Chapter 461

"Shit!" Diana instinctively ducked, shielding her face with her arms. The only reason she didn’t bolt was that she knew it was Ian's spell.

Swoosh—

Just as she had expected, the flying debris missed Ian and everyone standing a few steps behind him. The rocks curved in midair, veering sideways as if sliding along invisible rails.

Crash, crackle!

Instead, the debris converged a few meters behind Diana, slamming together with a loud, grinding impact. Turning, Diana watched the rocks collide one after another, the crashing sounds echoing through the space.

The rocks varied in size and shape, yet none shattered or bounced away. They clung together as if bound by an unseen force, stacking tightly as they landed.

Thud... Crunch—

A cloud of dust rose from the heavy impacts as stones kept flying past the group. They struck and locked together with a steady rhythm. In an instant, large and small rocks encircled them, spaced just a few meters apart. Above, the debris curved inward in a rough arc, forming what looked like an artificial cave entrance.

"Rock Fortress...!" Diana softly exclaimed.

It was the name of the mid-tier brown magic that Ian was casting. She had seen it once before, long ago, used by a brown mage during the war.

Crackle—

The Rock Fortress didn't completely enclose them; its front remained wide open. The remaining stones clung tightly to the ceiling and upper walls, layering like overlapping scales. Still, small gaps remained, allowing limited visibility to the rear and sides of the fortress.

Boom...

The tremors within the tightly bound rock structure began to settle. Faint magic lingered between the cracks, shimmering with violet traces like dust caught in the light. The Rock Fortress was complete. It would hold, at least until the binding magic faded.

Ian’s magic-tinged voice reached Diana’s ears. “Don’t let your guard down.”

He was facing the group now, his right hand still clenched near his face. The cigarette had burned so close that it nearly touched his lips. In his eyes, golden-brown magic swirled again.

He's already preparing the next spell?

Diana blinked in surprise. She was no stranger to magic. Anyone with real experience knew that casting a spell of this tier required time to stabilize the magic flow.

Yet Ian had already moved on, preparing the next spell even before the fortress was finished. This either meant his magical control was ridiculously precise or the spell was nothing to him. Either way, it was astounding.

"This is only the beginning," Ian added quietly, turning to face forward.

Diana's gaze followed him. Finally, her eyes fixed on the open space ahead.

Beyond the underground pool, where dust spread like mist, the slanted bedrock cross-section was now visible. Its layers receded downward, sloping away like an inverted incline. Even at a glance, it was clearly solid bedrock.

Boom—

Just then, Ian raised his right arm high, fingers snapping open from a clenched fist. Diana immediately sensed magic surging broadly from his hand.

Rumble... Rumble...

The chamber began to tremble. Diana staggered briefly but quickly steadied herself. Moro snorted beside her, yet her gaze remained fixed on the tilted stratum ahead.

Crack, crack...

Faint fractures spiderwebbed across the exposed rock face. Loose earth and gravel cascaded from a widening gap near the top.

Crackle!

Even the pond at the center of the chamber churned violently. Bubbling groundwater burst upward like a fountain.

Rumble— Crack—

Meanwhile, the misaligned rock layers continued to split apart. Debris and rubble of every size fell through the widening gap as the chamber trembled without pause.

This was Ground Fissure, a mid-tier brown magic spell. Normally, it carved a deep, narrow rift into solid ground. But now, it was cast in reverse, from underground toward the surface. The spell pushed the entire bedrock section beneath them outward and back.

Groan... Crack...

Ominous sounds echoed from the walls and ceiling as the tilted chamber slowly began to lift, regaining its horizontal alignment.

Dazed, Diana could only stand still and stare, lips slightly parted beneath her mask. Ian’s back was just a few steps ahead. She felt magic pulsing through him. His raised right arm trembled, not from strain, but from the sheer force of the magic he controlled.

Shhhhh—

The water that had surged upward now spread out, washing over Diana and Moro’s feet. The ground had nearly leveled out.

Debris kept tumbling down the widening chasm between the separated rock layers, scattering dust everywhere. Amidst the chaos, there was light.

... Light?

Diana’s eyes widened. She finally realized that the rift reached the surface. Then, the violent rumbling and roaring faded, and the area grew quiet.

Even though the spell had ended, the divided strata didn’t shift back together. The chasm remained—a gaping cliff that continued to spill dust and rubble like a waterfall, pale light filtering through it.

"

Phew...

" Ian breathed deeply, his shoulders rising and falling.

Then he raised his left arm above his head. Magic began to flow softly and steadily from both hands, now facing each other. He was already preparing for the next spell. Diana neither watched him nor felt renewed surprise.

Crack... Creak... Creak!

Ominous sounds crept across the fractured walls and ceiling of the severed hall. They grew sharper, digging into her ears, louder than before. The strata were holding, but the underground temple’s stability was clearly under immense strain.

“Fuck...” Diana muttered under her breath and swallowed dryly.

