Chapter 677: The Roofless Tower and the Intermingling Humans - 8
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 677: The Roofless Tower and the Intermingling Humans - 8
I read the Saintess's thoughts. This was valuable information.
She was a bit different from the Saintess of Steel. The Saintess of Steel could only foresee her own future, and she was dense. No matter how precious the scripture, it's hard to read if it's carved on a rough stone.
In contrast, the Saintess of Light was, true to her name, bright. Her clear and pristine memories were easy for me to read.
“Malice isn't the only thing that leads the world to ruin! What's important is intellect. If one is foolish, if one lacks the wisdom to see far ahead, then even the smallest kindness can lead to a terrible tragedy.”
“There is the butterfly effect, after all.”
“You are not foolish. You are merely one who would stand by and watch a child walk into the water, so the outcome would be no different.”
Ruel raised a finger and pointed to the artificial sun above. Fearlessly staring at the light source, which was no different from the sun, with her naked eyes, she judged with a gentle smile.
“I cannot entrust ‘Pride’ to you.”
And with that, Ruel lowered her finger.
With that single motion, the light pouring from the artificial sun gained physical force. The light itself didn't change, but the rules governing the world did, crushing me.
“Ugh!”
Light with physical force was unbelievably fast and powerful. Just the light shining down created a crushing pressure. It felt like a waterfall was bearing down on my shoulders and back.
I had read Ruel’s thoughts and jumped a step ahead, but the light had already battered my entire body. I was slammed into the ground a couple of times and sent flying.
A tingling pressure spread through me. The only reason my eyeballs hadn't burst from the physical light was likely because it was crushing the rest of my body as well.
“The reason a Saintess doesn't enforce order with ‘power’ isn't because she lacks it. It's because she knows just how fragile and hollow an order enforced by such power is.”
After tumbling a few times, I got to my feet, barely managed to focus my vision, and faced the Saintess of Light.
A halo floated above her head. Wings of light were spread behind her back. The faint glow emanating from her body exuded a physical sense of intimidation. An overwhelming power that made the mere act of looking at her draining.
I stumbled back, blurting out, “And that's not just because the Saintess of Origin lent you her power?”
“Perhaps for the other Saintesses. But.”
Ruel smiled brightly and moved her hands in a circle. A halo of pure white light shimmered in the air, following her hands.
It was neither Qi Art nor a magical glow. What she held was a pure ring of light. Light, which should have vanished upon contact, had gained physical form through her Unique Magic and was now trapping other light within it.
“My Unique Magic wasn't a gift from the Saintess of Origin who blessed me, you see.”
Smiling faintly, Ruel shot the ring of light at me.
“Sparkling Light!”
The speed of light was faster than sight. Well, of course it was. We call the act of light entering our eyes ‘seeing,’ after all.
By the time I came to my senses, my body had already been battered countless times and flung far away. The light with physical force vanished the instant it struck me.
“Gah!”
What the hell is this? It doesn't matter if I can read her thoughts or not!
I could make the hits hurt a little less. The light’s trajectory was linear, following the path Ruel predicted. As long as I avoided a direct hit, it wouldn't have the power to slice a person in half.
But that was it. The thought and the impact were simultaneous. No matter how fast I reacted, I was always too late. This wasn't my problem; it was a fundamental limitation of living beings.
At this rate, I won't even be able to get close to her! There has to be a way… Ah!
“That's a vicious ability for such a cute spell name…!”
I spouted nonsense to buy time, pulling a card out behind my back.
The Nine of Spades. The Tree of Genesis. Tiny moss and leaves began to sprout on my clothes. They absorbed the light and air, forming a suit of green armor.
Plants are predators of light. Just as Nevida had blocked the light with plants, if I could do something similar, I might just be able to—!
“I have vicious spells too. Care to try one?”
Ruel scoffed at me and enlarged the ring. The light within the much larger ring pulsed a little more slowly. Crackle, crackle. The light vibrating within the wider space was much weaker and more sinister than before.
“Cursed Light.”
