Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Setting the Stage
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Until now, the [Sphere of the Void] that Loan had employed was only ever used to bind an opponent in a near-seal or to defend himself.
It never needed to be large.
A size just enough to trap himself and an enemy, or to encompass a few allies, was sufficient.
This was because he had focused on its internal effects.
This time, he sought its utility externally. His plan was to push back the enemy and break down the walls.
The result was a success.
But he wasn't satisfied.
He soon envisioned another possibility.
‘The Sphere of the Void is not a hardened mold. It’s like a living, breathing thing.’
It was a concentration of mana, connected to Loan himself and in constant motion.
In other words, by injecting mana, he could increase its size.
To do that, he needed to draw in more mana, and faster.
Obtaining the second Circle had made this considerably easier.
It was a concept of supplying mana in proportion to its size to form, maintain, and expand its shape.
‘In a place like this, where mana is so dense.’
He could make it bigger. So he did.
The sphere swelled in size with a roar.
The four partitions that had formed a single space met the sphere and crumbled.
Each partition destroyed the one beyond it.
The impact rippled outwards, compounding.
*CRACK-CRASH?!*
Like a single tombstone falling and toppling the tightly packed ones next to it in a chain reaction.
A chain reaction of space after space being destroyed. The condensed mana was scattered mercilessly.
It was almost brute force.
Loan watched the collapsing world as if it were a curious spectacle.
‘From the inside, it’s the safest shelter in the world.’
From the outside, it was nigh on an inviolable domain.
In other words.
For an enemy, the expansion of the [Sphere of the Void] within a limited space was tantamount to facing a spell that was exceedingly difficult to counter.
This was precisely the predicament Carl and Zick found themselves in.
“What in the world is happening?!”
Zick couldn’t answer Carl’s furious shout, which echoed along the walls.
The ‘Blood Partitions’ was a magic completed through a magic formation.
The formation, drawn in blood across the entire floor, had become the walls themselves, making it nearly impossible to discover a counter-formula.
For a similar reason, it was difficult to break with force.
Since the magic circle lying on the floor had risen to form the partitions, they were different spaces and different walls, but in essence, they were all connected.
The different partitions shared and offset the impact one of them received.
It was equivalent to striking a wall that thick, no, the very ground itself.
Even if the caster were killed, it would have no effect on the already created space.
For these reasons, he had considered it a near-perfect barrier, at least in this place.
‘No, why is it collapsing?’
While Zick struggled to re-erect the fallen walls and Carl created more demonic beasts to regain control of the unexpectedly unfolding situation.
Loan began to reunite with his companions, who had been passing their time in their own separated spaces beyond the collapsed partitions.
First were the modernist mages who had followed Loan and been plunged into hardship.
*CRASH-CRASH!*
Every scene was a fierce struggle.
It was inevitable.
While their ideals and desires aligned with Loan’s, their skills lagged far behind those of the Tower Masters.
Moreover, they had been suddenly thrown into a harsh situation that prevented them from displaying their full abilities.
“Are you all right?”
“……”
Lost in panic, they were already heavily injured and barely fending off the attacks of the demonic beasts.
They were so overwhelmed with emotion they couldn't even reply.
After rescuing and joining them, Loan brought them inside the sphere and deployed his magic once more.
Next, the partition that had imprisoned Magda shattered.
She was in the middle of incinerating demonic beasts while leaning back on an invisible chair she had created.
She didn't have her usual leisurely impression. Her characteristic weariness was also absent.
Judging by the color of the flames, he could tell she was in the process of finding her own solution.
A chillingly blue flame that contrasted with the red walls.
Creating flames of that temperature required more mana than ordinary fire.
It was so like her not to conserve mana, even though she must have noticed their scheme.
“Loan.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Loan slammed a beast engulfed in flames against a wall, crushing it. He then brought down the rest of the partition.
*CRASH-CRASH!*
The shattered partition.
The blood beasts they had generated.
The blue flames that had left soot on the sphere.
Everything that had lost its form and properties was reduced to particles and absorbed into the [Sphere of the Void].
A phenomenon that Zick, who believed the ‘Blood Partitions’ couldn't be broken by physical impact, would never realize.
*Wooooong—*
Because it was a concentration of mana, and because it was continuously drawing in highly dense mana to increase its size.
Everything it touched and broke was scattered to pieces and became a part of the sphere.
Soon, it was purified through the Circle and replaced by mana that emitted a transparent light.
It didn't stop at mere destruction.
It reverted to the most primal form of mana, drawing it in and mixing it together.
It had found its purpose again.
‘This, too, is a cycle.’
Thrilling at the symbolism.
Loan utilized the sensation he had when converting the [Sphere of the Void] into the [Arc of the Void] to open one side of the sphere and embrace Magda.
She blinked her long eyelashes rapidly, admiring Loan’s magic.
“Its size is remarkable, but the mana it contains is tremendous. It’s excessively destructive, yet still elegant. Have you grown once again?”
“My experience at the Magic Tower was significant.”
“So humble. Truly commendable.”
Magda had experienced the [Sphere of the Void] before, so her impression was measured.
But the four Tower Masters, who had joined the sphere’s interior against their will, had a different reaction.
They were first shocked as they helplessly watched the space that had trapped them crumble, and then became even more dumbfounded after learning the circumstances.
Above all, Loan’s magic itself was preposterous.
Among the four, Elmaer, the Tower Master of Phenomena, was particularly astonished.
