The chant Shiomi spoke reshaped the world.
—Icy blades tore through the earth, carving a cold and merciless boundary across the wilderness.
A chilling mist filled the air, shrouding the entire plain until, in the next instant, the surroundings transformed into another world.
Wryneck, the Fang Clan Sub-Bell who knew nothing of Magecraft, stared in stunned disbelief at the sudden change.
"Reality Marble—a grand forbidden art that erodes reality with the caster's inner landscape. Thanks to you, I've finally completed the metamorphosis of this Magecraft."
Shiomi stood amid the swirling snow, his voice carrying faintly through the storm.
Originally, he possessed no inner landscape. Instead, he had constructed a unique barrier Magecraft based on the primordial Runes, modeled after a Reality Marble he had once witnessed.
Its essence was simple—to create a space that favored him, granting superiority in both magical and physical combat.
It surpassed ordinary barrier Magecraft, yet still fell short of a true Reality Marble.
At the time, when Morgan had witnessed the completion of this spell, she personally named it [Eternal Orkney]. Shiomi hadn't understood why she would go so far as to give it a name herself.
It wasn't until he entered the Fairy Kingdom, came to this era, and experienced countless events that he finally understood.
For a Magus, a name is a form of suggestion.
Through that act, Morgan had given him a subtle hint—binding his barrier Magecraft to the name Orkney itself.
When Shiomi personally witnessed the destruction of Orkney, that connection was finally completed. Over two thousand years of hardship refined it, until it solidified into his inner landscape.
Thus, the barrier Magecraft was at last elevated to a true Reality Marble.
"Something like a fairy domain?" Wryneck guessed.
Fairy domains.
Fairies of the 'Grandfather' or 'Grandmother' tier, or Sub-Bell who had developed self-awareness, possessed the ability to reshape the world through their own 'truth.'
That 'truth' was the essence of the fairy itself—the Great Mystery inherent to powerful fairies.
The Wing Clan chieftain Shiomi had once slain possessed a fairy domain that weakened all within it, making him the absolute ruler of his realm.
Whenever Shiomi recalled that night's battle, he still considered the Wing Sub-Bell his most dangerous opponent.
"No, it's different."
Shiomi smiled faintly.
For a Magus to complete a true Reality Marble, both talent and opportunity were essential.
Reality Marbles themselves were typically only possessed by those who ascended to the rank of Heroic Spirit after death.
Fairies, however, were born with such power—the only difference lay in its strength.
"Whether it's the same or not, you think a mere domain can defeat me?" Wryneck raised his clawed hand, Mana building up once again.
"Still don't understand?" Shiomi's voice grew cold.
He waved his hand lightly. A chill breeze swept across Wryneck's body, hardening into jagged ice that froze him solid in an instant.
"Freeze?" Wryneck's gathered Mana dissipated in an instant.
Among fairies, there were indeed those capable of freezing, but none could compare to what was happening before him. The overwhelming chill not only froze Wryneck's body—already reverted to his ancestral Sub-Bell form—from the outside, but also interfered with his control over Mana itself, cutting off his once-fluent magical attacks.
The ice binding his body was solid but not indestructible. Yet, if he misjudged the balance, the frozen parts of his body would shatter along with the breaking ice. The damage to his body, combined with the freezing Mana invading from within, would slow even the regenerative power of the Star Lung.
Even a single breath's delay could be the difference between victory and defeat.
"Then!"
Wryneck gritted his teeth and let out a low, wolf-like growl. He shifted his approach, circulating his Mana to rapidly raise his body temperature to a heat fierce enough to melt solid ice.
But the moment the ice began to melt into water, he noticed countless icicles forming high in the sky.
"Icicles everywhere." Shiomi snapped his fingers.
The icicles fell like a torrential rain, unleashing a series of thunderous impacts. Snow and dust shot up five or six meters high, veiling the battlefield until Wryneck's figure vanished from sight.
Shiomi smiled in satisfaction.
The greatest strength of his completed Reality Marble was that he could unleash any Age of Gods Magecraft he mastered without any ritual or preparation. This was his inner world—his domain. And within it, he was absolute.
Still, there were drawbacks. Among the four elemental arts, manipulating water consumed almost no Mana. Wind and earth consumed only half as much as usual, but fire required twice the cost. Fortunately, Shiomi favored the first three elements, so it was hardly a problem.
When the snow and mist cleared, Wryneck was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily, his right arm and leg torn away. With a pained growl, the Sub-Bell's limbs regenerated, and he slowly rose again.
"Star Lung… what a magnificent regenerative ability," Shiomi said, clapping lightly. "Power comparable to divine authority itself. Truly fitting for a being that serves as both the terminal and the tendril of a planet."
"Your attacks are strong," Wryneck replied, crossing his arms as the Mana around him surged violently, "but if they can't kill me, they're meaningless."
Shiomi lifted his hand. The ice transformed into spinning saw blades, tearing forward in rapid succession. Then, the freezing Mana condensed into a single focused beam, striking directly toward Wryneck.
The attacks connected, yet they failed to bind him as before. Without hesitation, Wryneck broke free from the ice, unharmed. The sight before Shiomi caught him off guard.
[Inherited Defense].
Another power possessed by fairies. A defensive ability that rendered attacks ineffective unless they met specific conditions—a variation of Conceptual Defense, strengthened by additional stipulations. With sufficient strength, it could even nullify world-ending attacks.
From what Shiomi observed, Wryneck's Inherited Defense operated exactly as he'd declared. The condition was simple: "Any attack not fatal in a single blow cannot harm me."
"Are you really ready to stake your life? So afraid of losing? Or is it that you refuse to see your clan kneel?" Shiomi extended a hand from his sleeve, catching the falling snow.
Wryneck's breath came out as thick white mist, proof of the scorching heat surging inside him.
"It has nothing to do with that. Battle is a gamble on life itself. The strong live, the weak die."
The snow beneath his feet sank from the pressure of his stance.
Shiomi blinked once, his hand tightening slightly. "Then I'll grant your wish."
Before the words had fully left his lips, Wryneck sprang forward. A span of twenty meters vanished in an instant. The Fang Clan Sub-Bell swung his claws straight at Shiomi.