I Became a Raid Boss

Sure, here’s the translation:

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So, should I call him Master Magician…?

The pouring magic was certainly anything but ordinary.

‘If I was going to fall for something like this, I wouldn’t have survived until now.’

Besides, he knows there’s no way I would fall to this level of attack.

So instead of focusing all my efforts on countering the magic raining down on me, I turned my mind elsewhere.

‘… So that’s how it is.’

With heightened sensitivity, I sensed a thread of mana like a thin strand of hair.

If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have felt it at all, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have known what to do.

The best I could have done would have been to sever the connection with my clone.

And if severing the connection was all that mattered, then I could just destroy the clone without needing to sense anything at all.

But now, it’s different.

I clearly felt the presence of the snake coiling at the end of the mana connected to my clone.

‘Can I do it?’

The answer came right away.

‘Yeah. Of course.’

It was something I had never done before, but my instincts were saying I could definitely do it.

I reached out as my instincts guided me.

A distant distance.

Beyond the unreachable distance, I grasped the body of the snake nestled in its nest.

“Ah-ha! Finally got you.”

Damn snake brat.

How much I had struggled to catch this brat?

Thinking back, it easily surpassed ten times.

Just when I thought I had it, it would run away, and just when I thought I really caught it, it turned out to be a clone.

“Ahahaha, ahahaha!”

That’s why this achievement feels so sweet right now.

Have I ever laughed like this since I was born into this world?

Am I feeling good because I laughed, or am I laughing because I feel good?

I don’t really care about that.

-… I’m insane.

‘Insane, you say? How rude.’

Who wouldn’t feel good finally achieving what they longed for?

I forgot the throbbing pain in my chest and laughed until I finally stopped, just as I was about to spit out a mouthful of blood.

I could have killed it the moment I caught it, but I didn’t feel the need to do that.

Partly because I wanted to see the face that had hidden itself for so long….

And partly because I felt like doing so would release all the pent-up frustration I had built up until now.

Saving an old subordinate was a bonus.

By the way, how long are you planning to keep squirming?

I put a little strength into my grip, and here was this so-called Master Magician rolling around on the ground in disgrace.

Nevertheless, I have to admit, magicians really are dramatic.

“What does it feel like? Are you too shocked to say anything?”

Honestly, it’s not hard to understand.

Suddenly dropping from a nest that you thought was the safest place in the world would certainly do that.

“It’s okay. I’ve been through it, and if you’re determined to survive, you’ll adapt quickly.”

“…What the hell are you talking about, cough!”

The sage spoke only to cough up blackened blood.

It was advice coming from a senior who had crossed dimensions, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to resonate with him.

After struggling for a while, he finally calmed down and wiped his mouth before standing up.

“You’ve become a complete monster.”

“It’s what you do, so why can’t I do the same?”

“Consider your age. Who would have imagined that a girl not yet twenty could do this?”

“What….”

That’s true.

But so what?

Whether it’s unimaginable or nonsensical, the fact remains that he’s standing right in front of me.

“I certainly wouldn’t be like that.”

Before I could finish my sentence, the staff was glowing brightly.

His signature move, space leap.

His eyes moved rapidly as he read the flow of mana.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Do you think I’ll let go of a fish I just caught so easily?

After all the effort I put in to stop that pesky space leap, my conclusion was that ‘if it doesn’t interfere with space, it can’t be stopped.’

The ‘Canaria Style – Cutting the Wind’ was created for that reason, but even after creating it, I couldn’t catch the sage.

The difference in understanding of space was too substantial to catch him with such an immature technique.

“But if it’s this clear, then understanding isn’t necessary.”

Would I even be called a swordsman if I couldn’t cut what was visible?

The exquisitely shining sword tore through the space.

The sword danced gracefully between the tangled and ensnared spaces, severing a small knot.

It was the very flow that my eyes were constantly tracking.

“Hello.”

“…”

In the brief moment I blinked, the sage, who had just been in front of me, appeared several meters away.

There was no sound to speak of.

With a face that was all taut, he attempted to flee, but each time my sword cut off the space he aimed to escape to.

Fleeing and blocking.

When I had repeated that about five times, the sage finally stopped leaping.

“It’s not luck, is it?”

“Luck can’t do this. You should have sensed it when you were dragged over here, right?”

“Fair point.”

The sage let his arm holding the staff droop.

Did he give up realizing he couldn’t escape?

“Do you still think you can change your mind?”

No. He hadn’t given up.

Even with no breeze, the hem of the sage’s robe flapped violently.

“Do you know what I’m going to say?”

“Of course, I do.”

The mana that had surrounded the sage began to flow away.

The youthful visage faded, and eventually, a sturdy-looking old man appeared.

That was the true appearance of the man known as the sage of the Empire.

“It would have been nice if you were born in the Empire. Fate is indeed cruel.”

“I don’t want to agree with you, but I can’t help but agree with that.”

“Could this also be Edel’s will…?”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly.

“This is my will. And also yours.”

Don’t try to escape by invoking some divine name nonsensically.

“Heh. I see.”

That ended the conversation.

A silvery mana drew a line.

Through the split boundaries, the dim night sky peeked through.

Shining—!

