Chapter Season 2 744

After finishing their final rest, they headed toward the giant.

Once they drew close, wind, thunder and lightning, the bombardment of falling spells, and ponderous footsteps all blended together, making further communication impossible.

─Once we approach the giant, we will no longer be able to communicate. I have not tried telepathy, but it would be best not to expect much from it. So before we go, we must establish a rough plan and the principles we are to follow in an emergency.

Yang In-hyun had been right.

The flow of mana around them was tremendously complex, and even the mana within their bodies was churning, preventing them from using methods such as telepathy.

At last, the two entered the dark clouds' range, the region where spells fell like rain.

─Our strategy has three stages.

As Peran watched the raging storm of magic, he recalled Yang In-hyun's words.

The first danger zone.

─First, we must break through the bombardment of falling spells and approach the giant. It will not be easy. Peran, I intend to leave our course through that region to you. Point out the direction, and I will clear the way.

Peran took in the countless spells plummeting from the sky. Every single drop of that rain contained hundreds of times more mana than Peran had at his disposal.

But could those truly be called spells?

It was an odd thing to wonder about at a time like this, but what exactly defined magic? The answer was simple: any act powered by mana.

...If so, how woefully inadequate were the stages of magic established in his home universe?

Just look at this spectacle.

The spells falling from the sky were countless and varied, yet every one of them shared the same purpose. Utter destruction.

Had there been no intent behind them, had they merely been a natural disaster, Peran would have been unable to discern their movements.

But that was not the case.

That mass of magic desired only destruction, and destruction was its caster's objective.

Then Peran, as a mage, should be able to read its movements.

Peran extended a hand.

Giving directions was simple: Peran only had to point.

Yang In-hyun charged ahead, and Peran followed behind him.

KWA-KWA-BOOM!

Flaming boulders crashed down all around them. Right beside them, a storm of ice raged. His entire body turned cold, then hot, until he could no longer tell which it was. Fine. Let frostbite and burns do their worst.

Once they had crossed the rain of fire and storm of ice, wind, rain, and lightning struck them. The driving rain made it difficult even to keep his eyes open, and the noise grew louder still.

“Haaah...”

Amid it all, the sound of his own breath seemed unusually loud. The thump, thump, thump was not thunder, but the beating of his heart.

He had to narrow his focus.

Seen from afar, the destruction was awe-inspiring, like something out of myth. Yet each part, considered on its own, was just a single spell. Then there was no reason to be afraid. When it came to magic, Peran was an unparalleled genius. He had to be.

Yet as he watched the falling spells, another thought occurred to Peran.

There was something artificial about the arrangement of this magic. These were not merely destructive spells cast at random. Of course they were not. Even if all of them fell under the single category of magic, how many different varieties did it contain? Naturally, even spells cast by the same mage could conflict with one another depending on their attributes.

What about the spells before him now? There were too many to count. Magic was quite literally pouring down. Yet the spells did not conflict with one another. Nor had they somehow been made immune to such interference.

The answer was simple.

The magical bombardment that appeared to rain down without any order was, in truth, a meticulously arranged strategic assault.

‘...’

Peran felt admiration, dread, and hope all at once.

It hardly seemed possible to feel so many different emotions in a single instant, yet he had.

His admiration was the pure respect one practitioner of Magical Studies felt for another. No one could endlessly unleash a magical bombardment on this scale. It was something that could only occur beyond the bounds of mortal understanding.

His dread came from the possibility that its caster was the giant, a being he could not bring himself to regard as an intelligent life-form like himself.

Then what of hope?

What part of this inspired hope in Peran?

─KOOOOOOM!

His entire body trembled.

That was the sound of the giant taking a step. Before he knew it, Peran had reached one of its footprints. Up close, the giant's foot looked like a massive, thick wall stretching out of sight. How could something so enormous be just its big toe?

Yet the sight before him proved one thing.

They had made it this far...!

Peran had reached a place even those mystical beings had failed to reach!

All because his opponent was using magic!

─As soon as we reach the giant, we move on to the next stage.

Yang In-hyun turned around.

─From this point onward, you will have to ride on my back. I intend to race up the giant's skin and reach above its waist in a single burst. We may look a little ridiculous, but there is no other way. No matter what you do, you will never be able to keep up with me on your own.

It was true, so Peran had offered no objection.

The same held true now. The moment they arrived, Peran climbed onto Yang In-hyun's back without hesitation. With one arm severed and the other needed to hold his sword, Yang In-hyun could carry him only in a highly unstable position. They had practiced binding Peran securely with the hem of his robe in preparation for this. The moment Peran thought he was more or less secured, Yang In-hyun's body shot toward the sky.

‘...!’

It was the most violent ascent Peran had ever experienced. It felt as though his organs had dropped all the way to the soles of his feet. His vision shook in a different way than when he had confronted the raging storm of magic.

But the time for complaints had passed.

He had to adapt. The magical bombardment was not over yet.

