Rain's mind raced, searching for a way to defuse Lyria's suspicions. 'Think fast,' he told himself, weighing his options as Lyria's piercing gaze bore into him. Then, a thought struck him.
'I'm blessed by [ Gaia - 'The aspect of the world tree' ]. If I share that status title…'
But just as he reached to adjust his status window, the surroundings shifted. In an instant, he found himself teleported, standing directly in front of Lyria Celestine. A shimmering barrier materialized around him, locking him in place.
"Identify yourself and declare your purpose here," Lyria's voice resounded with the cold, commanding cadence of a demi-god, unshaken and absolute. Her piercing gaze swept over Rain, scrutinizing him as if peeling back layers to reveal any hidden truths. "Your being reeks of foreign energy—especially around your abdomen," she continued, her voice hardening with suspicion. "Yet, unlike any true mage, you bear no magic circles. Only mana circles... and they're massive, far surpassing any natural formation." Her tone shifted, heavy with contempt. "Explain this anomaly."
Rain opened his mouth to respond, but Lyria raised her hand, silencing him with a divine scorn. "A spy, perhaps, of the half-bloods," she sneered, each word sharp with judgment. "Only a twisted soul would consort with such wretched creatures—filthy abominations that dare call themselves kin to humanity."
She stood as if atop a holy pedestal, her gaze laced with venomous pride. "They are the scourge of this world, the very ones who drove my master, Goddess Tyriel, to sacrifice herself in a mutual sealing with the Demon Overlord." Her voice brimmed with divine arrogance. "You are no better, polluted by their corruption. An affront to everything pure."
Rain's anger sparked as her words burrowed under his skin, his fists clenching at her hollow accusations. 'The audacity... she's judging me without a clue who I am,' he thought, his glare steady and biting. Casual as always, he remained silent, refusing to dignify her words with a response, his eyes locked on hers, cold and resolute.
Rain's jaw tightened. 'She's beyond arrogant; she's delusional.' His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden telepathic link opening in his mind.
"Master, escape! Hurry up!" Kephela's urgent voice echoed in his mind, dripping with protective anger. 'How dare she insult my master! I'll make her pay for that… bitch.' Her tone shifted, softer yet still filled with urgency. "Master, I miscalculated today's events—I didn't think she'd see through your identity so easily! Don't use a portal or a wormhole; she's a space mage and will track you immediately. Perform an atomic swap to these coordinates: ##X, ##Y, ###Z."
A smirk crossed Rain's face, his expression hardening as he glared at Lyria. "I didn't expect your mind to be as twisted as your master's. Goodbye. Next time we meet, I'll be the one to take you down." He raised his middle finger, watching her face contort with confusion at the gesture.
Then, her mana circles began to ignite, glowing with intricate text and symbols, a telltale sign of her preparation for a spell. Lyria, bound by the natural rules of this world, was a true mage—and her spell was magnificent in complexity and precision. Magical symbols materialized around her, floating in delicate patterns as the air thickened with divine energy.
But Rain didn't need any of it. Unlike Lyria, bound to her world's rigid laws of magecraft, he was no ordinary mage. With the causality points gifted by Goddess Tyriel herself, he had ascended beyond those limitations. He was a sorcerer, one who needed no chants, no circles, no visible trace of magic to wield power. He moved on instinct alone, his mind sharp, reaching out for the coordinates provided by Kephela.
As he disappeared, Lyria's face twisted in shock. Her eyes darted around the empty space where he had stood, then widened in outrage. "A demon spy! No one casts without a trace like that!" Her voice rose in a shout, echoing across the tower. "He can't have gone far. Find him!"
Mages scattered, heeding her command, their spells already searching the grounds for any trace of Rain's presence.
Meanwhile, Kephela clenched her teeth as she watched the chaos unfold. Quickly, she turned to the Red and Blue Tower Grand Mages. "Apologies, Masters," she said, voice steady and respectful, "but I must excuse myself for today. My family's ship has just docked, and I need to ensure they settle safely. It shouldn't take long, but duty calls."
The two Grand Mages nodded, understanding her dedication to her family. With a swift bow, Kephela moved away, her thoughts sharpening as she transmitted telepathic messages to her relatives.
"Everyone, return to the ship immediately. We're leaving the area. Keep our distance from the tower at all costs," she commanded, her tone firm and urgent.
In the meantime, Rain had reappeared at the AHS base, safely out of Lyria's reach. Anger still simmered within him as he processed everything that had happened.
