Chapter 578: The War Begins (3) [Bonus Image]

Kiiing....

A mana-infused bud blossomed at the tip of Mary. Thin beams of light were shot from the fully opened petals, forming lines of radiance.

Balzac immediately activated Gluttony in his right hand. The mouth of greed extended beyond his palm up to his forearm. Balzac's arm split open like the jaws of a reptile. The approaching light entered Gluttony via the mouth, and it immediately devoured the light.

Crunch.

The mouth closed, and the light disappeared. Simultaneously, Balzac's face contorted. His stomach turned, and blood spewed from his mouth. It was impossible for him to digest the magic he had just swallowed.

"Ugh...!"

Balzac stepped back while vomiting blood.

Crack, crack-crack!

His left arm fractured, and bubbles formed on the surface of his skin. The undigested magic began to tear Gluttony apart from the inside. Balzac forcibly swallowed the blood he kept vomiting as he thrust his staff forward.

Boom!

He hurled a mass of dark power toward Sienna. Simultaneously, Gluttony opened once more in his right hand. It regurgitated the magic after failing to digest it. But though he vomited it out, Balzac managed to interpret some of the magic and wrest control over it during that brief moment.

Both the mass of dark power and Sienna’s magic were hurled toward her. However, Sienna felt no sense of crisis from them. She swiftly stretched her fingers and drew a line in the air.

Both magics were extinguished simultaneously. She had not merely overpowered them. Rather, she interfered with the magical formulas themselves and turned the magic into nothingness.

"How beautiful...!" Balzac exclaimed in admiration, wiping the blood smeared across his mouth.

He had never seen such a clean dispel. He felt shocked by Sienna’s first attack but even more so by her dispel. It was truly overwhelming. Balzac felt an insurmountable gap between himself and Sienna. They were on different levels. No matter what magic Balzac used or what measures he took, it seemed impossible to inflict even a scratch on Sienna.

"Did you retract Empress Rule because... you are looking down on me?” he questioned.

"That’s right,” Sienna answered without hesitation. "Even without Empress Rule, your magic will not reach me.”

"Ha, that seems to be the case," Balzac admitted.

"Just once,” Sienna declared. Her left hand opened wide. "With this one spell, you will die.”

It was a proclamation made without any emotion. Sienna was certain, and so was Balzac. He chuckled bitterly and nodded.

"Then I must try not to die... not just once, but twice, if not three times,” he responded.

"No, that's impossible. You won't get a second chance. Just once, only once,” declared Sienna.

Crackle....

Purple light gathered in Sienna's left hand. Seeing that, Balzac couldn't help but doubt his eyes. That purple light wasn't

mana

. It was a sinister light that Balzac knew couldn't possibly belong to Sienna Merdain. In fact, he knew to whom it originally belonged.

"That is... the power of Duke Giabella," he muttered.

"Right. It's Noir Giabella's dark power,” answered Sienna.

Sienna had harvested the dark power of Noir along with the Demoneye of Fantasy. Although she only possessed a fragment of Noir’s original power, it was still so vast that its limit was difficult to gauge.

Balzac let out a short laugh and set down his staff.

"Thank you,” he said.

He was expressing gratitude even though his own death was imminent. Sienna had countless ways to kill him. Even another volley of the initial burst of light alone would have been enough to kill him. Balzac would have been rendered unable to respond. However, Sienna was sincerely preparing her magic to end him in a decisive, single blow.

Balzac felt grateful. Although Sienna had retracted Empress Rule, saying he would fail to reach her regardless, Balzac did not feel that she was looking down on him. Rather, he felt that she was being considerate.

‘She’s making sure I won’t have any regrets,’

Balzac thought gratefully.

He had known from the beginning. Although he stood here as a gatekeeper, Balzac was never able to guard the gate. Balzac was too insignificant and pitiful compared to the obstacles they had overcome so far. No matter how desperately he struggled, he could not become a hurdle they needed to surpass. In fact, he couldn’t even be considered a pebble in their path.

He had known from the beginning. He stood there in their path despite knowing. If he had wanted to become an obstacle, he should have become an

enemy

much earlier. From the start, Balzac had no intention of being an obstacle.

"Divinity of Magic," said Balzac.

That was what Balzac ultimately hoped for.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to witness it,” he said sincerely.

He released his staff, but it did not fall. Balzac stood with his staff before his chest and stretched out both arms.

