Legion Commander Rao.

To be honest, he liked the current situation.

Leador had died because of some crazed heretic woman rampaging across the battlefield.

Doesn’t that mean I can receive Lord Gremory’s love in Leador’s place?

And even if Leador was dead, quite a few legion commanders were still alive.

All across the battlefield, they were probing for openings in Hyun’s Forge.

The only reason Leador had moved first was because he was an assassin.

Now that the archer had made the other legion commanders approach more cautiously, this was Rao’s and the priests’ chance to shine.

Rao climbed to the top of a hill.

Together with the priests, he intended to manifest magic and sweep Hyun’s Forge away in one stroke.

And the most terrifying thing about mages was precisely when they formed a group like this.

If a force of this scale went through a long casting and then unleashed a large-area magical bombardment?

It could wipe out even the capital of a small kingdom.

This was not arrogance.

The power of spells that mages manifested after such lengthy preparation was simply beyond common sense.

And at this moment, having received Lord Gremory’s power, he was able to manifest magic of a higher rank than usual.

The spell he was preparing now.

Demonic Flame.

Demonic Flame was a spell that only demonkin could use, and it would not be wrong to call it an inferior version of the 8th Class spell Hellfire.

But even as an inferior version of Hellfire, it could still produce more than enough power.

In truth, his Demonic Flame alone could have wiped out everyone in Hyun’s Forge.

And yet the reason he was preparing the other priests’ casting as well

was to show the other legion commanders the power of the Mage Legion Commander.

After a long casting, he was nearing the end of the formula.

He felt so delighted he could go mad, imagining that rough, hot, violent breath burning Hyun’s Forge to cinders.

Right on time, all of the priests had finished their casting, and he too had completed his own. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Rao raised his staff and stretched it toward the sky.

Now all that remained was to summon it.

RUMMMMMBLE—!

A tremendous roar rang out as that enormous power concentrated.

Then.

“...It seems I’ll be returning to Lord Gremory’s embrace.”

Rao turned his head.

It was the fervent Calamity Church believer who had earlier shouted, “That fucking bastard Hyun.”

Seeing a true believer rejoicing at the thought of returning to Her embrace, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Rao smiled benevolently.

“...My child, do not call her Lord Gremory anymore. Call her Mother. For a believer like you, saying you will be embraced in Mother’s arms is the proper expression.”

Ahh...!

What a beautiful thing to say!

At last, they would once again be gathered into her embrace!

And what was that, if not being held in the arms of one’s mother?

And yet—

“Huh? My mother’s name is Grendel, though?”

“...?”

“You want me to call Gremory Mother? Hah, what kind of filth is that? Is the Calamity Church a religion that forces people into incest? What a shitty church.”

“...”

Rao was flustered, but he could not move. He was already at the final stage of the casting.

At that moment, Rao’s eyes flew wide open.

Could it be...!?

But he was unable to finish that thought.

BWAAAACK—!

That bastard brought Rao’s own staff down on his head with all his might.

Was it a meaningless act?

No.

Anyone with even a little knowledge would know.

If mages were attacked while preparing a casting, the casting was completely nullified.

And if it was high-grade magic, all the mana spent for it was, quite literally, completely erased.

Just like that, the opening sky shut again, and the casting was fully canceled.

The vast energy surging through the staff also vanished like a mirage.

And when it came to magic beyond one’s limits, failing during manifestation inflicted severe internal damage.

“KUH-HURK!”

Rao coughed up blood and stared at that bastard with an expression of disbelief. Only then did he realize that this one, too, had been a heretic from the start.

But Rao sneered.

“...Even if you stop me, the priests’ four hundred spells have already been manifested.”

At that moment—

“Fly.”

The unknown heretic shot up into the sky.

*****

[Party Member Mio: Let’s take it easy. All Hyun wanted was for us to protect Hyun’s Forge, right? If we protect it halfheartedly and head back, we probably won’t have to keep playing family like being his granddaughter, younger sibling, or son.]

