The Dangerous Invitation - Part 1
The space was entirely gray.
When a Gate breaks, the space within loses its light.
The characteristics were clear. I scanned the surroundings and came face-to-face with the only entity that still possessed color.
“So, it is you. The Inviter.”
The figure, draped in a black robe, pulled back his hood. The moment he cast the robe aside, I couldn't help but be startled.
“Has it been a long time? You little brat.”
“...Cheon Jong-un. What brings the Black Tower Master here?”
Cheon Jong-un, moving with the casual air of someone out for a stroll, made me an offer.
“Shall we take a walk?”
Since the guard dogs inside this Gate had already been eliminated by Cheon Jong-un, I followed his lead and began to walk slowly as he requested.
“Our treatment is truly harsh. I have tried so very hard to rectify this. Despite the massive funds and effort poured in over the years, many groups have engaged in collusion under the guise of keeping us in check, and now, the path to clearing our name has become distant.”
It was the stigma we bore simply for being Dark Mages.
However, the acts we committed during the war were of a level that could never be forgiven, regardless of the treatment we received. We had utilized the dead, summoned souls only to inflict agony upon them. We had wielded our power as if the circumstances of those around us didn't matter, becoming vile in our pursuit of victory.
We had won that victory, but in the end, we were stripped of all honor by those who wielded their power "justly." Yet, we had won, and we had gained peace.
There were those who were satisfied with that, and those who were not.
The person standing before me now was the representative of those who were not.
“What will change by doing this?”
“Nothing will change. But it can be the starting point.”
“A starting point... others would call it a ‘fucking mess.’”
Cheon Jong-un chuckled, then stopped walking and asked me with a serious face.
“Won't you join me?”
“Join you in what?”
“A revolution to claim our true rights!”
The rights of the victor, the interests we were forced to abandon, the countless stigmas and tarnished honor. I shook my head at Cheon Jong-un’s desire to set all of that right.
“I like things the way they are now.”
“Even if you settle, nothing will change in the end. Do you know how the bastards who took our things are living?”
I knew. Even if he spoke boldly, his heart was rotting away. He was merely pretending to be bold.
“You know better than anyone that the greatest obstacle to a Dark Mage is, in the end, another Dark Mage.”
“I suppose that’s why you created this setting. Since you must be confident you can win, I’ll ask. What have you prepared?”
Cheon Jong-un thrust his hand into the air. It was clearly a sub-space, and a moment later, he pulled out a book that looked familiar, yet slightly different.
“The Necronomicon... is this the Tower’s doing?”
“They made an interesting proposal. They told me to do one thing in exchange for handing this over.”
“Do you even know what kind of person he is?”
“You mean the Destructionist?”
The fact that he had figured out even that much and still went through with this led me to think that perhaps Cheon Jong-un had been waiting for the Necronomicon for a very long time. And I also realized that I was one of the people he considered an obstacle.
“It’s not too late. If you’ve obtained what you wanted, then... painting a bigger picture with it wouldn't be a bad choice.”
“We have missed out on too much. I don't want to miss out on anything anymore.”
At that moment, Cheon Jong-un erupted with explosive magical power.
‘A 7th Circle Master... so he still hasn't crossed the wall to the 8th Circle...’
It was clearly a level where we could trade blows. However, if Cheon Jong-un had amplified his power by obtaining the Necronomicon, I, too, was armed with items I had seized from the Destructionist.
“If you won't join me, I will break you.”
“It is you who will be broken.”
Calm magical power and explosive magical power collided. The total volume of mana didn't show a huge difference, but I couldn't help but be surprised by the way they collided and canceled each other out.
“Could you exert this much power?”
“I pride myself on being the strongest among Dark Mages in terms of raw power. Haven't you been suffering from a lack of sustainability all this time?”
“I have. But to think it was to this extent. Amazing.”
It was a situation where one could immediately tell how much the Necronomicon enhanced power.
‘Even after amplifying my total mana and the potency of my magic with artifacts... to think it would be this much...’
It looked like it would be a difficult fight. Tension flowed, and without either of us saying who would go first, we manifested our magic almost simultaneously.
“Dark Ray!”
“Darkness Fog!”
A black beam of light, originating from the Necronomicon, stretched toward me. At the same time, I created a black fog to erode the area, matching the pattern of Cheon Jong-un, whom I knew well to have an aggressive disposition.
I raised my hand and manifested a Mirror spell with my mana to counter the Dark Ray. With a sensation of my hand being slightly pushed back, the light refracted as if grazing past me. However, I confirmed that a massive amount of mana surged momentarily and quickly imprinted a pattern, signaling that an area-of-effect spell was being prepared.
So, I also erupted my mana, pushing it into the ground. Just as I was drawing the pattern, his voice reached me.
“This is your only chance. If things get any more intense, conversation will be difficult.”
Cheon Jong-un seemed desperate to cooperate with me. But I had no intention of being involved with the Destructionist, and furthermore, the world Cheon Jong-un desired would never come to pass.
“Hasn't the time for talk already ended?”
“Tsk, you stubborn human...”
At that moment, with the sound of a clap, the magic that had finished its patterning manifested. A wide-ranging vortex appeared and began to narrow rapidly. Countless blades of intense wind erupted, grinding everything within range to dust. Since I had somewhat anticipated this magic, I flicked my finger and manifested the magic I had pushed into the ground.
