Illeon

Magic, despite its intuitive results, is excessively abstract in its very definition. Thus, the definition of magic varies according to one's personal beliefs and values.

Some claimed magic was a type of technique utilizing mana as a medium. Others called magic a miracle, creating something from nothing.

And to him, who knew the truth of the world, magic was defined as the power to manifest the impossible through sacrifice.

Illeon, a High-ranking Dark Mage Executive and ruler of the Fog-covered City, gazed at the blood-stained, colossal Arena while sipping wine.

*Magic...*

For ages, it was a forgotten truth since the moment mana became the medium, but magic was originally an Exchange Ritual achieved through sacrifice.

In other words, magic was a result created by 'sacrificing' a certain medium. Therefore, 'exchange' was the precise term to describe magic.

Thus, conventional magic employed a method of sacrificing mana to exchange for the magic it sought to create.

*But in the case of Black Magic, not only mana but other things can also be sacrificed to create it.*

Considering the nature of exchange, the greater the value of the sacrifice—that is, the more intense the energy it possessed—the better the outcome that could be produced.

Therefore:

People over objects.

Younger people over older people.

Humans steeped in despair over ordinary humans.

Those with value over those without.

Because they held intense energy, using them made it possible to create beings that would otherwise be impossible. Thus, by eternally sacrificing those of high value to accumulate energy, it became possible to fulfill desires whose origins were unknown.

*It's not far off.*

Illeon sipped his wine, gazing at the densely fog-shrouded Arena visible through the window. *A special process to create 'high-value' humans.*

It was a place built upon past research focused on extracting Negative Emotions. Now, after ages, it incorporated technology several times more advanced, allowing for the creation of more efficient and higher-value humans.

"Aaaaargh!"

The colossal Arena, where they killed and were killed. Its operating principle was simple.

Continuously give them something precious, then make them destroy it. The most common and efficient method among these was to exploit the concept of family.

*Kill all but two, then make one protect the remaining family member.*

Naturally, an obsession with that individual would develop. After a long period of careful maturation using this method, the subject would not only grow stronger but also experience a complex intertwining of emotions.

Once they had ripened sufficiently and reached a certain state, they were given a single choice:

Commit suicide, or kill their last remaining family member.

Most would choose suicide. However, occasionally, a sacrifice who killed their family had the potential to become a highly valuable being. To such individuals, something precious would be forcibly created and given again, repeating the cycle.

Compression after Compression.

At first glance, it seemed highly inefficient. However, the beings created this way possessed an immeasurable amount of energy. Thus, sacrificing such a being was more efficient than grinding up ordinary individuals, and so the process was repeated endlessly.

*Furthermore, if they occasionally succumbed to Negative Emotions and became Demonkind...*

They would naturally become beings that emitted even greater energy, so there was no significant downside.

If Demonkind emerged that were even worthless as sacrifices...

*...they could be thrown into the Twisted Space, forced to cannibalize each other to become stronger Demonkind, and then brought back.*

Whatever the outcome, it wasn't bad.

As he watched this, contentedly sipping his wine, a single White Orb appeared in the distance.

*An orb?*

A power with an Alien Sensation. Unable to discern what it was, he squinted, watching it.

An immense quantity of orbs suddenly began to surge into the sky. No, 'immense' didn't quite capture it... it was more accurate to say a number sufficient to literally blanket the sky was descending upon the city.

The moment he saw this, he immediately drew upon his mana to try and block them. But the orbs descended upon the city too swiftly, leaving him no time to react.

*KWA-A-A-A-ANG! KWA-ANG! KWA-A-A-A-ANG!*

Enormous explosions echoed endlessly. To somehow avert the crisis engulfing the city, he tried to draw the thick fog covering it upwards to deflect them. But the moment the fog touched the orbs, everything futilely burst into flames, incinerating everything nearby.

"..."

The power was immense, but the moment it touched something, it vanished without a trace... no, he felt a sense of futility as he stared at the absurd flames that caused complete Annihilation. Creating the fog that enveloped the city required an unbelievable amount of energy. Yet, these unknown flames completely disregarded that, devouring everything and causing Annihilation to everything around them.

