- Eval Pov -

  -

  The war had begun.

  Though only small skirmishes had broken out so far, the entire continent was already stirring.

  I could hear the whispers spreading through the cities.

  Rumors traveled faster than fire, and despite the desperate efforts of the nobles loyal to Freedom of Amber, they couldn't suppress the truth.

  The Morningstar Act, my organization, had finally made its move.

  A full-scale battle was inevitable.

  I leaned back in my chair, my eyes fixed on the large map spread across the table before me.

  It was covered with markers, each representing an important location strategic cities, military strongholds, and supply routes.

  Some of these places had already turned into battlegrounds, while others were still on the brink of conflict.

  My fingers lightly tapped against the edge of the table as I observed the movements.

  Cities were on edge.

  Towns were evacuating.

  Merchants were fleeing, their carts filled with whatever valuables they could carry.

  Even the most foolish commoner knew what was coming.

  War devours the biggest cities first.

  People weren’t waiting for the flames to reach them.

  They were leaving escaping to the countryside, to remote villages where neither side would find them useful.

  I exhaled slowly, then shifted my gaze from the map to the three individuals seated before me.

  Two of them were my own trusted subordinates.

  The third belonged to Time Wave.

  My eyes narrowed slightly as I observed him.

  His expression was calm—almost unnaturally so.

  I finally spoke, breaking the silence.

  “How prepared is Time Wave?”

  My voice was measured. Controlled.

  The representative didn’t hesitate.

  “We are prepared for anything.”

  His tone was just as composed as his face.

  “If a full-scale battle breaks out, we will not hesitate to fight. Our forces are ready.”

  I studied him carefully.

  There was no fear in his eyes.

  Good.

  Time Wave was not just some neutral research faction anymore.

  By forming a Sacred-God Contract with us, they had already chosen their side.

  There was no turning back now.

  This was exactly what I wanted to hear.

  The representative’s unwavering confidence reassured me.

  Time Wave would not falter.

  One of my men, seated beside me, cleared his throat.

  "In just two days, there have been five skirmishes."

  His tone was serious, but there was no panic in his voice.

  I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway.

  "The losses?"

  "About the same on both sides."

  I remained silent, waiting for details.

  He continued.

  "Freedom of Amber has lost three adept-level mages and one expert mage. We have lost one expert and one adept."

  I nodded, exhaling quietly.

  Not bad.

  Adept-level mages were valuable, but they weren’t the backbone of the war.

  And an expert-level mage? That was unfortunate, but expected.

  I had known from the moment we declared war that casualties were inevitable.

  Even so, I asked the next question that weighed on my mind.

  "Apprentices?"

  A pause.

  Then the answer came.

  "Each side has lost around three hundred."

  My fingers tapped against the table once.

  Three hundred on our side.

  Three hundred on theirs.

  Six hundred young lives, gone.

  And that was just in two days.

  I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes for a brief moment.

  From the perspective of the entire continent, five hundred to a thousand people wasn’t much.

  But these weren’t just ordinary people.

  They were mages.

  Whether good or bad, weak or strong, they were individuals capable of casting spells, shaping the world, and influencing the future.

  Each lost mage was a loss to civilization itself.

  Magic was not something easily replaced.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  It took years sometimes decades to train a competent mage.

  Yet, in just two days, we had lost hundreds.

  My thoughts were interrupted as I opened my eyes and looked at the map once more.

  And it was only going to get worse.

  I said nothing for a long time.

  Instead, I let my thoughts settle.

  Would I have preferred a world where this didn’t have to happen?

  Maybe.

  But I knew better than to entertain illusions.

  This was reality.

  I could only hope that, before all of this ended, the bloodshed would not go beyond what was necessary.

  -

  - Erick Nilf Pov -

  The battlefield had quieted—not in the sense that the war was over, but because every single apprentice and adept had stopped fighting.

  All eyes were on me and Estelia.

  At this point, the battle had become a fight between leaders.

  And the apprentices understood something important.

  They were no longer part of this fight.

  Even if they tried to intervene, it would mean nothing.

  They lacked the strength, the experience, and the sheer raw power to make any difference.

