"Flora. Watch it."
Before entering the fray, Rudger called Flora's name.
Flora wiped her tears and glared at Rudger.
"Look at what?"
"The magic I use from now on will be different from what I've been showing you in class."
"Different, you mean like the light I saw a moment ago?"
"Yes. The others can't see it, but you can. Your talent is that great."
"That's……."
"So keep an eye on it. One day, you might be able to use magic similar to this."
For a moment, Flora didn't understand what Rudger was saying.
Be able to use similar magic?
The same miraculous powers that Mr. Rudger had unleashed?
It couldn't be possible. There's no way I could see such common sense-destroying magic and replicate it…….
But Rudger's voice was too serious.
In the first place, Rudger is not the kind of person who minces words to suit his audience's mood.
In the end, everything he said was sincere. He genuinely thought that Flora could see his magic and learn from it.
He believed in her talent, and more importantly, in her will to do it. He wanted to show her magic that the other students hadn't seen.
"……!"
Flora swallowed hard to stop herself from sobbing again at the words.
There were no tears this time. She'd shed enough tears so far.
Flora stared at the back of Rudger's head with determined eyes.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Rudger smiled faintly and floated into the air. His body was engulfed in a bolt of purple lightning, and he shot toward Basara in the distance.
Flora couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight. Even a single blink was a luxury for her now.
'I must see it, I must see it all, I must make it mine.'
Flora didn't even entertain the thought of Rudger being defeated by a demon.
It was normal for her to think that, in such a hopeless situation, Rudger would win. Beyond that, she even felt joy at the thought of learning the magic he was about to perform.
The sadness is gone, and all that's left is aspiration.
'I want to be like him, and even better, I want to surpass him.'
A new life goal was etched deep in Flora's mind at this moment.
'Don't miss a beat.'
Rudger, engulfed by the lightning, struck directly at Basara in the distance.
Despite the distance, Basara's large size was clearly visible. Even if it wasn't because of that, Rudger's attack was so powerful that it could be felt even from a distance.
[Kaaaah! Why do you keep interrupting me! Why!]
With a mocking look at Basara, who was ranting at him, Rudger raised his right hand to the sky.
A great force gathered in the black void, and a dazzling spear of lightning was formed in Rudger's hand.
Myths, legends, and handed-down stories were but fakes that mimicked the original. In this spirit world, a single, unwavering belief can make something almost as powerful as the real thing. Just like this spear of lightning.
"Go. Cry of thunder."
The lightning spear left Rudger's hand and disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
Basara ducked his head at the pain in his abdomen as he tried to track its location. A gaping hole, like a tunnel, had been torn through his chest.
When did this happen, or more importantly, what is this power?
His flesh, which had only suffered minor damage from the Buddha's blow after blow, had taken an enormous blow.
Gritting his teeth, Basara channeled his regenerative powers. He could regenerate as many wounds as he wanted, as long as he didn't lose his mind.
In this world, Basara was theoretically immortal.
Rudger watched Basara heal his wounds as if it were a matter of course.
'Yeah. It's no fun to break down so easily.'
"I would be ashamed of myself if I went out with a bang in front of my pupil, and it ended too easily."
Rudger took no pleasure in hurting Basara in this world. There was only the simple knowledge that he had done what he had to do.
With Basara's shout, a burst of black magic erupted, threatening to engulf Rudger like a tidal wave. There was no mercy now, only the intent to use all of his power to eliminate him quickly.
Rudger raised his hands this time. Flames began to rise above his head as he poised to grab something out of thin air.
It was no ordinary fire, instead it burned far more fiercely than the flames of hell. It was the magic sword once wielded by a giant to burn all nine worlds to the ground.
[────!!!]
World-scorching destruction unfolded in Rudger's hands.
[Boom!]
And the world split.
A pillar of fire rose high into the sky, following the trajectory of Rudger's sword. It traveled in a straight line, slicing Basara's attack in half but the flames didn't stop there, cutting off Basara's right arm entirely.
Basara squinted, looking down at the severed section of his arm. He tried to will it to regenerate, but the wound wouldn't budge.
[How……?]
Why would a severed arm not regenerate?
Basara didn't understand.
"If you're asking me why your wounds won't heal, I think you know the answer."
With that, Rudger summoned the Five Elements, one after the other, and attacked Basara.
Water, fire, wood, metal, and earth slammed into Basara's body like meteorites.
As he fended off the attack, Basara was thrown into confusion.
What does that mean? What does that mean?
But no matter how hard he denied the truth, he couldn't turn away from it completely.
[I am afraid?]
This is the spirit world. Here Basara's mind is immortal, never dying unless it is broken.
In other words, his immortality would end the moment his mind broke.
[I'm intimidated by a mere mortal?]
He is an emotional manipulator. A being who prays on people's fears, holds their hearts in his hands, and feeds on their unholy emotions.
He may have been the object of someone's fear, but he has never felt fear for someone else.
─and I never would.
Basara tried desperately to deny that he had been frightened at all, that his wounds hadn't healed because of some unknown magic that Rudger was using until he saw Rudger preparing to launch his next attack.
Blinding light flashed in quick succession and the heavenly thunder was now in his hands.
Similar to the lightning spear he had used earlier, this time it took the form of a 'weapon'. Only, it wasn't a spear.
Unlike a weapon that specialized in stabbing and piercing things, this one was more blunt and heavy.
[Hammer?]
It was a hammer made of lightning and it possessed a power comparable to the lightning spear from earlier.
