Row.
Vil.
Ril.
Vow.
Full.
Five. There are five levels to magic. Row is the weakest, and Full is the strongest, but where did these terms come from, and who decided them? When the Almighty visited this planet and created the first beings of life, it was the Angels that weaved about the concept of mana. The one who stood above all other angels, the loyal servant of the Almighty, known as the Lord of Order, or the one who resides in the center of the sun, created the rules of magic and the limitations of mana.
It is he who decided how and why mana works, and it is also he who views all Vows made and determines if what is being offered is of equal value.
This grand being, who only lost to Haru and the Almighty, is the one who created the laws of the universe and ensured perfect order.
All mages can use row-level spells. Some mages, those who train and fight, can reach the level of Vil. This is the point most mages will cap out at. Across all the lands, only a tiny fraction of the population can cast spells beyond the level of Vil.
This is because Row and Vil are straightforward, but Ril, Vow, and Full are extraordinarily complicated and draining. Each level of spell is far greater to use than the last. When it comes to Vil, all that is needed is for a mage to have enough mana to cast Vil. If a mage were to somehow multiply the amount of mana they had by one hundred, they'd have enough mana to cast a Ril-level spell but would find that they still couldn't properly use it.
Ril doesn't just require pure mana to cast like Row and Vil. There is a trick to it. This is also the case when it comes to Vow and Full. Of course, very few beings will ever have the mana required to cast spells of these levels, so knowing the trick almost does nothing.
The name Vow isn't a coincidence. A vow-level spell was given the name because it involves creating a vow in order to cast. Vow-level spells are so powerful that they break the laws of magic.
Someone doesn't simply cast a Vow-level spell. No. That would be easy. Instead, they do the impossible. They paint on a canvas, one that is actually the very world itself, twisting reality and causing themselves to become a being able to change the world. These spells simply exist.
Father clasped his hands together. His body began to shimmer, and his hair shifted into a fiery golden glow. His armor lost its red color and was bathed in pure white light, and a pair of wings formed out of his back, stretching out all the way to the sky and then going even further beyond into outer space.
A radiant glow began to emit from him, and the very sun itself almost seemed to bend in the sky, as if it were one massive eye looking down. A drumming sound pierced out.
Thump. Thump. Thump. A heart was starting to beat, and heat was rising.
For this single heartbeat, the entire universe was gazing upon Father.
He began to pray.
"Oh, Haru, our blessed one above, hallowed be your mighty will, here I stand in your kingdom below, you who gave your will, you who gave your spirit, you who gave your very head, I beg of you to give some more. May blessings fall upon your Knights below, grant us the right to wield your might!" The light grew so intense that even Adam felt his eyes sizzle and burn as Father's mana became all. Everything was coated in it, and reality itself became his. "Allow me to show you the pinnacle of magic. Vow Absolute Divinity. Palace Of The Golden Gods."
It was believed that the Mad Tyrant King, King Sylas, created dungeons by using a Vow-level spell. All Vow-level spells required a grand chant to be said aloud, and the user was required to give up something dear to them, which was forged between them and the Lord of Order. In return for meeting these requirements, they would be granted the right to use a spell that was almost on the same tier as a full-level spell.
A Full-level spell was said to permanently alter the universe itself, allowing a mage to add a rule that will never fade or go away, whereas a Vow-level spell only allows the mage to temporarily leave their mark on the universe for a single instant.
The Palace of the Golden Gods was a subspace dimension that was encompassed by pure light. It had a single ability.
All that the light touches, which is impure in the eyes of Father, shall be converted entirely into salt.
The light coated an entire block of the city, and Adam watched as it approached. Time seemed to stop for him.
"What a spell. I guess that's why you're number one. I have to admit, even I would die if I was hit by something like that." Adam laughed, and then the light reached him.
The spell lasted less than a fraction of a second. A person wouldn't even have time to blink. The light faded, Father no longer glowed, and he fell, smashing into the ground. A torrent of vomit and blood spilled out of his mouth, and his eyes became bloodshot.
The entire block was fine. Actually, it wasn't just fine. It had been fully repaired. Everything the light had touched was fixed. All signs of battle were gone, and Laerton stood fully healed and refreshed.
"Yo! You good?" She rushed over to Father's side. His body was steaming, and his flesh had become a little red.
"Y-Yeah." Father swatted her hand away when she offered it to him. "I'm fine. I just-" He stopped and shook his head. "Vow level spells take their toll. I was being gazed at by the Lord of Order himself. I both existed in this world and existed in the center of the sun at the same time. I'm lucky I wasn't flash-fried."
