Black Sun Astraziel
In the media of her previous world, things that bore the moniker of Black Sun had been everywhere.
The so-called epithet.
A second name.
To ordinary people it might have seemed utterly meaningless. But to those who had immersed themselves deeply in anime or manga, there was something about it that made the heart race in a peculiar way.
Naturally, Lee Dam was the latter.
Black Sun, holy shit.
If the epithet was Black Sun, just how incredible would it have to be?
"H-hey, slow down a little!"
Her steps had quickened without her even realizing it, driven by pure anticipation.
"We don't even know where we're going!"
"…Right."
Lee Dam stopped. Now that she thought about it, something felt off. Mages weren't supposed to leave the Magic Tower, so where exactly were they supposed to meet? Maybe there were that many spies already inside. If so, her faith in the Tower was going to take a serious hit.
"Ahem. This way."
She followed Noman. She had wondered where they were headed, only to realize they were descending into the basement of the Iron Magic Tower—the same place used as the dormitory for apprentice mages.
Trailing behind Noman as he led her deeper into the farthest corners, Lee Dam shoved her hands into her pockets and issued a warning.
"If you so much as ask me to let you hit it once, I'll fucking kill you."
"What on earth are you talking about…?"
"A month ago some bastard brought me down here and got on his knees begging for a turn."
"…That won't happen, so please rest easy."
"Just so you know, that guy's impotent now."
Noman had been trying to pretend he hadn't heard anything and keep walking, but he finally couldn't hold it in.
"What exactly did you do to make him impotent?"
"He tried to jump me after I said no, so I ripped it off."
"…"
"Think I'm joking?"
"Ahem! L-let's hurry along, shall we?"
Vowing never to stare at Lee Dam's chest for more than two seconds, Noman pressed ahead. How something that serious had been covered up was a mystery, though he suspected the victim himself had kept quiet. Lee Dam wasn't the type to go around bragging about it, after all.
The deepest part of the basement—an unused room. The Magic Tower was so vast that even the underground levels had plenty of spare chambers, and this was one of them.
Room 111
"This is the place."
"Hmm."
Lee Dam strode inside. There was nothing particularly special about the room, but Noman slipped past her, approached one wall, and stretched out his hand. A black magic circle was engraved there.
"Oh?"
"We take this. It connects to a place outside. After watching you these past three months, I've become certain you're one of our brethren."
"…Why?"
She didn't think she'd done anything particularly remarkable. When Lee Dam tilted her head and asked, Noman gave her a warm smile.
"When I described your symptoms to the other brethren, they said it was clear you serve an Evil God. They told me people who become too deeply immersed end up like that."
"…"
Lee Dam's mood turned absolutely foul. In other words, her everyday self looked just like those fanatical Evil God cultist bastards.
"Thanks for understanding, you bald fuck."
"…Why are you calling me a bald—"
Noman started to protest, but Lee Dam ignored him and stepped into the magic circle.
What unfolded before her was a landscape she had only ever seen in games.
An impossibly high ceiling. Water droplets falling from stalactites with soft plip-plop sounds, like the BGM that ratchets up the tension right before a boss fight. Torches lined up in rows, gently pushing back the darkness.
The deep gloom cradled an altar inside an artificially carved cave. The moment a sacrifice was offered, a massive boss looked ready to appear at any second.
There was just one thing that rubbed her the wrong way.
That thing is fucking awful.
Something that looked an awful lot like a jar sat smack in the center of the altar. On closer inspection it wasn't a jar—it was a stone statue. The kind of model that looked like someone had plopped down a massively overweight middle-aged woman and called her a goddess of fertility from ancient times.
Are they seriously bowing their heads to that thing?
Did the guys around here get hard looking at that?
Lee Dam was starting to suspect that Seong-un was actually a gathering of fat fetishists.
"You've arrived."
A man stood before the altar. He had clearly been waiting for Lee Dam and Noman, and he greeted them with calm composure. The energy flowing through his body was far too murky to be ordinary mana, and Lee Dam found herself frowning without meaning to.
It was the complete opposite of her own presence. Where she was saturated with pure azure mana, he carried mana of pure black.
His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he was quite the handsome man. Lee Dam had always known that types like him were the ones cults used as front men to reel in women.
"Miss Lee Dam, this gentleman is a bishop who serves Black Sun Astraziel."
"I've heard a great deal about you. I am Bishop Camael."
"Yeah. Name's Lee Dam."
In places like this, seizing the initiative was crucial. Lee Dam ignored the hand he offered for a handshake and simply nodded. Camael and Noman exchanged a glance.
"Haha. Exactly as I was told."
"You badmouthed me, didn't you."
"N-no, not at all!"
"Bullshit. There's no way you could've explained me without trash-talking."
"…"
So she knew. Noman was a little surprised.
"So this is the one who can help with the ultra-high-temperature flame magic?"
"I can assist you. I possess a holy relic of Astraziel. If I lend it to you, you should easily reach the temperatures you desire."
"Oh?"
Well, the epithet was Black Sun. Black Sun, of all things!
Lee Dam snorted and waved both hands.
"Where? Where is it? Can we use it right away? We're kind of in a hurry here."
