21st Century Archmage

My heart dropped with a thud. I could hardly utter the unbelievable words. How could a demon descend to the Middle Realm with its true body? The masters of the Demon Realm were said to possess magic and mana abilities on par with dragons. Upper level demons being as strong as ancient dragons was the sort of thing that came up in myths.

My head went blank.

‘No way, how could a demon…’

It was a reality my magic knowledge could not explain. I knew that demons would sometimes descend using a proxy, like demon beasts descended from the Demon Realm or black mages. But I’d never even heard or seen anything about a demon descending to the Middle Realm with their actual true body. There was no mention of that in any record on continental history.

“Hyuk, if you value their lives, have everyone retreat.”

Master’s voice had never sounded this grim before.

‘Everyone?’

He might be a demon, but there were thousands of Skyknights flying in the sky right now, plus there were two 8th Circle mages here, me and Master. It seemed like a bit of an exaggeration to have everyone retreat.

‘I should have killed him when I had the chance…’

Regret surged up within me. I was disappointed at myself for the carelessness that had stemmed out of a desire to see Altakas suffer. He was an 8th Circle black magic swordsman who had lived for hundreds of years. Who would have thought he would sacrifice the last of his life to summon such a monster?

“Haah~ So this is the smell of the Middle Realm mana I’ve only heard about. Haah~ Haah~”

The demon was a lanky 2 meters tall. Other than a sturdy physique that matched his height, he wasn’t much different from humans, just like the legends said. His clothes were a little unique and his face was as white as paper, but otherwise, he looked exactly like a human.

‘Why’s he just standing there panting like a dog?’

But there was nothing good about his appearance. It was obvious that he was no ordinary demon. Unlike Master, what I felt welling up in me was not fear, but fighting spirit.

‘Where would I go? This is my land.’

A demon had descended. But even so, I couldn’t take a single step back.

The battle had come to an end—once Altakas and the black mages disappeared, the surviving monsters came to their senses and haphazardly fled, and the Dark Empire’s soldiers slumped to the ground and slowly became skeletons, having lost their mind controllers. The only enemy left was the demon who had descended. Only Master and I knew what he was, but the uneasy atmosphere had everyone in a tense silence, the cheers dead in their throats.

“Who are you?” I boldly asked the demon, who was breathing the Middle Realm air with his eyes closed.

“Huhuhu…”

Instead of responding, the demon let out a quiet laugh. His laugh was neither cold nor warm, nor was it ridiculing. It was emotionless and gave off the feeling of bleak desert sand. It was a laugh reminiscent of desert sand from a being that, like a desert, rejected life altogether.

My heart began to lurch.

“Human, you seem to be the strongest one out of everyone here.”

I didn’t know how, but the demon was well-versed in the language of the Middle Realm.

‘Green?’

The eyes he turned towards me were pure green, without a single other color. His entire eyes were lumps of green.

“I-I am the lord of this place, Kyre. If you have no business here, I ask that you do not defy the laws prescribed by God and return to the Demon Realm.”

I tried to keep my voice level, but his gaze alone froze the breath in my lungs, making my voice tremble.

‘Dammit, it was true that they would go toe to toe with dragons.’

There weren’t any dragons on the Continent right now. For some unknown reason, they had all disappeared long ago. For the first time in my life, I desperately wished that a dragon would show up.

“Lord? Kukuku. Nice to meet you. I am the Commander of the Demon Realm’s 7th Army, Harkesya Fordlavita Olgenyaon Yuviteus Talofonia.”

The demon was more amiable than I expected, and a name far longer than human names came streaming fluidly out of his mouth.

‘Fuck, if he’s a Commander of the Demon Realm 7th Army, how fucking high up is he?’

I didn’t know exactly where he stood, but he was definitely an archdemon. It was obvious he didn’t have a shred of desire to go back.

“I never thought you’d really manage to summon me. Color me impressed. We did sign a contract, but I wasn’t expecting anything to come of it. Huhuhu.”

Looking down at the remains of the sacrificed Altakas on the ground, the demon gave a desert-like chuckle.

‘You bastard, if you wanted to die, you should have died alone.’

That rotten Alpaca deserved to have curses rained down on him to the very end.

“My liege, who is that person?”

I hadn’t activated the communicator in my helmet, so Sir Shailt hadn’t heard me talk.

“All forces, fly at the highest altitude and stand by. You are not permitted to attack by any means. If something happens to me… leave the battlefield.”

“M-My liege, what do you mean by that…”

I poured mana into the communicator and gave my command to my knights.

