The Land of Iron-Eaters.

The Land of Iron-Eaters.

The sun fell upon the ruins.

The iron-eating beasts that roamed the Land of Iron-Eaters were so terrified by the sight that they all hid in the ruins without exception.

Goooo-

An ominous aura permeated the world.

“Even seeing it again… it’s a chilling spell. He actually went and brought down the sun.”

Rain, Evan’s first knight, watched quietly as his black-blue hair fluttered in the wind. He stroked his slightly trembling “Stealth Bike” with his hand.

“But thanks to that, an enormous number of calamities have gathered.”

As he muttered, he pointed to the mages spread out over a radius of 1 kilometer, forming a wide formation.

They looked pathetic… preparing to block the approaching calamities that spewed black vapor.

“Our goal is not to slaughter them directly! Focus only on breaking the enemy’s formation. The calamities… will take care of eliminating them.”

Click.

Ziiing!

There was no answer. Only the sound of knights adjusting their positions and activating their Stealth Bikes could be heard. The figures of the knights mounted on their bikes blended hazily into the background. Stealth Bikes, equipment that distorted all surrounding energy. A weapon the ancient warriors used when scouting monster territories.

Rain smiled coldly.

“Let’s go. Death to the sinners who bring destruction!”

“Death!”

Bam!

About fifty knights simultaneously drove their Stealth Bikes forward.

* * *

Immediately after firing <Saíl>, all three suns began to fall. Being suns, they certainly didn’t disappear when hit by <Saíl>.

As the suns fell, the sky seemed to distort in the intensifying heat. The stone blocks and frameworks of the ruins melted. Even shadows evaporated, and the world was dyed bright.

“Winter wind of Hwion! Come here according to the promise!”

“Ice sea of the North! Remember the promise with the Ice Emperor!”

“By the authority granted from Pan-Dalus! ‘Water Calamity-Judgment Flood’! Suffocate the enemy before you!”

The mages tasked with defending against the sun’s heat all chanted their spells at once.

Whoosh!

Crack!

The sky seemed to crack like thin ice and melt like ice cream. The winter wind of Hwion, fierce enough to tear the flesh from one’s cheeks, turned into a hot storm as it passed through the sun, and the endlessly pouring ice sea evaporated to create a hazy cloud. The Judgment Flood, which suffocated everything, bubbled and screamed.

What a spectacle.

I stood with arms hanging loose, admiring the falling suns.

The magical powers were going wild with excitement at the fact that I had actually brought down a real sun. Thanks to that, my mouth was filled with sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and salty… all kinds of tastes given by the five magical powers, exploding like fireworks, but even amid all that, I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene of the falling suns.

Originally, the three suns were too bright to observe, but now their bodies appeared dimly through the thick water vapor and raging storms.

Each of the three suns was about 200 meters in height.

Ruby was hard to tell, but Bird and Wolf clearly seemed to have fainted, with their eyes closed and bellies facing the sky, as they fell at a terrifying speed.

……

Huh? But they’re falling too fast?

If three 200-meter suns fell at such a speed into the center of our formation?

A calamity too terrible to imagine.

W-what should we do?

Just as a chill began to run down my spine, a mage who could handle any variable rang out clearly.

“I wish the three suns would fall gently! Without anyone getting hurt!”

It was Erina’s [Wish].

But could the Gift of a mere 4th Circle mage stop such a formidable descent?

-Krrrk!

-Awoooooo!

-Woong tiing!

Haaa…

[Wish] found a completely different approach.

When it lacked the power to stop the falling suns, instead of blocking them directly, it awakened the suns’ consciousness.

All three suns that had been falling while unconscious suddenly regained their senses. As soon as they did, they tried to fly back up while screaming. But in the end, all they could manage was to fall to the ground at a reduced speed.

Thud! Thuthud!

The impact made the earth shake. But if not for Erina’s [Wish], it wouldn’t have just been the earth shaking—everything in sight would have been overturned, creating a deep basin.

‘The more I see it, the more it seems like cheating.’