But its speed was the same. The moment Ruel released the light, thwump, my body resonated. The impact wasn't severe. Instead, the force struck my entire body and then ‘passed through’ me from behind.
It felt as if my very soul was being pulled out from behind me. An unpleasant floating sensation enveloped me. When I came to, I was rolling on the ground.
“Ugh!”
It felt like my body was riddled with holes. A wave of nausea washed over me from the foul sensation.
Light? This was light, but…
“There isn't just one kind of light, you know. The light we can see is only a tiny fraction. True light exists in the spectrum beyond that. This Cursed Light exists in a realm far beyond the red light. It possesses a penetrative power that can pierce ten fathoms of water. Passing through a mere man is a simple feat.”
“It passes through the body?”
Bright light doesn't pass through the body. That's why shadows exist.
But other kinds of light existed in the world. There wasn't just one type. The light we saw was only a fraction of it.
Light with its frequency lowered to increase its penetrative power? She could grant physical force to something you couldn't even see or feel? What in the world kind of Unique Magic was this?
“Yes. However, since the physical force I grant it also passes through, the effect isn't that great. At most, it will just make you feel dizzy.”
“‘At most’… this is way too vicious for that…!”
This dizziness was beyond a simple sensory disturbance. It was the result of the light that had passed through me shaking my body to its core. If it had just been low-frequency waves, it would have passed through and that would be the end of it, but with physical force added, it became an unstoppable blow. This rendered my armor of grass and moss useless!
“The light beyond violet is tricky to handle and doesn't suit a Unique Magic that grants physical force, so I won't use it. That one is destructive enough without needing any Unique Magic.”
“How very kind of you…! Are you sure it's okay to tell me everything?”
“Yes. Look all you want. Enjoy it all you want. That's what light is, isn't it?”
Ruel was both a mage and a Saintess. She possessed the self-righteousness of a Saintess and the arrogance of a mage.
However, the arrogance of the strong is a right. And Ruel had the power to back it up.
“Try your best to dodge this. Flame Light.”
A searing light blazed toward me, scorching the earth. The white incandescence heated the very air, impossible to dodge or block. Watching the approaching flame, I felt a sense of futility.
This is absolutely impossible. Is there anyone who can help me?
“The White Tower Master is just cheating. You can't fight that woman without a Unique Magic of your own.”
The power to directly convert light into force was, regardless of its raw strength, simply too fast. Without a Unique Magic to dominate a certain space, one couldn't even begin to deal with it. It was a tyrannical power that crushed any lower-level opponent.
“He's holding on by kicking up dust to block her sight and growing grass, but even for Huey, this is probably too much. Anyway, to think the White Tower Master was the Saintess of Light. I wonder if the Mage King knows.”
Lankart, having observed the situation long enough, decided it was time to move. It would be difficult to defeat the White Tower Master, but Lankart’s World of the Right-Handed included light. He could at least deflect her attacks.
But as Lankart walked toward Hughes, he suddenly felt a distortion in his senses. Coming to, he looked around and clicked his tongue.
“…Damn it. When did she?”
In every direction—north, south, east, and west—were Hughes and Ruel. Mirror images. A strategy-level magic that copied the scenery and scattered it in all directions. Though small in scale, its intricacy surpassed that of a strategic-grade spell.
The proper way to use light magic was for illusions and disturbances. Even while attacking Hughes, Ruel had woven a partial spell to surround Lankart. The moment Lankart chose one of the images and fired a torrent of power at it…
Ruel’s form distorted. The condensed light exploded, dyeing his vision red. Lankart, who had anticipated it and covered his eyes, frowned.
He had shielded his eyes with black crystal to prevent blindness, but the light trap was a troublesome one even for him.
He couldn't block visible light. If he did, he wouldn't be able to see anything. But a blinding flash could be a blow even without physical force. He couldn't move rashly.
“Huey. Sorry. I don't think I'll be much help. But.”
Lankart wasn't too concerned in the first place. There was no need to rush.
“There's no way you'd lose to a mage. Right?”
The same trap was sprung on Shei. But Shei had her Seven Colored Eyes that could see through light, and her senses were even sharper. Recognizing it as a trap immediately, Shei chose a direction and was about to move when…
“…Wait.”
