There was once a spirit.
│▽ㅇ)
It called itself the “Spectator Spirit│ㅅㅇ)”, a lesser star spirit.
This particular one had a specific preference—it enjoyed watching people who were devastated or drowning in sorrow.
Recently, Hiaka had been a buffet of misery.
With people crying all over the place, it was having the time of its life. And among its regular stops, there was one household it never skipped. A family of four that had moved in about a year ago.
│▽ㅇ)
From what the spirit had inferred through eavesdropping:
The family had once lived in the capital. But after the wife needed expensive surgery, they lost their home and ended up on the street.
The husband made the bold decision to move—Because the wages for sewage labor at the academy were decent.
Along with him, he brought a younger brother suffering from a severe mental illness. And they had one child—a 10-year-old, gender unclear, with medium-length hair.
Simply put, the entire household depended on the husband.
Then the husband was hit by debris from a 『Meteor』 spell and lost consciousness.
He bled profusely from the head as he collapsed, but the hospitals were overrun and had no room for him.
The family lived in one of the cheapest Harlem districts of Sector 2—barely a shack. So the unconscious husband had to be treated at home.
And now, today— The healing mage finally said it was time to start preparing. He meant for the man’s death.
“You!! This is all your fault! If you hadn’t gone out on some stupid joyride—!”
“What the hell do you know?! What did you do while he ended up like this?! Huh?! You parasite, leeching off everyone while holed up at home...!!”
│▽ㅇ) ㅋㅋ
The wife and the husband’s brother screamed and sobbed as they fought every day. And it never stopped. Every spare moment they had, they hurled insults at each other—right next to the dying man.
And in the middle of it all... the child was blank.
│▽ㅇ)
The child would just sit, motionless, by their father’s side— Then get up, walk a lap around the neighborhood, and come back. Over and over.
Outside the door: snow-covered ruins stretched as far as the eye could see.
Despite being labeled by foreign media as the best-handled 『Meteor』 strike in recent memory, this neighborhood was filled with collapsed buildings and corpses. This was that place.
The child wandered aimlessly through the rubble. Visited the wrecked school. Went to the park they always played in—it was destroyed.
Sometimes they slipped and fell on the snowy, icy streets.
Then, dragging their numb feet back home, they’d just sit silently by their father again.
│▽ㅇ) ...
It was strange, the spirit thought. Humans usually cry when they’re sad. And kids especially so.
│▽ㅇ)a Why isn’t this one crying?
But its interest faded {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} fast. There were just too many other fun disasters to peek in on. Time to check out another household.
│ ...(ㅇ▽ㅇ)
* * *
Snow poured down steadily. It piled on the shoulders and foreheads of the professors.
“Fifty-three hours, fifty-one minutes, thirty-two seconds...”
Professor Dante stepped forward from the line of thirty professors and opened his mouth.
“We initially planned for forty-eight hours. And we assumed from the start it wouldn’t be enough.”
The 1,200 cadets stood with sealed lips, looking up at him.
“We had intended for the faculty to cover whatever gaps remained. But... astonishingly, you all surpassed every one of our expectations. And so, we decided to wait a little longer.”
A final exam unlike anything seen in history. And the rewards—likewise unprecedented.
There were rumors now that even participating in this exam would become a prestigious credential. Even amid chaos, the cadets had to protect their careers.
That was why they all put their lives on the line for [Illusion].
“This is a tree you completed with your own hands.”
It hadn’t been easy. These three days had cost blood, sweat, and everything in between. And now that effort soared sky-high in the form of an expanding tree.
Professor Dante, without flourish, acknowledged their work.
“...It’s truly magnificent.”
Then he continued.
“As you know, Hiaka Academy has been going through a difficult time—not only in Illusion Studies, but across all departments. I won’t speak of hardship. You all feel it in your own skin.”
Beneath the shimmering, enormous Christmas tree—
The cadets’ expressions darkened.
“But if someone were to look down from above... They would see that Hiaka simply stumbled once. The path won’t wait—so Hiaka must rise and walk on its own again.”
