Chapter 258 – Dream (3)
The magic Silis had prepared to kill Leonil and his close aides,
Those trapped in the dark, sealed space had their minds worn away as time passed, until in the end, they would betray one another.
Second seat of the Royal Court Mage Order, Rachel.
Born into an affluent household, his parents too had lived in wealth and comfort until they grew old and died.
To enjoy the natural lifespan bestowed by the goddess Luas was the greatest blessing of all.
By requesting prayers from a bishop-ranked figure of the Luas Church, Rachel held a lavish funeral for his parents — he was a dutiful son.
At least, within his own household.
Rachel had lived a life lacking nothing.
Backed by immense wealth, he wandered across many nations harvesting knowledge, and in the end reaped the fruit of becoming one of the three most powerful figures in the Royal Court Mage Order.
Thanks to this, though his hands were stained with blood from countless magical experiments, no one held him accountable. None came seeking vengeance.
That was the position Rachel occupied, and the kind of group he belonged to.
'And yet....'
Rachel blankly stared at Heinel, the first seat.
The image of his superior tearing his mother apart with magic flickered before his eyes.
A memory that did not exist was carved firmly into his mind. He shook his head violently, but rather than fading, it only grew sharper.
'W, what the hell is this memory!'
Confused, Rachel stumbled backward.
When he forced himself to look away, Leonil came into view.
The strongest in the Kingdom, and the one being Rachel alone feared.
Without even a chance to resist, a memory surged forth — Leonil burning his father alive.
"Ah...!"
That long-lost, familiar voice… a scream made from it pierced his eardrums.
From the flames that suddenly erupted right before him, a terrible shriek endlessly echoed.
Out of the crimson sea staggered his father, his skin peeled away, crimson and raw, like an Undead.
And he spoke.
───Son, avenge me on that man.
"Khhuup... khhhk!"
Rachel clutched his face.
Crraack. His fingernails dug into his skin.
Hot blood trickled down his face. However much he tried to deny the memory, the emotions, he could not suppress them.
The voices of his parents overlapped.
───Kill, die, kill, die, kill, die, kill, die.
The whispers shook his very soul.
He could bear it no longer.
This thirst for revenge.
"Huaaaaaaaaagh!"
Rachel howled, aiming his staff at Heinel.
As he pulled up his magic power and began calculating a spell, a brilliant staff flew from the side.
Thwack! Struck across the face, Rachel tumbled to the floor.
Cradling his swelling cheek, he slowly raised his head. Reflected in eyes that regained clarity was Leonil, his expression fierce.
"Disappointing, Rachel."
"Ah... I, I'm sorry, sir!"
"Tsk, useless."
Clicking his tongue, Leonil turned his head.
The subordinates, who had been lost in confusion, came to their senses under the force of the magic he released. Giving them a shock like this did help them recover… but the intervals were becoming shorter and shorter.
'At this rate, they'll all end up madmen.'
Leonil bit his lip.
He had researched the Witch's Heart, but this was the first time he had faced the magic of a witch itself.
Seeing how even his flames could not damage it, this dark space seemed immune to physical harm.
Still, it was clear that whatever this spell was, it could not last forever.
The word infinite was only permitted in this world for the power source of the magic tower.
"Ugh...."
Leonil pressed his temples.
Even he could not be free from the encroachment of the nightmare.
Memories and emotions he had never experienced welled up within him, whispering that he should kill all the other mages.
'It's trying to induce division among us.'
A vicious mental-type magic.
That it could even threaten himself, a 6th-tier high-rank Magus.
When Silis inherited the power of the witch, when she had prepared such magic, none of it was clear.
All of it was beyond understanding.
Either way, he could not simply suffer passively.
Helplessness did not suit Leonil.
But there was no way to escape this darkness...
'No, there is.'
Leonil's eyes gleamed.
At once he pulled the Witch's Heart from his spatial bag.
Thump, thump.
The pulse he had felt many times passed through his touch.
He had already sacrificed the kidnapped Elves, and completed its refinement into item form, but as it was, he could not use it.
'I must connect this heart to myself.'
The process required a mana circuit of a special trait.
And to transplant the heart properly, a prepared surgical table and staff would be needed… but that was impossible now.
Thus, only the second-best option remained.
Yes, there was no other choice.
"Heinel."
"Y, yes, sir?"
Leonil gripped Heinel's shoulder.
At the warm touch, her eyes blinked in surprise.
"When you first entered the Court Mage Order, you said it, didn't you? That you would become my hand and foot, so give me honor, power, and strength befitting it."
"Wha...? Ah, yes, I, I did..."
Heinel's greed for power was strong.
She had supported Leonil's side, living a life few nobles could even dream of.
The first seat of the Court Mage Order.
Second only to Leonil among them.
Not only her present, but her future was guaranteed.
Sheltered by the Kingdom, researching magic without restraint until death.
Even if it meant abandoning humanity.
Suddenly her hair stood on end.
