Chapter 354

‘As expected, it’s not a barrier that can be easily breached.’

As befitting the greatest treasure of the Magic Tower, it was protected by layers of strict barriers.

The reason they hadn't placed any special forces there, despite the invasion of the Demonic Radiance, was because they believed in the barriers.

‘Even for the Demonic Radiance, that is to say, me, it would take some effort to breach these barriers.’

It wasn't that he couldn't do it.

It looked like it would take an hour.

No matter how great the Demonic Radiance was, he couldn't afford to be so leisurely in enemy territory, so the Magic Tower’s judgment could not be called wrong.

‘But I’m in a leisurely situation.’

Since Nordian and Evan were drawing all the attention, all he had to do was leisurely dismantle the barriers.

Moreover, during the past few days he had stayed at the Magic Tower, Chris had come to the holy ground several times to grasp the composition of the barriers.

‘So that I can swipe only the Tome of the Sage, without breaking the barriers.’

If a problem occurred with the barriers, the Magic Tower would notice.

It was a task of far greater difficulty, but Chris was capable of it.

Was it after about half an hour had passed?

A faint gap appeared in the barriers, and the Tome of the Sage slipped out!

He had succeeded.

‘Now to finish up.’

Chris took an object out from his coat.

It was a book with a plain cover and no contents.

‘The Zodiac Grimoire of Forgery.’

It was an artifact.

Among artifacts, there were many objects with miscellaneous uses, and the Zodiac Grimoire of Forgery was one of them.

It duplicates one book and takes on its exact same form.

‘Of course, even if it’s an artifact, it can’t completely duplicate the essence contained within the Tome of the Sage.’

It didn't matter.

At any other time it might be different, but they would just keep it stored neatly here until the Contest for the Tome of the Sage.

And so, having committed the perfect crime, Chris gave a grin.

“I’ll put this to good use.”

Five days until the Contest for the Tome of the Sage.

His plan was to obtain all of the essence contained within the Tome of the Sage in that time and take down the Sacred One, Heperlman.

* * *

The commotion the Demonic Radiance had caused passed without any major problems.

It was all thanks to (?) the Hero Chris.

“Waaaah!! All hail the Hero!!”

After the fierce battle, when the Demonic Radiance had retreated (?), the mages of the Magic Tower cheered, calling Chris’s name.

However, there was a problem.

“Did you say the Hero was injured?”

“I heard his internal injuries are severe. He said he would use the Cradle of Time.”

The Cradle of Time was another holy ground on the floating island, a place where time flowed relatively slower.

It was a place similar to the ‘Warrior’s Land’ that had been in the Holy Empire in the past, but there was a slight difference.

The Warrior’s Land had all sorts of trials that descended upon you just by enduring, but the Cradle of Time had nothing of the sort.

Instead, it allowed one to handle mana more comfortably and was also used for the purpose of healing internal injuries.

Chris planned to use the Cradle of Time to master the Tome of the Sage.

‘Unlike the Warrior’s Land, there’s a time limit on how long you can stay, but I don’t need to stay for long, anyway.’

After that, time flew by in a flash.

The House Heads of the Round Table, considering the possibility that the Demonic Radiance might pull another trick, did not return to the Round Table right away. They decided to stay at the Magic Tower until the Contest for the Tome of the Sage.

Finally, a few days before the contest, Ranya was called by the Tower Master.

“You’ve come?”

“Yes, Tower Master.”

Ranya momentarily sucked in a breath.

Heperlman’s appearance was different from before.

‘His presence has become far more intense than when I last met him.’

Heperlman had recently entered into closed-door training, saying he had to consolidate an important enlightenment.

That was why he had not shown himself even when the Demonic Radiance had been pulling his tricks.

“Congratulations on your achievement.”

“No. You, on the other hand, seem to have had a great development. Have you set foot into 8-Star?”

“…I have vaguely grasped the feeling.”

An unbelievable story.

Considering that there were almost no one who could go from 7-Star to 8-Star even if they devoted their entire life, it was an overly fast speed, even for Ranya.

‘…Strange. How is something like this possible?’

She had only delved into Heperlman’s grimoire, and yet she had come to grasp the feeling of the 8-Star domain of dominion.

But after having heard Chris’s words, she couldn't rejoice with a light heart.

She was uneasy.

“Well, as promised, the time has come for me to tell you the truth.”

Ranya quickly came to her senses.

It was the story of her parents’ murderer.

“Who on earth was it?”

Ranya’s heart pounded.

But Heperlman did not open his mouth right away.

“On the day of the Contest for the Tome of the Sage, come to the underground altar. I shall tell you the truth there.”

“The underground altar, you say?”

Ranya wore a puzzled expression.

It was an altar that had been used in the past, when the floating island was not the property of the Celestial Magic Tower, but the headquarters of an evil cult.

A place that had only been kept for research purposes since then?

But Ranya could not voice her question and bowed her head.

“Understood. I will see you tomorrow.”

Afterward, the gaze of Heperlman, who was left alone, sank coldly.

“The time to achieve the great work has finally come.”

* * *

The Cradle of Time.

In the slowly passing time, mana flows like a quiet river.

The most optimal environment for mages to contemplate themselves and explore the phase systems of mana and Stellar Radiance.

Chris had his eyes closed and was deep in meditation.

‘How long has it been?’

Because of the time discrepancy with the outside, it wasn't clear.

Perhaps a few days. It wasn't a long time, but the spiritual light in Chris's eyes was shining with an incomparable depth.

He had gained a great achievement by poring over the Tome of the Sage.

Chris raised his hand and deployed white magic.

Paat.

The mana moved, rearranging the phase of the elemental system of Stellar Radiance and causing a physical phenomenon.