Crackle....

His right hand split again, and Gluttony opened its mouth. Swallowing his blood-tainted breath, Balzac brought his left hand close to Gluttony.

Rumble....

A heavy vibration sounded from within Gluttony. Soon, it regurgitated a pale gray dark power.

'The power of Destruction,'

Eugene thought with a click of his tongue from behind where he was watching the battle.

It wasn't difficult to guess the source of that power. It stemmed from the army of the Nur that had poured out from Hauria. Balzac had been actively involved in that battlefield, devouring the Nur. This was the dark power he had stored then.

Eugene thought with narrowed eyes,

'The power of Destruction destroys existence. Even the Incarnation of Destruction isn’t exempt. If a human harbored such power....'

Eugene could somewhat understand why Balzac didn't run away, why he said it was inevitable, and why he stayed at Babel.

From the beginning, Balzac didn't have much time. Although he was still maintaining his physical form, having devoured so much of the power of Destruction, Balzac was soon destined for destruction.

“Sigh....”

Balzac took a deep breath as he focused the dark power of Destruction. Simultaneously, the power of Incarceration poured from his left hand. After Gluttony spat out all the dark power of Destruction from his right hand, it vomited dark power gained from other sources. It was the dark power he gained by devouring demons and demonic monsters. In addition, all the mana Balzac possessed was added into the mix.

Different types of dark power and mana intertwined and compressed. Sienna silently watched this while wielding Mary.

Crackle!

She guided her dark power to entwine with Mary’s petals. The mana she manifested began to mix with the dark power.

Both Sienna and Balzac were using mana and dark power simultaneously. However, the outcomes were not the same. While Balzac forcibly held together incompatible elements, Sienna's mana and dark power achieved perfect harmony.

She was wielding soul power. This was a pure essence drawn from the intersection of altered mana and dark power.

"Ah...." Balzac swallowed the blood welling up in his throat in awe. Even during the war of Hauria, Sienna had not possessed such power.

If I had experienced this earlier, could I have achieved it too?

He could not help but wonder, and Balzac laughed again. It was impossible. This was truly the divine domain of magic. It was a power that transcended legends to reach myth, which only a Goddess of Magic could wield.

"Thank you." Balzac expressed his gratitude once more. He was thrilled to be able to see such a thing before dying, to experience death through it. He thought even a hundred thank yous would be insufficient.

At the same time, a thought came to mind.

Magic was something he couldn’t help but love. It was captivating. It didn’t matter how much talent one had in magic. One could love even without ample talent. One did not expect anything in return for love. He simply loved and had been loving. How could one not love such wonder?

"It is ready,” he said. Balzac gripped his staff with trembling hands.

Roar...!

The staff vibrated like thunder, straining to control the overwhelming power. It began to fracture. Balzac's body reacted similarly. His originally pale face turned ashen like a corpse, and Gluttony's teeth clacked together noisily.

"Any regrets?" Sienna asked.

"None," Balzac responded, prompting Sienna to nod. Had he expressed regret, she might have been disappointed. Claiming himself as a wizard, a black wizard, and the Staff of Incarceration. Dying with such firm resolve would at least be honorable for him.

"Then," Sienna said.

The soul power gathered at the end of Mary was no bigger than the size of a fist. It was incomparably smaller than the power Balzac had amassed. But it was of a different caliber. Both Balzac and Eugene knew this fact.

Eugene stepped back a few paces to shield Kristina behind him. If they were caught in that power, it wouldn't end well.

"Farewell, Balzac Ludbeth."

The words Sienna uttered contained no trace of regret or attachment. She had no reason to feel such emotions for Balzac. He was a foolish black wizard who devoted his life to magic and yearned to reach the pinnacle of magic. He deserved at least some respect for such devotion. Her magic contained just that respect. The murderous intent she held towards Balzac, who had stood in her way as a black wizard, was as great as ever.

The ball of soul power moved. The fist-sized light slowly flew toward Balzac. With wide eyes, he watched the light, knowing it would determine the last moment of his life. He wanted to see everything clearly to the very end.

And Balzac, too, fired his magic. His staff shattered as the light exploded. The magic Balzac unleashed was ferocious and barbaric, unlike Sienna's. Before the two magics collided, anticipating the situation, Eugene created a sanctuary with Prominence, shielding both Kristina and himself.

The two magics collided.

