Chapter 137

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Get in!”

Everyone shouted, pulled, and pushed each other, becoming one mass trying to pass through the narrow passage as quickly as possible.

Since the Waiting Stairs was a passage leading up to the 14th floor, we marched to Flower Stairs that led down to the 12th floor. Meanwhile, the Waiting Stairs collapsed with a loud crash and sank back beneath the Great Water Plains. Just after we had pulled it up, it collapsed again. The fate of the Waiting Stairs was truly peculiar.

Rumble!

The sky kept tearing and relics continued to collapse. Even the Flower Stairs we were currently crossing was collapsing in real-time.

In the midst of this, the magical powers were going wild again. Like mental patients who become frenzied at the mere recollection of the past.

It was like the gates of hell had opened.

-How dare you do something like this?

-You started this first!

-Did you think… I would go alone!!

Humans were in a state of panic, but the magical powers were even worse. Even the cube and Ari had been unable to form coherent sentences for a while.

If the world was a net, then relics like stairs and cities were the knots holding it together. The collapse of stairs and cities was like the knots being cut, unraveling the net into loose threads. The world scattering into pieces. Literally, the end of the world.

That must have triggered old memories in the magical powers. Memories of when they were annihilated. They were emitting emotions more intense and destructive than ever before.

Crash—Crack!

Lightning Calamities striking wildly from the sky was just the basic effect, and

Wheeeeee!

Damn… it’s chaos.

“It’s an extinction calamity! Eliminate it before the magical power singularity grows! Concentrate fire where I’m attacking!”

Extinction calamities, which once formed would completely devastate an area of 10 to 100 kilometers regardless of whether cities or stairs existed there, making it uninhabitable forever, were appearing without warning.

I managed to disperse them immediately with concentrated attacks, but the magical powers would gather again as soon as they scattered. They showed remarkable persistence, refusing to give up until they could detonate properly.

‘You madmen! Your war ended ages ago! You’re all dead!’

Damn… I retract any sympathetic feelings I had for the god’s fragment.

These things are truly a nuisance even in death.

Roaaar!

“Three Great Water Serpents! Charging from 11 o’clock! Kill them before they reach us!”

“These are just mere orcs! Push them back! Push them back! Slaughter them all!”

The Night Calamities rushing in thinking this was their opportunity seemed almost like mere background noise in comparison.

The situation was so chaotic that Pan-Dalus, myself, and Principal Ruttle had to remain at the rear with elite mages. We needed to buy time until everyone passed through the narrow passage.

The remaining elders, including Refinement, had already crossed to the 12th floor. They would be clearing the path ahead.

Though the situation wasn’t easy by any means, the retreat was being maintained in an orderly fashion.

If only there were no troublemakers, we could escape safely.

“Principal Ruttle. I think we can start retreating too? The Master and I will stay behind, so please go down first.”

I said this after confirming that most people had escaped through the Flower Stairs. It was right for Principal Ruttle, the weakest among us, to go down first. But he shook his head.

“How could I go ahead in such a situation, leaving the Chairman and Senior Elder behind? Let the Chairman go down first. I will escort the Senior Elder down.”

Hmm…

Pan-Dalus let out a sigh.

“Don’t say that and just go down. There won’t be any danger in the current situation, so hurry. Isn’t the passage narrow? We can only go down after you and your subordinates do.”

Ruttle smiled.

“That’s why you should go down first. The Chairman’s safety cannot be emphasized enough, even if repeated two or three times.”

While they were arguing, the very last of our group passed through the Flower Stairs and descended to the 12th floor. Now only I, Pan-Dalus, Ruttle, and the mages we each led remained. We needed to start descending in succession.

“Go down, Ruttle. That’s an order.”

Despite Pan-Dalus invoking his authority, Ruttle and his followers refused to comply.

Pan-Dalus’s expression hardened. So did Ruttle’s.

Just as they were both about to speak, I cut in.

“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”

Swish!

[Sowing!]

Vines grew beneath my feet, pushing aside the impossibly heavy water of the Great Water Plains. They grew vigorously, wrapping tightly around Principal Ruttle and his followers, piercing them with thorns. Each thorn carried the power of <Spell Wedge>.

“Amplify! Hernand’s Misaligned… gaaaack!”

Ruttle, who had suddenly tried to chant a spell, screamed in agony as the thorns pierced his entire body.

[Amplify] was Principal Ruttle’s Gift. It greatly strengthened the power of spells he cast.

