The morale of the army soared to the sky.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a phenomenon created by the story of the woman who shone brightly by herself even as the whole world sank into darkness.
✦ ✦ ✦
To put it in Vera’s terms, the army was filled with the confidence that they could overcome whatever malicious tricks Alaysia had in store for them.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘This is an opportunity.’
✦ ✦ ✦
The crisis that came with the corruption turned into an opportunity.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera couldn’t stand still.
✦ ✦ ✦
While everyone was happily witnessing the miracle unfolding before their eyes, the virtue of a commander was the ability to confront reality. Vera remained faithful to that principle.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘We can never be sure how many more will be corrupted.’
✦ ✦ ✦
Alaysia was clever.
✦ ✦ ✦
She was calculated and malicious.
✦ ✦ ✦
There was no way she would have planted only one corruption and stopped there.
✦ ✦ ✦
If it happened to someone else again, there was no guarantee that the outcome would be positive, so it was now their turn to make a move.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘I’m moving up the schedule.’
✦ ✦ ✦
Three days would be too late.
✦ ✦ ✦
They had to launch an attack while the army’s morale was still soaring and before another corruption could shake them again.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Is everything ready?”
✦ ✦ ✦
The atmosphere by the lake was solemn.
✦ ✦ ✦
They were also determined.
✦ ✦ ✦
In front of Vera, hundreds of spellcasters were hoisting an enormous outpost of indescribable size while elite soldiers from various countries were escorting the perimeter.
✦ ✦ ✦
Albrecht’s troops were on standby behind them.
✦ ✦ ✦
They were the ones who would first enter as soon as the castle emerged to scout its interior.
✦ ✦ ✦
The leader of the wizards, El Claire, answered Vera’s question.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s done. When the Saint performs her miracle, the castle down there will rise.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Renee stepped forward.
✦ ✦ ✦
She bore a stern expression.
✦ ✦ ✦
However, it wasn’t from being nervous.
✦ ✦ ✦
What she wore was ease and confidence, and her current appearance made those who saw her feel relief and assurance.
✦ ✦ ✦
This was an atmosphere intentionally created by Renee.
✦ ✦ ✦
Knowing well that the morale of the army would drop and that their confidence would waver if she showed fear and worry, she only showed them a confident appearance.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Activate it.”
✦ ✦ ✦
At Renee’s words, Miller shouted.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We’re starting!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Upon Miller’s signal, the sorcerers began chanting their spells.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a spell that broke down the boundary between reality and illusion through the realm of cognition.
✦ ✦ ✦
That started to unfold.
✦ ✦ ✦
Above the spell, blue and red lights rose.
✦ ✦ ✦
Along with that, a translucent world overlapped the scenery.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was as if two identical paintings had been stacked on top of each other.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller realized that the fictional dimension had properly manifested, and he continued to shout.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Activate it!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Smack—!
✦ ✦ ✦
As Miller clapped his hands, the sorcerers followed suit.
✦ ✦ ✦
A horizontal line was formed above the circle.
✦ ✦ ✦
Immediately after, the intertwined lights began to move.
✦ ✦ ✦
Blue lights started to gather at the top, and red lights started to gather at the bottom.
✦ ✦ ✦
The manifestation of the enormous spell was overwhelming just by looking at it.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller grinned wickedly.
✦ ✦ ✦
He then intentionally continued his positive thoughts.
✦ ✦ ✦
What was necessary for the success of the spell was strong conviction and belief, so Miller had to maintain this mindset.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘This is going to be a thesis topic.’
✦ ✦ ✦
His heroic endeavors.
✦ ✦ ✦
The unprecedented scale of sorcery that had never been publicly manifested before.
✦ ✦ ✦
And the victories that would follow.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘With this...!’
✦ ✦ ✦
The next Head of the Academy was as good as secured.
✦ ✦ ✦
Clap—!
✦ ✦ ✦
With another clap, the translucent landscape began to distort.
✦ ✦ ✦
Rumble—!
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a tremor that felt like an earthquake.
✦ ✦ ✦
Translucent waves flickered and churned along with it.
✦ ✦ ✦
As the lake in the fictional dimension parted, a gloomy castle rose up.
✦ ✦ ✦
The once inconspicuous flagpole now towered over a castle so enormous that it could not be captured in a single glance.
✦ ✦ ✦
And in front of the massive castle gate was a menacing inverted cross.
✦ ✦ ✦
Flinch—!
✦ ✦ ✦
The moment he saw the inverted cross, Miller’s body trembled for a moment.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller gritted his teeth and shook off the rising dread.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘I can do this...!’
✦ ✦ ✦
Sorcery was about belief.
✦ ✦ ✦
And it was completed with conviction.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Turn it upside down!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
At Miller’s shout, dozens of sorcerers clenched their fists simultaneously.
✦ ✦ ✦
The continuously flowing incantations had now solidified into a form resembling a battle cry.
✦ ✦ ✦
Hwaaaaaa—!
✦ ✦ ✦
The spell was reversed.
✦ ✦ ✦
Following that, the positions of the blue and red lights switched.
✦ ✦ ✦
The blue lights fell counterclockwise to the bottom, and the red lights rose to the top.
✦ ✦ ✦
As the phenomenon flipped the boundary between illusion and reality, the hue of the rising landscape began to change.
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire, having confirmed this, shouted in a delighted voice.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s a success! The fictional dimension is overlaying reality!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Woah!!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller’s shout had now transformed into a howl.
✦ ✦ ✦
As the overseer of a spell on an unprecedented scale, he had no energy left to maintain any formalities.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Saint!”
✦ ✦ ✦
At El Claire’s cry, Renee released her divinity.
✦ ✦ ✦
The pure white divinity hovered above the spell, heading towards the boundary that divided the blue and red lights.
✦ ✦ ✦
Then, it engraved a wish into the spell.
✦ ✦ ✦
Everyone gathered there wished for one thing.
✦ ✦ ✦
The success of the spell.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s aligning well! Elementalists, start moving!”
✦ ✦ ✦
What remained was to fill the empty space created below the castle, and to maintain that spell until the end of the war.
✦ ✦ ✦
Maintaining the spell was the role of the wizards.
✦ ✦ ✦
El Claire already felt weary of the long, drawn-out endurance battle that was about to follow as he looked at the corrupted castle.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘We can’t let that thing go wild.’
✦ ✦ ✦
He had no grand sense of justice.
✦ ✦ ✦
He didn’t wish for a heroic life, either.
✦ ✦ ✦
He simply wanted to live as a scholar and die as a scholar, but even in such a life, El Claire knew there were things that could not be ignored according to human ethics.
✦ ✦ ✦
A symbol of corruption lay before him.
✦ ✦ ✦
If he didn’t stop it, the history of this land would be lost.
✦ ✦ ✦
Turning away and running from it was something he could not tolerate, neither as a wizard nor as a human.