"Usually, we're not allowed to use Vow-level spells unless the King orders it." Laerton sighed. "Vow levels are crazy expensive. I think that was overkill, also. That guy was dangerous, but he didn't feel like he was stronger than a captain, even if his mana was as deep as the king's."
"I wanted to be sure," Father grunted. "I don't know the extent of his magic or what he could do, but if he can bend reality, even in weak ways, then he's dangerous. When he picked up the sun, it was more like he created a generic fireball, as the damage was low and didn't harm us. The sun is also still up in the sky. This makes me think he was likely using a mix of illusions with his effects. Either way, it doesn't matter. No one could survive that attack."
"That spell sure is strong," Laerton muttered. "Then again, Vow-level spells are simply sheer overwhelming power that takes the target out in a single shot. Even dragons use them due to their sheer power."
"They say that the Palace of the Golden Gods was Haru's basic attack." Father weakly chuckled. "How pathetic. Our strongest move is nothing more than Haru's first strike whenever she appears on the battlefield. Oh, how she would weep if she were to lay eyes upon her Knights now."
"Don't put it that way." Laerton elbowed the man. "We did well. We won the fight. That guy is dead for sure—oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!"
Father's eyes widened, as did Laerton's, as they sensed Adam's mana. "He's still alive?"
"Not for long." Laerton gritted her teeth. "I'll hit him with my Vow spell next!"
On the other side of the city, Tori and Bloom had both stopped when they saw the massive light show. It caused them both to stare in awe. A moment later, that awe faded as Adam suddenly appeared in between them.
"Bloom." Adam casually turned. "We're leaving."
"A-Adam?" Bloom's eyes widened as she stared at him. "W- What happened to you?"
Adam laughed and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" The left side of his body, from his breast all the way down to his waist, was gone. Bits of salt slowly spilled out of his body, and his robes hung off him, revealing smooth black metal that formed down from the neck all the way to his feet. "Oh, this? I wasn't able to fully dodge Father's attack. He did get a clean hit on me. It's why we need to return. I've been badly damaged-"
Tori appeared behind Adam and slammed her lance into the back of his head, but his mana formed a barrier around his body and easily deflected it. Lazily, Adam turned around. "Oh? Tori. Right. You're around this part, aren't you…" Adam looked a little put off all of a sudden.
"Vil Light Beam!" Tori blasted a beam of pure light toward the man, but Adam side-stepped the attack and then looped his arm around Bloom's waist. He picked her up, and then he was suddenly gone. His body flickered as a Mana Step took him away. "Did he just dodge my beam of light? How? It's light speed!" Tori stomped her foot down in sheer anger. "Fuck that guy!"
Meanwhile, over with the Lord of Threads, he stared down at the tired Davi and Ken. His hand was over his heart, and his smile shifted ever so slightly. "Allow me to show you the pinnacle of magic-"
"That'll have to be shown off in a future chapter." Adam appeared once again and was now holding Bloom and Inyeon, both ladies thrown over one shoulder, stacked on top of one another. All of Bloom's heads also filled the sky, and then they began to shimmer and fade, vanishing. "We need to leave."
"Damn." The Lord of Threads raised an eyebrow at Adam's injured body. "I haven't seen you this banged up since you challenged Mordred to a fight. Also, you really want to stop my resurrection? I was just about to show these kids."
Adam paused and glanced back. His eyes locked onto the downed Davi and Ken. "As much fun as that would be, we do have to call it here." Adam hummed. "Father used his Vow-level spell. That amount of mana won't be missed. Also, it's only a matter of time until the Holy Saint comes out. We don't want to fight her, so let's retreat for now."
"The Holy Saint. She'd make a good puppet, but I do think you're right." The Lord of Threads nodded. "Fine. Bloom, hurry up and kill your target-"
"Too late." Adam didn't even bother turning around. Before he could place Bloom down, a barrier of light appeared around Davi and Ken. From the edge of the crater, Laerton, Father, Tori, Pock, and Pretty Face all appeared.
"Where do you think you're going!" Laerton blasted toward Adam and raised her sword up. "We're not done fighting, motherfucker!"
Adam laughed once more. "Sorry, but we are. I'm sure we'll have a good rematch, though!"
Laerton swung her sword down, but razor wires appeared between her and Adam, blocking the blade. The Lord of Threads casually held his hand out, using his mana to form them. "This is Thread magic?" Laerton frowned as she saw someone with the same type of magic as her. "You didn't say a spell name, though. You're like that one-armed freak, a monster who is using illusions to hide their true self."
