Chapter 11 : The Heaven-Bending Origin Mage

As the insignificant serpent collapsed into ash before my eyes, the last remnants of anger that had been weighing on my mind finally began to fade. There was no satisfaction in watching it die, nor did I feel any particular sense of accomplishment.

What remained of the creature scattered across the cracked ground as the wind swept through the ruined landscape, carrying the fine gray dust farther and farther until even the evidence of its existence began to disappear. It had been troublesome, certainly, but nothing more than that. Compared to the things I had witnessed throughout my long existence, a creature of that level was hardly worth remembering.

I remained where I was for a moment, quietly looking over the desolate land. The first problem had been dealt with, but the circumstances surrounding it were far more troublesome than the creature itself.

And now…

The second one was waiting.

Unfortunately, that did not mean the situation had become any simpler.

If anything, I had the distinct feeling that what I had just dealt with was merely the beginning.

My gaze shifted toward the south.

I was currently standing near the southwestern edge of the continent, far from the region where the disturbance had first begun. Yet the moment I looked in that direction, a faint sense of unease settled over me. It was not fear. There were very few things left in this world capable of making me feel that emotion.

I narrowed my eyes slightly as an old suspicion resurfaced in my mind. I would gladly wager everything I possessed that troublesome old woman was somehow involved in this. She had always preferred schemes that were unnecessarily elaborate, schemes that rarely revealed their true purpose until the final piece had already fallen into place.

A faint frown formed on my face.

And if my instincts were correct, she had also invited some very unwelcome guests into my continent.

“…What a nuisance.”

The words escaped my mouth with a quiet sigh. I did not bother wasting any more time wondering about her intentions. There would be plenty of time to ask questions later.

For now, I needed to see what she had done.

The edge of my robe fluttered gently as the wind passed around me. I took a single step forward, and the space beneath my feet immediately began to distort. The distance between two points, which should have required hours or even days to cross, became meaningless beneath my control. The world folded inward like a piece of cloth being gathered by an invisible hand, and my figure disappeared from the southwestern edge of the continent.

The southern region of the continent was vastly different from the lands farther north and west. An enormous desert stretched across the region, its golden surface broken only by scattered oases where water could be found beneath the harsh sun. Around those oases, numerous tribes had established their settlements, and over the centuries five powerful tribes had risen above the others and become the recognized rulers of the southern territories.

Normally, the desert was a place of harsh but predictable life.

That was no longer the case.

At the center of one of the region's most dangerous areas stood an enormous volcano that had once been considered nothing more than an ancient geological relic. For centuries, it had remained dormant, its slopes covered in layers of hardened stone while the surrounding tribes treated it as little more than another landmark of the desert.

Now, however, the mountain looked as though it had been awakened from a centuries-long sleep.

Its enormous body towered hundreds of meters into the sky, and countless cracks had appeared across its rocky surface. Through those cracks, an intense orange-red light constantly pulsed, illuminating the mountain from within as though a gigantic heart of molten fire were beating beneath its surface. Rivers of magma flowed through the underground chambers and tunnels beneath the volcano, surging through the earth with enough force to make the entire region tremble.

The mountain had been shaking continuously.

Every few moments, another tremor traveled through the ground, causing the surrounding desert to vibrate beneath the feet of anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. Sand rolled down the volcanic slopes in waves, while clouds of ash occasionally rose from the summit before being swallowed by an enormous magical barrier surrounding the entire mountain.

Yet, despite the tremendous force gathering beneath the surface, the destruction remained strangely confined.

Not a single shockwave escaped.

Not a single wave of destructive heat reached the surrounding settlements.

Five enormous pillars stood around the volcano in a perfect circle, each one rising from the desert like a gigantic monument. Ancient runes covered their surfaces, glowing with an intense magical light as enormous quantities of mana flowed through them. Together, the five structures formed an invisible barrier that covered the entire volcano, trapping every tremor, every eruption, and every wave of destructive heat inside a massive dome.

Someone had deliberately turned a natural disaster into a contained problem.

And above that enormous magical dome, completely detached from the chaos beneath him, floated a lone figure.

Suspended high above that dome sat a lone figure.

He was a middle-aged man with neatly styled blond hair, an elegantly trimmed beard, and a pair of emerald-green eyes fixed on the blue screen hovering before him. His traditional mage robes fluttered gently in the wind, although he seemed to have little interest in either the wind or the disaster unfolding beneath him.

An enormous volcano was on the verge of tearing itself apart. The earth trembled continuously, magma churned beneath the surface, and enough magical energy had accumulated inside the mountain to devastate a considerable portion of the surrounding desert.

Yet the man above it seemed perfectly at ease.

