by Michael Sisa
The nobles and government officials understood what those words meant: the magic engraved in that item was probably complex enough that even royal court magicians were unable to fully understand it in just a couple of days.
Lady Ropianna pointed a finger at the black bag sitting next to her feet. It opened by itself and a silver-black jar hovered up and stopped right above her head. It slowly spun around.
She said, “The exterior’s quite plain, and if not for its silver-black sheen, it would have been difficult to identify this as a magic item at first glance. But the interior… it’s the first time I’ve seen such a complex magic circle. It’s amazing that the blacksmith managed to engrave those overlapping magic formations inside this thing.”
Lady Ropianna paused and said to Lark, “I think it is safe to assume that the magic engraved in this jar is meant to suppress the so-called demon’s fragment.”
“That is correct, lady magician,” said Lark.
Lady Ropianna pondered. “I see. As expected… Judging by the runes, it’s probably a barrier spell. A very strong one at that. Tenth-tier magic might not be enough to suppress the fragment… then is it… Grand Scale Magic? But it’s never been done before…”
Her last few words trailed off.
Hearing this, Elias frowned. “Hey, Ropianna,” said Elias. “We’ve discussed it beforehand, right? It’s impossible to engrave Grand Scale Magic into an artifact! Moreover in an item as small as that! It’s probably tenth-tier at most. Stop with the useless questions—”
“—Sir Lark Marcus still hasn’t answered my question.” Ropianna cast a glare at Elias. “Don’t butt in, Farsight.”
“Seriously, this old woman.” Elias clicked his tongue.
Ropianna turned to Lark and smiled. “What kind of spell is engraved inside the mithril jar? I’ve been halting the progression of the curse of His Majesty for several years now. I’m quite sure that the demon who helped found this Kingdom is a ridiculously strong one.”
Lark knew that whether or not they’d proceed with his suggested method depended on his answer to this one. It seemed that to Lady Ropianna, anything less than Grand Scale Magic wouldn’t be enough to restrain the demonic fragment.
Lark agreed on her sentiment.
“It’s a spell called Heaven’s Dominion,” said Lark. “A barrier spell, just like Lady Ropianna speculated.”
Chryselle stared at Lark in astonishment upon hearing the name of the spell. Lady Ropianna and Elias, on the other hand, were unperturbed. It seemed that they weren’t familiar with the spell.
The bald royal court magician who’d been silent until now chuckled. He glared at Lark and said mockingly, “How funny. Brat, do you even know what kind of spell Heaven’s Dominion is?”
Ropianna furrowed her brows at that statement. “Nickolai.”
Nickolai looked at Ropianna and Elias. “The two of you probably aren’t aware of it, but the name of the spell that kid spouted—it’s the same spell protecting the Dwarven Kingdom as of this moment.” Nickolai smirked. He roared, as though what Lark just said was the most offensive thing he’d heard, “Heaven’s Dominion isn’t Grand Scale Magic, kid! It’s a magic exclusive to dragons! Are you taking us for fools, you shitty brat?”
Nickolai’s voice echoed in the throne room. The nobles and government officials flinched, while General Carlos held a dissatisfied gaze. He was about to reprimand the royal court magician for shouting while under the presence of the His Majesty, but King Alvis wordlessly stopped him. Seeing Lark’s confident gaze, King Alvis decided to see how things would play out.
“T-The barrier spell that has been protecting the Dwarven Kingdom for centuries?” one of the nobles said.
“I-If we have such a spell engraved in that mithril jar then maybe…”
“Stop dreaming,” Nickolai said to the nobles. “You heard what Farsight said a while ago, right? It’s impossible to engrave anything beyond tenth-tier magic into an artifact. Heaven’s Dominion is Pinnacle Grade Magic. A spell even Grand Scale Magic couldn’t compare to. And this kid is telling us that a spell exclusive to dragons is going to be activated the moment we pour mana into that phylactery?” Nickolai sneered. “This brat is clearly delusional. It seems that we’ve wasted all that wait for nothing.”
