Chapter 100. Hope? Hope is Bullshit
The emperor realized something was wrong right then.
A surge of malevolent energy (éŖę°£).
It swirled around like a whirlwind, converging on a single point, creating a force that no one could easily withstand.
Its intensity was like a sharp, finely honed blade, and its malevolence was incomparable to the scattered malevolent energy around it.
The pressure, as it gathered and compressed at a single point, was akin to the water pressure at the deepest part of the ocean.
The emperor stared at Aster with eyes wide in shock.
His condition was far from normal.
He could barely stand on his own, leaning helplessly on the enemyās shoulder.
His head hung low, and dark, lifeless blood poured from his body like a waterfall.
If not for the faint sound of his breathing, one might have mistaken him for already dead.
<What is this resistanceā¦? What is this? >
The bones in the emperorās grip began to crack.
If this grip were to fully close, the overwhelming malevolent energy (éŖę°£) would annihilate the enemy.
The gap between his fingers slowly widened. Despite his best efforts to close it, the gap did not decrease.
In fact, it only grew wider.
āIs he resisting? He must have used all his strength, right?ā
<...Yes, I will acknowledge your will. The mental fortitude that Reverse Heaven (é天) chose as the master of the eraā¦ Hmm?>
A gentle breeze brushed past the emperorās nose. But it was not a breeze.
The emperor involuntarily took in the strange energy flow.
No, not just blue, but piercingly so.
It seemed to purify the malevolent energy (éŖę°£) that filled the surroundings, clearer than the sky on the clearest day and purer than the purest water.
Where was it coming from? The flow of blue mana increased in number.
Soon, it became countless, and its flow was as gentle as the wind in spring.
A hand placed on his shoulder.
The emperor stared blankly at Aster, who was struggling to stand.
Normally, he should have immediately released his grip and pushed the body away.
Even if they were to re-engage in close combat, crushing a gasping opponent would not be difficult, though it might be a nuisance.
But, the emperor could not move.
<What is thisā¦? What is this? >
Just a moment ago, blue sparks were flying from Asterās body, but now a gentle breeze of mana was flowing into him.
It seemed to tickle his body like a mischievous fairy, as if it had a will of its own.
Aster, standing on his own two feet.
The sight of him, as seen by the emperor, was inexplicable.
No magic was being used, but there was a phenomenon.
As if time had been reversed, the wounds began to heal. Where the gentle breeze of mana passed, the dark, lifeless flesh turned into new, living tissue, and the bone fragments eroded by malevolent energy (éŖę°£) reconstructed into complete forms.
The healing light of the Blando family (家), known as the best healing magic.
<Stubborn! Enoughā¦ Cough!>
As the emperor tried to throw the malevolent energy (éŖę°£) and strangle Asterās neck.
His arm twisted strangely. The once broken arm now broke into pieces, losing its form.
Aster did not do anything with his hands.
The mana, like a raging wild beast, fiercely swept between Aster and the emperor.
The emperor involuntarily took a few steps back.
<What is thisā¦? What is this? Reverse Heaven (é天), is it you? Is it you again? >
It was not Reverse Heaven. If Reverse Heaven could do such things, it would have helped its master several times during the battle.
However, the reason he suspected Reverse Heaven was not without cause.
Aster, looking down at his hand.
The mana from all around gathered and played on his skin.
The flow of mana brushing past his ear was like a sweet song, and it seemed to be finding its home in his heart.
In the ancient times the emperor lived in, there was a legend passed down from ancient times.
It is a grace bestowed upon a few special beings.
Those who receive the grace are different from mages who use mana as a medium to create phenomena.
They do not understand or comprehend the principles of mana.
Aster, looking at his hand, flicked his finger.
The emperor let out a chilling scream as flames suddenly surrounded his body.
The malevolent energy (éŖę°£) surged to extinguish the flames, but for some reason, it did not work.
The flames burned the emperorās body without hesitation.
Aster looked at the emperor with eyes that flickered strangely. Or rather, at the flames that had engulfed the emperor.
āā¦Blue Fire (éē«).ā
The pinnacle of the Deculan family (家), an eternal flame that burns the world for eternity, one of the highest-level visions of fire magic.
It was truly a strange occurrence.
Even among the direct descendants of the Deculan family (家), only those with the right qualities could master this vision.
How could Aster, who had learned the lower-level Red Fire (赤ē«) and possessed the foundation of all Deculan visions, the Heavenly Origin Technique, achieve Blue Fire?
Even if Pulun or Hengji, geniuses of their kind, devoted their entire lives to it, it would not be easy.
It was not at a level where one could claim to have transcended (č¶
č¶).
The emperor, overcoming the intense pain, charged forward. The malevolent energy (éŖę°£) around him surged and scattered, deadly and fierce.
The Blue Fire disappeared at that moment.
