Chapter 684: The Final Victor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 684: The Final Victor
Huh?
Ruel was gone. Having lost my target, I lunged forward with my skewer, cutting through empty air. I flailed for a moment before tumbling over gracelessly, then looked around, searching for her.
Strange. Did she run away?
Even using my mind-reading, I couldn't find a trace of her. Did she really flee? But why? Especially when she possessed the power to stop time?
Ruel’s ability to stop time was an absurdly broken power. I couldn't move, but she could. In a card game, it would be like her taking two or three turns in a row. That was beyond cheating; it was just plain villainous.
A game where my turn never came. The only way to win such an unfair game was to make my opponent step on a landmine of their own accord.
The only way to move within Ruel’s stopped time was ‘light.’ A dangerous spell that turned one’s entire body into light, manifested through a combination of holy power and my Unique Magic.
I had scattered invisible blades of ice. The idea was that if she materialized at their location, she would be impaled. It was an obvious and meaningless trick. Transparent blades couldn't cut ‘light,’ and Ruel would have easily read my intentions and avoided them.
However, that was just a ploy to make her let her guard down and restrict her position.
The real dagger aimed at Ruel was her own Unique Magic.
I had already stolen and was using her Unique Magic. It must have remained active even while time was stopped. The card-shaped mirrors I’d scattered earlier would have diffusely reflected the light she shot, turning her own attack back on her.
It was a trap meant to reflect her attack… but I never expected her to just leave.
It didn't match the thought patterns I had read from her. Did she have a change of heart while time was stopped? Or was there some other trigger?
“Did she run away? After being so stubborn, it seems she valued her life in the end.”
Lankart scoffed, but I didn't agree with him.
Valued her life? That didn't seem right. If she had noticed my trap, she could have just avoided it and attacked.
Something must have happened…
“I’m glad Ruel backed off. I don’t know what would have happened if we’d fought to the end.”
Shei sighed as if relieved, chiming in naturally. I was about to reply when a sudden sense of unease made me close my mouth. I stared at Shei in silence.
“Huh? Hughes. Why… why are you staring at me like that?”
‘Is it because I didn't tell you I knew Ruel? But I didn't know she was the White Tower Master!’
No, that’s not the problem. Ruel’s identity doesn't matter at all.
What matters is you. How could someone with such sharp instincts not feel that something is off?
You moved while time was stopped.
I realized the source of my unease. The lack of any sense of unease was what felt so wrong. She was the one who should have felt the most dissonance, yet she approached me so casually, as if that very dissonance had been surgically removed.
You’re the one who sent Ruel away, aren’t you? Because if she stayed, I would have read her mind.
“Hmm.”
I really have no idea what’s going on. I looked around and said, “I don’t know what prompted her change of heart, but it seems she won’t be bothering me anymore. Well then, shall we go up?”
A life-or-death battle with a powerful being like the Saintess of Light would have been my loss. If I lost, I’d die, and even if I won, I’d be harassed in all sorts of ways. It was a relief that she left on her own.
Cardinal Elton and the paladins withdrew without a word, as if they had received a ‘revelation,’ while the mages were still overwhelmed by the mythic battle they had just witnessed. There was no one left to block my path.
In the end, it was power that had quelled the chaos.
*
If you think of space as a piece of paper, then a distorted space is like a folded section. The boundary between the distorted and normal space is the crease. If you follow that crease, you’ll find a path leading to the center.
I don't really get it myself. But apparently, that's how it works.
The stairs to the final floor were on the very edge of the Tower of Babel. I led my party toward the boundary.
The folded part of space was more like a path than a staircase. I was just walking forward, but my body floated up on its own, heading toward the artificial sun. The end of this long, long journey. To the top of the Tower of Babel, where human arrogance reached its zenith.
The artificial sun grew closer and closer, and just as its brilliant light was about to envelop me…
“You’ve come! The dragon of this Gateway! I’ve been pleased with the talent from all the previous Gateways, but this is the first time I’ve been this excited! Welcome!”
In a bizarre space, the ‘Mage King’ greeted me.
It was a room. A square room, but shaped like a star. There were eleven rooms in total, and from where I stood, I could see into all of them. A table and chairs were stuck to the ceiling, bookshelves packed with books lined the floor, and the small windows on the walls showed magnified views of various parts of the Floating Castle.