Adam kept holding onto Bloom and Inyeon, and he took a step back towards the Lord of Threads. His eyes roamed from Laerton and then toward the other Knights who were about to strike.
"It was fun. It's been a long while since the story has made me this happy. Still, I really do have to go. Maybe we'll see each other again. Maybe not." Father charged toward Adam, but Adam's mana grew more intense, and then… "Row Shadow Vault."
Adam was gone.
The shadows opened up beneath Adam, and he, the Lord of Threads, and the two women he was holding onto, all sank into the abyss and faded.
All the Knights stared in shock. "W-What? S-Shadow magic?" Father muttered. "How is that possible? What was that weird cartoon stuff then? And he used a spell name? Does that mean he's not a monster?"
Laerton also looked uncomfortable, but nothing could be done. The shadow was gone. Adam had escaped. "I don't like this." She muttered. "And that spell was…" She glanced back at Davi.
Davi's eyes were locked on the spot where Adam had been standing. His face was pale, and his body shivered. He looked more distraught than Laerton had ever seen him before, and there were several different layers of emotions going through his eyes. He didn't look like a robot. He didn't even look like a Knight. For a moment, all she saw was a scared and confused child. Like a kid who had just been told there is a monster under their bed.
"Davi?" Laerton asked. "Are you okay?"
"H-How does he have that spell?" Davi muttered quietly. "How? That's my mom's- That's my spell? How does he have it? How? How?" Davi placed a hand on his head, and his shaking got worse.
"Davi!" Ken placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Davi shook his head. "I get it now. What Sieg was saying. But how? How is he here? How is he alive? How? How? How?"
Flashes went through his head! A rapid flicker of memories. A room? A lab. Tools. Sharp. Pain. A man. A smile. His mother. Shadows. Cold. Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold-
And then he remembered the words that had sealed his fate.
'Oh. You must be Titania. It's nice to meet you. My name is Adam. Tell me, would you like to reach Rome with me?'
Davi suddenly felt a sharp pain as Ken slapped him, and his racing mind halted. "Davi!" She gripped him by the shoulders and shook him rapidly. "Snap out of it!"
Davi blinked, and his beating heart started to settle down. He slowly looked around and saw that the other Knights were still looking concerned at the spot where Adam had vanished. Only Laerton was staring at him.
"The puppets all shut off." Pretty Face finally spoke up. "Once the dungeon above closed and the Lord of Threads vanished, they all powered down."
"Are we sure that was actually the Lord of Threads?" Pock questioned. "I mean, isn't he kinda dead?"
"Who knows?" Tori shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The civilians are all in the woods. Pretty Face, go heal them."
"Right." Pretty Face's wings expanded, and she flew off.
Father folded his arms and sighed weakly. "I'm going to contact the king. Now that whatever those guys did is gone, we should have a signal. Laerton, can you help make sure the people who were in the woods are all safe?"
"Yeah." Laerton used a Mana Step and also faded away.
Pock made his way over to Ken and Davi, then he waved toward the top of the crater. Ken followed where he was staring and saw Sieg, Olivia, and Bruno. "Good. They're alive, too. Guess no one dies. Ha! Of course, no one died! I was fighting, and I am the greatest!" She placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out. "We're all alive because of me!" Her laughter stopped when she noticed Davi was still staring off into space. "You good? Do I need to slap you again?"
Davi didn't answer Ken. He silently stared at the spot Adam had been at. "I have something I want to try, but it might get me killed."
"Huh? What do you mean by-"
"Row Shadow Vault."
Davi sank into the darkness and felt an aura of cold surround him. He didn't shiver, though. He never shivered. No matter how much he hated the cold. In fact, this time he felt warm. An intense heat in his heart that wouldn't go away.
As soon as he entirely dropped into his vault, his theory was confirmed.
"Oh." Adam floated in the darkness, looking equally surprised as he and Davi locked eyes.
"H-How did he get here?" The Lord of Threads asked in utter shock as he also floated in the vault. Bloom and Inyeon were both stunned as well, staring at Davi.
Adam just smiled. "I guess Titania taught you 'that' spell, huh? What a terrible woman."
Davi stared at Adam, and then he lifted his sword. "Seven."
"What?" Adam frowned.
"I heard that phrase from one of your guys—the seven people who all inherited something. I don't really get it, but I know this much. There are seven people, and you all want us dead. That also means there must be seven of you, right?" Davi's fist grew tighter around the handle of his sword. "Fine. Seven. Seven of you will die. I'll kill each and every one of you!"