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Chapter 227
Meaningless
"Cut the childish talk, and let's talk about that man named Gokma now."
Erica steered the conversation in a constructive direction.
"You said Erdes's summoned meteor was blocked with a bare hand?"
"That's correct."
"The magic used seemed to be the pinnacle of 7th Circle..."
Ӗn u ṁа̃ .і ḋ
"First Impact, correct."
"To use magic of that caliber... looks like she really flipped her lid."
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"Wasn't the agreement to talk about Gokma? Why's the topic changing?"
"Anyway, it's the strongest magic in terms of firepower among 7th Circle spells. To block that, whether by brute strength or mana, you'd need magic surpassing 7th Circle..."
Just as Erica was about to fall into thought, Ferda put forward a hypothesis.
"What if that isn't simply Gokma's mana?"
Е n̂ ǔ m̊а̀ . íd
"What do you mean by that?"
"King Hinkel concentrated the power of all humans into himself through Gamigin's Legion to create a fortress. What if that power extended not just to King Hinkel, but to Gokma as well?"
"Since he gathered all the kingdom's humans, he'd be that powerful... but even so, blocking that attack would be impossible?"
Erdes objected.
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She also seemed purely curious, as she was terribly serious.
"Of course, mana created solely from the lives of the kingdom's people wouldn't be enough. But thanks to King Heian unilaterally sending an infiltrator, we learned one fact."
Ẁ е̇b̌ǹ о̀_v е̄ ĺ Ӗ nŭ m̄ ӓ
"What is it?"
Ferda threw out a clue.
"Inside the castle, there's something that can get you to 3rd Circle in one week."
"3rd Circle in one week?!"
Breaking through one circle in a week would be shocking enough, but stacking two more on top of that?
"Even with a Red Circle, making someone that fast is difficult. How on earth does someone with no connection to magic get made into a 3rd Circle mage?"
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"Red Circles are based on emotions, so..."
Erica guessed at something and spoke.
"Don't tell me... they're using Trauma?"
"Trauma? What's that?"
"A creature discovered in the Demon Land. Its eyes... make those who look at them recall their most despairing memories."
"Just making someone recall memories? That's a big deal?"
Е̇ n̆ū mа. id̆
"If you actually experience it, you won't be able to speak."
Erdes didn't seem to grasp it.
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Like all people, you don't know its destructive power unless you've suffered it.
"It's not like everyone who despairs gets one made. I know better than anyone how Red Circles are created."
Erdes, who hated demons, was an authority on black magic and Red Circles.
She would have observed every imaginable thing.
Е̃ ňuṁ а̂_
But she only observed—she never experienced it.
Ferda had experienced that despair.
The terrible pain of picking at his own wounds, the emotion that didn't stop at its peak but continued on—that feeling was still vivid.
'But as Erdes said, that alone isn't enough.'
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But Ferda saw one more thing.
"What if despair is the stepping stone?"
Е̌ ñ ū m̀ ӑ
"Stepping stone?"
"To create a Red Circle, doesn't one emotion have to be excessive or concentrated to that level?"
"Right."
"They're using the negative emotion of despair as a default value to trick the threshold for triggering a Red Circle."
"What for?"
Ferda recalled when he explored Gyeonghui Palace with adventurers.
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He knew what the adventurer who suffered Trauma did.
The first male adventurer they found was despairing.
And the adventurer they found later.
"For the ecstasy that follows."
Clinging to that lump, swearing never to let go again.
Like someone who'd found their long-lost mother, their wife.
Е nů m̊ а
"So it's fanaticism...?"
Erdes's lips twitched.
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She couldn't say either way.
She wanted to say it was only theoretically possible, but since an actual case had appeared, she couldn't overlook it.
"If Red Circles are made that way... and their minds collapse, it wouldn't be a big problem, would it?"
"Just use them as mana batteries."
W еbn о v̊ ėl̂ E nü m̃ ӑ
Erdes let out a hollow laugh.
"Gamigin's manufactured domain, plus demons messing with emotions... I underestimated things thinking First Impact could settle it."
"Even so, there's actually damage, isn't there?"
"At least several thousand humans who became mana nutrients must have died."
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"The kingdom might not be razed, but it definitely took a hit."
