Chapter 103

Chapter 103
The inability of the mages to cast spells inside the Malacca ruins was caused by the dissipation of magical energy.

The fundamental process of casting magic involves drawing magical power from within oneself and organizing it into a particular sequence.

But in this area, as soon as magical power was drawn out, it would instantly dissipate into the atmosphere, making any organization—and therefore any magic—unachievable.

This implied that Theon himself, the one responsible for this circumstance, was also stripped of his magical abilities.

Yet, there was a single individual who was exempt—Alon.

The explanation for this exemption was obvious:

‘It’s due to the incantation of stabilization, which locks the magical power’s arrangement in place.’

Essentially, he possessed the skill to impose the rules of magic by invoking incantations, regardless of the conditions.

‘Without the clue etched on the wall, I likely would have been devoured by insects while still searching for an answer… Not that our present predicament is any less perilous.’

Still, this was no time for relief.

The fact that the surroundings caused magical energy to dissipate actively remained a significant handicap, not just for Alon, but for any magic-user.

‘No matter the amount of magical power I invest, organizing it requires time, which reduces effectiveness. Plus, the Ho Gaftu and the bracelet are also ineffective. Essentially, the maximum I can achieve is three spells, at most.’

Staying composed, Alon evaluated their circumstances and observed the area around him.

Mutated beings, similar to mosquitoes but as large as people, flew through the air, producing the characteristic, menacing drone of insects.

They weren’t only in the air.

They were attached to rocks covered in moss.

They moved over the walls of the ruins.

They were spread all over the ground.

Even at his back.

The whole ruin was dreadfully overrun with monstrous, insect-like creatures.

“This is unbelievable~!”

As Alon was looking around, Theon’s exclamation, full of astonishment, rang out from ahead.

“By all logic, using magic here should be impossible…!?”

Theon stood there, stunned and speechless.

Ignoring his companion’s intense response, Alon concentrated entirely on a dispassionate evaluation of their plight.

‘I have to eliminate them all with one move.’

Various extensive area spells capable of solving this crisis ran through Alon’s thoughts.

Regrettably, he couldn’t employ any of them at present.

Casting such a spell here would inevitably ensnare Evan and the other mages in its effect.

In fact, it wasn’t a matter of possibility, but an absolute certainty.

Yet, picking off the insects individually with targeted attacks wasn’t a feasible approach either.

He had a very limited number of opportunities to cast spells.

While he was wrestling with this problem, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

‘…Hold on. If magical power dissipates in this way…?’

His expression brightened as the concept formed.

“Decomposition.”

He murmured the word softly.

The weak strand of magic that had been present just a second before was suddenly dismantled and vanished.

It was instantly fractured into minute fragments and spread throughout the chamber.

The slim hope the mages had been holding onto disappeared, and sounds of despair left their mouths.

“There, you see? I told you it was pointless~!”

Even Theon, who had begun to feel a flicker of confidence again, made a discouraged motion with his dark staff.

Just then, as the airborne bugs grew aggressive and started to move, Alon kept his calm.

Behind his impassive face, his mind was racing.

‘So, even when it dissipates, the magical energy doesn’t truly vanish.’

He looked around the room.

Even as monstrous insects charged at him with deadly purpose, Alon did not give in to hopelessness.

Because he could perceive it.

The magical energy he had just broken down was now naturally diffused throughout the space, a consequence of this room’s unique nature.

And most crucially, the instant he understood that, despite the diffusion, his command over the magical energy spread across the room was progressing exactly as he planned—

“Hoo—”

Releasing a soft breath, Alon made a seal with his left hand, maintaining his serenity.

Then, with his right hand, he performed a Ji-Quan-In.

“Cheonggwang (청광, Pure Light).”

*Pajijijik!*

Once more, a shining sphere of lightning erupted into being on Alon’s palm, starkly contrasting the weak spells from before.

It glowed with a brilliant, blinding light.

