War of Stars

After everyone had retreated, I lay on my net bed and looked up at the sky. The direction I mainly gazed toward was north. The sky there reflected the sky outside the tower. As I counted the familiar constellations, I organized the conversations we’d had earlier by myself.

Tris had been right.

‘Magic Emperor… He knew less than I thought.’

Through the ruins, I knew about the existence of Outer Gods, but I hadn’t known exactly what that meant. But thinking about it that way, a strange sense of admiration washed over me.

‘So… an ordinary mage planned all these things based on nothing but uncertain information about Outer Gods.’

Detecting Ragnarok’s corruption, he spirited away the Holy Grail. With that Holy Grail, he lived for hundreds of years while building the power and forces to oppose the Outer Gods.

I’d thought he was some inhuman monster from the beginning… but looking at it now, wasn’t he a hero who made the resolve to save the world? And he did it all without being able to see the colors of magic, see mana, or hear the voices of magical powers like I can.

‘Magic Emperor. That title isn’t shameful at all.’

Through human obsession alone, he lived for hundreds of years while uncovering secrets and opposing the Outer Gods. I felt like calling him the Emperor of Humanity.

That’s when I was deeply thinking about the Magic Emperor.

Like a lie, his voice reached me.

-Huhuh. You’ve done well shaking my disciple’s faith.

Magic Emperor?

What’s this now? Had he been watching everything?

-I was watching. First with spirit magic controlling fire and wind, then with presumptuous words that shook my disciple. Huhuh. By the way, the Saint truly has a temper like fire even after reincarnation.

Hehe. The 8th Circle realm really is monstrous. He knows everything as if he’d been watching right before his eyes.

But… did the Magic Emperor just use honorifics toward Beatrice? What kind of connection was there between the Saint and Magic Emperor?

As curiosity crept up on me, the Magic Emperor spoke without giving me a chance to ask.

-But I can’t be pushed back like this. Let me show you my greatness once. Watch closely from there.

What do you mean? Out of nowhere…

Watch what?

-I’ll show you exactly how the Magic Emperor fights!

His voice was filled with belligerent laughter.

That became…

the unforgettable

beginning of that night.

* * *

“Whoa… look there! Look over there!”

The garrison became noisy.

Mages gathered in small groups and looked up at the northern sky.

Twinkle. Twinkle.

The northern sky was the sky outside the tower. New stars were being born in that pitch-black night. Rrrumble— An almost inaudible low-frequency sound rolled in like waves, making the front of my shirt flutter.

‘Crazy…’

The lights twinkling in the night sky looked like real stars. Of course, they weren’t actually that. That’s what made it insane. How could this make sense?

“It’s begun.”

Hwi Someong, who had left in a sulk earlier, returned triumphantly. This girl… she knows what this is, doesn’t she?

“Water Wizard… right now that… it’s a fight, isn’t it? What is the Magic Emperor fighting with?”

“He’s fighting with apostles of the Mad God. Beings that are god yet try to destroy the world. That being’s minions… they deserve to die a hundred times over.”

Hwi Someong spoke confidently and boldly. But I saw the awkward tension hidden at the corners of her mouth. Even though she trusted the Magic Emperor without question, she seemed worried that he had stepped forward directly.

… I understood completely.

That battle had… already surpassed what could be called magic.

Twinkle!

One star shone brightly then fell as a meteor. I silently screamed inside.

‘Just now…! An entire continent was destroyed!’

Twinkle twinkle twinkle!

Stars were born one after another in the empty space where the continent had fallen. Here it looked like stars were suddenly appearing, but in reality, it was explosions from the collision between the Magic Emperor and the apostle.

My mouth fell open.

The constellations were changing from the battle between two beings.

“Wait. Wait… what did I just hear? That’s currently… the Magic Emperor’s… battle?”

Tris interjected. Hwi Someong’s expression became even more triumphant.

“Of course. He’s the one and only god who protects this universe. Who else but our Majesty could there be?”

