< 84. Confrontation and Declaration (2) >
*
[···I am the Pharaoh of the high stars, the son of the black sun, Altarak of a thousand daggers. Mortal child, I will never forget this humiliation!]
-Kugugugung!!
Altarak’s beastman suddenly accelerated. He pressed against the sky, descending while chanting an ancient spell from the Empire of Ashit. From the distant tip of the pyramid, perhaps from the oasis floating above it, a dark green current flowed.
-Kwajijijik!!
Following Altarak’s gesture, the current surged and plunged down. Soul, castle, spirit, bones. A lightning bolt that simultaneously destroyed the four factors maintaining the spirit form twisted grotesquely as it fell toward Fernandez’s crown—
[The Celestial Judgment of Mahras.]
Until the Magic Knot finally ended, Fernandez did not attempt a counter-spell, merely pressing against the beastman. Just before the lightning touched his hair, a black shadow erupted from his body.
-Kwadddeuk!!
The space touched by the shadow split apart, swallowing Altarak’s lightning. From within the shadow, Fernandez’s arm stretched out. Tendons bulged on the back of his hand, and bones protruded from the backlash of Dark Magic.
The arm that emerged from the shadow was withered and twisted like that of an old man. Slowly, the hand clenched the air—
“Altarak, if you will never forget, remember my name.”
From within the shadow, deep blue eyes burned like a lion’s. Like smoke, the black shadow slowly dissipated, revealing the face of an old man.
[!!!]
At that moment, Altarak stopped his spell in shock. The violently shaking magic power instantly calmed down.
-Hwarrreuk!!
A black halo burned. Fernandez, who had consumed his lifespan from the backlash of excessive magic use, looked old and exhausted, as if he might collapse at any moment. But those deep blue eyes were glaring at Altarak.
With legs so thin it seemed difficult to take another step, he stepped on the stone floor of the hall, moving forward.
“My name is Faijashi, the Wildcast, Faijashi of the tainted blood. Founder of Calmbruck, Grandmaster of Enso! Remember my name.”
-Chwarrreuk!
Chains rushed in like snakes. Before Altarak could even react, no. Before he could even think of reacting.
The chains pierced his chest and head, wrapping around his body. A suppressed groan escaped Altarak’s mouth, bound like a mummy.
This can’t be! He struggled to resist. Magic was a contest of mystery, a confrontation of realms. His past years had already surpassed a millennium… How could a mortal’s magic bind his body?
Moreover, the black shadow that had swallowed his spell, these black chains covering his entire body. They were not a complete spell. They were merely secondary functions activated to continue the spell!
Fernandez’s final gesture hung in the air.
‘The magic stone vein is quite convenient.’
The Bronze Throne only provided him with circuits. The total amount of magic power was pitifully small. If not for his sense of using it appropriately, such Great Magic would have been impossible.
The magic stone vein embedded in this cavern was structurally concentrated in this hall. Vast natural magic power flowed through the Bronze Throne, heating it red as it flowed into his hand.
The omnipotence he felt in his prime, when he wielded Hellish Magic, rose from his heart. The heart of a man who once ruled the world, at least in magic, at least in the coordination of magic power, began to beat again—
-Ah, this feeling, I’ve always missed this feeling. Fernandez. Always, always, it was never enough.
‘Even if I burned the entire world, it was never enough.’
A heart addicted to Hellish Magic cannot feel satisfaction. A heart with an infinitely high threshold for stimulation greedily sought magic power. In return, his life force was being consumed, burning up.
-Hwarrreuk!
Consuming life as currency, the black halo stretched out like branches. The magic circuit of the Bronze Throne reached its limit. But without stopping, Fernandez pressed on with his final move.
“The black protection of Diar, the soul binding of Bathion, and…”
-The domination of Faijashi.
The moment the spell was completed, the storm of magic power raging through the hall ceased. Silence fell. Altarak, his beastman, spells, chants, incantations, and struggles.
Silence loomed. Even the light of the magic stones slowly faded as if cooling. Only the halo floating behind Fernandez’s head burned alone.
-Gooo…
Fernandez staggered, momentarily swaying, then planted his greatsword into the ground to support himself. His hair, now bleached white, covered his face. His life was completely consumed by this spell, burning out.
His last breath lingered at the tip of his nose. Exhaling was his limit. Fernandez twisted his wrinkled lips open.
“It is mine.”
*
-Kwaaaang!!
A corner of the pyramid was cleanly torn away. Abel and Kirhas, running through the pyramid filled with the aura of death, abruptly stopped at the violent tremor.
“His Excellency must be fighting!”
“Let’s hurry a bit more.”
An earthquake was erupting. From the far end of the corridor where Fernandez surely was, shaking the entire pyramid and finally shaking this underground cavern. Abel knew well what this intense destruction meant.
‘Infermur…’
Infermur
At the harbor, the memory of Fernandez, who had climbed onto her back and wielded his magic, still vividly came to mind. Even for her, an ancient dragon who had lived for over a thousand years, the memory of that day occasionally sent shivers down her spine.
An overwhelming, and surprisingly efficient magic. As delicate as a jeweler’s chisel, and as intense as a siege weapon’s strike. It was a magic rare even in the mythical era she once roamed.
