‘That’s it.’
Yohan could tell. The source of the ominous feeling he sensed in the snowy mountains was that black figure.
‘It also caused the avalanche.’
And the natural disaster as well.
“Everyone, stay focused! I’ll break through the front!”
He had found the answer.
Yohan concentrated his mind again.
Magical power gathered at his fingertips, forming several spheres of dispersion. Pure destructive magical power. Even if it couldn’t completely eliminate the avalanche, it should be able to create an opening to survive.
Just as he was about to fire the spheres―
Crackle-!
“…!”
It happened in an instant.
The magical power that should have exploded brilliantly from his fingertips disappeared as if carved away. No, it didn’t simply disappear. The basic principles of magic itself were distorted.
The formula rewound and the calculation process reversed. And it happened before he could even complete the spell.
‘It’s reverse calculation.’
High-level magic that reverses the formula back to its original state. It was magic that was only possible after mastering all existing formulas, requiring exceptionally fast computational abilities.
‘Is this even possible?’
Yohan’s eyes trembled. Rupture Point was at least an advanced-level spell. Since he had personally modified it, it could even be considered transcendent-level.
To reverse calculate it instantly, at a glance?
“M-Minister! The avalanche is getting closer!!”
But there was no time for distraction. A white storm was approaching. Yohan widened his eyes and aimed his fingertips again.
‘One more time and that’s it.’
He concentrated magical power at his fingertips.
Whoosh!
The Rupture Point with dispersive properties formed.
Crackle!
But it was immediately reverse calculated. The speed at which it was undone was much faster than his own formula-solving speed. Anger surged, but there was no time to be consumed by emotions.
It was a moment that required quick judgment. Not only Francia and Rudbeckia, but the lives of many military officials who came here were at stake. Yohan shouted urgently.
“Elena! My magic is being reverse calculated! Join the mages who have finished preparing their defenses!”
“What about you, Minister!”
“I’ll fight to the end!”
Yohan took a step forward. Crunch. The snow sank softly beneath his feet. Elena hesitated for a moment before belatedly joining the mages to manipulate mana.
Rumble-!
At last, the avalanche came clearly into view. It would arrive within 30 seconds. He had to succeed with his magic before then.
Crackle!
But it was immediately reverse calculated again.
‘Damn it…’
Yohan bit his lip. Judging by the high-level reverse calculation that could be used immediately, the opponent was no ordinary mage. They were on a much higher level, incomparable to even the Tower Master.
In the end-
“It’s coming!!”
Crash-!
It collapsed. An enormous snow disaster engulfed everything in sight. In an instant, the boundary between land and sky disappeared. Yohan’s vision was dyed white.
With even the mana manipulation and distortion needed for high-speed movement being reverse calculated, escape was impossible.
Rumble-!
Yohan’s body was flung into the air. As his body rose, it began to freeze like ice.
He was caught up in it.
The concepts of up, down, left, and right vanished. It felt like floating in zero gravity. Although he was protecting his body with a mana barrier, he couldn’t resist the immense pressure.
He was swallowed up.
* * *
Yohan opened his eyes.
“Ugh…”
His temples throbbed. Perhaps because his brain had been shaken incessantly, he felt nauseous. He felt like he could throw up at any moment.
‘Where am I?’
Still, he maintained his composure and calmly surveyed his surroundings. Although not a speck of light entered, he could tell he was inside a cave from the sound, temperature, and wind.
‘There’s no way I ended up here after being caught in the avalanche…..Someone must have brought me here.’
Yohan slowly drew up his magical power. There were no problems with his magic circuits. He could start fighting at any moment. It shouldn’t be a problem to escape from here and find the military officials.
However, he needed to identify that black figure. There was a high possibility that it was the one who brought him here. All causal relationships pointed to it.
‘Shall we go?’
He got up.
Relying on the light created by magical power, he walked through the darkness.
There were several murals painted on the cave walls. A long-haired woman receiving
fruit from a monster in the shape of a demon.
‘A deal?’
Receiving something from a demon. Yohan wasn’t stupid enough not to understand this. It probably meant selling one’s soul in exchange for power. The woman must be the identity of the black figure that caused the avalanche.
‘But I don’t know what significance this picture has.’
Just for record-keeping purposes?
Or intentionally shown to him?
‘I’ll keep going for now.’
Yohan shook his head and continued walking.
The murals continued uninterrupted along the cave walls.
A woman emanating light. Gestures that split the sky and raised the earth. A god-like
being.
At some point, the murals began to blur. It wasn’t because his eyes were cloudy or the light was dim. The paintings themselves were purely fading.
‘The background is getting darker.’
The content of the paintings was also very gloomy. The woman who had been
emanating light was now sobbing in despair. In front of her were paintings of another man and woman.
