The Book Eating Magician

Around five minutes before the battle began, when there was still a gap of 10,000 kilometers, Theodore was watching a wonderful landscape. It was a scenery which couldn’t be glimpsed by humans, unless civilization was several generations ahead of what it was now.

The sky beyond the sky... It was an infinite space where the sun and moon shone regularly—the universe.

‘...This is the cradle of stars!’

This was a world that many pioneers had failed to return from. Theodore was filled with fear and joy as he gazed upon the magnificent scenery. His material world was nothing more than a small crumb before this infinite space.

Wasn’t this huge thing amazing by itself? Theodore desperately agreed with this point. He was reminded of words left behind in old books. When people looked at this universe without knowing anything, the small brain of a mortal wouldn’t be able to withstand its grandeur and size.

However, Gluttony’s tone was blasé as usual as he explained, -Well, it isn’t that special. There are phobias everywhere.

‘Like a phobia of heights?’

-It is a bit different. The fear of height arises from knowing what will happen when you fall from a high place. It is a reaction from learning rather than instincts. A similar phobia is… Yes, it is like thalassophobia (a fear of the sea). Cognitive dissonance is one of the reasons for that. It is different from knowing with your head and feeling with your body. The discomfort and anxiety of the things that can’t be seen are what cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad for Theodore. He was able to regain his composure with simple mental focus. This ‘wasn’t’ his vision.

“...It will be soon.” Theodore was still standing on a glacier in the northern hemisphere as he watched the upcoming destruction. The shining pattern on his right hand was the key—the administrative rights to this material world.

It was the responsibility and right of the guardian of the world, which had been handed to him by Dragon Lord Clipeus. The administrative rights were a force that couldn’t be used unless a global threat was getting close, but it had recognized Wrath’s approach for a long time. However, it wasn’t possible to use it to draw mana like last time.

‘It is likely that Wrath will interfere with everything in this material world. If so, it is over.’

It was breathtaking to use the administrative privilege to watch this scene from the perspective of the world. Fortunately, there was no sign that Wrath’s power was increasing. Theodore calmed his head and said quietly, “Gluttony, a count to ten.”

-Understood.

Detection magic was useless when the distance was thousands of kilometers. It depended on one of the Seven Sins, Gluttony.

Color started to gradually disappear from Theodore’s eyes which were concentrating in earnest, and it seemed that time was slowing down. A monster was approaching at a speed of more than 10 kilometers per second. If there was even one second of error, he would lose 1 kilometer.

-Ten.

Theodore stopped breathing as Gluttony started counting.

-Nine, eight, seven, six...

As soon as the count reached five, Theodore aimed at the sky with his left hand. Just like how it had been mentioned before, there was a limit on the use of the administrative authority. However, this function was usable without any problems.

「 Opening the dimensional door with the authority of administrator ‘Theodore Miller.’ 」

This was a shortcut he had thought of a long time ago. A normal summoning would consume a great deal of power and magic. However, by becoming the administrator, Theodore could connect two dimensions in an instant at his own convenience.

Just after that...

「―Come, Fafnir! 」

The dragon, Fafnir, who guarded Muspelheim—in the past, it responded to Theodore’s call and wiped out Pride in seven seconds. The air whitened. Everything was burning up as the atmosphere of Muspelheim flowed into this material world. The minus 50 degrees Celsius Arctic didn’t shrink back from this heat.

『 Complete. The limit of activity in this dimension is 43 seconds. 』 As the dragon spoke in a loud voice, the sacred white flames were like a living sun.

During the Age of Mythology, Fafnir had burned the world tree and created the place called the Red Plateau. Now, according to the will of the summoner, Fafnir turned its head toward where Wrath would fall.

-Two.

The moment that Gluttony counted down to two...

“Fafnir, now!”

『 Obliterate. 』

At Theodore’s command, Fafnir opened its mouth and let out a breath that was like a ‘laser.’

―――――――――――――!!

In the aftermath, the glacier melted, and the blizzard turned to steam. The extreme heat caused a catastrophic event despite the breath not landing a direct hit. If this place wasn’t the northern hemisphere, it would’ve been visible to everyone. The pillar of light that shot up from the ground toward the sky seemed to cut straight through the night sky.

‘Okay, the speed is perfect!’

There was one second left in the countdown as Theodore’s vision filled with the light exiting the planet’s atmosphere. He managed to tune in his vision with the perspective of the planet using the administrative right. The moment his eyes came into contact with Wrath...

“It is good. Chunk of scrap metal!” Theodore shouted as he raised his left hand. “The welcome is a bit big but please accept it!”

He didn’t know if it was transmitted or not. Regardless, the laser crossed 10,000 kilometers and swallowed it up.

This was the destructive laser that Fafnir had shot out with all its power. There was no noise. In the universe where there was no air, there was a fierce light. The laser caused an explosion once it came into contact with Wrath. Half of the continent would’ve been blown away if it had exploded in the material world. However, Theodore kept staring vigilantly at this scene.

[External wall damage. Checking the changes in physical properties from the 1st to 14th layer due to the superheat. Self-recovery. Running a separation sequence.]