King Alvis stroked his beard. “Lark Marcus. Is everything Nickolai said true?
Lark remained stoic despite Nickolai’s mocking words. “Half of it, yes.”
Nickolai glared at Lark.
“Half of it?” said King Alvis. “I am no magician, so I hope you can explain everything to me in a manner I can understand.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Lark. “It’s true that Heaven’s Dominion is Pinnacle Grade Magic. The highest tier of magic there is. But it isn’t true that it’s impossible to engrave spells higher than tenth-tier into artifacts. This phylactery is testament to that. And it also isn’t true that Heaven’s Dominion is a spell exclusive to dragons.”
The throne room was silent as everyone listened to Lark’s words.
Lark raised his index finger. “Mana capacity. It’s one of the fundamental things separating dragons from humans. Even if a hundred ordinary magicians pooled all of their mana, it probably wouldn’t be enough to cast a single Pinnacle Grade Magic spell. But dragons are different. If a dragon used up all of the mana stored in its body, it should be possible for it to cast Pinnacle Grade Magic on its own, without external help. Without artifacts, fancy rituals and magic formations.”
Lark continued, “Theoretically speaking, if there exists a human with a mana pool comparable to dragons, and he has a medium to channel that enormous amount of mana into, it should be possible for him to also cast Pinnacle Grade Magic on his own. A dragon’s resilient body is capable of acting as a medium, but humans would need artifacts—made of mithril or adamantite—to perform Pinnacle Grade Magic.”
The reason Lark considered the Sword of Morpheus his most prized possession was because of this. It was the perfect medium when performing the highest tier spells. It didn’t break even after he’d cast consecutive Pinnacle Grade Magic spells when he fended off the Demon Lord’s army on his own, back then.
“Interesting,” said the King. “Ropianna, what do you think?”
“It’s plausible, Your Majesty.” Lady Ropianna bobbed her head. “If this young man’s logic is truly correct, we can assume that Pinnacle Grade Magic isn’t exclusive to dragons. I wonder… Maybe this misconception was borne from the fact that no human in our Kingdom’s history has ever managed to cast the highest tier of magic? I should look more into this theory, once we’ve taken care of the curse.”
“Plausible?” Nickolai snorted. “You said it yourself, kid. You’ll need mana comparable to dragons to perform that magic!”
“That’s what the flower is for,” said Lark. “Tears of Ubroxia is not really a flower, but a crystallized form of mana. You must have seen it yourselves, those petals that look like they’ve been sculpted from ice.”
It was the same reason why it grew only in mana-dense areas.
“I have two questions, if you don’t mind,” said Lady Ropianna. “First… I’ve seen the flower myself. Indeed, there are vast amounts of mana contained inside the flower, but I doubt it’ll be enough to supply the amount needed to perform Pinnacle Grade Magic. Second, I heard that you requested all available royal court magicians and soldiers to be present during the magic ritual, in case the demon called Agares successfully crosses over to this Kingdom. You even requested for an isolated place where we can perform the spell. A place without any innocent civilians.”
The magic holding the phylactery vanished and the mithril jar fell on Lady Ropianna’s hands. It was very light, compared to its size.
Lady Ropianna continued, “No matter how strong the demon is, it’ll be extremely hard to break a barrier created from Pinnacle Grade Magic. There must be a reason why you requested the royal family mobilize the military.”
Everyone’s attention was
on Lark once again. He said, “You are correct. The amount of mana inside the flower is comparable to probably only three to four high-grade mana stones. It isn’t enough to supply the colossal amount of mana needed to perform Pinnacle Grade Magic. But Tears of Ubroxia is special in a way that it is formed by sucking in ambient mana. The same will be true the moment it’s been pulverized into dust and used to activate the magic formation in the mithril jar. The mana the flower is lacking, we’ll forcefully gather from the surroundings.”
“As for your second question, the answer is simple. The spell itself isn’t the problem. The problem lies with the phylactery. Like I’ve told you before, adamantite is the ideal material for this. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. No matter how strong Heaven’s Dominion is, if the phylactery can’t contain the spell, the demon’s fragment will break out sooner or later.”
