Chapter 114

After the crimson mist summoned by the vampire receded,

The downpour brought by <God-Slaying Lightning> ceased,

And under the white light pouring from the three suns, a rainbow appeared.

A glorious sight. The surviving mages embraced each other in celebration.

I blinked my dazzled eyes and carefully examined my surroundings.

“She’s gone.”

The B to A-grade vampires must have burned to death, but… I thought she, estimated to be A+ grade or higher, would have survived. Yet she was nowhere to be seen.

Did she die? Did she escape? Either way…

It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Today I just let everything slip away.”

Letting those Butcher bastards escape was one thing, but that vampire woman would have made such an interesting research subject…

Sigh…

With a sigh, I looked at the three suns rising high in the sky.

Well.

At least it wasn’t a complete loss.

No, I had actually gained something substantial that could solve my chronic problem.

The suns. Though they looked like animals such as birds or wolves on the outside, in reality they were closer to machines.

-The seventh creation project was planned with the concept of a flat universe. It was a world where evolving life forms lived among unchanging, mechanical beings. Though the life forms here had no outer universe to explore, they were instead given all kinds of machines directly designed by the Administrators as subjects for exploration and learning. The same applies to the suns. Though possessing tremendous power and some degree of emotion and intelligence, they are ultimately tools that move only in predetermined ways, and can be analyzed and utilized.

That’s why Pan-Dalus could tame them. In fact, rather than taming, conceptually it would be more accurate to say he hacked or performed unauthorized tuning, but…

Anyway, what really mattered was something else entirely.

I asked the cube.

“So…? That’s why it doesn’t attract calamities?”

-Correct. The seventh creation project itself was a project carried out before the war broke out. Since it’s a creation from before battle lines were drawn, and a tool without free will, it’s not targeted by the magical weapons you call ‘calamities.’

Yes. This was the key.

Unlike <God-Slaying Lightning> or <Saíl(射日)>, Pan-Dalus’s spell <Sunrise> barely raised the aggro level.

Which meant… despite being such a powerful spell, I could use it freely without worrying about calamities. This was an enormous advantage.

“This… will cause much greater ripples than expected.”

I looked up at the clear sky, free of calamities.

A single rainbow was shining.

That night, we camped in the field.

Small campfires were lit with larger bonfires burning in between.

People gathered in groups of various sizes, roasting wind reeds and drinking lami sap.

Thanks to the field researchers who lived similarly to wilderness nomads, I too enjoyed wind reeds and lami sap after a long time.

Our nomad claimed one campfire and sat around it.

Though everyone’s face was haggard from the fierce battle, fortunately no one was seriously injured. Rather, they had all achieved glorious feats.

“So we have five Stealth Bikes in total? Since they don’t repel magical power like combat suits, we can use them quite effectively!”

I said excitedly. It was an unexpected harvest.

Yuria, who had pierced through the Stealth Bikes’ concealment with her Magic Eye, led Hwarin, Del, and Horatio to capture three Stealth Bikes. Lytol captured one more, and with the one I captured, we had a total of five Stealth Bikes.

I gave out rewards of 500 Morning per bike according to contribution, and we agreed to share the captured Stealth Bikes as a nomad.

With Stealth Bikes, we could embark on expeditions stealthily. Of course, analyzing their structure to gain new knowledge would also be helpful.

Hearing my praise, Yuria was the one who began to show off the most.

“I think I’ll reach 3rd Circle 2-star soon… Fel? Getting nervous? I might surpass you soon.”

“Hmm…”

Despite the grueling battle, she seemed more energetic than ever. Fel groaned at her confident provocation. Though he too had developed enough to aim for 3rd Circle 3-star, considering her growth rate, he really should be nervous.

We relieved our tension while blowing on and eating roasted wind reeds.

Once our hunger subsided somewhat, field researchers began coming over to offer us drinks.

“I can’t drink, but our heroes should have a cup! You were truly magnificent today!”

“Bravo! Divine Mage! Bravo! Baek Jun-woo Nomad!”

“Thanks to you, our casualties were greatly reduced! Oops! It’s overflowing. Is this all love? Haha.”