If he failed to adjust, he would die here.

A quiet transformation was taking place within Peran.

An event that changes the course of one's life inevitably comes at least once. Whether early or late, it comes.

Yang In-hyun did not know which was more fortunate. Perhaps it was a question that would never be answered.

That event settles in the deepest reaches of a person's heart, then grows by feeding on every experience that follows. Whether it is called an awakening or a blossoming, people invariably give it a name.

Yang In-hyun had experienced such an event as well. It was Dang Hwa-ryun's death. He now knew that before and after that event, he had been two entirely different people.

Like Yang In-hyun, Peran was exceptional even among those called geniuses. Yet a deep chasm now separated them. What had created such a difference?

Whether or not they had experienced such an event.

This was what happened when someone possessed overflowing talent but had yet to encounter that event. Great figures emerged in turbulent times because crises and trials lay everywhere.

In Yang In-hyun's eyes, Peran was a man who had not experienced such an event. His life had not been easy, but he still lacked a decisive catalyst. Yet the concentrated essence of his life had pooled deep within him, ready to lavish nourishment upon a seed whenever one took root.

‘Is it now?’

Peran's blossoming had begun.

This was perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow.

Spurt.

Blood gushed from Peran's nose. Blood vessels stood out in his wide-open eyes, and his entire body grew hotter. At a glance, his condition appeared dangerous, but it was nothing of the sort. He likely could not feel the pain anyway.

Taking in every spell that poured down, Peran continued to show Yang In-hyun the way forward. At first, Yang In-hyun had given some thought to dealing with the spells falling before them, but at some point he stopped. Trust in Peran had begun to take root.

‘You found yourself a fine disciple.’

Thinking of Harun, Yang In-hyun gave a faint smile.

...If only there had been a little more time. He had never felt any lingering attachment to life, but now he did.

He desperately wanted a drink. In truth, he had wanted one for some time.

He wished he had shared even a single drink with Peran during their final rest with the giant close at hand. It would have been better still if it had been Hundred Flowers Wine.

‘Ah...’

At that moment, Yang In-hyun faltered.

This disappointment, this lingering attachment, this regret.

The things he had thought lost seeped back into his heart.

Residue had told him about the life of a ‘Yang In-hyun’ who had died in another world, saying it had been a satisfying death. Though that ‘Yang In-hyun’ was another version of himself, Yang In-hyun could not know what his counterpart had felt as he died. He could not see into the other man’s heart.

He only knew that the man had named it Glass Moon. From that choice of name, at least, Yang In-hyun could sense a quiet satisfaction.

In truth, he had envied that. Jealous of the ‘Yang In-hyun’ who had found an answer where he had not, he had declared with almost petulant obstinacy that he would put nothing into his final sword technique.

But was that possible?

Could a person remain human and wield a sword without putting anything into it? Even if it were possible, would that not cease to be swordsmanship and become nothing more than swinging a blade?

KLANG!

He soared ever higher, using his sword to knock aside the occasional spell he could not avoid.

Though he was in such peril, drawing ever closer to the pitch-black clouds, a refreshing breeze blew through his heart.

‘Ha ha...’

A clear laugh escaped Yang In-hyun. Tears flowed for some reason, but he felt no urge to wipe them away.

“Ha ha ha!”

He burst into loud laughter, though the surrounding tumult swallowed the sound.

How foolish human beings were. They always understood only when the end was near.

Why had I kept myself alive?

Because I had been filled with regret.

Or, to look deeper, because I had wanted to live a better life than before.

To think I had only now realized something so simple.

‘No.’

Even now, I am truly glad to have realized it.

‘Today, I will die, but...’

I have no regrets about the life I have lived.

When he opened his eyes, the dark clouds were nearly upon them.

The moment Peran saw the dark clouds up close, he snapped out of his almost trancelike concentration. It was not because his mind had reached its limit, but simply because the ominous presence surrounding the clouds surpassed anything he could have imagined.

For an instant, Peran nearly strangled Yang In-hyun. He felt the urge to stop their ascent and plunge endlessly toward the ground, now lost from sight. He wanted so desperately not to approach the dark clouds that even such a mad idea seemed preferable. It felt like immersing his body in a sea composed entirely of repulsive insects.

He forcibly ignored every one of those impulses. He could do that now. Even these urges were part of the giant's influence. They could just as well be called his survival instinct. There had to be some kind of clue inside.

Peran recalled Yang In-hyun's voice one last time.

─What matters most will be what happens after we enter the dark clouds. That is a place unknown to us and, in all likelihood, dozens of times more dangerous than the outside. We probably will not last long once we enter.

─You mean...

─Once we enter the dark clouds, pay no attention to me.

─...

─Keep your eyes wide open and your ears alert. Find the clue hidden within those dark clouds. That is your role.

─...Yes.

My role. What I have to do.

Obtain information and return alive.

...The end was not far now.

*****

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