─After making a decision, make that decision right.
Ezekiel’s creed. He repeated it in his mind several times and swallowed the Bloodstone he received from Valetta.
It was extremely dangerous, but at the same time, there was no other choice.
If Ezekiel had only wanted to return safely, he would have left the Demon Realm right after the Emperor’s visit. However, he harbored another goal in his heart.
The extermination of the wicked city operated by Han-shin, the Sun Elixir, and the reformation of Arcne… he was determined to achieve them all.
“─!”
The pain was intense, as if every fiber of his being was being cut away.
But even with countless tortures, his body was resistant; Ezekiel focused with extreme mental power.
Originally, Mages could only handle one property, and could not harbor contradicting energies within their bodies. The collision of each energy would stress the body and lead to death.
But what about Ezekiel?
It was an abnormal state from the start, and in this peculiar case, the contrast of heat and chill had to collide to enter a normal state.
‘I might be able to accept more.’
Controlling Qi would be crucial, but recently, he had witnessed the finest Qi in the world.
1st Princess, Ether’s Qi.
If it were a teaching material, nothing could surpass this Qi. Such an excellent operational method was now firmly planted in Ezekiel’s mind.
“Ah.”
Mana began to swirl within Ezekiel’s Qi.
Compared to chill or heat, mana was definitely different. General elements flowed smoothly like water, but mana surged like thorns, piercing everywhere.
‘This is why those consumed by mana die.’
It was unbearable pain that could hardly be rational, and the Qi would slash wildly, leading to death.
Ssssss─!
He tried to subdue the mana.
Ezekiel’s talent was by no means meager.
Completely suppressing the mana flowing through the Qi? In fact, that would be an easy task. He could freeze it using his chill.
However, what Ezekiel was about to attempt now was not such a simple task. The important thing was balance.
Heat, chill, and mana had to flow together.
Ssssss─!
He created a wall with chill and divided the Qi into three parts. He began to concentrate with all his power so that heat, mana, and chill would each find their own path and flow.
‘…Absolutely.’
Not cold enough to freeze mana.
Not hot enough to mix wildly.
Of course, that was easy to say in theory.
Whaaaaa─!
Ezekiel barely suppressed the surging mana as if to tell him not to hold back.
Wouldn’t a hungry person want to eat when they see food?
Such was the nature of mana. With chill and heat flowing nearby, it had the tendency to devour and transform them into mana.
It would be best to absorb as much power as possible but it was clear that mana that was too much to handle would consume both chill and heat. In the end, he made a quick decision.
‘Let’s discard a significant portion of the mana.’
Of course, the less mana he accepted into his body, the smaller his achievement would be.
But what meaning would there be in accepting power that one could not even handle? The most important thing was that he had three energies in his body to begin with.
Yes, that alone was the success he needed.
Sssss─!
The portion of the mana he judged to be unmanageable began to be slowly frozen by the chill. He could later expel them in the form of magic.
‘I need to know the exact ratio.’
Ssssss─! Ssssss─! Ssssss─!
Like slicing sashimi, he gradually froze the mana, reducing it. He needed to accurately discern the ratio in which the three energies harmonized.
Who on earth would attempt such a thing as a Mage?
Ezekiel thought to himself. A Mage operating with three energies in their body, it was an utterly preposterous and truly absurd notion.
But at the same time.
Isn’t magic the power to turn the absurd into reality? Ezekiel did not hesitate.
Ssssss─!
Just as he partially froze the mana once again.
Whoosh─! Whoosh─! Whoosh─!
Chill, heat, mana. Suddenly, the three energies began to accelerate wildly. He understood with his whole body. Finally, the ratios of the three energies hit the mark.
Whaaaaaaaaa─!
The distinctly different energies began to wildly rotate the Qi, and he felt his consciousness rising above the horizon. Ezekiel experienced a great exhilaration.
