I read the Saintess's thoughts. Valuable information, that.
It's a bit different from the Iron Saintess. She could only foresee herself, and her mind was like a block of stone. No matter how precious the words, if they're written on a jagged rock, they're hard to read.
In contrast, the Saintess of Light was bright, just as her name suggested. Clear and clean memories were easy for me to read.
"Malice alone does not lead the world to ruin! What matters is intellect. If foolish, if lacking the foresight to see far ahead, even a small kindness can lead to a terrible tragedy."
"There's also the concept of the butterfly effect."
"You are not foolish. You simply watch silently as a child walks toward the water's edge, so the outcome won't change either."
Luel raised her finger and pointed at the artificial sun above. Gazing at the light source no different from the sun with her bare eyes without fear, she smiled gently and passed judgment.
"I cannot entrust 'Arrogance' to you."
And Luel lowered her finger just like that.
With that motion, the light radiating from the artificial sun gained physical force. The light itself changed the rules enveloping this world and pressed down on me.
"Ugh!"
Light with physical force was tremendously fast and powerful. Even with just the light shining down, wind pressure bore down on me. It felt like a waterfall was crushing my shoulders and back.
I jumped ahead after reading Luel's thoughts, but the light had already battered my entire body. I was sent flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
I feel a tingling pressure throughout my entire body. The fact that my eyeballs haven't burst from the light with physical force must be because the light is pressing down on the rest of my body as well.
"The reason the Saintess did not enforce order with 'power' was not because she lacked power. It's because she knew how fragile and hollow an order enforced with such power would be."
Rolling a few times before getting up, I barely managed to steady my vision and faced the Saintess of Light.
A halo above her head. Wings of light spread out behind her back. The soft light flowing from her entire body exudes physical intimidation. An overwhelming power that drains stamina just from daring to look at it.
Stumbling back, I spoke without thinking.
"Isn't that because it's power borrowed from the First Saintess?"
"Other Saintesses might be. However."
Luel smiled radiantly and waved both hands in circles. Following her hands, clusters of pure white light flickered in the air.
It's not qi or magical light. What she held in her hands were pure clusters of light. Light that should disappear upon contact had gained physical force through her inherent magic, and was trapping other light within.
"My inherent magic isn't something given by the First Saintess who blessed me, you see?"
Smiling softly, Luel fired the ring-shaped light at me.
"Sparkling Light!"
The speed of light was faster than what the eye could see. Well, naturally? We call it 'seeing' when light enters our eyes.
By the time I came to my senses, my body had already been battered countless times and sent flying far away. The light with physical force disappeared the moment it struck me.
"Gaah!"
What even is this? It doesn't matter whether I read her thoughts or not!
I can take the hits a little less painfully. The trajectory of light is linear, following exactly the path Luel predicted. As long as I don't take a direct hit, it can't produce the power to cut a person in half.
But that's it. I get hit the moment I think. No matter how quickly I respond, it's already too late. This isn't my problem—it's the fundamental limit of living beings.
If this keeps up, I won't even be able to get close! Some method, anything... Ah!
"Such a vicious ability compared to the cute incantation...!"
I rambled on to buy time and pulled out a card from behind me.
Spade 9. The Tree of Origin. Small moss and leaves grow over my clothes. Holding light within and absorbing air, it created a green armor.
Plants are predators of light. Just as Nebida blocked light with plants, if I can do something similar, even a little...!
"There are vicious incantations too. Would you like to receive one?"
Luel scoffed at me and increased the size of the ring. Between the much larger rings, the light oscillated somewhat more slowly. Sizzle, sizzle. Vibrating within the widened gaps, the light was much weaker and more ominous than before.
"Curse Light."
However, the speed was the same. The moment Luel released the light, thump—my body resonated. The impact wasn't large. Instead, the force struck my entire body and 'passed through' behind me.
It felt as if my soul was slipping out backward. An unpleasant sensation of floating enveloped me. When I came to, I was rolling on the ground.
