Chapter 82

Bound by Rohakan’s large hand, Epherene stared blankly at the subsequent bombing, the fragmented buildings, and the horrors of the explosions’ aftermath as they walked past them.

“Why…”

“Don’t ask why. It’s crazy things done by crazy people.”

Rumble!

Rohakan applied magic on a collapsing statue, seemingly trying to prevent its fall using [Psychokinesis], but it didn’t work as efficiently as Deculein’s.

“Oh, my. I can’t even do it as neat as he did.”

Smirking, he quickly cleansed the area with his own magic.

Snap—!

At the snap of his fingers, the falling debris swiftly disintegrated into tiny fragments. The deflagrations were then extinguished, and the flames sublimated to the sky.

“What was that just now?”

“I call it [Elementalization]. Melting the processed material into the most one-dimensional element. You probably won’t find it in textbooks.”

“Wow.”

Epherene closed her eyes in admiration, and when she opened them, she found herself already out of town.

“… Where are we? Did we just teleport?”

They now stood on a hill. The square, which turned into a horrific crime scene while the festival was underway, was now at a far-away distance. A quiet hut was also near them.

He smiled and took a deep breath.

“It’s been a while since I’ve shown my magic in front of a young talent.”

He said, releasing more mana. In his hand was the Fragment of the World Tree, a staff she had seen before.

Boom—!

Rohakan hit the ground with it, casting the grand magic [Flow of Purification]. The magical shockwaves it generated reached all the way to the hot spring area, cleaning up the excess mana in the square.

“I’ve done enough. I believe they can take care of the rest.”

“Yes, yes. Then I’ll go now—”

“Using grand magic made me hungry. Don’t you want to have some meat? I hunted one last night.”

“… Meat?” She asked suspiciously.

*****

Chomp—!

Piece by piece, Epherene devoured the meat in her hands, finding each bite delicious. It wasn’t as luxurious as a Roahawk, but she thought it wouldn’t be bad to try something new.

“This is amazing. It’s enough to satisfy my picky palate…”

“I know you can eat all kinds of things.”

Even as he answered, Rohakan ceaselessly busied himself with his own matters, frantically moving from place to place in his narrow hut.

“What do you mean? I can’t do that.”

“Where did your friend go, though? The one with you before.”

“… Oh. She’s not feeling well, so she’s resting.” Epherene smiled bitterly. Sylvia overworked herself during the final exams, causing her exhaustion to finally take its toll on her. From what she heard, she didn’t sleep or eat at all throughout the finals.

“Have you been living here all this time? How come you haven’t been caught yet?”

“Well, this hut is far from ordinary. I wouldn’t be able to keep my freedom in my possession during the past decades otherwise. Think of it as a ship.”