142. The sword that cuts the stars (4)
There is a huge magic crystal in the basement of the magic tower. It has long been forgotten who and why kept the crystals underground. Because it has been kept and protected, and that is what the ancestors and teachers have done, the magicians of Kairos kept the magic crystals like a jar of shrines. And, the basement where the magic crystals that have kept watch over the history of the Mage Tower are kept is like a kind of sanctuary.
Kwadang-!
And the sanctuary was trampled on by outsiders’ muddy feet today.
“Connect! First of all, in order to properly use this as a power source, you must wake up the sleeping magic within the magic crystal. Does anyone know how to do it?”
Nella waved her limbs and gave her instructions. The wizards and soldiers each followed Nella’s instructions and roamed the underground in perfect order. A box piled up in a corner of the wall fell over, and all kinds of precious materials spilled out, but no one cared about it. Nella also frowned for a moment, then he only gave instructions again, saying, “Where to go and get together.”
“What is this, Associate Professor Nella!”
And then, in a panic, someone jumped down to the basement. He was a white-haired full-time professor in the 4th circle. Nella looked at him and opened her ax eye in pity.
“I need more mana to drive the Great Magic. An item that can stably supply a large amount of mana. What else could there be besides this magic crystal? Without this, we will all die.”
“Hey, are you saying this even though you know what kind of crystal it is!”
“What is it?”
Professor Jeong fell silent at Nella’s bold question.
“Isn’t it a treasure that has been passed down from generation to generation…. Do you need more explanation?”
“Yes. Grab a magic crystal and die alone. Or risk your life to stop me from using the magic crystal. If you’re not prepared to do that, just get out of the way. Don’t be annoying Go upstairs and help me prepare for the barrier activation. Squeeze out more of your missing mana.”
Nella shook the pile of papers she was holding in her hand to dismiss Professor Jeong’s words. The professor couldn’t resist more and shut his mouth. It wasn’t simply because of a lack of logic or grounds, but because of the sense of intimidation emanating from the 6th Circle wizard.
“… Damn it OK, I got it. Because this is all we do to survive. It’s an unavoidable situation. I get it, I get it. So please don’t look at me with such scary eyes.”
As if trying to rationalize this action, the professor strode towards his magic crystal as he kept saying that. Looking at his crystal, the professor scratched his head and opened his mouth again.
“If you do it that way, the disenchantment won’t be as efficient as you think.”
That’s how it should come out. Nella smiled inwardly. The professor began to recite the use of the magic crystal on his own. mana and stability can now be addressed somehow. Nella left Burinake’s basement and entered the first floor. Preparing to drive is finished. While the entire floor had turned into an empty auditorium, sparks of magical power were flying here and there in the aftermath of the piling up spells.
“What about the magic circle?”
“Compressed. Just infuse the magical energy that will become the key, and Jin will unfold the magic by itself. The compression process is so good… , We didn’t have to do much coordination. In fact, Daphne-san from Circle 6 was handling the tuning alone.”
It was the shaggy-haired assistant who answered quickly. Other wizards were busy moving around him. Nella turned his head toward the center of the magic circle. Daphne was there, closing her eyes and interacting with the Great Magic. Her pink hair swayed to and fro with the flow of her magic power.
“… I’ll have to let you focus.”
After she entered her mage tower, it crashed dozens, maybe hundreds of times. We couldn’t understand each other, but we could at least know what they were thinking. If Nella wanted revenge, a proof of her worth, all she wanted was help from Daphne. To light a little of the burden on the shoulders of the hero. That was the only thought she had in mind as she created her magic.
“How on earth is a guy like that knocking on the door of the 7th circle?”
Wizards are selfish. Or not sane. If it is not both, you cannot reach higher places. Effort accompanies tenacity, and obsession is madness. How far you can go for magic determines the wizard’s level and growth limit.
“Stupid.”
Nella shook her head. A heart for warriors. If that is obsession, then it must be obsession. The day she left the hero’s party, and the day Nella insulted the hero, Daphne’s life. It is closer to belief than obsession with Illroy. Nella watched Daphne respond for a while. Space is distorted by the compressed mana. Daphne’s face was like looking through a broken mirror.
“… Done.”
Nella read Daphne’s lips. Her purple eyes opened, and her mana completely stabilized. Daphne, floating in the air, landed.
“We send people to locations and move them to the top. Please adjust your position.”
“… You are truly a freaking monster. Aren’t you tired?”
Daphne shook her head briefly and pressed the button on the elevator. Even though it was said that the world was on the verge of destruction, the speed at which the tower’s elevators opened was extremely slow. Nella climbed the elevator, suppressing her desire to rip out the bars. The wizards on the first floor looked at the two with desperate eyes. There was a mixture of hopes, expectations, fears, and worries.
“Don’t be stunned, go to your designated location and prepare your assistant!! Don’t you know we’re not the only two going to stop the comet?”
