Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

"What's the definition of magic ?"

When I asked, Sword Emperor Aritolt answered.

"A technique that uses mana to create miracles?"

"Five points."

A textbook answer if there ever was one.

I shrugged, and this time Great Sage Flunum answered.

"Magic is the ability to twist the 'principles' of the world."

"Isn't that a bit vague?"

"You could also call it the most advanced form of science."

"Oh, science."

"Wouldn't a gun look like magic to a primitive man?"

"Not a bad perspective. Seven points."

Spirit Monarch Park Hayan spoke up after some hesitation.

"A conversation with the world...... wouldn't it be?"

"Quite a fresh approach."

"Feeling mana, calling out to its flow, and achieving what you desire — that's what magic is......"

"Eight points."

Battle Emperor Yamamoto scowled.

"Hey, Kim Jeong-seok. Why the hell do we need a definition of magic in this situation?"

The scenery he pointed to was truly alien.

We were at the top of the tower.

The upper strata of the universe.

Looking down from the outer edge, a massive crater at the center of the Earth spewed volcanic ash without end.

Countless typhoons swept across the entire globe.

Ceaseless earthquakes had shattered the land into innumerable fragments.

On one side, floods.

On another, extreme drought.

In yet another place, plagues ran rampant, annihilating humankind.

Gazing upon all those phenomena, I gave my definition of magic.

"Disaster."

In the end, the ultimate goal of magic is.

Like everything that exists before our eyes.

"Magic is the power to create disaster."

To create disaster.

Sword Emperor Aritolt asked.

"Then you're saying all those calamities happening to Earth are the work of a mage?"

"Correct."

I nodded slowly.

Great Sage Flunum murmured as if something had dawned on him.

"Wait. If that's the case...... the dragons and demonic beasts we've been slaying, all the mysteries and aberrations...... they didn't appear and cause disasters......"

His eyes sharpened as he fixed his gaze on me.

"It was the opposite — because disasters struck first, they were able to manifest in this world?"

"As expected of the Great Sage. You see it clearly."

"......The ravaged land summoned demonic beasts, the polluted seas birthed aberrations, and the screams of despairing humanity created mysteries?"

"That's exactly right."

I clicked my tongue and added.

"Our approach was wrong from the start. We looked at the effects, mistook them for the cause, and fought accordingly — how could we have ever found the right answer?"

That was when it happened.

RRRUMBLE!

The entire tower trembled faintly.

Dust that had been floating in midair danced to the pulse of an unfamiliar force.

An overwhelming presence on a completely different level from anything before.

The density of the air changed.

Even the flow of time seemed to slow.

At the top floor of the tower, behind us.

Darkness rippled, space itself tore open, and a silhouette slowly revealed itself.

"......So that's the mage, huh."

"Calling it a 'mage' makes it sound kinda underwhelming, don't you think?"

I couldn't help but add a remark.

"You idiots, does magic look like a joke to you?"

I smirked and steadied our formation.

Because the master of the tower — the one who had caused all of this — had appeared.

The 'Absolute God.'

***

Kim Jeong-seok.

A name my parents gave me, telling me to live by the book.

Wanting to live up to that expectation, I really did live my life by the book.

I studied hard, landed a respectable job.

And then the world ended.

Some steps in the middle were glossed over, but.

In the end, there was nothing we could do.

Too many things had erupted all at once for humanity to handle.

Of course, I'd reached a fairly impressive level as a mage.

I'd accomplished quite a lot and was hailed as the strongest mage.

......So what?

I couldn't protect a single thing.

The magic I'd learned by the book couldn't create any variables.

There were so many categories of magic, and I didn't have the ability to master them all.

For example, even the classification of techniques called 'arts' splits into five broad categories.

Curses, Taoist arts, dark arts, illusions, and spirit arts.

And magic?

Its classifications alone exceed a hundred.

