Chapter 478 - Full Preparation
A cool breeze was blowing.
The vast sea surged ceaselessly, as if it were alive, ripples rising and falling in steady rhythm, and at times, swells came crashing in, tangled and fierce.
At the center of the boundless ocean, a single reef jutted upward.
It was a rock that had just now burst forth, as the deep-sea terrain had been manipulated by artificial force.
"..."
Verden stood atop the reef, holding Interis in one hand.
The natural sea, where no gaze of others nor destruction of nature could intrude, was, to a Transcendent, a place of limitless freedom.
'So, it is already autumn.'
He had taken another step closer to the coming year.
From the City Alliance of Kailiens to the Republic of Beldirn, together with Adrian, he had confronted the Glory of the Dead.
He had seized the domain of the Ownerless Land, persuaded the Sages of the Society, and forged an alliance.
He had slain Rayshen Tailroad.
Isabella had joined.
He had reunited with Alpha.
After meeting the World Tree, he had finally reached Transcendence in the Blue Mountains.
At Verden's request, Gharun had crafted Interis, and he had brought the homeless dwarves into the Ownerless Land.
And now, he was at the point of heading in earnest toward the stronghold of Black Hour.
Retracing the memories of this year, Verden exhaled.
As he looked upon the deep blue waves shimmering with reflected sunlight, he recalled another transcendent being.
'Amwol, Dahit Wethroel.'
Verden had conversed much with Dahit's teachers, the first members of the Black Hour, Melard Tastienne and Cayman Vermont.
Thanks to them, he had come to some grasp of the power Dahit possessed.
The Mado of Deathflame.
The Mado pioneered by Dahit overturned the very essence of flame, manifesting in the world as black fire that burned endlessly, consuming whatever it touched, in proportion to the magic power expended.
Quite literally, lethally absolute.
But after Dahit attained Awakening, his innate Black Flame evolved further, passing beyond incineration into the realm of annihilation.
If one were wholly engulfed by Dahit's Mado, not even ashes, much less a corpse, would remain.
Just like the recently deceased Diamoon Tower Master.
'...troublesome.'
If Verden were to clash head-on with Dahit in a battle of magic, it would be a thorough contest of calculation.
Though their Mados pursued different paths, both were equally honed toward destruction of the other.
Yield even once, and it could end without chance of reversal.
Therefore, every possible situation must be met with active response, and even if pierced, one must tenaciously tear away at least a shred of flesh.
A battle of extreme slaughter.
Of course, that applied not only to Verden, but also to Dahit.
'But if the contest drags on, it is I who will grow disadvantaged.'
Dahit had lived as a Transcendent for long, amassing experience, no doubt concealing bizarre trump cards.
'Perhaps he even holds more than one piece of Superlative Magic.'
Whatever the case, he was surely stronger than when he usurped Black Hour.
Then how to bridge, or even erase, the gulf of years?
Accumulate time?
As he had already said before, naturally out of the question, for the inability to set a date made it utterly inefficient.
Many methods surfaced, then were discarded.
Since returning from the volcanic region of the Western Continent to the Ownerless Land, Verden had pondered deeply, testing possibilities in spare moments.
The answers to the question resolved largely into three.
'The first answer is Superlative Magic.'
The privilege of Transcendents, who sway the very world itself, and the sole means to counter Dahit's Superlative Magic and deliver a fatal blow.
During his wager with the Grand Duke Rivandale, he had glimpsed a fragment of Superlative Magic, and on impulse, succeeded in uniting two Mados into one.
Building upon that, Verden had passed beyond conception and begun construction.
He imitated Unia's Mado, combined Infinity and Destruction, and created a gray satellite-like body...
He researched what kind of magic he could create with the unknown magic power contained within it, and soon struck upon an excellent idea.
'This ashen magic power is not so different from Celestial attribute. Aside from the degree, it could almost be considered the same.'
The fusion of Mado Combination and Celestial Magic.
Verden at once began experimentation.
***
The Celestial Magic crafted by Harkan Dazest, the first member of Black Hour, consisted of five stars.