Nella’s actions made the magicians’ feet loose. Nella clicked her tongue as she watched the wizards move like ants and the first floor looked like an anthill.
“I don’t know if those guys can do it right. Shibeol, I’m going to die of anxiety.”
“I want you to do it. Is there anything more we can do?”
The elevator rattled unnervingly the whole way up. Nella was impatient and wanted to bite off her fingernails. All kinds of ominous delusions were running through her head. She rummaged through the files for nothing, looked at the paper that calculated the position of the meteor, and calculated again.
“Everything should be ready by 8pm. Because 20 minutes is the estimated time of collision….”
Palak, palak. The elevator slowed down as the paper rolled over. Nella hurriedly closed her files and blew her spell on the elevator door, destroying it. Seeing Daphne’s bewildered gaze, Nella frowned and frowned.
“What are you looking at? Were you going to keep waiting for that to open?”
Nella stepped out, kicking her bars. A cold wind blew through. Nella walked to the center of the Mage Tower rooftop, where magic manifested without hesitation. The feeling of her hair standing on end. Nella felt the nascent energy of her power rise from beneath her feet and energize her body. Then, she lifted her head and looked up at her sky.
“… Come a little slower.”
The end of the beam is on the western horizon. The tail looked like a cloud that marked the boundary between the north and the south, or a cloud that was exceptionally clear. The comet appeared to fly much slower than her natural speed. The main body of the comet seemed to be hovering in the air like a bird of prey on a hunt for a descent.
“Daphne, I think we should start deploying the barrier soon. Crash….”
Nella turned her gaze back to Daphne, then hesitated. Daphne was staggering and leaning against the wall, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Daphne raised her hand to stop Nella, who was startled and tried to approach her.
“Okay… It is. I think I used up more stamina than I thought during battle. Magic has nothing to do with it. There is still a bit of room left, so you can continue the development as it is.”
Nella stood there and looked at Daphne with a frown on her face. She couldn’t tell if she was breathing or exhaling out of embarrassment. She could never say it was the same as usual.
“I know it’s not okay. You will have time for about 10 minutes, so take a break and recover.”
“I can’t do that. I know there is no time to relax.”
Daphne forced herself to let go of his hand on the wall. She stumbled once more, and she soon caught her balance and stood upright.
“What are you going to do if the magic doesn’t work properly because you didn’t? Get some rest Don’t be stubborn. He said he would help Illroy. Then, first of all, you must be whole.”
“You know that. Taking a 10-minute break doesn’t dramatically restore her mana or stamina. There is a good chance that the comet will strike within 10 minutes.”
Nella’s frown slowly hardened into an expressionless expression. Daphne was still breathing heavily. The comet is approaching. The time of all three existences passed differently. Nella paused the clockwork in her head to tick.
“Even if you block the comet and die, no one will say anything. Your colleagues will be sad, of course, but no one will blame you. No one will question it.”
His voice was as hard as his expression. At Nella’s sudden words, Daphne raised her head with her questioning expression. Nella was sending her eyes as if she was somehow frustrated.
“I wouldn’t mind either, but are you really okay with that?”
“Illroy will probably notice. Even if they don’t recognize it, won’t they come to the tombstone and cry?”
Daphne said that and smiled. She could not find the slightest hint of sadness in the smile of a man who laughed as he talked about death. Nella’s clockwork started to turn again. If she couldn’t let Daphne rest, there was no reason to delay casting her magic any longer.
Daphne walked into the center of her gin. Nella flicked through her files, rummaged through her calculations. The wind died down strangely. The noise of battle was distant. If she didn’t look down, she could only see the sky and mountains covered in monsters. There were two people at the end of such a world.
“Let’s get started.”
Daphne nodded and stretched out her hand. The magical power that became the key flowed through Daphne’s fingertips. When that tightly clenched fist opens, an unprecedented great magic is completed. Nella also reached out and channeled her magic. It was a structure in which Daphne was in charge of operation and deployment, and Nella was in charge of other coordination.
From noble mtl dot com
“”Activate the barrier.””
The two opened their mouths at the same time, and a strong wind swirled and rose from the first floor of the Mage Tower. Hearing the sound of magical friction piercing his ears, a magic circle large enough to cover half of the royal road came to mind. Nella shuddered at the weight and swallowed her dry saliva.
“-The operation was successful! Take aim!”
“Because I know… !”
Nella pointed her finger at the head of her comet. And, as if the comet was aware of the enemy, she suddenly accelerated. Marking the end of the orbit, Nella stretched her hand out to the edge of her sky.
“Fixed complete. The barrier must be deployed now!!”
Koo Goo Goo Palace.
The ground is shaking. The roots of the trees were lifted, and the rocks lost their balance and rolled. Faced with the identity of the comet, Nella completely hardened. It’s not magic or anything. It was a huge mass that needed no further explanation. An existence that can only be overwhelmed by simply looking at it. Was it arrogance to even say that I would destroy it in the first place?
“I will unfold!!”
