MAEPG: Episode 92
Episode 92 Variable (2)
Gooo—!
The ritual was nearing its end at Oath of Heaven's Defiance's hideout, hidden in the wasteland of the southern Ion Continent.
"—, ———!"
An old man was chanting spells repeatedly, standing in front of a magic circle at the center of the ritual.
His eyes were filled with madness as he focused solely on completing the grand magic, ignoring the loud noises echoing throughout the area.
Strange patterns drawn on the walls, ceiling, and everywhere emitted black light, gradually dyeing the surroundings with darkness.
'It's progressing smoothly. It seems like there are no problems elsewhere.'
The large man, observing the situation from a distance, nodded with satisfaction.
Thirty years of preparation led by the old man who would perform the ritual.
It had only been about ten years since he started preparing in the south, but the grand plan had taken a whopping thirty years of preparation.
'Well, I heard he had been planning it even before that.'
He didn't know the exact time because it was before he joined Oath of Heaven's Defiance, but it was a plan that had been in the works for a long time.
The spells they had arranged throughout the continent, mobilizing the organization's entire capabilities over the years, must have been activated simultaneously by now.
It would be of great help to the ritual being performed here, the center of the grand magic.
'It's the moment when all our hard work is rewarded.'
They had proceeded as secretly as possible, but it wasn't easy to prepare multiple village-scale sacrificial rituals.
Not only were there cases where they were discovered by passing strong individuals or the Church, but there were also many cases where the plan was disrupted by reports from residents who felt something was suspicious.
Every time that happened, the organization cut their losses and downplayed the incident as the work of a single dark mage.
They had managed to conceal their true purpose despite countless failures.
'It would have been perfect if we could perform the ritual in the center of the continent, but the Church's influence is too strong there.'
So they chose this wasteland between the central and southern parts of the continent.
This abandoned land, devoid of any special resources, was the perfect place to carry out their plan.
Gooo—
How much time had passed since the ritual began?
A black light shot up into the sky from the darkness writhing on the floor of the magic circle.
A black pillar that pierced the ceiling and extended high into the sky.
It was visible even from afar, as if a black line had divided the sky in two.
"Ugh, cough—!"
The old man, who was presiding over the ritual, coughed up black blood.
Dead blood continued to flow from his seven orifices, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably.
He didn't care about his dying body and struggled to complete the ritual, squeezing out his last remaining life force.
He hadn't reached his desired target yet.
'To think I still can't fully complete the grand magic even after doing this much...'
He had never seen anyone with greater magic talent than himself in his entire life.
He had been hailed as a genius of the century since he was young, and when he grew up, he was even considered for the position of Archmage at a young age…
But he couldn't perfectly complete it even after devoting himself to it for thirty years.
The gate to the 'abyss', which connected to the bottom of the dimension.
'That guy from a thousand years ago seems even more amazing now...'
He searched the entire continent for places where the boundary with the abyss was weak and sacrificed entire villages nearby to supply energy.
And he, who considered himself the greatest mage on the continent, was personally presiding over the ritual, but this was the result.
'It's okay… I expected this from the beginning. It's all going according to plan.'
His goal wasn't to completely pull 'that' out of the abyss and become the second Immortal King.
Even if it was incomplete,
The old man tightly gripped the locket pendant around his neck.
And he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his soul and his very existence as an offering.
"Gah—!"
The 'karma' and 'level' of a great mage, who had surpassed mastery and was nearing transcendence, were consumed as fuel for the ritual and disappeared.
Even then, the gate didn't fully open, and he was only able to create a hole by forcibly twisting it.
But he was able to achieve his original goal.
"Heh… Kyahahaha—!"
He laughed, not caring that his soul was scattering.
The only thing that ruled his heart was anger and madness.
His thoughts became hazy, and even the precious things that supported him started to disappear one by one.
Finally, 'that', which had been embedded deep in the abyss, started to rise up the pillar.
Fizzle—
Most of it was shredded as it emerged from the abyss through the incomplete entrance, and only a single fragment remained intact.
And the fragment shot out from the black pillar…
Stab—!
And immediately pierced the old man's heart.
Clang!