The ground surged upward, and in an instant, a massive pillar pushed against the vortex, unraveling and canceling it out. I had defended against the Dark Storm with a Stone Henge spell. But the real battle was only just beginning.
Sharp blades of wind began to burrow through the gaps in the Stone Henge, aiming for my life. I quickly imprinted a pattern onto the Stone Henge and triggered an explosion.
The Gate trembles!
The roar echoed, and the inside of the Gate shuddered. I saw the ground splitting open, revealing countless Evil Spirits surging from within. I knew he had prepared something more. Instinctively, I erupted my mana to defend my mind, and with both hands, I emitted mana of different natures, quickly drawing patterns.
Countless patterns, embroidered in the language of magic, swam through the air.
“Do you think I’ll let you use them?”
Cheon Jong-un had closed the distance in an instant, and his long, pale, bony hand reached toward my chest.
‘What is he trying to do?’
The mana I felt from Cheon Jong-un’s hand was ordinary. However, due to a strange sense of déjà vu, I hurriedly dodged his hand as if leaning my body backward, but my physical capabilities were not that great. However, the number of spells that could directly harm me at this range was limited. So, I quickly racked my brain and prepared two countermeasures.
Soon, his fingers touched my chest. At that moment, the spell manifested from Cheon Jong-un’s lips.
“Decrepify.”
It was a powerful curse that could only be applied through contact. It was a spell most Dark Mages didn't prefer, and one that most people didn't think about until they were struck, even if they knew how to defend against it. If I had been careless, I would have been hit. But I had a way to respond, and I quickly used a Reflect spell to resist the force.
However, the shock of the Reflect seeping inward was not light.
“Ugh?!”
The pressure constricting my entire body—in fact, Decrepify was a curse that reduced all the target's stats by half. It was a curse that only lasted for a short time, but it was so powerful that the battle was often decided in that brief moment.
“It’s over.”
Was it because I had groaned briefly? He seemed to mistake it for the curse being applied to me. And the situation that followed was Cheon Jong-un stomping hard on the ground to manifest his magic. At his will, the Evil Spirits I had felt beneath the ground exploded. I knew immediately what it was, but responding wasn't difficult.
Using one of the two patterns of mana I had been emitting to the left and right, I urgently used short-range teleportation—a Blink—to escape the range of the explosion. I activated the pattern I had imprinted on the single strand of mana still connected to Cheon Jong-un, who remained at the location where I had been.
“Hell Boom.”
With a short trigger word, a powerful explosion occurred. The explosion shook the very foundations of the earth. Cheon Jong-un’s magic, which had been surging from the ground, and my magic collided, tearing the entire interior of the Gate to shreds. As the situation continued as if the space itself might shatter at any moment, Cheon Jong-un, who had lightly brushed off the dust, asked in surprise.
“What went wrong?”
“If you’re curious, why don't you come back and try again?”
“Hah, how absurd. I knew you were strong, but this far exceeds my expectations. Just what... what did I miss?”
He had a look of disbelief. So, I checked my status by circulating mana through my body, then erupted my mana as it was. At the same time, Cheon Jong-un also erupted his mana, preparing to respond.
“I know the characteristics of the Necronomicon well. I’ve experienced it often. What price are you paying for it?”
“I’ve heard. They say you are paying with your emotions. In the end, you will become a monster.”
“Perhaps. But I’m sure I’m not the only one. We are all broken, useless lives one by one; is there any point in breaking further?”
“Unlike you, I have no future left. That’s why.”
He was a giant who had dominated an era. He had achieved brilliant military exploits and had stood at the forefront for the country more than anyone else. But what he received in return was contempt and scorn for his very existence.
“The fall of a hero is instantaneous. If you are forgotten by the people, that’s a good death.”
In the end, Cheon Jong-un, who had no intention of bending his will, began to exert massive power in earnest. With a volume of mana different from anything before, I, too, had no choice but to exert my power to respond.
Even though the Gate was already shattered, the range was absurdly wide. If the place was so filled with mana that it was screaming and cracking, that said it all. Cheon Jong-un, looking around the interior covered in power, said to me with a face full of regret.
“How did we end up like this?”
“You just need to let go of one small strand of greed.”
“If I had done that, we wouldn't be facing each other like this. I’m sorry.”
In an instant, massive mana began to be sucked into Cheon Jong-un’s body, and I could understand what that meant through the changing patterns.
‘Is this the 8th Circle...?’
The power of Cheon Jong-un I had felt at first was never the 8th Circle. But now, Cheon Jong-un was pushing himself beyond his limits. Was there a reason he had to kill me that badly? My heart was truly complicated, and I gritted my teeth and quickly shaped the mana I had erupted.
‘Reckless magic operation requires time. There is a margin until completion. Unless he prepares for it... he knows the fact that he will inevitably be counterattacked by me. In terms of experience, he and I should be similar... but why did he make this choice?’
I couldn't understand Cheon Jong-un’s current actions at all. Since I couldn't wait for the 8th Circle magic to be completed, I moved my mana to intervene in the magic Cheon Jong-un was sculpting and began to Dispel it. However, Cheon Jong-un, not to be outdone, erupted additional mana and began to re-establish the collapsed parts. I, too, continued the process of interference, leading to a war of attrition.
‘It’s a pity that from the 8th Circle onwards, you can't strike the caster with ordinary magic because of the mana barrier. Since I don't have the ability to break through that yet... is this war of attrition the answer?’
In the end, it had become a battle of whose brain was superior, and whose mana was more abundant and powerful.