CHAPTER 23
After several hours of heated discussion, everyone in the throne room finally came to a consensus—they decided to go with Lark’s suggestion, but under one strict condition: The ritual should be done in a place far from the capital, a desolated place with no innocent civilians.
It was decided that the ritual would be done at Fork Meadow. A vast grassland to the east of Golden Wheat City, right next to the border of the Dwarven Kingdom.
Lady Ropianna revealed to everyone that the moment things went out of hand, she planned on including the dwarves in this mess. Even if she was unable to subdue the demon, she was confident of luring it toward the border of the Dwarven Kingdom. Surely, the dragon guarding its border wouldn’t sit still if a powerful demon suddenly appeared near its protected territory.
Lark was amazed that the elderly female magician thought of this tactic. Shrewd, shameless, but ingenious regardless.
Without further delay, the royal family started mobilizing the army. A thousand elite soldiers, three royal court magicians, a dozen priests capable of healing spells, two hundred mercenaries, and two hundred royal guards made their way toward Fork Meadow.
Over a dozen carts filled with rations, weapons, and sundries moved out of the capital. Coupled with the army marching toward the east, the residents of the capital feared that war had erupted once again. Various rumors about why the army stationed in the capital had been mobilized spread among the masses.
The army moved relentlessly toward the meadow, eventually reaching it after almost two weeks.
During this time, Lark refilled the mana inside the mithril cubes. He also started enchanting the sword he bought from Garma, fortifying its strength severalfold.
By the time they’d arrived, the villages in the meadow were already empty. All villagers had already been evacuated to the Youchester Duchy.
Lark and his disciples disembarked from their carriage.
“What a huge mountain,” said George.
A colossal mountain range, comparable to Yorkshaire, formed a natural barrier to the east, its tip touching the clouds.
“It’s even larger than Yorkshaire.” Austen had to look all the way up to see the top.
“That’s where the dwarves live,” said Lark. “Do you see that white haze over there?” George and Austen stared at the white haze obscuring the lower half of the mountain range. “That’s the famous barrier protecting the Dwarven Kingdom.” George and Austen gawked at the white haze after hearing Lark’s words.
Nickolai was right. It was Pinnacle Grade Magic. Lark was sure of it. Even from this distance, he could feel the vast amounts of mana maintaining the spell. The dragon must have been supplying it with mana on a regular basis, since the barrier was still at its strongest even after centuries had passed.
Seeing the barrier with his own eyes confirmed the presence of the dragon. Those creatures, which could live for more than a millennium, would sometimes hibernate for several years, and he was worried that it would have been sleeping since winter was looming. But now, he was sure that the dragon was awake after seeing the barrier at its full strength.
Lark looked around. The soldiers were currently making camp, the royal guards started setting up defenses, while the mercenaries started installing traps.
Lark told everyone in the throne room back then that High Demons and above were capable of summoning lesser demons at their beck and call. Agares wouldn’t be their only problem once the phylactery failed to contain the fragment. If worse comes to worst, they might face a demon horde. This was why the royal family enlisted the help of these mercenaries. Unlike your regular soldiers, these unruly men had vast amounts of experience in dealing with monsters.
“Sir Lark, we’re done with the preparations. We’ve gathered all the necessary materials,” said a soldier. He pointed at a large clearing where several sacks filled with ormatane and gold dust sat.
The phylactery and the high-grade mana stone were with him, the flower was with Lady Ropianna. Lark decided to draw the magic formation now.
Lark cast his spell and a fire serpent manifested before him. It slithered around and started burning the grasses around him, creating a fifty-meter wide scorched clearing, before finally dissipating.
Lark nodded in satisfaction at the now grassless patch of land. He grabbed the sacks containing the ormatane and gold dust and started mixing the two. Using magic, the large sack flew up, tilted to the side, and the mixture of ormatane and gold dust started pouring on the ground, forming a twenty-meter wide magic formation.