Suddenly, a sharp pillar of rock shot up from the ground. Though it was a spell derived from the corrupted earth, the energy it contained was clear and pure. And that was not all.
Even as the emperor, having lost his mind, struck with his fists, there was not a single sign of disturbance.
A vision passed down from an unknown master to Chenbi. In the world, only two people knew of this vision: the wandering mage who passed it down to Chenbi and Chenbi himself.
Lightning struck from the sky, and a storm of fire raged. The earth groaned and split, and hot lava flowed from below.
<Howā¦ How can a wretch like youā¦! How can a wretch like you have the Blessing of Manaā¦!>
The emperor screamed in agony as the flames burned his body.
Even though he had the indestructible body of a Destorow, this powerless situation was unbearable. And it was not just this situation.
As if it had found its master.
The flow of mana circling around him.
All the mana listened to his will, as if waiting for him to speak.
And when his will touched the manaā¦.
The mana immediately manifested the will as a phenomenon.
This was the Blessing of Mana.
A power known in legends, now more widely known by a different name.
However, unlike the emperorās state of mind, Asterās eyes calmly assessed the situation.
āUltimatelyā¦ just an imitation?ā
Blue Fire, Spear of Earth. Not only these, but also the spells that Pahern had once cast on him, and the spells he had seen in his past life, he had all demonstrated.
But, having seen the real thing, Aster found the results somewhat unsatisfactory.
His transcendence (č¶
č¶)ā¦ Yes. While he could control all mana at will, the phenomena lacked depth.
<The resultā¦ The result will not change. You have no hopeā¦ Cough!>
Aster, gripping the emperorās neck, smiled.
The smile was incredibly pleasant.
How could one describe it?
Yes. It felt like he had reached the pinnacle of magic he had pursued all his life.
In the days when he had no knowledge and no opportunity to learn, when he could not even dream of visions, the only thing he could control was crude mana.
Understanding. Understanding. Understanding. Understanding. Understandingā¦ repeated countless times.
Aster delved into the techniques of mana because of this. Whether it was Eterni, the visions of knights, or anything else, he studied them all.
It was the only thing he had.
Of course, he had not imagined that his transcendence (č¶
č¶) and enlightenment would take this formā¦
āDo you have any thoughts about the future? For now, letās justā¦ enjoy the moment, okay?ā
A sinister smile bloomed on Asterās lips.
A spell took shape in his mind.
Unlike the hollow shells he had demonstrated so far, this was a combination of the knowledge he had honed throughout his life and the visions he had acquired in this life, albeit insufficiently.
Only the meaning mattered.
The emperor, sensing the danger, wildly attacked Aster. But it was futile. The mana around him blocked the attacks according to Asterās will.
At that moment, a cluster of mana stirred.
A fierce storm of mana swept through the surroundings. The flow that cut through the earth was truly formidable.
Aster felt the insufficiency.
The Blessing of Mana? Destorow had described it as such, but this was not a blessing.
The mana swirling around seemed to have a will of its own, but in reality, it did not.
It was just that Asterās will had gathered the mana, and it followed his will.
He needed vast amounts of mana.
To manifest the spell he had in mind, the mana he could gather with his willpower was not enough. But how?
Then, an idea flashed through his mind.
At some pointā¦ an idea he had while conceptualizing a mana formula. But he had never attempted it due to its risks.
Now, he felt he could do it.
As he willed it, the mana in the air swirled and gathered in his heart.
Not through breathing, but through his entire body, the flow of mana seeped in.
Aster gathered it, forming a shape centered around his core.
Like a ring around a star, a ring of mana circled the round core. No, it was no longer mana. Due to the function of the magic book, the mana had transformed into mana energy.
The mana energy in the core began to rotate at that moment.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The ring of mana energy rotated in the opposite direction simultaneously.
Amid the conflicting flows, a significant resistance followed, and Aster suppressed the blood rising in his throat.
Was it because the momentum of the core had increased?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Vast amounts of mana energy surged from all directions.
Aster, realizing the flow, took in the emperor, who was making futile attempts.
A hot flame shot from his hand.
A pillar of fire rose fiercely into the sky.
Or rather, was it a flame? It was different. It burned intensely and flickered, but there was no proper fuel.
It did not accept oxygen in the combustion process, nor did it use the Destorowās body as a medium.
This was Red Fire (赤ē«).
A solitary, pure flame burning on its own.
Collision, interference, annihilation, and the Thunder Body (é·čŗ«) used during the intense battle with Destorow, along with dozens of other unnamed mana techniques, were added.
There were no principles, no distinctions.
Insight beyond understanding.
This insight transcended mana (Mana), giving it a will and burning intensely for a single purpose.
The will contained withinā¦.
The annihilation of a single being.
Beneath the emperorās scream that shook the world, Asterās eyes shone brilliantly.
His eyes were transcendence (č¶
č¶). They were wandering in that distant world.