Chapter 593 – Truth (1)
Balrog spoke.
"You, who are you."
His voice was firm, yet a faint hesitation lingered at the end of his words, closer to a tone used to probe and dispel inner doubts.
Dark Moon───Verden narrowed his eyes.
Who am I, huh.
Verden's appearance as Dahit Wethroel, disguised through [Ainber]'s
Not only did he exceed Dahit's original dignity and magical essence, but even retained every memory intact, a perfect imitation in every sense.
'He might not have physical evidence, but he's personally sensing something abnormal.'
As expected, toying with a Transcendent is never easy.
Their ego is too solid.
Even without definitive proof, once suspicion takes root, those beings are obsessed until it's fully resolved.
Didn't Arnak's sword say it before?
For beings like us, instinct is reason itself.
Verden agreed with that.
'But I can't reveal it that easily.'
If a faint sense of discomfort is keeping Balrog from deploying stronger and more complex magic circles, then the initiative in this magic duel belongs to Verden.
Verden spoke. His voice was modulated by the vibration of the artificial space.
The black flame shrouding him concealed such magical alterations.
"To suddenly ask who I am, have you lost your mind?"
If you want certainty, find it yourself.
Bring out your hidden hand.
As Verden feigned ignorance, Balrog's brow twitched. The threadlike suspicion deepened slightly.
But he was still far from conviction.
"...I'll have to peel off the shell myself."
Descending from the air, Balrog set foot upon the highest rocky peak of the current Eternal Cliff and slightly raised [Endless Phenomena].
The massive staff's frame was made of the highest-grade metal, orichalcum, transmuted and imbued with countless rare magical materials.
To this was added the Argyle family heirlooms, [Eye of Replication] and [Nucleus of Multiplication], offerings from Crodon — making it Balrog's exclusive artificial artifact.
It perfectly copied the magic circle manifested by the canonical magic and amplified its power, while reusing the residual spell formula of expended circles to deploy many more.
As long as Balrog's will persisted, that chain would never end.
Boom!
The staff struck the ground.
The earth trembled.
A tremendous surge of magic was detected beneath his feet, and then, five mana stones burst upward through the blackened ground.
At the same time, Verden crossed both arms.
'Each one is the core of a magic circle.'
The magic embedded within them was of the 7th rank,
The moment the mana stones shattered, the condensed magic was unleashed. A flash, dyed by absorbed moonlight, filled their eyes.
KWAaaaaaaANG───!
A shockwave followed, and a deafening roar shattered the stillness of night. The blazing dark flame that had been burning the world rippled violently.
The explosive force and residue of the magic circles swallowed within the domain vanished without a trace.
In the sky lay hidden magic circles, on the ground, those stored within the mana stones… the total number was beyond comprehension.
One must not forget.
The opponent is not just any Transcendent, but the Master of Bohemirn's Magic Tower.
'Finally showing his true power.'
A powerful magical reaction was detected from behind.
Verden turned his head.
A massive boulder, large enough to mock a skyscraper, was flying toward him.
Crack!
He swung his left arm, wrapped in black flame, splitting it in half. As if that were a signal, lights flickered high above.
Sharp stones, their surfaces glowing red from friction with the air, came raining down.
Verden raised his hand.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAaaaANG!
Condensed dark fire intercepted the artificial meteors one after another. Then, from
Countless shards vanished before they could even touch the ground.
A chaotic view.
Distorted hearing.
The heat of the magic battle boiled even fiercer than before, hotter than the mountain erased moments ago. The long-range exchange grew ever more intense.
Then, Balrog tilted [Endless Phenomena], directly aiming it at Verden.
A thunderbolt, amplified through multiple magic circles, pierced the air in a straight line. At the same time, Verden spun halfway and thrust his right arm out.
He grasped the lightning in his palm and crushed it into nothingness.
In that fleeting instant of stalemate... their gazes met.
"As I thought."
The eyes.
What lies beyond them.
"You are not Dahit Wethroel."
At last, Balrog had reached certainty by his own standard. His pitch-black pupils stared past the shell, into the inner being.
In response, Verden did not feign ignorance as before, but bent his fingers into his characteristic incantation posture.
Rumbleeeeeee...!
The darkness-covered ground surged like a wave, forming a massive tidal swell, and from the embers drifting above, a black sea unfolded.
The mere aftermath began corroding Balrog's protective magic circles.
Verden's lips curled upward.
"Guess who I am."
"You dare."
Balrog gripped his staff tighter. Whatever the creature was, it was certainly not the pure Dark Moon.
He had every reason to be disturbed, yet anger overtook that feeling.
"You dare deceive me?"
His savage voice rang out as the three rings rotating around the red crystal of [Endless Phenomena] came to a stop.
Magic resonated.
Some of the starlight embedded in the night sky flared, connecting with one another to form vast and intricate structures.
"Whether it's an artifact, a magic item, or your own ability—surely you're using some magical means to imitate Wethroel...!"
True formula hidden within nature itself.
Radius—about 400 meters.
"Now, reveal your true self."
Balrog's eyes gleamed coldly as he activated his unique magic circle.
Binding of Power.
Seeing the immense magic pouring down from above, Verden manipulated his magic, summoning a massive maelstrom of dark flame.
He chose direct confrontation.
'Even if I'm pushed back, the property of annihilation will consume much of its force.'
To observe the structure of Balrog's unique magic circle, there was no better option.
However—
"...!"
