Chapter 680: The Tower Without a Ceiling and the Intermingling Humans - 11
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 680: The Tower Without a Ceiling and the Intermingling Humans - 11
My body was sent flying. Wow. The impact was strong enough that it probably would have killed my old self. Lying in the dust, I stared blankly toward Ruel.
Lankart shrugged.
“Huey. I did my best. The light was just too fast. You can’t blame me.”
“…Yeah. Thanks. For at least pretending to try and block it.”
Unlike me, who could offer a comrade empty praise, Ruel wore a complicated expression as she looked at the Blue Tower Master.
“You hesitated at the last moment, Elisha. If you hadn’t let your guard down, he never would have reached it.”
The Blue Tower Master stared blankly into the air, as if her soul had left her. She was still reeling from the shock of her defeat.
“Ah…”
“Lacking resolve, you say? How dare he say such a thing, the one who survived by relying on your kindness. It’s absurd. If he had any shame, he would be grateful you didn’t resort to savagery.”
She was right, though. If the Blue Tower Master had gone all out from the start, I wouldn’t have even gotten close.
But the White Tower Master didn’t understand the race known as mages.
‘He replaced the ice crystal, crystallized by Unique Magic, with alchemy. If he’d lost his balance even slightly, the crystal would have exploded. Could I have done that…?’
The Blue Tower Master quickly found her answer. Impossible. Replacing the crystal with alchemy, freezing her own body to break the ice magic, and withstanding the crystal’s impact—all of it was impossible for her.
Of course not. That was only possible because of the Divine and my mind-reading. An ordinary person like me can do it, but a genius like you never could.
“Puhat. Looks like you finally get it. Hey, Chief. You’re way too late. As long as you’re a mage, you can never beat Huey.”
For some reason, Lankart was thrilled, walking right up to the Blue Tower Master to gloat.
“Unique Magic is the projection of your inner world onto the world as a ‘rule.’ It’s the most arbitrary and personal rule in this world, but a rule is a rule. And anyone can use that rule. Huey just took advantage of it.”
“Used… my Unique Magic?”
“Yep. Even though I set the rule, and it centers on me, its application is fair! Under the same conditions, Huey is bound to win. Because Huey is a far superior human being than you or me!”
It’s because of the Divine and mind-reading, I tell you. What are you trying to explain? Are you some kind of third-rate villain?
“Now you get it? How amazing Huey is. Where you should be aiming! Puhaha. You’ve still got a long way to go! You’re only now on the same level as I was thirteen years ago. No, you who stopped, afraid of the knowledge of the Floating Castle, are beneath me! I don’t even need to call you Chief anymore! Haha!”
Dumbfounded, I spoke to Lankart’s back.
“Hey. You tried to kill me, you know. Said someone with no talent like me couldn’t be number one.”
“I was young back then.”
Is that the best excuse you’ve got? Isn’t it worse if you were young? Your character is questionable, planning a murder in earnest at that age.
“And that was before you told me about the World of the Right-Handed.”
Hey. That’s information about your Unique Magic. Are you sure you should be saying that? It’s supposed to be a secret.
“Hughes…! I, I knew you were amazing! As much as the Blue Tower Master, no, even more so!”
Meanwhile, Avant-garde popped out from behind the Blue Tower Master to make her appeal. Having spent time with me in the Crystal Tower, she offered her transparent trust. I patted Avant-garde’s head.
“It’s really dangerous now, so please stay back. And Blue Tower Master.”
“Hic, yes!”
Startled by my sudden call, the Blue Tower Master began to hiccup. She covered her mouth to stop them, but her tense body wouldn’t calm down so easily.
I stared intently at the Blue Tower Master, who was blushing with shame and embarrassment.
“It’s just as the White Tower Master said. I was safe because you were concerned for my safety. If the ice crystal had been even a little more powerful, my body would have been torn limb from limb.”
‘…The explosion was already enough to kill a person, and I couldn’t use any more destructive power because I would have been caught in it too.’
“In any case, I defeated you, and if possible, I don’t want to be your enemy. Let’s protect the others from getting caught up in this. What you should be protecting are people, not secrets.”
My side or not, she could no longer help Ruel. Ruel grumbled in dissatisfaction.
“Haaah. She was such a fine individual.”
“She’s still a fine individual.”
“Those who doubt themselves are bound to seek something to lean on. A faith was about to bloom within her. A faith of ice, colder and more transparent than any other. But now that you’ve broken that pillar, there’s been a setback.”
Judging from Shei’s thoughts, the Blue Tower Master was probably slated to join the Crusaders. That must be why she became Shei’s ally in the future where the Floating Castle fell.
I don’t know what will happen now, though.
The Blue Tower Master scattered her mana, creating a barrier to envelop the others. Avant-garde and the Blue Tower Master herself were included inside. It was an indirect declaration that she would not interfere in this fight.
So what remained was Ruel and her paladins, and us. They had the numbers, but we had the advantage in asymmetrical power.
Shei made one last attempt at persuasion.
“Ruel. What you’re worried about won’t happen. Let us pass.”
