The mana fired by the five towers of Buyuseong steadily gnawed away at Pride. The power was sufficient. 'Pride' was falling at a tremendous speed. Even a pebble tossed from here would be faster than a bullet from 'Pride's' perspective.
We were not the only ones terrified of 'Pride'. From 'Pride's' perspective, we were a terror as well.
Avant-garde, who had been observing 'Pride' through a crystal telescope, delivered the news.
"Impact deviation. Northeast by 3' 17''! Apply corrections!"
"Directional Magic Array firing angle adjustment. Click adjustment!"
The outstanding mages of the White Tower and the Blue Tower observed and corrected the impact in real time. The magic towers delicately changed direction and spewed out mana. With precise calculations atop that, countless mages fired their magic. That magic intercepted 'Pride' following the flow created by the Directional Magic Array.
Five pillars of light. 'Pride' received them and shattered into pieces. It was a clash between the power seeking to destroy the world and the power seeking to save it.
A planet-scale contest of strength continued.
The Blue Tower Lord took out a fountain pen and drew a circle in the air. Along the outline traced by the fountain pen, a lens made of ice was created. Having created a lens and a telescope in an instant, the Blue Tower Lord looked toward 'Pride' and spoke.
"It was clearly a direct hit... but something is strange. White Tower!"
"Yes!"
"Reproduce the appearance of 'Pride' with the Avatar of Light."
"Yes. Please wait a moment. Polyhedral telescope set. Multi-angle surveying magic circle deployment."
The mages of the White Tower placed their hands on the floor. Then, one side of Buyuseong flipped over, and from within it, an astronomical observatory tower with a bizarre telescope rose up. It was a telescope with a total of 24 lenses aimed at a single point.
"Reflected light secured. Polyhedron reproduction."
The 24 rays of light entering through the telescope gathered and formed a single shape in the air. Three-dimensional shape reproduction achieved through polyhedral observation. Reflected light is gathered through the telescope, and the light is reverse-calculated to reproduce it. An image of 'Pride' floated in the air right below the eyepiece.
The Blue Tower Lord lost her words upon seeing the reproduced appearance of 'Pride'.
"Wait. Hughes!"
The Blue Tower Lord called me, who was closest to her. I ran up to her.
"What's the matter?"
"It's a shape reproduced by observing and reverse-calculating the White Tower's mana reflected off 'Pride'. Look."
"Uh, this is..."
Something is strange?
If it's a meteorite, it's usually round. That's inevitable given the structure of this universe. It's a world where protruding parts get struck down. It's the same for meteorites.
But the shape seen before my eyes was too pointed to be called a rock. Like looking at an arrowhead.
"It's... pointy?"
"Yeah. I thought it was strange. The mana of the Directional Magic Array is scattering too much. It's scattering off the slanted side of 'Pride'."
'Pride' is pointy? That's also a problem. History proves that sharp things are more dangerous. But that's not the only problem. The shape of a meteorite is trivial.
"Strange? When we saw it, it wasn't that shape...? Why didn't we notice the structure of 'Pride' the last time we saw it?"
The problem is the discrepancy between perception and reality.
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If we had known, we would have dealt with it in advance. However, when we knew 'Pride's' coordinates and observed it, it didn't have that shape. When we clearly saw it, it was a normal meteorite.
Growing urgent, the Blue Tower Lord observed 'Pride' through the telescope and said.
"It's spatial distortion. The spatial distortion surrounding 'Pride' is interfering with visual observation. How did this happen? Can such a phenomenon occur with extraterrestrial mana?"
Extraterrestrial mana? Coincidence? Of all things, in a form that pierces the blind spot of those trying to stop it?
No way. That's ridiculous.
"Haha. No way. Don't deny reality, Blue Tower Lord. It's obviously a trap aimed at the observers. Can't you see the malice?"
We thought it was round, but it was actually pointy. The pointed part is clearly aiming for the ground as it falls.
This made it clear. 'Pride' is a weapon. It was created to snipe someone on the ground.
"Who could have made it? An alien proficient in spatial magic? I, who just came up to Buyuseong, have no idea."
The Blue Tower Lord bit her lip hard and called the creator of 'Pride'.
"Master!"
The Demon King answered that call this time as well.
Wearing a comfortable shirt, holding an ice cream bar in his hand, and wearing sunglasses, he was lying on an invisible hammock. He slightly lifted his sunglasses and said.
"Did you call?"
"Spatial magic is distorting the view of 'Pride'."
"Hmm. You found it. Well done."