Meaning her attack wasn't completely meaningless.
Е num_а́
But what happens when the siege warfare starts in earnest?
What trump cards they're hiding... it made her anxious.
Ferda asked Erica.
"What has Lord Blancaros decided to do?"
The Grand Council Hall, which decides and handles matters for the entire continent.
"He considers it a crisis... but he's holding back for now."
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Ferda didn't like this story.
"Wasn't the Grand Council established so the continent wouldn't be shaken by the existence of demons?"
"Since its establishment, its enforcement power has never activated even once. Because things get handled before then, or no signs of surfacing ever appeared."
"Right now they're brazenly showing ambition, aren't they?"
"And humans stepped forward saying they'd solve it."
"You respect that intention?"
Е́ nǔ m а
"Yes. And he seems to hope the dragons don't step forward."
"Why would he do that..."
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Suddenly, Ferda recalled what the Bronze Dragon, Frontesis, had said.
-Me and Valdrova... we're getting weaker. The dragons' twilight is coming.
Dragons' Twilight.
Frontesis and Valdrova are weakening.
Ѐ nùm̂ a.
Not said directly, but Iorga was weakening too.
What if the other dragons are the same?
If they're weakening,
'They might end up in a similar situation to Erdes.'
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Things whose authority comes from fangs and claws meet death the moment they lose them.
It's not easy for such beings to step down from the position of the strong.
Е̇ n ŭm а̂
If they weaken, obsessing over power is inevitable.
'They might want to become like King Hinkel.'
If that's Blancaros's circumstances, this is a task humans must overcome themselves.
Ferda set aside immediate criticism.
"We'll somehow resolve this with the humans here. And..."
Ferda looked at Erdes and said.
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"Academy President-nim, you must sit this one out."
Erdes frowned.
"Black magic's running rampant, and you're telling me to keep my eyes shut?"
Since Ferda knew that was exactly what Erdes was worried about, he answered immediately.
"I'll destroy Gamigin's black magic books."
"What makes you think I'd trust you?"
Е̇ň û m a.i d
"If you wish, I'll swear an oath on my heart."
Ferda, strongly insisting he had no interest in black magic.
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But she only scoffed at that oath.
"Swear on your heart? Is that supposed to prove it to me?"
"Yes."
"That's not proof. You're saying that because you're not even sure you can do it yourself."
Ӗn̂ ů mа.īd̆
He was momentarily speechless.
He tried to say that wasn't true, but a thought rose from below his chest that maybe she was right.
As Ferda stayed silent, Erica stepped in to defend him.
"Erdes, Regent Ferda is trustworthy enough."
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"Even so, you're telling me to stay out of it? I just have to sit still?"
"This was something you unilaterally started, and it wouldn't be strange to hold the Magic Academy responsible. Until it's judged that the kingdoms' forces can't handle it, staying out would be better for your position."
Ӗnū m̌ а
"If I cared about my position, I wouldn't have come here. And did I just irresponsibly drop magic?"
"Regardless, casualties occurred. You're becoming an unexpected variable right now. When Regent Ferda saves you like this, just come along quietly."
"Uuuugh...!"
Erdes made a frustrated face and stood up from her seat.
Just as the meeting seemed to be ending, Erdes sat back down.
"Since I'm here, let me ask one thing, kid."
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The much smaller kid spoke like that.
"Speak."
"You... how much do you remember about your mother?"
Ferda reflexively grimaced.
"If you open your mouth about my mother, I won't think about the consequences either."
"I didn't bring it up to curse. This is quite important."
Еnu m а̇. і́d̈
Erdes said that, but Ferda still glared with wary eyes.
"Then shall I lay out my family history first? I was conceived in a test tube, the sole daughter of the Roton family who never even saw her father's face.
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From birth, my mana resonance was so outstanding they got greedy, so I was fed more drugs than milk, and instead of acting spoiled, I spent more time meditating.
Like that, I opened 1st Circle at age three. When I didn't achieve the desired goals, she hit me directly, and when hitting got tiring, she'd peel my skin and press her fingernails into it—that trash-like woman. Even now, just hearing the word 'mother' makes my hair stand on end."
A face saying 'is that enough?'.
A woman who couldn't stand giving humiliation revealed her own shame, so he grew curious about what her question really was.
