Rumble!
The Domain of Gluttony was broken by the mana storm unfolding within it. Even Eren was thrown away by the shockwaves generated by the series of explosions. The butcher's aerial maneuverability skills were put to the test in an incident of his own creation.
The ground shook and it felt like someone had summoned a miniature form of the sun to the battlefield. The oxygen in the air was burning so fast that one would have trouble breathing even if one were to remain unaffected by the explosion.
The shockwaves were followed by the rumbling sound of destruction that could overwhelm one's auditory senses. A cloud of dust reached for the sky as the crater at ground zero got progressively larger.
Fire element mana was so stirred at ground zero that it created various flame apparitions. From simple flames to what looked like flame spirits in the shapes of beasts and humanoids, they were summoned to the scene. These flame spirits would quickly dissolve their existence. Their positions would get taken over by other spirit beasts and the cycle would repeat itself.
These flame spirits seemed to have wills despite their short lifespans. They seemed to be influenced by gluttony mana which made them eat their own kind before getting dissolved into nothingness.
As the explosion continued, these flame spirits continued to appear around the cloud of flame and dust. It looked as if they were dancing– playing around with each other at the campfire while listening to tribal beats.
'Hmmm? This is… interesting. What kind of magic is this? Can I make my spells alive?
I wonder if there is any class such as a Spirit Summoner? What else can I do with Sin Series mana?
And what if I add wrath mana to the equation as well? Should… Should I conduct more blasts like these? Maybe if I…'
Eren scratched his jawline while feeling the heat waves coming from the blast all over his body. He seemed lost in his thoughts.
'No… There's more to this incident than that. I'm not thinking big enough.
Can I capitalize this? What happens if I manage to copy Lensa's Ability, inject Sin Series mana into it, and use it to create explosions? Can I stabilize the existence of these spirits by bringing life to them as my summoned creatures?
The possibilities are endless. I... I just need some time.'
One had to say that there was one hell of a mad scientist hidden inside Eren. Any normal ranker would find his deep thoughts after the explosion profound and frightening at the same time. If it was possible, they would tag him with various labels before locking him behind bars for his destructive thought process.
However, Eren wasn't only thinking about destruction.
He looked at the miniature flame spirits dancing around the explosion with unmasked curiosity. He felt as if he should make his own brand of magic down the line after carrying out enough experiments like these. He also started thinking of various ways he could apply the Sin Series mana.
Eren didn't try to get near the explosion because the blast had not yet settled down. He flew even higher and prevented himself from getting blasted by shockwaves once again.
Eren knew that for the most part, he would be immune to the flames he had created. But whenever there was a mana storm involved, the norms were tossed out the window.
The butcher didn't want to get burned by the flames of his own creation. Apart from sustaining a completely unavoidable injury, he felt that his reputation would be ruined in Alephee's eyes if it ever happened to him. She'd get juicy material to mock him about.
'Well… color me impressed. More of them managed to stay alive than I had initially thought. Might as well use them.'
Eren couldn't use his mana sense to keep tabs on his opponents inside the mana storm. He couldn't use his soul sense properly because interference from intent-driven magic became an obstacle. However, his soul sense could pick up on the vital signs of the opponents. And it told him that there were three survivors inside the explosion.
The rest of the participants died in the explosion. They didn't even have a chance to put up a fight.
The three participants had survived Eren's integrated spell powered by gluttony mana. It meant that, including Gondel, four participants remained inside the test grounds.
Gondel's survival wasn't by chance. It helped that Gondel was standing close to the barrier from the beginning. The geek's body had slammed into the barrier due to the initial shockwaves from the explosion.
The butcher had allowed Gondel to pass through the barrier himself right after his body was seen slapped over the semi-transparent barrier. He then maintained the barrier long enough for him to get away from ground zero before it collapsed, saving the geek's life.
Eren had his own reasons to save Gondel's life of course. And they were not related to the array key. Because the array key would have survived Eren's blast just fine.
Eren's reason for saving Gondel was driven by a much deeper motive. After all, he couldn't let his "food" get overcooked inside the oven.
The cloud of dust and the stirred mana wouldn't have calmed down anytime soon. However, Maya raised her staff and activated the runes over them to take control of the situation. In intervening, she chose to clear the battlefield without interfering with the battles between participants.
Swoosh.
It was as if flames were sucked out with invisible straws. The flame spirits also disappeared as a result. The cloud of dust was also cleared by Maya's intervention, leaving a clear view of the devastated battlefield behind.
Maya looked at Eren warily while doing the clean-up after him. She had to say that she had shaken hands with a very dangerous man.
Maya had seen her father Lin Lehan operate when he was on the land of Anfang. For some reason, Eren's eyes expressed similar intentions to Lin's. Sasara Sage had done similar explosions for research before.
Maya was reminded of Lin Lehan's words as she looked at Eren.
'Destruction births life. It's one of the fundamental rules of Creation.'
AN: Forgot to add this note in the . Darven and Harja Mel were first mentioned in chapter 1099. They were the ones trying to claim Sage Lufthansa's Legacy in Eren's place.