That was the party chat Mio had sent while they were moving along after joining the Calamity Church group.

Rund had completely agreed.

Why did they need to do their best just because it was for Hyun?

There was no reason for that.

And yet.

[Party Member Mio has executed 431 members of the Calamity Church.]

[Party Member Mio has executed Legion Commander Leador.]

“???”

All of a sudden, she had gone berserk and started rampaging.

She had drawn out the Bow of Ruin’s true power and was slaughtering absolutely everyone who approached the members of Hyun’s Forge like a madwoman.

The number of Calamity Church members she had killed had already surpassed seven hundred.

Goddamn it....

Rund had no choice but to react.

The first reason was that she was growing massively stronger.

Even if they had been sleeping together, Divine Archer Mio and Rund were still high rankers who competed against one another in the end.

The second reason was—

I’m jealous....

That lay in Rund’s own heart as he watched Mio’s insane growth.

Right now, Mio had the 1.5x experience and 1.5x drop-rate bonus applied.

Judging by the fact that she had killed seven hundred priests and, beyond that, Legion Commander Leador, she had clearly gained at least two levels.

And there was another problem as well.

What if our identities, while pretending to be heretics, are exposed...?

The world would talk.

-Mio the heretic has been branded a hero of the Ares Church. I heard Rund was there too, but despite the title of Great Mage, he didn’t accomplish much.

-That was only natural. Rund’s growth simply couldn’t shine in front of Mio after she obtained the Bow of Ruin. Maybe Rund should work harder.

No.

He too had gone mad with effort after his defeat in the Great Atlas War.

To say it was to show Hyun would be wrong.

It was to show the world.

And so he too had gained power on the level of Mio’s.

Rund had achieved one class of growth and reached a higher realm.

Also, mages did not grow through leveling up, but through the rise of their class.

[You are the first user to reach 6th Class.]

[Congratulations.]

[You obtain 300 Wisdom and Intellect.]

[Total MP increases by 20%.]

[As a first-reach reward for 6th Class Magic, you obtain a special spell.]

[You obtain 7th Class Magic: Absorption.]

He had even gained the privilege of being able to wield one and only one 7th Class spell.

Only one spell?

It could look that way.

But it was completely different.

When it came to 6th Class spells, each one of them could rightly be described as legendary.

Then what about 7th Class spells?

They’re Transcendence-grade.

Yes. That was the truth—they were Transcendence-grade spells.

Of course, even if someone reached 7th Class, they would not be able to use it recklessly.

That was because it devoured an enormous amount of mana.

That was why, even at 6th Class, one could only cast spells recklessly up to around 4th Class at best.

Then did the power called Absorption follow the same logic?

No.

This Absorption spell was truly transcendent, and it was exactly the kind of privilege meant for the first person ever to reach 6th Class.

Rund could describe it in just one way.

What the Bow of Ruin is to Mio, Absorption is to me.

You could tell just by looking at what Absorption did.

(Absorption)

Grade: 7th Class

Level: 1

Proficiency: 0%

Mana Cost: 1,000

Effect:

·Absorbs the mana in the surrounding area.

·If mages are in the middle of casting spells, it can absorb that mana secretly, and the more of them there are, and the higher their grade, the greater the amount of mana absorbed becomes.

·Your total mana increases according to the amount absorbed.

·Your Intellect rises according to the amount absorbed.

·Depending on the amount absorbed, you may be able to manifest temporarily higher-class magic.

Description: One of the 7th Class spells meant for the first person to reach 6th Class Magic, and granted to one person only.

Just like that, it was an absurd power.

But it had one flaw.

This power consumed the surrounding amount of mana.

In other words, he had to be among mages, and generally it revealed its true worth when he was among allies.

Otherwise, it was actually hard to activate.

Who would just leave an enemy standing in the middle of them?

But this time, things were different.