“Relay my orders to the signalman at the fort as well.”

“A-As you command…”

I couldn’t make a quick judgment just from looking at this demon, whose name was too long to memorize.

‘He’s strong, dammit…’

Even someone with 8th Circle mana like me couldn’t detect a single trace of mana from him. That would be impossible unless there was an absolute difference in strength.

‘The 9th Circle…’

It was like coming face to face with another mountain right after scaling one, or finding a broken bottle when your throat was parched. I was trying my best to keep a straight face, but fear was creeping into me.

The 9th Circle flowed off the tongue easy enough, but it was a realm of fanciful imagination. Both Altakas and Master Aidal had lived for multiple centuries, but it was still a massive wall they could only dream of surpassing.

“To think that such a windfall would be granted to me. The Demon God has undoubtedly showered me with special favor. Hahaha.”

He laughed heartily. But even his brightly smiling laugh was parched and desert-like. It was said that in the Demon Realm, only the strong survived and the weak were treated like insects. He probably considered me and everyone else here no more important than the dead skin between his toes.

“Do you have no intent on returning?” I asked the demon, fighting to keep my voice calm.

“Me? Why?”

We were about 50 meters apart. The demon cast his green gaze on me. Demons had always been greedy for the Middle Realm, but because of the laws of the Great God and the dragons, and because there was no one capable enough to open a rift between dimensions, the descent of the demons had failed time and time again. There was no reason a high level demon would just go back.

“I will turn this place into my home. I shall summon the Demon Realm 7th Army under my command and make the entirety of the Middle Realm submit to my rule. Without a single dragon, there’s no one who can stop me.”

Knowing there were no dragons here, the demon blithely declared that he would conquer the Continent.

‘Ah, fuck. What dogshit do I have to deal with this time?’

Infinite joy should have awaited me after taking care of Altakas, but my trial wasn’t over yet.

“W-We have to stop him. If a Demon Realm army is summoned here by him… it will spell annihilation for the Continent,” said Master, his face pale.

‘Dammit, if he’s an archdemon, he’s capable of using 9th Circle magic. How the hell are we supposed to stop him?’

“Master, let’s attack him simultaneously.”

But I couldn’t just flee like this, so I talked Master into helping me.

“Dear lord, now we can’t even run away anymore…”

‘M-Mana forcefield!’

In the time that I was saying one thing to Master, a mana forcefield spread out around us like a thin fog, destabilizing the mana and making it impossible to use teleportation magic.

“Huhuhu… I suppose I should start by clearing the trash. Cannon fodder that doesn’t even know to worship a demon when they see one doesn’t need to stay alive.”

Even as he spoke, the demon didn’t take his gaze off me. I was instantly reduced to cannon fodder in his mouth.

Whooooooosh!

‘Ngh!’

The energy of chilling mana rushed out in all directions.

‘B-Bloodthirst!’

Surprisingly, the demon was able to imbue his mana with murderous intent. I realized then why they were a fighting race that even the dragons had a hard time dealing with.

“Hyuk, if Master has ever wronged you in some way, please forgive and forget.”

Having resigned himself to death, Master Bumdalf uttered his last will.

“Master…”

‘I was just one step away! One step… argh.’

It felt like my heart was being ripped apart. What was this tragic drama ending? This ridiculous turn of events nearly had me in tears.

‘Let’s give it a try. I’ve got the Staff of Despair with me.’

I clenched the Staff of Despair in my hand.

“Now! Prominence!!!”

Master went in for the first blow.

“Go to hell!!!”

I followed up with a mana attack formed with all of the mana I could use.

Swoooooooooosh. Schwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!

This was a foe who easily blocked a Hellfire. I threw in all my mana, aiming for the opening Master’s attack would leave.

‘Die! Please die!’

My mana coursed out through the Staff of Despair.

Boooooooooom!

‘It hit!’

The demon took Master’s 8th Circle magic completely unprotected.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!

* * *

Reaper Scans

* * *

My mana attack came in right afterwards. Unlike when I attacked the 7th Circle half-liches, this mana attack held a viciousness that wanted to slice everything apart.

‘D-Did we really succeed?’

I didn’t think a demon capable of 9th Circle magic would go down so easily.

“Master…”

I turned to look at Master.

“…!!”

Master Bumdalf was staring at the demon with the same puzzlement as me… until his expression suddenly twisted in horror.

“D-DODGE!”

Master’s 3 octave scream was an ear-piercing volume I’d never heard from him before.