When she carefully glanced down, she saw the crystal.
She did not know what this heart-like sound inside the blue crystal was, but she knew Leonil had poured himself into it for a long time.
'And for that, I───'
Heinel's eyes widened to their limits.
"You, don't tell me...!"
"I did not want it to come to this, but there is no choice."
Leonil's expression was tinged with regret.
His attitude made clear he would not be swayed. Heinel batted away his hand at once, activating her mana circuits to resist.
Honestly, she had always suspected this might happen. Trait-holders were so rare.
That was why Heinel had put her heart into finding other holders, offering mage after mage to Leonil.
'And now I'm to become the experiment myself, to die? Don't make me laugh...!!'
Betrayal be damned.
Heinel relentlessly calculated spells, struggling to survive. She had struck first, so he had taken damage as well.
A 5th-tier Magus with a special trait, she was strong.
But the outcome did not change.
Leonil's flames poured down sharp and fierce.
Between the 5th and 6th tier, even a single tier was overwhelming. The time she could endure was but a moment.
Her whole body charred, skin and muscle burning away, Heinel collapsed to the ground with a rattling breath.
"I will remember your sacrifice."
Leonil took out metal stakes and drove them into Heinel's body.
Head, both arms, both legs, and her heart — six in all. Special artifacts, modified into portable form.
Fwoooosh!
When the devices activated, Heinel's mana resistance was temporarily nullified.
With
A mana circuit of a special trait.
'I will ignore the side effects.'
Leonil wound the circuits around his staff and right arm.
Then, with his left hand, he manipulated his magic power and forced the graft.
The heat formed by magic stung. Soon the circuits bound tightly around the staff, grafting to his right arm and spreading roots up to his heart.
Clang!
He removed the gem from the staff.
Though a priceless item, he paid it no mind. Into its empty setting he immediately pressed the Witch's Heart.
When he synchronized his mana, the two hearts began to resonate.
Thump.
"Kuuhp?!"
Leonil coughed up blood.
Writhing, his whole body as if it would burst apart, he desperately endured the agony. Blood streamed from his eyes as the veins burst.
At last, in the moment the pain calmed, flames erupted from Leonil.
The frenzy of flames warmly, gently wrapped around his skin, his muscles, his bones, his soul.
"Ahhh..."
There was no doubt.
This was the long-awaited phenomenon of 'Awakening'. Proof that he had stepped into a realm beyond humanity, a welcoming ceremony celebrating him.
"Ha, ha, finally...! Yes, finally!!!"
Leonil covered his face with his left hand.
The amplified power, the sensation of stepping onto the boundary he could never cross! The experiments he had poured years of effort into had finally ended in success.
At last, having realized his dream, he wiped away his bloody tears and spoke.
"Everyone, come to your senses."
"Gasp!"
Leonil's overwhelming presence pressed upon the space.
The court mages, who had been attacking one another under the nightmare, instantly snapped awake.
And they saw.
Heinel's body, murdered brutally, and Leonil's ecstatic figure.
Fear-filled gazes gathered, but Leonil paid no mind. He only stroked the blue crystal and nodded.
"Ah, yes, so this is how it must be handled."
Leonil lightly swung his staff.
The Witch's Heart blazed, illuminating the darkness of the nightmare.
Crackkkkk.
Part of the dream that had trapped them collapsed.
"Hm, the princess who became a witch."
Leonil murmured quietly.
Smiling as if struck by a good idea, he strode outward without hesitation. Heinel's existence was already forgotten.
***
There were two ways to escape
Wait until its duration ended, or all those trapped in the nightmare shattering it through sheer strength of will.
It was not the former.
The spell still had much time left.
But neither could it be said for certain it was the latter.
Even if Leonil had killed all the other mages, Silis judged his willpower insufficient to tear his way out of the nightmare.
'And yet he escaped the magic.'
Not only that.
He had even regained substance in this world woven from
More than the appearance of the ashen-haired mage, this situation was utterly perplexing. An unanticipated variable.
Silis's expression twisted.
"Leonil, how did you...!"
"How, you ask. To put it simply, it is all thanks to Remien."
Leonil shook his staff.
The blue jewel, connected to his body, pulsed with the sound of a beating heart.
"Don't tell me, that's Mother's───"
The heart.
Silis's eyes widened, her fists clenched tight.
Her nails dug into her palms, blood dripping down. She gathered her mana, as though she would kill him at once.
But she could not move recklessly.
The aura Leonil gave off was far too strange, and far too threatening.
Verden sensed it as well.
'So this is Leonil.'
His appearance was a wreck, unlike what he had heard, but that hardly mattered.
If Silis failed, he would deal with him as planned… but there was a problem.
That overwhelming presence refused to be ignored.
"Hm?"
Suddenly Leonil turned his gaze to Verden.
Staring in silence, he stroked the beard that reached his chest, as if realizing who he was.
"Ah, so you are that Asher. Grond kept whining he couldn't find you even crawling through rat holes, yet you were with the princess?"
