NOVEL NEXT chapter 115
115 – 115. Witch Hunt (3)
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the competition between divinity and magic began with the history of war.
Divinity.
The power of divine will bestowed by the great god.
Magic.
The manifestation of sorcery created by refining innate talent and magical power.
The Kingdom of Seonghwang, which worshipped the divinity of the one true god, treated magic as a troublesome deviation. Meanwhile, the Magic Tower, which had produced numerous archmages, looked down upon divinity as the abilities of charlatans, displaying their disdain.
“The calamity of innocence, referred to as the pinnacle of all disaster deities… is not lacking when facing the head of the Magic Tower.”
If the great head of the Magic Tower could defeat the calamity of innocence, even the elders of the Kingdom of Seonghwang would come to realize the greatness of magic.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put an end to the protracted conflict between divinity and magic, which had dragged on like a bad relationship. Thus, Querisa erupted with excitement as she faced the multitude of firearms surrounding her.
– Let’s test our firepower, Grandmother of the Magic Tower.
“Sure. I’m confident in a battle of firepower too.”
The weapons spread out in the air all simultaneously unleashed their flames.
At the same time, the Master of the Magic Tower extended both hands, deploying concentrated magical projectiles.
I will counter with projectiles of my own.
Countless projectiles rained down simultaneously, creating a clash.
Surprisingly, the collision of divine power and magic resulted in a stalemate. Despite the thousands of projectiles pouring down like a torrential rain, neither Edanant nor Querisa bore a single scratch.
‘Though I didn’t use all my power… to think you could calculate the trajectories of all the projectiles and deflect them perfectly.’
The opponent was one of the strongest, having risen to the ranks of the Seven Great Nations.
It was a result that was only to be expected.
I gazed at the Master of the Magic Tower floating in the air.
A beautiful woman with flowing emerald hair cast a captivating smile as she extended her hands. The staff, which assisted in the manifestation of magic, seemed like a mere trinket as she cast spells solely with her hands.
“Shall we raise the stakes?”
As the Master of the Magic Tower gestured, flames shaped like beasts began to descend. Edanant, watching her, deployed hundreds of cannons and initiated a concentrated bombardment.
Brilliant golden light flashed.
It was the backlight emanating from the yellow star Aldebaran.
Querisa’s eyes sparkled at the sight.
For the first time, a feeling of astonishment spread across her previously intrigued emerald eyes.
‘Using the divine power of calamity… while simultaneously wielding the sanctity of the Earth Mother bestowed upon the holy sword? A divine clash should cause her body to explode!’
Edanant, clad in pitch-black armor, wielded the holy sword with ease, slicing through the flames. Facing him, Querisa raised her hand, deploying a defensive spell while continuing her observation.
Fwoosh—!
The flames that surged like a flood were severed.
At the same time, Edanant amplified his divine power in succession and charged straight at Querisa.
“I hate rough movements…! My joints are going to ache when I wake up tomorrow morning!”
Close combat unfolded.
But Querisa did not evade him.
Even though she could easily create distance with teleportation magic, she chose to respond.
“Arise, knights of the Magic Tower!”
Querisa lifted one foot, clad in high heels, and stomped down on the uneven ground. With that, a heavy metallic sound echoed, and over ten metallic figures burst forth from the ground.
The armor and weapons gleamed with a bluish radiance.
The metallic dolls born from the magic of the Tower of Sorcery formed a formation around Querisa, like a royal guard protecting their queen.
Homunculus.
They were dolls that had temporarily grasped life through a great arcane spell.
As Edanant closed the distance, swinging the holy sword, the metallic dolls almost simultaneously drew their blades and charged forward.
“Do you wish to play with dolls?”
A golden torrent surged forth, striking down over a dozen metallic dolls. Aldebaran’s divinity quickly penetrated, disrupting the spells stored within the homunculi.
Creeeak.
Creeeek—!!
A grotesque scream echoed from beyond the metal armor.
It was the sound of the homunculi resisting the holy sword’s divine power.
Edanant did not miss the moment when the homunculi stiffened from the impact of the divinity. The sharp blade swung like a storm, tearing apart the metallic dolls of the Tower of Sorcery.
A vessel harboring the calamity of war.
As if to support the ever-amplifying divinity, the individual’s strength was also remarkable.
Could one truly call him a hero representing the Baltaria Empire?
If he continued the battle with such a trivial sense of complacency, he might very well be swallowed by the calamity of innocence. Sensing this, Querisa activated a teleportation spell, momentarily widening the distance between herself and Edanant.
“Explode.”
The activation of the teleportation spell was not merely to escape from the holy sword Aldebaran.
Kwahwahwah!!!
She clenched her fist.
