“That’s nonsense. He isn’t an evil person. He might be extreme, but he is someone who thinks of humanity.”
“He is the King of Humanity.”
“I know that!”
“Tsk. Those who delude themselves into thinking they know something are far more foolish than those who know nothing. Don’t be a fool, Blue Tower Master. The King of Humanity is not human. Must I really explain such an obvious fact?”
The Demon King displayed a look of sheer disgust toward the Blue Tower Master. Intimidated by her master’s cold gaze, the Blue Tower Master cautiously asked in return.
“It’s strange. If the King of Humanity is a conceptual being, there would be no reason to drop the Floating Castle, right?”
“There is. To prevent the separation of concepts.”
“Excuse me? Separation… of concepts?”
“Why don’t you ask the White Tower Master about the rest? She will explain it much better. That group is truly aiming for the separation of concepts. Ah, I wonder if she’ll even come back now.”
Did he already know that the White Tower Master was the Saintess? He should know that faith is the most important thing to that zealot. Was she not afraid of the power to stop time?
It seemed so. The Demon King was also looking down at the Blue Tower Master, who now held the Demon God.
“The Blue Tower Master is full of affection and sensitive. That too is a kind of intellect, and I paid attention to that intellect. But ultimately, the Blue Tower Master feared power and refused that position herself. It was regrettable, but I understood your feelings. As much as you have affection, you lack desire and competitiveness. One’s disposition is also an ability, yes.”
Goodness is also a kind of ability. It wasn’t entirely wrong, but the Demon King’s words were so cold and calculating. Perhaps he noticed it because he was exactly like that.
“The King of Humanity also dug into that very aspect of you. Because if it were you, you would surely help him.”
“I have obstructed him, but I have rarely helped him.”
“When he came up to the Floating Castle and used black magic, you protected him. When he spread black magic in the Celsius Territory, you defended him, saying the ignorant masses were simply deceived. When the Red Tower Master intentionally picked a fight with him, the reason you didn’t avoid it like usual was to keep attention away from the territory. You went to stop him when he was aiming for the Demon God, but in the end, you were swayed by his words and blew up the entire Floating Castle.”
The Blue Tower Master also doubles as the head of the Intelligence Bureau. Working with the White Tower, she observes the lower realm through the crystal telescope from the softly shining ivory tower, and gathers information through her wide and deep network of support. Even after I left, she had been keeping an eye on my circumstances to some extent. She was the kind of person who would do that.
“That was… all my choice…”
Even if one was a black mage, if there was a background to it, she would understand. Standardized magic was taught as a doctrine in the militaristic empire. Knowing that fact, the Blue Tower Master understood and overlooked my background.
Conversely, even if the ignorant masses of the lower realm learned black magic, she defended them because they learned it after being bewitched by me. At that time, the Blue Tower Master felt a slight sense of responsibility and resolved to stop me.
Afterward, she cooperated with the White Tower Master to stop me from finding the Demon God. Although she lost the war of words and was pushed back in momentum, ending in defeat.
And in the end. To stop ‘Pride’, she willingly crashed the Floating Castle into it.
“…Because I would make that choice. Are you saying I was chosen?”
“Have you realized it? That’s it. If it’s the Blue Tower Master, rather than punishing those who cross the line, you would try to protect even them.”
The Demon King, who had merely been watching, had already seen and grasped everything. Did he observe me with deep interest? Or did he see and judge with his near-omnipotent ability, even while just staying still?
Ah. I want to read it.
No, this isn’t the time for that.
“We drew a line. White mages and black mages, the chosen and the ignorant masses, the lower realm and the Floating Castle. It seems the actions taken to develop humanity’s knowledge have offended the King of Humanity.”
I must win over the Blue Tower Master before the Demon King finishes speaking. The only way to stand on equal footing with the Demon King right now is through the Demon God. Without the Blue Tower Master, I can’t accomplish anything.
“Wait! It’s a bit different. I acted to break down the deep-rooted discrimination in this Magic Federation!”
Let’s stall for time first. While justifying my actions to the confused Blue Tower Master, let me try to draw out the Demon King’s reaction as much as possible!
“From the very beginning, I saw a world where children with talent were imprisoned, humiliated, driven out of the Floating Castle, and ignored. Down there is absolutely not fair! Children born in better school districts, to wealthier parents, and in better environments are ultimately the ones who learn magic and rise to high positions!”
“That’s a margin of error. Even in such environments, true geniuses break through regardless.”
“Countless humans were abandoned within that margin of error. I just wanted to give opportunities to those who were thrown away. Because right now, they have no hope other than black magic! Isn’t it better to have at least that, than to have no choices at all?”
At the very least, if they learned black magic, they could use magical artifacts. Their quality of life would change from the ground up. Right. Let’s go with this. It’s better to just act like a human rights activist. If I do this…
“Black mages are like hollow vessels. They cannot contain the principles of the world. It is a convenient power gained by selling the future. If such knowledge exists, who would put in the hard work to learn white magic?”
The Demon King will probably try to erase the very existence of black magic. What he needs is white magic. Because it is knowledge that will develop the world, even if just a little.
“The ignorant masses must live slowly suffering in the borderlands. They must crave learning while cursing their own stupidity and lack of talent. Only then will the talented desperately learn magic, and eventually reach another Demon God to build another floor of the tower.”
The Demon King spoke lightly and gestured with both hands.
