21st Century Archmage

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‘Argh!’

Through the mana scope in my helmet, I could see it.

The remains of Denfors’ castle gate, completely destroyed by a cowardly attack none of us had expected.

(PR/N: Welcome to war bud.)

The once-sturdy castle gate was in shambles, and even the walls surrounding it were destroyed beyond repair.

And scattered around the wreckage were my soldiers.

The dirty paladin bastards with their white cloaks walked past the corpses, approaching the soldiers and citizens.

“You dare…”

What I was feeling had gone beyond rage.

Far from sharing God’s love, these fucking paladins who made a living from selling God’s name had become vicious agents of destruction.

Schwiiip!

Launched by my right hand, another spear whistled forward.

GUOOOOOOOOOO! As if comprehending the situation unfolding before us, Bebeto roared out, informing the world of his existence.

Flash flash flash flash.

Recovering from the shock of my ambush, the paladins hurled spears at me.

In both of my hands were the new model of spears that I had produced. The spears, which had increasable range according to the user’s mana, glowed white-hot in my hands.

Flash!

Schwwwwwiiiiippp.

The spears left my hands and hurtled like a fierce pair of wolves towards the wyverns in the front, their speed nearly twice the enemy’s spears.

“Shield!”

Grabbing another two spears, I simultaneously cast magic.

Bang! Bang! Baaang!

The eight spears that flew towards us bounced off my mana shield.

Craaaack!

The simple, sleek shield made of mana cracked under the barrage of spears. Even for a shield made with high-quality mana, it couldn’t endure the full force of eight spears unscathed.

Schwiiip scwhiiiiiip!

Releasing the shield, I once again hurled the spears in my hands.

Baaaam!

KWAAAAAK!

KIAAAAAAAK!

KUWAAAAK!

The wyverns hit by the first three spears I had thrown screamed miserably, one after another. My spears had punched through their wyvern armor like paper and lodged themselves deep in wyvern flesh.

There was only about a kilometer between us. At this distance, I could clearly see the Skyknights panicking from my brute-force charge.

I reloaded again.

Flash flaaaash!

I didn’t even need to aim. These spears were on a different level and wouldn’t miss their huge, bulky marks.

Ba-baaam!

KYAAAAAAAAAAK!

KUAAAAAAK!

Two new voices joined the ranks of their fallen comrades.

There were four wyverns left, and 500 meters between us.

Flap flap flap flap.

Finally realizing that the wyverns they were riding were a one-way ticket to hell, the Skyknights began to scatter before the tide.

“…Too late.”

If they had bravely charged towards me, they might have had a chance, but no enemy could flee before the increased range and speed of my new spears. And I wasn’t one to miss an enemy showing their fleeing, vulnerable back.

Schwiip!

BAM!

Schwip!BABAM!

The spears left my hands with mechanical movements.

“F-Fly!”

As if they had prepared to jump ship, the paladins unclasped themselves and cast Fly as their wyverns screamed under them.

And in no time at all, only Bebeto was left flying in the air.

“I will… kill you all.”

I turned my head to the ground. 

Everyone was watching the short, but brutal battle in the skies. I circled once with Bebeto above their dumbstruck heads.

Click.

I unclasped the safety ring. I didn’t have a single spear left, but I did have a sword that would protect me. It wasn’t the sword I had used up until now, but a blade the Dwarven Patriarch Cassiars had personally forged for me. It began to breathe blue with the surging waves of my mana core.

“Hup!”

Bebeto was flying low to the ground, and I jumped off towards the paladins, blocking their retreat with my solitary body.

They may have entered my land as they pleased, but they could not leave in the same manner. They would either die here or crawl out from under my feet.

I couldn’t see anything else in front of my eyes.

Just the spilled red blood of my poor people.

* * *

“…Mm.”

He had heard the rumors, but seeing it for himself was another thing entirely. The Lord of Nerman, Kyre, was said to have fighting ability beyond imagination, but he didn’t know that the man would be this strong. And the price he paid for underestimating Kyre was the complete annihilation of all the temple’s wyverns. Daterian knew that Kyre’s spears had gone straight through the armor deep into the wyverns. And he could also feel that the bloodthirst from Kyre, who had fearlessly jumped down at their rear, was no joke.

“Foolish.”