"Urgh!"
It feels like holes have been punched all over my body. A nauseating feeling rises up.
Light? This is light, but...
"Light isn't just one kind. The light visible to our eyes is only an extremely small portion. True light exists in the realm beyond that. This curse light exists in a region far beyond even infrared light. It possesses penetrating power that can pierce through ten fathoms of water. It easily passes through a mere one-fathom human body."
"It passes through the body?"
Bright light doesn't pass through the body. That's why shadows exist.
However, other kinds of light exist in this world. Light isn't just one kind. What we see is only a fraction.
Light with lowered frequency to increase penetrating power? She can grant physical force even to something like that which can't be seen or felt? What kind of inherent magic is this?
"Yes. However, since the physical force I granted also passes through, the effect isn't that significant. At most, it would just make you feel dizzy."
"For 'at most'... that's way too vicious...!"
The ensuing dizziness went beyond simple sensory disruption. It was the result of light passing through my body and shaking it up. If it were just low-frequency waves, it would have passed through and ended there, but with physical force added, it became an unavoidable strike. Then the armor of grass and moss is useless!
"Light beyond violet is tricky to handle, and it doesn't suit an inherent magic that grants physical force, so I won't use it. That's destructive enough even without inherent magic."
"Well, thanks for that...! Is it really okay to tell me all this?"
"Yes. Look as much as you want. Enjoy as much as you want. That's what light is, isn't it?"
Luel is both a sorceress and a saintess. She possesses both the dogmatism of a saintess and the arrogance of a mage.
However, the arrogance of the strong is a right. Luel had the power to match.
"Dodge well. Flame Light."
Blazing hot light ran across the earth, burning everything in its path. The pure white light that heated the atmosphere could neither be evaded nor blocked. Looking at the approaching flame light, I felt a sense of despair.
This is absolutely impossible, isn't it? Is there no one to help me?
"The White Tower Lord is cheating. They said you can't face her without an inherent magic."
The power that directly converts light into force is simply too fast, regardless of the intensity of the power. Without dominating a certain space with inherent magic, you can't even respond. It's a hegemonic power that crushes opponents of lower rank.
"She's holding out by invisibly kicking up dust and growing plants, but even for Hue, this is too much. By the way, the White Tower Lord being the Saintess of Light. I wonder if the Demon Lord knows about this."
Having observed the situation enough, Rankart was about to start moving. Beating the White Tower Lord would be difficult, but the world of Rankart's right hand includes light as well. He could at least deflect the attacks.
However, as Rankart walked toward Hughes, he suddenly felt a distortion of his senses. Coming to his senses and looking around, he clicked his tongue.
"...Damn it. When did this happen?"
Hughes and Luel were in every direction—north, south, east, and west. Mirror Image. A tactical-grade magic that copies the scenery and scatters it in all directions. Though small in scale, it surpasses strategic-grade magic in precision.
The proper use of light magic is illusion and disruption. Even while attacking Hughes, Luel had woven some spell formulas to surround Rankart. The moment Rankart chose one direction and shot out a torrent of power—
Luel's figure distorted. Compressed light exploded, dyeing his vision red. Having anticipated it and covered his eyes, Rankart frowned.
He covered his eyes with black crystals to prevent blindness, but the light trap was a troublesome snare even for Rankart.
He couldn't block the visible light. If he did, Rankart wouldn't be able to see anything. But blinding light deals a blow even without physical force. He couldn't move hastily.
"Hue. Sorry. It doesn't seem like I'll be of much help. But."
Rankart didn't particularly care from the start. There was no need to move hastily.
"You wouldn't lose against a mage, right?"
The same trap was deployed against Shay. However, Shay had seven-colored eyes that could pierce through light, and was even more sensitive than that. Shay had instantly seen through that it was a trap and was about to choose one direction and move when—
"...Wait."
A transparent crystal appeared, blocking Shay's path. Shay immediately tried to smash the ice wall but hesitated at a sudden sense of foreboding.
