### Chapter: 272
Crimson Garden’s August.
Known as the immortal, she is a world erosion being who has lived for an incredibly long time, even in this world.
Her curse and blessing—‘Eternal Potency.’
Thanks to that, she became immortal, but her body must remain forever asleep, meaning she rules over countless souls.
Even while in slumber, she can spy on the world through them.
Among the many souls she controls was a young sorcerer boy with exceptional talent, particularly in magic—talent beyond anyone’s imagination.
At that time, even Crimson Garden didn’t realize how that one conversation would completely change the boy’s life.
“What on earth made you do something like that and just leave it?”
[…Not that I particularly left it unattended.]
Kraush snapped at the crow sitting before him.
After asking Baioren to give him some space, Kraush once again faced off against Crimson Garden.
The crow awkwardly averted its gaze from Kraush’s piercing eyes.
[Honestly, today’s the first I learned that the Mage King grew so strong because of an encounter with me.]
Crimson Garden remembered that day’s conversation well.
The boy’s overflowing talent was fascinating, and it was an intriguing prospect to see how far he could go.
But that was all she thought about. Even after he made a name for himself, Crimson Garden didn’t feel the need to seek him out.
She never even considered that he might still be searching for her.
[At best, I thought my conversation just helped a bit with his talent development.]
The problem was that it had helped too much, becoming the twisted reason behind the Mage King’s downfall.
“You said the Mage King was looking for you. Didn’t you hear about it back then?”
[The servant the Mage King met at that time was a fatalist. She lost both her husband and unborn child to world erosion, suffering from severe depression.]
Crimson Garden sighed; she had tried to help, but ultimately couldn’t prevent her suicide. In that village, they didn’t even make tombstones for those who took their own lives, so they just erased her existence.
From Crimson Garden’s perspective, a servant she cared for had committed suicide.
To distance herself from the shock, she likely neglected all information related to her.
Anyway, she was a weakling at heart.
And these coincidences piled up, eventually giving the Mage King his absurd dream.
“Do you plan on meeting again?”
[Could be troublesome, but I don’t see any issues, really.]
Crimson Garden put on a not-so-pleased look.
[It’s not like I’m ignorant of the Mage King, but would he genuinely accept that fact?]
“Well, it’d be weird if he didn’t freak out.”
If Kraush let things turn into a festival of chaos, there would be nowhere to turn that might calm the Mage King down.
Not to mention any potential safety mechanisms would fall through.
Also, any help in absorbing the White Dragon King would be off the table.
There could be nothing worse than that.
‘Throwing Crimson Garden out as bait is far too risky.’
After all, that was the most sensitive part of the Mage King’s lifelong dream.
As he brooded, a sudden idea struck Kraush.
“The Mage King has been looking for someone to talk magic with.”
Crimson Garden turned back to him, intrigued.
“Isn’t that something I could easily do?”
Crimson Garden paused in silence.
She nearly reacted as if to say Kraush was spouting nonsense.
But soon, she grasped his meaning and dove into thought.
[So you mean to say you’d impersonate me?]
Kraush nodded in semblance of agreement.
Crimson Garden’s voice always reached Kraush, so if he could deliver that voice to the Mage King, he could become the one talking about the truths of magic.
Originally, he had planned to negotiate a deal regarding hidden tools necessary to complete the magical race.
But it seemed to him that meeting the Mage King’s desires for interaction with another was much more beneficial.
At the very least, it could assure the Mage King’s allegiance to their side.
[That’s certainly not a bad proposal, but.]
Crimson Garden looked at Kraush with a slightly unsettled expression.
[If it were the days of that little boy, it’d be no problem, but the current Mage King is a wild card.]
“You knew that when you came here.”
Kraush knew the Mage King’s help would be crucial for absorbing the White Dragon King’s power.
The Mage King had dedicated countless efforts and research results towards creating a magical race.
Some of these were even unethical studies on transforming existing races into new ones.
‘If I can use anything right now, I’ve got to use it.’
Things were at a breaking point, a war with Ixion could break out any moment.
Kraush needed to absorb the entirety of the White Dragon King’s power as quickly as possible.
“What do you think? Think it’ll work?”
As Kraush asked that, Crimson Garden let out a deep sigh.
[I suppose I have to make it work.]
She spoke the truth.
As Crimson Garden had stated, it was something that absolutely needed to happen.
Kraush kicked the door open.
Alright, Mage King, let’s topple you with some magic.
—
Freya Mountains.
On a vast plain endlessly stretching with mountains, a boy gazed up at the sky.
The wind gently rustled his silvery locks.
His eyes, looking at the sky, seemed strangely empty.
Pat-pat—
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed in his ears.
He turned to follow the sound only to find another boy standing there.
Now out of childhood, he had the face of an adult.
Kraush Balheim.
Facing him was the Mage King, Terasius Jeblam, who regarded Kraush with an unfazed stare.
“Have you decided to talk, Senior?”
In a mysteriously cheerful boy’s voice, he spoke without a trace of surprise in his expression.
The cheerful tone coming from such an inhuman face was disturbingly uncanny.
