Book 20 Chapter 14
Chapter 183
The Fated Enemy and Vanguard of the Mission, Shintian Caditpol Knights (15)
The reason the Battle of <Shuriganaquius> was recorded as a pitched battle was, naturally, because both sides deployed nearly their full forces.
The allied forces broke through the north and west gates of <Shuriganaquius>.
After piercing through the demon and Reptilian armies, they succeeded in entering the city center, but their advance was temporarily halted there.
Before the might of Kadin Alma (01) and Kadin Vete (02), the path down to the underground cathedral was blocked, and the breaking of the seal was now in its final countdown stage.
To stop this!
The Lista Party had to defeat the Caditpol Knights, so it was no exaggeration to say that humanity's fate rested on the Hero Party.
At that time, all the allied army could do was protect all roads connecting to the Grand Plaza and make the Lista Party focus solely on fighting the Caditpol Knights.
“Stop them! Not even a single rat must be allowed to go towards the Grand Plaza! This is how we support the Hero Party!”
The south, where the enemy forces were largest, was defended by the Imperial Army's Akrad Continent Allied Forces!
The east by two regiments of the Elven Sagrada Division.
The north, where the enemy numbers were lowest thanks to the Hero Party, and the west, where the Imperial Army had passed through, were handled by the Ain 1st Artillery Regiment, the Special Operations Department of the Magic League, and the Lee Jin (李眞) Witch Coven.
“Holtcranks formation, establish!”
Thus, surrounding the Grand Plaza as if in a reverse siege, they were in a situation where they were blocking the surging enemies, but…!
The showdown between the apex beings unfolding right behind them was so intense that even the wind pressure from its aftermath was fierce, and more than enough to stir people's primal curiosity.
Furthermore, the longer it took for the Lista Party to defeat Caditpol, the greater the troop losses became, so the allied forces couldn't keep looking back.
“Friede!”
Even at this very moment, Friede's barrier was fiercely writhing as it blocked Zulak's magic.
‘Blocked it… or not?’
If one were to focus the barrier's defensive power frontally, the sky or flanks would inevitably be left open, but Zulak's flames suddenly split into three streams, aiming precisely for that vulnerability!
“I thought it was strange earlier, but how is that magic able to move to different places after being blocked by the barrier?”
Leonia, Princess of Hosen, asked. Pencion Ludwig, who was leading the Special Operations Department and holding the same position as Hosen's Rapid-Fire Squad, replied.
“Indeed… that is the greatest strength of Crystallization magic.”
“Crystallization?”
“The theory of Crystallization magic is based on infinite decimals, that is, ‘0.99999…=1’.”
“What is that? You're all excited just because something you know came up. Explain it simply.”
“Hey, come on, even if you are a direct descendant of a Grand Sorcerer, how can you know absolutely nothing about math? I'll explain it simply. Let's say Lin or I create a fireball with magic.”
Then Cecil Duren, a member of the Special Operations Department, shone with a look of doubt.
“Lady Lin's fireball would be much stronger, so lumping them together in a comparison is a bit…”
Pencion gritted his teeth, but his opponent was a princess from the Elector's household!
“Regardless of its size or power, it possesses a single coordinate and unified kinetic energy. When it clashes with another magic, that kinetic energy is also lost, and the magic's momentum quickly vanishes.”
“But is the Crystallization magic of the Kepel family different?”
“Due to the infinite decimals I mentioned earlier, a ‘unified bundle of force’ can be finely divided into several parts and used. These bundles of force have independent coordinates and kinetic energy, so the magic itself doesn't disappear just because it's blocked once.”
Leonia, whose head felt like it would split from the talk of mathematicians before she was even a mage, asked irritably.
“I get that this Crystallization magic or whatever it is, is amazing! But is it really that strong? Your Ludwig family is said to be the strongest against mages, right? But Lin doesn't even lose to you.”
A similar exchange between the Emperor commanding the Imperial Army in the south and his Magus, Silviet Kepel, was also taking place.
“Dealing with Crystallization magic is trickier than expected. Although it's said that the Ludwig family has the highest peak in esoteric magic among the noble houses, that would be a judgment made without having encountered the ultimate secrets of Crystallization magic.”
“Why is that?”
“The Crystallization magic of our family determines the number and speed of divisions based on the caster's mental calculation speed and skill. However, Master Zulak Kepel… I can clearly see that what's written in the texts isn't false… He is able to split a single magic spell down to the particle level!”