  Even the Freedom of Amber apprentices, who had been ready to kill us just minutes ago, were watching in silence.

  Because they, too, knew the truth.

  This wasn’t a battle between mages.

  This was a battle between monsters.

  Estelia stood before me, towering at four meters tall, her entire body wreathed in roaring flames.

  A fusion of elemental magic and transformation expertise.

  She wasn’t just casting fire.

  She was fire.

  Her body pulsed with heat so intense that the very air shimmered around her, warping reality itself.

  Even standing several meters away, I could feel my skin tingling, a warning of the deadly temperatures she was radiating.

  “I can not get close to him myself.”

  “My human body is not neary good enough to handle the brunt of her attacks...”

  I thought and did not move.

  Somewhere behind me, I heard two apprentices talking.

  One of them, clearly excited.

  "The battle between Experts is terrifying… but isn’t it also exciting?"

  The other apprentice, who seemed older let out a dry chuckle.

  "You don’t understand, do you?" He kept his eyes fixed on me and Estelia as he continued.

  “Expert-level mages… the ones who stand above Adept-level mages… They’re the real powerhouses of any magic organization."

  "What do you mean?" The first apprentice asked.

  "I mean, Experts are like one-man armies."

  The older apprentice’s voice was filled with respect.

  "They don’t just fight… They change battlefields. A single one of them can reshape the flow of war. That’s why they’re so rare. That’s why people like them are the core of any true organization."

  The first apprentice nodded, as if understanding for the first time just how different the levels of mages were.

  Then, after a moment of hesitation, he asked:

  "Then why are there so few Expert-level mages? And why doesn’t Morningstar Act have more of them?"

  At this, the older apprentice let out a laugh.

  "That’s simple." His eyes remained locked onto the battle as he spoke.

  "Because becoming an Expert takes time. And even after reaching that level… not many want to risk what they have."

  "Risk?"

  "Think about it," the older apprentice said.

  "You spend years maybe decades—pushing yourself, fighting, training, increasing your power. Then, after all that struggle, you finally reach the level of an Expert. You’ve gained knowledge, strength… and most importantly, a longer life."

  "So?"

  "So, why would you throw all of that away?"

  The older apprentice smiled bitterly.

  "Many Expert-level mages would rather live for themselves than fight for a cause."

  The first apprentice fell silent, contemplating those words.

  I smirked slightly as I listened to them.

  The older one wasn’t wrong.

  Most Experts were too selfish to fight in a war.

  They valued their power and their lifespan far too much to risk it for someone else’s ambitions.

  Even those who joined organizations often demanded wealth, power, or security in return.

  True loyalty was rare.

  That was why Expert-level mages were so valuable.

  Because the ones who actually stood on the battlefield and fought were few.

  I focused my gaze back on Estelia.

  She had stopped moving.

  Her burning eyes locked onto mine, calculating, watching.

  Her lips curled into a smirk.

  "So," she said, her voice a low, rumbling heat, filled with both confidence and amusement.

  "Are we done stalling, Erick?"

  I narrowed my eyes.

  She knew I was waiting, gathering my energy, making sure my Light Manifestation spells were at full capacity.

  But she wasn’t rushing in either.

  Because she knew that if she made one mistake, I would end this battle in an instant.

  It was a stalemate.

  Not because we were equal in strength—

  But because we were both waiting for the other to make a mistake.

  One wrong move.

  That’s all it would take.

  And in that moment, as I stared at Estelia, I realized something.

  She was enjoying this.

  Just like me.

  This battle—this clash of power, magic, and will—

  This was what we lived for.

  We were warriors, not politicians.

  This was where we truly belonged.

  I smiled.

  "No," I said, raising my hands.

  Light surged around me.

  "We’re just getting started."

  First attacks from Light Fighters were just to understand how powerful her defence and attacking capabilites.

  Now. I know what to do.

  -

  - Marsil Pov -

  I opened my eyes with a smirk.

  It had taken two days of relentless focus, but I had finally done it.

  Crimson Globe.

  The summoning spell that had given me so much trouble was now mine to command.

