[Vol. 7] Chapter 294: Old Faces, New Gods
The large magic called [Origin Storm] can completely seal off the entire Sainz city, temporarily cutting off all attacks from the outside. At the same time, it boosts the power of the [Tower of Origin] enough to cover the whole city, allowing it to use powers almost as strong as creation itself, like what once happened in the [Fantasy Sky Courtyard].
In other words, once this magic is activated, no matter how terrible the disaster Sainz faces, the situation inside the city can be brought under control. But it comes with a cost, all seven towers of Sainz will become weak for a while and won’t be able to use their full power. This is a last-resort move, a powerful but risky double-edged sword.
Timos Young had seen this kind of magic used once before. The Austre Empire also knew that if a major disaster broke out during the Conference, Sainz would definitely use this magic to make up for the damage. That’s why the magician could prepare ahead of time and sneak into the city using his own power during the brief moment when [Eternal Day] Barrier and [Origin Storm] overlapped.
After all, he isn’t like a Demon or Blasphemer, who are spirits without physical form and can easily move through vessels or descend into the world. He has a real body, and even though he’s called the Immortal Magician and has many incredible tricks, he’s still a living person. Not one of the undead in the [Eternal Throne]. He only has one life, so of course he has to act very carefully.
As if lost in thought, Timos took out his staff like performing a magic trick. He gently tapped the ground and seemed to remember something from long ago, his face full of emotion.
“Maybe rulers really do need to be cold-hearted... I guess I was never suited for that. Ha… but there’s no point talking about it now. The mission is done, and now I just need to find a place to hide and wait for this whole thing to—”
“I’m sorry, but you might have to stay here and keep me company for a little longer. Things still need some time to settle down. At least until she gets here, you can’t go anywhere.”
“!?”
A soft but firm female voice suddenly spoke from behind. It startled the magician, and his thoughtful eyes quickly narrowed in alarm. Without even turning around, he grabbed a piece of enchanted cloth and instantly turned into a flock of white doves flying into the sky!
“An escape spell, huh… Clever technique. But illusions that use life as a medium don’t work on me.”
As the girl calmly made her statement, a soft greenish-blue light spread through the air like mist. It looked slow, but it quietly covered all the white doves flying up into the sky, like a net designed to filter them.
Most of the doves passed through without being affected and scattered away, but one of them suddenly exploded mid-air and turned into a cloud of white mist, then re-formed into Timos Young, who landed clumsily back on the ground.
His best trick had just been effortlessly broken. As the Immortal Magician steadied himself, he turned his shocked gaze toward the narrow alley, where at some point a stunning girl had appeared, wearing a simple long dress. She had green hair and green eyes. His pupils shrank again as he looked at her.
The girl didn’t seem bothered by his searching, almost rude stare. She simply looked at the smooth cards floating around the Immortal Magician, each card glowing and slowly spinning, with strange patterns drawn on them. She smiled.
“Storing different kinds of powers inside special cards and releasing them during battle, that’s a very creative idea. And the fact that you could make it work is really impressive. It’s fine, go ahead and use whatever tricks you have. I’ll make sure my counterattacks aren’t too strong.”
“...?”
The man dressed like a magician looked surprised. At first, he was tense like he was ready for a serious fight, but then he slowly relaxed. It was as if he finally understood who she was. After a long silence, he waved his staff and willingly made the glowing magical cards disappear.
Then, with graceful manners, he lowered his head and respectfully greeted the girl. Even though she hadn’t shown any pressure or even raised a hand, and had already stopped his proudest escape spell without any effort.
“Timos Young greets the Goddess of Life.”
“Mm.”
Like she was simply accepting a visitor at a temple, Sethlin calmly nodded in return and smiled again.
“You’re smart and know when to act wisely. You adapted to the situation faster than I expected, and you didn’t waste energy on a useless fight. In terms of skill, intelligence, and mental strength, even those lucky ones from the age of the gods, who were blessed by the god, might not be better than you. And besides, you're still just a normal human.”
"Without any direct help from a god, you trained yourself step by step to reach this level, and even created your own unique magic system. If you had revealed yourself openly to the world, you probably would have gone down in history as a great mage… What a pity."
Timos Young looked a little surprised that the goddess would give him such high praise, or maybe he was just confused why she hadn’t attacked him directly, forcing him to escape in a desperate way. He quickly raised his head and said thoughtfully.
“Your Divineness… it seems you know a lot about me?”
The green-haired girl didn’t confirm or deny it.
“I am a god. Is it really strange that I know things normal people can’t? Or… would you rather I take a more forceful approach, arrest you right now, and throw you into this city's prison to face charges for trying to assassinate the princess?”
The magician quickly adapted to the tone of this conversation and gave a helpless smile as he spread his hands.
“I’m just curious, that’s all. If you really wanted to do that, I’d have no way to resist. Though to be honest, I’m sure my little tricks must look childish to someone like you, Your Divineness~”
Sethlin smiled slightly.
“No need to put yourself down. There are all kinds of people in this world, and creativity like yours is something even gods may not fully match. You’re impressive. Your path doesn’t align with the way of life that I follow, but there are parts of you I still can’t fully understand.”
Not intimidated by the fact that he was facing a real god, the magician returned to his usual relaxed manner and gave a half-smile.
“I thought gods were supposed to know everything~”
The goddess simply shook her head.
“Gods are not all-knowing or all-powerful. I’m not, and neither is Exmont. Even the [Origin Storm], which was created by mortals, can block his divine senses.”
“You’re very honest… People always say that gods of order are strict and old-fashioned. But you, once the Goddess of Earth, one of the leaders of the order side in the Origin Realm, you're actually easier to talk to than I expected. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised.”
“…No, your impression isn’t completely wrong. It’s just that I’ve changed a lot recently. Gods are not unchanging.”
“I see. That’s really eye-opening~”
At that point, the conversation seemed to come to a natural pause. Both of them fell silent for a moment. Then, Sethlin looked at the light blue hair peeking out from under the magician’s hat and softly sighed. Her tone became more serious.
“So, I think it’s time to tell the truth now, Immortal Magician Timos Young. Who are you, really?”