“…”
Yohan continued forward, looking at the murals. Thunder was striking in the
paintings. The sun, which had always been depicted brightly, had completely set, leaving only darkness.
A pocket watch with its second hand turning backwards was painted. It was a symbol indicating that time had reversed.
In the mural with the changed background, the woman was crying endlessly. Turning his head, he saw the man from earlier pouring out his anger at her.
The paintings continued after that.
The man paid no attention to the woman.
Yohan moved his steps while examining the murals. The woman, who had been
following the man in sadness, eventually killed him when he wouldn’t look at her.
The face of the light-emanating woman gradually distorted. The people’s worship towards her changed. Not reverence, but fear and madness. In the next painting, her surroundings were burning.
And, the very last scene.
A clock with its second hand turning backwards.
A woman shedding tears.
And, a man she was holding in her arms…
Dark blue eyes and navy blue hair.
The man in the mural bore a strange resemblance to himself.
“…What?”
Yohan’s brow furrowed.
An inexplicable sense of displeasure surged.
‘No, it’s too grandiose a delusion to think that’s me. Let’s try to interpret the meaning
first.’
The first thing that came to mind was one possibility. Did it mean that after turning back time, love failed and life was ruined? That’s how it appeared to Yohan’s eyes.
If that’s the case, it meant regression. Honestly, he didn’t believe it. How could
someone turn back time? This wasn’t some work of fiction. However, his cooled reason had already reached the correct answer.
‘That black figure turned back time.’
Hadn’t he himself been reincarnated? Regression didn’t seem impossible in
comparison.
‘The one capable of that is…’
The Celestial Mage.
That person would be capable of it.
‘Could that black figure be the Celestial Mage?’
His thoughts accelerated. With that assumption, everything fell into place. The skill
to instantly reverse calculate the Rupture Point he had modified, and the high-purity magical power felt even amidst the dense magical energy.
And the power to intentionally cause a massive avalanche, a natural disaster—
‘Insane.’
Yohan felt his whole body grow cold. Goosebumps crept up the nape of his neck. If
the black figure was the Celestial Mage, and if she harbored malicious intent.
‘How am I supposed to win?’
He couldn’t think of any way.
Of course, this was the first time he had felt the power of the Celestial Mage. However, he had heard about that mage’s power. Long ago, even before reincarnating into this work.
The mage who had reached the celestial realm in those myths was literally a god. A
being who could create something from nothing, change the environment, and split continents into multiple pieces.
He could tell from just experiencing the reverse calculation.
No matter what he did, he could never defeat the Celestial Mage.
‘No, I need to understand her intentions first. Why she caused the avalanche and
brought me here like this.’
If the intent was to harm from the beginning, she could have killed him already. It’s
strange to use the word “merely,” but it wouldn’t have ended with merely one avalanche.
The Celestial Mage clearly wanted something.
Just as Yohan reached this conclusion and took a step-
“Yohan Harssen.”
Suddenly, a cracked voice came from the darkness. It was the voice of an old woman
weathered by time. Yohan reflexively turned his head and illuminated the area.
A person with a hunched back, wrapped in a pitch-black robe, was looking this way. What he felt was overwhelming magical power. Yet it made the surroundings clear.
“…Are you the Celestial Mage?”
Yohan asked calmly. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t shaken. However, this was a
moment that required a composed conversation.
“You’re quick-witted. To recognize me at a glance just from the murals. Yes, the
Celestial Mage. That’s what the world calls me.”
Тар. Тар.
The old woman slowly walked out. But something was strange. With each step she
took, space reversed.
Her wrinkled skin became taut, her hunched back straightened. Her cloudy eyes regained their clear light.
She was no longer an old woman.
She was the young woman he had seen in the murals.
“…It seems you’ve called me here. What’s your intention?”
Yohan asked, desperately suppressing his pounding heart in the face of that
overwhelming magic. Anxiety crept in.
“Yohan Harssen, I wanted to talk with you.”
The Celestial Mage smiled faintly.
“So, I don’t understand that intention. What conversation do you want to have with
me, whom you’re meeting for the first time today?”
“Hehe, you don’t know the truth. You don’t even know that your lovers are hiding
secrets.”
Yohan narrowed his eyes and asked.
“…Hiding what?”
“Yes. A terribly vicious desire.”
The Celestial Mage snapped her fingers. A rift appeared in the air, connecting space
to space. It was space-based magic often used by the Tower Master, which
symbolized him.
“The truth about Francia Ferbache.”
Thud.
The air split open. A human figure fell from within. Yohan’s eyes widened. Long, flowing jet-black hair. A face with closed blood-red eyes.
His heart pounded.
But he couldn’t be shaken.
Yohan hardened his expression and asked.
“…What do you want?”
“For you to know the truth.”
Smile.
The Celestial Mage grinned.
“I don’t want to be the only one unable to fulfill my longing, regretting past
mistakes.”