W̆ ë bňоv̈e l̃ Eṅ u m̃.а̌
"What are you curious about?"
"Like I just said... how much do you know about your mother?"
"Anna Rosnova is a good mother."
"That's it?"
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"Yes."
Erdes looked at him with suspicious eyes.
Ӗ n ũ m а̌ . і̀ ḋ
But what Ferda said was the truth.
He'd never had any other thoughts about his mother.
If he kept recalling her, longing would take root in his heart rather than comfort.
So he tried not to think of his mother as much as possible.
"Never once thought that the source of your magic might originate from your mother?"
"Are you saying my mother is a witch right now?"
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"No. 'Witch' can't even begin to describe it."
Erdes recalled what happened in the Rosnova territory.
That woman she saw that day wasn't just a witch.
A mere witch couldn't give her such overwhelming helplessness.
"Think carefully... about what kind of existence you were born and raised under."
Leaving those words, Erdes left the tent.
Е̊ nǔm̆а
* * *
King Hinkel's Inner Castle.
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Gokma, who had been at the spire's tip, returned inside the castle.
"You've arrived."
Turning his head slightly, he saw King Hinkel.
Empty eyes and dry breath.
Е̇.n ŭ m̌а. ǐ d́
A man exuding the scent of death, far removed from humanity now.
"Are you alright?"
His eyes glanced at Gokma's right hand.
"As you see, it was a fatal attack."
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Gokma held up his right arm.
Where the arm should be, there was only crushed bone and shattered flesh.
Е n̂ um a
Demons have their unique healing power, but the impact was too intense for it to work.
"If either you or I hadn't been here, we'd have been helplessly done in."
First Impact, the pinnacle of 7th Circle firepower.
It was only blockable because of the Legion's properly established power.
King Hinkel became an Archmage, and Gokma, whom he serves as lord, became able to use the mana he possesses.
"Fortunate."
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"How many lives were lost?"
"4,000 out of 80,000 died. It's still fine."
"Those 4,000 are also mana sources created by opening 3rd Circle and running them. Hard to make such sources from ordinary commoners..."
Gokma walked down the corridor, and King Hinkel followed behind.
A place once used as the knights' training ground.
King Hinkel knew what that place used to look like.
Ẃё b n̈ о v еl̈ E n̆ ùm ӑ
To cultivate faith and loyalty, the Order's and kingdom's symbols were placed in prominent spots, and beneath them, countless knights and cadets honed their martial arts.
But now, a single giant mass with eyeballs occupied that spot, and the training ground was packed with people like a chicken coop, looking up at it.
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Like a cult religious gathering.
"Aaah..."
"My life had this much meaning!"
"So happy... reaching the Truth, so incredibly happy...!"
Е̌ ñǔm̊a
Those chanting emptiness to escape this world's shackles.
No reason existed in their appearance anymore.
Only twisted ecstasy had taken hold.
In that ecstasy, they felt something in their chests.
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"One has entered a new path."
King Hinkel spoke.
Е̂ n u.m̂а . i d
The feeling of a Red Circle forming, based on emotion.
Today, one new mana source was born.
"My King! Today, another lamb to offer you has increased!"
"May the Void be with the King!"
Ecstasy creates new ecstasy.
Everything is meaningless, only the absolute One is everything to them.
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Red Circles constantly turned in their bodies.
But such madness couldn't continue forever.
Red Circles form fast but are dangerous, and their recoil inevitably comes.
"Uwaaaa! Keuk-kuhuk..."
Someone vomited blood and collapsed.
The body couldn't withstand the emotional excess, and the circle crumbled.
Ёnǔ m̈ а̌_
And this too was new ecstasy.
"Your son has returned to the Void!"
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"Aaah! How enviable!"
Their march doesn't stop.
Whether someone dies or gets hurt, everything is a path to the Void, and only those eyes are their happiness.
King Hinkel smiled watching them.
Еṅ ŭ m̀ a
But the smile wasn't complete—something was off.
He felt something greatly lost in his heart.
But he soon realized it was meaningless and stopped.
Being born and dying is natural order,
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For us trapped in the cycle, only emptiness remains,
Life is this meaningless.
Ẽ ńǔ m а