The string of the locket pendant around his neck snapped from the impact and rolled on the floor, but he didn't react.
He was… just an empty shell now.
'The Seed of Madness', which had parasitized the old man's heart, immediately fell into hibernation due to the aftereffects of the incomplete summoning.
It couldn't be helped, as it had lost over 90% of its power the moment it escaped the abyss.
Most of the madness that crumbled in the process ascended the black pillar that pierced the sky and spread throughout the continent.
Thus, the second abyss opened.
And 'madness' took root on the continent.
Gooo—!
The ritual was nearing its end at Oath of Heaven's Defiance's hideout, hidden in the wasteland of the southern Ion Continent.
"—, ———!"
An old man was chanting spells repeatedly, standing in front of a magic circle at the center of the ritual.
His eyes were filled with madness as he focused solely on completing the grand magic, ignoring the loud noises echoing throughout the area.
Strange patterns drawn on the walls, ceiling, and everywhere emitted black light, gradually dyeing the surroundings with darkness.
'It's progressing smoothly. It seems like there are no problems elsewhere.'
The large man, observing the situation from a distance, nodded with satisfaction.
Thirty years of preparation led by the old man who would perform the ritual.
It had only been about ten years since he started preparing in the south, but the grand plan had taken a whopping thirty years of preparation.
'Well, I heard he had been planning it even before that.'
He didn't know the exact time because it was before he joined Oath of Heaven's Defiance, but it was a plan that had been in the works for a long time.
The spells they had arranged throughout the continent, mobilizing the organization's entire capabilities over the years, must have been activated simultaneously by now.
It would be of great help to the ritual being performed here, the center of the grand magic.
'It's the moment when all our hard work is rewarded.'
They had proceeded as secretly as possible, but it wasn't easy to prepare multiple village-scale sacrificial rituals.
Not only were there cases where they were discovered by passing strong individuals or the Church, but there were also many cases where the plan was disrupted by reports from residents who felt something was suspicious.
Every time that happened, the organization cut their losses and downplayed the incident as the work of a single dark mage.
They had managed to conceal their true purpose despite countless failures.
'It would have been perfect if we could perform the ritual in the center of the continent, but the Church's influence is too strong there.'
So they chose this wasteland between the central and southern parts of the continent.
This abandoned land, devoid of any special resources, was the perfect place to carry out their plan.
Gooo—
How much time had passed since the ritual began?
A black light shot up into the sky from the darkness writhing on the floor of the magic circle.
A black pillar that pierced the ceiling and extended high into the sky.
It was visible even from afar, as if a black line had divided the sky in two.
"Ugh, cough—!"
The old man, who was presiding over the ritual, coughed up black blood.
Dead blood continued to flow from his seven orifices, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably.
He didn't care about his dying body and struggled to complete the ritual, squeezing out his last remaining life force.
He hadn't reached his desired target yet.
'To think I still can't fully complete the grand magic even after doing this much...'
He had never seen anyone with greater magic talent than himself in his entire life.
He had been hailed as a genius of the century since he was young, and when he grew up, he was even considered for the position of Archmage at a young age…
But he couldn't perfectly complete it even after devoting himself to it for thirty years.
The gate to the 'abyss', which connected to the bottom of the dimension.
'That guy from a thousand years ago seems even more amazing now...'
He searched the entire continent for places where the boundary with the abyss was weak and sacrificed entire villages nearby to supply energy.
And he, who considered himself the greatest mage on the continent, was personally presiding over the ritual, but this was the result.
'It's okay… I expected this from the beginning. It's all going according to plan.'
His goal wasn't to completely pull 'that' out of the abyss and become the second Immortal King.
Even if it was incomplete,
The old man tightly gripped the locket pendant around his neck.
And he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his soul and his very existence as an offering.
"Gah—!"
The 'karma' and 'level' of a great mage, who had surpassed mastery and was nearing transcendence, were consumed as fuel for the ritual and disappeared.
Even then, the gate didn't fully open, and he was only able to create a hole by forcibly twisting it.
But he was able to achieve his original goal.
"Heh… Kyahahaha—!"
He laughed, not caring that his soul was scattering.
The only thing that ruled his heart was anger and madness.
