I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

It was a space with nothing in it. It was a space filled with something.

The moment right now was a brief instant. The moment right now was eternal.

All opposing things are originally one. There is creation because of emptiness, life because of death, light because of darkness, and evil because of good, and despair can be spoken of because hope exists. This applies to the opposites as well.

Creation and destruction, beginning and end are two sides of the same coin. When the beginning is known, the length of all moments in between loses its meaning.

If it exists only between the concepts of beginning and end, then both the briefest instant and the longest eternity are merely processes within a single moment, and this fleeting moment can be infinitely extended.

The time of the celestial song, which caresses all things and interferes with the providence, has come. Oh, great yet insignificant time, be silent.

“Fire, according to my will, burn all things in existence.”

According to my will, fire blazed and formed into spheres.

“Water, according to my will, submerge the world.”

According to my will, water rippled and formed into spheres.

“Earth, according to my will, swallow all things.”

According to my will, earth and rock rose and formed into spheres.

“Lightning, according to my will, strike down and take all life.”

According to my will, the current of lightning that struck from the sky formed into spheres.

“Tree, according to my will, sprout and signal the beginning of all life.”

According to my will, the roots of trees grew and formed into spheres.

“Ice, according to my will, summon winter and signal the end of all life.”

According to my will, vapor froze and formed into spheres.

“Light, according to my will, illuminate all things in the world.”

According to my will, the light that was born shone brightly and formed into spheres.

“Darkness, according to my will, blind all eyes in the world.”

According to my will, the darkness that was born squirmed and formed into spheres.

The ten elemental spheres, which form the foundation of this world, floated around me.

“Originally, everything begins from the root of the source. You, too, are nothing more than branches of a great tree. Return to the source. Become as you were in the beginning.”

Then, the ten elemental spheres merged and split repeatedly. Just as one and infinity are the same, so too is merging and splitting.

Thus, the spheres transformed into translucent square-shaped objects.

They were both hot and cold.

They were both brightly shining and dark.

The beginning and the end of great magic now lay in my hands.

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Lancelot looked somewhat taken aback.

“What in the world is that magic…?”

“An imperfect beginning and end. And a symbol of perfect termination.”

The crystallization of magic that even Werner, in his prime, had only been able to use once before collapsing for a week.

“… So this is what it feels like. To place all things in the palm of your hand…”

Honestly, even Werner couldn’t fully use this Ars Magia. It was merely a wide-scale annihilation technique that forcibly released the magical restraints binding the opposing forces and allowed the backlash to explode. Though it was successful in development, it was a 50-point magic with no method of operation.

But even if it was imperfect, it was different from other magic. It was the deadliest technique that had destroyed an entire island nation. If used now, not only would Lancelot and I be caught up in it, but Camellia, Squall, the children she was with, and even nearby cities would be involved. But I didn’t care.

My life? The lives caught up in it? I didn’t care. I would kill that bastard here.

If I didn’t kill that bastard, even more lives would be lost in vain. Then, some sacrifice was inevitable. After all, every action carries unavoidable sacrifices.

[You idiot, that’s not how you use it.]

Baek? Why am I hearing her voice? She should be dead.

[You said it earlier. An instant is eternal. So even though it’s a very brief gap, I’m talking to you now. Stop it immediately.]

“Shut up! I’m going to kill that bastard!”

[If you do that, you’ll be affirming his words. Are you okay with that? You’ve never acted that way—destroying your pride just to die.]

“What should I do then?! There’s no other way!”

[My dear Baeksa, my beloved friend. No, Werner, there will always be good adults around you. So don’t make such hasty decisions.]

“What?”

[You’ll find out soon. And I love you.]

The moment my first love whispered these words was erased, as if it had never existed. And then someone grabbed my wrist. It wasn’t Camellia; it was a warm hand that trembled slightly…

“You fool… Are you planning to wipe out the whole area?”

“Grandpa… Elder… What… is this?”

I wasn’t the only one surprised. Camellia, who had been despairing, was also stunned and couldn’t close her mouth, and Lancelot’s pupils were dilated in shock.

“The Celestial Mage… Wasn’t he dead?”

“I thought I killed him… Did I mistake something…?”

The Celestial Mage, spitting out blood, answered.

“Yes, I certainly died. But…”

He clenched his fist and began to stare at us with the same fiery determination he once had.

“If you thought death could stop me, you were gravely mistaken. For the sake of my comrades, I can easily transcend the boundaries of life and death…”

“Still, you’re just a dying corpse. That doesn’t change.”

“Black Wicked Sword Saint, no, the devil who only took the form of Black Wicked Sword Saint… Today, I will take your life. I will take your life and restore my master’s honor.”

That bastard is Black Wicked Sword Saint, the master of the Celestial Mage? I’ve heard that Black Wicked Sword Saint is a person with no trace of corruption, yet this bastard is nothing but a mass of corruption?

“That’s an interesting joke. A third-rate magician, swept up by rage, takes out something dangerous; a third-rate swordsman, losing hersword because of her emotions; and a Celestial Mage, swayed by sentiment—what can they do together?”

“We can do this.”

The Celestial Mage broke the Ars Magia resting in my hand and absorbed the enormous amount of magical power contained within it.

“Let me borrow this for a moment. And with this, the burden on your body… there won’t be any…”

The Celestial Mage absorbed not only the magic from the Ars Magia but also the burden it brought.

“Elder, if you absorb that directly…!”

“Anyway, this is just a brief extension of life. It would be better to save even a single foolish youth rather than let him perish.”

As the Celestial Mage spoke, his body began to change. From an old man to the body of a young man, then from a young man to the body of a young white-haired boy.

“Reversing age? Even if you use that, it only extends your life by a few minutes. The fact that you will die doesn’t change. And to abandon your belief in not defying providence just for a few more minutes of life—how disgraceful.”

“Black Wicked Sword Saint, you’ll never understand, no matter how long you live. The meaning of something that must be protected, even if it means abandoning your pride.”

“What…”

The Celestial Mage spread his hands. Then, transparent spherical barriers appeared around Camellia and me, enclosing us as if we were trapped inside a giant sphere.

“Elder! What are you doing? Release this at once!”

“Celestial Mage! What is this?”

“You young ones are so noisy. You should be thankful when an adult gives you something.”

The Celestial Mage looked at me and smiled brightly.

“Among us… there are no traitors. Tell Zig not to push himself too hard, and tell those two foolish ones to stop fighting. And… tell Squall not to cry when she hears my death and my will… I was happy to have such a great friend like you.”

He then approached the transparent sphere, placed his hand on the direction facing mine, and spoke.

“Even if this transparent barrier blocks us, it’s no different from holding hands. Even if the wall between life and death blocks us, I am always by your side, my little one.”

Before I could respond, the transparent sphere shot up quickly, smashing through the ceiling and ascending toward the sky.

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“…Why didn’t you inform them about the traitor’s existence?”

The Celestial Mage, who had remembered the sad eyes of the traitor, the expression he made while stabbing, decided not to reveal the traitor’s existence.

“You will never understand, someone like you. But there’s no need for me to explain.”

“So, is that the end of your will?”

“No, my will is…”

The Celestial Mage gathered energy in both hands. It wasn’t the black energy like crow feathers, but pure white energy like clouds, forming into a sphere.

This was not a technique taught by Black Wicked Sword Saint but a technique created after seeing Werner’s magic…

“It will be the sound of your left eye bursting.”

Baek-cheong Gong-A (White Sky Fang).