I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

Chapter 234: Ashen (2)

The world opened.

Literally, just as the word implied.

All the terrain was swallowed up. Darkness engulfed the world, consuming everything. And then, a single landscape was drawn.

This was the world of my mind, a world I had somehow forgotten.

-.......

The apostle, Ardavitri, gazed at the world of my mind with a vacant expression.

He stared at the black sky, which completely covered his body.

Swoooosh─.

Below it, the sound of crashing waves could be heard.

In the scenery he saw, under the black sun, the sky was dark, and beneath it, there was no land—only a sea of waves.

Yet, he could stand atop the waves.

Because this was my mindscape.

“......Is this a mindscape?”

“I knew, but it’s still absurd.”

Above the sky.

Stars began to move above the black sun, radiating a dark light.

‘My body feels a bit stiff.’

More precisely, it was creaking.

It was the price of using the power of form.

It was fine.

As long as I killed him before then.

-Brother.

The apostle’s words echoed in my mind.

It was always unpleasant to hear that conversation.

-How strange.

It seemed like Ardavitri was laughing.

-Why did you open your mindscape? Did you think you could defeat me?

Whack.

His wings spread. Ardavitri’s massive body began to rise into the sky.

-This place is different from Earth. Do you know what that means?

His power began to amplify.

Flash.

The stars flickered. A sinister and ominous aura that was different from before filled the darkness.

[Ah, so the shackles have been lifted.]

Ardavitri spoke.

Magi surged upward. The momentum had weakened, but a near-infinite amount of Magi started to linger around him.

-This place is good. The malevolent star is close.

‘So what.’

-The fact that the malevolent star is close means His power affects us more directly.

It sounded like he was laughing.

The stars twinkled. They weren’t the stars of Defying Heaven, Form, or Boundary.

Beyond them.

Ominous light began to spread everywhere. As soon as they saw it, the Heavenly Demon and the Thousand Sorcerer’s faces hardened.

-What a pity. If only the offering of the Holy Abomination had been fully made, I could wield twice the power of this.

‘You talk too much.’

I smirked as I replied.

From the moment I heard the word ‘world.’ I had some idea of what would happen.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I was still at an advantage.

I raised my hand. First, I needed to prepare.

Swoooosh──.

The waves began to rise. Initially, they were weak. But as they responded to my will, they began to pile up layer upon layer.

[This is the end for you.]

The ominous light rained down from outside.

Each of the stars falling held immense power.

[Starfall.]

The sinister starlight from space descended upon the world.

Simultaneously, the black stars began to rotate.

The name of the star was Defying Heaven.

[Hmm?]

Corrupt.

A power that denied everything resided in the destruction. A will that sought to annihilate everything was embedded within it.

Huge waves surged up, rising from below to above.

My body couldn’t handle my own power.

Even with the body of a dragon and the body of a giant race, along with the best external techniques, I couldn’t endure it.

And yet, my power was fully unleashed in this mindscape, without any ‘restrictions.’

“What is...”

I heard the Thousand Sorcerer’s astonished voice.

Destruction surged up. It wasn’t just any mountain, but one overwhelmingly larger than the apostle.

Clouds that seemed to erase the light of the world began to move in the sky.

A power that sought to annihilate all living beings. Extinction. That power moved.

Crackle.

Lightning sparked. The clouds that covered the world began to move and gather. They formed into a single bolt of lightning.

Crack-kaboom!

It was massive. Ridiculously massive bolt of lightning. Lightning so vast that it filled the horizon began to glow ominously.

The eight arms began to transform into dolls. They were there to hold off the Heavenly Demon, the Thousand Sorcerer, and Kim Seo-hyun.

The apostle was coming toward me.

-How does it feel, brother?

‘What?’

I clenched my fist.

I no longer felt the same strength as before. The sheer force that made the very space scream when I clenched my fist had been consumed by the intense drain of power.

The apostle grew smaller as he walked toward me. He was now barely 3 meters tall.

-Do you still think you have a chance? Most of them are starting to fall into despair.

“.......”

I had no time to care about what he said. I moved my body.

I clenched my fist. Black Heaven responded.

Whoosh. Black flames ignited.

The odds were... quite hopeless. It was true that I had been cornering Ardavitri.

However, his power was more persistent and bothersome than I had expected.

‘At least.’

I should die with him.

I straightened my back. Even if I died at his hands, I wouldn’t die in vain.

I clenched my fist and punched Ardavitri’s face.

-This is different from before.

Ardavitri laughed as my fist hit him.

He clenched his fist. Though he only had one pair of arms left, it was enough. Ardavitri threw a punch at my face.

Boom!

My neck snapped back. Something liquid flowed from my nose. My stomach churned. I felt like throwing up.

I held it all back and threw another punch.

Bang!

-That punch actually hurt. But still.

Ardavitri spoke in a voice filled with annoyance.

-It’s my victory.

Light poured down.

The world shattered. The shockwave caused by the destruction of the mindscape swept through everything.

Nothing remained, just a desolate land, as if a meteor had left a crater in the earth.

Ardavitri arrived there and rejoiced.

-How does it feel, brother?

Ardavitri’s body was in tatters. Most of his body had lost functionality.

For centuries to come, Ardavitri would be unable to act as an apostle due to the severe damage he had sustained.

And yet, he felt joy.

Joy from defeating his rampaging brother.

Joy from surviving a threat that could have killed him.

‘Just a bit more.’

There was just a small gap left.

One more attack would have been enough.

I bit down on a potion and swallowed it.

Thump.

My heart reacted. It beat in a way different from before.

The Energy of Defying Heaven gleamed. It was as if my other half had arrived, reacting in tandem.

‘No way.’

With a blank expression, Lee Seo-ha looked up at the sky.

Ardavitri also paused.

‘What is this?’

His body trembled involuntarily.

It felt like he was facing a nemesis. If he were to kill Lee Seo-ha, he could, but it felt like the price would be eternal annihilation.

Yet Ardavitri moved.

His combat instincts, honed from conquering, ruling, and destroying countless worlds, forced his broken body into motion. He raised his tattered hand, aiming for Lee Seo-ha’s neck with a knife-hand strike.

Boom!

The strike aimed at Lee Seo-ha’s neck stopped. No, it was blocked. It seemed as if a shield made of a mass of starlight had intertwined and stopped it.

At the same time, a sizzling sound echoed as he watched his hand melt away.

Pure white feathers scattered in all directions.

Lee Seo-ha felt his power recovering slightly.

‘This is...’

It was resonating.

The Energy of Defying Heaven was resonating with the power of starlight, replenishing itself.

He had seen this phenomenon before.

When he had reached the level of confrontation, Seo Ga-yeon had displayed this very phenomenon.

“It’s fine.”

Seo Ga-yeon spoke, holding her body tightly.

At the same time, her power resonated. Seo Ga-yeon blinked her eyes.

She had seen this phenomenon long ago.

It was a phenomenon where the power they shared appeared when she and Lee Seo-ha resonated together. When Lee Seo-ha saw it, he had said he didn’t understand this power.

And that was Lee Seo-ha, who knew almost everything.

They were resonating.

At this moment, the power of starlight was trying to escape Seo Ga-yeon’s control.

The same was happening with Lee Seo-ha’s Energy of Defying Heaven. He was about to hold it with his Absolute Stat, but he stopped.

Black and white swirled together.

Ashen power covered the world.