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Chapter 27

***

Suddenly, curiosity struck me.

Supreme Commander of the Demon Army, Absolute Ruler of the Demon Realm, Evil of the Abyss, or the Deepest Darkness.

And... the final boss of [Demon Fantasy] that I could never defeat.

What would happen if that being appeared here and now?

While the process might vary, the conclusion would be the same.

\'This world... would end.\'

He had never once crossed over to the human realm.

He knew it too. The moment he set foot in the human world, all his toys would meet a miserable end.

That\'s why Baal had never crossed over to the human realm.

He merely sent his minions, observing the unfolding events and filling the void in his heart.

Despite knowing this, the human side\'s response was...

\'Maintain the status quo while fending off the demon legion.\'

And occasionally, when a human who defied common sense appeared, they would send them to the demon realm as an adversary.

That\'s exactly what a \'Player\' is.

But they all ended in failure.

Anyway.

"Kuhehehehe!"

I looked at the old man who was pouring out his mana while soaking in madness.

Though clearly psychotic, he was still one of the world\'s top powerhouses and occupied the position of a magic tower\'s head.

Dercion Pygma.

There was only one reason he was pulling this stunt.

\'...For the sake of a ‘True Light\'.\'

It\'s not entirely wrong thinking. Light magic does have the property of growing stronger the more demons one faces.

Whether it\'s defeating thousands of demons or a demon legion commander.

In Baal\'s case, there\'s even talk that just facing his existence raises one\'s level of light.

Gooooo-!

That\'s probably what Dercion is aiming for.

To maximize my potential with the [Essence of Light], then have me face Baal to reach the pinnacle of light.

That must be the \'true light\' they spoke of.

"Sigh..."

It was a feasible plan if those here could manage to capture Baal.

If that could be done, it would be perfect.

I\'d raise my level, defeat Baal, and Dercion would fulfill his wish... killing three birds with one stone.

However.

\'Is that even possible?\'

If Baal could be caught just by laying out some artifacts and gathering a few elders, humans would have conquered the demon realm long ago.

Honestly, it was laughable.

I\'ve never felt such a generation gap before.

\'...Geez, how did Baal\'s position come to this?\'

In my time, Baal was a being whose mere mention could get you executed.

But now... some old coot infected with crazy ideologies is spouting off about summoning Baal?

"Mr. F-First Place!"

What the hell is the Asteron royal family doing, not arresting this lunatic?

"Yuhan, just what is that power...?"

You guys slacking off just makes things more tiring for me.

I don\'t have the energy to answer.

Wooong-!

I shook off all the distracting thoughts I\'d been having and focused all my mental energy.

Solely on infusing mana.

Rattle rattle!

The artifact I had sneaked away when the elders weren\'t looking vibrated intensely.

It meant it was filled to the brim with mana.

This was only possible because it was me.

-Mana regeneration increased by 300%.

Because I\'m [Prodigy of Magic], my mana regenerates faster than it\'s consumed.

Hmm, normally this would only be possible around the 9th circle?

Well, anyway. Preparations were complete.

"Die."

I pointed the top-grade artifact [Yata\'s Mirror] at Dercion.

[Yata\'s Mirror], which had filled its stomach with my mana, spat out black rays in return.

Kwaaa-!

A jet-black beam that seemed as if it would swallow everything.

It made the beam of light I had shot with [Holy Staff] look like a laser toy used to play with cats.

The problem was...

"B-Block it!"

The elders of Aldeon, who had been supplying mana to the hexagram, noticed what I was trying to do.

The [Light Curtain] they jointly cast barely managed to block the jet-black beam.

Being elder-class, their reaction speed and spell casting were fast.

Clang clang clang!

The clash of darkness and light.

Even though I was using a top-grade artifact, a one-versus-many fight was never easy.

As the curtain gradually advanced, the darkness was slowly pushed back.

But, if that\'s the case, I just need to make it a many-versus-many fight.

"Roan!"

"...I don\'t know what\'s going on, but."

Swoosh-!