Though not everything she said came true, instead, it found the most efficient way to make it happen by itself. That was the frightening aspect of [Wish].

How is such a thing possible? Who is the entity that determines the most appropriate method?

‘Is it the Akashic Record after all?’

Nothing else came to mind. If so… does this entire world possess its own consciousness? Like Earth’s Gaia theory?

I don’t know.

For now… I decided to memorize the mana pattern that triggered [Wish].

‘It’s incredibly complex. Almost on par with [Simulation].’

I did memorize it, but… would I ever be able to imitate it?

Maybe when I reach 6th Circle… it might be possible.

“Focus all spells!”

“Freeze the sun solid!”

The mages poured all their prepared spells onto the suns that had fallen to the ground.

Chiiik!

The cold evaporated. Clouds rose like seas, reaching the edge of the sky. The heat that had felt like it would melt flesh subsided a layer. But it was still as hot as being in the middle of a steam room.

-Hrrrrkkkk!

-Awooooo!

-Woong tiing!

The suns screamed. Hearing those sounds made my heart sink.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of guilt and fear, wondering, ‘Should we be doing this?’ Just hearing the screams made cold sweat run down my back.

“This is unexpected. The screams interfere with our minds.”

“Even I, a 5th Circle mage, am affected. If we drag this out too long, it could be disastrous.”

“Yes. Let’s begin immediately.”

Pan-Dalus and Refinement stepped forward.

“Summon! Mana stone!”

Refinement threw rod-like objects, similar to Yut sticks, into the air one after another. The thrown rods spun around and soon transformed into stones twice as large as Refinement himself. In an instant, dozens of stones floated around Refinement.

Then Refinement burned mana coins and mana bills indiscriminately. In a flash, over 1,000 Morning worth of mana was scattered and absorbed into the mana stones. Runic languages appeared on the surface of the mana stones.

Refinement swiftly moved his hands while simultaneously examining dozens of stones.

It always amazed me. Refinement’s magic was the exact opposite of mine.

I uncover how the gods of the past used their power and imitate it.

In contrast, Refinement’s approach was: since we can’t know what the past was like, we’ll handle phenomena solely according to empirical data accumulated by humanity over a long time.

I used the system as it was originally intended, while Refinement exploited the system at his own discretion.

Perhaps that’s why? Refinement could often control even unfamiliar subjects.

“First sun, analyzing ‘Bird’s’ defense spell……”

“Analysis complete! Bypassing defense spell!”

The light fluctuating around the greenish sun, ‘Bird,’ noticeably weakened.

-Krrrr!

Sensing danger, ‘Bird’ looked up at the sky and wailed pitifully.

Hearing that sound made one’s heart sink.

“Kugh……”

Even Refinement staggered, clutching his head.

“Well done.”

Pan-Dalus patted Refinement’s shoulder and stepped forward. He stretched his hand toward ‘Bird.’

“First… let’s steal its power before we begin.”

Pan-Dalus was a master of visualization magic.

Visualization magic creates desired spells by stacking formula units like building blocks.

“Lionel – mirror fallen on the cheek.”

The mana pattern of ‘Lionel,’ which gently absorbs sudden impacts, took the shape of a sphere. He confined ‘Bird’ within it.

-Kirrrr!

‘Bird’ cried out, but its cries were now significantly diminished, as if coming from behind a wall.

“Heat – surface calm but busy inside.”

Wowaooong!

The mana pattern of ‘Heat’ was far more complex than ‘Lionel’s.’ Pan-Dalus’s Circle creaked as it barely managed to weave the mana pattern of ‘Heat,’ which he then sent between the mana patterns of ‘Lionel,’ interlocking them. They fit together like bricks to create a single structure.

The power of the ‘Heat’ mana pattern was to absorb energy operating nearby. ‘Bird,’ which had continued to emit heat despite being doused with tremendous cold, instantly cooled down.

It was an impressive sight.

‘Wow… magic truly is an extraordinary discipline.’