Gwooooaah—

A massive meteor, soaring through the night sky, burst through the barrier and descended to the ground.

With mass enough to easily crush a fortress, it pressed down on the air.

Even as the massive mass bore down on me, my heart was peaceful.

“I’ll return it to you.”

Just as the sage had done, I too brought down my sword.

Like paint mixing in water, three colors of mana smoothly spread out and tore apart the space.

The large fortress and buildings, and neatly maintained streets that peeked through the split space were unfamiliar to me.

Well, I wonder if it’s unfamiliar to them as well.

Before I could relieve my curiosity, the gaping space swallowed the blazing meteor whole.

‘Hmm.’

Even with a meteor falling on the Empire’s capital, the old man’s expression showed no change.

Did he think others could stop it?

But perhaps he couldn’t completely dismiss it, as the magic flying toward me afterward was mostly of a smaller scale.

Of course, their lethality was as great as the giant meteor.

Swish—

The red sword sliced through the swirling mana.

The silver mana, which had failed to materialize as magic, dispersed everywhere.

Fsssh.

A red flash was imprinted repeatedly on the thick fog.

All the magic that had been quietly surrounding me reverted to its pure form of mana.

Not stopping there, with my left hand that wasn’t holding the sword, I grasped at the air.

Crackle!

With the sound of crumpling paper, the scenery crumpled.

Amidst the crumpled scenery, the old man’s figure flickered.

Thud!

The ground where I stood suddenly opened up into an abyss, and at the same moment, a spear of bitter cold rushed in.

I could see the air freezing and shattering along the trace left by the spear in the corner of my vision.

Dozens of such spears, and one might mistake it for an instant blizzard coming in.

Hah—

My breath puffed up in clouds and immediately froze.

Below was the abyss.

Surrounding me were spears of cold that could freeze even souls.

“…Huh.”

Suddenly, a laugh escaped me.

I can confidently say that no one can defeat me in a weapon fight.

Even if it’s made by magic, as long as it takes the form of a spear, it can’t harm me.

I took a short breath.

Swish—

A streak of light sliced through the spears.

One spear fell to the ground, but still, dozens more were flying toward me.

However, I did not swing my sword anymore.

There was no need to.

Swish, swish, swish!

Dozens of lights danced between the spears.

Like a spider weaving a web, the lights I spread in the air caught their prey.

The light counted exactly forty-five.

It matched exactly the number of spears that had been halved and vanished.

Finally, I raised my heel and stomped the ground hard.

Boom!

“It stinks, so shut up.”

Thick mana that had been greedily trying to swallow the abyss was swallowed back in return.

Shriek, shriek, shriek—!

The unpleasant noises scratched at my ears for a moment, then the soft earth welcomed me.

Magicians unleash great power in prepared environments.

Even though my body had rampaged while I was unconscious, the setups he had arranged were still around allowing me to barely hold my ground until now.

“My turn.”

Now that’s over.

I let the sword pierce into the emerging inscriptions of the magic circle and simultaneously thrust my legs in succession.

Bang!

The old man’s face, which had previously been far away, was suddenly right before me.

His long white beard stained with dried blood was simply irritating to see.

“Ahaha! Looking good…!”

It would be even more delightful to stain that beard red.

The red sword quivered, and in the next moment, it was resting upon the old man’s chest.

“…[Get away]!”

My body soared up.

Not resisting the force pushing me away, I twirled twice in the air.

Thud.

A perfect landing that would score a hundred out of a hundred.

Therefore, I didn’t need time to regain my balance.

The continuous assault.

My long hair tickled my back.

Swish.

I rushed at the old man, angling the handle of my sword as I charged upward.

The ground I grazed with the sword cracked open, revealing its innards.

Unfortunately, the old man’s skin did not tear.

Instead, it shattered the sturdy barrier he was wrapped in, leaving merely a red line on his body.

If he had attempted a space leap to avoid it, he would’ve been split in half.

I licked my lips with regret as I tightly gripped the space I was still holding in one hand.

“You dodge pretty well at that age. Aren’t your knees sore?”

“…”

The old man answered my comment with harsh breaths instead of words.

Having been holed up in a nest controlling clones, it must have been tough for him to face me head-on.

Especially, considering he had to leap around without space leap, it must be far worse for him.

‘… Not enough yet.’

The image of my father enduring pain flashed in my mind.

There was no way I could repay the pain he felt with just this much.

-But.

“Let’s put an end to this.”

I swallowed the hot, coppery blood rising in my throat.

‘Dad, I’m sorry.’

But still, I did my best, so forgive me.

Swallowing the unreachably distant apology along with the blood, I raised my sword.

The old man’s face hardened as he sensed the end was coming.

‘A sword to decorate the finale.’

The answer for that had already come to me.

A sword technique shaped with the will to soar to the heavens.

Having been bound by the name my parents gave me, thanks to Dad, I was finally able to break free from my cage and forge this technique.

The red sword, previously drooping to the ground, quivered, and a small bird, born from the lowest place, flapped its wings.

Shaking, plummeting, bending. Sometimes crashing against the silver wind, but.

The little bird didn’t give up.

And finally, the moment the little bird fully spread its wings.

Canaria Style – Ascend

Swoosh—

The dazzling wings split the old man’s body apart.

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