Crucible

Magical power kept surging in, raging without end.

For me, a mere 3rd Circle mage with 3-star Ki-blood magic, to stand at its center and endure this pressure…

My Circle felt like it was being crushed.

My Ki-blood seemed ready to melt away.

[!!!O$%#OO!!]

Even the Iron Blood in my left hand let out a painful scream.

The magical power’s violence pulverized every cell in my body.

My flesh tore and blood streamed from my eyes and nose.

In the [Simulation], I had failed to control this powerful flow. Not only was the pressure unbearably difficult to withstand… but the main cause was Iron Blood. Unable to endure the pain, Iron Blood had broken free from my control, gone berserk, and then disappeared.

‘In all that chaos, I lost focus… and exploded to death.’

I’d had only one chance at [Simulation], and it had ended in a pathetic death. Still, one thing became crystal clear.

-‘We’ must not be divided.

“Hey. Iron Blood. You don’t want to die either, right?”

[!!ㅡOㅡ^?!]

Though it was like an infant, lacking language or clear intelligence, I could definitely tell it was angry. It seemed to be raging at me for dragging it into this predicament.

I tried to soothe it.

“I know. I’m sorry. But we need to endure for now. If you don’t want to die, we need to work together.”

Would it understand my words?

I clenched and unclenched my fist, sending blood its way.

“Drink. Gather your wits first. And remember this. If I live, you live too. We’re bound by fate. You know what that means? If I die, you die, and if you die, I die. I’ll protect you. You protect me. Got it?”

As I coaxed it gently, I released my magical power with all my might. I freed the Iron Blood that had been suppressed inside. It flowed excitedly through my blood vessels, stretching like someone waking up. It drank my blood to its heart’s content.

I felt slightly dizzy.

If Iron Blood failed to understand the situation now and just greedily drank my blood to satisfaction… we’d be dead for sure. But…

Sigh… I had to trust it now. No matter how infantile it might be, it would instinctively understand that we were in the same boat. It should at least have that much discernment.

So,

Huh? Iron Blood? You won’t do that, right?

Why are you silent?

Hey. Hey. Aren’t you drinking too much blood?

[!!:@!]

Whew, what a temper.

[!!!”:$#?]

After a few irritable mental waves that seemed to say it understood, a cool, pleasant sensation began spreading from my arm.

My body, which had been trembling under the crushing pressure of magical power, gradually calmed, and the blood pouring from my eyes and nose slowed to drips before stopping. Iron Blood stitched and supported my breaking body. It restored and protected my body more than the blood it had consumed.

‘It worked.’

Only then could I smile.

Finally, I endured the massive flow of magical power and stood upright.

“Now… gather here!”

Woong! Woooaang!!

My Circle moved painfully, creating mana patterns.

Crackle! Crackle!

Lightning sparked above my palm.

‘This is the seed.’

Whooooong!

Simultaneously, the ki released from my Ki-blood attracted the attention of the magical power singularities like a street hawker.

The magical power singularities sent their lightning toward me following that signal. The lightning energy seething everywhere concentrated in my palm.

‘This is… the fruit!’

Boom!

“Ah…”

I felt like I would be devoured.

It was as if a lightning dragon were ascending from my hand.

A massive spell beyond anything I’d ever dreamed of.

How many Circles would I need to implement such magic with my power alone? 6th Circle? Even with 6th Circle, could I wield such power? Judging by sheer magical power quantity… it seemed unlikely.

Yet this ridiculous power was now in my grasp.

My legs went weak with the dizzying sense of omnipotence.

‘No. I can’t.’

I forced myself to focus. I couldn’t afford to be intoxicated. This was merely borrowed power.

The goal of demons who lived here long ago, to burn that overwhelming sacrifice, that magical beast, and complete the true lightning—

This was simply power I had borrowed by promising to fulfill their lingering will.

The moment I showed any sign of untrustworthiness, the magical powers would abandon me without mercy.

Since it wasn’t my power, I shouldn’t try to wield it freely either.

Rather, I was the tool of the magical power singularity.

I had to faithfully listen to what they wanted and pull them along like an ox, following what they liked.

‘Alright, so as you wish…’

I abandoned the idea of forcibly controlling the lightning energy and naturally surrendered my body to the flow of power. Setting only minimal direction, I released that fearsome power in one breath.

Flash!

Writhing lightning connected heaven and earth.

My vision turned completely white.

Kaboom!!

Belatedly came the sound of the sky tearing apart.

The whole world seemed like a round light bulb. A filament-like lightning bolt illuminated everything, then—pop!—exploded.

In that moment, for some reason, I missed my parents. Look at this. This is what I created with my own hands. This light and noise and heat and hot ash, all this magic came from my fingertips.

