Book 20 Chapter 16

Chapter 185

The Archenemy of Duty and the Advanced, New Heaven Caditpol Knights (17)

'I will never abandon this conviction I hold now.'

Sarandis Alter Niceimon thought as she severed Rista Alter Shurfing's wrist for the fifth time.

'No matter what I hear, I will not doubt whether the measure of this conviction is right or wrong.'

Yet.

It should have been so.

Something… the feeling is strange.

'Before I was revived and now, I've always thought that personal grudge, hatred, or desire should never interfere with conviction.'

My mind has changed.

My conviction has not changed.

It is merely a slight compromise.

'I wanted to completely reject this being before me now, this successor, this hero… both mentally and physically.'

As Friede and Kies hastily supported Rista, Rin also began a magic duel with the former Archmage, but…

To the boy, that scene…

He couldn't see or feel the intense, fluctuating tremors of magic swirling between the two Archmages…

"How about this?"

What the boy saw was just a pure white space.

A space brimming with possibilities because nothing obstructed it, a space where only a single desk existed.

Rin, sitting at that desk, excitedly wrote various mathematical equations on a blank sheet of paper and then showed them to Zurak. Zurak would say "good" if it was good, and honestly commented "disappointing" if it was lacking.

'Until now, there was no one.'

There had been no one who could comment on Rin's magic as "disappointing" and even teach him how to improve it.

"Wouldn't it be better if we did it like this? What do you think?"

He realized then for the first time that a magic duel was a means to have the most intimate conversation with someone.

It clearly took the form of a fight, but its true nature was not a battle.

The desperate contest between masters of 'crystallization' and 'rune carving alteration' recorded in history was regarded by Rin as nothing more than a math lesson from the former Archmage.

'It's fun.'

Rin had clearly felt maternal affection for Atlante, and that feeling had never diminished, but was growing day by day.

If asked whom he respected most in the world, Rin would undoubtedly speak Atlante's name.

In short, he would never abandon Atlante's teachings throughout his life.

But at the same time, Rin was able to feel a paternal affection from Zurak Kepel, which he had never experienced in his life.

'It's so much fun.'

Just as typical mothers teach gently and kindly, fathers often educate radically and directly.

'Magic could be this enjoyable.'

Rin had never been able to have such a conversation.

Always, only the echo of his own words returned hollowly.

When he showed his magic, his mathematics, his runes to someone, they would be bewildered or shocked.

That was if it was a theoretical field, and in a magic duel, the recipient of such power would already be dead.

- No, why is a dark wizard so weak?

Therefore, he was lonely.

He now clearly recognized that the feeling of emptiness was loneliness.

Perhaps he hadn't wanted to beat up dark wizards after all.

Perhaps he had simply been looking for someone to talk to.

- Dark wizards sell their souls for power! What is this! Such a disappointment, really!

Amidst the joy of finally finding someone to converse with, Rin had to flounder in an inexpressible regret.

The greater this joy, the greater that regret also grew.

Because he knew that this time, which he wished would last forever, had an end, and he was now speeding towards that end.

'Since the beginning of origin, magic has continuously evolved. The ways of using magic and its attributes have diversified.'

Zurak, who had also never married in his life, thought that this might be the joy of nurturing that he had never known.

'Vargante-type beastman magic. A high-speed strategy through the four minor elements, which takes only the advantages of the four major elements.'

The benchmarks that had pioneered above what the world considered the peak, then above that, and again above that and beyond.

'What is before me now is the culmination of magic that has grown for a thousand years since I died… How could my heart not throb with excitement?'

Because of Zernix, he had developed a pessimistic prejudice about the future of magic, but after seeing Rin, he realized it was a mistake.

'Rin… truly a good name. He will surely grow into a being who brings the spring breeze to this field of magic.'

That's why it's regrettable.

That he cannot see the future of magic that this child will create.

Am I, a ghost from a thousand years ago, only able to give him a slight push during this short time?

"Zurak!"

The tide of battle shifted as Zurak began to support Sarandis, turning into a 2-on-4 fight.

- Zurak. Do not hesitate. Under any circumstances, even if I am on the verge of death.

