* * *
* * *
The shadow spread.
The rippling shadow headed somewhere.
Skebal moved his body following the shadow, but at some point the direction became unclear. It was dark. I couldn’t see anything. Only shadows fluttered in the darkness. As if I had become one with the thick darkness.
The sight was very strange.
Strange, bizarre, grotesque.
If you think about it, the first madman was like that from the beginning. Acrita Clen Arcadia. As he pondered the name, Skebal glanced at the swaying shadow.
···A mysterious presence in human history since a very long time.
Skebal does not know what the origin of that existence is.
All Skebal knows is that that person has been by the Demon King’s side for a very long time. He was sometimes a staff member, sometimes a commander, and sometimes called himself a ‘leader.’
Even if you kill, you will not die.
Someone who doesn’t know what they’re dreaming of.
That being always used to say this.
He said he was waiting for his time. He used to whisper that when the time comes, demons will cover the whole world and our era will begin.
‘But…’
Skebal no longer trusts those words.
Skebal no longer knows what the madman’s purpose is. What does the author hope for? On that day many years ago, when the raid on the royal capital failed, the madman disappeared. In a situation where he could have intervened, he just watched everything happen.
As if waiting for the devil’s army to be pushed out.
‘Why did it have to be that way?’
Skebal glared at the shadow.
“What are you thinking about?”
As if sensing that gaze, the shadow muttered in a voice mixed with laughter.
“I can hear your head rolling all the way up here, Skebal, you impatient friend. Didn’t I tell you I’d show you? Just wait a little longer.”
The shadow sneered.
With a light laugh, the shadow headed forward, and Skebal followed him down a little deeper. The air was chilly. A foul odor mingled with the cool air.
“It’s here.”
With a thud, the shadow stopped.
As the stopped shadow waved its hand, the darkness filling all around slowly cleared. What was revealed through the clearing darkness was a huge cavity.
Okay, the shadow snapped its fingers.
The lanterns were lit all at once. The burning fire was black. The light emitted as the black fire burned was strange. As a strange fire shadow fell over the Great Hollow, Skebal’s eyes narrowed. The scenery of Daegong-dong revealed when the lights turn on. That’s why the scenery captured my attention.
Countless dolls filled the main cavity.
The dolls lined up in different postures and with different expressions do not move at all. It was as if it had been taxidermied and displayed there. All of those dolls were human. These are people who would have made a mark in human history. Some of the dogs were humans that Skebal also knew.
···Sword masters, magic tower owners, warriors, saints, and countless battlefield heroes were on display here.
『What is all this?』
Skebal muttered and looked back to where the madman was. But there was no one there. Has it disappeared before you know it? As I was looking at the place where the shadow had disappeared, I heard footsteps coming from deep in the Great Hollow.
The sound of footsteps echoed softly.
“Welcome to my pavilion, Skeval.”
A human voice, not a shadow.
Skebal looked at the human walking from afar.
“All of these are my treasures. My body.”
With a thud, he stopped walking.
Skebal looked at him as he emerged from the depths of the Great Hollow. There was a young man there who looked like an elegant nobleman or a famous wizard. He pointed around with an exaggerated hand gesture.
“Isn’t it beautiful? This place is…”
“That is.”
Skebal interrupted the young man.
He hung it up and stretched out his fingers. With his pure white bone joint, Skebal pointed to the young man in front of him. He pointed to the skin covered in shadows… no, it was Acrita.
『Is that your true body?』
The mana and evil energy felt in that body are by no means those of an ordinary person. No other body on display here gave off that kind of energy. A body with energy that only thick poison that has been boiled for a long time can retain. A body and soul cursed by the wrath of God.
“That’s correct, Skebal.”
The madman smiled.
He smiled and lightly stamped his feet. The Great Hollow was shaken with a sound like a cooing sound. What appears shaking is a path leading underground. “Follow me,” said the madman and started walking ahead.
The further underground we went, the thicker the poison became.
This is Skeval, who gave up his body and chose to become a lich, losing all his senses. Even Skebal could feel the poison vibrating in this space. Only when he reached the end of the foul-smelling basement did the madman stop walking.
“When you knelt before the Demon King and when you wanted to defect, you said this. I want to reach the truth. I want to explore the truth and know the nature of this world.”
The madman pointed to the poison located underground.
“The truth you have been seeking is there.”
Skebal saw the madman’s finger pointing.
Something called truth or providence. What he has been chasing his whole life. It was there, the madman whispered. Skebal’s eyes flashed blue.
“···tower.”
What was there was a tower.
I don’t know if we should call that a tower. Even though it did not have the shape of a tower, it was called a tower in the history of magic. It was named a tower because it was a means of ‘climbing’ something.
“Throughout history, wizards have always longed to challenge divine status. It’s natural. Magic is a process of understanding providence, and drawing a circuit is considered a process of ultimately reaching heaven.”
The madman whispered.
“Something that has been built up over a lifetime. Wizards often express the magic path they have walked on as a tower. That is why the research facility they created is also a magic tower.”
Why on earth? ‘ asked the madman.
Yes, the madman answered his own question.
“Because the tower ultimately heads to the sky. They may have said that without thinking…unconsciously, but they weren’t the first wizards. They weren’t.”
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The Archmage spoke.
“A long time ago, before ancient times. The era of the beginning. In a time full of chaos, the first wizard thought. Let’s gather everything that humans have. Let’s gather everything that he has accumulated. Gather them together, “Let’s build a tower.”
Acrita Clen Arcadia pointed to the sky.