The pain that felt like his insides were being sliced apart lasted an eternity, but once he succeeded, everything progressed in an instant. Like a clock hand moving swiftly.
Kugugugugugugug─!
In just a few seconds, the three energies spun the Qi several times. Each energy confirmed their path flowing into Ezekiel’s Qi as if coming to an agreement.
Just as he was about to finish the process.
“…”
It was impossible. He couldn’t stop.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel an unsettling sensation.
As the pain faded, comfort came. The mana that had been piercing the Qi rapidly recovered and began to seem wider and stronger.
‘…What is this?’
He had already achieved what he hoped for, but the energies began doing things beyond that on their own.
Ezekiel had partitioned the Qi into three, creating paths for chill, heat, and mana to flow, but it seemed the energies were not satisfied with that.
…They chose a different method. They expanded the Qi threefold.
‘Could this be… transcendence?’
He dared to utter the word transcendence.
No less than transcendence, rather than Awakening.
A Mage’s transcendence is judged by the number of rings surrounding their heart, and a new black ring was forming alongside the blue ring of chill and the red ring of heat.
Suddenly, concern surged up.
A bomb about to explode tends to become endlessly hot. For now, it might be transcendence, but could he be rushing towards disaster?
‘I have to be able to control it.’
The three energies flowing madly began to break down the wall of chill that had divided the Qi. If the wall disappeared, wouldn’t it mix and explode?
At the moment he was using all his might to suppress the energies.
Sssss─!
Ezekiel had no choice but to halt his actions.
‘This is….’
He was faced with an incredibly bewildering sight.
What happens when you mix paint wildly?
The colors converge into black. It gets murky, murky, and eventually becomes something pitch-black.
Usually, the energies that a Mage would handle behaved similarly.
But….
‘…It’s transparent.’
Kwaaaaa─!
The energies that had broken the wall of chill finally mixed, but there was no pain or unpleasant expression. Only Ezekiel felt an endless power.
─Captain!
Suddenly, a conversation with a past comrade came to mind.
Yes, it was something he heard after finishing a mission one day.
─Am I not skilled at dissection? Having dissected countless Mages, I felt it was quite an interesting tale.
─I don’t think this is an appropriate topic during a meal.
─Just hear me out. It might turn out to be a story related to His Majesty the Emperor.
─His Majesty the Emperor?
─Yes. Normally, Mages die when they harbor multiple energies, but occasionally there are Mages who almost succeeded. They appear only among the corpses of Mages with very high realms.
─And then?
─The colors of the energies contained in those corpses are paler compared to other Mages. Don’t you think multiple colors of light eventually converge into white? Just like that!
At that time, that guy was immensely excited.
─Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor has absorbed all energies to the peak of their extremes, resulting in that state? Just a thought I had.
─Finish your meal already.
─Yes.
Ezekiel’s mind flashed.
The chill of the Blue Tower.
The heat of the Red Tower.
The lightning of the Magic Tower.
The earth of the Green Tower.
The darkness of the Black Tower.
The mana of the Demon Realm.
Along with those, he imagined the energies sleeping in the Great Forest or the energies of dragons existing in the Celestial Realm.
Could it be that if he gathered all of these, he could achieve a realm that rivaled the Emperor?
If that could be achieved….
Though merely a possibility, it was an exhilarating thought. He could become the one who dominated the whole world.
Whaaaaa─!
His previously dark vision, now became infinitely bright.
Ezekiel regained consciousness.
‘Where is this….’
Inside his body, near his heart.
It was the same out-of-body experience as before.
Thump─! Thump─!
His heart was beating with an unprecedented vigor. He could feel it. The state was at its peak, something he had never experienced before.
Then suddenly.
There was an unusually noticeable sight.
“~!”
“!!!”
“?!?!?!!”
Something black and red was rolling on the floor, bumping into each other. Upon closer inspection, they were Elementals.
“…Can’t we all just get along?”
Ezekiel hurriedly moved his feet.
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