A spear of ice appeared in the air.

It was a simple 3-Star magic, a basic form without any will or essence imbued in it, but its form was by no means ordinary.

A form that was close to the ultimate of perfection.

It was even beautiful.

If another white mage had seen it, it was a sight they would not have been able to stop marveling at, but Chris shook his head with indifferent eyes.

‘Not enough.’

He continued his thoughts.

‘This isn't even enough to take down the Sacred One, Heperlman.’

Right, he hadn't caused all this ruckus just for this.

His goal was to establish his own worldview, encompassing not just white magic, but all the powers of Stellar Radiance.

In other words, to reach the peak of 8-Star as a master of Stellar Radiance.

‘Even if it’s the same 8-Star, the peak of 8-Star is a completely different realm.’

To establish one’s own worldview meant that one could glimpse the 9-Star authorities of ‘causality manipulation’ and the ‘Advent of Creation’.

‘Because it is time for me to become a Demon King as well.’

A shocking thought.

It hadn't been long since he had become a 7-Star, then an 8-Star, and now, a Demon King?

But he was serious.

‘Of course, it won't be easy for me to become a Demon King either, but I still have to reach the state of a Demon King as quickly as possible.’

Chris thought of the events to come.

Thanks to his actions, many things had already changed from his past life.

But there was a future that would absolutely come to pass.

The Apocalypse that the Mystic Demonic House would cause.

The subsequent collapse of the boundary between the Three Realms.

‘Normally, there would have been some time, but in this life, it will be brought forward by a lot. Especially if I destroy the Four Kings' Castle.’

The reason Chris had come all the way to the Keinper Training Center and was urgently bestowing his teachings upon the talents of the Alliance was also because of the future that would soon be upon them.

‘The most important thing is that I become stronger.’

He had to become a Demon King at the very least to be able to stop the hell of his past life from manifesting.

‘And I have to take down those vermin Sacred Ones, too.’

Chris’s gaze sank low.

The Sacred Ones.

They were the superhumans who supported the Alliance, but Chris knew.

Just how nauseating they were.

To be precise, the problem was the ‘Holy Assembly’, a group of four within the Sacred Ones.

‘Because of those bastards in the Holy Assembly, the world, which was already like a hell, became even more horrific.’

This time, he would absolutely not let that happen.

‘First, I have to eliminate the Sacred One, Heperlman, this time.’

Heperlman, the Master of the Magic Tower, was also a member of the Holy Assembly.

‘The problem is time.’

The Sacred One, Heperlman, was already on the verge of causing his ‘incident’.

He had to reach the peak of 8-Star before that to be able to come up with a way to take down Heperlman.

Even for Chris, it was a tight schedule.

‘I can do it.’

Chris’s eyes half-closed.

In the slow-flowing time, countless mental images flashed past.

Time passed as his consciousness repeatedly embraced and scattered the numerous branches of Stellar Radiance.

* * *

Finally, the day of the Contest for the Tome of the Sage arrived.

Ranya headed to the underground altar with a hardened face.

‘The day I finally learn the truth.’

But why?

Although it was the moment she had longed for, her heart was just heavy.

She felt on edge, as if some great crisis were about to descend.

‘…No. I’m overthinking it. I’ve become sensitive because of that whelp, Christian.’

Ranya frowned.

She might not know about others, but the person she was meeting now was Heperlman.

Her teacher, and her adopted father.

Heperlman was the one who, when she was of humble origins and everyone at the Magic Tower shunned her, had been the only one to be on her side. A being she could trust, even if the whole world abandoned her.

‘Let’s not have any useless thoughts.’

After taking a deep breath, she arrived at the underground altar.

“I’m coming in.”

As she headed inside, an unexpected sight unfolded.

“The underground altar? Why?”

The underground altar was shining with a faint luminescence.

It was the first time she had seen such a thing.

‘But it’s an altar that lost all its functions after the evil cult was driven out of the floating island?’

Just then, a low, sunken voice was heard.

“It is the Myeonghyeon Phenomenon.”

It was Heperlman.

Ranya wore a puzzled expression.

“…What is the Myeonghyeon Phenomenon?”

“Do you know that today is Myeong-il?”

“Yes, of course….”

It referred to the day of the year when the concentration of the mana of Stellar Radiance becomes the thickest.

The Contest for the Tome of the Sage was always held on Myeong-il, so of course, she knew.

“This altar is a place where the evil cult worshipped the Constellations. They used to offer sacrifices through human sacrifice on every Myeong-il. In other words, that Myeonghyeon Phenomenon means that the altar is ready to receive a sacrifice.”

Evil cults didn't just exist among devil worshippers.

There were also some among those who served the Constellations.

“…I see. But why is it reacting like that now?”

Ranya had a wary expression.

Something was strange.

As far as she knew, the altar had never shown such a reaction before, no matter if it was Myeong-il.

‘No, that’s not what’s important.’

Ranya observed Heperlman’s expression.

It was not the warm gaze he usually directed at her.

His voice, his eyes, were strangely cold.

Ranya swallowed hard.

“…By any chance, is the truth you are going to tell me today related to that altar?”

“Yes, as expected, you are smart. Just like your parents.”

Something that bothered her flashed past in his words.

“Your parents died at this altar.”

“!!”

In that moment, it felt as if the world had stopped.

“…Who did it?”

Why was it?

Before she even heard the answer, a single guess flashed in Ranya’s mind.

A terrible one, one she didn't even want to imagine.

However.

“I killed your parents.”

Her mind went completely white.

“Wh-why…?”

Ranya’s voice trembled.

Heperlman, with a chillingly cold voice, continued.

“Because there were no others as suitable as them to be a sacrifice for me.”