He had succeeded in disguising himself perfectly as a believer of the Calamity Church.

And at the right moment, he had skillfully gotten through the crisis by doing what Kali had told him to do—“Try saying, ‘That bastard Hyun.’”

Of course, it was true that he had been angry back then.

Why?

Because just like Mio, he had realized that in the end he would have to use this power for Hyun’s sake as well.

That was right.

Mio’s sudden rampage.

That became the stimulant that gave Rund the final push to reveal all his power too.

Standing among the priests and Rao, Rund marveled.

[An abnormal amount of mana accumulates.]

One advantage of Absorption was that it consumed more mana while targets were in the middle of casting, and beyond that, it devoured it secretly so the enemy would not notice.

Rund had feasted upon a truly incredible amount of mana thanks to the spell Rao was manifesting!

And then—

BWAAAACK—!

[Rao’s casting is interrupted.]

After bringing the staff down on Rao’s head several times, Rund also agreed with him.

Just as Rao had said, the spell casting of the four hundred priests had already been completed.

But there was something Rao did not know.

“Fly.”

Rund shot up into the sky.

Now that the absorption was complete, he had become a mage capable of displaying utterly abnormal power.

[You have successfully absorbed an abnormal amount of mana!]

[Additional 7th Class Magic is unlocked.]

[You can temporarily use 7th Class Magic.]

[Intellect increases by 210%.]

[Total mana increases by 220%.]

[You manifest 1st–3rd Class spells without casting.]

[The casting time of 4th–5th Class spells is reduced by 70%.]

[The casting time of 6th Class spells is reduced by 30%.]

To be honest, Rund felt happy and sad at the same time.

He was happy because, if only for a moment, he had become a mage who had transcended his own limits.

He was sad because...

Damn you, Hyun!

He knew he had to use this power entirely for Hyun’s sake.

KRAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKBOOOOM—!

At last, the four hundred spells exploded toward the coordinates of Hyun’s Forge.

A vast magical rampage covered the sky.

And at the sight of that, the whole world fell into shock.

Because if that many spells landed, it would be more than enough to reduce the densely clustered members of Hyun’s Forge to scorched earth.

However.

Mage Rund stood in front of them.

His index finger was pointed straight at the four hundred spells hurtling upward.

One of the advantages of Absorption was that it allowed double casting while Absorption itself was being activated.

In other words, he had been able to cast into his staff while carrying out the absorption.

The spell Rund had been casting was—

(Magic Reflection)

Grade: 6th Class

Level: 1

Proficiency: 31%

Mana Cost: 5,000

Effect:

·Reflects 50% of the spells at the designated location and sends them back to the mages who cast them.

·The returned spells deal 40% of the damage of the original spells cast by those mages.

According to what was written, it could not block all four hundred spells.

“Magic Reflection.”

[It is enhanced to match your increased Intellect stat.]

[It is changed so reflected spells can be sent wherever you desire.]

[It is upgraded from reflecting 50% of the spells at the designated location to 100%.]

[It is upgraded from returning 40% of the reflected spells’ damage to returning 100%.]

A translucent barrier formed in front of him.

That barrier collided with the four hundred spells.

KRAAAAAK—!

Just as the notification said, Rund became able to control all four hundred of those spells at will.

Of the four hundred, Rund swung his staff toward the destination of exactly half—two hundred spells.

KRAAAAAAGH—!

That destination was the place where Rao and the mages were gathered.

KRAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKBOOM!

[You have executed Legion Commander Rao.]

[You have executed 500 high-ranking priests.]

The five hundred priests struck head-on by it were completely annihilated, erased without leaving even a trace.

And beyond that, another two hundred reflected spells were still hanging in the air under Rund’s control.

And the place Rund was looking at

was where the members of the Calamity Church and the remaining legion commanders were densely gathered.

“All hail the Calamity Church.”

KRAAAAAAABOOM—!

The two hundred reflected spells pouring down swept over the remaining legion commanders.