Chapter 261 – The Third Star
Mighty spells bared their fangs and devoured one another.
Magic power that had reached transcendence clashed and intertwined, sketching arcs in the air.
The twisted direction of force.
Following that waterfall-like torrent, the shock that failed to cancel out finally plummeted downward.
KWA-GWA-GWANG! KWA-AANG!
The vast palace trembled.
Flames pierced the roof, flooding the marble corridors, and residual lightning that had pierced even those corridors charred the empty halls black.
Even the audience chamber of the royal castle could not escape destruction.
The throne that had symbolized steadfast rule was already reduced to dust.
Weaker structures lost their balance and collapsed into rubble.
Though the protective magic circles were inactive, this level of devastation was excessive.
The twilight sun poured down from the sky.
Beneath it, the royal castle of Eznoren crumbled.
That which had stood for over two hundred years was reduced to ruin in mere minutes.
Had this not been the mental realm manifested by Silis, those who witnessed it would have believed the kingdom itself was falling.
Amidst that scene, two transcendents clashed countless times.
FLASH!
Leonil's staff blazed.
A tiny flame, like a candlelight, bloomed in empty air. By compressing the density of fire, it became crimson flame.
As it flickered, the air around it ignited in an instant.
Verden twisted his hand forcefully.
A torrent of wind, driven by his will, swallowed the incoming heat and hurled it aside.
The bursting light illuminated Verden's side profile.
His merciless gaze seemed almost to belittle his opponent.
Veins bulged on Leonil's forehead.
"You insolent…?!"
KWA-AANG!
A boulder struck his back from behind.
His heightened emotions delayed his reaction. The physical resistance of his robe softened the blow, but it was still an unexpected strike.
Leonil's eyes widened in bewilderment as he turned his head.
Four elemental spells were aimed at him from all directions.
A magical bombardment.
Verden's Mystic Eye (마안) gleamed.
───!
Leonil's body vanished from sight.
He had been trapped in the unending aftershock of the elements.
Verden didn't stop—he continued chaining spells, and with each release came Leonil's intermittent groans of agony.
"ENOUGH-AAAH!"
With a furious roar, crimson light flashed.
Though shielded by flame, Leonil was not unscathed. His robe was torn, and scratches marred his face.
Wounded, he panted roughly, his fury-filled eyes glinting.
But Leonil had not lost his reason.
His curiosity as a mage had far surpassed his emotions. Running a hand through his hair, he licked his lips with a twisted grin.
"Eyes inscribed with magic circles. Is that your special trait? Fascinating… more so than any witch. What would happen if I ripped them out and transplanted them into myself?"
"You're truly insane."
Verden's expression twisted in disgust.
To think that even now he would contemplate human experimentation.
He had already grafted mana circuits torn live from others into his own hands, and now he coveted another's eyes without hesitation.
A mind warped beyond recognition—almost inhuman.
Even Gluttony hadn't sunk this low.
"I'll burn away everything but that crystal of yours!"
Leonil's figure surged forward.
He used his flames as propulsion, closing the gap with blistering speed.
He meant to erase the distance and overwhelm Verden in close combat, where he held confidence.
Ice and lightning struck to bring him down, but Leonil's speed did not falter.
The necklace and rings he wore shone, forming a transparent barrier around him.
Magical artifacts that activated in tandem—not mere trinkets.
But they could not withstand Verden's spells for long.
A rock shard wrapped in lightning pierced the barrier.
The blue bolt grazed Leonil's earlobe as he tilted his head just in time.
The deranged magus was upon him.
As Verden twisted to evade, a crimson flare bore down from above.
A concentrated 6th-tier spell.
A suicidal spell that burned even the caster.
The shock and heat engulfed Verden.
He barely avoided a direct hit by conjuring a mana barrier, but his mastery of Arcane wasn't sufficient to completely block it.
His broken mana scattered as Verden slammed vertically into the ground.
"I'll crush your body to pulp—!"
Leonil, cloaked in crimson fire, dove down with all his might.
Immune to his own flames, he paid no price for
Leonil collided with the ground.
KWA-GWAAAAANG!
The heart of the castle collapsed with the colossal blast.
From the cracks in the shattered ground, six fiery pillars erupted. The molten earth flowed as lava.
Convinced Verden could not have survived this time, Leonil grinned wickedly amidst the thick smoke.
But then—his eyes shifted sideways.
From the flank, a staff wreathed in blue light flew at him.
'A staff swing as a counterattack? He must have lost his senses.'
He thought it trivial—easily deflected.
But he was wrong.
THWACK!
The flames were knocked aside.
The staff, empowered by Arcane: Magic Fusion, swung back around and struck Leonil's unguarded head.
Blood spattered heavily to the ground.
"W-what…?!"
Leonil staggered, eyes wide in shock.
The flames he had spread twisted into scarlet blades, cleaving through the black smoke.
Verden sharpened his senses.