“You fought so well! Hey~ don’t pull back. Just down it all first!”

Thanks to them coming in groups, urging us to drink a cup before leaving, we had to consume an enormous amount of alcohol.

They were cheerful and brushed off even the deaths of their comrades with bitter smiles, saying “Ah~ that bastard died… Damn it! Come on, drink!”

The academic mages, on the other hand, were quite different.

“Thanks to you, many of my disciples were saved. Thank you.”

An old mage came with a gloomy expression, bowed his head once, and staggered back to his campfire.

“Sob… how… can I become… stronger… ugh…”

A young mage sobbed, soaking his black coat with snot.

Dealing alternately with field researchers who created a festive atmosphere and academic mages who resembled a funeral gathering, we could only shake our heads.

After mealtime, as people tired from battle began to fall asleep one by one, Pan-Dalus and Principal Ruttle came looking for me.

They had been busy barely eating while sending out message magic in all directions to spread the news that they had tamed the suns of the 3rd floor.

“As expected… the reactions must have been enthusiastic? A magic that doesn’t raise the aggro level would be incredibly popular, so how many cities do you think we could gain support from?” I asked.

Pan-Dalus answered bitterly.

“For now, two on the 3rd floor, one on the 4th floor. A total of three stairs have expressed their hope for full exchange. We’re also getting good responses from the 1st and 2nd floors. Somehow, we might be able to make the 1st to 5th floors our sphere of influence.”

Though six mage organizations controlled the Tower of Covenant, their concept was different from Earth’s countries. Of course, the higher up you went, the more areas were defined like countries with exclusive territorial claims, but it was different in the lower floors where utility value wasn’t as high. There, each group’s meaning was closer to clubs or companies. Multiple forces mixed together on a single stair, mages’ sense of belonging was significantly lower than in the upper floors, and a group’s sphere of influence could change frequently depending on popularity and prosperity.

In such lower floors, a magical resource like ‘tamed suns’ could be an absolute trump card.

But…

“Hmm… the results are less than I expected. Is it because the news hasn’t spread well since the expedition just ended today?”

To my question, Pan-Dalus shook his head.

Whoo…

He let out a deep sigh and answered.

“No. It’s because something unexpected has happened.”

“What… kind of thing?”

“Strife. For the first time in hundreds of years… such large-scale strife has broken out in the lower floors of the Tower of Covenant.”

Pan-Dalus looked at the campfire with a bitter expression.

“From what I’ve gathered through various sources, it seems there were many groups showing interest not just in me but in you as well.”

“Well… of course.”

Come to think of it, I had been attacked quite a lot.

I was attacked by Society-affiliated mages like Han Se-hoon and Kasha Boronin, had illusion magic cast on me by a mysterious mage named Shado at Solas Magic School, and still hadn’t discovered the mastermind behind the mages disguised as knights who attacked Lanciel City. And now even real knights had targeted me. So… information about me had probably already spread to most organizations.

“If it had been just me, or just you, things wouldn’t have escalated this far… but it seems that other groups have shown greater interest because you and I are together. I’ve been hearing news for days that mages who used to live in the upper floors have been coming down to the lower floors in droves. And today! Strife has broken out over stairs between organizations. Even on the 3rd floor, three stairs have been caught up in the conflict. Intelligence suggests that the Magic Tower, Truth Tower, and even Ragnarok have stepped in and massacred mages from opposing forces.”

“What does that mean…?”

Principal Ruttle provided a brief summary of the situation to me, who was shocked.

“You see. Our original plan was to easily take control of the lower floors of the tower, which were vacant of power, with the strength of Pan-Dalus the Mage of Domestication. But suddenly, this place has turned into an arena where all sorts of forces compete for power… that’s what it means.”

It meant our goal of controlling up to the 20th floor would be difficult to achieve at this rate.

“Yes. We might end up just washing blood with blood…”

Principal Ruttle looked at Pan-Dalus with tense eyes.

“Master Pan-Dalus. I think we need to revise our goal. Although we resolved to use force when necessary… that was premised on the absence of upper floor mages. The situation is different now. If we get caught up in the strife, we might suffer irreversible damage. It’s good to prepare for the great cataclysm, but isn’t it time to be cautious?”