A transparent crystal formed, blocking Shei’s path. Shei instantly moved to shatter the ice wall but hesitated at a sudden sense of foreboding.
That wasn't ice. It was crystallized air. If she touched that wall of solidified atmosphere carelessly, it would cause a massive backlash.
Shei shouted urgently.
“Elisha! Get rid of this wall!”
“You know about it too, don't you? About the ‘Pride’ up there.”
“I know! So what!”
“You must know that ‘Pride’ is a dangerous power for anyone to possess. Why are you helping Hughes and the Shrine of the Divine try to obtain it?”
The Blue Tower Master, Elisha Celsius, was more brilliant than anyone. That was why she was the first to realize the danger when ‘Pride’ was unleashed.
She couldn't believe it, but all the clues pointed to it. The purpose of this Floating Castle. The principle that held it aloft. The Magic Towers that guarded against what was above, not below.
And the Mage King, the master to them all.
The Mage King was waiting for someone to reach him. He selected and nurtured geniuses, helping their research while interfering as little as possible. The qualified geniuses would then enter the Tower of Babel, climbing floor by floor as they passed the Mage King's trials.
Everyone praised the Mage King as a benevolent and gracious king of magic, but Elisha did not agree.
Even when mages with Unique Magic fought each other, the Mage King never stopped them. Instead, he would create a separate space to protect the surroundings. Thanks to him, onlookers could watch the duels between mages like a sport.
It seemed like the Mage King's kindness, but it wasn't to protect the surroundings.
It was to incite a fight.
The Mage King was a kind teacher, but only to mages with potential for growth. Anyone who wasn't a mage was an ignorant commoner.
The ignorant masses crawling on the world below were none of his concern. That was a problem for the noble magical families who rubbed shoulders with them.
…If that was the case, what did the Floating Castle mean to the Mage King? What would happen if everyone, according to the Mage King's will, climbed the Tower of Babel and reached ‘Pride’?
Elisha had a broad perspective. That was what made her superior to the other geniuses. The day would come when the sharpness of another genius would catch up to her, but for now, Elisha was more brilliant than anyone.
Therefore, Elisha trusted her own judgment. The conclusion reached by someone as smart as her couldn't be wrong.
She might not be able to reach her ideal world through World Law, but it was better than bringing about ruin.
“If you know that too, wouldn't it be more rational to persuade Hughes to stop?”
Shei wasn't the sharpest, but she had flashes of insight. Elisha asked Shei for her reasoning.
And Shei answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“No. I trust Hughes!”
“…Trust?”
Elisha tilted her head.
“Hughes isn't a bad person. He can be a little harsh and cunning, but while he might have caused chaos, he's never led anything to ruin. He must have a plan!”
“What kind of plan?”
“How should I know! He didn't tell me! But, Hughes isn't the type of person to just stand by and watch ‘Pride’ fall. I'm sure of it!”
It was an obvious statement. Who would want to let a star of destruction fall? Any rational mage wouldn't have created a switch that led to ruin in the first place.
But if the world ran solely on rationality, why would something like ‘Pride’ even exist? True rationality must include a vigilance against irrationality. It was more rational to ensure no one could ever get their hands on it from the start.
Someone as brilliant and intelligent as Elisha Celsius would come to such a conclusion. Therefore, it had to be right…
“Putting all that crap aside, Hughes is the smartest one here! The rule is that the smartest person climbs the tower and receives the relic of the Divine! The Mage King decided that! So, he should be allowed to take it!”
But, what about Hughes?
The King of Humans. More brilliant than even Lankart and Elisha. A being who could perhaps be compared to the Mage King himself. If he ‘judged’ that he must have it, and if the Mage King, wiser than anyone, ‘decided’ to hand it over…
If two people more brilliant than Elisha had decided on this course of action, what was Elisha supposed to do?
Just as Elisha was momentarily caught in her own contradiction…
“Stop…!”
Avant-garde, the only one who had been free from the others' interference, gritted her teeth, dashed forward, and blocked Ruel's path.