Right. It was a distorted space. I decided not to even try to understand it.
“Where are the others?”
“I’ve sent them to places that will be good for them. They’ll be receiving rewards suited to them in those rooms.”
“Does that mean my reward will come from you, Mage King?”
“Of course. But before that, please wait a moment. There is something you must see.”
The Mage King pulled on one of the windows with his hand. The light within it swelled and instantly enveloped me. I closed my eyes against the glare, and when I opened them, I had been transported to yet another space.
“Hwaran Fahrenheit! This is Eliot Pascal of the Defense Bureau! I order you to cease your attack on the Tower of Babel!”
“Ugh…! That landmine of a woman has gone off again…!”
I was in a space where the Red Tower Master, Hwaran Fahrenheit, was battling the Green and Black Tower Masters.
What the hell? Why are the Tower Masters fighting each other here, too? All five of them are just brawling. This Floating Castle is a real mess.
Wait a minute. I can’t read their thoughts.
The moment I realized my mind-reading wasn't working, a massive flame exploded before my eyes. It was a colossal explosion, as if it would sweep away the entire world. Blinding light engulfed my whole body, and a beat later, I felt the fear of death…
But it was only light. I was unharmed.
“Are you going to stand and watch? This might take a while, so please, have a seat.”
Next to me was the Mage King, sitting in a rocking chair, casually munching on a popsicle. I hesitantly sat down in the chair he offered me.
“So that was an image made of light. You scared me.”
“To be precise, all the light generated within a certain area is being projected into this space. My disciples’ battle is happening in real time.”
“Is this light magic?”
“As you know, it is space magic. You’ve experienced it yourself, haven’t you? That light, too, is affected by the concept of space.”
I had indeed. The light had been deflected into the World of the Right-Handed. So that’s why the White Tower Master couldn't argue with the Mage King.
As long as I wasn't in danger of getting caught in the crossfire, there was nothing more entertaining than watching a good fight. I sat in the chair he offered, nibbled on a popsicle, and watched the three Tower Masters battle.
“Eliot. Lune. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to go further?”
It seemed the projection carried more than just light. The Red Tower Master’s voice echoed from within the explosion.
If there had been people in this space, the explosion would have resulted in as many deaths, but none of the three Tower Masters with their Unique Magic died. The Green Tower Master protected herself by surrounding herself with a one-way wall, and the Black Tower Master eliminated the explosion’s amplitude with her vanishing point. However, the expressions on both their faces were not pleasant.
The Red Tower Master, Hwaran Fahrenheit. A red aura enveloped her entire body, and she made no effort to hide her madness and fervor.
“Have you never thought of surpassing our master? Do you have no will to take his power and complete yourselves? How can you remain stagnant when you’ve obtained such power? Isn’t it a waste of your talent?”
“Setting fires everywhere and chasing people out is what you call ‘moving forward’?! Give me a break! As if we couldn’t do the same!”
The Green Tower Master aimed her jewel-studded umbrella at the Red Tower Master. Simultaneously, dozens of magic circles drawn with wind appeared in the air. The circles, drawn with condensed air, looked as if they would vanish at any moment.
That was their purpose from the start. A catalyst follows its nature. A magic circle drawn with wind is fleeting, but it is the most suitable medium for controlling wind. The wind that passed through the magic circles had been transformed into something akin to bombs. The explosive wind was momentarily suppressed by her Unique Magic.
Unique Magic, One-Way Street.
A storm that would require a container cast from solid steel to be contained was easily condensed with her Unique Magic. And there were over a hundred of them.
The Green Tower Master of the Defense Bureau was a master of wind magic. In terms of the range and scale of her power, she was unparalleled. And now, the wind, amplified by her Unique Magic, filled the world.
“Eriel Cylinder!”
With a sharp incantation, the Unique Magic was unleashed.
The bullets fired from the one-way cylinders shot in a straight line, piercing toward the Red Tower Master. A volley of wind magic. Each bullet, imbued with the mana of a wind projectile, flew forth. The moment they collided with the red aura surrounding the Red Tower Master, a massive explosion erupted, blowing everything nearby away.
