Chapter 122. Archmage (2)
Archmage Lumina needed the Thirteenth of the End to ascend to a higher existence.
The mont she ford a contract with Mapheltan, she would draw closer to a transcendent realm.
One of the conditions for ascension was a ‘aningful contact with a transcendent being.’
Apostles were transcendents by nature, and forming a contract with one was the fastest and surest way to et the requirent.
That long-cherished wish would soon be fulfilled.
Excitent shimred in Lumina’s gaze.
Ilea smiled at her with her eyes.
“In short, Lady Lumina, you orchestrated all of this just to et the Apostle.”
Lumina replied imdiately.
“That’s right. If you follow Lord Muel’s prophecies, you always end up getting what you want.”
Muel was the archdemon Lumina served.
A fallen angel—he possessed a remarkably accurate power of foresight.
“Was it also because of Muel’s prophecy that you pressured the Watcher of the Abyss?”
Ilea had already heard most of the details from Mapheltan.
―――――King Roderick set up nurous sches to trap Yohan. The king was not clever enough to pull them off alone. There had to be soone behind him.
Now it was clear—Archmage Lumina was that soone.
Lumina answered calmly.
“Exactly. ‘Establish yourself in the capital and corner the Watcher of the Abyss. Then you shall encounter the Apostle of the End.’ I simply followed that prophecy. From the looks of it, you seem close to the Watcher of the Abyss… So let make one thing clear. I have no real hostility toward you or him.”
Lumina had simply followed Muel’s prophecy in order to ascend.
She had politically pressured Yohan for the sole purpose of eting the Apostle.
Nothing more.
Ilea spoke with a curious expression.
“So if tornting the Watcher of the Abyss would lead to eting the Apostle of the End… Didn’t you ever wonder how that statent could be true, Lady Archmage?”
Lumina’s expression wrinkled slightly.
“Why would I be curious about that? If I just follow the prophecy, I’ll get what I want in the end.”
Disappointnt colored Ilea’s face.
“…And here I thought you were an archmage. But you blindly obey a prophecy without the slightest suspicion, inquiry, or curiosity. In the end, you’re just another human deceived by a demon.”
Lumina’s face darkened as well.
As she listened to Ilea speak, unpleasant mories began to resurface.
Around seventy years ago, the Great Witch Rahel had said sothing similar to Lumina.
――――Lumina, how long are you going to keep dancing in Muel’s palm? In the end, you’ll just be used and discarded. Mark my words.
Lumina’s eyes sharpened.
“What would you filthy witches know about to spew such nonsense? I attained supre mastery with nothing but a human body. Just wait and see. I, Lumina, will be the first to carve my na atop the echelon of Transcending Heaven, a realm no archmage—or even witch—has ever reached!”
Ilea sighed as if giving up.
“Fine. Then show how you ascend past archmage. It’ll be difficult, I’m sure.”
Lumina snorted.
“My ascension is already a given. There’s no need to prove anything. The Apostle will co to soon.”
Ilea smiled gently.
“Most likely today. If you wish, even right now.”
Lumina frowned.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Ilea snapped her fingers.
A wave of mana rippled through the space.
Lumina’s necklace began to tremble violently.
From the communication artifact, King Roderick’s screams ca through.
Ilea spoke calmly.
“Until just now, I had briefly cut this space off from the outside world. I’ve just reopened it. You can now speak freely with the human king.”
Lumina hadn’t even noticed Ilea’s magic.
The archmage’s pride was crushed.
A vein popped slightly on her forehead.
“…You impudent little brat.”
But Ilea still wore a smile.
“Don’t scowl. You’re not young anymore—it’ll just give you more wrinkles.”
She had touched a nerve.
Lumina unleashed a blast of pure white mana.
“I’ll fix that rude mouth of yours right now!”
Ilea’s expression chilled.
She spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t. It’d be a sha if you died before eting the Apostle.”
Blue mana exploded outward, swallowing the room from within.
A dreadful pressure pressed down on the archmage.
Roderick’s groans continued through the communication artifact.
Lumina ground her teeth.
“…You little wretch. Stay right there.”
She raised a hand to her necklace.
The royal throne room’s image appeared before her eyes.
At the sa ti, Lumina’s face lit up brightly.
There was a pitch-black demon.
The Thirteenth Apostle of the End.
Ilea smiled.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’d be eting him today.”
Lumina uttered an incantation.
Mapheltan’s body vanished from the throne room.
He, like Ilea, had been dragged into the extradinsional space.
***
Mapheltan was exhausting every possible thod to make King Roderick speak.
Instilling terror, choking him, even using the authority of Verbal Command Spells.
Despite all that effort, no aningful information erged.
Roderick knew nothing. He was nothing more than a puppet being controlled.
Even with the miasma restoring his strength, the king remained a fool.
Mapheltan swallowed a sigh.
‘What was I even expecting… from this fool?’
He had no choice but to wait for Ilea.
She would surely bring sothing useful.
