Chapter 23 — Is He Commanding Demons Now?
The moment the ceiling aperture aligned perfectly with the magic circle below, moonlight poured down in a vertical beam, striking the center of the formation.
It was precisely midnight.
Brünnhilde's entire body tensed. Her eyes widened, pupils contracting in disbelief.
The magic circle seemed to absorb every drop of moonlight in the palace, dimming the surroundings while the formation itself glowed with a silvery radiance.
Standing within it, King Solomon's body was etched with glowing patterns—mysterious lines that spread across his skin like divine circuitry.
They looked as though they were forcibly burrowing into his flesh. His body trembled slightly, and cold sweat streamed down his face.
The scene was eerily similar to the ritual used to elevate demigods into full divinity.
There was one key difference: the divine ascension ritual was always performed under the blazing midday sun.
"Brünnhilde… this—!" Gray's voice trembled. She had finally grasped what was happening.
"Is he… trying to become a god?"
It was absurd. Impossible.
"No," Brünnhilde replied. "That's not it."
To become a god, the energy required would instantly reduce a human to ashes.
That's why Solomon was using moonlight.
Moonlight, though seemingly emitted by the moon, is actually sunlight reflected and scattered—far weaker than direct solar rays.
The ritual appeared to be reaching its end. The magic circle's glow faded, and the glowing patterns on Solomon's body vanished.
No—rather than disappearing, they had merged into his body, becoming invisible.
His expression relaxed. He looked… pleased.
Had the experiment succeeded?
He raised one hand before his eyes, palm open as if cradling something.
At first, it was empty.
Then—light began to gather.
A few sparks multiplied into hundreds, glowing red like embers. In a flash, a flame ignited in his palm.
Moments later, the fire faded, reverting to light particles. These fused into a translucent sphere of water.
Then again, the water dissolved into light, which swirled into a vortex—wind.
"Brünnhilde… is that magic?" Gray asked, her voice stiff with disbelief.
She knew it wasn't just "magic." But reality was too overwhelming to accept.
"Yes," Brünnhilde said. "It's magic that can alter reality. Magic that can kill."
Gray's jaw dropped.
"Th-then… that's true magic?"
Yes. It was.
A mere human had grasped true magic—had touched the realm of the gods.
It was more unbelievable than any divine feat Gray had ever heard.
Even more than the exploits of her idol—the god she admired most.
He had tamed the Nemean Lion, subdued Cerberus with bare hands, and completed twelve hellish trials deemed "impossible."
He had earned the gods' recognition and ascended from demigod to full deity.
He was the mighty hero of Greek myth—Heracles.
Had he attended the Valhalla council, he would have opposed the gods' decision. Like Brünnhilde, he cherished humanity.
But now, Solomon's feat surpassed even Heracles.
A mortal rivaling the divine.
Wait—
Gray had a thought.
"Maybe… maybe a god gave him that power?"
Brünnhilde didn't respond. She, too, found the idea plausible.
To be sure, she rewound the Akasha record.
The playback revealed Solomon repeatedly experimenting with the formation—using criminals as test subjects.
"Ugh—!"
Gray clamped a hand over her mouth, horrified by the gruesome scenes.
Failed experiments ended in bodies exploding like overinflated balloons.
That ruled out divine intervention.
Solomon had discovered it himself.
Brünnhilde doubted he'd created it from scratch. More likely, he'd glimpsed the divine ascension circle and adapted it for human use.
Even so, it was outrageous.
The gods had always believed humans could never touch the truths of the universe. Not even they had created a ritual that allowed mortals to access the cosmic substrate.
To become a god, one needed divine blood—either by birth or by consuming it.
No method had ever allowed a human body to endure direct contact with the divine.
Attempts had always ended in death.
So… did this mean Solomon's wisdom surpassed the gods?
Chapter 24 — The Demon Commander
This was fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
Another monster had emerged.
Just by touching such power, Solomon had earned his place among the thirteen chosen to decide humanity's fate.
Still, Brünnhilde needed to observe further.
She had to uncover the Supreme Pillars' true intentions.
She rewound the timeline to the moment Solomon first accessed the divine realm.
Though he had touched the cosmic substrate and could now wield magic, he was still far from mastering it.
He had only grasped the basics.
He needed to learn how to transform and release magic—how to shape fire into attacks, how to launch, compress, and detonate it.
Brünnhilde and her fellow demigods hadn't undergone the divine ascension ritual, but they could still use magic.
However, their magic was inferior to that of true gods.
Gods could tap into the source—the root of the universe—and unleash magic of an entirely different dimension.
Solomon had touched that source, but his human body limited the power he could wield.
Magic's potency depended heavily on the vessel's capacity.
Solomon seemed to tire of his elemental experiments and went to sleep.
Over the next two weeks, Brünnhilde and Gray continued intermittent observation.
Eventually, Solomon succeeded in creating true magic.
To Brünnhilde, it was basic—but that was because she had learned from existing knowledge.
Solomon had invented it from scratch.
"Ahh~" Gray yawned. Though they hadn't watched every second, they'd spent over a hundred hours observing.
They fast-forwarded six months.
By day, Solomon continued his duties. By night, he likely resumed magical research.
In the palace hall, he met with ministers from twelve administrative districts.
"The above is the current situation in District Six, Your Majesty."
The minister's face was grim.
District Six had suffered another attack from border tribes. They needed funds to rebuild and defend against future raids.
Solomon sighed.
"I see. How much do you require?"
The minister named a figure that made the others frown.
Brünnhilde prepared to skip ahead.
She glanced at the minister with disdain. He was lying.
The amount was inflated—he planned to embezzle.
Just as she was about to fast-forward, something strange happened.
"AAAAHHH!"
A shriek rang out. The minister's right ear fell to the floor.
What?
It was as if an invisible blade had sliced it off.
Had Solomon used a wind blade?
But Brünnhilde hadn't seen him cast anything. He sat calmly on his throne.
"Akos," Solomon said, eyes narrowed. "Lying is unbecoming, you know?"
So it was Solomon.
But how?
"Y-Your Majesty, I… I don't understand—AAAAHHH!"
Another scream. His right hand was crushed into pulp by an unseen force.
"So, care to explain what's really happening in District Six, Akos?"
"Your Majesty, I… I don't—AAAAAAHHHH!"
A bloodcurdling scream.
His eye burst, and half his face was torn away by invisible power.
Everyone in the hall froze.
Even the dullest among them now understood: this was Solomon's doing.
Their king had become terrifyingly mysterious.
"Next time, it'll be your heart, Akos."
Solomon smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded.
Akos collapsed to his knees.
"I'll talk… I'll talk…"