And then, the magic circle tilted towards the comet. Nella licked her lips and came to her senses. Daphne clenched her fists just in time, and the magic circle ate up space and opened a hole into the void.
“Infuse magic power to the maximum!”
Nella said that and squeezed her heart to inject magic into it. Otherwise, even magic would be meaninglessly pulverized by that amount of physical force. Hundreds of wizards are risking their lives and pouring their magic.
The coordinates are correct. The magic also unfolded as designed. All that remains is to wait for the comet to be sucked into the air!
Hooung.
Dozens of trees, a few walls. Many injured by wind pressure.
It was the damage left by the arrival of the comet.
The comet entered the void created by the sorcerers.
“Okay… all!”
Nella shouted, her eyes wide open in disbelief, but Daphne shook her head vigorously, saying no. The huge shouts of unknown wizards could be heard from below.
“No… I am still resisting fiercely. If the supply of magic power is interrupted even for a moment, it will tear up the sky again and reappear.”
“Then what happens now?! Can you maintain your magic power supply now?”
Daphne didn’t answer the question for a moment, then nodded very slowly. Even though it wasn’t a question he was asked to answer in the first place. Daphne seemed to be barely conscious now.
“I can do it.”
“What can I do?”
Nella growled and argued, but Daphne stayed calm. It’s obvious how a wizard can get magical power beyond his fountain. Sacrificing my future time to get the present.
“You should be able to hold on to it for quite some time. Maybe we can trap the comet in space until it loses its power….”
“It’s all useless if you die, you idiot!”
Nella couldn’t help but screamed at her. Nella’s sudden words made Daphne widen her eyes and look at her. Nella glared at her Daphne and slowly opened her mouth.
“I can’t. I can’t save the world by killing myself, and I don’t think I’ll see you save the world by killing yourself. And if I had to choose one, I would choose the former.”
Nella took a step forward and held out her hand to Daphne.
“Pass it. Control.”
“… I can’t do that.”
Daphne shook her head. As if he had already completed all preparations, a blue aura surrounded Daphne and hovered around her. Nella squeezed and squeezed Daphne’s hand.
“Pass it.”
“Why are you so stubborn? It’s not like you at all. You said you were selfish.”
“Yes. You’re making this choice because you’re selfish. I can’t bear to open my eyes and see a magical achievement that I can never achieve. But I think I’ll die really happy once I’ve accomplished that feat. In order to get revenge on the hero.”
Daphne resisted, and Nella tried to take it away. The two held hands in an invisible battle in the center of the magic circle.
“You wouldn’t be happy even if you died here.”
“There is no such thing as a happy death.”
Support positions.
Electric current jumped out of the hands of the two. Mana was coming and going, colliding, mixing, and exploding.
“If you do this, the barrier will be broken, Nella.”
“Then you can pass the barrier.”
Nella forced her magic to flow. The magic that was slowly forming a crack was filled and fixed by Nella’s magical power. The barrier was stabilized, but the war of nerves between the two wizards did not stop. Then, Daphne raised his left hand, which was not being used. An earthquake shook Nella’s eyes.
“Hey, what are you going to do-!”
Craft!
Nella fell to her floor, shaking her body. And Daphne soared into the sky.
“Hey… , you bastard… !!”
“Thank you, Nella. I would be really happy if you put up my tombstone.”
“Mr. Foot. I say… !”
“Then you don’t have to stand up.”
Daphne flew into the void laughing and gaping his mouth. While he was already casting this spell, he must have created the seventh ring. The electric magic that hit Nella was beyond the level Nella could overcome. Nella screamed, scratching the floor with her fingertips, but Daphne didn’t listen. Then, she followed the comet and stepped into her barrier.
“Even Illroy… , Say thank you to all my other colleagues instead.”
“You… tell me directly!! Damn b*tch….”
The last thing I saw was her bright smile. Nella clenched her fists in her eyes, her light gone. Her fingernails, which had scratched her floor, had broken and her blood was oozing out.
“Please….”
It’s gone. Someone who could barely be recognized as a colleague had easily disappeared. A single tear rolled down Nella’s cheek. Her voice cracked and leaked out of her throat as she continued to scream. Nella’s hands trembled as she gazed at the entrance to her void, which began to slowly close.
“Who….”
Nella cried for the first time, seeking her vague help.
“Help me.”
And the hero was there.
Am I looking at something? The hero existed in a dim and bright light like a dream. But now it didn’t seem to matter at all. Vain or real, she needed something to lean on.
“Illroy…. There, in the closed place, a comet… Daphne is… !”
The hero nodded her head. Then he turned around behind her and flew away. Nella looked blankly at the wings spreading behind him. The two swords in her hands were crying low and high, wrapped in silvery-white seogi.
“I’ll get you.”
A word.
For some reason Nella let go of her body at that one word. The warrior flew through the sky with a single flap of his wings,
It soon disappeared into the void that was about to close.
Ohhh nice, void hopping(?) here we go 🤣