Zurak was a disciple of Orbose Karain, meaning he had mastered all the secret arts of the Rivendell school.

"Come forth, Flame Serpent!"

A serpent of flames grandly erupted for an instant, furiously flicking its tongue as it rushed towards Rista, who was clashing with Sarandis.

'That Flame Serpent, in less than a second?'

'Who in the world is that spellcaster!'

Silent screams, beyond what the word 'shock' could express, emanated from the mouths of the mages watching the battle.

'Hastily, I must not just block it with normal magic as usual.'

At that moment, even though he was the one who had to face that Flame Serpent, Rin was remarkably calm. Though he was sweating profusely.

'I need to use magic with a long duration, in other words, one where the influence of the rune lasts for a long time due to the blossoming of another rune!'

The magic Rin chose was 4th-star, Earth-Moving Plate-Turning (地動皿轉).

A mobile earth-attribute barrier, so to speak, that changes the very crust, making the ground rise and move.

He chose this because the effect duration of the rune was very long. Rin thought his choice was excellent. However.

'The magic, the Flame Serpent… stopped? Right before impact?'

It didn't stop by controlling kinetic energy.

'Did he read the coordinates for my defensive magic beforehand?'

So…

Did he set the coordinates for the barrier in front of the impact point, so the magic, the Flame Serpent, would stop right before collision!

'Was Rin too hasty? No, who could say that?'

Even Pencion Ludwig, watching the battle with the Eye of Sidius, couldn't help but side with Rin in that exchange.

'That battle sense, which sees through the opponent's moves even at such a moment… is far beyond the normal range.'

This is experience-born mastery.

He was an Archmage who had already defeated the leaders of the six great demon races a thousand years ago, when their power was even more rampant than now.

"What… his stamina and magic power are infinite… and if his skill is also superior, how in the world can we beat those two?"

As Leonia spoke with despair, Zurak touched the bandages wrapped around his face.

It was different from other magic.

From his eyes to his chin, the meticulously wrapped bandages overlapped and layered, forming a magic circle.

"5th-star, Dragon River Flowing Array (龍川流陳結)."

The Flame Serpent is magic, but it is an organic summon.

As it possesses qualities similar to life, analyzing its structure with mathematical equations would indeed be considered almost impossible.

But Zurak Kepel's secret art, the legendary Dragon River Flow, is the ultimate secret that transforms this Flame Serpent into a 'Dragon of Crystals'!

"Rin! My actions, our actions in this fight, have meaning (意味)! And significance (意義)! And a great cause (大義)!"

The Dragon of Crystals is infinite yet finite.

It has form yet is formless, and is solid yet flexible.

By infinitely changing its form amidst the crystallization and dispersion of crystals, it can directly break through the opponent's defense or bypass it to target the flanks.

"But what do you have! What do you all have? Tell me!"

As the Dragon River Flowing Array surged with an aura and majesty that threatened to devastate the entire area, Rin did nothing, astonishing everyone.

"Why isn't Lord Rin doing anything? Unlike usual…!"

"No one could blame him even if he was overwhelmed. I'm… my legs are stiff, I can't even move…"

Friede, in that moment of stillness, in the silence of her comrade, thought as she filled the void with the barrier of the Holy Love Psalms.

'He's thinking. Even at this moment, when the counter-crystallization is countered again and Rista is cornered… he's thinking of the next counter-move without any despair.'

Indeed, if one were to face such an opponent, even a genius might hit a wall of talent and become frustrated.

'But Rin, this guy… he's not a genius. He's a being that cannot be explained by such terms. Yes, this guy is an idiot.'

An idiot mad about magic.

Therefore, the word 'despair' doesn't exist in Rin's dictionary.

'Right now, he's just thinking of each move Zurak makes as one of the mathematical equations he wants to solve.'

The barrier of the Holy Love Psalms accepted Rista and rejected Sarandis.

The surging Dragon River Flowing Array clashed with the Holy Love Psalms, its light waves vibrated violently, and soon cracks began to spread.

However, Friede endured the ferocity of the Dragon River Flowing Array, causing Sarandis to frown.

'If that priestess wasn't here, this party would be incomparably weaker than it is now. It feels like there are no weaknesses anywhere now.'