“How could someone who wields such tremendous mana and such an incredible spell have been so modest? Was the magic you showed me before a consideration to save my pride? Or perhaps…”
*Was he laughing at me inwardly? Was praising me a setup to mock me?*
Elmaer’s face turned bright red.
Loan shook his head.
“Of course not. I learned so much from you, Tower Master, at the Tower of Phenomena, and from the other side of phenomena.”
“What could one who has reached such a level be lacking?”
“Before coming to the Magic Tower, this spell was only used to control the sphere's interior. The shift in thinking to turn my attention outward was only possible because of the enlightenment I had at the Tower of Phenomena.”
It wasn't a lie.
That shift in perspective was possible.
It was thanks to realizing that what one sees in a mirror is not all there is, that there can be other meanings hidden behind it.
Once Elmaer’s question ended in enlightenment.
As if she had been waiting, Anke, the Tower Master of Recognition, continued with a question as she watched the expanding sphere.
“The Blood Partitions seemed to be a space constructed within a space. It should be considered a subspace designed by its creator, but what is its correlation with dimensions?”
Though the tone was out of place for the situation and the question was overly theoretical, Loan was very pleased with Anke’s inquiry.
“I have not yet been able to properly sample and analyze dimensions. So, it remains an unknown territory. However, now that it’s confirmed that dimensions are also composed of mana, I wonder if a similar method to destroying space could be attempted.”
“What is it called?”
“It’s called the Sphere of the Void. You can think of it as a sphere made of high-density mana.”
“Crossing a dimensional wall while protected by the Sphere of the Void. Is that what you mean?”
“I saw that possibility.”
Anke was surprised by Loan, but also proud of himself for his accurate observation.
Immediately after, Ingrid, the Tower Master of Sensation, spoke up.
“The Tower of Sensation must have helped you as well, right?”
Her eyes, glaring at the Tower Masters of Phenomena and Recognition, seemed to be forcing a question out of a desire not to lose.
Loan smiled.
“Of course. It wasn’t easy to handle the onslaught of demonic beasts in a suddenly enclosed space. I found myself naturally responding with synesthesia that transcended the five senses. Because my senses could accept the situation, my mind found a sense of ease.”
Part of it was true. Part of it was said for her benefit, but Ingrid seemed utterly pleased.
Finally, the Tower Master of Ideation.
Reinholdt had already found his own questions and answers within Loan’s story.
“Watching your magic is like looking at an infinite hourglass. A feeling of mana being restored, like the restoration of the spirit.”
“You’ve seen it perfectly. This, too, is a cycle. I, too, have come to newly understand and solidify that meaning through my experiences here.”
“Is that so? The cycle… it may be a more important concept than you think.”
“It’s thanks to your encouragement, senior. The Magic Tower and this place have become important turning points for me.”
“For you to say that… thank you.”
Even as this affectionate and leisurely discussion continued.
Loan’s sphere continued to expand.
And finally.
The moment the last partition, the one imprisoning Werner, the Tower Master of Implementation, also crumbled and was wholly converted into power for the sphere.
“What the! Why is it collaps—”
Zick, the Deputy Head of Research for Brien, was crushed by the transparent sphere before he could finish his shout.
A remarkably anticlimactic death for all the trouble he had caused.
Carl shook his head violently, his cheeks jiggling in disbelief.
As if voicing their superior’s inner thoughts, the adjutants standing guard behind him shouted one after another.
“The partitions are gone now!”
“Use us!”
“You must exert your full power!”
Hearing their cries, Carl seemed to have made a decision.
He readjusted his grip on the butcher knives in both hands, then abruptly turned and sliced off one of his adjutant's shoulders.
That was the beginning.
Amidst fountains of blood, the adjutants began to mutilate each other, and Carl, leaping among them, swung his butcher knives even more violently.
“Madmen…”
Werner, who had been in a standoff with them, said with a sigh. The thoughts of all who watched were the same.
How could they do that to each other?
Were they insane?
Could the landscapes of the demon world, where devils were said to live, be like this?
But what was even more horrifying was that throughout the unfolding of this hellscape, not a single person screamed.
On the contrary.
“Use me!”
“Please, use me!”
Shouts full of joy and crazed laughter echoed from all sides.
Finally.
The research deputy head who had butchered his adjutants—no, the butcher—stood alone amidst the scattered corpses and muttered something.
It must have been the incantation to create demonic beasts.
As expected, the shattered pieces of the corpses began to crudely stitch themselves together, forming new shapes.
One beast, then two…
Demonic beasts were created in a line.
Perhaps because the special condition of ‘sacrifice’ had been met, the newly created beasts had already surpassed the mana their former selves possessed.
Their tempers were as ferocious as their grotesque appearances.
As if ready to charge out in all directions at any moment, they continuously scratched at the air with their haphazardly protruding teeth and claws.
“Will it be all right?”
Josef, who was tending to his comrades’ injuries a short distance away, asked worriedly.
Loan replied.
“Yes. If those things have a brain, they’ll know not to come in here.”
Loan was right.
Carl was wary of the transparent sphere of mana that had destroyed the partitions and crushed Zick.
“Don’t pay any mind to that side.”
He waved his butcher knives left and right, focusing the demonic beasts solely on the Tower Master of Implementation.
Loan stared intently at Werner, who was now facing the horde of enemies.
Since the man who stood at the pinnacle of Schwerin had taken it upon himself, he couldn't interfere excessively.
“I’ve set the stage for you nicely.”
A polite piece of advice, telling him to hurry up, use his strength, and finish the situation.
Having been told off by a junior so far beneath him, Werner scratched the back of his head and began to gather his mana.