Basara stared at the sight, his mouth open in disbelief.
At first, he hadn't realized the nature of the power when he was caught up in Rudger's magic. But now he could feel the power of what that magic was ultimately trying to accomplish.
[You, human, how can you……the power of a god?]
That is the power of the gods.
It's not like the hated Lumensis.
There is a qualitative difference between that power and the thunder hammer Rudger wields. But even so, there was no disputing that the hammer was forged with the power of the gods.
[A mere mortal, not even an apostle! How can you use such power!?]
The power Rudger wielded struck fear into Basara's heart as it touched his soul.
[Oh, my God, the Most High, forsaken by the cunning Lumensis, help me, help your apostle!]
Basara began to talk nonsense.
"There's nothing to be gained by feigning insanity."
It didn't delay Rudger's action for a second.
With a wave of his hand, Rudger's hammer fell vertically across Basara's forehead.
Instinctively, out of fear of death, Basara raised his remaining arm to form the strongest shield he could muster.
The hammer fell but there was no explosion as the massive force collided. Instead, Basara's shield crumbled to dust before the hammer with ease.
[Ah.]
Basara's eyes took in the sight of the hammer and saw something in the power of the great beings that existed beyond. It was the Eternal Heavens. A power that descended from the beautiful paradise once inhabited by the one he served.
[I, who had hoped so much…….]
Immediately afterward, an explosion of pure white lightning engulfed Basara's massive body.
The dark world was filled with white flashes and a violent storm raged.
When the explosion was over, the light subsided, and there was a quiet repose.
In the center of the explosion, where even the flowers evaporated, Basara was left with only his head.
[What a surprise.]
Basara honestly admired Rudger.
His hair was slowly turning to powder at the ends and falling apart but there was no anger in his voice. He had fully accepted his death.
[Wielding the power of the gods as a mortal it's not something you can do without breaking your mind. Or perhaps that's why you were so unharmed by my attacks.]
"……."
[Ironic, since it was humans who declared everything but the One Seat of Heaven to be evil, and now they're wielding powers that are bordering on heresy.]
Basara realized that the power Rudger was wielding was not that of Lumensis.
[Maybe it was inevitable that I would wake up like this, meet you, and be defeated.]
"Is that all you have to say?"
Basara, who had already lost nearly half of his head, smirked at Rudger's relentless words.
[I can see how thorny your path will be, it's a shame I won't get to see it for myself, but it can't hurt to keep you in suspense.]
"When you have finished speaking, go."
[Beware of the Apostles.]
Rudger reacted to the first proper words of warning. It was very faint, but it told him that there were more beings in this world besides Basara that could be called demons.]
"I suppose you guys don't consider each other allies."
[You humans have lumped us together, but we are separate beings by nature. Sometimes we are enemies, but other times we hold hands].
"How many of those apostles are there?"
[I don't know the details, but it's important that they exist.]
With that, Basara said his last words, as if he had done all he could.
[Whatever it is, I'm sure you can do it, so go ahead and shake things up, hero.]
With those words, all of Basara's body turned to dust and scattered.
Rudger watched Basara's final moments and replied.
"Not a hero, I'm just a teacher."
Rudger muttered something to himself and turned around.
Flora had realized the fight was over and was running toward him. Gasping for breath, Flora stood in front of Rudger and took a moment to catch her breath.
Her clear eyes bore into his. Her face had always been stern and stern in class, but now there was a faint glimmer of respect.
It was a natural reaction. After all, he had just beaten a demon and showed her real magic.
Rudger looked at the flower garden, which was slowly beginning to crumble.
Now that its original owner was gone, this world was coming to an end.
"Flora."
"Yes, sir."
"Let's go."
* * *
Madeline and Aidan watched the black storm with trepidation.
On cue, they struck as hard as they could, but then came the problem. The storm paused for a moment as it had taken a hit, but it quickly recovered and began to spin more violently. It didn't grow as large as before, but they couldn't let it continue to swirl around the center of the square.
Madeline was at a loss as to how to stop it. Her attacks, even those that cranked up her anti-magic to the max, only delayed it for a few seconds.
If it moved again, there would be nothing she could do.
Madeline's legs were shaking and she was getting nervous.
"Master, look!"
Aidan lifted his finger and pointed to the center of the storm.
Madeline also noticed the change in the storm.
"The storm, is it subsiding?"
The black storm that seemed like it would never stop was slowly losing power as the black smoke dissolved into thin air, slowly revealing the landscape inside.
Flora lay stunned, and Rudger stood, covered in wounds.
"Sir!"
"Ugh! Hey, Aidan!"
The storm hadn't even started yet, and Aidan was running forward, and Madeline couldn't stop him.
Rudger looked back and spotted them, too.
"Finally, it's over."
With those words, Rudger collapsed.
* * *
Rudger opened his eyes. It was the middle of the night, and it was dark, making it difficult to see.
After a few moments, his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and Rudger raised his upper body off the bed to look around.
He was clearly in a VIP room at the capital's main hospital.
Rudger examined his body, noting that there were no cuts or sore spots. He must have been treated while he passed out.
The reason Rudger opened his eyes, however, was not because he was fully recovered. The stirring next to him made him open his mouth slowly.
"I didn't think you'd be free enough to visit me in the middle of the night."
"I can't help it. It's now or never."
Something stirred in the darkness and took the shape of a man in black robes and a mask over his face.
Rudger looked back at him and said.
"Zero Order."
"Oh, no. You don't even give me a respectful bow anymore?"
Zero Order smiled under his mask and said playfully.