Chapter 89
Chapter 89: Nuclear Mage—Blows Up Everything He Walks Into
Endymion was ultimately destroyed.
The 7 layers of sky had already fallen into complete chaos.
But mercifully,
Endymion had not fallen.
Although several layers had been ravaged beyond recognition, and the 3 lower white rings had been shattered to pieces,
Looking up at Endymion from below, the upper 4 rings were at most slightly tilted—still more or less intact.
In the very end, the enormous nuclear explosion flame had reduced the first 3 layers of architecture to rubble in an instant, chunks of broken stone drifting weightlessly beneath the sky.
The utterly exhausted Heim stared at the fragments floating before him, and in that moment, he understood Rashel—understood the blow it had been to Rashel when the Academy was destroyed.
Heim was overcome with grief.
"What the hell, Viktor……"
Saying that Endymion would never be destroyed—that had been a lie all along.
He was simply a monster. A freak of a Mage who blew up everywhere he went.
What kind of Mage regularly prepares and uses Magic of such devastating destructive power?
According to the records, since becoming a 4th-Tier Mage, Viktor had engaged in battle exactly 3 times.
The first was the earlier Demon battle, when the Mage Council, recognizing Viktor's formidable power, chose to invite him to join the Council.
The second time was in the Magic Power Gorge, where he nearly blew the Storm Grounds to pieces.
And the third time was the battle that had just been recorded.
The battle recorded by the Mage Council as the 'Calamity War'.
Yet all 3 records, without exception, demonstrated just how violent a Mage Viktor was.
Everywhere he went, there was nowhere he hadn't blown up!
Before long, Heim calmed considerably and accepted the situation.
"At least Endymion didn't crash down."
Indeed—a silver lining amid the disaster.
Viktor's Magic seemed to possess an autonomous power of discrimination. Despite being within such an enormous range, Heim and Cocotte had emerged completely unscathed.
Even the Magical Creatures living in Endymion had not been touched by the Magic's blast.
This meant that only the architecture and terrain of Endymion's first 3 layers had been completely obliterated.
Of course, all of that could be rebuilt over time.
But if the Sky City were to plummet to the ground—
Wherever it landed, Endymion's chaotic Magic Power would shatter the earth beneath it. The massive source of chaotic Magic Power would affect most of the continent's nations, and when that happened, it would inevitably bring catastrophic suffering to all living things.
Cocotte sat on her cloud, utterly drained, her entire body flopped face-first into the white cloud. Not even bothering to lift her face from the cloud, she stretched out the syllables in a feeble attempt to comfort Heim.
"Better than Rashel's Academy—at least the Magic Archive wasn't involved."
The Magic Archive existed within a Pocket Dimension; it did not exist within Endymion's 'reality'.
It was a 'Reverse Space', housing the wisdom accumulated by countless Mages across Endymion's hundreds of years of history.
Even so, hearing Cocotte's words of comfort, Heim still felt irritated.
So he glanced at her and said coolly:
"The place where you sleep is gone too."
"Huh?"
Cocotte's head, which she had just started to lift, immediately dropped back into the cloud and went still.
She looked utterly miserable.
What Heim was referring to was the 'Forest Green Garden' on the 1st Layer—
The very place where Cocotte had first welcomed Viktor.
She had always lived in that magical garden.
In Cocotte's own words, since the 1st Layer was closest to Hagar, natural energy was abundant there, making it absolutely perfect for sleeping.
And now the 'Forest Green Garden' was destroyed, and her last hope had crumbled with it.
Cocotte said with considerable grievance:
"When Viktor comes out, I'm definitely making him compensate me."
"Otherwise I'll, I'll……"
Heim glanced at Cocotte.
"You'll do what?"
"……I'll stick to him and refuse to leave."
These old Mages with their flexible moral baselines could only vent with their mouths.
The astonishing combat power Viktor had displayed made them understand that this man's strength absolutely could not be treated as that of a normal Mage.
He didn't seem like a Mage—he seemed more like a……
A pure Magic machine.
One could say that every single action Viktor took in battle was perfectly calibrated, entirely born for the purpose of fighting.
Even more terrifying was the fact that, facing a monster completely beyond human reckoning, he alone had fought it for nearly 2 full days.
What Mage could do that?
Who else could?
Heim let out a long sigh and said slowly:
"Is it possible that the prophecy left behind by the Archmage……"
"Was referring to Viktor?"
Cocotte gazed at the ruins drifting among the sea of stars, the air filled with silver dust.
Like a wandering son who reaches his front door only to turn and slowly walk away—lonely and helpless.
"Look on the bright side."
"At least Endymion didn't crash down."
***
Inside Endymion's 0th Layer.
The surrounding void had cracked open with thin fractures, like a prominent flaw running across crystal, flickering with faint flames.
