Chapter 355
“…What?”
In that moment, Ranya recalled a certain fact.
Tower Master Heperlman.
He was originally the eldest son of the magic noble house.
But in his childhood, his talent was ordinary, and the position of heir was passed to his much younger brother, Duke Duma.
After leaving for the Magic Tower as if he had been driven out, he spent a long time in obscurity, and then, he suddenly changed.
He began to grow at a terrifying rate, as if his unimpressive appearance until then had been a lie.
The time when Heperlman changed coincided exactly with the time her parents had died.
“D-don’t tell me…? You ‘devoured’ my parents?”
A type of human sacrifice, it meant to swallow the entirety of the opponent as one's own.
Whether it was the energy they possessed, their talent, or their achievements.
“Yes, originally, it is an authority only possible for a being of the rank of a Constellation or a devil, but I can use a similar authority thanks to a special blessing I have received.”
Heperlman looked at Ranya.
With a gaze as if he were looking at prey.
“Though not as much as you, your parents were truly outstanding. To the point that they were envied by the noble bloodline of our magic noble house, despite their humble origins.”
“……”
“You are a genius with a star-like talent that is incomparable even to such parents. Today, I will devour your all and reach a true transcendent state.”
This was the reason Heperlman had taken Ranya in as his adopted daughter.
Even after devouring Ranya’s parents, he had secretly abducted figures from the Round Table from time to time to use as sacrifices, but he could not find a material as good as Ranya anywhere.
For him to reach a perfect 9-Star state, he had to devour Ranya as a sacrifice.
“Shut up!!”
Ranya shouted in anger.
Paaaat!!
A terrifying energy surged, but it was in the moment Heperlman beckoned with his finger.
“K-keok?!”
Ranya coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Heperlman let out a sneer.
“You have forgotten that your everything originated from me. You can never resist me. Especially now that you have learned that grimoimoire.”
Heperlman had used his authority to imbue the grimoire he had given Ranya a short while ago with the essence of a corrupt path.
By having his authority be directly imbued as the essence, he had allowed her to achieve an abnormally fast growth. It was a burden on Heperlman as well, but since he could recover it through devouring her anyway, it didn't matter.
Instead, he had hidden a flaw that would cause a fatal side effect, and Heperlman had used that side effect to easily subdue Ranya.
With a single gesture of his hand, Ranya helplessly knelt.
“Kuuuhk!!”
“Stay still. I do not wish to damage the precious material that will allow me to achieve my great work.”
Heperlman strode forward.
Greed filled his eyes.
“I have waited a very long time. The arrogant whelps of the Holy Assembly will no longer be able to ignore me.”
He had the lowest achievement in the Holy Assembly.
From today, that would be different.
“My story has grown needlessly long. Let us begin now. You, too, should know it as an honor. To become the foundation of the great work.”
It was when Heperlman could not hold back his overwhelming feelings and was about to burst into a great laugh.
An unexpected event occurred.
“…Get your disgusting hands away.”
Ranya whispered in a blazing voice.
And.
Kwaaaaaaaang!!!
A great roar echoed.
It was the magic Ranya had unleashed.
An intense miracle magic, from the peak of 7-Star.
“What?”
Heperlman wore an expression as if this were impossible.
As long as she had learned his grimoire, she shouldn't have been able to even lift a single finger against him.
“…Did you think a genius like me would have learned such a suspicious grimoire as is?”
In truth, it was thanks to Christian.
As a result of reviewing the grimoire based on the advice he had given her, she had discovered a critical problem, and she had even been able to realize the solution with the hint he had given her.
Thanks to that, Ranya had been able to remove the side effect and use Heperlman’s authority to achieve only the rapid growth.
“I’ll kill you.”
Fwoooosh.
A storm-like mana surged.
The peak of 7-Star.
A terrifying energy, befitting an achievement that had begun to peek into the 8-Star state.
“It is useless. Even so, it will only become a little more bothersome. You will become my sacrifice today.”
Heperlman also raised his energy in response.
As he had said, it was a fight with no chance of winning.
But another unexpected event occurred.
“Shut up, you great villain!”
Kwaaaang!
With a cold voice, the door of the underground altar came crashing down.
It was Evan!
And it was not just Evan who had appeared.
“Tower Master. To think you were such a devilish person.”
“We can never forgive you.”
It was the House Heads of the Round Table!
The reason they had appeared so exquisitely was all thanks to Christian.
-On Myeong-il, when the Contest for the Tome of the Sage is held, another evil, not the Demonic Radiance, will descend.
Christian, who had known of this in advance, had secretly given such a ‘revelation’ to the House Heads of the Round Table.
He had not stopped there, but had secretly entered the underground altar and surreptitiously installed a real-time video broadcasting device.
Thanks to that, what Heperlman had done was revealed without any filter to those who had gathered for the Contest for the Tome of the Sage.
Among the House Heads of the Round Table, Duke Duma stepped forward with a pale face.
“To think my elder brother would commit such a horrific act.”
He had had times when he had thought something was strange about Heperlman.
He had even had times when he had suspected that he might have made a contract with a devil.
But human sacrifice. This was even worse than devil worship.
It was a great sin that no one could forgive.
And what's more, Heperlman had been using figures from the Round Table as sacrifices until now.
“As the Head of the magic noble house, I shall punish you, my elder brother.”
“We cannot forgive you, either.”
As the other House Heads of the Round Table also stepped forward with hardened faces, Heperlman opened his mouth with a smirk.