Pan-Dalus gave a bitter smile at Ruttle’s persuasion. He asked me.

“Well, this is the situation. What do you think?”

I answered without hesitation.

“We cannot back down. First, we must keep our word as mages. Second, if we can’t overcome this level of trial, how will we stop extinction? Rather… what if we make the first move? Before more mages come down to the lower floors and muddy the waters.”

Pan-Dalus smiled pleasantly at my spirited answer. Ruttle looked embarrassed beside him.

“Hohoho. It’s reassuring to hear you say that. With you here, I think I can be a bit more courageous too. Ah! Come to think of it, I haven’t thanked you yet, have I? Thank you for today. Who would have thought you’d fight so well against a Magician-class calamity? It’s fortunate you weakened that vampire with God-Slaying Lightning; otherwise, even <Sunrise> wouldn’t have been able to drive it away. You saved many lives today. Hohoho.”

After a hearty laugh, Pan-Dalus took my hand with a refreshed expression.

“I’m counting on you. Let’s navigate through these troubled times together.”

I grasped his hand firmly. Though it was wrinkled, it contained the solid strength of a mountain.

* * *

“Haa… haa…”

A woman with black hair and red eyes wandered aimlessly. Her clothes were torn, and dried blood was caked all over her as if she had been wounded in many places.

“It hurts… my stomach… feels sick. Where am I? Why am I in so much pain?”

As she staggered along, a little girl holding a teddy bear appeared before her. Perhaps about 11 years old? She was small with white hair.

“Who… are you? Can you help me, please?”

The woman spoke in a tone of despair.

The girl’s eyes lit up.

“You’re different from other calamities?”

“Different…?”

“Yes. Although I have the ability to interact with calamities, they’re usually very aggressive. But you seem so… human.”

“What are you saying… I, I’m thirsty…”

“Are you? Here.”

The girl took out a knife and cut her arm. She brought the dripping blood to the woman’s mouth. The woman drank it like the water of life. Her black hair, which had been dull, regained its luster, and the scabs of blood covering her fell away.

Only then did the woman straighten her body. Her previous appearance as a refugee was gone, replaced by a queenly presence that emanated from her.

“Hmm—thank you, human. But who are you? Actually, if I were in the same thirsty state as before, I would have bitten your neck without asking questions… it’s strange that I’m having a conversation with you.”

“I told you. I have the ability to interact with calamities.”

“But you’re human?”

To the woman’s words, the little girl hugged her teddy bear tightly and proudly answered.

“But not just any human. I am the saint of the Ragnarok sect.”

“Ragn…arok?”

“Yes! Nice to meet you, interesting calamity sister!”

The woman frowned.

“Why are you happy to meet me? Do you want something from me?”

“It’s not a matter of wanting something, but cooperation.”

“What kind of cooperation?”

“Complete destruction! The end of the world! That’s the goal of calamities, right? Our goal at Ragnarok is the same. So, we help each other. Our sect’s mages will help you with all their might. Since you’re as high as A+ grade, you’ll be able to destroy the world even better.”

“What are you talking about? Why would I destroy the world…”

Flutter.

Suddenly, the woman’s gaze turned beyond the little girl. There stood mages wearing masks with only eye holes, their robes fluttering as they lined up.

Seeing them, the woman’s eyes slowly split vertically.

Grrrr…

Looking at her making a growling sound, the little girl smiled brightly.

“See? The way you want to kill human mages when you see them. Sister, you’re ultimately a calamity that wants the world’s end, aren’t you? Anyway, stop being so difficult. Come on, since we’re on the same side, we shouldn’t fight.”

Snap!

As the little girl snapped her fingers, the woman’s eyes returned to normal.

“Uh… huh? What was that just now? I think this happened before too, why do I keep…”

“Huh? Haha. Sister, you’re really unique! Of course you have destructive instincts because you’re a calamity. Why are you surprised?”

“Originally… I was originally…”

“Ah, we can talk about the details later. Let’s move for now. Pan-Dalus might send a search party.”

The little girl took the woman’s hand and led the way. The masked mages followed silently behind.