I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

The world opened.

Literally, just as the word implied.

All the terrain was swallowed up. Darkness engulfed the world, consuming everything. And then, a single landscape was drawn.

This was the world of my mind, a world I had somehow forgotten.

-…….

The apostle, Ardavitri, gazed at the world of my mind with a vacant expression.

He stared at the black sky, which completely covered his body.

Swoooosh─.

Below it, the sound of crashing waves could be heard.

Yet, he could stand atop the waves.

Because this was my mindscape.

“……Is this a mindscape?”

“I knew, but it’s still absurd.”

Above the sky.

Stars began to move above the black sun, radiating a dark light.

‘My body feels a bit stiff.’

More precisely, it was creaking.

It was the price of using the power of form.

It was fine.

As long as I killed him before then.

-Brother.

The apostle’s words echoed in my mind.

It was always unpleasant to hear that conversation.

-How strange.

It seemed like Ardavitri was laughing.

-Why did you open your mindscape? Did you think you could defeat me?

Whack.

His wings spread. Ardavitri’s massive body began to rise into the sky.

-This place is different from Earth. Do you know what that means?

His power began to amplify.

Flash.

The stars flickered. A sinister and ominous aura that was different from before filled the darkness.

[Ah, so the shackles have been lifted.]

Ardavitri spoke.

Magi surged upward. The momentum had weakened, but a near-infinite amount of Magi started to linger around him.

-This place is good. The malevolent star is close.

‘So what.’

-The fact that the malevolent star is close means His power affects us more directly.

It sounded like he was laughing.

The stars twinkled. They weren’t the stars of Defying Heaven, Form, or Boundary.

Beyond them.

Ominous light began to spread everywhere. As soon as they saw it, the Heavenly Demon and the Thousand Sorcerer’s faces hardened.

-What a pity. If only the offering of the Holy Abomination had been fully made, I could wield twice the power of this.

‘You talk too much.’

I smirked as I replied.

From the moment I heard the word ‘world.’ I had some idea of what would happen.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I was still at an advantage.

I raised my hand. First, I needed to prepare.

Swoooosh──.

The waves began to rise. Initially, they were weak. But as they responded to my will, they began to pile up layer upon layer.

[This is the end for you.]

The ominous light rained down from outside.

Each of the stars falling held immense power.

[Starfall.]

The sinister starlight from space descended upon the world.

Simultaneously, the black stars began to rotate.

The name of the star was Defying Heaven.

[Hmm?]

Corrupt.

A power that denied everything resided in the destruction. A will that sought to annihilate everything was embedded within it.

Huge waves surged up, rising from below to above.

My body couldn’t handle my own power.

Even with the body of a dragon and the body of a giant race, along with the best external techniques, I couldn’t endure it.

And yet, my power was fully unleashed in this mindscape, without any ‘restrictions.’

“What is…”

I heard the Thousand Sorcerer’s astonished voice.

Destruction surged up. It wasn’t just any mountain, but one overwhelmingly larger than the apostle.

Clouds that seemed to erase the light of the world began to move in the sky.

A power that sought to annihilate all living beings. Extinction. That power moved.

Crackle.

Lightning sparked. The clouds that covered the world began to move and gather. They formed into a single bolt of lightning.

Crack-kaboom!

It was massive. Ridiculously massive bolt of lightning. Lightning so vast that it filled the horizon began to glow ominously.

“…….”

They devoured every star falling into my world.

It didn’t end there. They gained a will. They targeted the intruder, the one who dared to invade my world and harm me.

Boom!

The lightning struck down. Lightning with the intent to annihilate life descended upon the apostle.

One bolt struck down, and then another began. One bolt turned into dozens of bolts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of bolts became hundreds, and hundreds became thousands.

After thousands of bolts passed through, what remained was Ardavitri, with most of his body burned.

[Ku-ugh.]

“The excitement you had when your shackles were lifted is gone now, huh?”

All that was left was his ragged appearance.

His blood-soaked body was mostly burnt, turned pitch black.

The Magi I sensed was still vast, but I could feel that the life of the apostle was fading.

[Do not mock… an apostle.]

Ardavitri’s Magi surged ominously.

His form shrank. Though still large, it was smaller than before.

He was roughly 10 meters tall. I could sense his will had abandoned the form of the apostle.

He had been chosen by a god and had destroyed countless worlds.

He had exterminated basic life forms by the billions and enslaved hundreds of billions.

The name that all feared the most was the apostle. Thus, the apostles clung to their authority. It was that authority that brought them power from their gods and made their gods even stronger.

Reverence and fear.

In pursuit of those, the Mines committed acts of terrorism.

The fact that the apostle had taken that form meant he had become more suited for battle.

It also meant he had abandoned his pride.

A clear intent to kill me was felt.

-If I kill you here, dealing with the rest will be no problem.

‘Can you?’

-I can.

Ardavitri raised his arms.

Eight pairs of arms moved. Most of the weapons had been destroyed, but at some point, they were restored.

And behind the weapons, eight humanoid figures appeared.

[I am the one who defiles everything.]

The dolls took their stances, and their will began to rise.

Magi surged endlessly.

“This is insane. Can all apostles do something like that?”

“This feels disgusting. He’s using my power?”

Kim Seo-hyun took a breath.

A faint glow remained on his sword, less intense than before.

“I’ll handle that one, the one with the whip.”

“I’ll take on three.”

“I’ll take on four… though that might be a bit too much.”

Kim Seo-hyun, the Thousand Sorcerer, and the Heavenly Demon spoke in turn.

