Outpost near the Cramel Wastelands.
Currently, the special forces, the First Public Official, and the elites of the Imperial Guard were gathered here.
This was to immediately intervene and eliminate the Archmage if Yohan showed any signs of defeat.
They might be a disorganized rabble against the Archmage, but they judged it possible because Yohan would surely weaken the Archmage’s power. There was also information that he had suffered a critical injury.
“What’s the situation?”
The special forces commander asked. Before him, the detection-type mages were sweating profusely, trembling all over.
“I can’t see… anything. The mana is cut off.”
Mana is cut off?
At that moment, the faces of everyone gathered at the outpost contorted in astonishment. The disappearance of mana in the atmosphere meant that it had become a space where magic could not exist.
“Damn it, what’s going on…”
The special forces commander pressed his temples, complaining of a headache. He, too, had felt the massive wave of Magical Power that had just occurred. It was frustrating because he couldn’t know how the situation was unfolding after that.
“I, I’ve detected something!”
Then, a detection-type mage shouted. The special forces commander’s eyes flashed, and his mouth opened.
“Where is Minister Rahardt?”
“He is confronting the Archmage!”
Only then did sighs of relief escape from various places. The tension that had been weighing down their shoulders also eased somewhat. Of course, it wasn’t that they didn’t trust Yohan. It was just that they were very anxious because the opponent was the Archmage.
The special forces commander hardened his expression and said.
“…Let’s keep watching.”
* * *
The mana flowing in the atmosphere was temporarily stopped due to the collision of two transcendent magics, and it was now recovering.
It was better not to use magic right now. The Magical Power consumption was too great, so it wasn’t efficient.
Silence flowed in the meantime.
Rain narrowed his eyes and looked at Yohan.
‘… He’s much more skilled than I expected.’
Across from him, Yohan was smiling leisurely. He seemed quite pleased that he had completely eliminated ‘That Star in the Sky.’ But it wasn’t a very pleasant thing for Rain.
It was absurd.
‘That Star in the Sky’ was his proudest and strongest magic. The pinnacle of transcendent magic. It was erased before his eyes.
‘Am I being pushed back in a battle of firepower?’
Rain clenched his trembling hands.
He felt like his blood was running in reverse.
He couldn’t believe that magic he had honed for decades had disappeared with just one collision. This was impossible.
But he had to remain calm.
He was in the middle of a battle.
He struggled to maintain his composure.
“…Impressive, Duke Rahardt.”
Thud.
Rain Adriche forced a smile.
“It would be good to have a fight between true transcendents now.”
He slowly took a step forward, narrowing the distance. As things had turned out, there was only one way.
He would open his Mind’s Eye.
“Cutting off the conversation, huh? Must have been surprised by that last one.”
Yohan glared at the approaching guy.
In his blue eyes, rampaging Magical Power flashed.
He wasn’t so clueless that he couldn’t read the guy’s expression. Rain Adriche, he was anxious. That smile must be forced.
Rain Adriche shrugged.
“Well? I’d like you to say that your evaluation of me in your heart has risen even higher.”
“I don’t like sugarcoating things to rationalize myself, so I can’t do that.”
Thud.
The distance was getting closer and closer.
“Magic doesn’t seem to be working, so you’re going to something else?”
Yohan smirked at Rain, who was slowly approaching. It was a clear sneer.
“….”
Rain narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like Yohan’s mockery, but what he said was true. If he were to fire that colorless sphere one more time, the damage would be considerable.
But Rain wasn’t the type to have his nerves frayed by such provocations while fighting a battle. The fact that he had a deeper understanding of magic hadn’t changed.
Thud.
Soon, Yohan came within range. A smile hung on Rain’s lips. His fingertips moved. Magical Power naturally condensed, and hand seals were formed.
Yohan didn’t stand still either.
He also crossed his hands and engraved hand seals.
Mind’s Eye Opening.
Kugugugugu-!