“That… that… this is really…”

Tris, who had been badmouthing this old man and that old man about the Magic Emperor just moments ago, was gone. She looked at the sky with defeated eyes. She clutched her chest. Even the dragon heart dwelling in her Circle trembled with awe.

Right.

This was that kind of battle.

The kind that crushed the spirits of proud strong ones… a battle truly beyond the heavens.

‘What was I thinking earlier?’

Had I thought I might be able to compete with the Magic Emperor in terms of fighting? I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and die.

“That, that’s Truth Tower’s Magic Emperor?”

“In, indeed the supreme master of the magical path…!”

Our conversation had spread among the mages in the meantime.

The reverence they showed was incomparable to what the mages had shown me earlier. If they had treated me as a legendary mage back then… now they treated the Magic Emperor like a god.

Awe. Reverencing and fearing.

I was no different. All we could do was tremble and look up at the sky.

“Huhuhuh! The pure white stars belong to His Majesty the Magic Emperor. So those dark blue stars must belong to the Mad God’s apostle!”

Hwi Someong raised her voice. She looked like a fanatic who, when great disasters struck, would seize the moment to cry out about the end times and repentance. But… at this moment, no one could feel any resentment toward her. Rather, it seemed like everyone was genuinely beginning to worship the Magic Emperor.

‘Gyeol. Just how strong is the Magic Emperor?’

-Well… it’s just a vague guess, but… he might be as strong as, or maybe even stronger than, my prime in my previous life.

‘Previous life’ referred to before merging with me.

Its previous life’s prime. In other words, Gyeolli was saying that the Magic Emperor might be stronger than when it was a demigod before being sealed in the Water Stone. Even a demigod was still a god when you thought about it—the Magic Emperor’s achievement of reaching the realm of ancient demigods was absurd.

Still ultimately human…

And without knowing all the secrets about gods and the world…!

How could he be like this?

The essence of power built through obsession and history.

Compared to that, wasn’t I just a lucky kid who was born with talent? …It was the first time I’d felt such a sense of defeat.

A wondrous human.

Rrrumble.

Pure white stars gathered in clusters.

Grrowwwll…

The dark blue stars that had been opposing them scattered in all directions and fell as a meteor shower. The Magic Emperor had gained the upper hand against the apostle.

“WAAAHHH!”

The mages looking up at the sky pumped their fists, threw things around, and went wild.

Right. This is the Emperor of the Magical Path!

This is humanity’s pride!

Before I knew it, strength had gathered in my fists too. Maybe the one destined to save the world wasn’t me after all. That was fine too. I would gladly become one of the Magic Emperor’s wings!

Even such cheesy impulses surged up.

‘Teenagers are easily moved and easily become followers.’

My memories as an Earthling allowed me to coldly diagnose my own state. I knew this. But this feeling was new to me. The feeling of being impressed by someone and wanting to follow them. Since no one had ever left such a deep impression on me before… this long-suppressed admiration swept over me several times more intensely.

A feeling I couldn’t help but succumb to even knowing better.

The white star in the northern night sky was steadily knocking down the dark blue stars.

Victory seemed within reach.

That’s when his voice reached me.

-This young one… is your spirit only that much?

Magic Emperor… sir?

-Sir, my ass. Kid. Don’t think about becoming my wing—try to make me your wing instead. If you can win by doing that, I’d prefer it that way!

Ha,

haha.

I laughed out loud.

How refreshing, really. Did he think I’d back down after saying that?

Listen here, old man. A person was experiencing the first sense of awe in their life, and you won’t even help with that. How heartless can you be? Really.

-Ahahaha, that’s how you should respond. Well then, shall I show you the finale with peace of mind?

I felt excited. Somehow. The fact that there was someone in front of me. That he was a very respectable person. That I could challenge him.

ZZZZAAANG!

A brilliant cross was drawn in the northern sky. A cross much brighter than Einstein’s Cross was a brilliant white.

‘He won…!’

Everyone felt it with the emotion soaking into their hearts.

He won. A human had defeated a god’s apostle. The Magic Emperor had finally…!

-Oh no.

But what reached my ears was the Magic Emperor’s frustrated voice.