Strictly speaking, I didn’t follow magical academia.

Nevertheless, my spells were clearly more powerful than any existing spells. Modern magical academia merely collected and applied accidentally discovered phenomena, but my spells followed methods actually used by gods. Naturally, they demonstrated maximum efficiency.

However, the spells demonstrated by Refinement and Pan-Dalus fascinated me. They accomplished things I couldn’t.

People who saw magical power only limitedly,

People who couldn’t see mana at all,

Such blind ones,

After groping the world for a very long time, they had created magic with such high utility.

Although they might commit the error of cutting paper with a sickle or using a table as a chair… doesn’t it still work well?

In fact, perhaps I lack adaptability or survival skills if I insist on finding scissors specifically to cut paper or a chair specifically to sit.

‘Must I only follow methods used by the ancient gods?’

Watching the magic produced by the geniuses of the current era, I questioned this for the first time.

Of course, my spells have their own extremely powerful aspects, but still.

“Aaaaagh!”

At that moment, a tearing scream came from behind.

Turning around, I saw black vapor everywhere.

“Night Calamity…?”

“Why have calamities already infiltrated?”

Whitish forms quickly passed through the black vapor emitted by the Night Calamities. Their flickering appearance was just like a mirage.

Pan-Dalus groaned.

“Stealth Bikes…! The Butchers are launching a surprise attack!”

Grind.

Grinding his teeth, Pan-Dalus urged Refinement.

“Refinement! Hurry and disable the defense spells of Ruby and Wolf! We need to finish this task to support the rear!”

But Refinement, who had been frantically handling the mana stones, shouted with a nosebleed,

“Kugh… I’m sorry! The formulas became a mess when I was shaken earlier. To reanalyze them… it will take at least 20 minutes or more!”

Refinement bit his lip so hard it bled, overcome with frustration at being unable to work faster.

Pan-Dalus made a quick decision. Without further words, he turned to me.

“Divine Mage! We’ll hold the suns, so you support the rear! Your spells should be able to drive away those filthy Butchers!”

It was a seemingly reasonable suggestion. After all, my specialty was known to be powerful attack spells like <Saíl> or <God-Slaying Lightning>.

But… right now, I could do something else. A method unique to me that diverged from modern magical academia.

‘Cube. So, those three suns were created before the gods’ war, right?’

-YES. I was able to recognize them the moment that human called Refinement bypassed the protective barrier. They are suns from the seventh creation project.

‘Creation project.’ It was a significant expression, but the cube said it only remembered the term itself, not its detailed outline.

Well, what’s important now isn’t that.

-The command and model names are as I told you earlier.

‘Got it.’

I disobeyed Pan-Dalus’s order and stepped forward. I passed by Refinement, who was struggling to break through the defense spells.

I stretched my hand toward the red sun Ruby and the blue sun Wolf, which were resisting desperately against the endless pouring of cooling spells.

Using both my mouth and Circle simultaneously, I issued a command.

“Prototype – Sun B and Sun R.”

[Biee Rrrr]

“Pause.”

[PpauZzhee]

Although the pronunciation wasn’t accurate… from their perspective, even this similar sound might be something they hadn’t heard in a very long time. Beings that have lived in long silence tend to respond to anything resembling their name.

Tuck!

The struggling Ruby and Wolf abruptly stopped their movement.

It wasn’t that the command worked despite the inaccurate pronunciation. But… it did confuse them.

Ruby and Wolf looked at me with puzzled eyes.

Refinement shouted,

“The defense spells have been broken!”

Pan-Dalus immediately extended his hand.

After confirming that Pan-Dalus’s spell had bound Ruby and Wolf, Refinement turned to me.

His chin trembled slightly.

“How… did you do that?”

I answered casually.

“Just like that. This is how it’s normally done.”

I patted the back of Refinement, who was falling into deeper confusion. Pointing to the collapsing rear, I said,

“For now… let’s deal with the knights. No, those Butchers first, then talk. I’ll leave this to the Mage of Domestication.”