Waves rippled in the empty space. Like a drop of water thrown on the surface of the water, the air rippled subtly.
“In the space made of my Mind’s Eye, may my will be contained.”
Myriad Manifestations as Desired.
“Reflect all forms and unfold all possibilities.”
Thousand Transformations, Brilliant Mirror.
Gray Magical Power spread around the two of them. A jet-black shadow crashed like a wave. The space twisted, and the darkness surged. The sky gradually disappeared as if it were being eaten away.
The world was dyed with a chilling stillness. In the terribly dreadful silence, brilliant mirrors rose on all sides. Each was erected like a statue, and the space made of the Mind’s Eye swallowed reality.
Pajijijijik-!
The moment the two Mind’s Eyes collided, electricity that seemed to turn anything it touched into ash scattered in all directions. The condensed mana showed antagonism and became ionized.
Yohan and Rain looked at each other.
Their expressions were stiff.
Equal.
It was impossible to determine superiority. Nothing was eaten by the Mind’s Eye. The Magical Power density forming the barrier was the same. This meant that the two mages’ capabilities were similar.
However, what had to be done was decided. Yohan immediately reached out his hand. The air distorted, and the space collapsed.
Saaa——!
“A surprise attack?”
Rain Adriche smiled and waved his fingers. The element that popped out of the mirror instantly blocked his path.
The space tore and twisted as if it were being sucked into something. But what disappeared into nothingness was not Rain Adriche, but the surging flames.
“Hahaha!”
In accordance with his laughter, the countless mirrors that had risen on all sides emitted light at the same time.
Fire, wind, lightning, earth—
Magic that did not discriminate against attributes was triggered in succession. Magic poured down like a rainstorm, pouring in all directions towards Yohan.
Kwagwagwagwa!
Yohan widened his eyes. His fingertips moved delicately. He widened his field of vision and filled in the blind spots.
Woooong-!
The air twisted in a circle. The space distorted, creating cracks.
Kwadeudeudeuk!!!
The magic that burst out of the mirror disappeared before it could even reach Yohan. It was sucked in without a trace,
and its very existence returned to nothingness.
In the meantime, Rain Adriche disappeared.
‘I know he manipulates phenomena with his vision.’
Yohan frowned even as he tracked the guy’s Magical Power. The information shouldn’t have leaked. All the guys who saw this Mind’s Eye had met their deaths.
That meant he had guessed it as soon as he saw this space. Should he call him the Archmage after all? He had grasped the essence of this Mind’s Eye from the beginning with just the flow and form.
It was at that moment.
Woooong-!
The moment the mirror emitted a flash of light, elemental magic exploded once again.
Kwaaaang-!
Flames soared. It wasn’t just a simple flame. A giant wave of fire that could burn down a mountain and still have power to spare.
At the same time, a blizzard of ice swept through. A bitter cold that seemed to freeze everything pressed down on the space.
The ground collapsed. The earth split, and thunder struck through the gap.
This wasn’t just simple magic.
The mana itself was rampaging, shaking the Mind’s Eye.
Kwagwagwagwagwa-!!
The guy’s Mind’s Eye was truly a natural disaster. Fire, ice, lightning, earth. Each element merged into one and formed an independent shape.
But that wasn’t just simple magic.
His very existence was a disaster. All the phenomena occurring here were not magic, but laws.
‘Annoying.’
Yohan widened his eyes. He twisted the very space he recognized. The air twisted in a circle, tearing the space. The torrent of elemental magic tore apart and returned to nothingness.
Kagagagagak!!
The space twisted. It wasn’t just a simple distortion. The very area he recognized was transformed. The air curved in a circle, splitting the space.
Kwaaaaaang-!
The torrent of elemental magic was torn apart. The swirling flames and lightning, ice and earth, disappeared into complete nothingness. Everything that had existed was as if it had never existed from the beginning.
The back-and-forth continued several times after that. Elemental magic was ejected from the mirror, and Yohan twisted the space to eliminate it. This would only be a meaningless war of attrition.