Predicting the trajectory in an instant, he lowered his body and spun, slipping past the magic with a fluid motion.
Agility unbefitting a magus.
Leonil's eyes widened in disbelief as Verden extended his left hand.
A shockwave of mana slammed into his entire body.
Leonil, screaming a silent cry, was blasted away.
Though his resistance prevented instant death, the strike was enough to rattle his mind.
Blood trickled down his lips, soaking his beard.
"The power… of a mere shockwave… how… can it be this strong…!"
Cough, cough!
Bloodied and staggering, Leonil propped himself up with his staff. The veins in his eyes burst, staining them red.
"..."
Verden exhaled deeply, calming his burning breath.
The tips of his hair were singed, and heat had flushed his skin.
His Ainber was blackened, though it would repair itself even if torn.
Leonil's flames could not sully the brilliance of the Demon King.
Not easy…
Among the enemies he had faced within the realm of "human",Leonil was the strongest.
By transplanting a witch's heart, he had transcended his limits, amplifying his tier and stepping into transcendence. An impressive feat.
In some respects, it surpassed even the Second Circuit, the artificial artifact from Bohemirn Magic Tower that Verden had used to achieve Defying the Heavens.
Leonil had amplified fire spells with magical items, triggered chain explosions through Mado, and instant-cast spells through his Mystic Eye.
In fire magic alone, he surpassed even an Administrator.
But in every other regard, he fell short.
Leonil lacked the overwhelming presence Verden had felt from an Administrator or a tower master.
Had he truly reached that height, Silis's group would never have dared confront him, and he would not have suffered an injury to his left hand.
Moreover, Leonil was not fighting like a transcendent at all.
Whether from inexperience with the realm or inability to sustain it, he merely swung enhanced power without finesse.
Most telling of all—
Leonil's magic power is growing unstable.
It was clear he hadn't transplanted the witch's heart properly. The backlash was inevitable.
He tried to ignore it, but the longer the battle dragged on, the worse it became.
Should he attempt a 7th-tier spell, the damage would be catastrophic.
As for super-tier magic?
Whether he could even cast it was irrelevant. If he tried, he would never recover.
Even if he completed such a spell, he would forfeit all magical vitality.
That was the price of daring to seize transcendence through human experimentation.
The scales had already tipped—perhaps even before this battle began.
Verden ended his brief thoughts.
Once more, he set out to annihilate Leonil.
***
Edmon stood frozen, his head tilted upward.
He stared blankly at the battlefield, where light flashed and thunderous roars echoed.
One leg was scorched, blood streamed from his head, and pain throbbed in his ears.
Even as a mental body, the pain was vivid—but such nerve signals were meaningless before what unfolded before his eyes.
A magical duel unlike anything he had ever seen.
"Heh… Asher, that fellow… was he always this strong?"
He recalled the first time he had met him.
CalIa's aid in subjugating the black magus, and later, his unexpected defeat in a duel of mana coercion, had already convinced Edmon that Asher was a prodigy.
He had even witnessed fragments of magic firsthand inside Leonil's laboratory.
And now… to think he's holding his own against Leonil.
No—he was slowly beginning to overwhelm him.
True, Leonil was not a proper transcendent, yet the sight was still awe-inspiring.
Had he been hiding his strength all along? Or… had he grown this powerful in just a few months?
If it were the former, his concealment ability was astounding.
But if it were the latter, the realization sent a shiver down his spine.
To achieve such a level of mastery in such a short span… it could not be mere talent. Without question, he must have endured extraordinary experiences to reach this point.
That noble-looking platinum robe as well…
Edmon's heart pounded wildly.
It wasn't jealousy—it was pure reverence.
Like a child again, he gawked at the magus with his mouth agape.
Then, a sound from behind drew his attention.
Turning his head, he saw Silis collapsed on the ground, supporting herself with trembling arms, cold sweat dripping down her face.
Realization snapped Edmon back to his senses.
"Your Highness! Are you all right?!"
He scrambled toward her as fast as he could. With one leg missing, crawling was quicker than walking.
Silis managed a faint nod.
"Yes… I'm fine. I only depleted all my mana momentarily to stabilize the mental realm."
Thankfully, she had not suffered full mana exhaustion.
The Crown of the Witch's Thorn had aided her recovery just enough.
Silis channeled the regenerated mana to slowly mend the spiritual bodies of the unconscious marquis and Melzard.
Their wounds were so grave that their mental bodies should have collapsed already, but their mental fortitude proved strong enough to endure.
Silis lifted her gaze upward.
The battle raging above was far beyond her ability to comprehend.
"What's the situation now?"
"Currently… Asher is winning."
"Asher…"
Her lips moved dryly.
She recalled the long-laid plan.
Yet it had collapsed utterly when Leonil took possession of her mother's heart.
Even had they known in advance, it would have changed little. Neither she nor the Marquisate possessed the means to steal the heart away from Leonil.
It had been an unstoppable variable.