He had no intention of answering.
Instead, Verden posed his own question.
"I understood your limit was the 6th tier. Did that heart bring you into the realm of Transcendence?"
"Transcendence...?"
Silis's eyes flared in shock.
Perhaps pleased that his realm was recognized, Leonil broke into a broad smile.
"Oh, you've got a sharp intuition."
***
During the war with the Republic, Leonil had been a 6th-tier lower Magus.
Though not yet captain, his limit tier being 6th upper meant his position was all but secured.
Yet, as he had not reached the peak, he could not overturn the war's tide alone. He could save himself, but no more.
It was then that Leonil encountered the existence of the witch, who could amplify magic.
He witnessed with his own eyes mages wielding powers far above their level, reversing the war's momentum.
A treasure any mage would covet.
If possible, he wished to possess them all, but he could not.
The new chancellor, head of witch research, and every mage and document related to it had vanished without a trace.
"Even so, I did not give up. By the command of the King of Estiria, I continued the research. But as you know, no results came. Even after shattering the queen, even after exterminating the Ducal House of Rubinelian. I reached the stage of project termination, yet... I did not stop."
Leonil had stolen away the heart, the source of magic power, and studied it in secret.
Time passed, and after reaching 6th tier middle, then upper, he became captain. Another four years of agony passed before he finally grasped a clue.
Tier was a realm founded on magic power.
In other words, if one could amplify magic power, perhaps even tier could be forcibly elevated.
"The goal was not mana amplification, but 'tier amplification'."
More plausible than manufacturing mana amplifiers from witch's bodies.
Leonil's hypothesis was, ultimately, nothing more than linking the witch's heart to that of a mage.
"But alone I was insufficient. So I revealed part of the truth to the king, and directly requested aid. Ah, of course I framed it as continuing the new chancellor's research, not tier amplification. He was delighted. More than the fact I had stolen the queen's heart, he rejoiced at regaining the military power he had once possessed during the war."
Leonil sneered at Silis.
"Your father, the King of Estiria, was so easily deceived. Clinging to the hollow title of Conqueror King, such a fool was child's play to exploit. And the result, is this."
Amplification from the 6th tier, to the 7th.
Now Leonil was a 7th-tier Magus, in other words, he had reached the realm of Transcendence. At least, so long as he held this staff.
"Hahahaha, do you know how long I have awaited this moment... Asher the mage, surely you understand."
"..."
"I am a Transcendent. One who overcame the fixed limits, a true Transcendent! No longer can that arrogant tower master of DarkWarton, nor any Transcendent, nor anyone in this world, look down upon me! I too will reign over the world, as they do."
Leonil continued.
"Pitiful princess, though it is infuriating you dared to trap me, I shall forgive you. I understand your cause, and besides, you possess the blood and memories of the witch. I do not know how, but abandon your futile revenge and join me. Do so, and I will devote myself to ensuring the prosperity of the witch's bloodline."
"Shut that mouth!"
Silis thrust out her hand, face twisted with fury.
She tried to twist his mind, to cause pain, but nothing happened.
Tragically, the heart of the mother she loved was protecting Leonil's mind.
"Hmph, clever, but like your father you share a foolish side. Well, no matter. In this, persuasion will be required. And───"
Leonil's eyes locked on Verden.
"You are no longer necessary... but the mana circuits of a trait-holder are far too rare. Best to preserve one, for the future."
"Your confidence is excessive."
Magic shimmered in Verden's blue eyes.
Leonil blinked, then laughed uproariously, as if in disbelief.
"Hahahahaha! Excessive confidence, you say? How amusing, coming from you. But, to think a wretch like you, should be matched against a Transcendent like me, is nothing short of shameful."
Leonil swung his staff.
The air shattered like glass, and from within emerged the court mages. The strong ones who had been trapped in the nightmare alongside Leonil.
Thanks to him, they were freed from the nightmare's influence, and even allowed to manifest physically in this mental world.
"Capture him cleanly. Make sure the mana circuits are not damaged."
"Yes, sir."
His stern command was branded deep into their minds.
Immediately, the space where Leonil and Silis stood twisted into a spiral, and the two vanished as though sucked away.
It seemed the Witch's Heart had allowed him to manipulate this world, built of the mental plane. As it had not been a direct effect upon himself, Verden had no room to intervene.
'When I catch him, I must first prevent escape.'
He engraved the precaution firmly in his mind.
That Leonil had become a Transcendent was surprising, but no more than that. Naturally, there was no room for fear.
'To call me a wretch....'
He had not expected to hear such words now.
It was not displeasing, but laughable.
That, even after becoming a Transcendent through such abnormal means, blinded by swelling emotions, Leonil could not even measure his opponent's level properly.
After concluding his thoughts, Verden turned his awareness back.
The court mages moved in formation, sealing every gap. Each staff and rod was aimed at one man.
Verden steadied his Orient, gazing at him.
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