The three royal court magicians watched wordlessly as Lark drew the magic formation on the ground. As layers upon layers of runes were drawn, they realized that the magic formation greatly resembled the one inside the phylactery’s. If Lark’s words were indeed true, then right now, they were witnessing with their own eyes the creation of the magic formation of a Pinnacle Grade Spell.
“Hey, the kid’s quite skilled, isn’t he?” said Farsight.
Nickolai remained silent, while Lady Ropianna bobbed her head.
Impressively, the dust mixture didn’t stop flowing and continued drawing the magic formation, without interruption. It seemed simple at first glance, but the three royal court magicians knew more than anyone here how hard it was to achieve this. This was how the mana was supposed to flow once the magic formation was completed—freely flowing, without halt or disturbance. This went to show how familiar Lark was with this Pinnacle Grade Spell.
After half an hour, Lark finally stopped. The large sack filled with the dust mixture was almost empty by now. He placed the sack down to the side.
“Lady magician, the flower,” Lark said to Ropianna.
Lady Ropianna walked gingerly toward Lark, as though afraid of breaking the small wooden chest in her hands. Upon reaching Lark, she opened it and handed him the flower.
“Thank you,” said Lark.
The elderly female magician wore her usual benign smile. “That was… quite enlightening to watch. The technique you used to circumvent the overlapping runes at the third and fourth layer was ingenious. Farsight and Nickolai probably won’t admit it, but they definitely learned something incredibly useful today.”
“Is that so?” chuckled Lark. He looked at Farsight and was immediately greeted by a frown. It seemed that the best archer of the Kingdom had keen hearing; he definitely heard the words Lady Ropianna said just now.
“I’ll grind this flower into dust,” said Lark. “Lady magician… After this, there’s no going back.”
“We know,” said Lady Ropianna.
After Lady Ropianna moved back to where the rest of the royal court magicians were standing, Lark started grinding the flower into dust. Its petals, which looked as though they’d been sculpted from ice, formed cracks and shattered into numerous minute pieces. Even its core was pulverized.
Lark used the dust created from the Tears of Ubroxia to complete the innermost layer of the magic formation.
Lark approached the king, who’d been watching him from a distance. He bowed. “Your Majesty, the magic formation is almost complete. All that’s left is the blood
of the sacrifice.”
“My blood, huh?” said King Alvis. “Of course. Take as much as you need.”
It sounded as though the king was willing to give him half a bucket of blood if needed. Lark politely smiled. “Three drops should do, Your Majesty. Please follow me.”
Lark led the king to the center of the magic formation. He handed him a small knife. “Whenever you’re ready, Your Majesty.”
King Alvis unhesitatingly pressed his thumb against the blade. Blood dripped down the wound and fell into the phylactery’s mouth. Upon the third drop of blood, the magic circle came into life. Beautiful azure runes glowed and the layers of magic formation started spinning around.
Lark amplified his voice using magic. He said to everyone present, “Listen. We will now conduct the ritual to sever the curse running through the blood of the royals. Soldiers, priests, mercenaries, magicians—battle could break out moments from now. Ready yourselves.”
The tension in the air became palpable.
The military officers began issuing out commands. The soldiers and mercenaries pulled out their weapons, all the while the priests and the royal court magicians readied their spells.
Elias ‘Farsight’ had already moved a kilometer away, his arrow pointed in Lark’s direction. If the phylactery broke and the demon appeared, he would immediately fire his strongest magic arrows at it.
Lady Ropianna started preparing the spell—Grand Sanctuary. A ninth-tier spell capable of healing hundreds of people at once. At the same time, she also cast Indomitable Shield on the King. Although it was only a fifth-tier barrier spell, it was a lot better than leaving His Majesty unguarded. Nickolai, on the other hand, cast the ninth-tier spell—Trident of the Lightning God. Three fifteen-meter large lightning spears appeared at the sky, all of them pointed at the direction of the phylactery.
Seeing the spells cast by these famous magicians reassured the soldiers and mercenaries. Some of them even thought that it was overkill. No matter how they thought of it, it’d be impossible for a creature to survive after being impaled by those three gargantuan lightning spears.