It felt as if this emotionless being was mimicking human emotions.
Kraush, feeling a shiver down his spine, silently observed before opening his mouth.
“Magic is said to be the creation of all things, but in reality, it is merely a limit expressed within the shallow bounds of human imagination.”
Out of nowhere, Kraush defined magic.
At those words, Terasius’s face shifted in a subtle way for the first time.
It was as if he was looking at a foolish child saying, “Look at me!”
“Human imagination stems from what one has seen and experienced. Essentially, expanding the realm of magic equates to accruing knowledge and experience.”
As Kraush continued, Terasius opened his mouth slightly.
“And yet, ultimately, humans cannot escape from the knowledge they have gained through their own sights and experiences.”
“Then, can a world that experiences everything and replicates it perfectly be considered a new world?”
The next remark struck at the core of Terasius’s research on magical races.
“A world generated by inputting known information only leads to the same theories and conclusions, incapable of serving as a solution.”
At that moment, Kraush questioned whether the research Terasius had undertaken was worth anything.
Did the lives sacrificed for his personal ambitions have any value?
As Kraush posed that query, Terasius chuckled lightly.
That was something anyone could come up with.
“So first, let’s start by breaking the constraints of human imagination.”
“And if we break them?”
“Starting from the most basic, language.”
The sensation of the wind blowing toward Terasius changed.
“Language constrains human thought. For example, the twelve words ‘I had breakfast this morning’ can be shrunk to ‘Bako’ in a minority culture.
In this way, language becomes a fundamental limitation of human expression.”
Beautiful.
Pretty.
Humans can conceive countless visuals in their minds but are bound to meager expressions due to the constraints of language.
Hence, Kraush proposed to shatter the limitations of language first to expand imagination.
“After that, toss away everything one by one—sight, hearing, smell, touch—the basic senses through which humans perceive the world are mere limitations of the human race.”
The birds soaring through the sky can perceive ultraviolet light.
The whales gracefully swimming in water sense ultrasound.
Thus, what humans see is incredibly minuscule.
“Only when those limitations are shattered can we finally reach the basics of magic.”
Magic is a mimicry born from what one has experienced and seen.
Thus, magic begins when one has the entirety of the world’s experiences.
As Kraush hinted at the truth that underlies all magic, Terasius’s eyes began to widen.
“…You’re talking all sorts of nonsense.”
Surprisingly, the response was bland.
But a subtle tremor passed through his body as excitement began to swell within him.
“I suppose we’ll need to talk more.”
His mouth began to itch.
Kraush instantly realized that this was a good sign.
“Go ahead, lay it on me.”
This time it seemed like it was his turn to listen.
A mischievous smile danced around Kraush’s lips.
And thus began an endless debate about magic between the two.
At times, they would listen to each other’s views, and at others, they’d refute one another.
They continued to speak endlessly in pursuit of the truth of magic.
This continued until dawn broke.
And the one most pained by it all? Kraush.
‘Ugh, I’m never doing this again.’
Although it was simple to just relay what Crimson Garden told him.
Kraush had to act the part accordingly, speaking as if he meant every word.
While he was quite skilled in the art of performance, even that had its limits when stretched over the entire night.
The problem was that other than Kraush, both participants were utterly engrossed.
‘One thing I totally forgot.’
Crimson Garden was also a thorough magic enthusiast, and having two of those around?
Would this endless discussion ever reach a conclusion?
As they delved deeper into their profound conversation, Kraush found himself lost halfway through.
He had stepped into completely genius territory.
Thus, Kraush sensed he needed to put a stop to this.
If this conversation continued any longer, he wouldn’t be able to take it.
“It’s morning already. Let’s call it a day. The kids might start to worry.”
“Oh.”
[Hmm.]
Displaying typical reactions for two magic enthusiasts, they both mirrored the same expression.
With longing eyes, the Mage King looked at Kraush, suddenly realizing he had been chatting about the truths of magic with someone.
“Terasius Jeblam.”
The heat of their magical discussion hadn’t quite faded by then.
Might the Mage King have sensed Crimson Garden’s presence during this chat?
“I have something to ask of you. It involves a threat to my safety. It’s crucial you help me with it.”
Kraush intentionally set his conditions before he raised any questions, complete with a warning.
Even if he sensed Crimson Garden’s infiltration, he should pretend ignorance and instead assist them.
The Mage King stared silently at Kraush.
Soon, a glimmer of greedy desire gleamed in his eyes.
He had lost once before an opportunity to exchange knowledge in magic.
This time he would definitely not lose it.
Kraush pressed on, knowing that the Mage King wouldn’t let him slip away, not while Crimson Garden lingered in the shadows.
“…Keep that in mind.”
Ultimately, the Mage King agreed to go along.
For the Mage King, this was a lifelong deficiency.
Now he had been shackled to Kraush, who filled that void.
Kraush’s deep azure hair swayed with the incoming winds.
A smile adorned Kraush’s face, reflecting the rising sun.
“That was a great conversation. Let’s do this again sometime.”
A madman is still a madman.
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