Wrath wasn’t able to defend against the most powerful attack of Fafnir, the incarnation of Muspelheim. On the sphere that was several kilometers in diameter, a portion of its damaged outer wall peeled off like a snake’s skin. The unrecoverable part separated before the accumulated heat could be conducted further.

Even so, Wrath was neither surprised or confused. In addition to the orichalcum that could endure the heat for a few seconds, it ran countermeasures against this laser.

[This laser is an eraser, a primitive type of ultra-high heat ray. The unique weakness of the ray-based attack means reducing heat conductivity will be effective. Repair. The dimensional boundary surface on the outer wall surface will block heat conduction.]

The surface of the huge silver Wrath turned blue.

[Summoning a dimensional boundary. Dimensional name ‘Cocytus’, width kept at 15 meters.]

The dimensional boundary that appeared on Wrath’s outer wall started to absorb most of the heat. As an absolute dimension like Muspelheim, the chill that overflowed from Cocytus canceled out the heat.

“That damn metal can...!”

It was a wonderful response worth of admiration if Wrath wasn’t the enemy of the world. Theodore was chilled by the swift action and realized that Fafnir could no longer help. Wrath moved through the terrible heat. 43 seconds. The dragon, which would’ve caused millions of victims on the material world, ended up being sent back with little profit.

“Kuk, I wasn’t expecting anything in any case!”

It wasn’t entirely as he said. No matter how great the power of the laser was, Wrath was still a destructive weapon that could crush a star. It was amazing that the outer wall was even slightly damaged. Theodore sympathized with the world since he could tune into the senses of the planet.

Wind was blowing in the vacuum that was infinite space. It was a name for the waves generated by radiation, ultraviolet rays, and all types of other energies. Interstellar wind… Feeling the wind that couldn’t be felt with human senses, Theodore invoked the wind magic he had inherited from a senior—White Tower Master Heathcliff. Theodore read the sky with the body of a mortal and wielded the energy storm. Before he became a transcendent, the sky had been incomprehensible, but he could now handle this wind.

「 Together! Wind that flows between stars and planets! 」

He wouldn’t have been able to control it for one second without the administrative privilege. Theodore constantly suppressed the interstellar wind that was trying to escape his control while staring at Wrath, which had returned to silver again. The threat that was Fafnir had disappeared, so Wrath’s original outer wall was restored. It was in order to reduce the consumption of power as much as possible and to carry out an efficient ‘eradication.’

‘...Yes, keep looking down on me.

‘I will smash you to pieces!’

「 Supercell, activation. 」

Theodore released the reins of the interstellar wind. It had reached a terrifying scale despite having only gathered for a few seconds. He had no choice but to do so since he couldn’t control the overflowing forces in this limitless space. The sunlight that fed life in the material world and the phenomenon which caused the tides were just a fraction of the power that was present in the universe.

「 Aiolos’ withdrawal! 」

The starlight was distorted by Theodore’s hand gestures, and a tremendous power wound around Wrath. This was a power which would blow away the planet’s atmosphere if it hit kept striking the silver sphere.

Jjejeok! Jjejejeok!

Air currents gathered and made noise. Part of Wrath’s outer wall became like cracked pottery. The silver surface was split apart by the interstellar wind, revealing a rugged form.

Theodore’s Supercell magic proved to be a valid blow.

[Sensing a large-scale pressure. Interstellar wind. Primitive magic that circulates compression and emission. It is suggested to form a vacuum area while simultaneously using repulsive force to offset the pressure. Repair.] Wrath, however, responded as if it knew. [Reflect Force is deployed, vacuum wave launched on the path.]

The power of the magic which controlled the interstellar wind was far superior to ultimate magic. However, its scale was so large that there was no room for sophisticated magic formulas. Simply generating a force field that dissipated the magic’s force meant that more than half the pressure disappeared.

Once the ‘vacuum’ was turned toward Wrath’s path, the curtain made of interstellar wind tore, and a hole was created for Wrath.

[Breakthrough.]

The interstellar wind was torn apart. As Theodore coughed up a bit of blood from the recoil, he calculated Wrath’s accelerated path again.

“Dammit. I heard it was strong, but this is too dirty...!”

Theodore thought that at least 100 meters would be overcome with these attacks, but his calculations were already wrong. He gritted his teeth as he looked up at the sky. A star was falling rapidly. The brightness of it couldn’t be seen on the surface of the planet yet. However, if Wrath kept approaching at this speed, then it would be seen in five minutes. When Theodore thought about this, he missed a few seconds from hesitation.

‘Let’s go.’

Theodore’s body turned cobalt.

Forced Harmonization - Phase 2.

Mode ‘INDRA’.

It wasn’t lightning but the next step. This was plasma, something which would be classified as a class 4 material in a scientific civilization. Theodore passed through the atmosphere of the planet in an instant. The output and speed of plasma were better than those of lightning.

Kwarururung! There was a thunderous sound as Theodore rose into the sky. A plasma tail trailed behind him as he left the atmosphere in a matter of seconds, reaching Wrath that was thousands of kilometers away. Theodore was moving absurdly fast in an unobstructed space. It was at a speed of 100 kilometers per second or more.

‘I will blow it away!’

Shortly after that, Theodore rushed forth without the slightest deceleration and reached the silver sphere!