Pomas of the Osarius School, a rising Atlas (3-star) rank mage who was conscripted into this expeditionary force by imperial decree, said.
“Crystallization magic alone is certainly strong, but… the problem is that his casting speed is half a beat faster than Lin's Osarius-style hand signs.”
Leonia, who was defending the east gate, bit her lower lip.
“To have a magic casting speed even faster than Lin's, what method is he using, really?”
“Remedier type. Though he also uses the Jorhen type in conjunction.”
“Remedier? Isn't that just casting by opening a grimoire! But there's no grimoire anywhere! And it should be slower than Lin's hand-sign magic or the Jorhen type, shouldn't it?”
Pencion's eyes were already glowing red.
Bell Sidius.
The Silver-etched Death Star on his retina interpreted and showed everything of providence in numbers.
“The Remedier type is theoretically capable of much faster casting than the Jorhen or Bargante types. Since the magic circle, runes, and mathematical formulas are all complete, all that's needed is to finish calculating the unknowns for the situation, that is, the coordinates.”
The reason the Remedier type is considered inferior to the Jorhen type is due to the characteristics of magic duels.
Magic duels are a battle of who can launch an attack faster to seize victory, because a momentary time difference determines victory or defeat.
Therefore, even that momentary gap of opening a grimoire to find the appropriate magic for the situation is fatal, as it contributes to defeat.
“But that mage has no such blind spot! Where is the grimoire, you ask? All those bandages wrapped around his body are magic circles! Everything intricately carved onto those bandages is a magic circle!”
“What?!”
“Ah, so that's why he was placing his hands all over his body?”
Cecil Duren let out a gasp born of disbelief.
“But doesn't that method have a huge flaw? Each magic circle is carved in such a small size, if he places his hand on the wrong one, it won't match his mental calculation, and the magic won't even cast! Then he wouldn't even be able to block an attack and could die!”
Silviet Kepel also could not hide his admiration for the unknown mage.
“Without even looking, the level of being able to precisely point out all the appropriate magic circles for the situation… What was needed to reach that point was not talent. It was simply, truly, the result of effort, with sweat pouring down like blood and rain.”
Not only was he a master of Crystallization magic, but his casting speed was also unparalleled by anyone else….
‘Who in the world is he…?’
No, there is a being whose use of magic, from its casting methods to the ultimate secrets of crystallization, perfectly matches documents from a thousand years ago.
But he couldn't admit it.
That the mage trying to awaken one of the <Forgotten Kings> right now was the 4th Grand Sorcerer, Zulak Kepel!
“His synergy with the Hero is unbelievably powerful…!”
“Unless we deal with that Crystallization magic quickly…!”
“But there's no way a counter-strategy for Crystallization magic can be found in such a short time…!”
As everyone was crying out in such despair, only one person among the crowd could manage a knowing smile.
“For Lin, it's possible for Lin. Lin is completely different from ordinary people like us.”
From her childhood to this day… The man who had watched her grow: Pomas of the Osarius School.
“I once saw Lin and the Dean talking. The Dean would suddenly ask Lin about difficult magical problems, and Lin would give the answer within 3 to 10 seconds for any question. When asked if she had ever solved it before, she said no. She's not the type to lie about such things.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“It means Lin's very speed of thought is different from others, Your Majesty. A hundred to a thousand times, perhaps even ten thousand times faster.”
What Pomas wanted to say, what he dared to convey to the Emperor was… If the First Hero Party had Zulak Kepel, then the Lista Hero Party had Lin!
‘This is Crystallization…!’
At that moment, Lin was immersed in a concentration akin to selflessness (無我).
‘The splitting and merging of magic are utterly free… So there are no restrictions whatsoever on the dispersion and unification of kinetic energy. It's beyond what I read in books.’
The sensation of sandstorms scratching his eyelids and even the warmth of tears streaming down were forgotten in this extreme (極限) immersion (沒入).
‘Theoretically, is he freely switching between the proofs of [0.9999… = 1] and [0.9999… ≠ 1]? The former when unifying, the latter when splitting?’
Even in that state, the movements of his left hand forming hand signs were not merely swift, but sharp.
To what extent? He was intercepting all of Zulak's ‘ultra-high-speed Remedier type’ magic.
The high-level magic barrage unleashed by the two Grand Sorcerers was such that contemporary mages would pass it down to future generations in this manner.
While ordinary Gladoss (4-star) mages would clash magic once, they clashed seven times in that same period.
