Chapter 520 – Hall of Usurpation (2)
An overwhelming presence resonated within his core.
A distant explosion approached and faintly lingered in his ears. The ground quivered irregularly, and half his vision trembled moment by moment.
The magic power of a supreme realm beyond any race stimulated the senses of the Mage.
At the mountain's peak.
As the appointed overseers sent to ensure no one entered the Capital of Ruin until the promised day, Melard Tastienne and Carindin Lerhar stood in the same place, keeping their distance from one another.
"…It has begun."
Melard murmured while gazing in the direction of the Capital of Ruin.
From a distance where shapes could barely be discerned, successive flashes of light burst forth.
Pitch-black flames, dazzling elements, and that familiar dark crimson lightning… all intersected and collided, striking down upon the Capital of Ruin.
Unlike when the three Sages fought Verden in what was close to a sparring match of magic, now every single strike brimmed with intent to kill the opponent.
"You have made a mistake."
Carindin Lerhar shook his head.
"I do not know from where you dragged in such a Transcendent, but it is a misjudgment. A futile struggle. The past should have been buried in the past."
Black Hour and the magic tower alliance of the western continent.
The truth was, the power gap between the two factions was immense. To be frank, it was impossible to close. Not only numbers, but also the difference in individual ability was stark.
The lower executives of Black Hour could not hope to contend with the senior members of the towers.
And yet, the war unfolded evenly.
What made that possible was none other than Dahit Wethroel, a being who alone could equalize such a vast difference in strength.
After dueling the tower master of Bohemirn, Balrog Bessias, atop the Eternal Cliff until interference from both sides forced a draw.
After suddenly raiding the Diamoon Magic Tower and slaying one of the Ten Tower Masters.
After standing alone against the main forces of the tower alliance and halting them.
Who could truly oppose such a one?
'Though previously the battle had ended without a decisive conclusion, in truth, it was Dahit who had won the magical duel.'
Without outside aid, that Transcendent would never have left the Great Hall alive.
And this time would be no different.
The gulf between two Transcendents cannot be overturned in a mere few months.
Melard spoke.
"Is it not rather you, Carindin, who has made the wrong judgment?"
"What exactly is mistaken? Are you speaking of the Day of Usurpation—"
"I do not fully grasp how much of an irregular existence the prodigy of Harkan is. I did not then, and I do not now. The density of time he lives in is different from ours."
Fixing her gaze firmly upon Carindin, she whispered.
"In such a case, what basis do you have to make predictions about him? Unless… it is not judgment at all, but merely your desire to avert your eyes from the possibility of Dahit's defeat?"
"Have you forgotten whose disciple Dahit was? Ours. We, who each prided ourselves as the best in our fields."
"I know well how extraordinary a Genius Dahit is. With the years that have passed, he has far surpassed that time. Yet I have already told you. The Transcendent standing against Dahit lives in a different time altogether."
Melard clasped her hands together.
"So watch, and see, who shall ascend as leader of Black Hour."
"Melard, you…"
"And which of us shall pay the price for defeat."
Her eyes, glancing at Carindin who had once been a friend and was now nothing but a traitor, quietly overflowed with hatred and wrath.
***
Unlike the constrained depths of the Great Hall, here was a vast open stage.
With nothing but ruin surrounding them, it was a perfect place for a Transcendent to run rampant.
From the Orb of Interis stretched a destructive force, forming the edge of a spear. Verden surged through the air, stamping against space itself, and spun violently.
Shweaaaak!
He cleaved through the very air where Dahit had stood a moment earlier.
A crescent of dark crimson lightning surged along the path, splitting the earth in a straight line.
"You prattle about taking my corpse, yet all you do is run?"
"Against a Transcendent employing tactics similar to the Empire's War Mage, I cannot allow easy approach."
Dahit, recalling Verden's combat style and its overwhelming might, overlapped his hands.
A jet-black ray pierced in a straight line.
Whoom.
Verden gathered magic power to his fingertips to the extreme and swung sideways, unleashing a wave of immense force born of magic control.
Just as Osgar, Sage of Power, had twisted the trajectory of Verden's destructive arc, so too was Dahit's spell bent mid-flight, landing far from its intended target.
Dahit narrowed his eyes.
'Imperial magic control influencing my spell… So he had concealed a portion of his power even within the Great Hall.'
It mattered not.
Such magical finesse is meaningless before overwhelming force.
"Hmph."
The flames of Deathflame roared fiercely, fueled by Dahit's magic power as kindling. Objects exposed to its tepid heat steadily vanished.
Its radius spread in an instant, soon engulfing the entire area.
───!
The annihilating fire, absorbing all light in every direction, flared for a brief instant, plunging the Capital of Ruin into darkness.
And then, the world returned to normal.
There was no damage. His senses were intact.
'Yet something has changed.'
Suspicious of the situation, Verden withdrew, opening distance. At that moment, Dahit, who until now had avoided close combat, lunged forward.
In response, Verden swung Interis, brimming with magic power.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!
A massive lightning strike filled his vision, striking Dahit squarely, but then—most of its force suddenly dispersed.
"…!"
"My Deathflame is not as simple as what the eye perceives."