Leaving Roderick alone, Mapheltan sat upon the throne.
The pitch-black demon now lounged on the royal seat of power.
Seeing this, Roderick lowered his head in sha.
As king, he could no longer face his ancestors.
To have the sacred throne stolen—by a demon, no less.
Roderick clenched the red carpet tightly.
Rage erupted within him.
Just as he was wallowing in self-pity, his necklace began to glow.
His expression brightened slightly.
That archmage… That great demon Muel… They would surely show that wretched Apostle a taste of defeat.
A forced sense of hope consud his mind.
Roderick looked straight up at the throne and shouted.
“You vile spawn! Return to your holand—hell itself!”
Mapheltan scoffed in disbelief.
“What?”
At that mont, Roderick’s necklace radiated a brilliant light.
The flash engulfed Mapheltan.
His figure vanished in an instant.
Left alone, Roderick crawled desperately back toward the throne.
He climbed into the seat and shouted.
“This is my place! No one dares covet it!”
A hollow laughter echoed throughout the empty hall.
***
Mapheltan looked around the strange space.
All around him were massive bookshelves and rows of experintal instrunts.
‘…This would be Ilea’s paradise.’
The shelves were filled with all manner of texts.
There were as many Cursed Scriptures here as in the underground library of the baron’s manor.
Mapheltan casually pulled out a book.
It was pitch-black, bound tightly in iron chains.
Just as he was about to break the seal, a voice called out.
“As expected of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons. You recognize the value of that book.”
Mapheltan turned forward.
A white-haired woman walked toward him slowly. Ilea stood beside her.
Ilea spoke playfully.
“You told not to touch anything, but now he gets special treatnt? Isn’t that a bit unfair?”
Lumina replied with a disinterested look.
“You’re not the great End. Just shut up and observe my ascension.”
Mapheltan’s expression twisted.
“What exactly is going on here?”
Ilea summarized the situation thus far.
After hearing everything, Mapheltan fell silent in thought.
‘Lumina…’
Archmage Lumina. She wasn’t a major figure.
In the original story, her appearance had been extrely brief.
Truthfully, he could barely rember any episodes about her.
‘Wasn’t she the archmage who got used by Muel and discarded?’
She hadn’t been important at all.
What truly drew Mapheltan’s attention now was Muel, not Lumina.
He stared intently at Lumina.
The mont she t his eyes, she lowered her head.
“O Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, what the witch said is all true. I orchestrated all this just to et you.”
Mapheltan replied in a calm tone.
“Muel seeks to establish ties with ? Where is he now?”
Lumina quickly shook her head.
“No, I—Lumina—am the one who wishes to form a contract with you. Lord Muel rely guided so I could et you.”
Mapheltan let out a faint laugh.
“So Muel dared to use my na for your pathetic ascension? How blasphemous.”
Lumina wavered visibly.
“W-What do you an, pathetic…”
Ilea gave her a sympathetic look.
“Lady Lumina, I did warn you. It’d be difficult for you to ascend.”
Lumina had pulled every trick to et Mapheltan.
To Mapheltan, it felt like he’d been caught in soone else’s sche.
He found it deeply unpleasant.
Mapheltan opened his mouth.
“Mortal, I have no intention of consorting with you. Summon Muel instead. I’ll speak with him.”
Lumina shouted desperately.
“If you form a contract with , you’ll gain access to every Cursed Scripture, every treasure, every relic and abomination in this space! And also the boundless knowledge I’ve accumulated—”
Mapheltan chuckled.
Then suddenly burst into full laughter.
“You pitiful woman. Do you still not understand? Now that I’ve set foot in this space, everything here already belongs to . There’s no need to contract with you.”
Lumina’s pupils shook violently.
She had never expected Mapheltan to respond this way.
She muttered to herself.
“T-The prophecy couldn’t have been wrong. Why would the End… Why not… What went wrong? Where? How?”
Mapheltan slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Let explain. You and this space are nothing more than a gift from Muel to . An offering to summon my presence. Archmage Lumina, you were used by Muel. Nothing more.”
And Mapheltan’s guess likely wasn’t wrong.
Demons existed to deceive and exploit humans.
Muel was no different.
He had probably used Lumina as a tool to bring about contact with Mapheltan.
An archdemon wouldn’t ddle in the mortal world just to help soone ascend.
Lumina shook her head furiously.
“No! That’s not true! Lord Muel would never abandon !”
Long ago, from childhood, Lumina had been able to hear Muel’s voice.
They had spent countless years together.
To her, Muel was parent, sibling, and friend.
They would never betray each other.
That belief had taken root deep in her heart.
Mapheltan grimaced, visibly annoyed.
“Muel. If you’re listening, show yourself now. Your servant’s tantrum is getting on my nerves.”
Lumina shouted with a venomous glare.
“Lord Muel will never abandon !”
At that mont, a clear and elegant voice echoed throughout the space.
『 My child, you’ve done well. Now rest. 』
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