Chapter 357
‘It's impossible without Ranya.’
Ranya was the joker in this situation.
Because her everything had originated from Heperlman. That meant she, too, knew everything about Heperlman.
She could be a fatal dagger.
-Attempt a phase system reversal on Heperlman.
Ranya’s eyes wavered at the message Chris had sent.
A phase system reversal.
It was a conceptual contest of skill between white mages.
To grasp the opponent’s magical phase system and cause the magical concept itself to collapse.
One had to completely grasp the magical construct the opponent had built, and at the same time, one had to nullify the opponent’s magical resistance, so it was a method that was impossible unless there was an enormous gap in skill.
-Lacking confidence? How pathetic. If you can't do it, then don't.
Ranya clenched her fists.
If not now, the chance to avenge her parents would never come again.
‘I will do it. With the talent I inherited from my parents!’
Ranya’s concept reached Heperlman’s phase system.
For a moment, she felt a suffocating sense of despair at the remote phase system, but she did not stop.
‘I can do it.’
She knew the entire method.
It was hateful and disgusting, but she, too, had built her phase system in the exact same way.
[Ha, how dare you! How laughable.]
Heperlman, having read Ranya’s attempt, let out a hollow laugh.
[Everything I have bestowed upon you, I will take it back now!]
Heperlman’s concept also reached Ranya’s phase system.
They were both the same in that they knew each other’s phase systems inside and out.
What remained was whose concept was superior.
‘It’s not easy.’
After clashing with Heperlman’s concept, Ranya felt her chest tighten.
It wasn't that her concept for handling the phase system was lacking.
The problem was the solidity of the phase system.
Although they both had phase systems of the same method, since Heperlman was a 9-Star (entering), there was a great difference in its size and depth.
In other words, if Ranya had to deal 100 points of damage, Heperlman could break her with just 10. It was a gap that was impossible to overcome, no matter how outstanding Ranya’s ability to handle her phase system was.
Just then, a single line of voice was heard from Chris.
-Remember what I said a while ago. The reverse of the reverse is the correct.
“!!”
It was the advice she had heard when she was mastering the grimoire Heperlman had given her.
Having gotten a hint from that advice, Ranya had been able to avoid the trap hidden in the grimoire.
But that didn't mean she had embodied Chris’s advice.
She had understood it.
But she hadn't thought of attempting it.
‘It’s something I have to completely overturn my own phase system to do.’
It was a gamble.
And one with a slim chance of success.
Nine times out of ten, she would lose everything.
However.
-As I thought, it was too much for you? I don't know what I was expecting.
“!!”
At the voice of that whelp Chris, who was provoking her again, Ranya’s anger flared up.
‘Insufferable whelp. After I eliminate my enemy, your back is next! I’ll show you what this genius mage is made of!’
Rumble.
Ranya’s phase system began to transform.
A change as if a clock were being turned in reverse.
Ranya’s phase system was elevated.
The reason Chris had spoken of the ‘reverse’ was because it meant a higher-dimensional phase.
The problem was stability.
The reason Heperlman and the others had not done as Chris had advised was because they could not handle this method.
‘The reverse of the reverse is the correct.’
Ranya gritted her teeth, enduring the feeling that her phase system was about to collapse.
Just as a clock that had been turned in reverse eventually finds its original position, she had to find her place in that way.
It wasn't easy. It felt as if it would collapse at any moment.
And she was not in a situation where she could meditate with a light heart. She also had to stand against Heperlman’s concept, which was trying to break down her phase system.
Just then, Chris’s voice cut in.
-It seems this is difficult with just your talent. I will guide you, so follow me.
‘Ranya could have done it on her own.’
In her past life, the reason Ranya had been able to escape from Heperlman’s trick was because she had realized the method Chris had just told her on her own.
It was just that she was lacking compared to Chris; Ranya, too, was a top-class genius.
Even if he left her alone, she would eventually succeed, but Chris was a little more greedy.
‘I have to use this chance to make Ranya a complete 8-Star.’
It was a chance that would not come easily.
The moment she re-established her phase system, she would not stop there, but would rise to the state above.
-Follow me well.
-W-wait! This is?
Ranya let out a flustered sound.
It was an overly reckless method.
-It’s possible. Because in the end, everything is within your phase.
-!!
For a moment, Ranya wore an expression as if she had been struck by lightning.
In the end, everything was imbued within her phase.
It was a content she had realized while vaguely looking upon the 8-Star state.
But then and now were different.
The moment all phases were in ‘reverse’.
And yet, the moment she realized that all of it was her own phase.
Her world changed.
[Wh-what?!]
Heperlman let out a shocked sound.
Paaaaaaah!
A formless energy extended out from around her.
Although it hadn't taken a complete form, it was a Domain of Dominion.
Ranya had reached 8-Star (entering)!
[I-impossible?]
Ranya's eyes stared coldly at Heperlman.
“Shut up, you vermin.”
[!!]
Rumble.
Ranya's concept began to break down Heperlman's phase system.
The situation had completely reversed.
Until just a moment ago, it had been a contest where both knew each other’s phase systems inside and out, but now, Ranya had transformed her phase system and re-established a new one.
On top of that, although Ranya’s Domain of Dominion had not yet taken on a complete meaning, she was a ‘Ruler of the Phase’.
She could handle all magical phases of white magic as if they were her own limbs.
[Kuuuhk!!]
Heperlman desperately pushed back against Ranya’s concept, struggling frantically.
Just then, the terminal connected to the celestial realm was restored, and he was about to emit the intense aura of the Constellation again.