The quick-witted Roan immediately cast a spell.

Ice spears rushing towards the [Light Curtain].

Only now did I realize, this guy was an ice mage.

The ice spears, the same color as his eyes, were more solid than any magic I\'d seen from him before.

"This is the righteous side, right?"

"You got it."

Babam!

Roan\'s ice spears hammered strongly against the curtain. The [Light Curtain] retreated bit by bit from the impact.

Maybe it\'s because he had a legendary trait, but he was certainly impressive. To be able to put this much pressure on the elders.

\'Well, it\'s not purely skill alone.\'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Paat! Paaat!

Every time Roan throws a spear, the area around his body flashes mercilessly.

They were accessory artifacts.

Around his waist, [Chronos\' Pocket Watch] that accelerates attack magic.

On his fingers, [Ashtar\'s Ring] that increases magic spells accuracy.

Around his neck, [Recovery Pendant] that probabilistically returns received damage as secondary damage when magic is destroyed.

At this point, I couldn\'t tell if he was a mage or an artifact himself.

The only useful thing I had was [Holy Staff]...

\'...I really need to go out and make some money first when I get the chance.\'

I consoled myself that my peak was much higher due to my traits, then turned my head again.

Clang-!

Just when I thought we were gaining the upper hand, the elders seemed to grit their teeth and push back.

It was then that I heard a booming middle-aged man\'s voice from behind.

"Blond nobleman! Now\'s the time-!"

"...Tch."

Another of Roan\'s ice spears was shot. But this time, the shape was a little different.

The end of the handle was flat, like... well, I\'m not sure. Why that shape?

"Hyaap!"

...Ah, like that?

The moment Roan\'s spear flew towards the curtain, a huge boulder thrown by Uncle Thompson followed behind it.

Kwang-!

A combo attack that looked like hammering a nail, with the ice spear as the nail and the boulder as the hammer.

With a deafening boom that numbed the eardrums, the sharp spearhead penetrates the curtain.

At this time, Roan\'s [Recovery Pendant] was activated as well.

Bong-!

An invisible force returns the damage the ice spear receives from the boulder.

...Crack, crack.

This kind of combo would only be possible by button-mashing in a game. It was no wonder the [Light Curtain] couldn\'t withstand it.

Shatter!

The cracking curtain finally broke, opening a path for the beam to pass through.

Now it\'s my turn.

The jet-black beam poured through the opened floodgate, heading straight for Dercion.

Whoosh!

"...Kuhak!"

Despite being the head of the magic tower, Dercion could do nothing as he had poured all his strength into the hexagram.

He could only be thrown far away.

Kwang!

"T-Tower Head!"

"You crazy bastards...!"

Some elders rushed to him urgently.

The rest glared at us.

"What do you think you\'re doing!"

"How dare you...! Do you even know what you\'ve just interfered with!"

"...What?"

Huh, is this what they mean by the guilty party getting angry first?

At least when people died during the evaluation, they showed a vague sense of guilt, but now even that\'s gone.

"The elders are really united, aren\'t they?"

"...You foolish boy! Don\'t you know all of this is for your own good! This ceremony to open the light within you-"

"The foolish one is you. Who asked for such a thing?"

"W-What did you say?"

The 2nd Elder\'s eyes widened.

With veins popping on his forehead, he suddenly rushed over and grabbed my collar.

My heart started beating faster.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"...You disrespectful brat. Do you really want to die here?"

The 2nd Elder was second only to Dercion in power within the magic tower. At least 8th circle or higher.

Even with my Mythic tier trait, I couldn\'t face such an old man.

But instead, I pushed back harder.

"...Try and kill me then."

"...What did you say?"

"I said, try and kill me."

I added the unspoken \'if you can\' at the end.

After all, the 2nd Elder couldn\'t kill me.

The focus of this entire ceremony was on me, so how could he possibly-

"Y-You...!"

Swoosh!

\'Shit.\'

It was entirely my mistake to forget that humans are very emotional animals.

I shouldn\'t have provoked him.

