“Nonononono, how could anyone remain calm after seeing that?!”
Suimei was practically screaming, the scene unveiling itself before his eyes had so blown away any notion of common sense. He continued to watch.
What the hell is going on? The cursed ice is really breaking… This is insane.
—The type of magic known as hexes weren’t simply curses. Hexes were a specific technique belonging to the curse system of modern magic. Briefly described, they did not use feelings of resentment as a foundation, but were rather entirely artificial, manufactured from beginning to end.
Different from the terrifying destructive power or powerful bindings that were born of deep feelings of resentment, hexes were able to directly reproduce the effects of these spells without the underlying requirement of these negative feelings. Dispelling a hex required directly targeting the technique itself, which required a thorough understanding of such things in addition to a fair amount of skill.
Anyway, that was why what was happening now was simply unbelievable. A curse originally wasn’t something that manifested physically the way other magic did. For it to be destroyed in this manner was like a certain famous monk who’d subdued a painting of a tiger.
“S-shit! Everyone, take him down, NOW!” the adventurer beside Suimei shouted, as Suimei frowned worriedly.
Sounds of acknowledgment echoed from all around.
The other adventurers traded glances and nodded before proceeding to take action. Unfortunately, the torrent of black energy pouring forth from the Mazoku sent them all flying.
“D-dammit! Don’t get too close!”
“Use magic! Kill it with magic!”
“—O flame! Become a spear and pierce my foe!”
As commanded, the magicians began to chant.
It wasn’t well thought out, though. Judging by what had happened earlier, if it was just the Mazoku they were dealing with, then perhaps their magic would have been sufficient to break through its defenses. This time, however, the Mazoku was surrounded by ice.
There had never been a reason to revoke a curse in their own world, and so Suimei lacked the ability to cancel the curse and break the surrounding ice.
Consequently, the magic intended to destroy the Mazoku weakened considerably.
As their respective magics landed, what appeared before them was the sight of the Mazoku, completely unharmed.
“What’s going on? How come our magic didn’t work…?!”
The adventurers were deeply shaken.
At this moment, the Mazoku’s power continued to surge forth as before. This tremendous power filled them with a fear they could not ignore.
This was a strange power, utterly unlike the feeling that came from a magician activating their mana furnace.
That power… I’ve seen it somewhere before…