Chapter 122

The multi-control spell I prepared this time was the essence of combining the ancient secrets I had discovered with the Mage of Refinement’s excellent knowledge.

In the end, what creates magic is the ‘voice of gods.’

Mages model the gods’ vocal organs with their Circles and imitate the voices of gods.

From there, I thought.

Is Circle the only way to imitate the voices of gods? Does it have to be that way? After all, most mages create elaborate Circles but don’t know how to speak the ‘language of gods’ anyway?

So I created instruments.

You can’t speak with instruments, but you can express admiration, sadness, and joy. After all, voices naturally become more vivid when combined with music.

The Mage of Refinement carved instruments from materials containing special magical power, and these instruments made the surrounding mana vibrate simply by being played.

Yes. Those instruments were masterpieces worthy of being called auxiliary Circles. A miracle that added emotion and tone to voices that were clumsy, even laughably so.

On that foundation, I added ‘chorus.’

The more voices blend together, the more individual characteristics fade, and the average becomes maximized.

Similarly, by harmonizing the Circles of as many mages as possible, their clumsy voices fade away, and only their commonalities are emphasized. What emerges from those commonalities is precisely the ‘voice of gods.’

By dividing the chorus into different parts, it became possible to accurately produce even more complex pronunciations.

So!

This multi-control spell enhanced the spell in two aspects:

First, improving voice accuracy through chorus.

Second, enhancing vividness through the use of instruments.

And we channeled the power of a thousand mages into it.

This was a grand spell unprecedented in human history.

It had enough power to half-destroy a staircase protected by an S-grade barrier in a single strike.

But it was completely blocked.

Is this even possible?

More importantly…

How did they do it?

Who pronounced ‘Dragon Breath’ so accurately? Could there be a mage on their side who can also see mana?

Heat surged to my head and then cooled down again.

No need to panic.

The clear fact was… that they couldn’t have used [Dragon Breath] alone.

Our <Tsunami> was a spell created by combining the power of a thousand mages. No mage could handle it alone. It had enough destructive power that even using <Saíl> would have melted it in an instant.

So they must also have a multi-control technique that combines the power of 50 people.

I don’t know what method could rival the efficiency of the multi-control technique I created… but I’ll figure it out step by step.

For now, I abandoned [Simulation]. If I tried to simulate more than fifty 5th Circle mages at once, I’d be drained of magical power and become a mummy, so that’s out.

There was only one option left.

“Keep pressing on!”

Once again, singing rose following my conducting.

‘Let’s see if you can block this all the way.’

I’ll carefully observe whatever magic you’re using!

[Yeoeonhwaaaa!]

Purifying fire, Yeonhwa(煉火).

It was a 5th Circle spell.

Considering our situation where most of our mages were 3rd Circle, it was originally a high-level spell we couldn’t cast.

But the ‘chorus’ that corrected pronunciation and the ‘ensemble’ that amplified power allowed us to overcome that limitation.

More than a hundred iterations of the 5th Circle spell Yeonhwa(煉火) blazed intensely.

Its destructive power far exceeded even a 7th Circle spell.

Everywhere the eye could see was filled with purgatorial flames that could purify even the soul.

But those flames were ineffective too.

True to its name ‘Dragon’s Wingbeat,’ a ferocious wind swept up all the flames and hurled them skyward.

The clouds that had filled the sky melted from the heat and dispersed, revealing a smooth, bright sky stretching to the horizon.

Only then did I realize.

‘Ah, there’s no sun on the 14th floor of the Tower?’

The entire sky was suffused with a gentle light like spring sunshine. The great sea beneath our feet brightened with the sky’s glow.

Amidst that beautiful scenery, ferocious spells whirled and scattered repeatedly.

[Draagoonnn Riiisiing!!]

The 5th Circle spell Dragon Rising. A whirlwind that soars like a dragon ascending to heaven.

An iron wind (鐵風) that could pulverize even a great mountain was scattered like a spring breeze by the dragon’s mighty roar.

[Thuunnnder Raaaiin!]

The 5th Circle spell Thunder Rain (雷雨).

Lightning struck down like pouring rain.

Since this place was a sea, lightning also bounced up from beneath their feet. Lightning boiled in the sky and in the sea.

But no lightning could penetrate the dragon scale shield covering Ragnarok.

‘All their spells are related to dragons?’

I glared at the Saint.

After unleashing four multi-control spells, I could now see their method.

While our approach was to have a thousand people chant a single spell together,

Ragnarok’s Saint absorbed the group’s magical power and chanted spells alone.

How could she do that? The secret lay in the Saint’s Circle.

‘What on earth is that?’

There was a mouth, lips, teeth, and a palate consisting of two hemispheres, with a round tongue at the very center. So far, it was a typical 5th Circle. But… from the center where the tongue was located… deep red magical power seeped out stealthily.

This ‘purely’ red magical power explosively expanded whenever the Saint absorbed magical power from her group, creating bizarre substructures. It created wrinkles on the lips, diversified the teeth into molars and canines, and made the tongue more flexible. All these changes were subtle, making them difficult to discern.

Only I, who could see the colors of magical power, could clearly detect the changes.

‘There’s foreign magical power in her Circle? I’ve never heard of such a thing.’

As I was lost in thought, the Mage of Refinement suddenly shouted urgently.

“The Waiting Stairs’ barrier has reached its limit! We can’t hide our aggro anymore!”

No sooner had he finished than black smoke began to gather in the sky that had been as bright as spring sunshine. It was a sign that calamities were gathering.

Using powerful spells inevitably attracts calamities.

That’s why we specifically chose the area near the Waiting Stairs as our battlefield. To expand the staircase’s barrier and suppress the aggro. But even that had reached its limit now.

