Chapter 486 – The Pinnacle (2)
From behind, tremendous tremors erupted in succession, accompanied by booming explosions.
It was nothing short of war.
Even if their numbers did not reach ten in total, they were mighty beings who could make their mark on the very stage of the world.
Of course, Alpha did not worry.
He firmly believed that he, along with Verden, Adrian, and Isabella, would all fulfill their given duties.
Search.
When the arm of the mini golem fiddled with a complex device, the Ring of Myriad Changes shifted.
Search.
As the rings moved, their numbers gradually increased, until finally five of the forty-nine began to rotate, soon merging into a single circle.
Searching for the [Hourglass of Perpetuity].
Receiving Verden's command, Alpha devoted his entire capability to the Ring of Myriad Changes.
For more than five hundred years, the creature that had been abandoned and yet carried out its duty, had always yearned to prove its worth.
'Your Majesty Verden.'
The speed of the manipulations quickened.
Alpha's concentration, once limited to the power granted by the very first Demon King, now for the first time began to exceed its peak.
***
'That is...'
Dahit sharpened his vision, employing his innate insight, yet he could not pierce the essence of the dark crimson power radiating from his opponent.
The only thing he discerned clearly, was that it was a form of magic power.
Ordinarily, when a mage displayed such an extreme transformation in an instant, it was either by activating an artifact, or by opening Mado itself...
'There was no sign of the former at all.'
But he could not simply conclude it was the latter by process of elimination.
That would mean the opponent had never used Mado until now.
'Impossible.'
Dahit asserted inwardly.
That transcendent, whose true appearance remained elusive, had been manifesting some form of Mado throughout the previous magic duel.
Free and irregular elemental magic.
Upon deeper observation, it had seemed like he was pioneering a path of transforming his very will into a kind of magic, rather than employing conventional spells... but now that judgment was thrown into doubt.
For such an interpretation could not account for the origin of this dark crimson magic power.
Perhaps, until now, he had not fully opened his Mado. That was the most plausible hypothesis, yet even that was vague.
If it were truly an extension of existing Mado, then at the very least the texture should match... yet the aura felt from the power that shattered the
'I cannot define his Mado.'
It was not so much abstruse, as it was abnormally vast in scope.
Before and after.
Comparing the difference, it seemed almost as if he possessed two distinct Mados.
Though that should have been impossible.
'What in the world did those old men bring back?'
As Dahit recalled the masters who once fled the Great Hall, Verden moved.
Sensing the spatial change, Dahit swung his left arm in a sweeping motion. Along its trajectory, black flames traced a crescent moon.
In that instant.
From Interis, imbued with Verden's Mado, a lance of annihilation manifested, cleaving Dahit's flames in an instant.
He leapt through space again.
Verden boldly closed the distance to approach Dahit.
Whirling his staff with dazzling speed, he unleashed his unique offensive.
Not spear techniques, but another kind of weapon skill.
A tactic that disoriented the eyes, thoroughly driving the foe where he wished.
A martial art of creating variables...
At the core of all of it lay magic, in multi-faceted motion.
'This is... the War Mages of the Arnak Empire?'
Not exactly the same.
The movements before his eyes were far more irregular, raw.
Yet among mage groups who could freely shift between close and long-range combat, only the Empire came to mind.
'His inner workings are unimaginably complex.'
The likelihood rose sharply that this mysterious transcendent who had intruded upon the Great Hall, was not merely another successor of the Black Hour.
Regardless.
'No matter what techniques he uses, it makes no difference.'
Dahit stepped back exactly three paces, setting his stance. He too, was a transcendent not bound by distance.
Whoooong! Hung! Kagagak! Kwaaaaaaaang!
Magic collided.
In intervals shorter than a second, attacks and counters clashed──in that narrow space Dahit gauged the destructive power of the dark crimson magic, and refined his black flames into denser, finer control.
Obliteration and annihilation.
Outwardly similar, yet conceptually utterly different.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
Verden, touched by the dark flames, felt a portion of his inner power consumed.
Dahit, blocking the crimson lance and brushing against it, felt both his magic power and spells scattering, accompanied by intense pain.
The robes wrapped around each of them began to fray little by little. The resistance prevented glaring wounds, yet the burden mounted.
The aftermath of their clash showed no sign of ending.
Then it came.
From Dahit's suddenly thrust-out palm, a jet of black flame burst forth. Verden barely blocked it, but his stance was poor.
He was slowly being pushed back.
A strange heat, that sought to erase objects themselves, began to creep in to invade his existence.
Grit.
Verden clenched his teeth, then synchronized the outer air currents with the inner flow of his magic power using his hypersenses.
Fwooooooosh!
The storm of annihilation unleashed shattered all air currents, blasting the entire surroundings away.
In that brief opening,
Though Dahit was already preparing his next spell... Verden had no intent to fight him head-on.
'Now.'
This time, he played his second card first.
A binding of annihilation and elements, born from the idea of Mado Convergence.
