The Avangarde who leapt in front of me spread both arms and chanted a spell. Drawing moisture from the grass crushed by light, controlling it, imbuing it with magical power, and altering its properties. Having finished preparations, Avangarde completed a tactical-grade spell.
"Celsius Crystal. Great Ice Wall...!"
With the spell's completion, what rose from the ground was a thick ice wall made of ice crystals. The neatly stacked crystalline structure scattered the light. The solidly constructed ice structure briefly shielded me from Ruel's gaze.
Taking advantage of that brief opening, Avangarde grabbed my hand and pulled.
"Hughes! Now. Run... Kyah!"
But that too was only for a moment. The light bursting from Ruel struck the Great Ice Wall hard.
Cracks formed in the Great Ice Wall, and through those gaps, pure white light exploded. The Great Ice Wall created by magical power shattered to pieces.
"A barrier designed to induce light scattering. The attempt wasn't bad, but it doesn't work against light with physical force. It's the same as trying to scatter a pouring waterfall. An arch structure would have been better."
"Ugh..."
Avangarde tried to rebuild the ice wall, but even that didn't go as intended. When Ruel swirled her fingers, seven strands of heat rays intercepted the ice and melted it. White steam rose above the boiling ice. But only briefly. The pouring light suppressed the white vapor in an instant.
Water mist blocks light. In other words, it means colliding with light. Light with physical force easily pushes away water mist. Common sense and rationality cannot block an intrinsic magic path. The rationality of the world within an intrinsic magic path is different.
Z3ZuaWdja0dkNXJtU283eC8xWlNuZE1aVURncGkvaEtCb1NtQnRPNmFleEZVdmluWWVac1l2N1ZTTjVtdmRobw
"Avangarde. The only thing that will protect you is your life. Withdraw before I judge that I must kill you."
Before overwhelming power, neither water mist nor ice is of any use. Ruel's halo, having blown away even the water mist, flashed even more brilliantly. Now Ruel's white skin, shadowed by the halo behind her head, looked like darkness.
Avangarde felt instinctive fear. But did not retreat.
"White Tower Lord... C-could you not spare Hughes?"
Ruel felt a moment of curiosity.
"Spare? That's the most interesting word I've heard today. Why should I do that?"
"But, if the White Tower Lord is guarding the artificial sun. Hughes and the Demon God Temple won't be able to go any higher... Th-then there's no need to kill Hughes, right?"
Avangarde's logic was simple. Since she can do as she pleases anyway, he was begging for mercy by asking why not refrain from doing so.
Ruel smiled and nodded.
"Mercy is a virtue. I also practiced virtue. I conversed, asked, and waited at the very least for them to withdraw their barbaric logic. The one who refused my request was that person."
"Hughes is very smart! He clearly knows he can't win, so he'll stop now! If Hughes just stays quiet, if he climbs the tower and devotes himself to study, it will lead to humanity's progress!"
"He could have done that. He refused personally."
Ruel answered briefly.
"I don't agree with his words, but I do possess the flexibility to respond to barbaric logic with the same logic. Barbarism has a way of staining other orders with barbarism as well. Therefore."
While speaking, Ruel, who had been preparing magic on the other hand, spread both arms. The rings of light seemed to split into two, and from both rings, beams of light extended in curved trajectories.
"Mirage Light."
"Senior! It's dangerous!"
Heating the atmosphere with heat ray magic, and using her intrinsic magic path to add physical force to light in parts to create curvature. It requires some preparation, but it allows shooting straight light in curves.
Originally it was a magic meant to confuse the opponent's senses, but Ruel used it to fire light in a curved trajectory. The light that curved upon firing struck Avangarde's flank....
"Ah!"
However, while the light might have been unreadable, everyone could read the flow of magical power. Avangarde barely managed to freeze the hem of his clothes, and the frozen hem scattered the light. At the same time, my outstretched hand caught Avangarde, who had nearly fallen from the impact.
Ruel covered her cheeks with a troubled expression.
"...That light just now had no aggressiveness whatsoever. It only contained enough power to push Avangarde away. So could you stop making that scary expression, Elisha Celsius?"
At those words, the halo flashed and the cluster of light began shooting beams in all directions. "Firelight" containing tremendous heat. Light outside the red spectrum burned the earth and atmosphere, heating the grassland intensely. Light rays collided with something in midair, causing sporadic explosions.
"Haaah-."
Boom, boom. Transparent crystals block the light in midair. Clearly nothing is visible, but the moment the light touches "something," it immediately bursts.
Even the heat rays that easily melted ice took quite a while to break those transparent crystals. They're superior in quality as well, but the problem is their quantity.
Ruel spoke softly while looking at the crystals created by the intrinsic magic path.
"Polarizing crystals. The degree of completion is quite impressive. I understand it's nearly impossible to make without a template. It seems you've found a solution?"
"Because I couldn't just stand by with a problem like you around. Ah, don't feel hurt. I didn't prepare this out of wariness toward you."