However, Zulak's magic continued to target Lin with unpredictable changes even after impact, so if it weren't for Friede's assistance, defeat would likely have been certain by now.
‘If only I could interfere with the proof process of the Crystallization theory… Then a way out might appear…’
As he thought that, the face of an unsightly fellow came to mind.
- Bell Sidius!
If those eyes had been mine instead of that ordinary man's, I would have the will to fight even the <Forgotten Kings>… But if I don't have them, there are still ways.
‘Interfering with another's magic formula is impossible… but!’
Fiery Heavenly Sovereign Style (火天尊領流)… At that moment, Zulak's 5-star flames split into solid particles, then unified into air currents, repeatedly, surging forward.
“Osarius-style Hand Signs, 5-star. Ice Lotus Heavenly Boundary Flower!”
From Lin's fingertips, a new form of power began to be forged.
Ice (氷; nature of ice).
Chain (連; nature of connection).
River (川; nature of a river).
Boundary (界; nature of a boundary\/realm).
Flower (華; nature of blossoming).
Suddenly, water like a massive river surged around Lin, then shot towards the flames, cooling into a ‘flower-blossoming-like form’.
‘Ice Lotus Heavenly Boundary Flower is a magic that starts as water and then cools. That is, as it transforms from a Water (水) attribute to an Ice (氷) attribute, the Flower (華) nature manifests, making the rune's effect last considerably longer than other spells.’
What Lin was aiming for was precisely that ‘time’.
‘Normally, interfering with another's magic is impossible.’
But a new chemical reaction occurs when magic clashes with magic.
‘Within that time… If I can aim for that single moment when both magics become one!’
At that very moment, just for that instant, couldn't I intervene ‘as if it were my own magic’?
‘I'll change the runes at that one moment when fire and ice clash…!’
Believing it would happen, no, certain of it, he acted!
“Rune Engraving Alteration.”
Judging from the battle so far, he would split the magic at the moment of impact with the proof of [0.9999… = 1].
He would seal it, into one.
By interfering with that magic with ‘rune engraving’ with the proof of [0.9999… ≠ 1], he would bind it as a single magic.
“No time to rest, I'm exhausted, Sbal…!”
Going a step further from there, the fierce vaporization phenomenon (氣化) created by the clash of fire and cold… that is, he engraved new runes onto the nature of that water vapor, transforming it.
“Kkyuueeek!!!”
From Zulak's perspective, all those processes were like this.
‘Crystallization isn't unfolding?’
There was no error in deriving the result of the mathematical formula. He had done it tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of times. There was no way he could make a mistake.
‘Then is that fellow now… interfering with my magic at the moment of collision?’
Until now, because he had exploited vulnerabilities using crystallization, Lin had to receive full protection from Friede.
But now!
Right this very moment!
Crystallization was blocked!
That's not all!
The misty water vapor created as fire and ice clashed rapidly froze into countless icicles, spreading widely and pouring down upon Zulak.
‘What an absurd idea…!’
What appeared on Zulak's face then was neither shock nor bewilderment, but a smile born purely of sincere admiration.
‘He continuously creates 5-star magic I've never seen before. For this fellow, magic, runes, mathematics itself! Is it just a fun game, like stacking blocks!?’
That momentary offense and defense brought a considerable shock to Zulak as well, but it wasn't a one-dimensional shock like ‘my secret technique was blocked’.
“Friede, help Lista. I can handle this alone now.”
“Really?”
“Trust me. Sbal is here too. Don't you know we're invincible when we're together?”
As Lin turned to Zulak, just as it seemed the battle between the pinnacles of the magic world was about to resume… Zulak suddenly asked.
“How old are you now?”
Zulak had always thought.
Magic was truly clear.
‘Inheriting the total amount of magical power—that talent is, of course, important.’
But something that cannot be perfected with talent alone.
That is the texture of magical power.
This texture of magical power is the most precise among all elements of magic.
‘Precise as to what, you ask? As an indicator of the time the caster has devoted to magic.’
The more one uses magic, the more one trains their magical power, the more serene and smooth the texture of magical power becomes.
‘This process is the main texture adapting to the release of magical power, which is why there's quite a difference in the intensity of magic between young mages and elderly mages.’
While a young mage's vigor is directly apparent, an elderly mage's magic feels like a quiet strength, a noble power, and that is why.
“Seventeen? Probably.”
“At what age did you begin learning magic?”