“Shield!”

There wasn’t even time for me to turn and look. I drew out my mana and cast Shield.

Whirrrrrrrrr.

A milky defensive barrier immediately came up around me and Master.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

An enormous pressure slammed into the shield.

“Gugh…!”

The impact was so intense it nearly halted the flow of mana to the shield through the Staff of Despair.

“Air Shield!”

Master urgently incanted an Air Shield, the defensive magic with the greatest shock absorption.

My organs were injured by the force of the impact, and blood rushed up my throat and out my mouth. Because I was wearing my airplate helmet, the blood filled up the inside of the helmet.

Crack crack crack crack.

While I was staggering, my mental faculties scattered, I heard the sound of the Air Shield being ripped apart.

“Aghhh…”

Master’s groan of pain came from beside me.

Whirrrrrrr.

And then, the pressure disappeared like it had never existed.

“Nghhh.”

Because my helmet was filled with blood, I urgently ripped it off despite my agony. Blood slushed out all over my airplate.

Stagger.

I wasn’t completely out of mana, so I didn’t immediately plummet, but I lurched about 5 meters downwards.

“Y-You’re bleeding!”

I had blocked the first collision, so Master was less injured than me. He had blood streaming out of his nostrils as he looked at me with a tearful face.

“Haha, hahahahaha. You’re quite something.”

Before I knew it, the demon had risen to eye level and was smiling with delight.

‘H-He’s strong.’

There was no other way to put it. He was strong. This demon with the long, long name wasn’t even singed by the attack from Master and me. He was smiling at me like an invincible god with his thick crimson cloak around his shoulders.

‘Mm!’

Just then, a group of Skyknights that had been watching the situation from nearby began hurling Blessed Spears at the demon who had attacked me.

“NOOO!!!!!!!”

An involuntary scream burst from me.

This was not a foe that could possibly be defeated by human means. That was the kind of foe that several dozen Skyknights were recklessly hurling spears at.

Grinning at the spears flying towards him, the demon put out his right hand.

Dozens of red lightning bolts lit up the sky in a spell I’d never seen before.

Clink clink clink clink clink.

The spears thrown by the Skyknights bounced off on a transparent mana barrier in a shower of sparks.

And then…

Fwoooooooooosh.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAK! KWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!

“AAAAAGHHH!”

…came the screams.

“R-Ridiculous…”

The twenty odd Skyknights who threw spears at him, and the wyverns they were riding… were on fire. Just them, and no one else. The mystery spell that exceeded all imagination turned the wyverns and Skyknights into living torches, and they hurtled to the ground, their agonizing demise planting terror into the hearts of all who watched.

“Kukuku…”

As if pleased by the tragedy he had wrought, the demon’s laugh finally had a trace of emotion in it.

This… was a demon, a synonym of destruction and slaughter.

I ground my teeth. Rage surged in my chest. I wanted to rush out and rip out his throat. But I couldn’t do anything. This was an even more stark difference in strength from when I faced Altakas as a 7th Circle mage.

‘The 9th Circle… To kill him, we need 9th Circle magic.’

How could I possibly reach the 9th Circle when it had only been a few days since I made it to the 8th? The dragon Tarkania may have said that anyone could ascend the circles if they put their mind to it, but that was just the vainglory of one who had already reached the 9th Circle.

“Well then, shall I get started?”

The demon, who had struck terror into the hearts of all with a single wave of his hand, calmly spoke of getting started even though there were thousands of Skyknights in the sky and tens of thousands of soldiers in the fort.

Sizzzzzzzzzzzzzle.

I didn’t know how he did it, but the mana of the earth began to clump together on the ground directly beneath him.

‘Summoning magic…’

The mana seemed to be gathering, but then it started to writhe and whirl. It looked like he was really trying to summon the Demon Realm’s soldiers here. He was trying to summon true knights of murder that would make Altakas’ Death Knights look like benevolent saints. I was about to lose it. I was so helpless, so damn helpless. I had become an 8th Circle archmage, the level of attainment humans dreamed of, but in front of this 9th Circle demon, I was merely a firefly flitting before a blazing sun.

I clenched my teeth.

‘I can’t just wait to get killed like an idiot!’ The Continent’s peace had been won by so many sacrifices. ‘Even if I have to put everything I have on the line, I will… kill you.’

It was impossible, but I had no choice but to give it my best shot.

‘If I detonate my mana, I will never be able to form a mana core again. But… that’s fine.’