And <Hernand’s Misaligned Door> was a spatial spell that summoned large numbers of people from approximately 5km away. It was a high-dimensional spatial spell requiring the consumption of valuable magical devices made from precious relics.

Of course, Ruttle shouldn’t have had the funds for such things. Or at least, that should have been the case.

How very devoted of him. To even employ such precious items to deal with me? I approached Ruttle, who was tightly bound by vines, and tore off the bracelet he had hidden in his sleeve.

It was a magical device with clay smeared on ancient silver-tinged metal, inscribed with all sorts of modern magic. The so-called ‘Misaligned Bracelet.’

While I was at it, I searched his body and took other valuable items. The more money, the better.

I wasn’t the only one.

“Oh, this guardian charm is nice! I was running low on Light, so this is perfect.”

“Y-yeah, this is good.”

Yuria and Monggu were also snickering as they looted Ruttle’s group. Other nomad members also began cautiously picking through their belongings.

Ruttle seemed unable to believe the situation.

“H-how?”

“If you’re going to betray someone, you should do it better. Send my regards to your Magic Tower friends who were waiting for <Hernand’s Misaligned Door>. Tell them I’m sorry they missed the show.”

Of course, Ruttle wouldn’t be alive to convey any messages. I quickly added while watching the approaching calamities.

“With your corpse, that is.”

I patted Ruttle’s shoulder and retreated to the Flower Stairs. Pan-Dalus followed without a word. We left Ruttle and his followers behind.

“Aaaaahh! Aaah! Baek Jun-woo! Because of you! If only you weren’t here!!!”

Ruttle finally screamed behind us.

There’s a bitter taste in my mouth. Why are humans so foolish? Even with extinction looming, Magic Tower mobilized their elite warlocks to capture me. And Principal Ruttle, who was supposed to be Pan-Dalus’s loyal subordinate… No! Even so! How could he think of selling me to Magic Tower?

From the Akashic Record, I retained three memories.

First was our future destination. Second was the emotions of Evan and Beatrice. And lastly, Ruttle and Magic Tower.

Well… though they can be divided into three small parts, broadly speaking, they all ultimately answer the question, “What should I do next?”

From the Akashic Record,

I was truly shocked when I read the anger and sense of loss that Ruttle had been hiding behind his smile. He was extremely afraid of losing Pan-Dalus’s favor because of me, and later became blinded by jealousy. This part was somewhat pitiful… but when I realized that Shado, who had infiltrated with mental magic, and the mysterious mages who attacked Lanciel City were Magic Tower mages that Ruttle had either condoned or instigated… Wow. It’s still unbelievable thinking about it. How could such a person exist?

Come to think of it, their attacks had multiple suspicious elements. How Shado managed to infiltrate Solas Magic School where Pan-Dalus resided, and how they seemed to know all my destinations. The possibility of a spy had been raised from the beginning, but I never thought it would be Ruttle.

Pan-Dalus, now running silently beside me, couldn’t believe Ruttle’s betrayal until the end. After all, when Pan-Dalus lost everything and was exiled to the lower floors, Ruttle was the first to reach out and pledge his loyalty.

Perhaps because of that devotion, Ruttle couldn’t accept my existence.

But at a time like this…

It’s mind-bogglingly foolish. I can only laugh bitterly.

“Aaaah! Kyaaah! Baek Jun…! Krrrgh…ah!”

Crack! Crack!

Crash!

From behind us came Ruttle’s screams as he was crushed by Night Calamities and roasted by Lightning Calamities, until they finally stopped. He was gone. He wouldn’t even have a single line in the history books. Caught by <Sowing-Spell Wedge>, he couldn’t do anything until his dying moment.

‘See… it’s destruction after all.’

People who remain blind even when extinction is so obvious that even ordinary nomads can see it clearly.

-Hahahaha! Let’s all die together! You started this anyway!!

-You madmen! Do you think such threats will work?! Try it if you dare!

Rumble crash!

Behind us as we escaped through the Flower Stairs, we could hear the frenzied roars of the magical powers. These must be the exact words the gods shouted in their final moments. The result of their stubbornness goes without saying. We experience it every day.

Sigh…

Stupid bastards.

Gods and humans alike.

Why are they like this? Seriously.

I glanced back briefly. I committed to memory the Magic Tower warlocks who would have been waiting in the distance.

