The Fruit of Wisdom (9)
The Sect of Samsara—also known as the Reincarnation Cult by its own members—kept its activities shrouded in mystery. No one truly knew what they were up to. They operated behind layers of secrecy, and their ultimate goal was so opaque that it defied easy understanding. Their core doctrine claimed that “this world is fake, and to create a true one, we must establish new laws.” But if you can even begin to guess how they plan to do that, be careful. It means you’re already halfway to falling under their influence.
Anyway. To establish these so-called new laws, the Sect of Samsara had committed countless atrocities. They burned villages as sacrifices, corrupted paladins, dominated noble houses to spark rebellions. They rejected every universal law of this world and committed evil after evil. Most of it made no sense, but one thing in particular stood out as especially baffling.
For example, their obsession with Star Silver.
“Witch. Hand over the location of the Holy Grail.”
The intruders who had half-destroyed Elera’s house made their demand with naked greed. They spoke as if her knowledge had always belonged to them.
I stepped in front of Noa and studied the invaders. There were dozens of them, all wearing identical pitch-black robes. Good people didn’t usually wear black, so it must hold some religious significance for them.
“If you have business, you should knock politely. Why smash up a perfectly fine house?”
I muttered in genuine confusion. I wasn’t expecting an answer. I’d already learned the hard way that priests of the Evil God weren’t exactly conversationalists.
The priests of Greed—especially the one who seemed to be their leader—ignored me completely and issued another command.
“Witch of Wisdom. Surrender all the information you possess.”
“And why exactly should I do that?” Elera snapped back.
The head priest of Greed answered without hesitation. “Because it is ours.”
See? I told you. There was no talking to them. The priests of Arrogance—Reaper and Walker—had actually been better. At least they gave the impression of exchanging words. Though in the end they’d looked down on us too, so communication had still been impossible.
Whether it was the massive block of Star Silver or the Holy Grail, why was the Evil God’s cult after these things? Was their supreme leader sick or something? But the Sect of Samsara gave off the vibe that if their leader fell ill, they’d coldly replace him without a second thought. So it had to be something else. I just couldn’t figure out what.
I turned to Elera. “If we give them the information nicely, will they leave?”
“As if. They’ll make sure you can never share it with anyone else.”
“By cutting out my tongue?”
“Cutting off your head would achieve much the same effect.”
“What troublesome people.”
From that short exchange, I finally understood. The real reason Elera had taken me as Noa’s teacher and kept me tied to this house was mostly because of them.
“How shameless,” the priest of Greed muttered.
I had no idea what part of this was shameless, but I ignored him and began gathering my mana. The very next moment, holy magic poured from the priest’s hand.
BOOOOM—!
The holy magic slammed into the wooden giant’s body. Leon charged forward immediately. From atop the wooden giant, I activated my spell. Crimson lines descended from the lantern, igniting flames across the ground before they suddenly died out.
I narrowed my eyes. A black, translucent shield had blocked every attack.
Clang!
Leon crossed swords with the head priest of Greed. At the same time, Jerry cast his magic. A rod spinning at incredible speed formed in his hand, surrounded by rotating red bands. A sound like a motor filled the air.
And then Jerry unleashed Roaring Wheel.
GRRRRRR—!
The spinning wheel of fire bore down on the priest, grinding everything in its path. The priest summoned a massive holy shield and shouted, “There’s a mage from the Croft School! Be careful!”
“Everyone, full power!”
Thump.
A strange sound brushed past my ears. It resembled a heartbeat, but it wasn’t one. This was… yes. It was the reverberation of the priests of Greed connecting to something enormous, leaving traces upon the world.
“Descent.”
Black pillars of light pierced several priests. In their hands appeared various artifacts. Holy magic was a power different from regular spells. If I had to compare it, it was reenactment. They reproduced the possessions of the god they worshipped using divine power. That was holy magic.
Because of that, the type of holy magic varied wildly depending on which god they served. And when their faith deepened and the level of reenactment rose further, something else became possible. They could borrow the actual possessions of their god.
Of course, these weren’t the real items. Lending out genuine holy relics was a miracle only possible for saints or saintesses. But even replicas carried the essence of divine property. Their power was enough to sweep away ordinary opponents.
In the hand of the leader commanding the priests of Greed appeared a book.
