WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 675: A Tower Without a Ceiling and Intermingling Humans - 11

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I went flying. Wow. If I still had my old body, that impact might have nearly killed me. Lying in the dust, I stared sullenly at Ruel.

Lankart shrugged.

"Hui. I did what I could. The light was just too fast. You can't blame me."

"...Fine. Thanks for at least pretending to stop it."

Unlike me, who could offer a companion even an empty compliment, Ruel looked at the Cyan Tower Master with a complicated expression.

"You hesitated at the last moment, Elisha. If you hadn't let your guard down, he never could have reached you."

The Cyan Tower Master stared vacantly into the air, as though she had lost her soul. She had yet to recover from the shock of defeat.

"Ah..."

"He says you lack resolve? He survived by relying on your kindness, yet dares to say that. It's absurd. If he had any shame, he'd thank you for not resorting to savagery."

If the Cyan Tower Master had gone all out from the beginning, I would not have even gotten near her. Ruel was right about that.

Still, the White Tower Master did not understand mages as a species.

'He used alchemy to convert ice crystals created through innate arcane. If he lost his balance even a little, the ice crystals would have exploded on the spot. Could I have done that...?'

The Cyan Tower Master quickly found the answer. No. She could not convert ice crystals through alchemy, freeze her own body to counter ice magic, or endure an ice crystal explosion.

Of course not. That was only possible because I had the Demon God and mind reading. A normal person like me could do it, but a genius like you never could.

"Pfft. Looks like you finally understand. Hey, Captain. You're far too late. As long as you're a mage, you'll never beat Hui."

Lankart strode right up to the Cyan Tower Master, practically buzzing with excitement.

"An innate arcane takes your mental image, turns it into a rule, and projects it onto the world. It's the most arbitrary and personal rule in the world, but a rule is still a rule. Anyone can use that rule. Hui simply took advantage of it."

"Used... my innate arcane?"

"Right. I set it, and it applies around me, but whether the rule applies is fair! Under the same conditions, Hui is bound to win, because he's far more exceptional than either you or me!"

I told you, it was because of the Demon God and mind reading. Why did you keep trying to explain things? Were you trying to become some third-rate villain?

"You finally get it, don't you? How incredible Hui is. Where you should be aiming! Puhahaha. You have a long way to go! You've only just reached the level I stood at thirteen years ago. No, you're beneath me. You were so frightened of even the floating castle's knowledge that you stopped in your tracks! I don't need to call you Captain anymore! Hahaha!"

Dumbfounded, I spoke to Lankart's back.

"Hey. You tried to kill me. You said a talentless person like me could never be number one."

"I was young then."

That was the excuse you came up with? Wasn't that even worse? What kind of person seriously planned murder at that age?

"And it was before you showed me the Right-Handed World."

Hey. Could you really tell her about your innate arcane like that? Wasn't that supposed to be a secret?

"Hughes...! I, I knew you were an incredible person! As incredible as the Cyan Tower Master, no, even more!"

Avant-garde suddenly popped up from behind the Cyan Tower Master to make her case. Having lived with me in the Crystal Tower, she looked at me with pure faith. I patted Avant-garde on the head.

"It's really dangerous now, so stay back. And, Cyan Tower Master."

"Hic, y-yes!"

Startled by my sudden call, the Cyan Tower Master began hiccuping. She covered her mouth to stop them, but her tense body would not calm down easily.

I stared at the Cyan Tower Master, her face red with shame and embarrassment.

"The White Tower Master was right. I was safe because you cared about my safety. If that ice crystal had been even a little stronger, my limbs would have been torn off."

'...The explosion was already enough to kill someone, and if I made it any more destructive, I would have been caught in it too. That's why I couldn't use it.'

"Either way, I defeated you, Cyan Tower Master, and if possible, I don't want us to be enemies. Protect the others so they don't get caught up in this. The people are what you need to protect, not a secret."

She could no longer help Ruel, even if she was not on my side. Ruel grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"Haah. She was a fine person."

"She still is."

"Those who doubt themselves always seek something to lean on. Her faith was supposed to bloom as well. A faith of ice, colder and clearer than anyone else's. Yet you broke its pillar, so there has been a setback."

Judging by Shei's thoughts, the Cyan Tower Master was probably someone earmarked for the Holy Sword Corps. That was probably why she became Shei's collaborator even in the future where the floating castle fell.

I did not know what would happen now.

The Cyan Tower Master scattered magical energy and created a barrier around the others. Avant-garde and the Cyan Tower Master were both inside it. It was an indirect declaration that she would not take part in this battle.

That left Ruel, the holy knights, and us. They had more people, but we held the advantage in asymmetric strength.

Shei made one last attempt to persuade her.

"Ruel. What you're worried about won't happen. Step aside and let us go up."

"...Shei. In the future you saw, we may have known each other. But that isn't my future. More than anything, the future you will bring has not been promised."