*This can't be...*

He stared at the unbelievable reality, trying to deny it, but no matter how much he denied, the fiercely burning flames would not disappear. As he watched the utterly futile scene in despair, he saw White Orbs pouring down on him.

*...Hah.*

He couldn't just stand by. Deciding to at least make them pay for this, he reached out, preparing to block them, but...

*KWA-A-A-A-ANG!* With a powerful explosion from beneath the building, the entire vicinity shook violently. Judging by the intense movement, the building seemed about to collapse, so he decided to deal with that first and was about to extend his body when...

"Found you."

A voice came from beside him, and a strong grip seized his neck. An intense fear of death washed over him. In that fear, he instinctively sacrificed the energy he had accumulated, scattering powerful magic around him, but...

"Weaker than I thought?"

A mocking voice came from in front of him.

*What in the world...*

The absurd power made him gasp, and his body stiffened for a moment. It seemed he couldn't let this continue, so he tried to struggle with all his might, but...

"Daisy, bite!"

"Myang!"

Along with the playful voice from in front, his entire body began to burn.

"Kuaaaagh!"

At that moment, the immense amount of energy stored within his body was completely incinerated and began to be sucked away. Seeing this, he twisted his body, struggling to escape and survive, when a powerful impact struck his head, and his vision instantly went black.

*****

I looked at Illeon, sprawled on the floor, and wiped the blood from my hammer onto his clothes. I'd expected a High-ranking Dark Mage Executive to be incredibly strong, but he seemed even weaker than Mikhail Archbishop. I couldn't help but voice my disappointment.

"Why is he so weak?"

"Mnyak?"

"Daisy, you think so too, right?"

"Myang!"

Daisy seemed to agree, nodding her head.

Seeing this, I considered two possibilities.

*Either Daisy and I have become incredibly strong.*

*Or it's because Daisy's Solar Mana possesses an overwhelming power against Dark Mana.*

*Perhaps both?*

*That might be it,* I thought, as I stepped on the fallen Illeon, pondering what to do with him. That's when I noticed a Black Orb forming in the center of Illeon's body.

*It's forming?*

I hadn't known if it was something he had from the start or if it formed during combat, so I watched. Daisy, seemingly wanting to eat it, wiggled her paws and asked me for it.

*Daisy was the key to this battle.*

It seemed right to concede, so I gave it to Daisy. Daisy bounced around as if she were the happiest Spirit in the world, expressing her gratitude to me.

*By the way, it's strange that an orb popped out even though he's not dead.*

Until now, I'd thought these orbs were the essence or origin of a creature, but it seemed they were slightly different in reality. Unable to figure out exactly what it was, I stroked Daisy's purring head, then subtly shifted my gaze and decided to move elsewhere.

*

When I stepped outside, I saw Daisy's Flame, selectively incinerating only the Dark Mages.

Seeing only the Dark Mages burning, as Daisy's flames only consumed those with malice, I stroked Daisy's head.

*How curious.*

I walked, wondering how it distinguished malice, when I came across an iron cage holding numerous people.

The sight instantly reminded me of where Shiren had been imprisoned, and I instinctively opened the door. The terrified people inside all looked at me at once.

*It seems the Dark Mages captured them.*

To those consumed by Negative Emotions, no words would be heard, so I simply opened the Prison door and stepped outside.

*...I don't know exactly what happened, but it's a pretty horrific sight.*

Even a fleeting glimpse of the scene vaguely suggested what had transpired here, naturally making me frown.

Watching this, I sighed and looked around.

*By the way, that Area Attack was pretty good.*

I thought it might be good to create a new technique based on it, and as I considered this, I was about to move to start rescuing people.

But it would take too long by myself, so I decided to use a different method.

*Could I do it with shadows?*

I began to create them, thinking it might work if I made shadows in human form to rescue people.

*What form should they take?*

Since nothing specific came to mind, I recalled the Knight-shaped enemies I'd seen in the Training Ground and decided to make them like that for now.