  I looked at my hand, feeling the faint traces of residual magical energy still pulsing through my fingertips.

  I had spent these past two days doing nothing but studying, practicing, and experimenting.

  In fact, I had known next to nothing about summoning spells before this.

  Unlike elemental magic, which relied on manipulating the world’s natural forces, summoning magic required creation, binding, and control.

  At first, it had felt impossible and even if I was able to summon and control Crimson Globe. I was still not good enough at all.

  It was pretty bad. Especially in the matter of controlling the globe.

  But that was exactly why I had refused to stop.

  Because if I couldn’t learn this, how could I grow stronger?

  And now…

  I stood up from my chair, stretching slightly.

  My body felt stiff from the long hours of focus, but my mind was sharper than ever.

  "Alright," I whispered to myself, closing my eyes.

  "Time to see it for real."

  Taking a deep breath, I raised my right hand.

  Magic flowed through me.

  Dark-red energy gathered at my fingertips.

  It was a strange sensation—completely different from casting elemental spells.

  There was no external force to manipulate, no natural element to control.

  This was something entirely mine.

  A spell that created something from nothing.

  "Cursed Crimson Globe."

  The moment I whispered its name, my magic condensed.

  The energy, which had been swirling chaotically, instantly took shape.

  A deep, blood-red sphere emerged in front of me, floating silently in the air.

  At first, it was nothing more than a glowing orb—the size of a human head, pulsing faintly like a living heart.

  But as I poured more energy into it, something changed.

  The red sphere began to harden, taking on a more solid form.

  Dark, vein-like cracks spread across its surface, and from its core—

  A bright-red eye snapped open.

  It was an eerie, black pupil surrounded by a crimson iris, staring directly at me.

  A strange sound filled the air—a soft hum, as if the sphere itself was breathing.

  I felt a connection forming between me and the entity I had summoned.

  It wasn’t a creature in the traditional sense.

  It had no mouth, no limbs, no body.

  Yet, somehow, I could feel its awareness.

  It was watching me.

  Waiting.

  Testing.

  Obey?

  The thought entered my mind—not in words, but in raw intent.

  The Crimson Globe was sentient, but not fully independent.

  It required a will—my will—to function.

  I smiled.

  "Good," I muttered.

  This was what I had been aiming for.

  And now, I had successfully bound it.

  A part of me still felt a lingering thrill at the process.

  This was a completely new kind of magic for me.

  Before this, I had always relied on direct combat—using spells to enhance my body or unleash destructive attacks.

  But this?

  This was different.

  I reached out, letting my fingers hover over the surface of the Crimson Globe.

  It did not feel hot despite its glowing appearance.

  Instead, there was a strange, almost cold energy radiating from it.

  A curse.

  That was the essence of this spell.

  The Cursed Crimson Globe wasn’t meant for direct attacks like a fireball or an explosion.

  Instead, it was a manifestation of bound energy—capable of infecting its target with a persistent, magical debilitation.

  A lingering effect that could weaken, disrupt, or even permanently alter an opponent’s magical abilities.

  A true summoning curse.

  "Now then…" I murmured, staring at the floating sphere. "Let’s see what you can do."

  With a single thought, I commanded the Crimson Globe to move.

  The red eye blinked once, then the sphere drifted forward, hovering smoothly through the air.

  It obeyed instantly.

  I tried changing its direction—

  Left. Right. Up. Down.

  It followed flawlessly, responding to my will without hesitation.

  Then, I tested something else.

  "Attack."

  The eye flashed brightly, and in an instant—

  A thin, red beam shot out, striking a nearby wooden chair.

  The chair didn’t exploded or burned. But it was pulverized.

  Turning into some sort of a wood dust.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  So that’s how it works.

  The effect would be far more devastating on a living target.

  I smirked.

  "I think I’m going to like this spell."

  After all, I had spent my entire life fighting people stronger than me.

  Now, I finally had a weapon that would allow me to tear them down piece by piece.

  The Crimson Globe floated silently beside me, its single red eye glowing like a dark omen.

  And for the first time in a long while, I felt completely ready for whatever came next.