Chapter 341

Chapter 341. Status(格) and Isolation(隔) (7)

The moment I saw the face, I knew exactly who it was.

White hair that had turned pale, distinct green eyes, and a dense water-type mana that seemed to drench everything it touched.

‘Severius, the master of Ahel and Eril.’

They always said the bad premonitions never missed the mark.

Just an hour ago, the worst-case scenario I had considered—in which a mage of tower lord rank targeted my family—had come true.

‘If I had been even slightly later, Kim Yul would be dead.’

Recalling that fact, the quiet wildfire in my chest grew even more ferocious.

I stopped staring intently at Kim Yul’s face beyond the golden barrier and turned my head.

“I know you’re not dead yet, so get up.”

My voice was surprisingly calm, considering the circumstances.

‘That’s fortunate.’

An intensity of anger that one cannot control rarely aids in battle.

Thus, I attempted to push the anger deep down, and I succeeded.

I set aside my anger and sharpened all my senses toward the enemy before me.

“Quite painful indeed.”

By that time, Severius had risen and set his broken, twisted body back in place.

I didn’t know what principle it operated on, but I didn’t need to know everything.

‘He dies here today.’

That was a fate decided the moment he crawled here, targeting my family, and it was a future that would not change.

“How did you manage it? I clearly saw him get swallowed by my magic…”

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself.”

Barely had I finished speaking, golden lightning started raining down in front of Ethan’s barrier of patience.

The shape somewhat resembled thunder spears, but they weren’t created by magic.

‘It’s perfect for testing the power of my newfound strength.’

With my preparations for battle complete, I shot dozens of lightning bolts as I pushed off the ground.

“If you manage to survive today, that is.”

The golden lightning shot forward with me.

The monsters, still holding onto life, were struck directly by the golden lightning one after another.

While those creatures burned to death, Severius was not idle.

He was busy moving his mana more than anyone, trying to pursue me as I disappeared from his sight.

At the same time, he even stretched his hand to intercept the lightning rushing towards him.

‘How foolish.’

Without achieving a divine rank, Severius had no way to withstand my power.

That was the gap between me, who had attained divinity, and him who hadn’t.

Indeed, I could feel Severius’s mana trying to interfere with my power, but that was all.

“Ugh!”

Severius couldn’t counteract the bright golden lightning and was thrown back like a toy.

At least he lived up to his name. Unlike the monsters which turned to ashes and died, he managed to survive.

I moved in the direction he flew in advance.

Before he could regain balance in the air, I swung my spear down.

Clang!

A deafening metallic sound echoed as sparks flew brilliantly.

‘I wanted to see how tough it was.’

Severius, using magic to protect himself, was sturdier than I expected. The intertwined mana looked more complex than any arrangement I’d ever seen.

Even concentrating, the structure wasn’t clearly visible, which was curious.

‘But unless it’s simple magic, it shouldn’t withstand my power.’

Focusing on the arrangement more deeply, the truth revealed itself.

‘It’s corrupted divinity.’

That mixed power seemed to prevent the magic from being easily destroyed.

But what harm would that do?

‘In the end, it’s just magic.’

I dropped golden lightning onto the crater where Severius was buried, increasing the force slightly from before.

“Argh!”

Thanks to that, I could enjoy the sound of a terrifying scream.

It was evident that Severius’s defensive magic had been penetrated, and effective strikes had landed.

‘Let’s try one more time.’

This time, I’d go a bit harder.

With that thought, a sadistic impulse surged within me.

It wouldn’t be bad to toy with him incrementally increasing the power until he begged for death.

‘Reversing his own words back to him in front of my brother.’

But it was merely an impulsive desire.

I had no intention of acting on it.

No matter how angry, I couldn’t lose my sanity like a psychopath in front of my siblings.

After holding in the sadistic impulse, I squatted down.

The aim was to look more easily into the pit where Severius was buried.

Watching his steam-rising nape unconsciously made me smirk.

“Why is it so unsatisfying?”

The arrogant and lofty figure that had muttered before Jinwoo and Kim Yul was nowhere to be found.

What was he supposed to do if he fell so easily the moment I appeared?

The absolute despair I had felt sitting alone in the living room was far too petty to compensate for.

‘If you came targeting my family, you should’ve been prepared to do better than this.’

I grabbed Severius by the hair.

Severius, who had been rigid and convulsed with tension, coughed and spat blood.

Directly exposed to divinity, he seemed unable to control his body.

With Severius’s hair in my grasp, I met his gaze and inquired.

“They suit you quite nicely… Do you think you can speak?”

His green eyes, stained with complex emotions, met mine sharply.

Within them, I could see resentment, hatred, and anger.

And Severius must have been the same.

I, too, was suppressing similar emotions with great difficulty.

Thus, there was no hesitation in mocking Severius, who came here to avenge his disciple.

