What Principia found was not a Demon God.
Magic.
It was a blasphemy against the Demon God, dragging the mysterious Demon God down into the realm of technique.
That was why Rene was delighted.
It was not a Demon God. It aided him purely in the academic field, and its achievements were great enough to surpass any ordinary Demon God.
Symbols and diagrams. Pictures and formulas. Magic is completed using the axioms of all people. Now, the Demon God was no longer a special power. Although it was a limited power, even ordinary humans could wield magic as much as they wanted.
Principia was a genius who would put even other sorcerers to shame. So outstanding that rather than awakening a Unique Demon Path or finding a Demon God, he focused on dismantling and analyzing the power of the Demon God. Rene spoke with reverence.
"So this is why you didn't reply even though I consistently sent you letters for the past five years."
"I'm sorry about that. Calculations suggested it would be done quickly, but it wasn't easy."
"Because it was a path no one had ever walked. You took the first step, Professor. Now no one will be able to ignore you."
Any sorcerer would immediately realize how tremendous this achievement was. They would be ashamed of having ignored and neglected Principia.
"Even if you failed to awaken a Unique Demon Path, Professor, no one will be able to point fingers at you. It's the same as you having embraced another Demon God."
"...Unique Demon Path? That?"
"The Unique Demon Path is a power bestowed by gods upon humans. But magic is a power you have gifted to humanity. I will respect you forever."
"No. That's."
Rene comforted and praised Principia at the same time, but Principia's expression was peculiar. As he scratched his head and pondered, an assistant passing by spoke up.
"Huh? Don't you know, Priest? The Professor has already obtained a Unique Demon Path!"
Rene was slightly shocked by the unexpected fact.
The Unique Demon Path is a power obtained by delving into a single imagery near the point of obsession. Principia was so capable that he established various theories and even founded magic, but he didn't have much research of his own. Being too outstanding was actually a poison. He produced results even with a little digging, so he couldn't dedicate himself to just one thing.
That was how Rene had understood Principia, but.
"...What? But Professor Principia hasn't done any separate research since that day, has he?"
"Research isn't the only way to realize a Unique Demon Path! Last time, the Professor was walking deep in thought while looking at the night sky, and fell into a pit at his feet without noticing it! After struggling for a while, he realized a Unique Demon Path! It was the funniest awakening in the world!"
"...I told you not to tell that."
"But it's funny. A sage who sees through the universe couldn't see a mere pit and struggled in it! Haha!"
As the assistant giggled and laughed, Principia muttered in dissatisfaction.
"If you hadn't even properly fulfilled your role as an assistant, I would have kicked you out long ago."
Even an unprecedented genius had such a careless side. Smiling faintly, Rene asked out of courtesy.
"That must have been a disaster. Were you okay?"
"I'm fine. It wasn't that deep. I got out easily."
"For the record, I pulled you out! I had a hard time in the middle of the night! I couldn't see in front of me, but I could hear the Professor's screams. Even when I came to help, you kept nagging me to pull you out quickly. I barely pulled you out while getting covered in mud, and you asked for a cloth to wipe yourself and a bonfire! Good grief. If I weren't an assistant who respected the Professor, I would have just run away right there!"
"That's why you haven't been kicked out yet."
It sounded more like a conversation between old friends than between a professor and a student. There probably wasn't much difference.
Perhaps because he had been under Principia for too long, the assistant had not awakened a Unique Demon Path despite his overflowing talent. It was because he had no time to conduct his own research while helping Principia. It was as if he was overshadowed by the enormous shadow that was Principia.
But he was free. Rene secretly thought he was envious of him.
"What kind of Unique Demon Path did you realize, Professor?"
"It's not completed yet, so I don't want to show it..."
"I want to see it. No, I need to see it."
"It's nothing special... really."
Principia looked around and finally found an apple. He lightly picked up the apple and dropped it nonchalantly. Like all other objects, the apple was affected by gravity and fell to the thickly carpeted floor.
Much slower than usual.
"This is the power. I can change the falling speed. I made it slow because I didn't want to waste the apple, but I can also make it fast."
"They say you realized the Unique Demon Path while falling into a pit, so it's about falling! Haha!"
"...Ugh."
Rene also smiled faintly.
Certainly, Principia's Unique Demon Path was not that great. It seemed so trivial that it looked hundreds of kilometers away from a Demon God.
In Babel, there are numerous Unique Demon Paths that start fires, create winds, and cause vibrations. In Rene's view, Principia seemed to have gained a trivial Unique Demon Path by a truly accidental trigger.
"Then I'm relieved. Because there's no risk of getting hurt by your Unique Demon Path."
"...That sounds like you're saying my Unique Demon Path is nothing special."
Principia grumbled, but he couldn't help it. Even if one's life was melted into the Unique Demon Path, it wasn't something one chose.
Principia hated explaining or persuading others. Spreading magic was left to Rene. With the help of the busy assistant going back and forth, Rene widely propagated magic throughout the federation.
Magic was a useful and revolutionary technique. Although not everyone could understand and use it, even if only one out of a hundred learned it, the survival rate of the community rose sharply. Under the new order of magic, this land gradually developed into the form of a nation. It was all thanks to magic.
And where there is sweet honey, flies are bound to gather.