As the lightning strike cleared away,

Hisssss—

A few broken teeth fell to the ground with a thud! thud! on the blackened, glass-like earth, and the deeply dark shadow that had curled itself up, that beast, stretched its body again with a crack and…

‘Huh?’

Whoosh—like a candle being blown out, the blue sky suddenly darkened, and until the moment those sharp teeth touched my nape.

I had been lost in such absurd sentimentality.

[Spatial Leap!]

My survival was pure luck. Like catching a flying ball without thinking, or reflexively steadying a tipping water bottle… something that happens occasionally but that I couldn’t confidently replicate if asked.

The space I had occupied until just a moment ago was devoured by the magical beast. Where the beast had bitten became a vacuum, drawing in the wind like a whirlpool, and the magical powers that had followed me were mercilessly scattered.

By that point, I was barely in my right mind.

“Ga-gather again! We, we need to create true lightning, don’t we!”

My only thought was survival. I somehow tried to gather the scattering magical power singularity. Fortunately, the magical powers gathered again. But there was a clear difference in temperature from before.

‘What is this guy?’

‘Can we trust him?’

‘Seems fake…’

Countless murmurs invaded my mind.

The words of magical powers couldn’t be properly understood in the moment, but after they passed, their meanings would emerge in my mind as if by magic.

‘Something’s been off from the beginning.’

‘Come on, don’t be like that. Failure has always happened, right?’

‘But that was too amateurish, wasn’t it?’

Those meanings, belatedly etched in my mind, were chilling. A single failure. The magical powers remembered that failure. They had begun to distrust me, and this immediately manifested in uncooperative behavior.

I stretched out my hand and shouted:

“Again! We need to gather lightning to continue anyway!”

While I was desperate,

‘Who do you think you are?’

The magical powers were cynical. They no longer centered on me. The lightning didn’t concentrate but loosely scattered. Its power was noticeably weaker than before.

To make matters worse, as the density of incoming magical power thinned, my body, which had been floating in midair, began to slowly descend. I couldn’t control the direction at all.

Having soared high on the wind, I had now,

lost the flow.

It was a fall.

The magical beast didn’t miss this opportunity.

That beast with unclear outlines… that four-legged creature—it emitted black energy and watched me intently.

After being hit by that powerful lightning and still standing like an immortal,

[KRRRRA!!!]

It roared in anger at me for causing it pain.

Did the roar itself have magical power? My body stiffened completely.

I’ll die at this rate.

Somehow I needed to overcome this crisis…

Indeed,

‘Can I survive until then?’

Weak thoughts came first.

But at that very moment,

“This is an ancient covenant. Swift wind of Hwion! Open the path according to the promise!! …Chaaah!”

An arrow from Yuria struck the back of the magical beast’s head.

An arrow propelled by <Swift Wind of Hwion>, carrying a life-or-death energy technique squeezed from 2-star Ki-blood.

Ting!

Grrrr!

Of course, it was merely an irritating blow to the magical beast, but the timing and location of the impact must have been appropriate, as the creature shifted its body as if annoyed.

That wasn’t the end.

“Physical Enhancement! Sturdy Body! Spell Penetration! Spear Ghost! Single-Point Thrust!”

“9 beam hilts. Maximum output!”

Fel’s spear pierced its flank and dozens of yellow beams lacerated the magical beast’s body.

It was Fel and Monggu. This time there must have been some pain, as the magical beast’s body flinched.

Soon after, Hwarin, Del, and Horatio joined in, firing spells indiscriminately. There didn’t seem to be significant damage this time, but the magical beast was annoyed enough to finally respond.

As the magical beast turned its body, darkness poured out like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the group. Small and large teeth sprouting from the darkness tried to turn my companions into minced meat.

If not for Lytol, who arrived last, that’s what would have happened.

“Lionel – mirror fallen on the cheek, Ramune – empty footprints boasted by blue, Siu – that which was always hunted though no one chased. …Return! Rainbow Shield!”

Crash!

The teeth targeting the group cracked and fell away from the reflected pressure.

Though newly born and not yet complete, it was still an S-grade or higher calamity, and he had blocked its attack head-on.

“Uurgh…”

As the price, Lytol turned pale and vomited blood. Clumps of internal organs came out with the blood. A serious side effect of excessive magical power use.

Just once, drawing the magical beast’s attention and withstanding its attack—that was their best effort.

The rest was up to me.

“Phew…”

In the gap my companions created, I could finally recover from the crisis and organize my thoughts.

I glared at the magical beast. Why had I failed earlier?

‘Obvious. I failed because I did it wrong.’

I had approached too naively. Our goal was to create lightning that didn’t exist in the world. Just gathering and firing lightning wouldn’t work, would it?

So, I should have done this from the beginning.

First, I reminded the magical powers of our ‘purpose.’