We had no intention of sparing each other, nor forgiving.

“Judging by the silence, I guess not. Well, it must’ve been electrifying.”

I released Severius’s hair and instead grabbed his neck.

As I lifted him, water-type magic immediately targeted my face.

Crackle-!

But it couldn’t pierce through the golden lightning emanating from my body.

How unfortunate. His lifelong efforts amounted to nothing against me.

So, to console him, I told Severius, still incapable of movement, gradually what he needed to hear.

“Don’t bother. Even if I don’t look it, I have become a god. Specifically, a Battle God.”

Thanks to that, the authority that finally manifested had a very distinct nature.

A power solely for destruction, named “Destructive Thunder(壞雷)”.

‘The authority of the 7 Great Gods was intriguing and amazing.’

But it was not a destructive power capable of directly impacting war.

In contrast, the power I gained would eventually conclude this Damned war.

‘I will make sure of it.’

Desolate the enemies and achieve victory and peace.

Having once again engraved my strongest purpose, which gave existence to who I am now, into my heart, I looked down.

Perhaps because of rumors about my divine authority, Severius wore a paler expression.

“Why the long face?”

His tragedy became my comedy.

Conversely, my comedy is his tragedy.

“Be glad to be the glorious test subject for a newly born god’s power.”

I taunted Severius and many others who practiced magic, gripping his neck firmly.

Just as I prepared to use my authority to wipe him out entirely, a pause made my shoulders shiver.

Severius’s body suddenly began dispersing like smoke.

Then, magic targeted my neck and eyes.

But they couldn’t breach the brilliance of my authority.

Though Severius slipped from my grasp, I wasn’t too concerned.

“Master, are you alright?”

“Leave it to us from now on!”

“You vile person….”

By then, I had noticed the presences felt from all sides.

I slowly turned around.

“Many rats have crossed over.”

They appeared to be Severius’s disciples.

Despite having come of their own volition to an unmarked grave, they all seemed cheerful.

‘They don’t yet realize their situation.’

I suppose it was inevitable.

They must have crossed into this realm, believing they were reinforcements and that they could rescue their master.

‘I bet they didn’t anticipate meeting an untimely death here.’

In a way, it’s rather pitiable.

“Wait a little, and I’ll gladly entertain you soon enough.”

Offering them one last bit of mercy, I smiled and patiently waited.

Meanwhile, those who whisked Severius from my grip tended to him and said,

“Master, are you alright? Please take a potion.”

“Cough, agh….”

Severius, seemingly not able to open his mouth to speak, continued to spit blood.

Even with a potion, his body likely wouldn’t recover easily.

One or more things must have been destroyed when struck by my authority.

“It’s not ordinary magic.”

“Has he achieved status?”

“Likely so.”

“Ah, what we feared has come to pass.”

Afterward, the mages began to engage in discussion amongst themselves.

“If so, is he in a present state?… How long can he hold at that status?”

“I’m not certain yet.”

“This is troubling….”

“If he’s wielding authority, confronting him head-on is risky.”

“Unpleasant as it is… should we consider retreat?”

Listening quietly to their conversation, I chuckled and countered.

“Retreat?”

Turning my gaze toward the mages, I smiled coldly and spoke.

“You’d do well to wake from that dream.”

When did I ever permit that?

No matter how much I think about it, there’s no such memory, yet they’re firmly convinced they can escape from me.

‘Then I should let them realize just how futile their dream is.’

I unleashed my authority forcefully.

The energy, intended solely to demolish and destroy, differed from ordinary lightning composed of simple thermal energy.

The Holes exposed to my authority were destroyed all at once, and even the mysterious black dome they installed shattered into pieces.

The ground overturned, and Ethan’s barrier of patience collapsed as well.

In response, I withheld my power to prevent further damage to the school side.

‘It’s dangerous.’

The strength was far more formidable than anticipated.

And the mages standing before me were not exempt from its impact.

They seemed prepared, stacking defense magic layer upon layer.

Yet my authority shattered them all, attacking those hiding behind.

With the once-boastful mages now scattering pathetically, a barrier formed in the sky.

“I’ll disrupt their teleportation magic! I can’t hold for long, so kill them as quickly as possible!”

Ahel, able to confirm the situation within after the dome vanished, swiftly intervened.

‘A single array misalignment in teleportation magic can result in body parts falling in different spaces.’

It could be their head, for example.

‘I doubt those arrogant folks would risk such a gamble to escape.’

Furthermore, all the Holes leading back to Biharin were destroyed just moments ago.

They were nothing more than rats trapped in a kejar.

“You all die here today.”

I quietly muttered, lightly kicking the ground.

In the blink of an eye, I closed the distance to the mages, wielding my spear.

That day, not a single rat escaped alive.

Just as I had judged.

Damned System