This scheme was simple yet powerful. If I hadn’t noticed Ruttle’s intentions, we would have been surrounded by Magic Tower’s elite warlocks. Even if we had won that fight, the stairs would have already collapsed, separating us from our group with nowhere to go.

That’s why I retained the memory of Principal Ruttle’s betrayal. I could have remembered incredible stories from the Akashic Record like ‘the secret of the Magic Emperor’ or ‘the mastermind behind Ragnarok,’ but I remembered this trivial matter because… it was dangerous. I wasted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because of a mere betrayal and provocation.

Really, why are they like this?

Time and time again…

“Magic Tower. Next time, I’ll come to you. I’ll make sure you never dare show your face again.”

I’ll crush them overwhelmingly.

Hearing my muttering, Fel jumped in with an excited face.

“When that time comes, I’ll lead the charge.”

In truth, Fel has the deepest grudge against Magic Tower.

I nodded.

Even such casual statements are all covenants for us mages.

* * *

The aftermath of the great cataclysm didn’t arrive uniformly. Some continents were completely shattered, but the 7th Continent where Lanciel City was located remained peaceful except for rampaging calamities. Of course, the residents might feel like they’re in hell, but we must consider the places where entire continents were destroyed. Moreover, if the god’s fragment hadn’t prevented water extinction, everyone would have perished even before the continents shattered… so all things considered, this is indeed peaceful.

Ann Jack, the acting mayor of Lanciel City, came out to welcome us at the Sky Bridge.

“Ah! It’s Ann!”

Yuria brightened up.

“But why is she so frozen? That’s not like her.”

“Of course she’s frozen.”

I pointed to the group of over 5,000 people following behind us.

“This is an ordinary city. Here, a 3rd Circle mage can dominate the region and become mayor.”

“Ah…”

Yuria nodded as if finally understanding.

“I forgot what the wilderness was like. Looking at it now, we have thousands of mayor-level mages.”

“That’s right.”

Though still inferior to existing mage organizations, Pathfinder is no longer a force to be taken lightly. Considering everything, we’ve gathered what must be about 3 percent of the total power in the universe. In such a situation, it would be stranger if Ann Jack didn’t freeze up.

“…It’s quite moving.”

“It is. Yuria, do you remember what our parents’ dream was?”

Yuria chuckled.

“Just the life of a nomad. Train their children so they could join a caravan. Heh. A caravan, of all things. The leader of a caravan was typically a 2nd Circle mage, right? That feels like ancient history now.”

True. There’s no greater success story than this.

Monggu, standing beside us, also looked up at the sky with a “whew…”

“O-oh! Brother!”

Just then, the frozen Ann Jack suddenly called out brightly.

“Oh…!”

Fel, who was following behind me, reflexively raised his hand.

But Ann’s gaze was fixed not on Fel but on Refinement Oh Si-jin. Oh Si-jin gave her a bitter smile and gestured that she should greet Chairman Pan-Dalus first, but Ann was so relieved to see Oh Si-jin that tears welled up in her eyes.

“Raising a sister-like figure is pointless.”

Fel shook his head beside me.

“I apologize for the delayed greeting. Ann Jack pays her respects to the Wizard of Domestication, Chairman of Pathfinder. I currently lead Lanciel City in place of my brother, Fel Jack.”

After composing herself, Ann gave a proper greeting to Pan-Dalus.

“Lanciel City sincerely welcomes the heroes of Pathfinder. May I ask what brings you to our humble place? I would like to contribute our meager strength to your cause.”

Pan-Dalus answered Ann’s cautious question simply.

“We’ve come to awaken the power buried in the Lanciel City relic.”

Then he looked at me.

In the end, I was the only one who understood the situation accurately.

“It’s simple. We’ve come to save the world.”

“Hmm…”

Ann let out a thoughtful sound at my answer. The explanation was inadequate, but it couldn’t be helped. Seeing is better than explaining.

People who believed in me. Now it’s my turn to show them through actions.

Total personnel: 5,376.

3rd Circle mages: 2,424.

4th Circle mages: 442.

5th Circle mages: 67.

6th Circle wizards: 6.

Others, including mage families and apprentice mages below 2nd Circle: 2,437.

The forces of Pathfinder stood before the Sky Bridge.

These are the mages who will desperately fight to prevent extinction.

‘What do you think, cube? Is it possible?’

-Yes. Though there are many things that need repair… initial activation should be possible right away.