At that moment, the homunculi sacrificed by the holy sword emitted a chilling flash of light.
As the signal to self-destruct was issued, the metallic dolls exploded in unison. The explosion caused by the homunculus’s magic core, condensed with vast magical power, engulfed Edanant.
“Wow, that’s truly amazing. Even their resilience is top-notch.”
A shadow clad in pitch-black armor slowly emerged from the site of the explosion.
Only minor scratches remained.
Querisa was taken aback by Edanant’s remarkably unscathed appearance.
‘How on earth did he withstand the explosion? Even a powerhouse of the Seven Great Nations would not escape unscathed from a magic core explosion… Could he possibly be on par with Maximilian?’
Narrowing her eyes, she kept a watchful gaze on the approaching calamity of innocence.
Everything was shrouded in mystery.
The power of the divinity was utterly unfathomable.
Did such vast divinity truly exist in this world? The Tower of Sorcery felt a bubbling desire for knowledge, like molten lava, as it prepared new spells to capture the unknown monster.
“The saint has chosen a splendid knight. He must be quite dependable.”
“Of course. He’s the one I selected.”
Querisa said, gazing at the girl with flowing silver hair.
Then a response filled with strong confidence flew back.
“Hmmm… If you say that, it makes me a bit jealous, you know? I might just want to snatch him right in front of you.”
“That’s a rather outrageous thing to say. This is why older women… they don’t know their place and throw glances at men who are already taken, don’t they?”
Clack.
Jeblinne said, grinding her teeth.
Perhaps it was because there had been precedents.
Even though it was a light provocation meant to mock, Jeblinne reacted intensely.
“You seem quite at ease. Even though the esteemed elders of the Holy Kingdom must be waiting with bated breath.”
“I only participated because I wanted to observe the calamity of innocence foretold by prophecy. I have no interest in what the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom are scheming. I don’t even want to know their sinister intentions.”
It was merely a temporary alliance formed because the calamity of innocence had emerged in the Baltaria Empire.
The Mage Tower and the Holy Kingdom had been long-standing rivals.
As if to prove that, the master of the Mage Tower expressed disdain while mentioning the Holy Kingdom.
From the recent response, Edanant understood why the Mage Tower’s master did not show hostility. True to the eccentricity of a madman consumed by a thirst for knowledge, he was certainly not in his right mind.
“Can’t you let me go for now? I’ll make sure to socialize plenty later. I’m starting to get a bit annoyed with all this reverence for the elderly.”
“That would be difficult. I’ve already received payment in advance from the Holy Kingdom folks.”
The negotiations were over.
Now, it was just a matter of forcibly clearing a path.
A black haze swirled, coloring the surroundings.
An overwhelming amount of weaponry, ten times what had been summoned until now, appeared all at once.
And that wasn’t all.
Strange weapons, never seen before, joined the ranks alongside guns and cannons.
Like crows tearing apart corpses, the spectacle of weaponry quickly covered the sky, leaving Querisa visibly flustered. A torrent far beyond her expectations unfolded right before her eyes.
“The final ultimatum is over. I won’t even spare a glance for a friend’s mother who’s over seventy.”
“Sigh… How did our model student son end up making friends like this?”
Kugugugugugugugugugung───!!!
Edanant and Querisa stepped closer to each other.
At that moment, a heavy roar echoed as the pillars that had isolated the outside from the inside began to collapse one after another.
The durability had reached its limit.
The pillars, precariously swaying from repeated bombardments, finally crumbled with a thunderous crash.
“The earthen wall has collapsed!”
“The, the Archmage appears! But that…!”
At that moment, numerous paladins of the Holy Kingdom had mobilized to encircle the scene. The massive pillars crossing the sanctuary and the chain of explosions shaking the very ground compelled all the paladins stationed within the sanctuary to spring into action.
A shadow cloaked in dark haze enveloped him.
The paladins who witnessed him gasped in horror and drew their swords.
The avatar of the God of Calamity had emerged.
The ominous presence that oozed forth was undoubtedly the power of heresy.
Enormous artillery boasting overwhelming firepower filled the sky. Faced with a natural disaster beyond imagination, the paladins trembled uncontrollably, crushed by fear.
“The apostle of the God of Calamity has attacked the sanctuary!”
“Raise your swords! From this moment, all paladins shall commence their defense!!”
The nemesis of the One True God.
A monstrous harbinger of the ominous prophecy that would bring about humanity’s destruction.
The innocent calamity descended, beginning to darken the skies of the sanctuary.
We must protect the sanctuary.
We cannot allow such heretics to take it from us.
The paladins surrounding the area, prepared for martyrdom, aimed their sharp blades at the apostle of the God of Calamity.