By element, by grade — even alchemy, divination, necromancy, death magic, summoning, and the domain of creation were all lumped together under the umbrella of 'magic.'

To learn a single desired spell, you had to master at least ten related sub-disciplines.

In short.

'There's way too much useless crap to learn.'

There's too much magic to learn by the book.

And so, 'classification' was needed.

The most common classification was the 'four elements' — fire, water, wind, and earth.

Each element had clear strengths and weaknesses.

Naturally, it could never reach the ultimate.

I was no different.

I'd mastered the four elemental magics and earned the title of 'Archmage.'

'What a joke — so shallow.'

At best, it was like scooping up a single handful of sand from the entire beach.

Not enough.

But the domain was so vast that it was unreachable.

A different approach was needed.

A turning point.

A more definitive 'method of classification'!

'Disaster.'

I looked at the 'god' standing before me.

The one who calls forth disaster.

Or perhaps, disaster itself.

That was it.

That was the answer.

But it was too late.

Sword Emperor Aritolt, Great Sage Flunum, Spirit Monarch Park Hayan, Battle Emperor Yamamoto.......

All dead. Only I survived.

I'd finally figured it out.

I'd finally realized it.

The bastard spoke.

"You are mistaken."

"......"

"This is not the end of the tower. I merely came down for a moment, curious to see your final despair."

"......I know."

I knew.

Only I, who had traveled the world in pursuit of truth.

'......I'm seriously going to die.'

About five minutes left at best.

I clenched my teeth.

That thing called a god.

The bastard at the top floor of the tower was just one of many gods of disaster.

Moreover, it was likely the one standing at the very apex among them.

It had merely come down for a moment to watch us despair and crumble.

Bitter and agonizing as it was.

Humanity — the Earth — was destined to perish.

But.

"I've been waiting for this."

I smiled.

"......?"

"I figured you'd come down once our doom was sealed."

And so.

"......I'm taking you with me, no matter what."

"You still have a move left?"

Damn right I do.

And it's the decisive one, at that.

SQUELCH!

I ripped out my dying heart.

COUGH!

Hacking up dead blood, I raised my heart high.

"We never planned on winning from the start."

The Earth was already destroyed — what good would winning do?

From the very beginning, our goal was one thing.

The collapse of the tower.

We'd climbed this far with the intent to drag everyone down together.

"A mere heart......"

"Does this still look like a heart to you?"

"......?"

Magic has many classifications.

Alchemy, divination, necromancy, death magic, summoning, and creation are all called magic in the broadest sense.

If you counted every sub-category, there'd be hundreds, even thousands.

My heart was the final hope — the culmination of all that magic, the magnum opus.

What do I mean?

"You fool. It's the Philosopher's Stone."

In that instant.

FWOOOOOOSH!

A magic circle was drawn across the entire Earth.

Veins burst from the corpses of my dead comrades, connecting to the Philosopher's Stone.

The mana of every life that had perished across the land converged.

The ultimate magic — gathering all of Earth's mana into my heart to forge the Philosopher's Stone!

I had traveled the world drawing magic circles solely for this one moment.

In the process, I'd mobilized the greatest alchemist, diviner, necromancer, death mage, summoner, and more.

A final strike forged from everyone's sweat and blood.

And now, I released all that gathered mana at once.

We never planned on winning from the start.

From the very beginning, we'd been running toward this single moment alone.

I extended my middle finger toward the 'god' and smiled.

"Explosions are art, you son of a bitch."

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

***

DING!

Pitch-black darkness, as dark as could be.

A familiar sound came from somewhere.

[You have killed the Absolute God, 'Force Majeure.']

[You are the first to annihilate an existence beyond human resistance.]

[Absorbing Force Majeure's 'Causality.']

[You have destroyed the Earth.]

[You are designated as the ultimate disaster.]

[Alongside the title of 'God Slayer,' you awaken the Authority, 'He Who Devours Disasters'!]