Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 269

#269. The Saint and the Miracle (1)

doctor.

After the battle, the senses in my whole body that had been relaxed for a moment became tense again.

This was the first time that the doctor himself had appeared, having previously only sent executives or homunculi-like subordinates.

“Do not move until instructed. Be prepared to flee with the Pope and Veronica at any time.”

"…All right."

Solitaire answered with a stern face and immediately moved to get into position.

An unidentified man whom Ray seems to know.

The very fact that he approached while avoiding the senses of dozens of people was proof that he was no ordinary person.

Thud, thud, thud.

Ray, who had been walking without hesitation, stopped after keeping some distance.

"doctor."

At those words, the doctor, who had been blankly looking down at the fallen Indiago, raised his head.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Their eyes exchanged glances in silence.

Ray quietly studied the doctor.

Because of the sunglasses and mask, his appearance and expression were completely unrecognizable.

Also, there was no sign of a ring on his huge body, either because it was hidden in a special way or because it was not there to begin with.

But I had no intention of letting my guard down, because my opponent was a doctor.

“I didn’t know you would show yourself because you were so scared.”

Instead of answering, the doctor moved his black leather gloved hand.

He used his large index finger to carve letters into the air using the mana in the air.

[That's unexpected. You're defeating Indiago without even regaining your full strength.]

The doctor then pushed the surrounding mana towards Ray, as if telling him to use it to write a sentence.

Is it because you don't want to reveal your conversation to others?

But Ray had no intention of following through.

He said, pushing back the mana that had surged in.

“As expected, you were the one behind the Dawn Society. You were called the Prophet, and you were the one who conveyed the technology and history of the old times.”

[It looks like you figured something out.]

“The crimson sphere of the Sky Island and the blue sphere of the Dawn Society. The red bloodstone of Murkred and the blue gem of the Dawn Society. The situation speaks for itself.”

[That's funny. Inference through situation. You really act like a human.]

Although the doctor's remark was somewhat irritating, Ray asked unwaveringly.

“What was your purpose in helping the Dawn Society? From what I’ve guessed, the Dawn Society has nothing to do with your real purpose.”

[He helped the Dawn Society… To be exact, he helped Indiago. This man is full of intense inferiority complex and hatred towards the world.]

“Is this an experiment?”

[experiment?]

“Like the Murkred executives you turned into monsters.”

[You made me a monster, I was just helping the kids be true to their emotions.]

“Curiosa is suffering from emotional addiction. To the point where she is unable to lead a normal life.”

[Curiosa, that disobedient child. He can no longer be called my child since he left home, but that is part of the emotion.]

The doctor changed the subject.

[Rather than that, just put it out. It's not something you can handle.]

The doctor's gaze turned to the cane of Indiago held in Ray's hand.

Woof!

The blue jewel at the end of the staff was emitting a brilliant light along with a resonant sound.

Ray recalled that collecting rainbow fragments was one of the Doctor's main objectives.

“If you want to take it─”

Kwajik!

He forcibly removed the jewel from the staff and absorbed it into his body.

“─Take it and see.”

It was not possible to directly determine the doctor's current state of mind.

Because on his body, not only was there no ring, but there was also no vessel to hold his emotions.

but.

[… … .]

I could tell from the long silence that the doctor was angry.

And a dozen seconds later.

Finally, the answer came back.

[It's no use struggling. Your world has failed, and you, who have neither the right nor the ability, will not be able to stop my world from being built on top of it.]

Your world has failed.

It was still a meaningless statement.

However, if the doctor is going to build a new world on top of this world.

If you think about your previous statement about returning the world to its original state.

“Your world is probably a world where all emotions have been erased.”

[Emotions are completely useless.]

Gooooooo───!

The mana in the air was sucked into the doctor's palm and mixed into a dark red color.

In response, Ray's grip also sucked in the mana of the two jewels.

“I don’t think emotions are useless.”

[You're still dreaming.]

At the moment when the tension reached its peak, the doctor's mana shot out as a dark red fireball like oily blood.

But the direction wasn't Ray.

It was exactly in Veronica's direction.

Kwarung──!

Ray, who was running with a flash of lightning, arrived first by a hair's breadth.

The app servers were summoned in a row, and then an explosion was heard from the doctor's side as he received his magic back.

Kwaaaaang──!

The doctor appeared in the smoky smoke.

He looked fine, with his guard up.

However, the Indiago on the floor was not visible, and judging from the pattern of mana rippling in the air, it seemed like it had been sent somewhere using space magic.

The doctor walked over and scribbled sentences.

[Look. Isn't it because you have feelings that you're taking such inefficient actions? If you had attacked me instead of saving your friends and colleagues, you could have done significant damage. At the very least, you could have prevented me from stealing Indiago.]

“I didn’t make a wrong choice.”

Ray was a little surprised at his own words coming out without hesitation.

One day, when I saw myself planning with efficiency as my top priority, I felt like I understood what Veronica meant.

The world cannot survive on efficiency and profit alone.

Ray spoke firmly once again.

“Even if the same situation arises, my choice won’t change.”

[You're stupid, you're stupid.]

Once again, crimson mana gathered into the doctor's grasp.

At that moment, Ray realized.

The identity of the sense of foreboding I felt when I met the doctor. The reason why there were no rings or vessels on his body.

LOL.

Anger rose in Ray's chest.

All the red mana present in the ring began to resonate with it and vibrate.

[Get out of here, you foolish loser.]

It was a moment when the doctor's crimson mana covered Ray in a ray of light.

But Ray immediately moved his mana and shot out a vortex of flame.