That wasn't ice. It was an ice crystal. That wall of crystallized atmosphere would unleash an enormous backlash if carelessly touched.
Shay shouted urgently.
"Elisha! Remove this wall!"
"You know too, don't you? About the 'Arrogance' up there."
"I know! What about it!"
"You should at least know that 'Arrogance' is a power too dangerous for anyone to possess. Why are you helping Hughes and the Demon God Temple to obtain 'Arrogance'?"
The Blue Tower Lord, Elisha Celsius, is a human more outstanding than anyone else. That was why she realized the danger when 'Arrogance' was liberated faster than anyone.
She didn't want to believe it, but all the clues pointed to it. The meaning of this floating citadel's existence. The principle supporting the floating citadel. The magic tower that guards not the bottom, but the top.
And the Demon Lord, everyone's teacher.
The Demon Lord was waiting for someone who could reach even him. He selected and raised geniuses, helping their research while interfering as little as possible. Geniuses who thus proved their worth entered the Tower of Babel, undergoing the Demon Lord's trials as they climbed floor by floor.
Everyone praised the Demon Lord as a benevolent and gracious King of Magic, but Elisha did not agree.
Even when sorcerers with inherent magic fought, the Demon Lord did not stop their battle. Instead, he unfolded space to protect the surroundings. Thanks to that, bystanders watched the duels between sorcerers like sports.
It seemed like the Demon Lord's kindness, but it wasn't to protect the surroundings.
It was to encourage the fight.
The Demon Lord is a kind teacher, but that only applies to mages with potential for growth. Those who aren't mages are mere commoners.
The commoners crawling about in the lower realm are not his concern. That's a problem for the magic noble houses dealing with them down there to worry about.
...If so, what meaning does the floating citadel hold for the Demon Lord? If everyone climbs the Tower of Babel according to the Demon Lord's will and reaches 'Arrogance,' what would happen?
Elisha has a broad perspective. That's what makes her superior to other geniuses. The day may come when she's caught up by the sharpness of other geniuses, but for now, Elisha was a being more outstanding than anyone.
That's why Elisha trusted her own judgment. Because the judgment made by the smartest person couldn't possibly be wrong.
Through the world's laws, she might not be able to reach the ideal world she dreamed of. But it's better than causing ruin.
"If you know too, wouldn't it be more rational to persuade Hughes and stop this?"
Shay isn't smart but has flashes of brilliance. Elisha asked Shay for her reasoning.
And Shay answered as if it were obvious.
"No. I trust Hughes!"
"...Trust?"
Elisha tilted her head.
"Hughes isn't a bad person. He can be a bit harsh and cunning, but even if Hughes caused chaos, he never led anything to ruin. He must have some kind of plan!"
"What kind of plan?"
"I wouldn't know! He didn't tell me! But Hughes isn't someone who would just stand by and watch 'Arrogance' fall. That's certain!"
It's actually an obvious statement. Who would want to drop a star of ruin? A mage making rational judgments wouldn't have created a switch leading to ruin in the first place.
But if everything in the world operated purely on rationality, why would something like 'Arrogance' exist in the first place? True rationality should also include vigilance against irrationality. It would be more rational to ensure no one could obtain it from the very beginning.
A person as outstanding and intelligent as Elisha Celsius would make such a judgment. So that would be correct...
"Putting all that aside, Hughes is the smartest one here! It's the rule that the smartest person climbs the tower and receives the Demon God's legacy! The Demon Lord decided it that way! Then, he should be allowed to take it!"
But, what about Hughes?
He is the king of humans. Superior even to Rankart and Elisha. If a being probably... comparable to the Demon Lord 'judges' that he should take it. If the Demon Lord, wiser than anyone, also 'decides' to hand it over.
If two humans superior to Elisha have decided something, how should Elisha act?
Just as Elisha fell into a moment of self-contradiction—
"Enough...!"
Avangard, who had been alone and free from being held back, gritted his teeth, dashed forward, and blocked Luel's path.