Rising Fame (4)
Rising Fame (4)
Angels are the heralds of God, announcing the end of days.
The Grand Elder—an old man holding a staff—gazed at his nephew with a satisfied smile.
He was proud.
The fact that such a being had been reduced to nothing more than a human's servant.
"Things are about to get noisy for a while."
It wouldn't take long before this news spread across the world.
The church would likely exert tremendous pressure.
No—it wouldn't end with mere pressure.
"War will break out."
But it didn't matter. They had never feared war, not even for a second.
The Management Bureau would do their usual routine, trying to mediate. They wouldn't welcome war, after all.
But this time, there was no way they could interfere.
To those who served God, an angel was nothing less than a sacred symbol.
A bridge between the divine and the mortal.
If such a holy being was manipulated by a mage and turned into a weapon, how could the church not be enraged?
"Kukukuku. The Age of Magic is about to return."
In the Grand Elder's mind, there was no scenario where they lost.
If they marched forward with an angel leading the charge, holy magic and sacred rituals would be nothing to fear.
'With the power of an angel, even the Family Heads wouldn't stand a chance.'
To lead a Family War, one needed the position of Family Head. But that seat wasn't given to just anyone. Only those who bore the special symbol of a Family Head were qualified to challenge for it.
'That girl is no longer worth worrying about.'
And one of those qualifications was the special eyes that Joo Ha-rin possessed.
The Heavenly Eye—one of the Five Eyes.
A pure eye forged from the Four Great Elements of the Form Realm.
By all rights, she should have been the next Family Head.
In this era, she was the only one born with such a symbol.
But one thing held her back.
The simple fact that she was born a woman.
The many pillars and disciples of the Family opposed the idea of a woman becoming their head.
That was why she remained merely an heir—not yet the successor.
'Her marriage to Hyeok is only a matter of time.'
His position as Grand Elder allowed him to manipulate her like a puppet. But even if she was nothing more than a woman, she was still the Family's heir. It had taken an immense amount of time and effort to break her will without anyone noticing.
'A shame, but it doesn't matter now.'
There was no need to shatter her autonomy further and turn her into a puppet. It was already decided that Joo Gi-hyeok would become her partner.
'Hyeok was born with the purest bloodline in the Family. And now he's even tamed an angel. None of his peers could ever defeat him.'
A smirk spread across the Grand Elder's lips.
'With the Family Head's seal, we'll be able to enter that place.'
As he envisioned a future where mages ruled the world—
"Hm?"
A sudden sense of wrongness struck him.
"Why is he still alive?"
He frowned as he saw Si-woo still standing on his feet.
Several seconds had already passed since the angel descended.
Family mages were faster at casting spells than ordinary mages. Their training emphasized speed to prevent exposure during incantations.
Therefore, Joo Gi-hyeok should have issued the attack command the moment the angel appeared—to eliminate the enemy before they could counter.
Especially considering how fast Gi-hyeok's incantations were under his tutelage. The battle should have been over long ago.
'Did he not give the order yet?'
Perhaps Gi-hyeok was toying with his opponent, confident in his victory.
That's how it appeared to the Grand Elder.
'Foolish. I taught him that swiftly eliminating enemies is a virtue.'
The Grand Elder considered himself an excellent teacher.
And that wasn't arrogance—it was the truth.
He had only ever taken two disciples.
Joo Gi-hyeok and Joo Ha-rin.
Both had reached heights no other mage of their generation could match—proof of his skill.
Especially Gi-hyeok, his beloved nephew and disciple. He had poured everything into his training.
The result? A mage capable of manifesting spells at terrifying speeds.
Ending battles before the enemy could even cast a spell—that was the Grand Elder's signature lesson, his greatest strength.
But now, none of that was visible.
Under normal circumstances, he would have scolded Gi-hyeok for ignoring his teachings.
'Is he so eager to humiliate his opponent that he'd forget my lessons?'
A smirk curled his lips.
"That's my nephew."
He was simply proud.
—Until the golden laser erased the angel from existence.
'What the...?'
Si-woo lowered the arm holding the forbidden tome and stared ahead.
The beam of light had struck, piercing straight through the angel's body before it vanished.
Sssss...
Cracks spread from the gaping hole in its chest, turning its form into ash. White embers scattered into the air. Moments later, the angel was gone—completely obliterated.
"...Was it just a weakling?"
He had been startled by its sudden appearance, but then the forbidden tome began trembling.
It flipped open on its own, excitedly declaring it was its turn.
All he did was aim at the angel and fire once.
Despite its holy and sacred appearance, he thought it would be harder to take down.
But it disappeared in one hit.
