RMLLD: Archipelago

Sector YonJu: Anti-Magic

I woke up in some kind of bed inside the Tower, but in a location that I did not remember. I immediately sprung up and faced the door of the room I resided in, only to see my resident spirit queen, Sipiosa, trying to sneak out of the door as quietly as possible.

"So," I said as Sipiosa stiffened and stopped moving. "What are You doing?"

"I, uh, was just trying to see if you were up or not-"

"Really?"

"Uh... yes?"

I sighed at her horrible attempt to lie, and put on a serious face. "If it is nothing big, you can go. But if it affects us, you have to tell me." I said before stopping her again. "Nevermind about the importance, you have to tell me what you came here for. Also, where am I?"

"Before I tell you about the incident, I need you to look at your masterpiece first. I never believed that anyone can return the Tower into half of its original state, let alone summon it as part of a skill. By the way, you are on the 27th floor right now."

"27TH FLOOR?" I yelled in surprise. "How many floors are there now?"

"If I remember correctly, there are around 50 floors now, and the Outerworlders' dorms are still on the topmost floors. It seems like the Tower's evolution decided to suit the user's needs and evolved accordingly."

"I-what-" Is this Tower some kind of intelligent being? How?

I quickly recovered from my shock before turning to Sipiosa again. "So, what was the incident you talked about before?"

"Um... so... our detection screen went black on a certain area ahead. It showed that there was very dense manaki concentration there, but it could not detect anything, like a hole in a paper that's just gone. It's almost as if-"

"-the manaki in that zone is being erased, nullified." I finished. Magic cancellation? No... it's the power of using manaki to snuff out manaki, a certain type of magic that I do not fully understand yet- Anti-Magic.

So, he finally appeared, huh? I've been waiting for him, since anti-magic has a lot of potential for everyone's goals. His name was Asta, a boy born with no magic that ended up acquiring his devil, Liebe's power: Anti-Magic. It was a mysterious force that erased manaki as if it never existed.

I sighed. If they view me as an enemy, it'll be hard to fight them. Without magic, it is hard to fight in situations despite my strengthened physique. I better bring Hikobi with me, in case we need to escape.

"Sipiosa! Tell the Outerworlders I'm going to clean out an area and that it's dangerous. Tell them to stay here unless I don't return within a day." I ordered.

"Okay, sure, I'll go right now!" Sipiosa said as she flew out of the door.

Well then, it's time to get going.

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I flew on Hikobi's back and tried to analyze Anti-Magic with the current information I have, but Vivumo cannot come up with a nullification skill to do anything about it. With that being said, I do have one last resort: my swords.

Crimson and Deep Freeze are out of commission for now, but Umbra-Electra and Crevasse Chasm I are special, and they can resist the anti-magic barrier that Asta has created over the field. At least until he finds a way to get rid of it, that is. I'm positive that Crevasse Chasm I will definitely still have its Abyss Magic embedded in it, since it is made of voidsteel, and anti-magic shouldn't affect physical weapons, I think.

With that thought in mind, we flew straight into the anti-magic barrier, and both Hikobi and I felt our life force being drained as if something is directly affecting us. I immediately figured out the source.

We approached the two figures quietly and stealthily, and almost gave ourselves away when one of them suddenly talked.

"Do we really have to put up this barrier, Liebe?" The muscular boy asked a being who floated in the air, scanning the surroundings with a calculating gaze.

"Of course. I do not know what kind of place this world is, but I can tell that they are insanely strong creatures in this world, ones who can even erase anti-magic. So it's better to be safe here before we can gather some information. Use the intelligent part of your brain for once, Asta. " Liebe hissed.

"And when are we going to start to gather information?" Asta asked, a bit annoyed.

Liebe went silent before I suddenly felt a chill on my back. "Well, we can start right now!"

A flash of black swiped past me and Hikobi as I dodged it and we took off into the air. The tiny structure fell, revealing Asta and Liebe as we faced them.

"Tch! A human and an Amphiptere? How did you get inside our barrier?" Liebe demanded as the Demon-Slayer Sword floated back beside him.

"Greetings, my name is Roy Excindo. I am an Outerworlder just like you, who is reincarnated in this world from another one. I would like to invite you to our base." I introduced myself and stated what I wanted directly.

"Oh? There are more people like us? Then let's go! It should be safe, right, Liebe?" Asta's eyes immediately lit up.

"You idiot! Why would you trust him so easily? He could be a person who was just trying to lure you to somewhere!" Liebe warned, hissing as he summoned the Demon-Dweller Sword and the Demon-Destroyer Sword.

"Now, now, Liebe. I can sense ki, remember? His ki shows that he's kind, and I do not doubt my senses." Asta reassured Liebe, but he was still unconvinced.

"Sure, but I have to fight him at least once. And since I cannot do it on my own, please give me your swords." Liebe said as Asta looked at me apologetically. Seems like a battle is inevitable.

I took out Umbra-Electra and faced Liebe, who attacked me head on with Demon-Slayer, which I deflected and rushed towards him. He then sent Demon-Dweller at me, and I decided to use a cool trick I learned with the Shadow Magic in this sword.

I redirected Demon-Dweller into a nearby shadow as it disappeared into it, and came out very far from Liebe, which Liebe was unable to control since it left his field of control.

"Tch!" He hissed as he used Demon-Destroyer to erase the shadow magic, and somehow Demon-Dweller was in his hands again.

Seems like their power grew stronger in this world, too, huh? I thought as I advanced to Liebe's front and slashed down with a lightning-imbued strike, only to be met with the three swords that absorbed, erased, and repelled the lightning.

Ugh! Anti-magic really is annoying. It seems like I'll have to use Crevasse Chasm I. That is, when I can find an opening and avoid all three deadly swords!

I jumped into a shadow that I activated before the Demon-Destroyer Sword reached me, since it could erase magic effects in a certain area. I then used the shadow realm to jump out behind Liebe, and threw Umbra-Electra so it could block all three swords by ricocheting off them. In that crucial moment, I took out Crevasse Chasm I and unsheathed it as I slashed down at the devil.

Unexpectedly, another sword flew out of Asta's grimoire as Liebe gripped it and swung at me. The Demon-Slasher Katana, Asta's fourth anti-magic sword that he lended from his captain. The abyss magic clashed into the anti-magic, trying to make work of its absolute severance, but the anti-magic is constantly pushing it back, causing a stalemate between the spells.

I willed more power into the voidsteel as I can feel it reaching its limit, and I unleashed all the abyss magic at once. Not even anti-magic can completely erase all this magic, and Liebe was forced to dodge as the slash slit throught the ground, and shattered a rock, revealing a girl hiding behind it.

CRAP!

I used my skill 《Evasion》to move forward, and I can see Asta was also rushing towards the girl as fast as he could. I rushed forward with my fastest speed as I turned and faced my own, strongest spell.

This is going to hurt a lot.