A pure white line descended from the ceiling.
When I first saw the line, I stared at it blankly for a mont.
It was both breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly dangerous.
The line was thinner than a strand of hair, and yet it exuded an overwhelming presence.
An aura of the unknown.
Compressed to the extre, its density seed infinite.
— Ziiiiing.
The sound it made was faint, almost like tinnitus. For a fleeting mont, I thought I could hear it.
It was a line that drove out all other thoughts, forcing complete focus on its presence.
What in the world could this line be?
Despite knowing instinctively how perilous it was, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to touch it.
At that mont—
— BOOOOM!
An explosion erupted from the line.
To be precise, it wasn’t an explosion but rather the expansion of energy.
The energy compressed into the fine thread-like line expanded with clear directionality.
Having been observing it closely, I instinctively understood the target of its expansion.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
I leapt forward, and before I fully grasped the situation, I had already raised the Berserker’s Shield to block the attack for soone.
— CRACKLE!
The explosion of energy hit like a relentless bombardnt.
Its target?
The head of Blitter, the Foreign Minister of the Britannian Empire.
“Argh!”
Blitter’s scream ca a split second later.
In the instant he realized his impending death, I had jumped in front of him, shielding him with the Berserker’s Shield.
In other words, to Duke Blitter, it must have seed like he was on the brink of death, his eyes squeezed shut in resignation, only to open them and see standing before him, deflecting the attack.
To him, I must have appeared like an incredible savior.
To a stout, bald old man, no less.
‘Not bad, I guess?’
Adding another woman to my troubles would just earn a beating from Danya or Silvia.
With that idle thought, I gripped the shield tighter.
— CRUNCH!
The force of the [Threadline Explosion] was far beyond imagination.
‘Damn it.’
What is this thing?
The sheer amount of energy compressed into a line as thin as a hair was staggering.
No, even the term “compressed” felt like the wrong descriptor.
The very notion of compressing energy like this was beyond comprehension.
You can compress air, but water? That’s an entirely different story.
It felt like that—possible only under extre circumstances.
‘This density… it’s not sothing any ordinary human could create.’
Feeling it firsthand sent shivers down my spine.
I’d have been dead if not for the Berserker’s Shield.
— Zzzzzzz!
Even that near-indestructible shield, designed to resist extre forces, let out agonized groans under the pressure.
“… Ugh.”
A groan escaped my lips before I could stop it.
The overwhelming disparity in power was clear.
No matter how much I reinforced my body, I was forced to step back.
At this point, sheer stubbornness was the only thing keeping standing.
If I didn’t hold my ground, I’d end up with a hole in my head.
— WHAM! WHAM!
Fragnts of energy ricocheted violently off the shield.
One shard tore through my clothing, grazing my arm.
The strange sensation made glance down at my arm.
‘… Divine power?’
The energy distinctly carried the essence of divine power.
Fla, Earth… Unlike the various colors of the elents, this energy carried only divinity—Divine Power.
In essence, Holy Power wasn’t ant to destroy.
I had never encountered Holy Power used in such a destructive manner.
What exactly was this force?
Grinding my teeth, I held my ground.
— Fssshhh…
Gradually, the bombardnt of energy subsided.
I let out a deep breath and lowered my shield.
My entire body throbbed, every muscle stiff and aching.
I retracted the magic I had used to reinforce my body, circulating it internally to prepare for any potential follow-up attacks.
At least for now, the assault seed to have ceased.
“Phew…”
I inspected the shield first. The impact had felt far from ordinary, leaving an unsettling impression. I had distinctly felt it tremble and begin to lt.
As expected, the damage was evident.
The shield was covered in deep gashes, each about 1–2 centiters in length and depth.
It was shocking, to say the least.
‘… The Berserker’s Shield, damaged like this?’
Known for its unparalleled resistance but limited defensive range, the Numbers-class artifact had suffered significant damage.
This ant one thing—the recent attack had co from an extraordinary being of a different caliber altogether.
The attack had clearly been launched from a distance.
I didn’t know who was responsible, but if I were to confront this entity directly…
A chill ran down my spine as I considered the possibility.
At that mont, I heard the sound of soone collapsing behind .