His thoughts became hazy, and even the precious things that supported him started to disappear one by one.
Finally, 'that', which had been embedded deep in the abyss, started to rise up the pillar.
Fizzle—
Most of it was shredded as it emerged from the abyss through the incomplete entrance, and only a single fragment remained intact.
And the fragment shot out from the black pillar…
Stab—!
And immediately pierced the old man's heart.
Clang!
The string of the locket pendant around his neck snapped from the impact and rolled on the floor, but he didn't react.
He was… just an empty shell now.
'The Seed of Madness', which had parasitized the old man's heart, immediately fell into hibernation due to the aftereffects of the incomplete summoning.
It couldn't be helped, as it had lost over 90% of its power the moment it escaped the abyss.
Most of the madness that crumbled in the process ascended the black pillar that pierced the sky and spread throughout the continent.
Thus, the second abyss opened.
And 'madness' took root on the continent.
________________________
‘Those Oath of Heaven’s Defiance bastards opened the abyss. To think they were this crazy.’
He knew they were a force operating in the shadows, but he didn’t expect them to be able to open the abyss.
It seemed like he needed to re-evaluate them.
To pull off something like this, they couldn’t just be a criminal organization, they had to be connected to high-ranking officials.
‘But that’s not important.’
He had something he had to do.
Now that they had done this, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
[A ritual of this scale. The continent’s energy is fluctuating… Should I go there myself?]
He was about to start Operation ‘Home Theater’ in earnest, but this was a variable that far exceeded his expectations.
He needed to somehow settle things with them.
As Hans was quietly focusing, tracking the center of the energy and preparing to move,
Squirm—
Something reacted inside him.
-I won’t let them get away with this! I’ll never let anyone on this continent get away with this!
‘Hmm? This is?’
-Death to the world! Revenge! Dye this continent with death!
A will suddenly erupted explosively from within Hans.
The thought rampage emanating from the ‘Immortal King’s Heart’, which had now become his heart.
It instantly swelled in size and tried to invade his mind.
-Become one with me… What?
[You dare to tell me what to do, you remnant of the past?]
-…Ha…
The thought that had been rampaging in his heart momentarily faltered at Hans’s rebuke.
But only for a moment.
-…Ha, hahahahaha—! You! You! You’ve escaped the will of ‘death’! You’re fully maintaining your ego! Well, that’s why you haven’t become one with us yet! Hahahahahaha!
The thought laughed madly and echoed in his head again.
-I… we! Are still trapped in ‘death’! Ah—! Death, oh death! Please grant us true death! Death—! …Ah, dye the continent with death! Hahaha!
‘He seems completely crazy.’
Well, if he had been sane, he wouldn’t have accepted the Immortal King’s Heart in the first place.
And he must have spent hundreds of years tainted by the death of the abyss, so it was only natural for him to become like this.
‘I don’t know if his soul is really captured or if it’s just a thought.’
But that wasn’t really important.
What was important now was that he couldn’t do anything because of this guy, even though he was already busy.
‘He’ll probably go back to sleep once the abyss closes, but I can’t just leave him like this.’
The ‘Immortal King’s Heart’ was already his.
He hadn’t cared much because it wasn’t noticeable even though it was a used item, but now that he had discovered the previous owner’s name engraved on it, he had to erase it.
Hans, who observed his heart through the skill “Immortal Heart”, soon found the foreign substance.
‘Found it.’
A thought, like a concept with no physical form, was clinging to his heart.
But the problem was how to remove it now that he had found it.
‘It doesn’t have a physical form, and it doesn’t exist as an energy body. It’s just like the countless negative emotions contained in the heart, that thought is also a part of those emotions… Huh? Emotions?’
An idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Mind Hub”, which he had been using, wasn’t suitable for this situation.
He needed a way to directly manipulate emotions… and he had a skill suitable for that.
‘“Persona”.’
A skill that was once used to imbue the original body’s emotions into avatars, and over time, it had become possible to amplify and control specific emotions.
That was the answer he found.
‘The Immortal King’s Heart has already become one with Hans. The skill “Immortal Heart” proves that.’
Then couldn’t he say that the emotions contained in it were also Hans’s?
