Chapter 85
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Imperial Palace's Mage (7)
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Lunaris's brow furrowed deeply.
She had anticipated what it meant to infuse mana into the staff, but she never imagined it would devour such an enormous quantity.
And this wasn't the end.
Black thorny vines sprouted from the surface of the emaciated old trunk, instantly coiling around Lunaris's wrist.
As if declaring it would never let go of its prey, they bound her relentlessly.
"...This!"
Watching the scene unfold, Gerard, Captain of the Imperial Mage Corps, saw his expression darken rapidly.
"Has Arke's seal weakened this much!"
It had been well over a decade since the last Grand Mage inauguration ceremony before Lunaris.
The staff, starved for all those long years, was utterly furious.
True to its epithet of Innocent Hunger, it sought to swallow Lunaris whole and turn her into its sustenance.
The mood soured quickly, nobles and mages alike starting to murmur uneasily.
"Isn't something going wrong?"
"The mana flow feels off..."
"Sh-shouldn't we flee right now?"
A mix of worry and fear spread through the hall in hushed waves.
Chilled by the ominous aura, some shrank back while others edged away stealthily.
First Prince Kallian paled and rose from his seat.
"Shouldn't we halt the inauguration?"
The knights guarding the imperial family and the mages overseeing the rite exchanged wary glances.
No one dared move, tension hanging thick in the air.
"It's fine, Your Highness."
Amid the growing chaos, some watched with utterly calm expressions.
"Why not trust the girl and simply observe?"
What they shared was an intimate knowledge of just what kind of mage Lunaris was.
One of them, Eleanor, flashed a graceful smile as she soothed the First Prince.
"No need for meddling. Ho ho."
Prince Kallian found himself sitting back down without realizing it.
Eleanor's relaxed tone made the unfolding crisis before their eyes feel utterly trivial.
Still, he couldn't shake off his lingering unease entirely.
"But... Lunaris is still so young. Even if she subdues Arke, won't she...?"
"Age is irrelevant, Your Highness."
Eleanor shook her head before he could finish.
"That girl's mana surpasses everyone here combined—with plenty to spare. She's no snack for a withered twig."
Conviction gleamed in her wrinkled eyes.
"See? Things are already stabilizing."
Eleanor spoke true.
The dark crimson mist churning around Lunaris began to thin.
At the same moment.
Pure starlight mana flowed forth, filling the void.
*
'Ah, what a pain.'
Lunaris glared at the thorny vines squeezing her arm and clicked her tongue.
This withered branch was going all out, gorgeing itself no matter how starved it had been.
'How much mana does it want? Until the red glow vanishes completely?'
She had no idea.
No manual. No guidance.
Truth be told, she didn't care about the details—she just wanted this ceremony over with, down to the second.
Dribbling mana like this (a hefty amount by any normal mage's standards) wouldn't wrap things up today.
'Screw it.'
Lunaris reached a simple conclusion.
If it was throwing a fit from hunger, stuff it until it burst. Once full, it'd behave.
-Ruuuumble!!
Lunaris surged her internal mana.
She'd pour until her body ran dry, then crash into bed for some real sleep.
At the same time, her free hand twisted space.
She drew natural mana from the atmosphere and shoved it straight into the staff.
Star mana and natural mana.
Two colossal waves crashed into the staff simultaneously.
-Screeeeech!
A grotesque cry leaked from Innocent Hunger, Arke.
It slurped up the mana greedily, drunk on delight.
But only for a moment.
The withered branch suddenly began quivering violently.
Incoming mana overwhelmed its ability to absorb and process.
The predator had become the prey.
Mana backflowed from the staff.
As if pleading it couldn't take more, that enough was enough.
But Lunaris didn't stop. She kept ramming in more.
-Crackle, crumble.
It soon hit its limit.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the blackened trunk.
As the grotesque bark shattered like fallen leaves.
-Fwoooosh!
A blindingly radiant silver-white true form emerged.
"Th-that... is Arke's true form...?"
Captain Gerard's eyes bulged wide; brilliant starlight mana gathered at the staff's tip.
Soon, Lunaris's excess mana exploded outward in every direction.
The ceiling vanished.
Walls. Furniture.
Floor. Red carpet.
In an instant, everything dissolved into an inky blue void.
The entire hall was bathed in night sky.
And upon that darkness.
-Shwaaaaa
Countless stars twinkled to life.
The overflowing mana had warped space itself.
"Heh...!"
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Gasps erupted from all around.
Nobles clutched their mouths or clasped hands tightly, lost in the starry expanse overhead.
Who could have dreamed a Grand Mage inauguration would be this breathtaking, this magnificent.
"Am I dreaming?"
"Heh heh, a sight straight out of legend..."
Some even welled up with tears.
Most in the hall lost all sense of reality, utterly immersed in the stellar sea.
In that rapture, a few mages shifted from awe to outright horror.
Those steeped in magical lore.
They grasped the phenomenon's true nature.
"A space defying natural laws..."
"Did she craft her own world?"
"Impossible...!"
Intended or not, it was unclear.
But undeniable: Lunaris had superimposed her personal domain—a law unto itself—over physical reality.
Their bodies shuddered at the impossible vista.
A forbidden enigma, the work of lifetimes.
Complex emotions swirled toward Lunaris: reverence, longing, jealousy, dread.
Feelings too tangled to name.
"Ah... Uh, ahhh...!"
The deepest shock struck none other than Second Prince Valerius.
Moments ago, he'd lounged with legs crossed, yawning through his drunken haze.
Now, before the starry heavens, he forgot to breathe, mumbling incoherently.
Tears brimmed hot in his eyes.
His heart thundered wildly.
Prince Valerius flailed a trembling hand through the air.
"Th-this is... the vista beyond the wall I've chased forever..."
Starlight mist drifting before him.
Cool, exhilarating mana particles brushing his fingertips.
He knew it instantly.
This was the scenery past the barrier that had blocked him for years.
The pinnacle he'd craved but never touched.
"Ha, haha..."
Madness flickered in Prince Valerius's eyes.
The spark of his long-lost dream reignited. His fading passion blazed anew amid despair.
That was the path he had to follow.
Sword or spell, the fields differed—but not the pursuit.
Unwittingly, he balled his fists tight.
Nails bit into his palms, pain unfelt.
Then Lunaris swung the towering pure-white staff with effortless grace.
Dazzling stars swirled into rotation.
A galaxy flowed like a mighty river.
Soon, meteors streaked long tails, cascading like rain.
"This... this!!"
Prince Valerius twisted his lips in a manic grin.
Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks as he burned the night sky into his retinas.
Joy and sorrow, yearning and awe—contradictory tides surged and knotted in his chest.
"Lunaris... Lunaris Evermoon!"
A ragged, frenzied cry tore from his throat.
But it drowned in the stars' echoing song, never reaching her.
That was fine.
He simply surrendered to the moment.
The radiant night sky had seized his crumbling world and hoisted it high. He gave himself wholly to the bliss before it.
Prince Valerius's gaze fixed on the night sky's heart.
Through the meteor shower, his eyes devoured the silver-haired girl radiating enigma, gleaming with raw avarice.
In the Second Prince's mind, Lunaris's worth as a mage soared beyond the heavens.
That gem. That monster.
He had to claim her. By any means.