Our expressions darkened while Ragnarok’s expressions grew more confident. The Saint of Ragnarok had the power to control calamities. That was a well-known story.

Damn!

In this situation, swift and decisive action was the only option.

“Mage of Refinement! Take over conducting! I’m going to strike at the witch!”

“Wait! I still don’t understand the principle of the multi-control technique, how can I conduct!”

“Use the simplest spell! Once I’m gone, they won’t be able to unleash spells like they have been! And Master Mage of Domestication and Mage of Illusion, follow me!”

“What? What are you trying to do! Wh-where are you going!”

Mage of Illusion Hedric squawked in panic.

“Ah! No time to explain!”

“I understand.”

“Ah… wait…”

It was Pan-Dalus who followed without protest, even wearing a slight smile, while Hedric maintained a deathly expression until the end.

“Don’t be late and follow me!”

Ari.

-Whoosh whoosh! Let’s go whoosh!

With Ari’s cheerful chant, a gust of wind swept by.

The Saint, who had been far away, appeared right in front of me with wide eyes after just one gust of wind. As always, Ari was incredibly fast.

“Hello?”

I extended my fist with the greeting. The momentum created by Ari concentrated at the tip of my fist.

Crunch!

-Gooood~~~!

Iron Blood, which had evolved once more, could now accurately express two things: ‘good’ and ‘bad.’

It had grown that much stronger.

Though fast and simple, this single punch contained all my abilities concentrated together.

<Bolt!>

Crack! Crunch!

Red scales the size of my palm crumbled, and black blood and flesh chunks splattered everywhere. But… scales? Black blood? This wasn’t from the little Saint…

“A dragon’s… tail?”

What blocked my <Bolt> was a tail that shot up from her shadow.

Though somewhat small… it looked just like a dragon’s tail from fairy tales. Thanks to it, the Saint wasn’t harmed at all.

-Gooood! Gooood!

Iron Blood was apparently pleased to have consumed blood, but it was somewhat disappointing for me, who had intended to land a direct hit on the Saint.

Still, I achieved my primary objective.

“Ugh…! Break out! Disrupt the enemy formation! Everyone charge in!”

The Saint shouted.

Unlike us, who wove a thousand people’s spells into one, they concentrated all their power on the Saint alone to unleash spells. So, if the Saint was disrupted, Ragnarok’s multi-control spell would inevitably fall apart.

Just as I expected.

The Mage of Refinement didn’t miss this opportunity.

[Arrouuww-Faalloww-]

As I thought. Without my conducting… whether they sang in chorus or not, the Circle’s pronunciation became a mess again.

But…

His spell selection was excellent.

‘Arrow (矢). Follow.’ The <Tracking Arrow> was a 3rd Circle spell completed with these two words.

The light arrows, about a handspan in length, were too fast to be seen and boasted impressive penetration.

Unlike the 1st Circle <Magic Arrow> that needed to be individually controlled, once fired, they would pursue enemies on their own.

But now, the <Tracking Arrow> enhanced by ‘chorus’ and ‘ensemble’ was strengthened from a handspan to a forearm in length.

A thousand powerful beams of light flew precisely toward the 55 enemies.

‘As expected of the Mage of Refinement!’

Even without a proper explanation due to time constraints… he grasped the situation in that instant and chose a spell that wouldn’t harm us.

It was also a spell simple enough to be cast even without my conducting.

The result was satisfying.

Thud thud thud!

After the frustrating sound of <Tracking Arrows> being blocked by shields briefly continued,

Crack! Snap! Rip!

Came the sound of shields fracturing,

Crunch!!

Followed by the sound of Ragnarok mages being pulverized.

Fourteen 5th Circle mages collapsed into pieces of meat.

A blood storm raged.

This was our first achievement in this battle, and it was quite satisfying.

Grind.

The Saint gnashed her teeth but gave instructions coldly.

“Get out! Can’t you hear me? I said everyone get out! Are you going to just take hits? Disrupt the enemy ranks! We need to interfere with their multi-control magic too! All of you, get out there!”

That was the best move the Saint could make in the current situation. She even gathered all the calamities converging in the air and directed them to charge at us. It was her decisive move.

With more and more calamities gathering, time was against us.

So we needed to maintain our momentum and end the fight quickly.

“Pan-Dalus! Hedric! Capture the Saint!”

This was the best move I could make. The ability to control calamities belonged to the Saint. So, capture the Saint, and it’s over.

“Tsk! 13th Elder and 15th Elder, protect the inquisitors and charge! 5th Elder, block Pan-Dalus! Sister Kaisel! You take care of Hedric!”

“What? My target is the Divine Mage!”

The Saint subdued the rebellious vampire Kaisel with a sharp glare.

“Hedric…! I said… get him…!”

Kaisel’s shoulders flinched as if startled by the glare.

Eventually, she flew off with a dissatisfied expression.

“…I’m only listening because you asked.”

“Thank you. Capture him quickly and help me.”

And so, she quickly organized the chaos I had created.

‘Not only is her magic exceptional, but her command abilities are also outstanding? But…’

I found this little Saint both impressive and absurd.

“But what about you? If you send out all three Elders and even the vampire, who’s going to protect you? Don’t tell me… you want to fight me one-on-one?”

Crack!

While she was directing her group, I had imbued my Twin Fang Blade with <God-Slaying Lightning>.

<Saíl> would have been better, but I didn’t have that kind of luxury. Still, this was enough.

She seemed to have various secrets of her own, but I didn’t feel like I would lose at all.

And it seemed this little girl had similar thoughts.

Brushing back her white hair, she sneered.

“Haha, foolish sinner. Now there’s no one here to protect you, is there?”

The little Saint had returned to her annoying manner of speech, as if her composure had fully returned.