The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#027. Ability vs Magic

“#%#@!%!^!##$!@(An illusion?!)”

Seeing the scene unfold before his eyes, Jizeurak shouted with a bewildered expression.

He wasn’t surprised that his opponent had used illusion magic, but rather couldn’t understand how the insect ‘Chusalja’ he had extracted from his body failed to realize that the opponent was an illusion.

The insect he had brought out wasn’t supposed to operate ‘that way’ in the first place.

No matter how powerful the opponent was, or how mysterious their techniques were, the moment a target was set, confirming the result of ‘death’ was Chusalja’s ability.

Rather than being a combat technique, it was an ability that directly interfered with the opponent’s fate, so even if the opponent summoned illusions to fight, the caster couldn’t escape death either – that was the true nature of Chusalja’s unique ability.

‘How?’

As Jizeurak looked around warily with a bewildered expression, Sung-jun’s voice echoed in his ears.

“As expected of that guy’s subordinate, using fate manipulation abilities.”

As if he had been there from the beginning, Sung-jun sat on the ruins of a collapsed building behind Seoa’s group.

In Sung-jun’s right hand, a small gold coin was clutched.

“Teacher!”

Seeing Seoa shout toward him with a relieved expression, Sung-jun smiled.

And at that moment, Chusalja, having found its lost target again, shot killing intent toward where Sung-jun was.

-Charrrrreuk!-

The moment Chusalja’s killing intent reached Sung-jun, the gold coin in Sung-jun’s right hand began spinning violently, and Sung-jun looked at the rotating coin with an indifferent expression.

Then, just as the coin’s back side was about to face up, he grabbed the coin and forcibly turned it to heads.

“Chwiiiiiiiiiiik!!!!!”

Though he had simply grabbed the coin, seeing Chusalja writhing and getting excited all over its body, Jizeurak shouted toward Sung-jun.

“!@$!%!%!%!(What did you do!)”

“Nothing much. I just flipped a future confirmed as death into a future confirmed as life.”

“That… that’s possible?”

To Hyeon-jo’s bewildered question, Sung-jun nodded.

“It’s possible within limited scope. It’s a spell made for that purpose anyway.”

The spell Sung-jun used, ‘Coin of Fate,’ was a spell created by the Previous Demon Lord to counter fate manipulation abilities.

A cheat-level spell created to face enemies with near-cheat-level abilities.

From right after crossing the Yalu River with Seoa, Sung-jun had been continuously operating the spell.

If the opponent truly had the ability to see the future as Hyeon-jo said, he thought the best method was to intervene in fate using the spell’s power so that the future the opponent saw wouldn’t lead to results favorable to them.

And according to Sung-jun’s intentions, the spell he cast was thoroughly protecting Sung-jun’s group from death.

‘The first reaction was right after crossing the Yalu River.’

Sung-jun’s ultimate desired result was to kill Yejigwi and recover his teacher’s relic.

The problem was that the moment Yejigwi found itself in a fate of death, it could immediately realize that fact.

And given the nature of future-seeing abilities, it would try to eliminate dangerous elements that could be causes in advance.

So Sung-jun set the spell’s purpose not as eliminating Yejigwi, but as his group’s survival.

The usage of ‘Coin of Fate’ was extremely simple.

Hold the coin summoned when casting the spell, and judge by the force applied to the coin with each choice made.

If it vibrates as if trying to flip to tails, withdraw the intended decision and find another method.

If the coin remains heads, trust and follow that as the right decision.

Sung-jun’s initial summoning of an illusion to face Jizeurak was also a result following that decision.

The moment he resolved to enter direct combat, the coin violently shook trying to flip, so he attempted to flip it back then too, but since the coin wouldn’t budge at all, he immediately fled the scene.

‘A spell that can forcibly twist fates I can flip with my power, but operates by avoiding fates I cannot flip.’

Since the Coin of Fate spell was so complex that even Minastrias, the protagonist’s teacher, couldn’t interpret its algorithm, Sung-jun gave up trying to understand why the spell led to certain choices.

Instead, he was only focusing on the spell’s effects and concentrating on figuring out the proper usage.

The spell’s unique characteristic of being ‘incomprehensible’ was making Sung-jun’s heart race.

‘If I use it more, I might be able to understand the principle.’

Feeling the vibration of the gold coin shaking to flip once again, Sung-jun simply closed his eyes.

Then he began casting spells while concentrating solely on the coin’s sensation.

‘This direction? No? Then slightly to the side? Ah, here it is. What spell? Huh? Not this one? Then this? Ah, you want me to use this one.’

The moment a spell shot from Sung-jun’s fingertips after choosing spells and deciding direction as if conversing with the coin’s consciousness, the insect called Chusalja moved at invisible speed to avoid the spell.

However, Sung-jun’s spell fell exactly where Chusalja stopped, as if it had read in advance which direction Chusalja would dodge.

-Kwaaaaang!-

“Kweeeeeeeek!!”

The insect called Chusalja writhed in pain it was experiencing for the first time since birth.

Thanks to the unique characteristics it was born with, from the moment it hatched until now, it had never once allowed an enemy’s attack to land.

Even without creating a hard shell, moving by instinct meant enemy attacks wouldn’t reach it, and even without excellent vision, attacking by instinct could pierce an enemy’s heart.

But now, Chusalja was feeling the unfamiliar sensation that it might die for the first time.

Because of that lower life form that had been closing its eyes and flicking a coin with one hand while shooting strange spells wildly.

“Shaaaaaaak!!”

As Chusalja ignored the pain felt throughout its body and focused its senses inward, even stronger force was applied to the coin Sung-jun held.

As if trying to flip once more the result of fate that Sung-jun had overturned.

And at that moment, a thorn shot from Chusalja’s mouth pierced through Sung-jun’s right leg.