In one hand, he held a plate containing what appeared to be a meat-and-vegetable frittata generously covered with melted cheese and hot sauce. Every now and then, he calmly took another bite while keeping his attention on the floating screen.

An action movie was playing.

The protagonist had just suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of the main villain.

For the third time., before inevitably preparing for his miraculous comeback.

A classic.

The middle-aged mage watched with genuine interest.

Suddenly…

I appeared behind him.

The man's entire body froze.

For several seconds, he remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the screen. Perhaps he hoped that if he ignored my presence long enough, I would eventually disappear.

Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of accommodating such wishes.

The next instant, he sprang to his feet.

The plate vanished into his storage ring, followed by the floating screen. He straightened his robes, composed his expression, and turned around with a smile so polished that it would have been almost convincing if not for the tension in his eyes.

He bowed respectfully.

"Great Ruler. What an honor."

I regarded him silently.

He lowered his head a little further.

"Please accept my sincerest congratulations on your awakening. May peace and blessings accompany Your Majesty's return. The entire continent is fortunate to have you with us once again."

I couldn't help smiling.

"You shameless bastard."

Maxwell blinked.

For a brief moment, he looked genuinely wounded.

"Your Majesty, I must protest. What a terrible thing to say upon our reunion."

"You knew I was coming...and yet you chose to sit here watching movies while enjoying your breakfast.."

"Did I?" He blinked innocently.

My gaze drifted toward the empty space where his screen had been.

Then I looked at his hand.

Maxwell followed my gaze. His smile faltered for an instant before he discreetly placed both hands behind his back.

"...Ah."

I waited.

He cleared his throat.

"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose the evidence is somewhat unfortunate."

"Somewhat?"

"I would prefer not to exaggerate the severity of the situation."

I stared at him.

He smiled.

I sighed.

His acting hadn't improved in the slightest.

Of course, there had never been any real chance of him missing what had happened at the Mist Rift. The fluctuations caused by that battle had been far too immense, and the abnormal changes spreading throughout the continent were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Maxwell was many things, but oblivious wasn't one of them.

Besides, he was no ordinary mage.

With the exception of Liz and myself, he was the strongest living being on the entire continent. The Master of the Mage Tower, the greatest sorcerer of the current era, and a man whose name had become almost synonymous with the pinnacle of magic.

Throughout the last thousand years, countless mages had pursued the same path. Countless geniuses had emerged, each convinced that they would be the one to surpass their predecessors.

Almost all of them had failed.

Only five people in the entire history of the Caldor Continent had crossed the ultimate boundary of magic and entered the realm known as Origin.

And the man standing in front of me was one of them.

The Original Mage.

Maxwell Voltera.

The man known as the Heaven-Bending Origin Mage.

I folded my arms.

"So, what's the situation?"

Maxwell's smile disappeared.

At last, he seemed to remember why he was floating above an erupting volcano in the first place. He glanced down at the enormous dome, then nodded confidently.

"There's no need to worry, Your Majesty. I can stabilize everything within a few months."

I raised an eyebrow.

"A few months?"

"Yes."

"To deal with a single volcano?"

He hesitated.

"...When you put it like that, it does sound rather unimpressive."

I continued looking at him.

His confidence lasted another moment before crumbling entirely.

He scratched the side of his neck and looked away.

"Well, even if I resolve this particular problem, whoever is behind it will simply create another one somewhere else."

He sighed and his eyes returned to the volcano with an exhausted expression.

"And then I'll have to deal with that one, too. By the time I'm finished, something else will have happened, and I'll be right back where I started."

I considered this for a moment.

"So they've promoted you to a janitor."

Maxwell stared at me.

Then he laughed.

"Hahaha... Your Majesty certainly has a way with words."

"You disagree?"

"Not at all. In fact, I find the comparison remarkably accurate."

His laughter faded into a weary sigh.

"Although, if I had known that reaching Origin would eventually lead to this, I might have reconsidered my career choices."

"Really? What would you have done instead?"

"Anything that didn't involve cleaning up after lunatics."

I chuckled.

At least he was being honest now.

Maxwell crossed his arms and glanced toward the volcano again.

"This isn't my fault, you know."

"Of course not."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

He gave me a suspicious look, evidently trying to determine whether I was mocking him.

I smiled innocently.

After a moment, he decided to ignore it.

"Whoever is orchestrating these events isn't really targeting me. Nor are they particularly interested in the continent itself."

His expression grew serious.

"They're targeting you, Your Majesty."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you so certain?"

Maxwell was quiet for a moment.

Then he shrugged.

"Think about it. What possible reason could an existence of that level have for playing such an elaborate game of cat and mouse? Unless, of course, provoking me has suddenly become a popular pastime among supernatural beings."