Soon, the Dragon River Flowing Array shattered the Holy Love Psalms barrier into hundreds of fragments.

Just when it seemed the Dragon River Flowing Array had exhausted its power and was about to disappear, its crystals regained strength and began to reconstruct the dragon's form.

As long as there is magic power to sustain it, this, which infinitely binds and acts infinitely, is the secret art that made Zurak Kepel the [Strongest Archmage].

"Friede!"

With the collapse of the Holy Love Psalms, Friede spewed blood and was temporarily incapacitated.

At such a time, at such a moment of crisis! The earth surged and trembled.

The entire grand plaza, even the terrain that formed steps leading underground, transformed, becoming like a prison binding the Dragon River Flowing Array.

'This is… Earth-Moving Plate-Turning? No, it's not a simple Earth-Moving Plate-Turning. He used five or more Earth-Moving Plate-Turnings simultaneously.'

Minimum penta-casting.

The multi-computation of 4th-star magic was enough to make even Zurak Kepel let out a hollow laugh.

"Rune Carving Alteration."

Is that all?

He is carving a rune there that denies and proves the core mathematical equation of [Infinite Decimal: 0.999…=1] to completely seal crystallization.

'A genius unprecedented in history, that is your future… Rin.'

The boy, surprisingly, no, astonishingly… simultaneously formed the hand signs for Brain Discharge.

The sensation of his brain, everything that constituted his brain, burning pure white. This was information saturation.

An infinite wave that instantly and repeatedly dyed the finite canvas of his brain pitch black.

'What do I have…?'

Rin, who surely shouldn't be able to in the midst of this multidimensional mathematical calculation, thought blankly about Zurak's question that strangely echoed vividly in his mind.

'I don't know such a thing…'

Like an immature child, he had only chased after [the Strongest].

Thinking and judging that power was the most important value, he had lived until now.

"If you don't know the reason for fighting, don't hold on, and withdraw your magic!"

The Dragon River Flowing Array, a 5th-star magic, forming the shape of a Dragon of Crystals, describing the brilliant exploits of Zurak Kepel, Archmage of the Golden Age of Magic.

As that dragon threatened and tried to tear through the earth's shackles, the burden on the boy's brain became immense.

Blood vessels in his eyes burst, and blood surged from his nose and mouth.

"What, what in the world is there! What makes you willing to let your brain burn and become a wreck!"

Rin had always thought and deliberated on what it means to become like someone.

Even though the Dean had already given him the complete and perfect answer.

"Retreat! Rin, don't make me kill you with my own hands…"

Now, at last, he realized.

Only at this moment, meeting and learning from the true [Strongest Archmage] and witnessing the light of his magic, did he finally understand.

'I didn't want to become this kind of mage after all.'

He merely needed someone to talk to, to alleviate his loneliness.

In that realization, he needed time to 'let go.'

No, he needed time to acknowledge.

He had not wanted to become the strongest mage from that young day he first learned magic, no, from the moment he first witnessed magic.

- Come, follow me.

I, I…

I wanted to become a mage like Dean Atlante…

- You will become a wizard's apprentice.

A mage who comes to someone as light and shares warm comfort… such a mage.

- There are countless things in the world that are not written in books. Beautiful things, frightening things, joyful things, sad things…

If, at this place…

If Dean Atlante had been here, she would have told me the reason why I must fight here.

- If you see them with your own eyes, hear them with your own ears, and touch them with your own hands, you will gradually understand without even realizing it.

It would have been the same if Rista, Friede, or Kies had been here.

- What magic is, and how you should use the power inherently given to you.

I may not be able to do that… but I can choose the option of fighting against Zurak instead of following him, without hesitation.

'The reason I fight here is.'

Because she said that even if you can't follow your heart, if you can at least follow through with actions, that too is becoming like someone.

'Because I am Dean Atlante's disciple.'

Just because I've given up on being the strongest mage, I don't care about victory or defeat even in the slightest.

I will win.

Against the Archmage who represents the golden age of magic, right here, right now, I will win.

'And also because I am… the Archmage of the hero's party.'

Rune Carving Conversion.

He completely transformed all the runes that constructed the seven Earth-Moving Plate-Turning barriers.