There was no sound of an explosion or shattering. The collision did not accompany such phenomena.

That was because Balzac's magic was extinguished the moment the two forces collided. All the power of Destruction he had amassed by sacrificing his lifespan, the mana and dark power he had obtained by altering and devouring creatures, were all meaningless before Sienna's magic. Instead, his extinguished magic flowed into Sienna's, magnifying the mass of soul power.

"Ah...."

Balzac neither panicked nor was shocked. He knew this outcome was inevitable. Thus, with a bright smile, he stretched out his right hand. Death approached him slowly, and it took the form he had longed for all his life.

'If only it were a little longer.'

With that thought, he opened Gluttony. The wide-open mouth swallowed the approaching death.

Sienna's magic was devoured by Gluttony and disappeared. For a moment, Balzac stood still, arm extended. Shortly after, he managed to part his trembling, quivering lips, "Thank you."

Sienna did not respond but lowered Mary.

"Magic is..." Balzac's voice cracked as he spoke slowly, "...so marvelous... and magnificent."

Crackle, crackle.

Balzac's right hand split and began to crumble. With each breath he took, he could feel his internal organs disappearing. The beings devoured by Gluttony turned into books that were shelved within Balzac. The same went for magic. Just like how Akasha comprehended magic, Balzac's Gluttony could understand the magic it consumed.

But the magic it had just devoured — was absolutely beyond his comprehension. It was like the first time he saw Witch Craft, or the Eternal Hole. It was as if he was looking at answers, yet he could not understand them. It was a vague impossibility. Was this the divine domain of magic?

Balzac chuckled, clutching his chest with the little strength left in his left hand.

"To witness such magic and die from it — there could be no greater death for a wizard like me," he said.

"It seems you won’t die as the Staff of Incarceration,” commented Sienna.

"I was always a wizard from the beginning,” Balzac answered with a smile. He could no longer stand and collapsed weakly.

"May I ask... one last thing?" he said.

"Go ahead,” said Sienna.

"Is this the end of magic?" Balzac asked earnestly.

Sienna didn't know what kind of answer he was hoping for. She had no intention of fulfilling any expectations, but she didn't lie either.

"Surely, something like this can't be the end of magic."

So she answered honestly.

"Even I can’t fathom the

end

of magic, even as the Goddess of Magic. I, too, am exploring it. In fact, I am now considering this: does an end to magic even exist?" she said. "An end might exist for me as a being, but not for magic. If magic holds infinite possibilities, it shouldn't have an end.”

"Ah...." Balzac uttered a sound, a mixture of admiration and a sigh, nodding his head. "Thank you."

He whispered his last thanks in a voice so faint it was barely audible. He could no longer lift his head and let it drop.

"Even this... is still... just a step in magic. Heh... so it is."

All his internal organs had disintegrated. And now, even his physical body began to vanish.

His vision blurred, prompting him to close his eyes. He made no effort to cling to his consciousness, which seemed on the verge of snapping. His body would disappear, but his existence would not. He was bound by a contract, and his soul was tethered. Despite facing death, the contract remained firm. After the dissolution of his body, Balzac’s soul would return to the Demon King of Incarceration.

"I'm glad I chose to be a wizard," Balzac muttered with a smile.

His life had been marked for death long ago. He had never entertained thoughts of survival. He had been content to die at Eugene's hands... but if possible, he had hoped to die at Sienna's hand, slain by the magic of the one he revered.

That wish had been fulfilled. No, he had experienced a death beyond what he had hoped for — the best death imaginable. With this blissful aftermath, Balzac’s spirit would return to the Demon King of Incarceration.

That was enough.

Balzac was content, and he died smiling.

His shattered body turned to ash and vanished. The full blossom of Mary withered again. Sienna gathered her mana and dark power and looked ahead.

The gate was open, and there was no gatekeeper.

"Let's go,” Sienna said, turning to Eugene with an unfazed expression. Eugene, having dismantled the barrier, nodded.

"That was straightforward,” he commented.

"Did you expect me to struggle?" questioned Sienna.

"He made quite a show of blocking the way as the gatekeeper, so I thought he might have some trump card,” said Eugene.

Balzac Ludbeth, the former master of the Black Tower, had always acted suspiciously since Aroth.

"He died in such an anticlimactic fashion for someone who's been so suspicious all this time,” Eugene grumbled as he walked toward the open gate.