'She calls me a demon spy, looks down on the demi-humans like they're trash. She doesn't know who she's dealing with. But she will.' His thoughts darkened with resolve, the insult sparking a new determination. 'While the iron's still hot, let's make an impact she won't forget.'
He considered his options, knowing a massive spell would give away his location immediately. But then an idea struck him. 'Magic and science combined, no mana traces… pure destruction.'
Heading to the forge, he retrieved a one-ton block of iron, carefully molding it into a rocket-like shape to maximize speed and durability during descent. Channeling half his Qi reserves into the metal, he hardened it, ensuring it would withstand the atmospheric heat on its way down.
With satisfaction, he inscribed tracking and guidance spells onto it, along with a set of enchantments to amplify its mass and gravitational pull when released. As a final touch, he added an enlargement spell.
Carrying it effortlessly outside, thanks to a temporary anti-gravity and weight-reduction spell, Rain found a secluded location near the southern rocky mountain range of Elshire. With a deep breath, he flung the massive projectile skyward, watching it soar up to the stratosphere with incredible speed.
As he raised his hand, he cast a Haste spell directly into its path, setting the trajectory for an accelerated, devastating impact.
Kephela, now outside the tower, felt the thrill of his plan. She smirked to herself as she observed the distant magic. 'What's that spell? Only Haste? Paired with something moving that fast?' Her grin widened, a touch of yandere excitement flashing in her eyes. 'But since it's Master, I know it will be spectacular.'
A second later, a deafening BOOM tore through the sky, announcing his retaliation.
---
A thunderous boom reverberated across the landscape as the iron pierced through Elshire's barrier, plummeting with deadly precision to the very peak of the Grey Magic Tower.
Inside, Lyria stumbled, coughing up blood as the impact shook the foundation of the tower. Her mana reserves, strained and trembling, had faltered under the sheer physical force of the attack. She glanced at the crimson staining her hands, her expression one of pure bewilderment.
"What was that?!" Her voice, though breathless, carried an edge of disbelief. "I'm certain it was magic, but... it possessed a raw, physical form and inflicted purely physical damage!"
With no time to waste, she reached for a mana potion, the liquid shimmering as she downed it. Casting a purify spell on herself, she attempted to stabilize her condition, yet another wave of pain surged through her, forcing another bout of blood to spill from her lips. She shuddered, realizing the severity of the damage.
'That attack—it's disrupted the tower's magical texts,' she thought, her gaze clouded with grim understanding. She could feel it now, the intricate weaves of protective magic that formed the tower's structure were fractured, trembling on the verge of collapse. If she stopped supplying magic to the texts, the entire tower would disintegrate, spewing everything and everyone within its walls—mages, researchers, and, worst of all, the confined magical beasts—into the wild with no sense of control.
But if she continued, if she kept pouring her mana into it, she would reach her limits. The strain on her mana reserves was one thing, but when those ran dry, it would be her health and lifespan sustaining the tower's stability, pushing her to the edge of collapse.
'The barrier… It was crafted for magical attacks and small projectiles, but this… this pure, concentrated physical force…' Her thoughts flickered between the choice to stay and shield those inside or abandon them to save herself. Racist or not, Lyria Celestine was still bound by her duty to her people. She inhaled deeply, committing herself. Rather than summon anyone to assist her, risking unnecessary casualties in an attempt to save the magical beasts and research materials, she chose the immediate safety of those trapped within.
Dismissing her pride, she began to weave a complex spell, setting up a mass teleportation, ensuring the occupants were removed to safety. Every word of the chant weighed heavily on her weakened frame, but she pushed through, one line at a time, until her mana reserves scraped the bottom.
'D-Did I underestimate that man's strength?' she thought, horror tinging her realization. 'This level of power… it rivals the might of a 9th-tier spell. No, it's even stronger—it was unleashed in under twenty minutes, with no magical trace left over a thousand kilometers. And it tore through Elshire's barrier, through the tower's defenses… This kind of concentrated power… it's not like any ordinary… spell.'
Her vision blurred as her mana ran dry, and the edges of her consciousness frayed. She felt her body weaken, tipping on the verge of collapse. Darkness clouded her senses as her strength gave out, and she slumped to the floor, the weight of her decision bearing down on her.
Just as her body teetered on the edge, a group of mages from the VIP floor rushed to her side. They caught her just in time, stabilizing her before the last remnants of the tower's space magic disintegrated, sparing her from being teleported to a random, potentially dangerous location.