The Marquisate of Marigold contacted Babel. Held responsible for the Wegeum War and attacked, the Marquisate of Marigold was torn apart, and the remaining forces fled to the Sorcerer Federation.
The Marquisate of Marigold was the country with the most developed alchemy and commerce, and it was also Principia's hometown. Numerous scholars were from the Marquisate of Marigold or had deep ties with its nobles.
Although they were war refugees, their roots were all in empires or marquisates. While they couldn't treat them harshly, the fleeing marquis acted as if he were still a marquis.
"This power called magic is truly marvelous. It's on a different level from the Druid's petty tricks or the alchemist's deceptions. With this power, restoring the marquisate will be an easy task."
Babel was basically an assembly of scholars. They couldn't act strongly against a marquis who had brought soldiers.
It would have been useless even if they had acted strongly. Even if they had Unique Demon Paths, the spears and swords of the Qigong Masters were fast and sharp. They would be killed before they could even resist.
At the very least, Rene, a cleric, stepped forward to answer.
"Marquis Geum. Magic is the light of truth bestowed by God for those who live in harsh lands. To use this holy and blessed power as a weapon. That is..."
"Shut up. General."
The general strode over, grabbed Rene by the back of the neck, and slammed her down. Papers scattered, shrill screams and shouts were heard, and the sound of swords being drawn rang out threateningly.
"The so-called Bishop only gets in the way of everything. Why do you only say no to me? You should have protected my country with that smart tongue of yours."
The marquis who had lost his country showed no mercy. Having taken control of Babel by force, he looked around the room and yelled.
"I won't say it twice. Make weapons with magic! Weapons that can take down all six marquisates!"
Marquis Geum declared while triumphantly slapping Principia on the shoulder.
"My relative and teacher, Principia, will oversee this entire process!"
Principia was a scholar to the bone. He had no interest in power struggles, nor the guts to rebel against the marquis. And since he had a personal connection with the marquis, he couldn't treat him coldly and stubbornly.
Originally, he found conflicting with someone extremely exhausting. Rather than submitting to authority, he was the type to comply with the other's demands to avoid conflict itself.
And opinions were divided among the members of Babel as well.
"I'm not eager to get involved in a war... but the Marquisate of Marigold was friendly to scholars. It was the other marquisates that killed numerous scholars, including Professor Lavoisier."
"Let us end the age of madness and irrationality with our own hands."
"The power we possess is marvelous. Don't you want to test that power just once?"
"We can't live on this land forever. Wouldn't it be best to cooperate with him to return to our hometown safely?"
The sorcerers supported the marquis for various reasons. Those who didn't support him were a minority, including Rene.
"To use this power to harm others... That's not right."
"W-what if something goes wrong? We'll all take the blame. We'll all be caught and executed!"
However, alchemist executions were still taking place within the imperial sphere. The product of madness, later called the witch hunt, was eagerly waiting to cross the border of the Sorcerer Federation. The opposing opinion gradually lost its strength.
The opponents went to the territories they were responsible for and locked their doors. The remaining personnel in Babel united with one mind.
"But, can we make a weapon to defeat the enemy with magic?"
Instead, they began to have realistic worries, but Principia dismissed those worries.
"Uh... Hmm. We won't lose. I happen to have something in mind."
"In mind?"
"I'll show you. I have a few to spare."
Principia took everyone outside.
He called his assistant. The assistant, with sunken eyes, brought a telescope and skillfully assembled it. Having pointed to a part of the sky like that, the assistant relayed words that sounded like a code to Principia, and Principia nodded and cast magic.
Flash. The light flashed, but no phenomenon occurred.
However, Principia's expression was not that of a person who had failed. He swiped his fingers as if calculating something, then nodded.
"It's a success. It looks like it will take about two days."
"Two days?"
"Yeah. Contact Marquis Geum. Tell him I used the magic, so he should come visit in two days."
A magic that takes two days to show results? Can this really be called an attack magic?
The assistant delivered the message to Marquis Geum, and as expected, Marquis Geum erupted in fury. He shouted at the top of his lungs, asking if this was some lecture or academic journal, and that two days was more than enough time for the enemy to capture a castle.
However.
Two days later. Seeing the reply from the distant sky. Marquis Geum, like all other humans, also lost his words.
Stars fall, embroidering the sky.
They were moving stars. With long tails attached behind them, they burned like fireflies and fell to the ground. The sight of a meteor shower falling like a single streak was incredibly marvelous. Someone must have made a wish upon those meteors.
But those meteors do not grant anyone's wishes. What those meteors granted was the nonchalant demand of a Demon God.
The meteors gradually approach. The light grows bigger, tearing through the dark night sky, creating a roar, and crushing the world. The low-flying meteors graze over their heads.
No, grazing over is also an illusion. They were still far away. However, in the face of a cosmic collision, that 'far away' held no meaning.
The meteorites struck the continent at an angle, and intense shockwaves spread from the point of impact. Just from the aftermath, the glass they held in their hands shattered. The solidly frozen ice broke vainly.
Death? No, what grazed over their heads was extinction. The power that could reduce a single individual's tragedy to mere triviality brushed past them. A terrifying shudder shook everyone.
Rene realized that she had misunderstood. It was not 'merely' the ability to adjust the falling speed.
This was, a Demon God.
"Will this suffice, Marquis Geum?"
Principia, who had even slightly reproduced an extinction from ancient times, answered casually as if it were nothing.