I chuckled softly.

“I’ll create an opening, so save your strength.”

“How will you do that?”

“I’ve been saving up strength since earlier.”

“?”

Kim Seo-hyun tilted her head in confusion.

But I could feel it clearly. The destruction I first unleashed had already made a full circuit around my world.

Swoooosh──.

Each time the destruction passed, it piled up layer upon layer. Eventually, it would erase continents on Earth.

I heard the sound of waves.

From far, far away.

Ardavitri opened his mouth. All the Magi condensed. The ominous Magi enveloped the world. Black stars began to rise from the universe.

They illuminated Ardavitri.

As the malevolent stars shone upon him, the Magi became increasingly alien.

The Magi, like heat mirages, began to restore Ardavitri’s body. Stronger and more potent power gathered in his mouth.

[Die.]

The technique, projecting eight different intents, was aimed at us. The power concentrated in his breath was targeting me.

Swoooosh──.

Everything around me began to darken.

Behind me, the destruction rose high, as if it would engulf the world. A force that seemed capable of eradicating everything.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It’s fine.”

I steadied my breathing. I had poured a lot—an incredible amount of power into this. I had to finish this with this one blow.

I used the Absolute Stat of Black (黑) to create an opening. The destruction passed by us.

It collided with Ardavitri’s attack.

As the destruction clashed, the others moved.

The Heavenly Demon, the Thousand Sorcerer, and Kim Seo-hyun all moved to strike at the enemy’s neck.

Ardavitri’s body was in tatters.

His body was already beyond functional.

It seemed impossible for him to restore his body with his authority.

The apostle let his arms hang down.

The eight arms began to transform into dolls. They were there to hold off the Heavenly Demon, the Thousand Sorcerer, and Kim Seo-hyun.

The apostle was coming toward me.

-How does it feel, brother?

‘What?’

I clenched my fist.

I no longer felt the same strength as before. The sheer force that made the very space scream when I clenched my fist had been consumed by the intense drain of power.

The apostle grew smaller as he walked toward me. He was now barely 3 meters tall.

-Do you still think you have a chance? Most of them are starting to fall into despair.

“…….”

I had no time to care about what he said. I moved my body.

I clenched my fist. Black Heaven responded.

Whoosh. Black flames ignited.

The odds were… quite hopeless. It was true that I had been cornering Ardavitri.

However, his power was more persistent and bothersome than I had expected.

‘At least.’

I should die with him.

I straightened my back. Even if I died at his hands, I wouldn’t die in vain.

I clenched my fist and punched Ardavitri’s face.

-This is different from before.

Ardavitri laughed as my fist hit him.

He clenched his fist. Though he only had one pair of arms left, it was enough. Ardavitri threw a punch at my face.

Boom!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

My neck snapped back. Something liquid flowed from my nose. My stomach churned. I felt like throwing up.

I held it all back and threw another punch.

Bang!

-That punch actually hurt. But still.

Ardavitri spoke in a voice filled with annoyance.

-It’s my victory.

Light poured down.

The world shattered. The shockwave caused by the destruction of the mindscape swept through everything.

Nothing remained, just a desolate land, as if a meteor had left a crater in the earth.

Ardavitri arrived there and rejoiced.

-How does it feel, brother?

Ardavitri’s body was in tatters. Most of his body had lost functionality.

For centuries to come, Ardavitri would be unable to act as an apostle due to the severe damage he had sustained.

And yet, he felt joy.

Joy from defeating his rampaging brother.

Joy from surviving a threat that could have killed him.

‘Just a bit more.’

There was just a small gap left.

One more attack would have been enough.

I bit down on a potion and swallowed it.

Thump.

My heart reacted. It beat in a way different from before.

The Energy of Defying Heaven gleamed. It was as if my other half had arrived, reacting in tandem.

‘No way.’

With a blank expression, Lee Seo-ha looked up at the sky.

Ardavitri also paused.

‘What is this?’

His body trembled involuntarily.

It felt like he was facing a nemesis. If he were to kill Lee Seo-ha, he could, but it felt like the price would be eternal annihilation.

Yet Ardavitri moved.

His combat instincts, honed from conquering, ruling, and destroying countless worlds, forced his broken body into motion. He raised his tattered hand, aiming for Lee Seo-ha’s neck with a knife-hand strike.

Boom!

The strike aimed at Lee Seo-ha’s neck stopped. No, it was blocked. It seemed as if a shield made of a mass of starlight had intertwined and stopped it.

At the same time, a sizzling sound echoed as he watched his hand melt away.

Pure white feathers scattered in all directions.

Lee Seo-ha felt his power recovering slightly.

‘This is…’

It was resonating.

The Energy of Defying Heaven was resonating with the power of starlight, replenishing itself.

He had seen this phenomenon before.

When he had reached the level of confrontation, Seo Ga-yeon had displayed this very phenomenon.

“It’s fine.”

Seo Ga-yeon spoke, holding her body tightly.

At the same time, her power resonated. Seo Ga-yeon blinked her eyes.

She had seen this phenomenon long ago.

It was a phenomenon where the power they shared appeared when she and Lee Seo-ha resonated together. When Lee Seo-ha saw it, he had said he didn’t understand this power.

And that was Lee Seo-ha, who knew almost everything.

They were resonating.

At this moment, the power of starlight was trying to escape Seo Ga-yeon’s control.

The same was happening with Lee Seo-ha’s Energy of Defying Heaven. He was about to hold it with his Absolute Stat, but he stopped.

Black and white swirled together.

Ashen power covered the world.