The magic circle wasn't erased, nor even damaged where they met. Instead, it was the black flames that scattered, unable to endure.
A seamless, almost natural dissolution, as if melting into water.
'It doesn't counter destruction physically or conceptually. It negates the very magic power itself… yes, so that's one of Balrog's tricks.'
It shakes and collapses the structure of magic power, returning the ongoing magical phenomenon to nothingness.
That was the conclusion drawn from interpreting the magic circle's power.
'In other words, nullification of magic.'
If struck head-on, not only the functions of an artifact and one's unique magic, but even Dark Moon's main force—the domain of annihilation itself—would be breached.
It truly feels, now more than ever, that this place was meant as the stage to capture Dahit.
However, Verden is not Dahit.
Fwoooosh!
The falling surge of magic from the circle engulfed Verden whole. The earth, once dyed in darkness, regained its original color.
When the light subsided, only faint traces of black flame continued to burn in places, and at the center stood a being whose entire form shimmered like a mirage.
"I'd hoped to draw out a few more of your tricks, but that's unfortunate. Still, I've seen your magic circle up close, so I'll settle for that."
A voice different from Wethroel's, a deep tone, young and sharp.
His face and his voice, both radiated youth, but the transcendent essence beyond the pinnacle of magic remained unchanged.
"...A face I've never seen before. Which continent are you from? What purpose do you have, mimicking Dark Moon before me? Answer me now, or I'll kill you where you stand."
"It's not a face you've never seen."
"What nonsense, are you—"
Balrog, his voice thick with murderous intent, suddenly stopped mid-sentence. A chilling silence crept in unexpectedly.
As the stillness stretched, Balrog's eyes widened.
The ash-gray hair and blue eyes were unfamiliar, but every other feature, his flawless memory whispered relentlessly, was not the face of a stranger.
"?!!"
The rage of being deceived turned to confusion, then shock flooded his expression.
His composure was shattered.
And with reason.
Before him stood someone even more incomprehensible than what he had faced in the Lepraegium Magic Tower—someone who should not, could not exist.
It made no logical sense.
Then what was that?
The Binding of Power had struck true, so it couldn't be a magical disguise. And instinct told him that no other explanation fit either.
For the first time since his awakening, Balrog's reason faltered; his pupils quivered violently—then he rejected the thought with force.
"Impossible…!"
"That's all you can say?"
Verden let out a low chuckle, genuine amusement in his tone.
Discovering Balrog's prepared spell mattered less than seeing that distorted expression—it was a far greater reward.
"Unofficial Test Subject No. 77, Verden."
"...!!!"
"It's been a while, Tower Master of Bohemirn."
Verden greeted him in the same tone he had used back in the days of the magic tower, dripping with mockery.
***
Bohemirn Magic Tower, Coercion, Multi-dimensional Continuity Theory, Unofficial Test Subject, No. 77, Crodon Olentia, Rayshen Tailroad, Black Hour, the raid on the unofficial lab, Dahit Wethroel, the magic of dark flame, Verden...
Countless words flashed through Balrog's mind. He imagined many hypotheses, but not one was convincing.
Throb.
Within a brief span of time, he had accelerated his thoughts to their limit, overloading his mind.
A sensation like pressure inside his skull made his eyes twitch.
Balrog clenched his teeth.
"Explain…!"
"What."
"I said explain! Everything!"
With his roar, vast magic power surged in response to his violent emotions. His presence spread roughly in all directions.
Even the High Elder Angelo would have felt threatened by it, yet naturally, Verden didn't even blink.
"For someone like you to lose composure—it seems you're truly desperate for answers. If you want me to tell you, that's not difficult. But first."
Verden moved.
"Come down and talk."
Leaping through space into the sky, he dove straight downward. A thick magic circle blocked his path, but he didn't care.
Those built specifically to counter Dark Moon's annihilation couldn't withstand the cutting power of the highest-tier elemental attribute.
Triple Casting.
Violet blades traced his fingertips, slicing through the circle and the space around it.
Caught off-guard by the appearance of a 7th-rank spatial spell, Balrog widened his eyes, then quickly steadied himself and responded.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAANG!
Element met element as their magic circles collided in the center, producing an earth-shaking roar. Their bombardment, each exerting eighty percent of full computation power, was evenly matched.
Neither affected the other.
In other words, Balrog couldn't stop Verden's advance.
The repulsive force released from Verden's palm shattered the rock Balrog had been standing on. Balrog, dodging aside, countered with his own
But the dark flame's barrier erased the oncoming gravitational flow. The concept of annihilation in harmony with multiple elements.
"How could that possibly…"
"I told you to come down."
With agile flight, Verden closed the distance in an instant. His movements were similar to Dahit's yet distinctly sharper.
Whatever he was, this was not the movement of a typical transcendent magician.
CLAAANG!
The moment Verden's hand touched [Endless Phenomena], a metallic burst resounded—the shockwave of magic penetrating within.
Balrog was driven diagonally across the ground before he could stop himself.
He tried to counterattack immediately, but couldn't. Another incomprehensible phenomenon had occurred.
'That's… the Demon King's Arcane?'
No doubt about it.
It was identical to the mana-control technique once shown by Vandelis Ruin Arkenad, one of the Seven Demon Kings, during his visit to the Magus Nation of Arkenad.
Balrog slowly lifted his gaze forward.
On the same ground stood Verden, gathering his magic.
"Now the height matches."
"..."
Eight elements, Dark Moon's magic, the first Demon King's technique.
Balrog was utterly confounded.