-KUUUUNG!!
Meanwhile, at that moment, Kirhas was witnessing something strange. She could now instinctively sense the direction Fernandez was in, no matter where he was in this world. It was akin to a kind of spiritual connection.
A deep blue path, like silk, lay before her eyes. She enjoyed walking on it. Just strolling along made her chest swell with pride, and if she even thought of running, her heart would race.
Now, that path was burning. A formless blue flame vividly appeared in her vision. The pull of her soul was growing stronger. As the pyramid’s tremors intensified, the color of the path she gazed upon grew deeper and deeper.
Darker, deeper.
Blacker.
“Kirhas…!”
-TADAT!
She dashed like a flash of light. Even though her physical abilities were at the level of an ordinary person, Abel’s body was closer to that of a dragon than a human. To Abel, Kirhas seemed to run so fast that she left afterimages.
Abel clicked her tongue and spurred herself forward. When they first entered the pyramid, they had been wary of potential traps, but fortunately, all had been destroyed. Fernandez must have taken care of it. Now, they just had to trust him—
-GOOOO…
“Stop!”
Abel hastily grabbed Kirhas by the collar and yanked her back. Kirhas let out a choked sound as she stopped mid-air. Abel roughly pulled Kirhas back and glared ahead.
The air had stopped. No, the quality of the air had changed. It felt thicker and heavier.
“…Fernandez. What are you doing…?”
Abel sighed and looked toward the end of the corridor. The epicenter of the explosion was now right in front of them. Through the wide-open hall door, they could see Fernandez, shrouded in a black shadow.
“…Your Excellency…?”
Kirhas opened her eyes wide and trembled. Abel hugged her and comforted her. It was understandable. Even she wanted to retreat.
“Stay calm, Kirhas. Stay calm.”
Abel whispered softly, even her own voice betraying her disbelief. An overwhelming presence was swirling within the hall. Fernandez’s head fell, his white hair barely touching the ground as he struggled to support himself.
-FLARURUK!!
A sinister black halo burned chaotically. Abel looked at Fernandez, her instincts screaming in fear.
As his presence grew, the Fernandez she knew seemed to fade away. His emaciated arms and hunched back looked pitiful.
She wanted to support him immediately. But her instincts were blaring a fierce warning.
Then, a small voice reached her ears. No, not her ears—her soul.
“He is mine.”
At that moment, even the specters of Conclave. Kirhas, who had been staggering. Sadia, who had been running after them from afar. Even Abel.
All knelt and fell to their knees at his words.
*
At the forward base of the Leviathan Empire, and the secret area located on the outskirts of the massive military encampment. Silence hung over the 3rd Command of Iron Side.
Brandon stood on the watchtower, already looking toward Mosat City for the fifth time. He anxiously pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. Fifteen minutes had already passed.
The grand magic prepared by the Imperial Destruction Arts School should have been activated by now. He carefully uttered words he never wanted to say.
“Captain, it seems we’ve failed.”
“…Seems so?”
“Definitely.”
Angela’s face was cold and stiff. Her mind was tangled in confusion. Was there a flaw in the plan?
The Conclave opens the sealed tomb door. This was something Iron Side had succeeded in 30 years ago when they discovered the Conclave’s sealed site. Even the dark green magic beacon, the proof of the seal’s release, had been observed.
30 years ago, when a massive ruin was discovered beneath a city occupied by the Leviathan Empire, Iron Side had unsealed the ruin without hesitation. The ruin was more of an altar than a seal. An altar to awaken an ancient being.
A massive surge of magic swept through, the beacon tore through the sky, and the dead rose. Iron Side pushed the awakened being far to the eastern continent and took the magic stones from that place.
30 years later, when they learned that the Conclave’s specter, which had disappeared at that time, had occupied the Dane Kingdom. And when they heard the news that the ‘Great Knight of the Round Table, Albert,’ who had appeared like a comet, had exorcised that specter.
Angela immediately formulated a new plan. Unseal the altar beneath Mosat City and resurrect the Conclave’s specter.
Bomb Mosat City into oblivion, summon the Legion of the Necropolis en masse, and create a variable in this stagnant war.
Defeat Kirzat, whose rear was in disarray, extract a massive war indemnity from the Sultan, and excavate the ruins and magic stones buried beneath the wasteland. Then, beyond the central and northern continents, they could finally rise as a great empire commanding the entire world.
The plan was perfect. The grand fireworks created by the Empire’s scholars would be the signal.
“What do we do now, Captain?”
The activation of the grand magic would have been detected by Kirzat’s magical forces as well. It wouldn’t be hard for them to guess that our magical forces would be incapacitated for a while.
Until we could secure our magical forces again, the flow of the war seemed clear. And so did who would bear the responsibility for it all.
Angela bit her lip.
“I’ll have to step in myself.”
“…Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“If I’m not, what other choice do we have?”
The Empire Iron Side already knows the locations of all the ruins where the Necropolis Conclaves are sealed.
If the war situation becomes predictable, we’ll overturn the entire map into chaos. That was the most intuitive strategy she could formulate now.
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