‘I have to get rid of the mirrors.’
But since they were mirrors made of the Mind’s Eye, they couldn’t be eliminated with spatial distortion. This was because the Mind’s Eye and the Mind’s Eye were colliding and forming an equal state.
If so—
Woooooong!!
His arm slowly stretched upwards. The movement was slow, but the flow was clear.
Kugugugu-!!
Magical Power sparked from his fingertips, and the space trembled slightly. At the same time, the sky shook. A blue sphere and a red sphere rose in turn.
One, two… dozens, hundreds.
The Magical Power of emission and absorption filled the sky. The number was a scale that was impossible to estimate. But not even one of them was incomplete. Each possessed complete Magical Power.
“Hoo–!”
The moment he inhaled—
Kwaaaaaaaaa- -!!!
The release and absorption of Magical Power that cut through the sky. The swirling electric current and shockwave crushed the Mind’s Eye.
A vibrating sound that seemed to scratch his ears. Magical Power fluctuated in the gap where the space was shaking.
And they gathered into one.
Hovering in the air were the Distortion Sphere and the Rupture Point.
And this Mind’s Eye was—
Spatial Distortion.
“Could it be…”
Rain Adriche, who was hiding in the gap of the mirror, widened his eyes. Could he be planning to destroy the Mind’s Eye itself?
That was impossible. No phenomenon inside could affect the Mind’s Eye.
Kwaaaaaaaa-!!
The moment Rain Adriche swallowed his breath, the three forces that were interlocked in one place lost their color.
Colorless.
The property of swallowing and grinding down what exists and returning it to nothingness, Heavenly Ruin.
The space shook. No, to be more precise, his very existence was trembling.
Woooooong-!!
In an instant, a sensation spread as if the sky and earth had been turned upside down. A light like a supernova flickered.
Not an explosion, but a collapse.
Everything that exists returns to nothingness.
In a fleeting moment, Rain Adriche gritted his teeth and poured out all his Magical Power. He had to stop it.
A premonition that his very existence would disappear if that exploded flashed through his mind.
All the elements fired from the mirror gathered into one.
“Dissolution Omniversial…!”
Melt of All Things.
Each element was mixed into one. There was no form. Even the attributes were not fixed, but infinitely changing. Magic to annihilate everything that exists as soon as it touches it.
Soon, the colorless sphere exploded.
Kwaaaaaaaaa- -!!!
A gray flash swallowed Rain’s form.
* * *
The Cramel Wastelands, where nothing remained.
“Cough…!”
Yohan coughed up thick blood and stood up. His fingertips trembled. Burns covered his entire body. His Magical Power was exhausted, and his circuits were a tattered mess.
It was difficult to completely block that explosion with his Magical Power alone.
It completely broke through the mana barrier and came in, so in the end, he ha no choice but to endure with his internal strength.
He was in this state even after consuming everything. He once again realized how strong that colorless sphere, the explosion of Heavenly Ruin, was…..
“Cough…!”
Across from Yohan.
Rain Adriche had collapsed. It was a dirt floor. His vision was blurry. In his hazy vision, the air flickered.
It was collapsing. His fingertips crumbled like dust. He tried to grab the air, but at that moment, even his fingers scattered.
Slowly. But mercilessly.
Rain Adriche had poured out all the magic he had built up. But he couldn’t resist. Even if he reached out his hand, even if he took a step, he would only crumble in vain.
He barely rolled his eyes.
His body was collapsing.
But anger remained.
Himself in the now-vanished timeline.
The humiliation at that time.
The existence that had engraved all of that was still inflicting the same humiliation as then before his eyes.
But he couldn’t explode with anger. He didn’t have the strength to do so. He couldn’t even maintain a simple breath, let alone hold on to prevent himself from disappearing.
He had no choice but to admit it.
He had failed to become a god in the end.
“You…have won…”
Rain Adriche closed his eyes.
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