"Thank you for the praise, but that's not why I called you, Master. Why is spatial magic protecting 'Pride'?"
"Why ask when you already know?"
This was not a sarcastic remark. He was asking purely out of curiosity. Why one would try to confirm their own intention when they already knew.
But the Blue Tower Lord had to do so. Because she believed there would be another reason.
Because, if the Blue Tower Lord's guess were true.
It would mean the Demon King intentionally modified 'Pride'.
"I have desperately denied that doubt until now. I believed that the knowledge up there was merely dangerous, and that you, Master, did not desire the destruction of the world. But if this is the case, I have no choice but to revise that judgment. Master, did you truly desire the destruction of the world?"
The Demon King frowned as if annoyed. He let out a deep sigh and looked at the Blue Tower Lord like an inferior student.
"Hmm. That is not very important, Blue Tower Lord. That is a process."
"Pardon?"
"There is no absolute in the world. You may not agree, but."
The Demon King crunchily bit the ice cream bar and answered nonchalantly.
"The world must know that truth. There is no absolute in this world. There is no common sense, scholarship, or magic that must absolutely be protected. What we have is endless learning."
"And so you intend to drop a meteorite on the ground?"
"No. That is a process. What's important is moving forward."
Moving forward?
"I decided not to drop the meteorite on this land. Not because it's obvious. Because I yielded to Saint René's persuasion. For your information, I was also deeply impressed by your words. You spoke just like Saint René."
"Saint René is the master of all mages who established the foundation of the Magic Federation. Of course, we must follow her teachings."
"I also respect her to some extent. As you said, we need successors to carry on our progress. I agree with that."
"Then why..."
"However, I have a slightly different view on that method."
Shouts were heard from outside. The mages seemed to have noticed something was wrong. Even amid the confusion, the Demon King calmly chewed on his ice cream bar alone.
"Where do development and progress, effort and pursuit come from? A larger population? Higher education levels? Or a comfortable and relaxed life liberated from all labor?"
The Demon King shook his head.
"That can't be. If that were the case, the era when countless intellectuals, including the Master, were driven to harsh lands would have been the most brilliant. Population, education level, and leisure. Those are necessary to some extent, but not sufficient."
"Then what is needed?"
"A test."
The Magic Federation was a nation of mages. The ignorant were ostracized and the chosen were treated well, and outstanding mages went up to Buyuseong. There, they conducted their own research, or climbed the towers and inherited the knowledge of their predecessors.
If you didn't learn magic, you were weeded out in the frontier. Even if you learned, if you didn't put in the effort, you'd live as a mediocre mage. Only those overflowing with talent and effort could go to the center, to Buyuseong.
A land that made humans constantly compete and put them to the test. The Magic Federation.
"You study because there are tests. When hardships and adversities strike, and you must overcome them, you strive to develop. If you become complacent, you fall behind. There is no absolute in the world. In a world where everyone moves forward, stopping means falling behind alone."
"'Pride'... is...!"
"It is a test for the 'proud' who are complacent, not knowing their place, thinking this world is fine as it is. Unless a meteorite or two falls, won't they try to learn about space and gravity?"
This nation, which cruelly ostracized the ignorant and forced magic upon everyone... its very structure was designed by the Demon King.
"Then why did you stop the meteorites from falling until now?!"
"Haha. I am not an unreasonable person. Even if I pose a problem, I must give time to solve it. Only when they feel the fear and anxiety of not knowing when that thing will fall, will they finally study."
He was neither a king, a ruler, nor a powerful figure. He was merely a teacher. It was the mindset of a teacher who sincerely evaluated and graded humanity.
The Demon King looked at me and the Blue Tower Lord with pride and said.
"Your attempt to solve it was, well, not a bad miscalculation. The heart to step up and solve even other problems is commendable. However, this problem is for the proud, not for the chosen like you who constantly strive. It was just a pity that it was used for a purpose it wasn't intended for. I can't hinder my disciple's progress, so I'm cheering you on for now."
Even the attempt to shoot down the meteorite from this Buyuseong was a proud effort to the Demon King.
Demon King. He was a being who bestowed tests upon humanity itself.
The Blue Tower Lord knew the Master had a cruel side. He even encouraged fights between mages and drove humans into endless competition. However, she believed the Master was a sensible and rational figure.
But the Demon King's common sense and rationality had already transcended humanity.
"...We will stop 'Pride'."
"Go ahead. I am cheering for you."
The Demon King nodded with a sincere smile and disappeared again.