The First Star, Meteor.
The Second Star, Comet, Rarenia.
The Third Star, Spirit Star, Alhena.
The Fourth Star, Binding Star, Regnarum.
The Fifth Star, Satellite, Theab.
Originally, the so-called Celestial Attribute which underpinned this magic had been embodied through Harkan's Mado, but it was only truly completed at the moment it took root in Verden.
Verden asked himself.
Why does the Celestial Attribute bear a gray hue?
From the memories received of Harkan, he found that Harkan had never known what external form the Celestial Attribute took.
He had never seen it, after all.
It was like a parent who had a child, but never saw the child's face.
But——even if he had witnessed it, the conclusion observed by the Sage, Harkan Dazest, would have diverged entirely from reality.
Because.
'The reason the Celestial Attribute is gray, is from the very beginning because of me.'
Such was the result of his contemplation as a Transcendent.
'What should I call this?'
During the process by which the potion, imbued with Celestial Attribute wrought by Harkan's Mado, was absorbed into the body... could it be explained as momentarily manifesting the phenomenon of Mado pioneering, influenced by the user?
Of course, this applied only to the phenomenon itself.
If Celestial Magic had truly been a kind of Mado, then not only Verden but other Magi would have realized long before.
'At any rate.'
The Celestial Attribute and Celestial Magic became unique, shaped by the existence of Verden, and Mado Combination was likewise proof of Verden's being.
Thus, the texture of the two was alike.
Back when he remained in the realm of Quasi-Transcendent, he had grasped up to the Third Star.
And recently, after passing through Awakening and completing his Mado, he had naturally come to realize the Fourth and Fifth Stars as well.
The number of foundations that could serve as components for Superlative Magic had thus increased.
With such hope brimming, Verden launched into research...
'Tch.'
Not long after, a moment of frustration arrived.
'The Third Star and below cannot withstand the power of Mado Combination at all.'
It felt as though he were cramming a 6th-tier spell into a 5th-tier spell, and of course, the vessel could not endure, shattering apart.
Kwooooooooom!
The backlash shook Verden with significant impact, yet he steadied himself mechanically and proceeded to the next experiment.
This time, he used the newly gained stars.
But again, the two higher stars did not serve as suitable alternatives.
From the beginning, their orientation was different.
The Fourth Star, Binding Star, Regnarum, was none other than sealing magic.
The Fifth Star, Satellite, Theab, was strongly auxiliary in nature.
They were not suitable for wholly containing the transcendent destructive power Verden envisioned.
'Well, if it were solved easily, it would be no fun.'
For the first time in a long while, Verden poured forth the full measure of a true Mage's obsession and passion.
Of course, there was no thought of giving up midway.
If he failed, he immediately stood up again, and if he succeeded in taking even half a step forward, he laughed.
Last year, just as he had forced Meteor and Spirit Star into linkage, using the potential of the Mado
Verden actively revived that experience, this time tearing apart and recombining all of the Celestial Magics.
A Transcendent pours forth effort and talent.
Upon the foundation of all knowledge and experience, he repeated countless trials and errors.
The result, was clear.
It was several days after his meeting with Cayman Vermont.
Verden had achieved his aim.
'At last...!'
A strange light flickered in Verden's eyes.
Before him unfolded the results of his research and experiments.
The sky, belonging to the realm of Superlative Magic, was stained in ash-gray, then very slowly regained its color.
For a moment, within the ocean's space where a vast sinkhole had formed, a tremendous rush of water surged in, filling the void.
"Ha."
Verden staggered at the unfamiliar sense of exhaustion, steadying himself on the reef's peak with Interis.
At the same time, he shuddered at the indescribable sense of accomplishment.
'The completion of the first Superlative Magic.'
A new trump card to oppose Dahit Wethroel was now in his grasp.
This was one of the answers to bridging the gap with Dahit.
'And the second answer is Artifacts.'
The fourth function of the evolved [Ainber],
The End of Order, the 'activation' of Interis.
Though never yet tested in battle, it could surely counter any Artifact Dahit might possess.