Dahit seized the head of Interis with one hand, pushing it aside, unfazed by the coursing destruction.
"This place is now my domain."
A hand loomed before him.
An overwhelming wave of flame crashed down upon Verden.
He struck the ground, ricocheted, slid through the air, and barely regained his balance.
Magical interpretation.
He analyzed the scene just past.
'The majority of my magic power was extinguished.'
Naturally, it was the effect of Dahit's wide-spreading spell.
Undeniable.
It was the same as when he diffused deep darkness throughout the Great Hall to build his own domain.
Kwagwagwagwang! Kwagwagwagwagwag!
Countless spears of annihilation rained from the heavens. Verden immediately launched evasive maneuvers and raised his magic power again.
'Unless magic power is raised beyond a certain threshold, annihilation does not apply.'
There were two solutions.
Break the domain.
Or escape it.
Yet attempting the latter risked leaving an opening.
Moreover, due to Dahit's domain, the range of
Thus—
***
'Blow it away head-on, domain and all.'
Verden activated [Ainber].
The destructive magic power, freed from the circuits, seeped into his body.
Whoosh!
He soared vertically.
While piercing through Dahit's magic head-on with Transcendent senses, he invoked
"Predictable."
Dahit anticipated the exact wavelength and scorched a specific spot. Verden leapt again through space at the very last instant.
Once, then twice. Twice then thrice. Thrice then four times. Four then five times…
Considering magical strain, Verden's method was highly inefficient.
On the surface, that is.
Eventually, the space ripples overlapped, triggering the intended effect.
Dahit faltered.
"This is, Grave Ludworth's…?"
Of course, as a disciple of one of the first members, he had mastered even the methods of Black Hour's high-ranking officers.
'It won't work twice.'
But once was enough.
Having deceived Dahit's perception, Verden appeared far up in the sky. His Mystic Eye gleamed as he raised Interis high.
The instant gray magic power traced a constellation, one-fourth of the Capital of Ruin was covered by a colossal shadow.
The First Star, Meteor.
Kugugugugugugugugugugu…!
A Star Magic unleashed with Transcendent might.
A condensed mass of pure magic power.
A sphere radiating blue light was pulled by gravity and will, and began to fall.
Its sheer size exuded a crushing weight upon all below.
Dahit planted his feet upon the ground and lifted his head.
"…Such magnitude wrought purely by magic power. A spell befitting a Transcendent housing a magic tower's power source."
Therefore, it could not be taken lightly.
Dahit inhaled deeply, slowly bringing his hands together, as if cupping the distant meteor.
At once, the domain trembled.
The unseen flames of Deathflame gradually became visible.
In the sky burned a blue sun. On the ground surged consuming darkness.
Dahit's eyes flared wide.
The Dark Moon too invoked its inherent spell with full force.
Deathflame surged upward en masse, colliding with the meteor, then clinging tightly.
Fwoooosh.
The sun blackened, its magic power scattering.
"Being made of pure magic, interference is not difficult. Now, what will you do?"
"I'll detonate it."
"What?"
Verden snapped his fingers.
The meteor's core responded. A dazzling brilliance pierced the darkness. The star grew ever brighter.
"Such reckless—!"
Dahit covered his face with both arms, surrounding himself with layer upon layer of Deathflame walls.
Then silence descended.
───!
The condensed magic burst free, overturning everything before his eyes.
***
The Capital of Ruin could no longer be called either capital or ruin.
From an unrestrained meteor explosion, seventy percent of it was reduced to barren wasteland.
Though no crater formed since there was no direct impact, everything upon the surface had been swept away.
A belated dust cloud, driven back by the shockwave, encircled the land.
'I must raise the projected danger level one step higher.'
Now it was certain.
He had not merely hidden his power in the Great Hall, but had truly advanced overall.
In not half a year, but mere months, he had achieved meaningful growth as a Transcendent.
Was it the reconstructed body that was the cause?
Or the will embedded within it?
Dahit knew instinctively.
If he did not kill him here, if this magical duel also ended fruitlessly, then in the third duel, he would suffer certain defeat.
'A crossroads of life.'
And it was not only Dahit, but Verden as well.
At that moment.
Whoooosh.
Breaking through the dust cloud, Verden slammed his staff down with all his might.
The pinnacle of the 1st-tier basic spell
An inherent spell that reconstructed its calculation method through destructive magic power.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwang!
"Kh…!"
Though he avoided a direct hit, he was struck by the bolt's branch surging upward from below.
Dahit gathered strength and readied himself, when something flew toward him.
Ten supreme-grade mana stones.
Arranged in a precise pattern, their emitted light formed a magic circle, which then unleashed dozens of chains upon Dahit.
Dahit's body was bound.
It could not completely restrain a Transcendent, but it was enough to hinder.
What shocked him, however, was the identity of this magic circle.
"You, how do you possess Balrog Bessias's inherent magic circle…?!"
"He taught me."
In an unofficial laboratory, that is.
And it was not over yet.
The Orb of Interis, inheriting the function of Orient, flared.
The chosen element was Earth.
For a limited time, Verden became master of the earth, pressing his hand against the ground.
Maximum output.
The world itself began to move.
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