“Acceleration (가속).”

Following this, the lightning sphere consumed the nearby air, releasing a stunning display of electric blue radiance.

And at the moment the piercing mandibles and legs of the mutated creatures were on the verge of contacting Alon’s body—

“Designation (지정).”

An overpowering flash erupted.

*Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!*

Without any delay, the lightning sphere Alon had formed ripped ruthlessly through the flying insects.

The heads of bugs that had ascended into the air before tumbling down.

The body of a bug that was moving sideways, nearly crushing Alon’s hand.

The curved form of an insect brandishing its proboscis, targeting his heart.

Guided with absolute accuracy, the lightning, marked by paths of brilliant blue light, struck only the insects.

In just seconds, the flash annihilated every single bug.

*Kwa-jik!*

Finally, as if concluding its assault, the lightning hit Theon’s heart just as he was frantically trying to wield his staff once more, and then it disappeared.

…

Soon, a shower of the mutated creatures started to fall onto the ruin’s floor.

Their limbs twitched as their glowing green internal fluids splattered down, dripping onto the mages’ heads.

None of them moved to evade the falling insect corpses.

Even Liyan, whose hair was drenched in the green liquid, remained motionless, not bothering to clean it off.

She just gazed fixedly in one direction.

It was toward where Marquis Palatio was standing.

“Ah…”

A soft gasp escaped Liyan’s lips.

What feeling was contained in that quiet, prolonged sound? She herself couldn’t identify it.

And at the center of all the looks directed his way was Alon.

‘Ah… Aah… Am I… going to die…?’

Having pushed his magical power too far, Alon felt the signs of mana exhaustion setting in after merely two spells.

Behind his calm exterior, he was inwardly on the brink of weeping.

***

A short time later.

After quickly drinking a potion for immediate recovery, Alon understood that his mana had been restored to normal from the instant Theon died.

“…Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“What was that spell? I’ve seen you use similar magic in training, but never anything like that.”

“You probably won’t see it again, either.”

‘Because I have no intention of ever using it again.’

Alon held his still-throbbing head and made a determined decision.

The magic he had just employed was a fusion of two incantation-based spells.

First, he had purposely decomposed and scattered his magical power throughout the chamber, leveraging the environment’s mana-diffusing property.

Then, he controlled the dispersed magical energy, forming it into specific sequences that targeted only the bugs and Theon.

Finally, he used a second incantation to direct his magic to strike precisely those designated sequences.

That was how the spell was executed.

However, as he had already indicated, it was highly unlikely he would ever use that spell again.

The technique itself depended on mana scattering to function, meaning it was only possible under very specific and uncommon conditions.

Furthermore, the degree of control it demanded was ridiculously inefficient.

The evidence of that inefficiency was the persistent, pounding headache that still plagued him.

“…I understand. Still, it was truly remarkable.”

“Magic isn’t meant for spectacle.”

“Well, of course… I didn’t mean it that way, just an observation.”

It was unclear how much time had elapsed as he conversed with Evan.

“Marquis, I am sorry. And… thank you, so much.”

Soon, Alon found himself accepting Liyan’s thanks.

“There’s no need to bow so low.”

“How could I not? If not for you, I would be dead already. Really… thank you, truly.”

Liyan bent at the waist into a deep, nearly ninety-degree bow, showing her gratitude.

Alon, uneasy with the display, once again told her it wasn’t required.

“Well, in that case… I was hoping—”

Just as Liyan raised her head and started to speak—

*Ku-gu-gu-gu-guung!*

Abruptly, the ruins began to shake.

The mages, who had only just begun calmly gathering their equipment in preparation to depart, immediately grew tense, their faces alert.

But contrary to their fears—

“A staircase…?”

The powerful tremors ceased, and revealed before them was a staircase that had formed in the central arena, where nothing had been before.

The stairs led downward.

The mages all reached the same understanding at once.

This was the place Theon had mentioned earlier—the location of the object.