As a chilling light flashed in the 2nd Elder\'s eyes, the surrounding mana began to fluctuate wildly.

Crack!

The magical particles trembled as if they were about to choke the life out of me right then and there.

My body felt heavier as if gravity had intensified, and my breathing became rapid.

...To think he could exert such pressure with just his aura.

\'...So this is the 8th circle.\'

I hadn\'t underestimated the 2nd Elder, but I was still amazed.

However,

Rather than fear, competitiveness arose inside me; rather than frustration, aspiration bloomed.

I knew the reason why.

Because that was the level I needed to reach.

Because I would have to surpass even that someday.

I am the one who will catch Baal and see the end of this world.

So I can\'t die in a place like this.

Swoosh...

"...!!"

All emotions cooled down, and my thoughts began to rotate rapidly.

-Magical computation ability has been maximized.

I quietly sensed the surrounding mana.

Each particle entered my perception, giving me a feeling of my skin awakening.

-Mana sensitivity increased by 300%.

"You... how...?"

Unfortunately, I couldn\'t control much of the mana. However, it wasn\'t that I couldn\'t control any at all.

This much should be enough.

Paat! Paat! Paat...!

"Huh..."

When I opened my eyes, which I had closed to concentrate, everything around me had brightened.

30% of the mana under the 2nd Elder\'s control had become mine.

I had just consumed a legendary trait with the [Essence of Light].

That\'s why the mana I manipulated was glowing bright white.

"...Light?"

"More precisely, it\'s the light you all gave me."

"So it\'s true that you passed all the trials...?"

"Well, as you can see."

Swirl-

The pure white mana circled around the 2nd Elder and me according to my will.

It was merely a simple manipulation of mana without any real power, but it was such a beautiful sight.

So beautiful that anyone seeing it for the first time wouldn\'t be able to take their eyes off it.

"Ah..."

The second elder slowly walked around with a blank expression on his face, admiring the light.

Sensing an opportunity, I made the mana move even more spectacularly.

\'...This feels like I\'m putting on some kind of show.\'

While it didn\'t feel great, the result wasn\'t bad.

The murderous intent had completely disappeared from the 2nd Elder\'s eyes.

He had long since let go of my collar.

Thinking that persuasion might be possible, I opened my mouth.

"2nd Elder."

In my most solemn voice.

"This might be the last time you can see this light."

"...What do you mean?"

"It\'s not just the light. Everyone here, everyone in this world, is standing at a crossroads of fate today. By Aldeon\'s choice. You know this well, don\'t you?"

"..."

"There\'s no need to take shortcuts. We don\'t have to risk the possibility of downfall. I\'m sure... I can show you the true light that Aldeon desires."

"...Aldeon hasn\'t even grasped the edge of that light for the past 100 years. How could you possibly-"

"Aren\'t you seeing it right now? The possibility that you haven\'t seen in the last 100 years."

Swirl.

The ethereal, pure white mana rotated as if dancing. The 2nd Elder couldn\'t help but be captivated by it again.

Light due to being a legendary trait, in other words, this alone was a light that one might see once in 1,000 years.

Naturally, they couldn\'t have come close to this in the past 100 years.

"..."

A face deep in thought. Intending to drive the point home, I pushed harder.

"For the sake of protecting this light, please stop the Tower Head."

"But he..."

"Many lives have already been lost. If we don\'t stop this now-"

That\'s when it happened.

The sound that ruined everything came.

[...You\'re doing unnecessary things.]

The owner of the voice was Dercion. He was getting up with the help of other elders after being thrown into the wall.

Both gazes focused on one place.

[Not knowing it\'s too late... Kheuk, kuhahaha!]

A roar-like laughter.

The ringing in my ears started again.

Beeeep-!

\'...No way?\'

I turned my head anxiously.

To where Dercion was looking.

And there.

Crack, crack crack.

Something you\'d only see in the late stages of the game.

[The Day of Judgment has begun-!]

Crack crack crack!

A portal to the demon realm was slowly opening.

It was the prelude to war.

***