Using all the knowledge I had to make it more realistic.

“Listen well, everyone.”

“We can’t fail here, can we?”

“We’re at war, aren’t we? We need a weapon that can melt even immortal bodies, right?”

Whoosh.

Fortunately, there was a response.

Creating a whirlwind, the magical power singularity lingered around me.

Whatever memories my words had stimulated… the magical powers began to recall past memories one by one.

‘Unlike those who live in the upper layers, we lower-class citizens lack weapons to break immortality.’

‘But that’s how it’s set, isn’t it? Because they control everything.’

‘Is there no way…?’

A discussion of gods from a very distant past.

I listened carefully. I remembered their words. And above all, I threw out another bait to stimulate more memories to be released.

“There is a way. Just add a new record to the Akashic Record, right?”

Akashic Record, record, add—I threw out keywords I had overheard, mixing them appropriately. In response, corresponding memories flowed out again.

‘If we had the authority to access the Akashic Record that deeply, this mess wouldn’t have happened.’

They lack that level of authority?

After a brief silence, suddenly multiple voices flowed out simultaneously.

‘Then let’s use our own methods that created this mess.’

‘Let’s prepare a sacrifice.’

‘Again? Can we control it? There could be major side effects.’

‘We’ll use bi-directionality. What is recorded exists. What exists is recorded.’

‘Is there any other way? We’ll all either die or survive anyway.’

The magical powers became increasingly absorbed in their reminiscence. One recollection automatically led to another. Beyond merely hearing voices from the past, even vague images began to flow out. Like a small snowball rolled down a slope causing an avalanche, the situation grew increasingly uncontrollable.

“So? How’s the progress on the research for lightning that can break immortality?”

My job was to set the context for reminiscence through questions. However, due to the magical power that directly invaded my mind beyond the five senses, it became increasingly difficult to hold onto my sanity.

‘Penetration! Infiltration!’

‘No… rather than that, a new definition of energy that excludes immortality…’

‘Immortality means immortality. It doesn’t disappear. All we can do is just…’

Blah blah blah…

Ah,

I felt like crying.

Ancient secrets were pouring out… but I couldn’t properly capture any of them. Different memories flowed out simultaneously, becoming jumbled, and I could barely keep my balance within them. It was precarious, like drifting in a storm on a tiny boat. My head buzzed as if I’d stayed awake for three nights, and if I lost focus for a moment, I felt I might faint right away.

‘Endure. Until the very end… I have to lead these damn magical powers.’

It felt like I had entered an enormous, seriously deranged brain. Using my questions as starting points, the magical powers ignited all kinds of memories among themselves. Amidst reminiscences igniting without context or order, I had to bite my tongue repeatedly to maintain the right direction.

Crack.

Iron Blood desperately supported my body, which was about to shatter from the pressure of magical power. But I couldn’t even recognize that.

How long did this hellish time last? It felt eternal to me, but in reality, it was as brief as a moment.

The magical beast before my eyes was just about to launch its second attack to finish off my companions, and,

Crackle! Cra-cra-crackle!

Somehow, stinging lightning was now in my grasp. Not the lightning I had clumsily imitated, but lightning meticulously crafted by magical powers recalling the past. Lightning filled with the will to kill even gods.

Fortunately, the moment I grasped that stinging lightning, my tattered mind snapped back to clarity.

Lightning that sparked white flames above my hand.

Seeing it, I instinctively recalled what I needed to do.

Just as I had added the title of Divine Mage to become a true mage, this new lightning would need an appropriate name.

“Its name is <God-Slaying Lightning>. The ultimate weapon that will burn even Deus. The name that will burn that arrogant sacrifice and be newly recorded in the Akashic Record.”

Deus.

A name I first heard in basic training level 5 at Arsenal #7.

‘Deus’ probably meant ‘god’ in some ancient language.

I pronounced it as closely as possible by moving my Circle.

So all magical powers and the world… would understand its meaning.

<God-Slaying Lightning>

As soon as my declaration ended, my hand burned hot. The lightning slithered out of my grasp like a snake.

There wasn’t the same blinding light as before.

<God-Slaying Lightning> simply, from the sky, branched down and pierced through the magical beast. The scene was as clean as an ink painting drawn with a single brush stroke.

There wasn’t even any sound.

“…Is this magic?”

Lytol, with blood staining his mouth,

Muttered in a trembling voice.

Thud, he fell to his knees.

“Divine mage… is that what it means…”

Before him, the magical beast that had been spewing ominous darkness in streams was gone. In its place, only a pile of pure white glass powder had settled.

Rumble!

Belatedly, thunder roared and,

Whoosh…

Rain poured down.

The 3rd floor of the Tower of Covenant.

A place where rain had never fallen since the beginning of human records.