“Return what is ours to us.”
Black flames erupted around his body. They formed an enormous cube that came crashing down on us.
Hssssss!
The giant wooden arms were bound by the massive cube. The wood began to burn fiercely. I poured mana into the giant to restore it, my eyes gleaming. What the enemy leader had just used wasn’t holy magic. It was proper magic—and quite powerful at that. It incinerated every living thing within its range. If I hadn’t been quick, the wooden giant’s regenerative ability might not have kept up with the black cube’s destructive force.
Priests can use magic too? Well, I suppose. Even swordsmen sometimes dabble in magic. There was no rule saying priests couldn’t.
I licked my lips. I wanted that spell. Badly. Balance was wonderful, but this was exactly the kind of problem it created. In urgent situations like this, it was hard to obtain new magic.
The enemy leader gathered black flames once more. They formed cubes again—this time smaller and far more numerous. The tiny cubes merged into one massive cube that began to rotate. Slowly at first, like a turning Rubik’s cube, then faster and faster. The giant cube twisted its sections, reshaping itself into the form of a massive hand made of countless small cubes.
The leader murmured, “Greed Demon.”
The hand of greed immediately reached for me. The wooden giant raised both arms to block the black hand.
CRACK—!
Where the small cubes touched, holes were punched straight through. No—they turned to ash. As I restored the wooden giant riddled with holes, I stared blankly at the sky.
The battlefield was chaotic. Leon fought enemies one by one using holy power and swordsmanship. Jerry spewed flames at his opponents. Muran built defensive positions with alchemy. Chris stayed well hidden. Elera helped construct the barricades. Noa provided support with his Judgment bundles. And the enemies? They were throwing around holy magic, summoning fake holy relics, and even using proper magic now.
It was no situation to focus on any one thing. And yet, I could only stare at one thing.
Magic.
Yes. It was magic after all. I wanted that spell. I wanted to obtain it. I wanted to possess it. I wanted to seize it, devour it whole.
The enemy leader activated another signature spell. Small black cubes stacked together to form two giant hands that closed around the wooden giant. This magic was probably an application of the concept of “seizure.” I didn’t know the exact principle. My circle rank was still too low to understand it at a glance. But if I had to guess, it was a spell that “stole” everything it touched—life force, energy, even physical form. That was why anything it touched instantly turned to ash and left holes behind.
How was this spell activated? How was it used? How could I get my hands on it? I wanted to know everything about it. Thoroughly. From beginning to end.
—To take it apart piece by piece. Completely.
Suddenly my mind felt refreshingly clear, as if someone had poured ice water over it. Riding the rising exhilaration, I lifted the lantern.
Jingle.
A flame was born inside the lantern. It grew a mouth and teeth. Taking that as my signal, I swung the lantern with all my strength. The flame that flew out grew larger, until it was nearly the size of a human head. It opened its jaws wide and bit down on the black hand.
Predation devours everything. It eats, digests, and makes it its own. But how? How does it make something its own?
It was simple. It chewed its prey, swallowed it, and dismantled it to claim it completely. That was what it meant.
A small red cube appeared in my hand. And every time the flame of predation devoured part of the black hand, another red cube appeared. Soon they merged into one giant hand.
“What… that’s impossible.”
The enemy leader’s mouth fell open. It really was an impossible sight. The opponent had copied his signature magic the moment he saw it. For someone who had spent years refining that spell, there could be no greater humiliation. But what could he do? What was done could not be undone.
The black hand and the red hand collided. With a violent shockwave, both spells annihilated each other.
The enemy leader, now stripped of his signature magic in an instant, ground his teeth and shouted, “There was a high-ranking mage hiding! Retreat!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Jerry’s eyes grew cold as he activated his magic. Vrrrr—! The motor-like sound rose from his hand. I swallowed his Roaring Wheel with the flame of predation, then recreated it inside the lantern. The motor sound filled the world. I shook the lantern.
And then the liberated Roaring Wheel ground the world to pieces.
I surveyed Elera’s front yard, now a massive crater, and said quietly, “This Roaring Wheel is all noise and no substance. Half of them got away alive.”
“Why did you steal my Roaring Wheel again?” Jerry asked, clearly exasperated.
“I just wanted to try it once.”
Incident resolved, and a personal wish fulfilled. Perfect.