Mass-producing crystals that crystallize moisture in the atmosphere, and the atmosphere itself, to halve the light. Their numbers are in the tens, hundreds. And they're increasing in real-time.
This was something only the Blue Tower Lord, who is the head of the Crystal Tower researching all kinds of magic crystals, and possesses an intrinsic magic path that forces the crystallization of matter, could do.
"Avangarde is a disciple of the Crystal Tower. As the Tower Lord, I have an obligation to protect my disciple."
The Blue Tower Lord, Elisha Celsius, is righteous and outstanding enough that the Holy Imperial Court chose her as a collaborator. She must have been brought along thinking she would definitely help Ruel. And she actually did help.
But Ruel was a saint and at the same time a magician. So she failed to realize.
That magicians with different mental images can never become friends.
'The King of Humanity stayed at the Blue Tower when he was at the Floating Star. Exchanging with him...'
As the White Tower Lord, Ruel chose the Blue Tower Lord as a "collaborator." However, while Tower Lords can cooperate, they cannot truly share friendship. It was always closer to helping each other based on mutual need.
Conversely, when the need disappears, so does the cooperation.
Entering as a temporary disciple of the Crystal Tower, pretending to study magic while helping, bestowing favors, showing my abilities, and sharing affection—I was a being who reconsidered such "necessity."
"Then separate her from Hughes's side. That's the easiest way to protect her."
"I'll try. But separately from that, I can't tolerate attacks on my disciple. Even if it's an 'intention to push.' I feel bad when someone pushes my body without permission."
The Blue Tower Lord smiled slightly and approached me. Her eyes reflected the sight of me and Avangarde huddled together.
Avangarde is an excellent shield. Not only does he move voluntarily and use magic, but Ruel, who cares about the Blue Tower Lord, can't easily attack the shield. It's a shame to discard so easily.
But.
"Senior Avangarde. Please go."
Right now, I can't afford to make even the Blue Tower Lord an enemy. Light magic is threatening, but crystal magic is just as dangerous. It would be better to call Rankart and Shea.
It's regrettable, but I decided to discard the shield called Avangarde. I pushed Avangarde's body quite hard. The flustered Avangarde turned around, but the transparent crystals created by the Blue Tower Lord were already blocking the way between us.
"No, Hughes! Without me!"
"I have my own methods too. If you're here, senior, it'll only become more inconvenient."
"Lie! You have no way to defeat the White Tower Lord!"
No. This is the method.
I need to separate you safely here, so that the Blue Tower Lord will take my side.
The Blue Tower Lord is the type with a lot of lingering affection, but she's still a magician. She doesn't let emotions ruin rational judgment. She feels affection for me, but I've hidden my identity, and as 'me' who was from the Demon God Temple, there's enough reason to be wary.
But you're different. Innocent you are someone the Blue Tower Lord must protect.
And if I protect you, the Blue Tower Lord comes along as well.
"Hughes."
The Blue Tower Lord took out crystal glasses from her bosom and put them on. Eyes emitting a cold light beyond the glasses turned toward me.
"What demon gods do you have?"
I took out cards. Spades. From 10 to 6, showing the demon gods I had collected so far.
The Blue Tower Lord probably wouldn't know what they are. She'd know that strange magical power is coiling around them, but she wouldn't have realized what kind of demon gods they are.
But she quickly realized what intention I had in taking out the cards.
"Cards."
I am the King of Humanity born anew after the First Year. Demon gods are proof that humans changed from pre-First Year humanity.
Speaking of demon gods, they are knowledge that brought irreversible changes to the human species. That knowledge completes 'me.'
And the cards I can use. That is, power. Cards to play when needed, or just hold in hand if not. The more, the better.
"What are you going to do with demon gods?"
"Do what? Obviously I need to make a living."
"Make a living? Is that all?"
"I've already obtained five demon gods. And I'm using all of them just to live well on my own."
Not all knowledge in the world was created out of need. Demon gods are another terminus that a born genius reached after devoting themselves with near-mad obsession, luckily arriving at a different destination. They are as special as the knowledge they discovered.
But the reason knowledge has value is because that knowledge enriches human life. Because it adds one more thing humans can do. Because it turns the impossible into possible, and allows victory against harsh nature. It is precious because it is necessary.
Most humans learn knowledge for that purpose. Though later they might delve into knowledge out of curiosity, competitiveness, vanity, stubbornness, or obsession. Everyone at first learns knowledge simply to use it.
I asked the Blue Tower Lord in return.
"Didn't you do the same, Blue Tower Lord? What did you intend to use the knowledge you learned for? Surely you didn't learn magic to keep demon god knowledge secret like the saint."
You've been agonizing over it since earlier. How about it?
"Elisha Celsius?"
Perhaps Ruel became anxious, as she called the Blue Tower Lord's name from behind, but the Blue Tower Lord didn't answer. Instead, she recalled when she first came up to the Floating Star.