Then he should be able to at least scrape off the thought that wasn’t originally one with him.
Hans, feeling confident, spoke to the thought.
[Stop rambling and wait quietly. I’ll make you disappear forever.]
-Disappear…? Disappear! Eternal death! Disappearing from this world! Death!!
The thought, which had been making a fuss, reacted to Hans’s words.
It was a more enthusiastic response than he expected.
-Hahaha—! If you really give me eternal death, I’ll give you a gift! Something you should have had but couldn’t get!
He was momentarily curious, but what was the point of talking to a madman?
Hans immediately focused on the inside of his heart through “Immortal Heart”.
The first thing he saw… was all sorts of negative emotions, including death.
They were the emotions concentrated in the original ‘Immortal King’s Heart’, and they were so heavy and sticky that he couldn’t even bring himself to touch them.
‘That’s not my goal anyway.’
What he was aiming for was the thought that was mixed in like an impurity.
It wasn’t that difficult to separate it because it hadn’t been mixed for long and had a different nature from the beginning.
And just as Hans was slowly disassembling the thought using “Persona”,
-Ah… I’m scattering. Disappearing! Eternal death is approaching!
The thought, which had been constantly shouting about death, started to rave with a joyful voice.
-A gift! I’ll give you a gift! It will be helpful for you to cover this continent in death!
He could immediately tell what the gift the thought was talking about was.
A part of the thought was separated, divided into a part that contained only information and a part with an ego.
It seemed like the information the thought held was the gift.
‘I don’t know how helpful it will be, but it’s better than nothing.’
And Hans separated the thought with an ego without hesitation and scattered it.
-Ah… death… that glorious…
The thought of the previous Immortal King disappeared without finishing his sentence.
And Hans was finally able to have some peace.
‘Whew, I finally feel better. But I’ve wasted too much time.’
He had spent more time than he thought dealing with the thought.
‘What’s the gift he’s giving me? Even if it’s information from 300 years ago, I don’t think it’ll be of much help.’
The most likely thing was knowledge or experience about magic…
He wasn’t lacking in that area because he had “Wicked Wisdom” and “Forbidden Knowledge” provided by the Immortal King’s Heart, and even “Path of Magic”, which encompassed the laws of another world.
The moment he checked the gift with a light heart, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the unexpected information it contained.
‘Oh…? It’s definitely a gift.’
It was because it accurately matched what the thought had said, ‘something you should have had but couldn’t get’.
‘It’s a pretty good variable.’
It was information about the ‘Immortal King’s Legacy’.
‘Those Oath of Heaven’s Defiance bastards opened the abyss. To think they were this crazy.’
He knew they were a force operating in the shadows, but he didn’t expect them to be able to open the abyss.
It seemed like he needed to re-evaluate them.
To pull off something like this, they couldn’t just be a criminal organization, they had to be connected to high-ranking officials.
‘But that’s not important.’
He had something he had to do.
Now that they had done this, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
[A ritual of this scale. The continent’s energy is fluctuating… Should I go there myself?]
He was about to start Operation ‘Home Theater’ in earnest, but this was a variable that far exceeded his expectations.
He needed to somehow settle things with them.
As Hans was quietly focusing, tracking the center of the energy and preparing to move,
Squirm—
Something reacted inside him.
-I won’t let them get away with this! I’ll never let anyone on this continent get away with this!
‘Hmm? This is?’
-Death to the world! Revenge! Dye this continent with death!
A will suddenly erupted explosively from within Hans.
The thought rampage emanating from the ‘Immortal King’s Heart’, which had now become his heart.
It instantly swelled in size and tried to invade his mind.
-Become one with me… What?
[You dare to tell me what to do, you remnant of the past?]
-…Ha…
The thought that had been rampaging in his heart momentarily faltered at Hans’s rebuke.
But only for a moment.
-…Ha, hahahahaha—! You! You! You’ve escaped the will of ‘death’! You’re fully maintaining your ego! Well, that’s why you haven’t become one with us yet! Hahahahahaha!
The thought laughed madly and echoed in his head again.
-I… we! Are still trapped in ‘death’! Ah—! Death, oh death! Please grant us true death! Death—! …Ah, dye the continent with death! Hahaha!