Daterian acknowledged that he was strong, but recklessly jumping down from his wyvern was a crazy act. Even a Blade Master would inevitably reach their limits on the ground, where their wings were clipped. Moreover, the majority of the paladins were right next to Master-level, and Daterian himself was secretly a Master.

“Tsk tsk. Everyone here is out of their minds.”

From the lord called Kyre to the foolish territory residents who stood before them knowing they were inviting death, Nerman was rife with problems.

“All those who wish to live, kneel…”  The wind carried Kyre’s cold words to his ears. “You… fucking… bastards…”

What an arrogant man—he dared to curse paladins, men with the highest honor in the continent.

The blankly watching paladins shook as they came back to their senses.

Siiizzzle.

And as if responding to their rage, their flames of holy power burned ever brighter, baring teeth towards the man crazy enough to order paladins who only knelt before God to kneel before him.

“Behead him!” shouted Daterian.

“Waaaaaaaaaa!”

Full of desire to avenge their annihilated comrades, the Skyknight paladins and the temple wyverns charged towards Kyre.

“Hahahahaha!”

Kyre’s mad laughter rang in the air.

Whiiiiiiir.

As he laughed, the mana in the air began to billow in turbulent waves.

And so, it began.

A 1,000 vs. 1 duel.

* * *

“Divine Power!”

“Holy Bomb!”

Claaaaaaang! 

The paladins surged forward like a rising tide. Supported by the blessing and magic of the priests, dozens of them charged towards a single person like an unstoppable wave.

CRAAAAAASH!

BOOOOOOOOOM.

“KUAAGHHH!”

“AAAHHHHHHH!”

However, their charge was stopped short. No matter how strong the wave, it could only break in an instant against a cliff that had endured hundreds of thousands of years. The waves of men crashed against a cliff as strong as steel, white foam, no, red blood was fountaining everywhere.

Crunch! Baam!

Because of the fully blessed paladins in front, nothing could be seen. However, the sound of armor being smashed and the macabre sounds of men being cleaved could be heard clearly amidst the chaos.

“Chaaarge!”

“Kill him!!”

Despite seeing their comrades getting swept away with splattering blood, the paladins were completely berserk. Under the blessing of the priests, their souls were whipped into a frenzy by the metallic reek of blood, making them forget that they were paladins. And like moths to a flame, they charged head-first towards the huge bonfire blazing before them.

Swooooosh.

Powerful, Master-level mana ran up his blade and cut through space.

Splat!

He did not make a single mistake or show any openings. The paladin charging towards him was  decapitated, helmet and all, with a single blow.

Not only that, but there were arms and legs scattered around him, some still twitching.

A road to hell was drawn around the man with arcs of blood. He did not move a single step. The black eyes gleaming from his airplate helmet were like unwavering lumps of steel. He merely continued to aim for the openings the paladins showed, cutting, slicing, and piercing.

Baaaaaaam!

“Hup!”

The grunts of the paladins, a sound that did not suit their honorable image, rang out again and again. And when the flesh and sliced armor of dozens of paladins were scattered around him, the man launched himself upwards.

“!!”

“C-Catch him!”

Thinking he was running away, the paladins shouted angrily. But they were mistaken. Leaping 5 meters into the air, a devastating phrase left the man’s lips. 

“Rock Blaster!”

The paladins had forgotten.

That the Lord of Nerman before them was an upper circle magic swordsman.

Raising a sword blazing with magic, the man simply flung it down, where it quivered in the ground.

Grrgg.

For a moment, there was the sound of a leather ball being inflated. 

Unable to follow the situation, a hundred paladins stood frozen around the man. And just as it occurred to them that Rock Blaster was a 6th Circle AOE earth spell…

They suddenly had the feeling that the ground beneath their feet was moving.

BOOOOOOOOM!

And then, it was over.

The ground under them turned into hundreds, thousands of shards, embracing the paladins like a cacophony of destruction.

The range was a massive 50 meters. Even for a 6th Circle spell, the blast of magic was stronger than one could possibly believe.

CRUUUUUUUUNCH.

BAAAAAAM.

Then came the symphony, a gruesome allegro of armor and helmets getting crushed by the rocks and the flesh inside exploding into pieces.

Splaattttterrrr.

The bloody dust became a gale, dancing within the storm of magic.

“…..”

The words to charge, to catch him, just didn’t seem to leave anyone’s lips. Everyone went quiet, as if their lips were stunned into silence. The tragedy that had befallen in mere moments made every paladin stop short in their tracks, frozen in place.