Ruel firmly shook her head.

"I never sought to be understood, but now that it has come to this, it feels lonely and desolate. It can't be helped. Light shines brightly on its own, but it is never illuminated itself."

"If you're lonely, why not go make some friends?"

"Hehe. I wish I could. But unfortunately, those who see the future cannot share the present."

-----

Blink.

-----

There was a very brief pause. The moment I realized it was a sign of stopped time, memories of several seconds flowed into me from Ruel. At the same time, I saw beams of light stretch out above her head.

The light, extending at the speed of light, left bright trails in the air. Materialized light became lines, embroidering endless shapes against the sky. Light that traveled straight until it struck something refracted and reflected off transparent crystals. The light was trapped inside a kaleidoscope, circling endlessly.

Light reflected in countless mirrors soon created infinite images. One face of the mirrors reflected the magic circles drawn so far. Light, mirrors, images, and infinite magic circles.

There were only two ingredients: mirrors and light. With those alone, she reached infinity.

"Hui, something is strange about that woman. I couldn't sense any magical energy, but a magic circle suddenly appeared."

"Time stop! Break the magic circle!"

"I'll try. I don't know if it'll work, though."

Lankart lightly flicked his finger. More than five meters away from him, force surged forth as though his gesture had been magnified tenfold. Dirt and grass shot up like shells, blocking the light woven through the air.

It was a quick enough response. The magic circle completed in stopped time simply activated first.

"Let there be light. When the Celestial God, our Father, commanded it, creation began with light."

Her quiet voice sounded like a prayer. At the same time, another flash of magical light burst from the magic circle. The infinite magic circle made of mirrors amplified the light radiating from the artificial sun.

"After eons had passed, light arrived here. Insignificant creatures, praise the light."

The light extending beyond infinity was false. There was nothing behind the mirrors. Yet it was also true. The light had traveled a journey as long as the infinity reflected in the mirrors. And it was still traveling.

Infinity did not mean quantity. The state of moving toward infinity was infinity itself.

A war-grade spell beyond strategic-grade magic. Grand magic that amplified all light within a certain area. Luminous Irradiance.

It was powerful magic, but it had not even begun yet. The spell's true power was...

"And light shall become power."

Her innate arcane transformed light into force. Ruel, standing with the sun at her back, placed the final mark with her innate arcane.

"Genesis shall come."

It felt as though gravity had increased tenfold. The pressure was on an entirely different level from before. The earth dried up, and the ground crushed beneath the light oozed fluid. The warm light that had made grass grow was gone. Only the light of silent, oppressive force remained.

Lankart shielded his eyes with a hand and grumbled.

"Ugh, it's heavy. Hui, this is stupidly strong. What do we do?"

"...Don't ask me. I really feel like I'm going to die."

That damn Right-Handed World was effective. Even light was being deflected. What was that thing? Was I the only one struggling to endure this?

"Heavenly Sword Technique, Heavenbreaker!"

Shei was safe as well. She endured with qi and used Skywarbler like a prism to deflect the light above her head. Creating a momentary patch of shade amid the downpour of light, Shei shouted at Ruel.

"Ruel...! This power is dangerous!"

"The price I must pay to trust you and hand over 'Pride' is too high. Nothing can compare to the danger of the end. Nothing is reason enough to take that risk."

The pouring light was so bright that it cast gloomy shadows over Ruel's face. Shei took the light upon her body to stop Ruel and swung Skywarbler.

Yet Genesis was not combat magic. It had only amplified the light in this area. The magic had not even begun yet.

"Rite of Light Wheels."

She combined an innate arcane that gave light physical force with magic that controlled light. The materialization of light. Through her innate arcane, she achieved the White Tower's ultimate aspiration. She trapped light within materialized light, creating rings that spun endlessly. They became light wheels with no form, only force.

There were five such light wheels.

"Five-Wheel Orbit."

The five light wheels flew toward Shei. They were not as fast as light, but to human eyes, there was little difference. Shei still reacted, swinging Skywarbler at the light wheels, but the instant they touched Skywarbler, the wheels emitted a blinding light.

"Urgh!"

The intense impact nearly made Shei drop Skywarbler. Skywarbler's true body was compressed space, but light that vibrated with physical force inside the light wheels possessed power greater than rapidly spinning gears.

And when she cut them, the released light ran wild. Materialized light exploded as it shook the atmosphere.

"Genesis Thunder."

"Aaah!"

The exploding light mercilessly sent Shei flying. A thunderous boom followed. Light given substance was no different from lightning. Shei was struck by lightning and flung far away.

Shei was still alive. She had only been forced out of the battlefield. Still, that was not particularly good news.

"You should have left Elisha Celsius here. Then... you might have at least kept your lives."

Ruel's shadowed face had become that of a judge.

Footnotes:

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