The space was gradually splintering apart. Hagar had also visibly shrunken—the brilliant green radiance that had shone so brightly before was now dim and faded.
Viktor stood atop the scorched, flame-melted ground, quietly watching Druga burning wildly before him.
Druga, in this moment, had reverted back to the giant serpent with compound eyes, collapsed amidst the sea of fire, its body entirely unable to move.
It had lost—incapable of rising again.
The War Magic had finally shattered the barrier to pieces. Cocotte and Heim had escaped in time and activated Endymion's defensive measures.
Even so, roughly half of Endymion had still been destroyed.
But that was no longer Viktor's concern—he had come solely for Druga.
Hagar was powered by Druga's Core of Origin. If Druga left Hagar, then Endymion would, after some time, fall completely.
Viktor put his Staff back into his inventory, pressed his hands together in a seal, and personally traced out a green Formation in the air.
He divided the entire Formation into 4 directions—front, back, left, and right. The surrounding natural energy was slowly drawn into it. Enormous rings connected the 4 Formations together, etching the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars onto the Formation above.
Soon, a ripple that resonated with this very space radiated out from his body.
The ripple slowly swept across Druga. At the center of its enormous body, a jade-green orb slowly surfaced and floated toward Viktor.
This was Druga's Core of Origin for Wood.
Once Viktor took this, Druga would be forced into deep slumber.
Swiftly, the 3 pairs of compound eyes on the Druga stripped of its Core of Origin gradually lost their last glimmer of light.
The depleted Hagar, shaken by the ripple, used the last of its available energy. From the green orb floating at waist level, it suddenly extended dozens of vines,
Wrapping around the Calamity of Wood like threads of a cocoon, slowly dragging it back inside Hagar.
The Calamity would not dissipate. Even with its Core of Origin taken by Viktor, it would not fall silent.
Because it itself was an enormous source of energy.
Although Viktor had taken Hagar's power source, he had returned to Hagar an intact Calamity of Wood.
As long as no one came along and awakened it again, Druga would continue to serve as Hagar's energy source, sustaining the 7 layers of sky, allowing them to endure forever.
Viktor watched as Druga, now reduced to a single strand of consciousness, returned into Hagar, and said faintly:
"A Calamity that has been sealed in the same place all along—wouldn't it feel bored?"
Weija, exhausted, let out a yawn, and upon hearing these words, looked at Viktor with a blank expression.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Viktor turned around. Behind him, the dense jungle grew wildly without restraint—towering forests and seas of flowers rising to completely cover the entire space.
Hagar stood alone in the solitary void, radiating living light, undisturbed by anyone ever again.
The crisis prophesied for Endymion had been resolved.
Before departing, Viktor said one thing to Heim:
"If in the future someone tries to attack Hagar again,"
"The revived Druga will immediately awaken."
Hearing Viktor's words, Heim was a bit stunned. Wasn't the disaster the Archmage spoke of referring to you?
Could it be…… Endymion would have to endure another attack like this in the future?
Just thinking about that terrifying Calamity awakening once more—
Heim suddenly didn't feel much like rebuilding this Sky City anymore.
Just let it all collapse—the sooner the better.
Viktor stared at the 3 layers of broken ruins and fell into deep thought.
In the game's background story, the Dark Archmage had broken free from his seal, arrived at Endymion's 0th Layer, corrupted Hagar, and attempted to seize the Core of Origin for Wood.
At the time, Druga had fallen into a prolonged slumber, and even when Hagar came under external assault, it had not awakened.
It was precisely because of this that the Dark Archmage had been able to freely corrupt the Sky Grounds to his heart's content.
The members of the Mage Council had been powerless to stop it, and in the end could only appeal to the Players across the continent for help.
Even after the Players joined forces and defeated the Dark Archmage at the climax of the storyline,
The tragedy had already been wrought—Endymion would never again be that legendary sacred city, having transformed into a gathering place of corruption.
And now?
Druga had been awakened ahead of schedule by Viktor.
This time, Druga would no longer fall into a prolonged slumber.
He was rather looking forward to it—when the future Dark Archmage invaded Hagar and found himself face to face with an awake Calamity of Wood, what kind of expression would he be wearing?
At the same time, Auréliane floated over on Cocotte's cloud until she drifted before Viktor.
Only then did Viktor remember—the Princess had been in the Magic Archive for 2 whole days.
He looked at the slightly drowsy Princess before him and asked:
"Did you have fun?"
Auréliane blinked and nodded.
"Mm."
Viktor asked again:
"Want to come back next time?"
At this, Auréliane was overjoyed, nodding repeatedly.
"Mm! Mm!"
Viktor smiled faintly and continued:
"In that case, show me all the Magic you've learned."
"Let me assess your learning progress—see whether you've wasted these 2 days and neglected your Magic studies."