‘He seems completely crazy.’
Well, if he had been sane, he wouldn’t have accepted the Immortal King’s Heart in the first place.
And he must have spent hundreds of years tainted by the death of the abyss, so it was only natural for him to become like this.
‘I don’t know if his soul is really captured or if it’s just a thought.’
But that wasn’t really important.
What was important now was that he couldn’t do anything because of this guy, even though he was already busy.
‘He’ll probably go back to sleep once the abyss closes, but I can’t just leave him like this.’
The ‘Immortal King’s Heart’ was already his.
He hadn’t cared much because it wasn’t noticeable even though it was a used item, but now that he had discovered the previous owner’s name engraved on it, he had to erase it.
Hans, who observed his heart through the skill “Immortal Heart”, soon found the foreign substance.
‘Found it.’
A thought, like a concept with no physical form, was clinging to his heart.
But the problem was how to remove it now that he had found it.
‘It doesn’t have a physical form, and it doesn’t exist as an energy body. It’s just like the countless negative emotions contained in the heart, that thought is also a part of those emotions… Huh? Emotions?’
An idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Mind Hub”, which he had been using, wasn’t suitable for this situation.
He needed a way to directly manipulate emotions… and he had a skill suitable for that.
‘“Persona”.’
A skill that was once used to imbue the original body’s emotions into avatars, and over time, it had become possible to amplify and control specific emotions.
That was the answer he found.
‘The Immortal King’s Heart has already become one with Hans. The skill “Immortal Heart” proves that.’
Then couldn’t he say that the emotions contained in it were also Hans’s?
Then he should be able to at least scrape off the thought that wasn’t originally one with him.
Hans, feeling confident, spoke to the thought.
[Stop rambling and wait quietly. I’ll make you disappear forever.]
-Disappear…? Disappear! Eternal death! Disappearing from this world! Death!!
The thought, which had been making a fuss, reacted to Hans’s words.
It was a more enthusiastic response than he expected.
-Hahaha—! If you really give me eternal death, I’ll give you a gift! Something you should have had but couldn’t get!
He was momentarily curious, but what was the point of talking to a madman?
Hans immediately focused on the inside of his heart through “Immortal Heart”.
The first thing he saw… was all sorts of negative emotions, including death.
They were the emotions concentrated in the original ‘Immortal King’s Heart’, and they were so heavy and sticky that he couldn’t even bring himself to touch them.
‘That’s not my goal anyway.’
What he was aiming for was the thought that was mixed in like an impurity.
It wasn’t that difficult to separate it because it hadn’t been mixed for long and had a different nature from the beginning.
And just as Hans was slowly disassembling the thought using “Persona”,
-Ah… I’m scattering. Disappearing! Eternal death is approaching!
The thought, which had been constantly shouting about death, started to rave with a joyful voice.
-A gift! I’ll give you a gift! It will be helpful for you to cover this continent in death!
He could immediately tell what the gift the thought was talking about was.
A part of the thought was separated, divided into a part that contained only information and a part with an ego.
It seemed like the information the thought held was the gift.
‘I don’t know how helpful it will be, but it’s better than nothing.’
And Hans separated the thought with an ego without hesitation and scattered it.
-Ah… death… that glorious…
The thought of the previous Immortal King disappeared without finishing his sentence.
And Hans was finally able to have some peace.
‘Whew, I finally feel better. But I’ve wasted too much time.’
He had spent more time than he thought dealing with the thought.
‘What’s the gift he’s giving me? Even if it’s information from 300 years ago, I don’t think it’ll be of much help.’
The most likely thing was knowledge or experience about magic…
He wasn’t lacking in that area because he had “Wicked Wisdom” and “Forbidden Knowledge” provided by the Immortal King’s Heart, and even “Path of Magic”, which encompassed the laws of another world.
The moment he checked the gift with a light heart, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the unexpected information it contained.
‘Oh…? It’s definitely a gift.’
It was because it accurately matched what the thought had said, ‘something you should have had but couldn’t get’.
‘It’s a pretty good variable.’
It was information about the ‘Immortal King’s Legacy’.
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