An indescribable energy gathers in one place. Something invisible distorts. Is this, a spatial anomaly? It doesn’t seem like he’s drawing up mana specifically, so what on earth?
“This land was created for that very purpose.”
Like that, the distortion in space created a small dot in the air. A pitch-black, tiny dot. The Demon King clenched it tightly in his hand.
“Now. Let’s dismantle the meteorite first. It will be good material to restore the ruined Floating Castle.”
And the extending space redefines the world. Something, a wave that is neither visible nor felt, brushes past my body and spreads out. The ‘something’ that spread out centered around the Demon King also seeped into ‘Pride’.
Tick. Tick.
I hear the sound of cracks forming. One, two. And then countless. The ticking sound fills my ears. It’s like a swarm of crickets singing in unison. At the noise that seemed to grip and crush space itself, I covered my ears.
For a brief moment. Along those countless cracks, ‘Pride’ collapsed.
It was a sight as if the world was crumbling. Floor, walls, ceiling. The hard and dense cosmic ore that surrounded us in all directions was collapsing like a lie.
The spatial wave generated by the Demon King shattered the extraterrestrial meteorite like a glass marble.
What is this? It’s a meteorite that had been drifting through space, firmly hardened for millions of years? He shatters ‘Pride’, which even the Blue Tower Master and Shay could barely chip into, with just a single gesture?
“It will be annoying to remake it now that the Golden Mirror is gone, but there are more mages now than back then. I was able to keep my master’s relics, so I suppose it’s a profitable deal.”
Thin and needle-like shattered fragments showered down over his head. A precarious situation where it seemed the fragments would pierce him at any moment. However, the meteorite fragments falling above the Demon King’s head curved along an invisible contour. Then, they were sucked into the pitch-black dot the Demon King had created.
“Cooperate with the other Tower Masters and compile the knowledge obtained from my master’s relics into books. With talent on the level of a Tower Master, you will surely gain enlightenment. Hmm, and.”
It’s a sight that feels like I’ve seen it somewhere before. That is… a vanishing point? It’s slightly different from the Black Tower Master’s unique magic path, but there are more similarities!
“Blue Tower Master. Pass it down to your family. Erase all traces of black magic. I will not place any separate restrictions on the method.”
Even though that is only a part of the Demon King’s abilities, his omnipotence is visible. Above all, he is obstructing me with a clear intention. He wasn’t just a bystander!
The Blue Tower Master, having heard the command, turned her head to look at me. Her face was full of confusion.
“Hughes… I really don’t know anymore. What the master wants, and what you desire. It’s all just things I can’t understand.”
Is that so? That’s even better. I cried out loud.
“You can’t trust them? Then that’s fine. Since you can’t trust anyone, trust only yourself! What is it that you want to do!”
“I don’t know! I, I don’t want to be wrong! I want to make the right choice. I want to find the right answer!”
“Then find it!”
“I said I don’t know that answer! It’s best if no one gets hurt. If my older sister becomes the head of the family, there’s no need to fight. We can get along. If we just don’t learn black magic, that’s the end of it. White magic is enough. As for the Demon God, rather than letting it kill so many people, it’s better to leave it up there and never find it! We can just live today the same as yesterday!”
Today the same as yesterday. Words the Holy See would like. Right. I understand. Smart, kind, and understanding as you are, you wouldn’t be able to understand the people on the opposite side.
“You want today, which is the same as yesterday, to continue into tomorrow? That’s impossible. Because for those whose yesterday was hell, a continuing tomorrow is despair. So they have to fight for a different tomorrow, even if it means learning black magic! You have to break today for a different tomorrow to arrive!”
“Even if it takes away someone’s today?”
“That’s a problem for after we shatter yesterday. How today will flow is an unknown realm. Whether someone’s peaceful today is taken away, or everyone finds a new today. That kind of thing doesn’t matter at all. Because until you deny yesterday, a different today cannot begin!”
But to those who have no tomorrow, those words are a curse. What’s so bad about struggling to survive? Rather, quietly dying without even struggling is a sin. Because it is murder of oneself.
“I am the King of Humanity, not the King of Mages. Are mages so great? In my eyes, they are all just stupid beasts. It’s sickening to the point of being unbearable to see fools who can barely use a single tool acting as if they are superior to humans. If they try to act high and mighty without knowing their place, I will drag them down to the lower realm and reduce them to the same standing as humans!”
I brought up words that might be the closest to my true inner thoughts. As much as they were close to my true feelings, my heart was also conveyed to the Blue Tower Master.
The Blue Tower Master’s agony did not end. But even though she couldn’t reach a conclusion, she made a decision.
Unique Magic Path, Determinism.
The meteorite shattered by the spatial wave generated by the Demon King—the Blue Tower Master’s unique magic path seeps into its crevices. She freezes and holds the cracked gaps with some sort of power. The temperature inside the meteorite dropped as if winter had suddenly arrived.
The collapse caused by one person was stopped by another. Having his work interfered with, the Demon King stroked his chin and looked at the Blue Tower Master.
“What is the meaning of this, Blue Tower Master?”
“Master. I am indecisive and there is still much I do not know.”
“It seems so.”
“That is why I need more time. Time to learn magic from the Demon God’s relics, to sort out the situation, and for everyone to ponder the right answer.”
The Blue Tower Master did not take my side. Nor did she take the Demon King’s side. Because even if she understood both, neither was a choice she liked.
So she decided to stop everything for now. That was her decision.
“Please stop for now. Both the King of Humanity, and you, Master.”