“Eight. Probably.”
The texture of this magical power was less than 10 years old… Zulak laughed.
It was a laugh that fell within the intersection of a wry smile and hearty laughter, but it was never a sneer.
In the laugh that flowed out with a "Ha," only a sense of pride towards a promising junior and the admiration he was about to express were contained.
“Just how vast an effort have you put in during those nine years….”
At that single phrase, at those words, Lin instantly lost all the killing intent (殺氣) that had been surging within him.
That one phrase.
In his years of journey, no comrade, in his years of growth, no friend or schoolmate had ever understood or tried to acknowledge—that one phrase.
- Lin is a genius, after all!
- Lin can use it right away even with a little effort, so whatever.
Only the Dean had acknowledged him.
Lin never forgot and observed what the Dean had commanded on the first day he taught magic.
- Wake up at dawn, offer a simple prayer, then sit in full lotus position and meditate on magical power. Until all your magical power is used up. Understood? This is very important.
Not a single day was missed… No matter how annoying, no matter how busy, no matter how bothersome, he observed it every day. Every day, except for those he couldn't due to battle.
Was that why?
In the midst of battle, though he himself wondered why it was even possible, was it possible for him to experience his eyes welling up hotly?
“Why magic?”
And this was the first time he had been asked such a question.
Everyone had always considered it natural for him to become a mage because he was a magic genius.
“Magic was… clear somehow… I just liked how everything was certain. Things like, why this action leads to this result.”
“That's right. It was the same for me. Humans don't even know where they come from or where they're going. They don't know how the boundaries of land were set, how the height of the sea, the movement of the atmosphere, and the motion of celestial bodies are possible. But magic explains all of that through the perfect discipline of mathematics. That's why I liked it.”
“Exactly, and also… I like that you can do so many different things. You can make the land rise up in an instant, or conjure fire, or make the wind blow….”
He had never imagined that a day would come when he would have such a conversation with someone.
Until now, not a single person, no one except the Dean, had he ever found a mage worthy of respect.
Let's be more frank.
Since his magical knowledge had long surpassed even Dean Atlante's, Lin was always solitary.
So, he would say it again….
That a day would come when he could have such a conversation… with someone, he had never imagined even in his dreams.
He wanted more, more of this.
He wanted to share more, more.
This time, he wanted to exchange their mutual curiosity, views, and insights towards magic. He wanted to share such a time of asking, answering, and laughing… He came to harbor such a yearning.
“Lin, you are a talent too precious to kill. Not only were you born with talent, but you are also one who dedicated half their life to honing that talent. Be proud. Be proud of the immense effort you have devoted to the discipline of magic.”
“……!”
“After I was resurrected, I met several highly reputed junior mages, but… they were all trash. Just by looking at the texture of their magical power, I could tell if they were merely filled with pretense, or if they had truly confronted the discipline of magic. You, too, will reach such a state someday.”
“…….”
“Truly promising junior, while you strive so hard, what do the weak do? Not the weak, but the ordinary people? They dismiss our talent as mere talent, repeatedly say ‘no matter how hard I try, nothing will come of it,’ and hand over all important matters to us. Then they envy and begrudge us. Is there any reason for you to sacrifice the power you've accumulated your entire life, and your life itself, for such things?”
In that instant, Lin's eyes trembled with unprecedented intensity.
Just one step.
Just one stride.
It was the moment he could step foot into ‘the other side of the boundary.’
There, Zulak Kepel would clearly lead the boy to a realm he had never reached in his entire life, in a single breath.
“I…”
However, he couldn't do it because.
All those opportunities, the chance to step onto a new horizon of perception, he had no choice but to give them up because.
“No. I can't go there….”
“Why?”
If Lista or Friede had been asked this question, would they have answered so coolly? They probably would have.
Lin thought.
If he were to go over there now.
He had a premonition that he wouldn't be able to return to where Dean Atlante, a mother-like figure to the boy, was.
“The Dean would scold me.”
However, the boy lacked the eloquence to explain it properly, so he simply said that.
Zulak understood those words.
That pure, so pure that its true meaning shone through transparently, answer.
“Is that so? Well, I suppose that makes sense.”
And he intuited.
Surely, if he had heard the same words at that age, he would have given a similar answer.
Therefore, was he able to make a smile tangled with complex emotions, to his own surprise?
As if proud, as if sad, and as if lonely… Zulak said with a sigh.
“Then let's see this to the end.”