I lifted my head to look at the thousands of wyverns wheeling around in the sky. Among them were people who would have liked nothing more than to aid me at the cost of their lives. Nerman’s knights were there, as were our precious allies from Bajran, along with courageous warriors who came forward for the sake of the Continent. And watching with bated breath from the fort were the true owners of Nerman, the people who had spilled sweat and tears for this land. As their lord, I had to try everything I could.

‘You son of a bitch, I’ll help you become a corpse today.’

The rift to the Demon Realm seemed to be opening; an incredible amount of mana was being consumed, to the point that all the mana had been leached from the surroundings.

“Mm!”

I bit my lips.

“H-Hyuk!”

Sensing what I was about to do, Master called my name in alarm.

Cra-cra-cra-crack.

Mana detonation, the attack that mages would use when they were resolved to die. A final last-ditch method that activated not just the mana in one’s mana core, but every single particle of mana scattered around one’s physical body.

“Nghh…”

When the mana stirred in my organs that had been damaged by the demon’s attack, severe pain assaulted me. But I did not stop. I activated all the mana in my upper, middle, and lower danjeons, awakening all the mana in my body.

Rummmmmmble.

Twice as much mana as usual swelled up in an instant. I might have a far bigger mana core than other 8th Circle mages, and I could double it with mana detonation, but I didn’t think it would be enough to kill the 9th Circle demon. However, my personality would never, ever let me sit around twiddling my thumbs watching the end of the world.

Feeling mana filling every corner of my body, I glared at the demon.

‘I’ve got 5 minutes at most. I have to injure him within that time.’

A demon he might be, but if I could deal an injury to him, it might be possible for everyone here to do something.

“Master, I leave the rest to you.”

Master Bumdalf would be the biggest ammunition of them all.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Seeing that I was about to do something he himself couldn’t do, Master Aidal stuttered an apology.

There was nothing to be sorry about. Thanks to Master, I had a few years of freedom that a kid in Korea would never be able to experience. That was worth exchanging my life for.

‘Everyone… I’m sorry.’

If there was something that gave me pause, it was that I had to leave without telling my parents and my beloved women goodbye.

Flash!

When my mana detonated, the demon sensed something was off and turned towards me.

“Hooh…” The demon made a sound of admiration. I was out here gambling my life, but to him, it was just a matter of passing interest. “A mere human is trying to surpass his limits. Kukuku, what an interesting thing you are.”

I went from cannon fodder to being a mere thing. Clearly, the name ‘Kyre’ hadn’t made its rounds in the Demon Realm even though it was the talk of the Kallian Continent.

‘I will absolutely survive and reach the 9th Circle. Then, I’ll hop to the Demon Realm and clear them all out for good!’

My life might be wavering in the balance, but my indomitable half-drunken(?) spirit would never bend.

“Oi, dude. You can kiss your days of happiness goodbye and say hello to the misery ahead.”

The demon had zero intent to return to the Demon Realm anyway. Even if I hit the bucket, I didn’t want to die with a broken spirit.

‘He doesn’t know yet.’

I still vividly remembered Lokoro?a’s use of 9th Circle magic. I wasn’t a dragonia, a descendant of a dragon, but I was betting all my chips on the secret move the Staff of Despair could create. I slowly, carefully raised the Staff of Despair.

“I thought I smelled a dragonheart somewhere. So it was in there.”

‘What…’

But he wasn’t an idiot. A high level demon who could fight a dragon head-on realized what I was trying to do. The odds tipped against me even more.

“Come at me. From the looks of it, you’ve detonated your mana, so you don’t have much time left.”

The demon was looking at me like a cat gazing at a mouse. He saw through me completely, as if he had Superman’s x-ray vision.

“Have a taste of this, asshole!”

There was nothing else up my sleeve anyway. I hurled my bloody helmet at him.

Swooooosh.

It hurtled towards him, filled with my mana.

‘Gods above, please help me just one time today! I will devote absolute loyalty to you in the future!’

After throwing the helmet, I glanced into the sky for a moment. I could only struggle for 5 minutes at best. If the gods truly had me in their hearts, they would need to show me a miracle. To fight this demon, it would take a miracle on the level of Moses splitting the sea, but the current situation was all too far from that.

‘Ahhhh, dammit!’

My prayer to the gods was brief. The gods weren’t some kind of genie lamp that would grant wishes; of course they couldn’t always be on my side. What I needed right now… was fighting spirit.

Since there was absolutely zero way to do anything with magic, I hurled my body forward, clutching the Staff of Despair in place of a sword.

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