The Definition of Magic
"What is the definition of magic?"
I asked, and Sword Emperor Aritolt answered.
"A spell that creates the miraculous through mana?"
"Five points."
A textbook answer, through and through.
I shrugged, and this time Great Sage Plunium spoke up.
"Magic is the power to defy the 'principles' of the world."
"Too vague."
"It could also be called the most advanced form of science."
"Oh, science, huh."
"To a primitive man, wouldn't a gun look like magic?"
"Not a bad perspective. Seven points."
Spirit Lord Park Haya hesitated before saying,
"A conversation with the world... isn't that it?"
"A pretty fresh take."
"Feeling the mana, speaking to its flow, and achieving what you desire... that's magic."
"Eight points."
Fighting Emperor Yamamoto scowled.
"Hey, Kim Jeong-seok. Why the hell do we need a definition of magic in a situation like this?"
I pointed at the landscape before us—a truly alien sight.
We stood at the pinnacle of God's Tower.
The upper atmosphere of space.
From the outskirts, the heart of Earth was a massive crater endlessly spewing volcanic ash.
Countless typhoons ravaged the globe.
Endless earthquakes shattered the land into countless fragments.
Floods on one side.
Extreme droughts on the other.
And in yet another place, plagues wiped out humanity en masse.
Gazing at it all, I gave my definition of magic.
"Disaster."
In the end, the ultimate goal of magic was
just like the horrors before our eyes.
"Magic is the power to create disasters."
To create disasters.
Sword Emperor Aritolt asked,
"So all those calamities on Earth are the work of a mage?"
"Correct."
I nodded slowly.
Great Sage Plunium muttered as if realizing something.
"Wait. Then... all the dragons and magical beasts we've slain, every mystery and monstrosity... they didn't appear first and cause disasters..."
He fixed me with an intense stare.
"On the contrary, the disasters came first, allowing them to manifest in the world?"
"As expected of the Great Sage. You see it clearly."
"...Devastated lands summon magical beasts, polluted seas birth abominations, and the screams of despairing humanity create mysteries?"
"That's how it is."
I clicked my tongue and added,
"Our approach was wrong from the start. We mistook the effects for the cause and fought blindly. No wonder we never found the real answer."
Kim Jeong-seok.
The name my parents gave me, urging me to live a proper life.
I strove to meet those expectations, living as straight-laced as possible.
Studied hard, landed a solid job.
And then the world ended.
Sure, some details got skipped.
In the end, though, we couldn't do a damn thing.
Too many catastrophes hit all at once for humanity to respond.
Of course, as a mage, I'd reached a respectable level.
Accomplished plenty, hailed as the strongest mage.
...So what?
I couldn't protect a single thing.
The orthodox magic I'd mastered couldn't create any variables.
There were too many branches of magic for even me to master them all.
For instance, the arts called 'spells' divide into five major categories:
Shamanism, Taoism, sorcery, illusionism, spiritism.
And magic proper?
Over a hundred classifications.
By attribute, by rank—even alchemy, divination, necromancy, spirit summoning, creation, and invocation all lumped under 'magic.'
To master one spell, you needed at least ten prerequisites.
In short:
'Too much useless crap to learn.'
Magic was too vast for the orthodox path.
Hence, 'categorization' was needed.
The most common: the four primal elements—fire, water, wind, earth.
Clear strengths and weaknesses by attribute.
Obviously, it couldn't lead to the pinnacle.
I was the same.
Mastered the four elements, called a 'grand mage.'
'Pathetic, really.'
Like scooping a handful of sand from a beach.
Not enough.
But the domain was too vast to conquer.
A different method was needed.
A turning point.
A more definitive 'classification'!
'Disaster.'
I stared at the 'god' before me.
The summoner of disasters.
Or disaster incarnate.
That's it.
That's the answer.
But it was too late.
Sword Emperor Aritolt, Great Sage Plunium, Spirit Lord Park Haya, Fighting Emperor Yamamoto...
All dead, and I alone survived.
Finally figured it out.
Finally realized.
The bastard said,
"You're all mistaken."
"..."
"This isn't the end of the tower. I just came down briefly to savor your final despair."
"...I know."
I knew.
Only I, wandering the world in pursuit of truth,
'...I'm really gonna die.'
Maybe five minutes left.
I gritted my teeth.
That thing called a god.
The one at the tower's apex was one of countless disaster gods.
Probably at their peak.
Just dropped by to watch us despair and crumble.
Heartbreaking, infuriating.
But humanity, Earth—doomed to perish.
However.
"I've been waiting."
I smiled.
"...?"
"Figured you'd come down once destruction was certain."
So.
"...At least one of you bastards—I'm taking you with me, no matter what."
"Still got some fight left?"
Damn right.
A decisive 'ace' up my sleeve.
Stab!
I ripped out my dying heart.
Cough!
Spitting dead blood, I raised the heart high.
"We never planned to win from the start."
Earth's already gone—what's the point of victory?
Our goal was singular from the beginning.
Collapse the tower.
Mutual destruction, climbing this far.
"With just a heart...?"
"Does that even look like a heart anymore?"
"...?"
Magic has countless classifications.
Alchemy, divination, necromancy, spiritism, summoning, creation—all called magic in the broad sense.
Subcategories number in the hundreds, thousands.
My heart was the final hope, crystallizing all magic's essence.
What do I mean?
"You idiot. It's the Philosopher's Stone."
In that instant.
Whoooosh!
Magic circles etched across the entire globe.
Blood vessels burst from my dead comrades' corpses, linking to the Philosopher's Stone.
Mana from all life faded on Earth converged.
Gathering the world's mana into my heart to forge the Philosopher's Stone—the ultimate spell!
For this one moment, I'd wandered the world, drawing these circles.
Mobilizing the greatest alchemists, diviners, necromancers, spirit callers, summoners, and more.
The final strike, forged from everyone's blood and sweat.
Release all that mana at once.
We never intended to win.
Raced here solely for this instant.
I flipped off the 'god' and grinned.
"Explosions are art, you fucker."
KABOOOOOM!
Ding!