Dante thought,
As a player, this was the most effective way to restore national morale.
“You will continue to grow, like trees yourselves.”
That was all it meant to be.
“And we, the faculty, will be the ones to light the way above you.”
With that, Professor Dante raised his hand.
And at the same time, all the other professors raised theirs as well.
In perfect synchronicity, like machines. The coordinated motion sent a strange chill down the cadets’ spines.
Then—
All at once, the professors snapped their fingers.
Click!
At exactly midnight—
Something extraordinary began.
From the bottom of the tree, lights exploded upward in a brilliant wave. They climbed in sequence, racing to the top of the towering Christmas tree.
It looked as if a stream of light had been cast from the earth to the heavens.
And at the tree’s peak, a symbol emerged— a symbol of peace and healing: the sigil of Harmony ☮.
Against the dark sky, it looked like a star had been born.
An ultra-massive [Illusion] easily 2,000 meters in scale.
At the climax, Professor Kollider shouted:
“Merry Christmas―!!”
At that moment, a bell hanging at the center of the sigil began to ring.
DONG─
DONG─
DONG─
In the face of that dreamlike spectacle—
The cadets were overcome by emotion.
The bell’s chime echoed across the entire academy.
* * *
The royal Elder Council chamber was in a state of shock.
A tree beyond all measurement—So massive it defied perspective—was glowing gently in the night sky.
“A-Amazing...!”
“I-Is this even real...?!”
The distance from here to the academy was over 25 kilometers. Even a 400-meter-tall imperial monument wouldn’t be visible from here.
A massive mountain range would appear as nothing more than a blurry ridge.
And yet—
That unfathomable tree stood like a small ornament floating just above them.
“Unbelievable...”
“How enormous is it...?!”
And finally—when the faintly visible sigil of Harmony ☮ at the top of the tree lit up, the entire form of the tree came into sharper focus.
It was an astoundingly intricate [Illusion]. So much so that even the ignorant Elders could feel it.
The very moment they decided they didn’t want to see it anymore, the massive tree began to blur before their eyes.
Even those clueless about [Illusion] understood what that meant. They knew just enough to grasp what an advanced formula was needed to make a spell adjust itself to the observer’s will in real time.
In that moment—as Ezekiel took in the sight for the first time—a shiver ran through him.
That was undoubtedly a Level 9 [Illusion]. And not just Level 9—the level of mastery was nearly at its peak.
Dante Hiakapo... that bastard... what are you?
Ezekiel snapped back to attention and looked around to assess reactions.
As expected, the Elders were all overwhelmed. How could they not be? Even if you placed a dragon next to that tree, it would look like a fly. The sheer scale was enough to make one feel like they were witnessing a being from a parallel dimension.
And yet, incredibly—the king remained expressionless.
That made Ezekiel nervous. Even if every citizen in the kingdom wept from awe—if this one, this king, remained unmoved...it would all be for nothing.
Hiaka was a kingdom where the monarch’s personal authority was absolute.
Ezekiel anxiously waited for a word—any word—from the man whose reaction would decide it all.
And then—
“Hmm―”
The king finally stirred.
The nobles who had been making a fuss fell dead silent.
“Ezekiel.”
The voice was sharp, rigid.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What was your objective again?”
“Yes, that [Illusion] is a large-scale spell imbued with [Scalability]—”
The king raised a hand.
Ezekiel bowed his head.
“I come from a warrior’s background. I know nothing of illusions. Speak more plainly.”
“...Apologies. Your Majesty—any illusionist in this kingdom can embed their own illusion into that tree. I would like to leave the decoration of the Christmas tree to them.”
“Why?”
“Because the illusion itself can capture the attention of the entire continent. And the larger the event becomes, the more we can show that Hiaka Academy is still standing strong.”
“How long will that tree last? What’s the investment status?”
“Yes. Senior Professor Kain invested ten million Hika. The department added another twenty million. Together, the tree will remain for approximately seven more days.”
“Seven days.”