“A tower that will head to the sky. A tower that will challenge God. A tower that will pierce this chaotic era.”
He smiled.
“Babel.”
“impossible.”
Skebal declared in a shaky voice.
『Babel is a concept that exists only in theory. It’s impossible. Since it cannot be proven or tested, it is not the truth. That can’t be the truth…』
“Oh, Skebal is a foolish friend.”
The madman clicked his tongue.
“To deny that tower would be to deny the master you serve. Wouldn’t you, who always swear loyalty to the master of ten thousand demons, show such disloyalty?”
“what?”
“The shadow reached the top of the god. He became a complete god standing at the opposite point of the star. He must not have forgotten that it was I who created that shadow.”
Okay, the madman snapped his fingers.
The sediment that had accumulated under the tower stirred.
“The master you serve climbed this tower. He climbed this tower and ascended to heaven. He became a god.”
and···.
“God has disappeared. Your master has fallen. It fell and fell again and again and was ruined. It no longer functions as a god.”
But, he said.
“We still need a god. And it looks like we have enough ingredients to create one here.”
“Clap,” the madman clapped.
A shadow stirred from the depths. What the fluttering shadow brings is the living devil army. They were crawling on the floor, missing their limbs. They recognized Skebal crawling on the floor and shouted.
Please save me.
Are you here to save us?
Great being, he is us.
Countless, countless people screamed. Amidst the echoing screams, Skebal looked back at the madman. The madman was laughing. The corner of my mouth was torn open and I was laughing.
“It is time for the birth of a new god.”
Amid the screams, the madman took a step closer to Skebal. As he got closer, he whispered to Skebal.
“The day a new god climbs this tower, at that moment everything will collapse. On that day, this Babel will no longer be used for ascent.”
“Ah,” the madman smiled.
“That day you will witness the truth.”
The scream was no longer a scream.
Amidst the screams that were reduced to mere noise, the madman held out his hand to Skebal. I made a suggestion to a wizard who was obsessed with the truth.
“Would you like to join us, Skeval?”
“···That’s the madman’s purpose?”
“There were a lot of clues.”
Raniel spread his fingers.
“The day Skebal invaded Aplia and brought in the shadows, there was a madman behind Skebal. What was the madman’s intention that day?”
Raniel tapped on the railing.
“New bowl.”
A new being to hold the vessel.
A child loved by the stars, a child blessed by the stars, a child who reads the context of the stars. That day, the madman tried to make new vessels by sacrificing them.
“At that time, I thought the madman was just looking for a vessel to contain the shadow. But, when I thought about it, it was strange. It was when the madman appeared in the center of the royal capital that I realized the sense of incongruity.”
Occupying the Gray Magic Tower, the madman attempted to cast a shadow once again in the center of the royal capital. The person who was singled out as a sacrifice at that time was none other than Resty Eleanor. It was Watcher.
“Going even further back in time, there was a time when both the Watcher and Stella existed at the same time. Kelhalm’s disciple. She had both talents at the same time.”
What was her ending?
“They said she was ruined by an apostate, but if you listen to Kelhalm’s story, that’s not the apostate’s way. If she had been an apostate, he would have made her his familiar. But Kelhalm’s disciple that day….”
I was trying to embrace something.
I tried to embrace it, but I couldn’t bear it and it broke.
“It was an attempt to embrace evil and shadow. The entire Academy City ruled by Kelhalm was an altar.”
“That means…”
“okay.”
Raniel let out a long breath.
“What the madman is aiming for is the birth of a new god. A new god to take the place of the failed Demon King. He is probably trying to use that god to achieve his goal.”
“Is it possible to create a god?”
“He’s already succeeded once. There’s nothing he can’t do twice. If given enough time, experimentation, and finally, a justification.”
And time was given.
Experiments were also conducted several times.
Now all that was left was a justification.
“···What is the justification?”
“The complete annihilation of the devil.”
It was humanity’s secret wish.
This was what Raniel was hoping for.
“The moment the Demon King disappears, the balance is shattered. Just like before the Demon King was born, God ends up existing only on the side of humanity.”
“That… say it again.”
“It means that it becomes the justification for the birth of a new god, another god who will stand at the opposite point of the stars.”
That’s why, Raniel let out a long breath.
“Before subduing the Demon King, you must kill the madman. Otherwise, the moment the Demon King is defeated, another god will appear.”
『Stella and Watcher are pawns.』
『At the end of the chessboard, they become queens.』
“By using none other than Stella and Watcher as vessels.”
『The madman seeks to achieve his goal with the god he created taking the lead. In other words, Stella and Watcher are absolutely necessary for the madman’s purpose.』
Raniel recalled his memoir.
『He kept my queen alive because it was necessary.』
“but.”
“but.”
“There’s no way I can let you have your way.”
『Therefore, the madman revealed his own weakness.』
Raniel smiled.
The way you came up with. And a method that a human being discovered hundreds of years ago through persistence. Raniel opened his mouth while thinking about the method.
“This time, we will crush the madman. Thoroughly and completely. We need to prepare for that.”
And, the person who will be the core of that operation is…
“It’s none other than you and the queen, Resty.”
Raniel looked over Cardi’s shoulder.
Cardi looked back. The owner of the Gray Magic Tower stood there. The modern gray magic tower lord stood where the first gray magic tower lord and the previous gray magic tower lords had gathered.
“I received the letter.”
The gray magic tower lord, Resty Eleanoa, said.
“Please tell me what I should do.”
fantasy,