“It's useless.”
A chilling voice descended.
It was Christian, who had come up behind Heperlman before he knew it.
Stab!
The Sword of Stellar Radiance took a physical form and pierced Heperlman's body.
[Keok.]
In the moment Heperlman knelt and staggered, a great shadow descended upon his phase system.
It was Ranya.
[W-wait… stop… you’re my disciple….]
“You’re disgusting, so shut up.”
Heperlman’s phase system began to collapse completely.
At the same time.
[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!]
Fwoooosh.
The aura of the Constellation flared up like a flame, swallowed his body, and then melted it away.
It was the end of the Sacred One, Heperlman.
* * *
The events of that day shook not just the Magic Tower and the Round Table, but the entire Alliance.
Because it was an incident where one of the giants who supported the Alliance, a Sacred One, had fallen.
After the fight, Chris revealed the evidence of the numerous human sacrifices Heperlman had committed until now, and everyone in the Alliance fell into a great shock.
“Impossible. To think a Sacred One would commit such an act.”
“Why? It’s not as if the Sacred Ones are perfect, is it?”
“That’s true… The Dark King, the Elf King, and the Mercenary King all had quite the dark reputations behind the scenes.”
Not all Sacred Ones were noble.
Because they were like the sanctuary of the Alliance, no one dared to speak ill of them, but it was an open secret that several Sacred Ones were committing various wrongs.
And in the midst of that, an incident like this had occurred.
“Was it His Highness the Hero this time, too?”
“Yes, I heard that if it hadn't been for His Highness the Hero, an enormous amount of blood would have been shed at the Round Table and the Magic Tower.”
“I don’t know how many times this makes now.”
“His Highness the Hero is the one who will save our Alliance in place of the Sacred Ones!!”
Following his deeds in the Holy Empire and the Karn Empire, and now this.
Although it hadn't been long since he had appeared, everyone in the Alliance cheered for the Hero, who was accumulating an enormous list of achievements.
At the people’s reactions, Chris thought to himself.
‘Now, the time has come.’
The Gold Cross.
The Holy Empire.
The Karn Empire.
The Round Table and the Magic Tower.
These were the powers of the Alliance that Chris had brought under his influence until now.
It was practically the majority of the Alliance.
‘…I suffered through so much hell.’
Chris recalled the past and wore a solemn expression for a moment.
It seemed he had truly suffered while traveling all over the Alliance.
‘Damn it, I’m getting pissed off all over again. Why do I have to suffer like this? What happened to my dream of wealth and glory?’
It couldn't be helped.
If he didn't properly prepare for the coming Apocalypse, never mind wealth and glory, the world would be ruined.
He absolutely could not stand to see the world be destroyed when he hadn't even been able to properly enjoy it.
‘Therefore, I must make the suckers of the Alliance stronger.’
The reason he had suffered until now and had placed the powers of the Alliance under his feet was all to create suckers who would fight in his stead in the Age of Ruin.
Chris secretly ordered the powers of the Alliance, including the Karn Empire and the Holy Empire, to prepare for war.
‘The moment I destroy the Four Kings' Castle, the political situation will change drastically.’
After that, the day to leave the training center arrived.
Late at night, Chris set out on his way.
‘There’s no need for a noisy departure.’
He had only bestowed his teachings out of necessity, so there was no one in particular to say goodbye to.
And he had been so harsh that everyone had probably gritted their teeth at him.
But it was in the moment he was about to leave the training center.
“Wait, hold on.”
“??”
Chris tilted his head.
A man with a cocky appearance.
It was Aiden of the Martial Arts House.
The figure who was once called the Morning Star of the Round Table and praised, only to be thoroughly stomped on.
“Are you perhaps leaving?”
“Yes. What is your business?”
“……”
Aiden did not answer.
He just sent him a defiant gaze, as if he were displeased about something.
‘Is he trying to pick a fight one last time?’
Chris let out a smirk.
Aiden had grown remarkably during the training period.
Given his originally arrogant personality, it wouldn't be strange for him to do something foolish without knowing his place.
“I'm not pleased.”
“Right, hurry up and come at me. Since it's the last time, I'll crush you….”
“To think you would try to leave secretly like this, so we can't even hold a proper farewell ceremony?”
“…What?”
Aiden glared at Chris with blazing eyes.
“After all the grace we have received from you, to think you wouldn't even give us a chance to express our thanks.”
“……”
Chris was at a loss for words.
He wanted to ask, “Are you crazy?”, but Aiden's face was not that of someone joking.
“Yes, that's right. Where do you get off leaving secretly like this?”
“In any case, you're insufferable from beginning to end.”
Other figures emerged from the darkness.
Bewilderingly, they were the House Heads of the Round Table.
“…Why are you all here?”
The House Heads of the Round Table frowned deeply.
Faces that seemed to say, ‘Do we really have to say it for you to know?’
“You're insufferable and hopeless, but it is a fact that you have bestowed a great grace upon us.”
The grace Chris had bestowed was not just saving them from the clutches of Heperlman.
Thanks to the teachings he had given them, all of the House Heads had been able to break their own limits and achieve great growth.
“When we were learning, our pride was hurt and we felt like dirt, but now we know. It was all from a heart that was thinking of us.”
“…That wasn't my intention, though.”
“There's no need to be shy. In any case, it's just as Sir Evan said. He said you weren't honest with your feelings.”
“……”
Throughout the entire training period, Evan had preached about Chris's nobility.
At first, no one believed it, but after hearing it so much their ears were bleeding, they had all been brainwashed into thinking, ‘Is that really the case?’