The king began to stroke his golden beard, deep in thought.
What he said next would become the final word of the meeting. Ezekiel sensed it—and held his breath in anticipation.
Maybe that’s why the reply hit him like a slap.
“We won’t need a royal decree.”
His heart dropped. No decree? That decree was the entire point of this mission!
“...I beg your pardon?”
It slipped out before he could stop himself.
“Let’s make the scale even bigger.”
“...Pardon? I apologize, Your Majesty, but what exactly do you mean by—”
“If it were me, I’d board an airship from across the continent just to see that thing.”
“......!!”
Only then did Ezekiel understand the king’s intent—and he was shocked.
Ezekiel, Dante, the department—they had merely hoped to spread this throughout Hiaka.
But the king...
He had decided to reveal it to the entire continent!
And it made perfect sense.
Ezekiel hadn’t dared to voice it, but deep down, he too had wished for this outcome.
That massive [Illusion] was nothing short of miraculous. There had never been anything like it in human history.
“Hadel, Elder.”
“Yes! At your command, Your Majesty!”
“Send a letter to the Hatengras Empire’s academy.”
“Yes!”
“And... Elders Vitali, Koran, and Yusin—begin talks with the ministers immediately. The royal treasury will invest 300 million Hika to extend the duration of that illusion. Establish temporary tourist facilities near Sector 9. By royal decree.”
“Yes!”
“We obey, Your Majesty!”
Tourist site???
Ezekiel felt like his jaw might snap from the tension.
“...Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The king didn’t reply.
But once the floodgates had opened, it felt like everything was falling perfectly into place.
Just imagine—how those smug bastards from the Empire would react when they saw this.
And those parasites in Kreutz, who were so sure they’d buried Hiaka’s [Illusion] legacy for good?
‘Batalion, you fucking son of a bitch!’
They said he was showered in rewards after stealing Hiaka’s entire [Illusion] research for Kreutz?
That ungrateful bastard—
Well, he’d be forced to cough it all back up now.
Just imagining it made Ezekiel’s lips twitch with uncontrollable glee. A shiver of satisfaction ran down his spine.
‘Dante, you magnificent bastard!’
All of this— this entire miracle— had been born from the fingertips of one man, Professor Dante Hiakapo.
Ezekiel felt like he might lose his mind. That beautiful bastard! Right now, Dante was prettier than his own granddaughter!!
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, one of the Elders spoke.
To the king, who had been quietly admiring the tree.
“Yes?”
“Forgive the interruption, but... would this event have a fitting slogan?”
“A slogan?”
“My sincerest apologies. The administrative preparations are so rushed... I thought I should ask now while the opportunity allowed...”
“A Prayer for Hiaka.”
The king answered without a moment of hesitation.
It was the perfect slogan— in a time when Kreutz was evading responsibility for the assassination war, and Hiaka had been portrayed as a powerless victim.
“And say it was made by Senior Professor Kain.”
“Yes!”
Then something seemed to occur to him.
The king stretched his lips into a dragon’s smile.
“...While we’re at it, request a peace summit with the Empire.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Ezekiel’s face lit up with another wave of joy.
If it was a peace summit... then the King of Kreutz would have to show up too, wouldn’t he?
“Ezekiel. Can you bring that Kain fellow to the summit?”
“...Yes!! If it’s an official royal accompaniment, it’s possible. If Your Majesty would permit him to wear a mask...”
“Very well.
When the summit is scheduled, send him to the palace.”
“......”
And at that moment, Grand Mage Ezekiel imagined it.
Dante Hiakapo, standing at the center of a diplomatic table surrounded by the kings of every nation— performing his tricks.
And directly across from him: the King of Kreutz, who had invested billions of Hika into illusion warfare—forced to watch in silence.
“I shall obey, Your Majesty.......”
And yet—Ezekiel’s mouth wouldn’t shut.
He kept mumbling.
Should I say it?
Should I not?
Should I?
Shouldn’t I?
Should I?
But how could he possibly say it?
“......”
...Take me with you too!!