.

He had his reasons, of course. Bukikia already seemed to be fatally wounded.

The reason it had sent its minions instead and hid itself was probably to conserve what little strength it had left.

From his experience, being consumed by madness didn’t erase one's instincts. On the contrary, they were often magnified and pushed to extremes. The emotions he had sensed from Bukikia confirmed this. The creature didn’t crave slaughter or battle. Which meant that unless it sensed a direct threat, it wouldn’t show itself.

—But still, in the end… ah, I see.

Yog’s slow murmur suddenly dropped in pitch. It chuckled sinisterly and looked off into the distance.

—You’re planning to use them as bait to buy time.

Ian’s mouth twisted further. It seemed Yog had spotted the crimson wave drawing closer beyond the swirling snowstorm.

Ruuuumble—

The sea beasts cut through the waves, their advance barely slowing as they entered the snowstorm. This meant that Ian’s group was being caught up.

The gap with the fleet was no longer narrowing, but it wasn't widening, either. He couldn't blame the crew;they were doing their best. He could only hope the corrupted fleet would put up a fight and buy them as much time as possible.

Swoosh…

As if reading his thoughts, the wave of cold magic subsided. The sea beasts hadn't reached the fleet yet, which was for the best. The more the fleet could shake off the snowstorm’s aftermath, the more desperately they would flail, drawing the sea creatures’ eyes.

He realized a moment later that Thesaya hadn't stopped intentionally. The magic stone in her gemstone had shattered, and she was staggering backward. Her head tipped, revealing a face streaked with blood, veins around her eyes twitching in spasms as blood dripped from her nose.

Thump—

Ian, of course, caught her before she hit the floor. Looking down at her trembling eyelids, he murmured, "You did well, Thesa."