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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 199: Ragnarok
Black and I continued to watch the scene unfolding beyond the window.
A thick fog was rolling in from somewhere, dense enough to obscure the sunlight.
It was truly bizarre.
A sudden thick fog on a clear day without a single cloud?
"...Out of contact? What does that mean?"
"A red alert was issued from the westernmost regular branch a while ago. We tried to respond immediately, but we can't reach them."
"What about the emergency magic circle?"
"We checked! It's the same!"
Aguro's tense voice could be heard, but I continued to look out the window.
It was becoming increasingly unsettling.
The sky was gradually turning a dark gray.
Where have I seen this before?
"Alliance Head! The Thousand-Sky Orb has been activated at the White Magic Tower!"
At that moment, another man in a white coat rushed in and reported.
The moment he heard the words "Thousand-Sky Orb," the Alliance Head's expression hardened.
"...Where was it activated?"
"The 13th floor!"
The Alliance Head was about to give some orders, but he involuntarily turned his head to follow my and Black's gaze.
The three of us looked out the window simultaneously.
As the gray fog grew denser and turned into a dark ash gray...
I instinctively guessed what this phenomenon meant.
It was like a volcanic eruption, where volcanic ash gradually consumed the sky.
A brief silence.
"Activate the Alliance Head's decree!"
The moment the voice of Agriche, the High Elder of the White Magic Tower and the Alliance Head, wavered with unease, Black and I exchanged glances.
I remembered.
It was the same color as the ash-gray sky beyond the westernmost barrier.
"Understood, Alliance Head! The level..."
"Maximum."
Aguro immediately bowed his head and replied.
"Yes!"
"Activate it throughout Keplan immediately. The gathering point..."
The Alliance Head's expression hardened as he looked out the window again.
"White Magic Tower."
The administrative bureau head and Aguro immediately echoed,
"We will obey the Alliance Head's decree!"
As soon as the two rushed out, the Alliance Head briefly looked back at me. He nodded once without saying a word, and then immediately left the room.
Only then did Black take his eyes off the window and say,
"This doesn't feel good at all. I'll go ahead."
With that, Black left as well.
I glanced at the 2nd Elder, who was still kneeling, then approached the window and opened it.
Whoosh—!
Dust seeped in through the window with a foul smell.
From down below, I could faintly hear the murmurs of people, shouts, and heavy footsteps.
As the vibrant cityscape of Keplan was gradually consumed by the ash-gray fog, and the magic carriages flying nearby lost their way and hovered in the air...
Flash—!
I immediately threw myself out the window.
6th Circle, Spatial Acceleration.
Changing my footing in midair, I descended towards the ground as if bouncing, then accelerated towards the west of Keplan.
A flash of insight about the Crazy Mage movement technique crossed my mind as I soared through the air, but I put the thought aside for now.
More importantly, I needed to figure out the cause of this unstable phenomenon.
I briefly looked up at the sky as I ran.
'There's a problem with the barrier.'
The area where the sky was turning ash-gray was gradually widening.
It was the same sight I saw beyond the westernmost barrier.
The ominous ash-gray fog covering the sky.
Perhaps a part of the barrier had been breached, and the fog from beyond the westernmost region was flowing in.
There was no other explanation for this phenomenon.
Wheeeeeeee—
"Wh-What's this?"
"It's the Alliance Head's decree! It's an emergency!"
An earsplitting emergency alarm blared throughout Keplan, and the confused voices of mercenaries and locals echoed from all directions.
"Join the mages from the Main Tower in the westernmost region!"
"Everyone gather at the westernmost city, leaving only the minimum personnel!"
"Head west!"
Mages from each Magic Tower, dispatched knights, and clans gathered from various regions were rapidly moving west.
I quickly passed them and continued running towards the westernmost region, when I suddenly frowned.
Whoosh—
A chilling coldness swept in.
It was strange.
Except for the southernmost part of Keplan where the Blue Magic Tower was located, I had never experienced this kind of coldness.
Moreover, the weather in Keplan was usually relatively warm.
Even when it snowed, I had never felt this cold.
But now...
"Ha..."
Whoosh—!
As soon as I exhaled, cold air puffed out.
The further west I went, the stronger the cold wave became.
Definitely.
Something was happening.
It wasn't long before the westernmost part of Keplan, the barrier beyond the city, came into view.
There was no sign of the barrier collapsing, but my anxiety doubled.
This was because I couldn't find a single person from the city to the regular branch.
It was as if all the people had suddenly disappeared, like an ancient ghost town.
I immediately turned my head and looked in the direction of the White Magic Tower.
"Damn it."
The cause was there.
Ash-gray fog was billowing out from the barrier starting from the White Magic Tower.
***
Ominous premonitions often become reality.
Especially in my case.
It was a phenomenon where a series of circumstances unconsciously pieced together in the depths of my mind, instinctively bringing up the most likely scenario.
Even in my previous life, whenever an ominous premonition or intuition suddenly arose, a grim reality would unfold almost without exception.
"A minute crack has been confirmed on the left side!"
"Dispatch five senior scholars from the Second Magic Circle!"
"Chief! We're running out of power!"
But this time, it was a little different.
As soon as I arrived near the White Magic Tower, the reality that unfolded exceeded my ominous premonition.
It wasn't simply a crack in the barrier.
The central axis of the barrier, originating from the White Magic Tower, had a massive hole large enough to fit dozens of people, and the ground along its path was completely swept away, exposing the bedrock.
It was as if a tremendous shockwave had erupted from within, piercing through the barrier in a straight line.
Whoosh—!