With an unregistered magic tome gifted by Rovellin, he sacrificed mid-to-high-grade magic stones to open it.
Then, using the artifact [Grimoire of Multiple Origins] obtained from the Ark, he absorbed that elemental tome, further amplifying the spell.
And of all the attributes, Verden chose 'lightning'.
Rumble...
Low thunder resounded.
The dark crimson magic power filling his mana circuits transformed, becoming lightning itself, coursing through his body with oppressive force.
He adapted the magic he once mimicked from the Warlord, Legrit, into this new lightning branch.
As Verden's body blazed with crimson lightning, a colossal spear of black flame struck the spot he had just vacated, shaking the ground.
Crackle───
"...!"
In the blink of an eye, Verden struck Dahit's blind spot. The speed surpassed any comparison to the original
Kwoooooooom!
Dahit reeled back from the mighty shockwave, as Verden steadied Interis.
His Mystic Eye swept the void.
Focusing his mind to the limit, he enveloped the orb in crimson lightning.
A new, original magic system, born from fusing the Mado of Annihilation with elemental attributes.
A burst of light exploded from the heavens.
Then, crimson lightning fell directly over Dahit's head, a precision strike that destroyed only the chosen point.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwaaaang!
"Kuuhhh...!"
The thick curtain of obliterating flames he had conjured was shattered into fragments by the dreadful thunderbolt.
Dahit, who had once scoffed even when struck by the 7th-tier spell
Boiling pain rose from within, lancing up his spine to hammer his brain.
Escape was near impossible.
Heavy chains of current ran through his entire body, searing his very existence as they bound him.
'In that case──'
Even while groaning, Dahit joined his hands, aiming them forward.
He folded his ring and little fingers, extended his thumb, index, and middle, overlapping them.
From his fingertips, a black beam flared.
Swooosh!
In an instant, the obliterating light surged, piercing Verden's side.
Maintaining the spell had left him with little leeway, yet even with caution, its speed was not something easily dodged.
"Kh...!"
As his focus faltered, Hyunroe was dispelled.
Verden staggered, clutching the railing of the bridge.
Lowering his gaze, he saw scorched marks branded along [Ainber's] front and back.
'It did not physically pierce me, but...'
Had it struck his head or heart, he would not have survived intact.
Ssshh.
Verden wiped the sweat from his chin.
"Even so, am I like Balrog?"
"...That one is cunning. Though the world praises and reveres him as the omnipotent transcendent, none are more insidious than he. Even I, who pursue efficiency regardless of means, must admit he stands above me in that regard."
Dahit steadied his breath, regained his composure, and smirked.
"In that sense, I withdraw my words that likened you to Balrog Bessias. You, rather, seem to share common ground with me."
Should he take being compared with the infamous usurper of the Black Hour as a compliment, or as mockery?
Verden truly pondered.
Dahit lowered his body, pressing both hands to the ground.
Flames of Deathflame infused with deep darkness spread, devouring all light within the domain.
An artificial night descended, like the moon eclipsing the sun.
"Conjuring celestial-based magical phenomena was the specialty of the sage, Harkan Dazest. He was laughably gentle, dreaming foolish ideals, but as an individual and as a master, I acknowledge his depth."
Dahit spread his arms wide.
"Just as I too gained much from Harkan's teachings."
"Then why did you betray him?"
"Because it was efficient."
The reason Dahit staged a rebellion the day before he would have ascended as head of the Black Hour, was known to none.
Not to Verden, not to Melard, not to Cayman.
Yet Verden felt he had some vague grasp of what kind of being Dahit, the transcendent, truly was.
The Dark Moon moved his finger.
"I've had enough of this war of wits. So I shall raise the stage higher. Surely, you haven't run out of hidden trump cards, have you?"
"Of course not."
Suuup, Verden drew in a deep breath.
The fourth and final function of the jet-black [Ainber] was activated.
The annihilation mana, stepping beyond the mana circuits, directly infused into his body.
And then.
Gray mana gathered in his hand, tracing constellations as he invoked Stellar Magic, the fifth star.
Satellite, Theav.
Centered around the primary star, Verden himself, eight small stars composed of flame, water, ice, earth, lightning, wind, gravity, and space floated up, slowly orbiting.
"That magic..."
Dahit recognized the fragment of Harkan that Verden was wielding.
Then he gave a small laugh, his shoulders shaking.
"Two years ago, I sent three Black Hour mages to find Harkan, who had become a cripple, with little time left. But in the Vard Mountains of the Principality of Riviant, they vanished, and only traces remained, resembling the impact of a
Cardin, Chen, Ferris.
The Black Hour mages Verden slew when he held Harkan's funeral.
Cardin, their leader, met his death when he was struck directly by the first star, the Falling Star.
"At the time, I thought it was Harkan's last struggle... but was it you?"
Verden shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows. Does it matter?"
"A little."
Why do transcendents possess such unregulated strength?
Because once they step into a realm beyond the ordinary, they refuse to remain complacent, ever striving forward.