— Thud!
Blitter had fallen to the floor, landing ungracefully on his rear.
Judging by his expression, he had been thoroughly shaken.
“… I-I almost died.”
His dazed mumbling carried no trace of the authority expected of a noble. Instead, his face was filled with pure relief at having survived.
The way he looked up at with wide eyes—tinged with respect and gratitude—wasn’t just my imagination.
“Truly, thank you. You’ve saved my life.”
His voice was solemn and earnest.
To have a debt of gratitude from such a high-ranking official—a minister at the very top of the Empire’s power hierarchy—was no small gain.
And that wasn’t all.
Count Lipenstein was also staring at in utter astonishnt.
“How… how did you manage to bring a weapon in here?”
“Well.”
I shrugged nonchalantly.
The security checks had indeed been strict, but with Ether and Evan’s shadow magic, smuggling in the Berserker’s Shield—which wasn’t too large—had been possible.
Count Lipenstein hesitated for a mont before bowing his head slightly.
“I don’t know how you bypassed security, but you’ve done us a great service. Thanks to you, we’ve avoided a major catastrophe.”
“It’s nothing. But more importantly…”
I turned my gaze upward, to where the thin threadline had first appeared.
The ceiling bore a small but noticeable hole.
Through it, I could glimpse the faint blue of the sky, confirming that the attack had co from outside the building.
“By any chance, is this a newly constructed—”
Before I could finish my question to Count Lipenstein—
— BANG!
The doors swung open violently, and the knights stationed outside stord in.
Among them, one figure stood out: Inquisitor Oscar Javert.
While everyone else wore grim expressions, Javert’s wide smile was chilling, almost unnerving.
“Ian.”
He grinned, addressing as he approached the Archbishop of the Vatican.
In that mont—
A jolt.
A sudden sense of déjà vu.
An instinctive warning shot through my mind: another attack was imminent.
“Everyone, be careful—!”
Before I could finish.
— Ziiiiing!
Once again, a deluge of threadlines descended from above.
This ti, three.
Each one descended directly toward us—Blitter, the Archbishop, Count Lipenstein, the Inquisitor, and myself—encircling us like a deadly embrace.
They began to show signs of expansion even faster than before.
Now I could see it clearly.
The strands were vibrating at an incredibly high frequency.
All of this happened in a split second.
There wasn’t enough ti to evade perfectly.
Only the Inquisitor, Oscar Javert, furrowed his brow deeply. Perhaps he was also trying to figure out a way to protect the Archbishop.
‘… Even Oscar might not be able to block this.’
If Blitter or the Archbishop were to die here, it would an war.
I had to stop it at all costs.
As that realization hit, the solution beca clear.
It was a matter of countering force with force.
‘To oppose Divine Power, one must use Black Magic.’
In truth, Divine Power was one of the best ways to combat Black Magic, and vice versa.
Their natures acted as mutual obstacles.
Opposites inherently counteract one another.
Pushing and resisting—this was the most effective choice here.
I imdiately thought of Evan.
Specifically, the magic circle he had used to cast his spells.
I quickly visualized it in my mind.
The circuits of my magic began aligning with incredible speed.
But I didn’t stop there.
Evan’s power was rooted in darkness, sothing that seed far removed from .
Yet, that wasn’t entirely true.
Shadows are an inherent part of the earth itself.
I drew upon the shadows cast by the earth.
— Woom!
A massive sphere ford around , encompassing everyone like a protective barrier.
“B-Black Magic…?”
Soone muttered in shock, but there was no ti to dwell on it.
— BOOOOOOM!
The three strands of light exploded simultaneously, flooding the surroundings in blinding white.
The surface of my black barrier trembled violently.
But I didn’t let my focus waver.
I kept pulling shadows from the earth, channeling them to withstand the destructive force of the explosion.
The ground shook violently for a mont.
Finally, I managed to block even the last shockwave.
Silence settled over the area.
The only sound was a faint, bright laughter.
It ca from none other than Oscar Javert, whose wide grin stretched across his face.
He looked at with a radiant smile.
“Do you know, Ian, that the use of Black Magic is a grave cri?”
“Of course.”
“Then, please co with , Ian.”
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