A frantic coldness rushed in from beyond the gaping hole.
"Head Gatto! We're short on personnel in the First Magic Circle!"
"Hold them back! We need to buy time until Ragnarok is complete."
Mages, densely packed on either side of the barrier, were chanting and deploying defensive magic circles, but the situation was worsening.
The cold wave emanating from within was intensifying.
Without hesitation, I flew towards the center of the breached barrier.
There was no time to grasp the situation.
"Block it!"
"Manifest your energy into the barrier!"
Ahead of me, knights and mercenaries stationed at the westernmost region were already pouring their mana into the barrier.
Although they didn't know what was happening, their faces were filled with urgency.
Everyone was gripped by a chilling premonition that if they let up, an irreversible disaster would occur.
Since the establishment of the White Magic Tower, the magic barrier had never been breached like this.
An unprecedented event.
And the fact that the central axis of the strongest barrier had been pierced made it even more serious.
Just as I positioned myself behind them and was about to do my incantation,
Wheeeee—!
"Dark Light, stop your incantation!"
Suddenly, one of the chief mages directing the defensive magic circle from the side of the barrier shouted at me with a hardened expression.
"It could interfere with the flow of the magic circle!"
Ignoring him, I immediately opened all the circles in my heart, and I could feel the gazes of the surrounding mages simultaneously directed at me.
"The will to endure hardship. The insight to face pain."
Wheeeee—
As the powerful will I envisioned surged, several chief mages stationed on both sides looked at me at the same time.
"What kind of incantation is that..."
"Ugh!"
The moment the flow of mana in the atmosphere fluctuated, one of the mages from the Second Magic Circle on the right side of the barrier groaned, his face contorted.
The strength of the defensive magic circle weakened.
The chief mage in charge shouted at me again,
"I said stop it! Stop him first!"
Just as some of the knights dispatched under the White Magic Tower's command approached me...
I completed my incantation faster and immediately reached out towards the gaping hole in the center of the barrier.
"I embody the broad sense of patience here."
6th Circle wind-attribute defensive incantation.
Mighty Barrier.
Just before the defensive magic circle on the right weakened and the crack in the barrier widened...
A translucent barrier with immense strength was generated, simultaneously enveloping the center and both sides of the barrier.
Clank—!
Almost simultaneously, a shockwave erupted from within, directly hitting the barrier.
However, despite the tremendous booming sound, the barrier remained intact.
A momentary lull.
The mercenaries and knights at the front line looked around with surprised expressions, then spotted me and shouted in unison,
"Dark Light?"
"It's the Crazy Mage Squad Commander!"
Even more surprised were the mages.
"What kind of incantation was that just now...?"
"I've never heard of that incantation before."
Even though it was cast hastily, this was a magic circle where almost all the mages of the White Magic Tower had gathered to construct a defensive barrier.
Yet, a single individual's incantation surpassed the power of an incantation cast by dozens of mages?
This was no different than denying the lifelong dedication of the White Magic Tower mages who had walked the path of magic.
I could feel the gazes of the mages staring at me with shock, but...
I was more focused on looking intently inside the barrier.
'Restricted Demon Realm.'
One of the situations I had been worried about had occurred.
An enormous amount of cold air was pouring out from the entrance of the Demon Realm, shaped like a human eye that had been split vertically.
It was clear that the shockwave that pierced the barrier had also erupted from the restricted Demon Realm.
What was it?
What was happening in there?
I had never heard of anything emerging from the Demon Realm before.
'Damn it.'
Surely, this situation was also related to the Myriad Demon Assembly.
I briefly looked up.
An immense amount of mana was fluctuating from a white, hot-air balloon-shaped object floating in the sky.
The Thousand-Sky Orb of the White Magic Tower.
Dozens of high-ranking mages were chanting inside the Thousand-Sky Orb, and Mahon Sirius was at the very front.
Suddenly, a wave of cold air washed over me, and I looked back at the restricted Demon Realm.
Clank—!
Another tremendous shockwave erupted, directly hitting the barrier.
Once again, only a booming sound resonated, but I couldn't hide my dismay.
The defensive power of Mighty Barrier was top-tier among 6th Circle incantations.
However, the fact that such a loud booming sound could be heard had a clear meaning.
I immediately looked around and shouted,
"Get out of the way!"
Another chilling wave of cold air surged from the entrance of the restricted Demon Realm.
Just as the shockwave was about to shatter the barrier and sweep away the crowd gathered around...
Crack—!
The shockwave split horizontally.
"What? You got here first?"
Black, who had joined us at some point, swung his black sword widely, dispersing the shockwave.
After quickly grasping the situation with a glance around, Black immediately moved towards the entrance of the restricted Demon Realm.
At that moment, another wave of cold air surged from within.
The intensity of the cold wave was growing stronger.
Clank—!
Black swung his black sword vertically towards the front of the surging shockwave.
With a feeling as if the air was being compressed, the shockwave split apart, but...
Clank—!
The shockwave that scattered to the left and right struck the barrier, and cracks began to spread uncontrollably once more.
"Ha."
As Black frowned with displeasure, a cold wave incomparable to anything before swept in.
I felt it instinctively.
Whoosh—!
A massive shockwave erupted from the entrance of the Demon Realm, which seemed to suck in the surrounding air as if to compress it.
Just as I stepped forward and was about to do my incantation...
"Ragnarok."
Faster than I could react, a beam of light descended vertically from the sky, striking the shockwave.
The erupting shockwave vanished.
The light, spreading out in a circular pattern, swallowed the entrance of the restricted Demon Realm.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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