This much was certain.
'And lastly, the third answer is... the union of Mado and Element.'
In other words, uniting the Mado
It was a thought that arose as a byproduct of succeeding in instantly merging two Mados into one.
'But I cannot simply combine with different elements each time and use it diversely. It takes far too long to focus. It lies in a domain that the Mystic Eye cannot shorten.'
Thus, to use the third answer, he must bind the Mado of Destruction to a particular elemental attribute.
Only then would it belong to the scope where the Mystic Eye's instant casting could apply.
Of course, even with the bond maintained, it was still possible to cast the Mado of Destruction and that element separately.
But to rebind the Mado of Destruction with another element, he would need to undo and redo the bond, which meant the process would take an exceedingly long time.
'Therefore, here and now, I must choose one element, and achieve its bond with the Mado.'
"..."
Verden opened subspace.
From the Scale of Ignacia, he summoned the unregistered grimoire—left to him by his childhood friend, Rovellin.
Until now, he had kept it without use, unable to decide which element to select... but now, the time had come to choose.
This was no moment to hold back strength.
'Register the element in the grimoire, and bind it to the Mado of Destruction.'
Which element would be best?
Which magic could best draw out the strengths of the Mado of Destruction?
About two hours passed in deep contemplation.
Through a magic stone, Verden birthed a new elemental grimoire, and placed it into the Artifact he had gained from the Ark, [Grimoire of Multiple Origins].
The stance of full readiness was set.
***
The golem research facility of the First Demon King.
Alpha, having returned to his main body, stored every memory he had experienced as a mini-golem.
Then, he carefully examined the core of Beta, entrusted to him by Verden.
[Probability of complete repair, 7%. If failed, probability of core collapse, 88%. Plan 1 discarded. Switching to Plan 2. I will secure only the irreplaceable essence from Beta's core.]
With the devices and tools in the research facility, Alpha delicately worked upon Beta's core.
He chose rationally, discarding parts that were broken or too hard to repair, salvaging only what could be saved.
No mistakes, no miscalculations.
As a golem, he had no physiological hand tremors, and moreover, his resolve to restore Beta was unwavering.
Beta was a golem created after Alpha himself.
Which meant...
[Beta, is younger sibling.]
Using the word he had learned traveling with Verden, Alpha poured his effort into the restoration of his "younger sibling" golem, nearly one hundred years his junior.
Though Beta's core had shrunk, it had regained stability.
Next, Alpha designed the frame that would become Beta's body, analyzing thoroughly what would be needed in the process.
For the moment, he lacked the technology to revive Beta fully.
Time passed.
Verden came to the research facility.
Alpha hurried over on short steps, looking up at Verden as he gave his report.
[Your Majesty Verden, a natural golem is required.]
"A natural golem?"
[Difficulty in designing Beta's exclusive frame. The frame Beta had in the Great Forest possessed a special function formed naturally. Having considered that it drew upon external magic power as its drive, I judged it similar to certain natural golems. For progress in research, the capture of a natural golem is indispensable.]
A natural golem was a variant born spontaneously, with a core formed from an object saturated with high-density magic power.
The frequency of their discovery was low.
Even Verden had only seen two in all his life.
"To capture a natural golem alive and move it here... it will take time, but understood. I will see to it."
[Thank you, long live Your Majesty Verden.]
Alpha threw both arms high.
Verden spoke.
"Alpha, because of the Black Hour matter I mentioned before, we will soon be leaving the Ownerless Land. If you wish to come, I will take you."
Alpha was versatile.
He was not a golem that required mere protection. There were more than enough reasons to bring him to the Black Hour's Grand Hall.
[Of course. But, where are we going?]
"First, to the Otherworld, a place called Libereas. It is said to be where the demons fled, away from the light."
Demons.
Alpha, though knowing of them in knowledge, had never actually seen that variant, and his single eye sparkled.
Once more becoming a mini-golem, Alpha settled on Verden's shoulder.
[Departure.]
Alpha was filled with curiosity.
And he delighted, above all, in traveling the world together with Verden.
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