Building power into factions, gathering mighty artifacts, opening new horizons of magic including super-tier spells...
It was an obsession, born from enlightenment, to achieve the ideal they envisioned.
Thus the transcendent of illusion once said.
Every transcendent is a lunatic, harboring their own unique madness.
The deep layers trembled.
A clash of murderous intent and mana on a scale unlike anything before entwined together.
The already-damaged bridge slowly began to crack apart.
Two transcendents, whose past paths and future roads were utterly different.
Now, the extremes they pursued once again aimed at each other.
***
The battlefield of national-level powers, unfolding in the vast chamber where the Ring of Myriad Changes stood.
The first member, Carindin Lerhar, had never thought subduing the intruders would go easily.
For these were those who had trespassed into the Great Hall, surviving even after being battered by Dahit with their lives intact, with the aid of Melard and Cayman.
Even so, he was fully confident they would ultimately prevail without heavy losses.
Three against two.
Not only did they hold numerical advantage, but those three consisted of nothing less than the Black Hour's highest and upper executives.
'Damn....'
Yet the situation was veering unexpectedly.
The forces were evenly matched.
If stripped of bias, the Black Hour was slightly being pushed back.
Crackkkkkkkkkkkk!
Isabella's full-powered wave of frost spread across the area.
It was a strange cold.
Molovas, the black mage and upper executive of the Black Hour, felt the chill of the frost settling on his body slowly burrow its way inward.
Moreover, the golden eyes, beneath which flickered bizarre magic circles beneath her robe, filled every executive without exception with dread.
A fierce magical battle.
Among them, it was Molovas who first sensed foreign matter within his body.
"W-what have you done to me...?!"
"Judging by you being the first to react, your magic resistance must be the weakest. But it's too late."
Isabella's Brilliant Eyes gleamed.
The mana tumor inside Molovas' elbow exploded. As the bloodstream was corroded and burst, nearly half his left arm was blown away.
"Kuaaaagh!!"
As Isabella flew forward to charge, Molovas, gritting his teeth, hastily rummaged in his pouch and scattered bone fragments.
From them, dozens of thick spikes shot forth.
Thud, thud-thuk!
Most were blocked, yet three or four pierced into Isabella's abdomen and shoulder, tearing into flesh and muscle.
"Kahahah...! That's what you get, charging like a boar───"
Ignoring the black magic spikes embedded in her body, Isabella grabbed Molovas by the collar, and slammed him down.
Then kicked his abdomen, sending him flying.
Kwoooooooom!
"Ghak, khhhhk!!!"
It was strength unthinkable for a 6th-tier mage. Molovas was hurled all the way into a distant wall, coughing blood.
Of course, he was not subdued yet.
Glurp.
Molovas opened his Mado, quickly mending his internal injuries.
He then pulled a piece of human flesh from his spatial pouch, absorbing the tissue with the principles of black magic and Mado to regenerate his lost left arm.
"As expected of an upper executive, troublesome indeed."
Isabella pulled the bone spikes from her body, concentrating her mana.
Thus, while sometimes unleashing wide-range spells, she maximized her focus by striking down one target at a time without dispersing her attention.
Meanwhile, Adrian, long accustomed to melees, darted across the battlefield, facing Carindin and the upper executive enchantment mage, Revana.
Carindin, who had taught Dahit fire magic, drew and released a bowstring woven from flames.
The sparks spreading below swelled, triggering chain explosions.
Kwaaakkkkwooooooom!
Heat surged without space to even step.
"..."
Yet, despite being amidst the bombardment, Adrian bore not a single wound.
Then, a slash that broke the sound barrier tore the air.
Shwaaaak───!
The violet blade aura missed by the slightest margin.
Carindin, seeing its speed with his own eyes, widened the distance further.
He cast a glance toward Revana nearby.
"How long until the mental domination is complete?"
"It's, not working properly on either of them...! Especially that swordsman...!"
Revana, a 6th-tier mage specializing in the mind.
Since earlier she had been trying to invade Adrian's and Isabella's minds, yet faced unexpected resistance.
'Well, considering they were brought by an unknown transcendent, I suppose they'd have a trick or two.'
Carindin clicked his tongue lightly.
It would demand far more time and effort than he had thought.
But... what unsettled him the most was something else.
Whooong. Whooong. Whoooooong. Whoooooooong.
The Ring of Myriad Changes, installed near the ceiling, spun ceaselessly.
And its speed, growing faster and faster, had now reached a realm even Carindin, one of its creators, could no longer comprehend.
'All the rings are operating at once.'
It was certain that with human computation, at most 25 of the 49 rings could be moved simultaneously.
He could swear, not even a magical transcendent could surpass 42.
A chill.
Carindin suddenly shivered.
It was the natural reaction of a mage witnessing a phenomenon inexplicable by magic.
'I've discovered that besides the swordsman and the mage, there is something else unseen...'
Upon closer inspection, it was no larger than the palm of a hand.
That only made it more incomprehensible.
What in the world was that tiny being now manipulating the Ring of Myriad Changes?
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