But that understanding was brief.

“Marquis, please take this item with you.”

“…Are you certain that’s alright?”

“Absolutely. It is something we have all consented to.”

When Alon looked over at her words, he saw the other mages bowing their heads in agreement.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a group of mages bowing like this,” Evan whispered, observing the scene.

“…Then I will accept,” Alon replied.

Taking the item into his hands, Alon did not hesitate as he started down the stairs leading underground.

Before long, he encountered a solitary door with writing on its surface.

The words, inscribed in the same strange ancient script that Alon could read as before, stated:

—To the mage who recalls the incantation of unification after fleeing to the end, a legacy of harmony is bestowed.

…

Alon studied the inscription intently for a moment before pushing the door open.

With a low, grating *creeeak*, the door swung inward.

Contrary to his expectation of darkness, the room beyond was illuminated sufficiently to see everything clearly.

Inside, Alon saw two objects.

The first was an egg.

A black egg, so dark it appeared to swallow all light, resting on an altar.

The second was a set of written words.

Specifically—

“…‘Harmony of Shadows’?”

The phrase, which seemed to be the secret to self-manifestation, was inscribed on the wall behind the foreboding black egg.

As Alon moved closer to inspect the egg more carefully—

“Hm?”

He spotted an aged piece of parchment placed beside the egg, also covered in ancient writing.

Its contents were as follows:

Do not permit the Shadow Dragon to ingest anything other than mana before its birth.

Should the Shadow Dragon consume a mage’s blood beyond a specific limit, the egg must be destroyed.

Neglecting this will cause the Shadow Dragon to become a Death Shadow Dragon, sending it into a uncontrollable rage.

Two warnings in total.

After reading this, Alon swiftly deduced what Theon had intended to do.

…Was he trying to transform the Shadow Dragon into a Death Shadow Dragon?

Though the motivations were unknown, one thing was clear.

‘Someone deliberately set this up to tempt a mage into turning the Shadow Dragon into a Death Shadow Dragon…’

He briefly contemplated the forces manipulating Theon.

But another notion soon emerged in his mind, causing him to frown.

This one concerned the Queen of Asteria, Cretinia Siyan.

‘Theon himself confessed to the attack, so there’s no link there… But given that she sent me here, she undoubtedly knew something about this…’

While it was true that rumors about Alon using ancient-era magic had spread among mages, there were still aspects of this situation that didn’t add up.

‘She did say I would understand why she instructed me to come to the Malacca ruins once I arrived.’

That much was certain.

Moreover, fully comprehending the significance of these Malacca ruins required the ability to decipher ancient texts.

Which meant—

Cretinia Siyan knew that Alon could read ancient script, and that whatever was here would be beneficial to him.

‘What is really happening here?’

Alon’s expression became more bewildered, but only briefly.

‘…First, I need to go back up.’

Setting his questions aside for the moment, he lifted the jet-black egg and started his climb back to the surface.

…The egg was astonishingly heavy.

At that moment.

“We should be arriving soon.”

Inside a carriage that was more like a disguised room, Siyan sat at ease as it journeyed back toward Terea.

At her words, her secretary, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“Your Majesty appears to be quite interested in Marquis Palatio.”

“Interested, you say?”

Siyan settled deeper into the carriage’s cushioned seat.

“Does it seem that way to you?”

“Please forgive my forwardness, but yes, it does.”

“Well, you aren’t mistaken.”

“Forgive me again, but may I inquire—what is it about him that draws your interest?”

“What, indeed?”

Siyan considered the question for a moment before a gentle smile touched her lips.

“It’s hard to say.”

She redirected the question to her secretary.

“What do you believe it could be?”

…

The secretary did not dare to answer.

However—

The secretary couldn’t help but observe that Siyan’s golden eyes, the legendary Gilded Eyes of History, seemed to be shining more intensely than usual, though it might have just been a trick of the light.