“How laughable. You’ll punish me? The likes of you dare?”
A voice that looked down on all the House Heads of the Round Table.
It wasn't just arrogance.
Among the House Heads of the Round Table, there was not a single 8-Star, with the exception of the head of the magic noble house.
Although he had used a corrupt path, it was impossible for them to stand against Heperlman, who had reached 9-Star (entering).
“This is great. I will take all of you as sacrifices for my great work as well. After that, I will make the Round Table kneel beneath me and establish my kingdom.”
His own kingdom.
This was Heperlman’s ultimate objective.
It was a story that would have drawn a hollow laugh, but the House Heads of the Round Table could not bring themselves to scoff.
An aura so strong it was suffocating began to pour out of Heperlman.
“Kneel before this great power!”
Paaaaaaah!
The surrounding vision changed.
The desolate scenery of the altar was completely transformed.
A pure white world unfolded.
“Advent of Creation!!”
It was the authority of a 9-Star.
To go beyond the 8-Star state of simply placing the surrounding area under one's dominion, and to manifest one’s own world in reality.
Naturally, its power was also incomparable.
‘But why is the Advent of Creation in this form?’
The House Heads of the Round Table wore expressions of disbelief.
It was a world of pure white.
As if it had given form to the light of Stellar Radiance.
And yet, it was filled with nothing but unpleasantness.
It was light, but a light more wicked than any evil.
Unimaginable for the Advent of Creation of a white mage.
But they had no time to think any deeper.
Crackle.
Lightning sparked from Heperlman’s hand.
Wrath of the Thunder Spirit.
A powerful magic that scorched the surroundings with lightning, as if the wrath of a spirit had descended, unfolded together with the Advent of Creation.
“Everyone, be careful!”
Duke Duma stepped in front of everyone and deployed a defensive barrier.
Paaaat!
The Space of Silence.
It was a powerful domain of dominion that nullified everything that entered its area.
However.
“Kuuuhk!!”
The Space of Silence could not block the surging thunder spirit.
It wasn't that it had no effect, but it was only minimal.
Duke Duma, who had barely managed to block the attack by using an additional defensive spell, wore an expression of disbelief.
“He’s a 9-Star (entering), so how can he have an Advent of Creation of this level?”
9-Star (entering) was a state that had not yet reached a complete 9-Star.
Therefore, the Advent of Creation was bound to be incomplete.
Of course, even if it was incomplete, it was still an Advent of Creation. It held a remote power, but still, to so easily subdue the domain of dominion of Duke Duma, who was at the peak of 8-Star, was too much.
“Do you now know my greatness? It is too late. All of you will become my sacrifices and a part of this great work.”
Paaaaaaah!
Everyone’s complexion turned white.
A fierce energy surged.
Fire-type, water-type, wind-type, and so on. It did not distinguish between types.
Each and every one was not a magic of a high state, but accompanied by the authority of the Advent of Creation, they became a magic of a different class.
If a domain of dominion was to place the surroundings under one’s dominion to amplify one’s power, the Advent of Creation was to make the world itself one’s own. The magic, too, would break away from ordinary principles and be transformed into a completely different class.
Still, Duke Duma and the House Heads of the Round Table did not collapse right away and somehow managed to endure.
But if this continued, the result was obvious.
“Is the Hero not here yet?!”
Duke Duma asked Evan.
Before coming to strike Heperlman, Chris had left a message through Evan.
-I have a way. If you can buy me some time, I will come and subdue the Tower Master.
In truth, he doubted whether it would be possible, even if the Hero came.
Heperlman’s power was far beyond everyone’s expectations.
Heperlman, too, did not seem to be concerned at all.
“Even if the likes of the Hero come, he will only kneel before my greatness.”
Heperlman raised his energy once more.
Magic began to take form again in the murky white world.
It was still not a high-level magic.
But as if he intended to finish it with this attack, the energy contained within was far more powerful.
“First, Duma. You’re first.”
Crackle.
It was the same Wrath of the Thunder Spirit as before.
The defensive formula Duke Duma had deployed was shattered in an instant.
‘I can’t block it.’
Duke Duma’s complexion turned pale.
In the face of such an overwhelming, violent power, any defense was meaningless.
It was in that moment.
“To think you're all struggling so much because of a shoddy whelp like this. You're all utterly pathetic.”
A familiar, insufferable voice.
At the same time, an unexpected event occurred.
Crack!
The wrath of lightning that had been heading for Duke Duma scattered into pieces.
As if glass were shattering.
Everyone wore shocked expressions.
“Your Highness the Hero!!”
Christian wore a pathetic expression.
“What’s with all of you? To be in such a state because of a pathetic whelp like that. When you get back to the training center, you'd all better be prepared for extra special training.”
The House Heads of the Round Table were dumbfounded.
To call a 9-Star (entering) Grand Magus a pathetic whelp.
They couldn't tell if it was a bluff or if he was being serious.
Heperlman let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re the Hero? You’re a whelp who doesn't know his place, just as I’ve heard. I will take you as a material for my great work as….”
“Shut up, you fake.”
“…What?”
“You're not even a real 9-Star (entering), are you? Where do you get off putting on such a pathetic imitation?”
“!!”
An incomprehensible insult.
Duke Duma advised with concern.
“You must not underestimate the Tower Master. Although he used an inhuman path, he has transcended the 9-Star (entering) state. You must see him as being on the verge of a perfect superhuman state.”
“I'm disappointed in you too, Duke. To think your eye for things is so poor.”
“…What?”