-Listen carefully. Apostles must be killed in one strike. You can’t give them even a moment’s opening.

Huh? Suddenly what…

-I failed to kill it in one blow, so it sacrificed its own body to create a passage to summon the Outer God.

Huh?

-But it’s just a small passage anyway. We have plenty of time to escape, so don’t worry. Right. Let me share my senses with you, so take this chance to see what kind of bastard the Mad God is.

As he said he would share his senses, what he saw, heard, and felt began transmitting to me as well.

‘…It’s huge!’

What I first felt was an enormously large and numerous mass of tentacles. It wasn’t just large. It looked like a transparent sea. Was this really just a part?

But even as I recoiled in shock, the Magic Emperor calmly avoided and struck down the tsunami of tentacles while steadily extracting himself. I felt my nerves on edge and legs trembling just from the Outer God’s presence, but the Magic Emperor was composed and leisurely.

-Remember this well. This is the enemy we must face. Well then, I’ll focus on escaping now.

The sensory sharing ended.

I felt a deep sense of loss as I looked up at the northern sky.

The pure white star rapidly crossed the night sky. Behind it, something like transparent aurora was chasing closely.

The white star seemed to be caught by the aurora at times, but ultimately broke through spectacularly and shot forward.

As if enraged, the aurora stretched its body forward.

Thunk.

The fleeing star—no, what I’d thought was the fleeing brilliant star… had its leg caught.

It was slowly dragged toward the aurora.

“Huh? Huh huh?”

Weak sounds escaped our mouths.

“Br-break free!”

Hwi Someong screamed.

-Oh no, did I get caught?

The Magic Emperor’s voice reached my ears. Fortunately, it was still a leisurely voice.

Flash! Flash!

Brilliant crosses stitched the night sky one after another. It was the technique the Magic Emperor had used to finish off the apostle.

All of us watching clasped our hands together and let out sighs of relief.

Ahh… of course. There was no way he’d be caught like that.

-Phew, that worked… wait?

What now, what else!

-Oh no… I can’t shake it off.

Even though I didn’t want to believe those words, I strangely felt my strength drain away and sink toward the ground.

-Divine Wizard. For now, hide. Pull back the front lines and avoid their notice. Gather strength quietly. If you wait patiently… the opportunity will definitely come. You can do it.

What the hell, suddenly.

This is a joke, right?

It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? After showing off by yourself… what are you doing now?

Aren’t you ashamed?

No. The situation is weird, isn’t it? You were winning just fine until now, even had leisure, so why is this suddenly…?

But regardless of what I was thinking, the crisis that had come to the Magic Emperor was progressing rapidly… and above all, miserably.

-Hmph! You want to devour me? Do you think the likes of you could digest me! I’ll burn my soul to become a dagger that pierces your spirit!

The Magic Emperor’s final ‘covenant’ unfolded.

This time, not just me but others heard that covenant too. A promise that he, having reached the realm of a demigod, scattered throughout our entire world.

But that promise was broken in less than three minutes.

-Hmph! How laughable… GAHHH!

-This much won’t… AAAAHHH!

For some reason, the Magic Emperor’s voice was transmitted to everyone.

It was a voice of defiance mixed with screams. Following the screams, the white star caught in the aurora flickered like a candle.

-AAAAHHH!

-AAAAHHH!

-GYAAAHHH!

And for a while, only bone-chilling screams could be heard. Now even the star was no longer visible. What kind of torture was he enduring that a mage of strong will, the pinnacle among mages, the Magic Emperor, would scream like this?

But we soon had no mental capacity left to wonder.

-Kill… kill me…

-It’s too painful… AAAHHH!

Those were pleading voices.

-I’m sorry. I’m sor… AAAHHH!

-Please… please… kill me… never again… AAAAHHH!

Finally, beyond pleading…

…This can’t be true!

How could this be the Magic Emperor’s end!

All of us had heard his miserable final moments.

My soul felt frozen.

I was crushed completely into the gutter.

That was the end. The brilliant white star never shone again.

When I turned around, Hwi Someong’s face was pale as a ghost.