'Well, better to be lucky than good.'
For some reason, it had just stood there motionless, making it easy to aim.
Si-woo looked down at the wriggling tome.
Having restored all its torn pages, it now gleamed with a golden sheen.
"Did you do something?"
[How to Destroy a God]
That was the phrase written on the open page.
It had suddenly stepped in—there had to be a reason.
Wriggle, wriggle.
But there was no way to converse with a book.
It merely shook its pages happily, basking in his attention, before snapping shut with an almost haughty air.
"Impossible! This is impossible! Cough...!"
Turning toward the voice, Si-woo saw Joo Gi-hyeok collapsing, blood gushing from his mouth.
"[Recovery]! [Recovery]! [Recovery]! Damn it! Why?!"
Despite his desperate incantations, his body showed no signs of healing.
Even the headless corpses guarding him had collapsed like broken puppets.
"I—I didn't let my guard down! I gave the attack command the moment I tamed it! So why—why didn't it move? Cough!Cough!"
The sudden annihilation of the angel.
This was the backlash of the broken contract.
The destruction of an angel was on an entirely different level from severed puppet contracts.
The eradication of an immortal being.
There was no way Joo Gi-hyeok, a mere human who could wield mystery, could bear the weight of such causality.
"Hyeok!!"
The Grand Elder rushed forward in panic.
"Uncle..."
"Hyeok! No!"
Cradling Gi-hyeok in his arms, he pulled out a small vial of blue liquid from his pocket.
"You have to live! You must become the Family Head!"
The Holy Maiden's Elixir.
A priceless treasure—one that could no longer be produced since the Holy Maiden's disappearance.
But Gi-hyeok wasn't dying from physical wounds.
The damage was far more fundamental—his very existence had been cracked at its core.
And so, even this elixir, said to be capable of resurrecting the dead—
"...."
"NO!!"
—couldn't hold onto Gi-hyeok's fading life.
"...Damn it!!"
The air around them froze.
The Grand Elder's twisted gaze locked onto Si-woo.
"How dare you...!"
A heat haze began distorting the space around him.
Then, faster than anyone could react, he formed a hand seal.
The Seal of Mahakala.
[Domain Expan—!]
"Stop."
A voice cut through—preventing the Domain from manifesting.
"You—!"
Manager Oh Soo-hyeok, who had remained behind, called out the name of the woman who had suddenly appeared.
"Captain Lee Ye-rim of the Disposal Unit!!"
The leader of the Management Bureau's 1st Enforcement Unit had arrived.
"It would be wise not to act recklessly."
"Nonsense! We do not fear war!"
"Then go ahead. But you will die here."
The Grand Elder swallowed his fury after seeing the icy conviction in Ye-rim's eyes.
"...I will never forget this humiliation!"
Crunch!
He crushed a small stone in his palm, and a magic circle unfurled beneath his feet.
"Shouldn't we stop him from escaping?! Dozens of people died at their hands!"
"Let him go."
"But—!"
Manager Oh couldn't accept Ye-rim's decision.
And neither could Si-woo.
"Prepare."
He aimed the forbidden tome at the retreating figure.
Vooooom—
A massive energy gathered before it.
"Enough."
But when Ye-rim placed her hand on the tome, the attack dissipated.
"...We should eliminate future threats."
Si-woo glared at her with cold eyes.
Reading something in his gaze, she reassured him.
"You must protect someone important... Family? Don't worry. They won't be harmed."
"And why should I believe that?"
"Because the Management Bureau stands on humanity's side."
Could he trust her?
Her eyes held nothing but honesty—no trace of deception.
Would it really be okay to let them go?
Who could guarantee they wouldn't retaliate against his family?
No—there was no way to know.
When it came to family, certainty was everything.
"Prepare."
He ignored whatever was interfering with his mana flow.
A sphere of light began forming before the tome.
"...How are you breaking through my magic?!"
Ignoring Ye-rim's shock, Si-woo chanted.
"Fire."
BOOOOOOM—!!
The beam of light swallowed the Grand Elder whole.
When it faded, nothing remained.
"...Did you just ignore my warning?"
"They attacked me first. I merely exercised my right to self-defense."
"You're impossible. I could arrest you right now if I—"
Her frown deepened—until her eyes landed on something behind Si-woo.
Nuzzle, nuzzle.
There, rubbing affectionately against his back, was Lantern.
"Eeeek—!!"
A sound no one would expect from her cold demeanor escaped her lips.
"T-that...!"
Stumbling back in shock, she quickly composed herself and addressed Si-woo again.
"W-would you accompany us for a moment?"
Her once icy tone was now filled with deference.