He paused.

"Though I would prefer it if they found a different hobby."

I laughed softly.

Maxwell didn't.

His gaze shifted toward the distant horizon, where the golden desert stretched beneath the clear sky.

"As for how they managed to enter the continent despite the barrier..."

He shook his head.

"Your Majesty knows far more about that than I do."

That much was true.

The barrier surrounding the continent wasn't something an ordinary outsider could simply pass through. The stronger the intruder, the more difficult it became to cross the boundary undetected.

And yet, someone had managed to send a creature of that level inside.

That alone was troubling enough.

Maxwell rubbed his forehead.

"But if the outside world has suddenly started producing Origin-level beings as easily as fruit grows on trees, then I can only conclude that I was born on the losing side of history."

He sounded genuinely disappointed.

I glanced at him.

"You're taking this rather personally."

"Wouldn't you?"

"Probably not."

"Of course you wouldn't."

Maxwell sighed as if my answer had confirmed some deeply unfortunate suspicion.

Then he pointed toward the volcano.

"And what exactly is the point of all this?"

His voice rose slightly.

"Turning a volcano into a bomb? What does that accomplish? The surrounding tribes suffer, the land is damaged, and I have to spend months cleaning up the aftermath. There's no benefit to anyone!"

He shook his head in disgust.

"This is already the fourth incident I've had to deal with."

"The fourth?"

"Yes, the fourth."

He raised four fingers for emphasis, then seemed to reconsider and lowered his hand.

"Actually, I suppose I should be grateful that I've stopped counting the smaller disturbances."

I looked at him with interest.

"Go on."

Maxwell's expression darkened.

"Because of this damned bomb maker, I can't even investigate the abnormal expansion of the Mist Rift properly. Every time I try to follow a lead, something else happens somewhere on the continent. By the time I finish dealing with one disaster, another appears."

He gestured toward the enormous dome beneath us.

"And now I have to keep this thing from exploding."

He fell silent for a moment.

Then he looked at me.

"Unless..."

His voice became quieter.

"...Your Majesty awakens."

I said nothing.

Maxwell watched my expression before continuing.

"The older brothers cannot interfere with reality while you are asleep. That much is obvious. They can manipulate events from a distance, send creatures into the continent, exploit weaknesses in its structure... perhaps even influence certain people."

His eyes narrowed.

"but they cannot simply descend here and interfere however they wish....and the guardian lady will never leave your side while you sleep, even if everything else collapses.”

I regarded him thoughtfully.

His conclusion was becoming clear.

"So, from beginning to end..."

Maxwell nodded.

"Every incident, every disturbance, every disaster I've had to deal with..."

He looked directly at me.

"...has served the same purpose."

A brief silence followed.

"To find out whether you've awakened."

He paused again.

"Or to force you to."

Silence settled over the sky.

The volcano continued trembling beneath us, but the barrier kept every sign of destruction trapped within its enormous dome. The desert beyond it remained strangely peaceful, almost as though the catastrophe taking place beneath us belonged to another world.

I stared at the distant horizon.

Then I laughed.

It began as a quiet chuckle, but the more I considered Maxwell's explanation, the more amusing it became.

"Hahaha..."

I shook my head.

"You're right."

Maxwell didn't look particularly pleased to hear that.

Maxwell probably hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

Unfortunately, I was inclined to agree with him.

"This is their game."

There weren't many people who would dare provoke me so openly. Fewer still would have the patience to arrange a series of elaborate incidents merely to determine whether I had awakened.

And there was one person in particular who had always enjoyed such methods.

I looked beyond the boundaries of the continent, toward a world hidden from my sight.

"I know someone..."

A faint smile appeared on my face.

"...who enjoys throwing filthy rats into my garden while secretly raising a tiger outside the fence."

The image of a certain troublesome woman surfaced in my mind.

For a moment, I could almost picture her smiling.

"Oh, my..."

I shook my head.

"She really hasn't changed."

My smile widened.

"Still as underhanded as ever."

Behind me, Maxwell remained silent.

I could practically feel him wondering whether agreeing with me had been a mistake.

I paid him little attention.

The amusement gradually faded from my expression as I continued looking toward the distant horizon. I hadn't released any of my power, yet the atmosphere around me seemed to grow heavier.

"So, I don't know what you're planning."

My eyes narrowed slightly.

"But..."

I smiled.

"...you'd better be prepared to pay the price."

Behind me, Maxwell quietly swallowed.

He wisely chose not to reply.

Was he secretly cursing his rotten luck?

Or perhaps he was simply wondering how much more work would be waiting for him once this little game finally began.

Or praying that whoever had provoked me would realize what she had brought upon herself?

Only he knew.