“…Shei. In the future you saw, we may have known each other. But that is not my future. Above all, the future you will bring is not guaranteed.”
Ruel shook her head firmly.
“I never sought to be understood, but to have it come to this… I feel lonely and desolate. It can’t be helped. The light shines brightly on its own, but it is never illuminated itself.”
“If you’re lonely, why don’t you go out and make some friends?”
“Hmph. I wish I could. But unfortunately, one who sees the future cannot share the present.”
-----
Blink.
-----
There was a very brief interruption. The moment I realized it was a sign of time stopping, a memory of ‘a few seconds’ flowed in from Ruel, and at the same time, I saw streaks of light extending from above her head.
The light, stretching out at the speed of light, left a bright trail in the air. The materialized light became lines in itself, embroidering an infinite pattern against the sky. The light, traveling in a straight line until it hit something, was refracted and reflected by a transparent crystal. The light was trapped, spinning inside a kaleidoscope.
The light, reflected by countless mirrors, soon created an infinite image. Beyond one side of the mirror, the magic circle drawn so far was reflected. Light, mirror, image, and an infinite magic circle.
The ingredients were just two: mirror and light. With them, she reached infinity.
“Huey. Something’s weird with that woman. I didn’t feel any mana, but a magic circle just appeared out of nowhere.”
“Time stop! Break the magic circle!”
“Try it. I doubt you’ll succeed.”
Lankart flicked his fingers lightly. Five meters away from him, a force equivalent to his hand motion magnified tenfold raged. Earth and grass shot up like cannonballs, blocking the light that embroidered the sky.
It was a fast enough response. However, the magic circle, completed within stopped time, activated first.
“‘Let there be light.’ When the Father Sky God so commanded, creation began with light.”
The small voice sounded like a prayer. Simultaneously, another flash of magical light erupted from the magic circle. The infinite magic circle made of mirrors amplified the light pouring from the artificial sun.
“‘After an eternity, the light has reached this place. O humble creature, praise the light.’”
The light stretching beyond infinity is a lie. Because there is nothing behind the mirror. But at the same time, it is the truth. The light has experienced a journey equal to the infinity reflected in the mirror. And it is still extending even now.
Infinity does not mean quantity. The state of heading toward infinity is infinity itself.
A magic that surpasses strategic-grade, a war-grade magic. A grand spell that amplifies all light within a certain domain. Luminous Irradiance.
But this powerful magic hadn't even begun. The true power of this spell was…
“And the light shall become power.”
Her Unique Magic converted light into power. With the sun at her back, Ruel put the finishing touch with her Unique Magic.
“Genesis will come.”
It felt like gravity had increased tenfold. The pressure was on a different level than before. The earth dried up, and the ground, crushed by the light, spewed out fluid. The warm light that made the grass grow was gone. There was only the light of power, silently oppressing.
Lankart, shielding his eyes with his hand, grumbled.
“Ugh, it’s heavy. Huey, this is ridiculously strong. What do we do?”
“…I feel like I’m actually going to die, so don’t ask me.”
That World of the Right-Handed of his is pretty damn good. It even deflects the light. What the hell is it? Am I the only one struggling to endure this?
“Skyblade Art, Skyrend!”
Shei was also unharmed. She endured with her Qi and used Chun-aeng like a prism to deflect the light above her head. Creating a momentary shadow in the downpour of light, Shei shouted at Ruel.
“Ruel…! This power is dangerous!”
“The price to pay for entrusting ‘pride’ to you is too great. Nothing can compare to the danger of the apocalypse. Nothing is reason enough to risk that.”
The pouring light was so bright that it cast a gloomy shadow on Ruel’s face. Shei took the light head-on and swung Chun-aeng, trying to stop Ruel.
However, Genesis was not a combat spell. It had only amplified the light in this domain. The magic had not even started yet.
“Halo Rite.”
She combined her Unique Magic, which granted light a specific physical force, with magic that controlled light. The materialization of light. She had achieved the ultimate desire of the White Tower through her Unique Magic. She trapped materialized light within light, creating an infinitely rotating ring. It became a halo with no form, only power.
Five such halos were created.
“Five-Ring Orbit.”
The five halos flew toward Shei. They weren’t as fast as light, but to the human eye, it was all the same. Shei still reacted, swinging Chun-aeng at the halos, but as soon as they touched the sword, the halos erupted in a dazzling light.
“Ugh!”
The intense impact nearly made Shei drop Chun-aeng. The sword’s true form was compressed space, but the vibrating light within the halo, endowed with physical force, held a power stronger than a furiously spinning gear.
And since she cut it, the liberated light ran wild. The materialized light vibrated the atmosphere and exploded.
“Genesis Lightning.”
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
The exploding light sent Shei flying mercilessly. A roar followed. The light, having gained substance, was no different from a lightning bolt. Struck by the lightning, Shei was flung far into the distance.
Shei was still alive. She had merely been removed from the battlefield. However, that wasn’t exactly good news.
“You should have left Elisha Celsius here. Then… you might have at least saved your lives.”
Because the shadowed face of Ruel had transformed into that of a judge.