And now, another variable was standing against it.
A man she had tried to exclude had forced his way into the center of it all. The irony was bitter.
"But, Your Highness… may I ask why Asher is here at all?"
"Why…?"
Silis kept her eyes fixed on the sky, her twilight-colored pupils reflecting the twilight realm. She recalled the question he had asked when he came all the way to the capital to seek her out.
The one she had never managed to answer.
"I don't know either."
Her soft words carried more than just a reply to Edmon.
At that moment, a deafening roar thundered.
The magical battle was rushing toward its conclusion.
***
Ambition is a mage's driving force.
The joy of climbing the steps slowly, reaching the pinnacle of one's pursuit—there are no words for such ecstasy.
But if one were to tumble down those steps… if the tower built from a lifetime of devotion were to collapse, what then would the mage feel?
It was too dreadful to contemplate.
And so Leonil did not contemplate it.
He was certain it could never happen to him.
Which was why he could not accept what was happening.
FWOOSH!
A torrent of blazing yellow swept the air.
Though his nimble flight avoided the strike, he could not escape the searing heat.
The [Chamelios Hide Gloves], a gift from the elders of the Ark, melted away on his hands.
A pity—but unavoidable.
Verden thrust out Orient immediately.
A beam of pure mana cut straight through the void.
Elementless, and thus pure force—it pierced the wall of flames and struck Leonil cleanly.
Reeling from the shock, Leonil hunched, his back arched.
Blood-mixed spittle dribbled from his open mouth.
It felt as though his stomach had been crushed.
"Th-this… this is impossible…!!"
Leonil's magical computation was twice as fast, yet Verden outstripped him.
Eyes engraved with unknown magic circles that conjured spells instantaneously.
A bottomless reservoir of mana.
A staff and robe that withstood even his flames.
All of it defied reason.
I… the kingdom's strongest… a transcendent… being pushed back by this whelp?
The mad magus, consumed by mania, denied reality.
That he, who had finally reached transcendence, was losing—unthinkable. Unacceptable.
His split lips quivered. The humiliation etched across Verden's face nearly drove him insane.
And yet, apart from his rage, his mind continued its calculations.
Searching for the one path to burn his foe alive.
Two seconds.
The answer came.
He hasn't once cast a 7th-tier spell. That means he hasn't crossed beyond the 6th-tier realm.
Yet Leonil was being pressed regardless.
It must be the other factors.
Therefore, he would decide the battle with what he alone held in superiority: raw firepower.
His mana roared like molten iron.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
His forcibly transplanted heart threatened to burst.
Instinct screamed in alarm, but he ignored it. Even as pain wracked him, he endured.
If it meant seeing that brat's face contorted in despair, he would suffer anything.
KWA-AANG!
Bolts of lightning and shards of rock struck his body.
His skin split, his muscles tore, his organs churned—but nothing could stop him.
Leonil raised his staff high.
Instantly, spells completed through Mado bloomed in the air.
Double Casting.
The 7th-tier siege spell descended.
A massive fireball drew closer.
Even Verden could not survive a direct hit.
Yet despite its power, striking a single person in open air was no easy feat.
Just as Verden had not used Meteor himself.
But then, before doubt could form, the two meteors flashed and detonated.
A superior form of Meteor.
Hundreds of flaming rocks rained like a summer downpour.
And Leonil wasn't done.
"GUAAAAAAAAAAH!"
With a roar, he clenched his fist.
The concealed artifact on his wrist, [Will of Desperation], flared with mana.
At once, every meteor's trajectory twisted. All of them barreled down toward Verden.
A deathblow from every direction.
"──Hahaha! Let's see those precious eyes of yours block this!"
Leonil laughed maniacally, blood gushing from his mouth.
So he was hiding this.
Verden narrowed his eyes.
The fiery meteors bore down on him, and his thoughts whirred.
There were too many. Dodging unscathed was impossible. His mana barrier would shatter.
Even with the Mystic Eye, conventional tiered magic could not deal with it all.
But there is no need to waver.
For he too had his trump card.
A mage's creed was to prepare for all possibilities.
Grond had fallen short, but Leonil, even if through shortcuts, had touched transcendence. He was a fitting subject for a test.
Verden made his decision in a heartbeat.
WHUUM.
Gray mana condensed upon Orient.
As his Mystic Eye activated, a circular constellation flared into being.
Stellar Magic.
The Five Stars of Harkan.
The overwhelming first star: Meteor.
The second star, the comet Rarenia, a torrent that defied the flow of the galaxy.
And now, the next stage.
One of the new "stars" he had obtained upon stepping into the realm of the Quasi-Transcendent.
The Third Star.
The Celestial Domain—Spirit Star Alhena.
The constellation flickered.
In that instant, space itself warped, and phenomena beyond reason erupted.
The twilight-stained sky vanished.
Centered on Verden, the entirety of the royal castle of Eznoren was swallowed in darkness.
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