Roll roll.

And then, several helmets came rolling towards the stiff paladins, their owners lost for all eternity.

Easily separated from the bodies within the storm of rocks, the round helmets had bounced away, the eyes on the decapitated heads staring lifelessly into nothingness.

“Ahh… Ahh…”

“D-Devil…”

Looking white-eyed at the heads that rolled to their feet and the hundreds, nay, thousands of pieces of nameless flesh, the paladins called him… a devil.

The dust slowly settled.

The magic had run its course, leaving only the aftermath of the storm.

“…!!”

“Uuuaghhhhhh!”

And then, upon seeing what was left of their comrades, the paladins gasped, turning away as they wailed.

‘Tragic’ was too tame a word.

The word that best suited the situation right here and now… was ‘Hell’.

After the rampage of the dirt that turned into sturdy stones, what was left could truly be called a realm in Hell.

Not a single body was left whole. Cut and sliced, broken and smashed, armor and flesh lay between stones in a 50 meter radius like a bloody soup.

“Blaargh! Blaaarghhh!”

Though they were no strangers to murder, even the paladins could not help but vomit.

Clotheslined atop stones and corpses were innards like intestines and hearts. The sight was so gory that the chopped arms and legs were less nauseating in comparison.

“Kneel…”

One man’s quiet mana-charged voice resounded in their ears.

Standing at a safe place around 2 meters away from them, the Master of Nerman,Kyre, quietly ordered them to kneel, holding a blue sword that blazed brightly as if it were a devil’s torch.

* * *

“Urghh…”

Daterian confirmed without a doubt that his judgement was correct.

He was not human.

Daterian knew from experience that even an upper circle mage couldn’t cast such devastating magic.

The paladins protected by powerful holy power and mithril-alloy enspelled armor were turned into mincemeat.

Such utter destruction would only be possible if one of the top mages on the continent, a 7th Circle mage, had cast it.

‘The Havis Kingdom must have been defeated.’

When he last saw the Havis army attacking, he thought they could not possibly suffer defeat, but seeing as Kyre had come here completely unscathed and full of rage, Daterian knew that Havis had been defeated.

He was afraid now, afraid of this place.

He was just about to slaughter all the people of Denfors, but now, he felt like he was the one on the defensive.

The paladins edged away, slowly forming a defensive circle.

Paladins were supposed to fear no one but god, but in the face of death, their hearts were frozen solid.

The nightmare did not end there.

Kiooooooooooo!

Kuaaaaaaaaaa!

From the dark, heavy clouds appeared five golden wyverns.

Swoooooosh.

They swept threateningly over the paladins in defensive formation. The Skyknights atop the wyverns were each holding spears glowing with mana.

“This is your last warning. Kneel!” said the man named Kyre.

“Dammit…”

A bitter curse came from his mouth for the first time in a truly long while.

His mouth dry, Daterian’s mind whirled to figure out the complicated situation. All the temple wyverns had been killed, and the remaining paladins were infected with fear. If they resisted desperately, they could at least kill the guards and citizens of Denfors. No matter how strong Kyre was, he could not block ten spears with one hand.

‘We can’t stop here! Aramis! Everything will be over if we can capture her.’

According to the information, Lord Kyre valued Priestess Aramis so much that he had invaded the Havis Kingdom’s borders just for her. If they could take Aramis as a hostage, they could turn this disadvantageous situation around.

“Huhu…”

The bastard’s cold, unpleasant laughter grated on Daterian’s ears.

‘If we can take him down…’

The wyverns and Skyknights in the air were a problem, but they could not retreat like this. In order to capture Aramis, they needed to punch through the net of people. But before they could do that, they had to take care of Kyre.

‘He might be a magic swordsman, but even he cannot consecutively cast upper circle magic; we have to fight.’

Daterian didn’t know what Kyre’s mana core looked like, but he had used magic and fought the paladins, so he had probably consumed quite a lot of mana.

“Pinte, Jeremy.”

Moving his mouth slightly, he quietly called the two strongest paladins by his side. Then, he gestured to Kyre with his eyes. The other paladins had already lost their will to fight and could no longer use the descent spell.

‘Let’s do this, you bastard!’

His pride as a knight still blazed deep in his heart. Daterian looked at the arrogant Kyre.