- Runes are the letters of creation.

From the first moment he saw it, he wanted to use the power of the Creation Psalms.

It didn't have to be the exact same power.

The process itself of interpreting that power into the study of magic and imitating it similarly was extremely enjoyable.

- The hearts of those who enjoyed a script dwell within that script.

Was it said that to reach beyond the 5th-star, to reach truth, one must attain the mastery of freely manipulating runes?

- Always think of the runes of creation. Until it is accepted not as a concept of runes, but as a realm of the heart. Just as Osarius, the founder of your school, did not stop at merely writing characters, but immediately practiced 'becoming like.'

He couldn't do that yet.

He hadn't reached that realm yet.

But let him dedicate his entire being, who has not yet done so and has not yet reached it, right here, right now.

"5th-star, Oath-Bound Chain Restraint (制誓鎖攔鍊)."

If it was possible to transform Earth-Moving Plate-Turning into Oath-Bound Chain Restraint within 0.75 seconds, then it was possible to seal Zurak Kepel's magic before the Dragon River Flowing Array's attack could land.

The outcome is instantaneous, just a single moment.

Unlike the Creation Psalms, Oath-Bound Chain Restraint only seals magic power. And magic power sealing is only effective for about 2 to 3 seconds against a peak like Zurak Kepel.

'In that instant, in that single gap earned by risking my life, I will pour out all five full-power Brain Discharges.'

The outcome of the battle unfolds in a moment, less than a fleeting 0.75 seconds. In that fleeting 0.75 seconds.

I will put all my strength (全力).

I will pour out all my heart (全心).

I will dedicate all my body (全身).

I will weave all my knowledge (全知).

I will dedicate all my ability (全能).

Instantly replacing the five runes that constitute the Earth-Moving Plate-Turning barrier, he changed the extreme information waves of geometry into linear algebra, led by vectors and matrices.

"What…?"

Summarizing the series of information processing results means that the power that continuously circulated and regenerated the earth barrier… transformed into chains.

制 (Je): to suppress.

誓 (Seo): to guard.

鎖 (Swae): to lock.

攔 (Ran): to block.

鍊 (Ryeon): to refine.

In the fleeting moment when the barrier seemed to break, it instantly pierced through the magic power of the Dragon River Flowing Array that had surged right before his eyes, sealed its power for a moment, and proceeded straight, piercing the chest of the spellcaster beyond… Zurak Kepel.

"Piercing my heart won't kill me… no?"

Zurak Kepel, who had placed his hand on the magic circle over his bandages, realized the abnormality that had occurred in his own body the moment the seven chains pierced him.

'Magic power… magic power isn't being generated?'

It felt as if the connection with the main ritual had been severed, the same sensation as when magic power was completely depleted. What was this emptiness?

'The flow of magic power itself is being disrupted.'

Is such magic possible, magic that interferes with the very fabric of an opponent's magic power?

"Secret Art, Thunder Field Defense Hole (奧義 : 雷場防穴)."

A fierce information battle for 0.75 seconds, intense enough to melt his brain.

In that shadow, the runes completed and amplified by the wondrous harmony of power from his left hand hidden behind his back, Osarius's rosary, which constructed a brilliant constellation-like square array of power resonating with the movement of his left hand, are as follows.

雷 (Noe): Thunder.

場 (Jang): Field.

投 (Tu): Cast.

落 (Rak): Fall.

閃 (Seom): Flash.

Mages are different from other professions that use physical bodies.

When magic power is sealed, they are no different from ordinary people. 2 seconds of magic power sealing, no further coordinate calculation is needed.

So now, simply, here, all my strength.

"First Thunder───!"

Right here, all my heart.

"────Second Thunder!"

Right here, all my body.

"Third Thunder────!"

Here today, all my knowledge.

"────Fourth Thunder!"

At this moment here, all my ability.

"Fifth Thunder────!"

All that I received and accumulated until I became the 11th Archmage… I dedicate with reverence.

To the 4th Archmage, who made me realize the true nature of the loneliness that dominated my life, and what the strength I had sought all my life truly was.

Zurak Kepel, to you.

"─────Sixth Thunder!"