Kwakwakwa────!

Two magic spells collided in the center.

The screams of the surrounding mana pierced my ears.

The heated air clung stickily to my skin.

Yeah, this has happened before.

That night at the Guldari in Sector 50.

Nothing has changed between then and now.

The anger you feel too.

There are people I have to protect.

It also happened during a huge fight.

Everything was the same.

The only difference is that the light emitted by the golem is dark red rather than dark blue.

'no.'

There was one more thing that had changed.

That is, the power to protect those precious to you now exists within you.

Kwakwakwa────!

Ray's flame stream has become stronger.

[No way, loser.]

The dark red light also grew stronger at the same time, and the fight became intense.

Ray, who was trying to raise the mana of the two jewels, suddenly realized.

There is a much larger source of mana nearby that you can utilize.

Ray focused his mind on the artificial sun, which contained a massive volume of mana.

Wooooowow──!

A white beam of mana shot out from the artificial sun, emitting a dazzling light.

It hit Ray directly and became usable mana, then moved to his hand, which was firing a stream of flame through his body.

Hurrruk!

The flames turned white.

What appeared was a white flame emitting an enormous amount of light.

The pure white light, the source of all colors in the world, rose up, extinguishing the dark red rays.

────!

It hit the doctor.

The doctor writhe and melt in the flames of light.

Ray could be seen through them.

The burning doctor's clothes.

The bandages that covered the face and body.

And, hidden behind it.

Boulders with a metallic appearance that melt into liquid.

'Golem.'

It was the same golem we saw in sector 50.

All characteristics were identical, except that it was more humanoid in size and seemed to operate differently.

Of course, the doctor couldn't be a golem.

I've simply been using the golem's vision to operate.

'The real thing must be hiding somewhere else.'

Ray thought as he looked at the blazing white flames.

*

A few days later.

The Pope's coffin was laid to rest in a cemetery within the diocesan grounds.

“Your life was filled with warmth and kindness, and under a strong religious life….”

The priests observed silence while Solitaire recited the prayer.

Ray followed them, dressed in black robes, bowing his head and praying in silence.

Afterwards, remembrance and hymns followed.

“I won’t forget you.”

“I won’t forget you.”

After all the procedures were completed, the coffin was placed directly into the ground without using any magic.

After that, the priests left, leaving only Solité and Ray in front of the tombstone.

The dry winter wind blew.

The sky was pale and cloudless.

Below, Solitaire's lonely voice rang out.

“I still can’t believe it. It was just a few days ago that I was in the middle of such a battle.”

“… … .”

Ray agreed with that.

It seemed like just a few days ago that it was a long time ago.

I didn't realize that it might be because the countless turbulent environments and relationships in a short period of time had increased the density of time.

Ray asked.

“Have you made a decision?”

“Yes. I decided to make it public.”

“I see.”

“Citizens have the right to know, and it’s not something that can be hidden forever.”

Solitaire decided to announce to the citizens what had happened at the church.

There was a group that tried to take over the world by stealing the saint of the church.

Although they managed to thwart the conspiracy, they suffered serious damage.

Nod.

Ray respected Solitaire's decision.

After the battle, 47 priests survived.

Because the one who currently leads them and keeps the sect from disintegrating is Solitaire.

“Of course, not everyone will take our word for it. There will be a lot of leaps and assumptions floating around the sector, and even stories that border on conspiracy theories. But that’s okay. The rumors will end, and the sector will stabilize as if it had never been like that.”

“Isn’t that just the nature of rumors?”

Solitaire nodded slightly at Ray's question.

“Yes, that’s right. And thanks to the interest in the artificial sun, the rumor will fade from people’s minds even faster.”

Currently, the artificial sun remains in the Sun Sanctuary at the center of the sector.

A warm, white light spread throughout the sector.

All the black clouds gathering over the sector were dispelled.

“Wherever you go in the sector, you can see the citizens rejoicing. The revelations of the church have become reality. If the light of the artificial sun continues like this, many things will surely change. Since there will be no black rain, the soil will recover. Naturally, plants will start to grow.”

Solitaire stared at the small sphere of light far down the hill.

Then he turned his head and asked.

“The saint said, oh, that this title still bothers her. How is Veronica’s condition?”

“Don’t come out of the room. Just leave the food in front of the door.”

“Yes, it must be very confusing. Your identity has changed so much overnight.”

Ray tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t it be great if it was the reincarnation of the sun?”

“Of course, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s not like you’ll wake up and find out you’ve turned into a rock deer, or that you have demon blood flowing through your veins, or anything like that.”

“Becoming a rock deer sounds like a pretty cool thing.”

“The reincarnation of the sun will be more of a joy than a worry. However, it will be confusing. It will be scary and fearful. That is the feeling of a person who is faced with a great change.”

“You ignored what I said.”

Solitaire, who had caught her breath, continued speaking.

“Especially for young women like Veronica, the emotional waves are more delicate. Please comfort and embrace them. Unlike us who are not allowed to approach, Ray can approach the front of the room.”

“… … .”

Not entirely, but somewhat understandable. Ray nodded.

It would be better to try something than just wait.

'But once you let them in, I think you can do whatever you want, whether you appease them or not.'

I thought about going undercover, but decided against it because I thought it would have a strong negative effect.

At that moment, the panoramic view of the sector spread out below the hill came into view.

“… … .”

If you buy some of Veronica's favorite things and go find her, she might open the door for you.

Ray started down the hill, wind in his step.

Artificial sun and white light.

The creative elements that make it up.

And I think of the countless other stories I have to share with Veronica.