Whumpf!

While the wyverns were turning around, Daterian dashed forward.

Two paladins followed him closely like his shadows.

Fwooooosh.

Full of holy power, their swords burned with blue flames.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Looking at the three paladins approaching him, Lord Kyre burst out with uproarious laughter.

Whirl!

Kyre, who had been drawing a circle with his mana-charged sword, launched himself forward.

Claaaaaang!

In the blink of an eye, the swords met, sparks flying everywhere from the clash between mana and holy power.

And thus, the sword fight between four men began.

Everyone swallowed their saliva, their bodies tense.

They knew that the battle occurring before them would decide the final victor.

* * *

CLAAAANG!

Three paladins jumped out of the crowd like fleas.

They were supposed to be servants of the Goddess of Mercy, but these bad apples didn’t even know the meaning of mercy.

They were just like the people I had often seen on Earth, the ones who sold Jesus and Buddha yet didn’t embody the love and mercy they preached. Such rotten souls were the hardest to face and cure.

They came into my territory, destroyed the castle gate of Denfors, which could be called the heart of my territory, killed hundreds of my soldiers, and now…they wanted to kill my people.

‘Hng!’

Three poisonous swords of death aimed for my neck, each one displaying a unique style, one like a viper, another a rattlesnake, and the last one a cobra.

CLANG!

The mana shimmering on my sword splattered away like water on oil at the powerful impact.

‘They’re strong!’

The only person among the paladins to have a cross of Neran engraved in real gold on his breastplate was a Master. The two snakes assisting him were skilled talents near Master level.

Each and every strike was a bloodthirsty blow that could take my life. Increasing my guard, I received their swords.

CLA-CLANG!

‘They’re staying right on me.’

They didn’t give me any time to turn or breathe. As if they were wary of the beastmen Skyknights circling above us, the three men stuck close to me. Striking from above and below and on both sides, the moment I showed the tiniest of openings, they came rushing in like wraiths. 

It was clear that these men had devoted their lives to the sword, sleeping, eating, and then training some more. Their swordsmanship was at a level beyond anyone else I had met so far—they must be swordsmanship otakus who only got up to pray and to train. I could now understand why paladins were famous across the continent.

However, that was all.

I didn’t have the luxury to fool around with these guys. There were still remnants from the Havis Kingdom fleeing on my territory. From the very beginning, I didn’t have time to play with them.

‘Huup!’

Taking in a deep breath, I drew out all the mana in my core.

Whirr!

Drawing in all the mana in an instant, my sword grew comparable to a giant’s club, one that could grow and shrink at will.

CLAANG!

I easily parried away one paladin’s sword.

“Geh!”

That was the first scream.

Clang! Clang!

Shortly afterwards, I incapacitated the fangs of the other two snakes with my intense mana.

“Guh!”

“Urk!”

Groaning, the paladins retreated several meters. Their faces were full of bewilderment. Their swords were still trembling from the impact of my unexpected blow.

“All done playing your tricks?”

My heart was growing colder and colder. With a sneer, I provoked the paladins who lived and died on honor and pride.

“Argh…”

“Youuuu…”

Two of them had grown red-faced with rage. Unlike those two, the one that had reached Master level maintained his composure.

“You are definitely someone who has sold their soul to a demon. No one in the history of this continent has had such skills at such a young age. Not without receiving a demon’s gift…”

What a laughable bastard. Just because he was powerless and my strength exceeded his common sense, he flapped his mouth and accused me of selling my soul to a demon.

“Be ashamed of your pitiful skills. You bring shame to Neran-nim’s holy name.”

“You who insult God, you are indeed an agent of demons!”

They were arbitrarily deciding things with their biased-as-hell glasses. Never acknowledging their own ugly faults was really on brand for people with polluted beliefs.

In my annoyance, I accidentally cussed them out in Korean. “Bull-fucking-shit.”

“…..”

Hearing my Korean, their faces instantly stiffened.

“The language of the demon realm…! Oh! Neran-nim!”

Forget being at a loss for words, this was just ridiculous. If Korean was the language of demons, then were the 50 million people living in South Korea all demons?

Whumpf!

There was no need to draw things out. Leaping forward, I took the first move.

‘Ghost Meteor!!’

I unleashed my Sword Art, which had somehow become my ‘specialty.’

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip!