Amidst the smoke and dust that obscured the view…
“Too light. Too lukewarm. Eliot. Is this all you have?”
The Red Tower Master’s disappointed voice rang out.
“Just protecting yourself isn’t enough. You can’t grow without breaking the mold. You must molt. Burn away the shell that confines you and become bigger. You should be trying to surpass your master! That is how you repay him!”
Even as the explosion swept over his disciples, the Mage King was unconcerned. Instead of stopping them from fighting to the death, he just chewed on his popsicle. After swallowing a bite, he spoke to me.
“Reactive armor. What do you think? Do you find the Red Tower Master’s magic interesting?”
Was he asking me? I wasn't sure what kind of answer he wanted. I replied hesitantly.
“Less interesting and more terrifying. It’s like she’s walking around with bombs strapped to her body, isn’t it? How can she live with that fear?”
Incoming shock, energy, power. In response, the aura wrapped around her body explodes to block it. It doesn't matter how strong the attack is; the reaction is just as fierce. The recoil is offset by an explosion on the opposite side.
It wasn't absolute like One-Way Street, nor mystical like Vanishing Point, nor absurdly broken like Time Stop. If anything, it was similar to Determinism, but with the opposite orientation. A supremely aggressive defense technique.
“It is the power of her Unique Magic.”
“Even with a Unique Magic, if she makes a single mistake in her calculations or the deployment of her power, her own body will be blown away. No matter how confident I was, I could never do something like that.”
“And yet, you reached for the White Tower Master’s throat in a similar fashion.”
…He had watched my fight from here in the same way.
“That was because I had to, but I suppose it’s a similar case for the Red Tower Master. For a mage, devising a means of self-defense is of the utmost importance.”
“Speaking of which, do you know the nature of the power enveloping the Red Tower Master’s body?”
Know it? I couldn't even read thoughts, how could I possibly…
No. Trying to make the Mage King let his guard down is pointless. That’s a trick that only works when I can read my opponent’s thoughts.
…I’ve already read his, though. Hmm.
Hwaran Fahrenheit’s Unique Magic was Ignition Point. The power to control the ignition point of anything, be it mana or matter. The problem was that it required air to ignite. Even if she lowered the ignition point to cause an explosion, it was meaningless without air.
Therefore, what she needed was air. I answered.
“What’s wrapped around her body is an explosive gas. She’s lowered its reactivity with her Unique Magic and is wearing it like an aura. Like the Blue Tower Master, she can apply her Unique Magic to gases and mana.”
“Excellent. I particularly like that there's no need for trivial explanations or analogies. No waste.”
The Mage King smiled with pleasure and raised his glass.
The battle was gradually intensifying. The Red and Green Tower Masters, two mages whose natures were to explode and radiate, found their fight escalating into a battle for spatial dominance. When the one-way walls trapped the explosions and whipped up the wind, the Red Tower Master would counter the wind with explosions and burn everything around her.
“Ugh. Self-erasure.”
Meanwhile, the Black Tower Master, fed up with this loud and destructive battle, escaped into her vanishing point.
The earth exploded. The Red Tower Master’s power, Ignition Point, turned everything, flammable or not, into an explosive. The ground erupted as it rapidly sucked in oxygen.
That power was then trapped by the one-way walls and fired back. The perfectly controlled wind was more powerful than any blade. Just before the sharp blades of wind reached the Red Tower Master, the wind, freed from the Unique Magic’s control, only served to fuel her flames.
The Green Tower Master worked the bellows while the Red Tower Master added the heat. The storm, controlled by One-Way Street, ignited the flames, and the resulting inferno created a tremendous updraft that shook the very space. It was as if a dragon of fire was coiling and thrashing about.
Between the two of them, the power only amplified. A storm of fire and heat circulated between the Red and Green Tower Masters, growing ever larger.
“A clash of Spiritual Worlds ultimately leads to a clash of domains. In your opinion, who do you think will win?”
“This is beyond the point of discussing victory or defeat. The one who withdraws their power first will lose. That tremendously condensed power is going to explode. This is a chicken game that will end with one of them dead.”
“I’m asking you to take that into account.”
This was too easy. I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Well, of course. It’s obviously…”