However, despite having his right leg pierced, Sung-jun’s expression with closed eyes remained utterly calm.

Because he knew well that as long as the coin didn’t completely flip, any damage taken during battle was ultimately just a ‘process.’

‘So here, giving up the right leg is the best choice? Good. Then what’s the next move?’

Sung-jun felt like he was gradually mastering the proper usage of the ‘Coin of Fate’ spell through combat.

The most important thing was adjusting the level of questions very quickly.

If he couldn’t fix the coin’s direction to heads when asking ‘how to defeat the opponent,’ immediately change the question to ‘how to avoid the opponent’s attack.’

If the coin’s direction still wouldn’t change, relax the conditions a bit more to ‘how to endure the opponent’s attack even while taking damage.’

The important thing was constantly changing the type of question so the coin would keep showing heads.

Sung-jun was using the spell’s power, while Chusalja relied on innate senses – they were using nearly identical types of abilities in different ways.

“Kweeeeeeeeek!!”

The moment Chusalja’s thorn pierced his leg, the lightning Sung-jun shot created a large hole in Chusalja’s body, but Chusalja could only scream without writhing like before.

The sensation that writhing in pain would mean death twisted Chusalja’s nerves.

And at that moment, Sung-jun and Chusalja were feeling exactly the same sensation simultaneously.

‘Whoever gives up first loses.’

Whether Sung-jun or Chusalja, the future both desired was identical.

Taking no damage themselves while only inflicting damage on the opponent.

However, since both sides were using identical fate manipulation abilities, the two goals became contradictory conflicts, making it impossible to create a future satisfying both sides simultaneously.

So the compromise they found was a future where both exchanged damage without either suffering fatal wounds.

The two began an unprecedented clash, inflicting wounds on each other’s bodies for the ideal future each had seen.

“Shaeaeaeaeaek!!”

As Chusalja’s sharp tail left a deep wound on Sung-jun’s left arm, several of Chusalja’s legs were severed by Sung-jun’s spell.

And simultaneously, a giant magical fist wrapped around Sung-jun’s right arm drove into Chusalja’s abdomen, while Chusalja flew backward and embedded several thorns in Sung-jun’s abdomen.

One fortunate thing for Sung-jun was that the insect named Chusalja had no poison.

Given Chusalja’s nature of reading the future and delivering confirmed death to opponents, abilities like poison weren’t particularly necessary.

The arrogance that one overwhelmingly powerful ability could reach the position of absolute ruler without needing to develop other abilities had prevented Chusalja from cultivating other skills.

And because of that very arrogance, a gap was gradually widening between Sung-jun and Chusalja.

“Kweeeeeek…”

Leaking thick green bodily fluid from holes in its body, Chusalja made an exhausted sound.

However, unlike Chusalja’s tattered appearance, Sung-jun maintained a much better condition despite taking similar levels of damage.

Because unlike Chusalja, who only had future-reading ability, the cards available to Sung-jun as a mage were nearly infinite.

Sung-jun pulled out the thorns embedded in his abdomen with his bare hands and cast healing magic on the wounded areas.

And Chusalja couldn’t respond at all even while watching Sung-jun heal his wounds.

The intuition that the damage it would take from Sung-jun’s counterattack would be greater was blocking Chusalja’s movement the moment it tried to rush and interfere with Sung-jun’s healing magic.

A premonition that it would die at this rate flashed through Chusalja’s mind.

Future sight doesn’t guarantee absolute victory.

Just as Sung-jun used the workaround of changing questions when he absolutely couldn’t flip the coin, decisions that seemed right short-term could gradually become decisions that killed oneself long-term.

What was needed to escape this situation was a ‘variable.’

What was needed to escape this situation was a ‘variable.’

To overturn the fixed future between Sung-jun and Chusalja, who were bound 1:1 due to the ability of the ‘Coin of Fate’, the intervention of a third party unaffected by each other’s abilities was necessary.

And at that moment, the ‘variable’ that Chusalja had so desperately wished for began to move the situation.

‘That guy is dangerous. I need to report to the captain…’

Jizeurak, who had been watching the confrontation between Sung-jun and Chusalja, decided to escape from the scene.

Of course, if he ran away, Chusalja would die, but the moment Chusalja died, he would be as good as dead anyway.

Then rather, Jizeurak thought now was the optimal timing to escape while Chusalja could hold Sung-jun back, so he began to very slowly step backward so Sung-jun wouldn’t notice.

Then he poured out all the remaining insects in his body and ran out like lightning.

And the moment Jizeurak burst out at full speed to flee, Chusalja was certain of his victory.

Unlike himself who only needed to focus on the enemy before his eyes, an ‘additional variable’ had now occurred for Sung-jun – he had to simultaneously prevent Jizeurak’s escape while withstanding his own attacks.

In Chusalja’s mind, there were only two choices Sung-jun could make.

Either block his attack and let Jizeurak escape, or catch Jizeurak and die from his attack.

‘He can’t let his master escape. The Yejigwi that the escaped master would summon is incomparably stronger than me.’

Convinced that Sung-jun would choose to catch Jizeurak and endure his attack, Chusalja gathered all his remaining strength and flew toward Sung-jun.

And just as Chusalja predicted, Sung-jun was extending his hand not toward the direction Chusalja was flying from, but toward the direction Jizeurak was fleeing.

‘The future is confirmed. All my senses are screaming that he will die.’

Just as Chusalja’s sharp teeth approached Sung-jun’s nape, Chusalja began to see the gold coin Sung-jun was holding in his right hand.

The appearance of the gold coin gripped so tightly that it was being crushed from how hard he was holding it.

The ‘Coin of Fate’ that foretold the results of what would happen to the caster.

It was clearly pointing to ‘heads’, not tails.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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