Eight blades materialized and peeled away from my sword, shooting forward.

“H-Holy Shower!”

Sensing the danger, the Master unleashed his secret move as well.

Dozens of small, slivered blades were fired from his blade like pellets from a shotgun. It was a really unique Sword Art.

Clang! Claaaaang!

“Guh!”

“Geh!”

The two paladins that were Masters desperately parried my Blade Swords, but were struck in the stomach and shoulder by the Blade Swords that were redirected by their parries.

Splaaaaat!

Blood fountained from their wounds.

Cla-claaaaang!

The small Blade Swords from the Master paladin crashed into my Ghost Meteor, causing a firework of sparks.

BAM!

But with the difference in mana quantity, my Ghost Meteor overwhelmed the paladin’s.

“Gu…uh.”

And then, the materialized mana shot forward, piercing through his armor directly into his heart. Every time the mana blades sparkled, more blood gushed out.

Swish.

I raised my sword and walked towards him as he gasped for breath. Since I was not going to save him, the greatest courtesy I could offer as a fellow human was to end his suffering. I slowly raised my sword glowing with blue mana above his head. The man who was clearly the leader of the paladins had to die for this meaningless battle to end.

“…Lala~♬♬”

A very faint sound of someone singing was carried over in the wind.

“Lailaaa~?♩”

The melody was strange and couldn’t quite be called a song. With my sword still raised like a guillotine, I peered into the direction where the melody was coming from.

I wasn’t the only one. Everyone’s gazes turned to a hill overlooking the battlefield.

FLAAASH!

It was shining.

The hill was shining with a silver light so glorious you could hardly gaze upon it with mortal eyes, like a lighthouse in the dark sea.

‘A-Aramis…’

I could not see her through the dazzling light, but I could feel it. The woman singing this soul-piercing harmony with her angelic voice was Aramis.

“Lai… Laa… Aruaa…..♬?”

Aramis’ otherworldly voice swept over the battlefield awash with blood and bloodthirst. 

“D-Descent of the Holy Spirit!”

“OHHH! The Great Holy Spirit of Neran-nim has descended!!!!!!!”

The paladins drew crosses and fell to one knee, showing their maximum respect.

‘W-What is that?’

A hole was pierced in the sky full of dark clouds, and radiant light shone down from the heavens, illuminating the hill where Aramis stood. Within that light, I saw dozens of radiant beings in a phenomena I had never experienced.

They were all made of light. There were horses, birds, and unknown beasts leaping about joyfully within the light.

I could hardly believe my sight. My heart, which had hardened itself to kill thousands, melted away like snow in the sunlight.

“Aruhandadis… Lubere…”

At least half of the paladins had closed their eyes and were uttering an unintelligible chant, praying in the face of this god-given miracle. There were corpses lined up everywhere around them, but they forgot everything and were lost in prayer. From their eyes dripped hot tears.

Of course, there were paladins who could not do the same. Unable to pray despite seeing the Holy Spirit of their god descending before their eyes, about half of the paladins trembled in fear.

As holy light illuminated Denfors, small, white cotton balls began to fall from the sky.

“Haah…”

It was Nerman’s first snow.

The snowflakes gleamed in the holy light, like silver flowers, falling to the ground as if they were blessed.

“Aiaaalaaa….♪?”

The aria filled with longing towards God soothed the hearts and souls of everyone listening. The stench of greed and madness faded, leaving everyone to bow their heads and repent their sins  before the blessing of the Goddess of Mercy, Neran.

‘It’s finally over…’

I could feel it.

There was no longer a place for the rotten desires of humans in this place, which had been touched by the descent of a god’s Holy Spirit. 

And so, the war that had unfolded on my territory, Nerman, came to a close.

Before I knew it, thick snowflakes had piled up on my shoulders. Over the broken ramparts, over the destroyed and cooling bodies of humans, over all the destruction, snowflakes fell like a blanket of God’s impartial love.

Whoooosh.

The cold winter wind lifted up the hem of my blood-soaked cloak.

Thud.

The paladin whose name I didn’t even know collapsed with a smile, having seen Aramis call upon the descent of the Great Holy Spirit in his final dying moments. 

I lightly closed my eyes.

And unbeknownst to me, two lines of tears fell silently down my cheeks.

The cold winter had begun.

And now, it was finally time for my tired body—and soul—to take a short break.