Beldora was currently sprawled out in the Fire Magic Tower Master's research lab. She was in the middle of a sit-in, and if she kept lying there the heat was going to cook her belly. The Fire Magic Tower was ridiculously hot, after all.
"It is possible. However… I cannot simply lend it to you free of charge."
Watching Camael's sly grin, Lee Dam's brow furrowed.
"Spit it out. Anything involving my body is a hard no."
"Good heavens, please don't treat us like such vulgar creatures. It's nothing major. Just a simple test."
If he had to be compared to an animal, Camael was like a deer. People tended to think of deer as pure, gentle creatures, but this one felt like the kind with viciously rough antlers that would stay silent and hide in the forest.
It gave her a bad feeling.
But still. He said he would help.
"What is it. What do I have to do."
"Would you go and offer a prayer? It will serve as final confirmation that you truly are our brethren… and we must also receive Astraziel's permission."
"You can actually talk to a god if you pray here?"
"Special people can. Only the very special ones."
"Hmm."
Lee Dam strode forward and bowed her head before the altar. She didn't see any need to kneel. The moment she closed her eyes—
"Ah, fuck—"
A sharp jolt rang through her brain. Lee Dam staggered, her gaze rolling backward as her eyes slid shut.
Thud!
Only then did she realize the sound had been her own body hitting the floor.
When she opened her eyes again, she was astonished to find herself floating in the sky.
Oh?
The voice wasn't coming from her mouth—it was resonating inside her head. Fascinated by the strange sensation, Lee Dam tried a few more words. Moments later, something enormous appeared before her.
If she had to compare it, it was roughly the size of a Magic Tower. A voluptuous woman of literally overwhelming scale looked down at her.
It was the exact same appearance as the stone statue she had just seen!
No joke—if you rolled her while she was lying down, she would never stop on her own and would just keep rolling until she came full circle back to the starting point. Because the Earth is round, after all. She would roll all the way around and end up right back where she started.
The woman introduced herself as Astraziel and looked down at Lee Dam.
Lee Dam had unconsciously switched to polite speech. Anyone would start speaking respectfully if a middle-aged woman the size of a Magic Tower was standing in front of them.
It was a pretty important question for Lee Dam.
What was the point of building a badass Knight Armor if the opponent she had to fight was a ridiculously voluptuous middle-aged woman? Wouldn't the whole thing just look like kids playing around?
And this auntie didn't even have hair.
Come to think of it, Noman had said that the forms of divine beings shouldn't be created carelessly.
She still didn't know why the statue existed in the first place, but apparently the worshippers of Astraziel had been bowing to it every single day, so the form had naturally shifted into that shape.
Lee Dam didn't bother thinking it over for long.
She needed to be able to handle ultra-high-temperature magic to build the Knight Armor in the first place, and besides—authority just sounded fucking cool.
Darkness swallowed Lee Dam's entire field of vision in an instant.
And then—
"Hah! Hah!"
Lee Dam shot upright from where she had collapsed and looked around. Noman and Camael were staring down at her, both of them wearing startled expressions.
"Ah, my fucking head—"
As she rubbed her throbbing temples, Lee Dam realized something unique had been etched onto her arm. The tattoo stretched long, reaching all the way to her cheek; she felt it through the searing heat. When she frowned, wondering what it was, the mark slowly faded and vanished.
"Oh, shit."
It was awesome.
She felt like she had become Sasuke under Orochimaru or something.
While she was still hyped up, Camael rushed over in shock.
"You have received authority! Aah! I am astonished! Astraziel has acknowledged you! You truly were our brethren all along!"
"Hoh! This friend is truly remarkable! I've never seen anyone receive authority from a single prayer!"
Noman was making a fuss right beside him.
"And never has anyone received authority this dense! At this rate I should just hand over the bishop's seat—!"
"An oracle has been delivered."
Lee Dam calmly stretched out her hand. At the tip of her pale fingers was none other than the middle-aged woman's stone statue.
"That eyesore is to be demolished, and a clear form of the god herself is to be enshrined in its place."
"…What?! D-did you actually meet Astraziel in person?!"
When Lee Dam nodded, tears welled in Camael's eyes and his entire body began to tremble.
"Ooooh! Ooooooh! G-great and magnificent one! Y-you are—!"
"Quit the drama. Gather everyone. We're completely overhauling that thing."
Lee Dam rolled up her sleeves and approached the statue.
The opponent for the insanely cool super-transforming robot she was going to build was supposed to be some middle-aged woman so fat she looked like she couldn't even walk?
Fuck that. Even if the god allows it, I don't.
You're done for, Astraziel.
Today's the day you get plastic surgery.
Half a day later.
Lee Dam wiped the sweat from her brow with deep satisfaction and looked up at the newly remade Astraziel.
"This is it. This is the one."
At her words, the gathered followers of Astraziel clicked their tongues in awe.
"I-it is truly divine!"
"To think this is the true form of Lady Astraziel! Tears are flowing!"
"Aah! Aaaaaah! Glory to your mercy that sets our hearts ablaze!"
Watching the Evil God cultist bastards make a scene, Lee Dam wiped her nose and grinned.
Ah, that's fucking cool.
Maybe I should just switch sides to this one.