She didn’t dare lean out past the fortress to check the state of the ceiling and walls. Instead, crouched low, she glanced around the temple’s interior through the narrow gaps in the stone.

Despite the faint light trickling in, the chamber somehow felt even darker. After all, most of the violet glow from the markings on the ceiling and walls had faded—an ominous sign.

Rrrrnnng...

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Tense and alert, Moro lowered its head and breathed out lowly. Its gray mane shimmered faintly with a trace of violet as it flowed over Seren’s limp body, still securely fastened to its back.

Diana’s gaze shifted to Lucia, who was seated in the saddle. With a firm grip, she had wrapped the reins tightly around her left arm, keeping her steady and composed. Her amber-tinted eyes refused to waver.

How is she so calm?

Diana quickly turned her gaze forward again. A strange, unsettling current of magic was pulsing from Ian, the unmistakable presence of chaos power woven into it sending chills down her spine. Incredibly, it looked as though he was blending it into a standard spell.

Shhhhh...

He stood still as a statue, both hands raised above his head. Between his outstretched palms, violet-tinged magic roared and swirled. Swirling dust in the chamber was drawn into the vortex, looking like a sandstorm forming between his hands. Briefly, his curled fingers trembled as if gripping something in the air.

Boom—whoosh!

Ian crouched forward and slammed both hands down with all his strength. A burst of dusty wind exploded outward from where he stood. The remains of his cigarette were swept up in the falling curtain of dust, and sprays of groundwater rippled across the floor.

Rumble...

Diana raised her arm to shield her mask as the gust struck. A distinct tremor then followed—one that seemed to come from deep below. Magic surged through Ian, who had pressed his hands to the ground.

Rumble—! Rumble!

The tremor grew clearer as if answering him. Diana bent her knees slightly, her center of gravity balanced in a distinct, fairy-like way.

Right after, her eyes widened. “I-it's working! It’s really working, Ian!”

The ground beneath them was rising—slowly, steadily, with the rumble of shifting earth.

As she shouted, her gaze snapped back to Ian. Still bent forward, he trembled all over as he stood up little by little. It looked as if he were physically lifting the land with his strength, which wasn’t far from reality.

Damn it...

Gritting his teeth, Ian put everything he had into forcing his body upright. Mental pressure and the overwhelming magic surging through his limbs bound him like chains.

He was casting Diastrophism—a high-tier brown magic. In the game, it had been a spell that collapsed entire sections of terrain, burying enemies within its area of effect. Its only real drawback was its long casting time. Nevertheless, if cast successfully, it was powerful enough to instantly kill most monsters.

The crushing weight on his shoulders was because he was doing the opposite now. He was lifting the land.

Of course, it’s harder to raise it than destroy it...

Ian poured everything he had into rising to his feet. Surprisingly, even his Strength and Agility stats were contributing to the spell. Without a certain level of power and balance, there was no way he’d be able to move like this.

It could’ve all just been a kind of placebo effect, but at least to Ian, it felt real.

As he pushed forward with the spell, Diana, unaware of his thoughts, gasped in genuine awe. “A white mage... this is...”

Even the proudest of fairies couldn’t help but feel reverence in the face of something so close to a miracle. Just a few days ago, she couldn’t even imagine the man as a mage. Now, he was single-handedly performing something beyond belief.

Rumble...

The ground beneath them continued to rise slowly but steadily. As debris rained down through the widening gap in the strata, the opposite wall of bedrock inched closer.

Diana’s eyes widened as she finally realized that Ian, who had his back slightly hunched, was looking up, toward something beyond it. The reality she’d momentarily forgotten in her awe snapped back into focus.

“Ian!” she shouted over the noise and tremors. “Can you see it? Is there still a passage up there, on the other side?”

Of course, Ian couldn’t turn around or answer her.

Yeah. I see it.

All he could do was answer silently in his mind.

Beyond the waterfall of crumbling debris, gaps began emerging in the middle of the opposing stratum. As the layers split, the rubble that had once filled those spaces all fell. Considering how misaligned the strata were, it wasn’t too surprising.

Looks like it hasn’t been hit too hard by the quake, either...

As he struggled to raise both arms to shoulder height, Ian inwardly exhaled in relief. If those tunnels were completely buried, there would have been no escape.

Even now, his magic and chaos power were being drained at a terrifying rate. He knew all too well—his magic would give out long before he could fully raise the strata to the surface.

And it was only at that moment that he truly understood: there would be no second chance.

Rumble... Rumble...

From far behind, a low vibration spread. It was faint, almost static, but it grew heavier by the second.

“No... you’ve got to be kidding!” Diana, crouched low and peering through a gap in the Rock Fortress, suddenly raised her head.

"Hurry! We have to hurry! Ian!" she shouted reflexively, her voice panicked, breath catching as she turned to his back. "It’s collapsing! Everything’s coming down!"

The underground temple was falling apart. Starting from its deepest point, the collapse spread upward in a chain reaction.