The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

The worst possible scenario unfolded.

They had barely been able to manage Branka, who was planning to take over Pandea through the power of the Library of All Knowledge. But then, the Head of the Library had awakened and declared all life on the 8th floor would be annihilated.

It only took one glance to know the Head of the Library wasn't someone they could convince. After all, it was a machine devoid of emotions.

- It seems it's trying to take us out too. What an aggressive way of handling things.

Jamad and Seol were struggling from the aftermath of the Forbidden Shamanic Spell. They could launch only one or two more attacks.

'And the Head of the Library…'

Even if their bodies were in perfect condition, it would have been hard to deal with the Head of the Library.

In a sense, it was like the god of this library—a god who corrects order and delivers punishment.

'The Head of the Library doesn't want to fix things. It wants to erase everything as if nothing had ever happened!'

Branka had rolled down below after being struck by the Night Crow.

If he were still intact, he would have acted to stop the Head of the Library's rampage.

But since Branka was gone, it was up to Seol's group to stop the Head of the Library.

'It isn't over yet…'

The situation was worse than they had imagined.

Seol hurriedly called out the two Magicians.

"Joneh! Santio!"

And they responded immediately.

"We're already preparing! Don't distract us!"

Joneh and Santio were already casting magic, standing far from the trolls.

The trolls' attention had already turned toward the Head of the Library.

'We need to buy some time for Joneh and Santio.'

At that moment.

Ziinng…

BOOM!

From far off near the horizon, a beam of light descended from the sky. It looked as if it had encircled the world and was gradually approaching the snowy mountain.

- The complete annihilation of life on the 8th floor is in progress.

Everything would disappear once that light touched them—not just the Frostmaw Tribe and the snowy mountains but also Seol's group.

'We must stop it!'

However, before Seol could move, the Frostmaw Tribe sprang into action.

"Kill it!"

"Bring down the machine!"

Countless trolls appeared.

Each was massive, seemingly capable of inflicting considerable damage on the Head of the Library.

"Kill it!"

BOOM!

Crash!

But that was only how things looked on the surface. The reality of the situation was quite different.

"Agh!"

"Cough…"

BOOM!

A simple swing of the Head of the Library's arm sent the trolls flying. They were all defeated with a single blow.

However, that didn't evoke fear. More trolls rushed the Head of the Library as if they were born to die.

"Branka will come!"

"We must hold off the machine until then!"

The scene unfolding before them seemed to reflect the trolls' tenacity.

Someone with reason couldn't throw themselves into death, but savagery made that possible.

It did what reason couldn't.

Creak… Creak…

The trolls clung fiercely to the Head of the Library.

"Protect the Shamans!"

"Suppress it!"

In such bitter cold, recklessly charging in could spell death even for the Frostmaw Tribe. Of course, it wouldn’t be the cold that killed them—it would be the battle.

There was no way they didn't know this.

Approaching the Head of the Library meant death.

However, just because they knew this didn't mean they could stop themselves.

Clang!

Clang!

"Die! Die!"

Thud—!

"C… Cough…"

The Head of the Library's arm pierced through a troll's abdomen.

Crunch…

With its innard lost, the troll clung to the Head of the Library's arm with all it could muster.

Crack…

The bloody and frozen body of the impaled troll hindered the Head of the Library's movements.

The eyes of the watching trolls changed as they witnessed the scene.

If the Head of the Library had life, it wouldn't have dared to continue fighting after seeing those eyes.

"It showed a gap! Now's the time!"

"AAAHHH!"

The trolls swarmed in, desperately trying to wedge their bodies into the Head of the Library.

Upon watching the scene unfold, Seol and the two Magicians understood how the Frostmaw Tribe had come to dominate the frigid lands of the North.

They were beings blessed by savagery.

Crack!

Crack!

However, the Head of the Library was a being on a different level.

It was a being that, without Branka, could perfectly wipe out the Frostmaw Tribe with sheer physical strength alone.

- Complete annihilation in progress, 20%…

A fifth of the 8th floor's world had already vanished as the battle raged on.

BOOM—!

Each time the light erased part of the world, dark remnants swirled nearby.

Seol's Eyes of Foresight immediately recognized what those dark remnants were.

'Letters…'

[- The landscape of the Northern lands, whiter than anywhere else…]

The world was turning into letters and disappearing.

Seol thought it was only natural for things to end this way, but when it actually happened, he felt an inexplicable emotion.

As the light pushed the darkness back from the farthest reaches, it was neither warm nor kind. It was simply carrying out its task.

Thud!

Thud!

The Frostmaw Tribe was turning into corpses.

Click…

The Head of the Library, who had been swinging its arms without hesitation, paused for a moment. Then, it looked at the figure that had caused this.

"Stop."

The Night Crow was gripping one of the Head of the Library's arms.

Crack!

Then they hit the Head of the Library's abdomen.

Fwoosh…

Although it had some effect, it wasn't enough to stop it.

Whoosh—!

"Ugh…"

The Night Crow was sent flying. They rolled across the snow and got back up.

'Damn it… Joneh, Santio! Hurry!'

Would the two Magicians be able to complete their magic before the light reached them?

- Complete annihilation in progress, 50%…

* * *

Half of the world had already vanished. The light crept steadily toward the snowy mountain, and the Frostmaw Tribe cried out in despair.

"This can't be…"

"Will everything really end like this?"

"Where's Branka?!"

Paf—!

The Night Crow moved once more.

They had to do everything they could

Crack—!

Once again, they clung to the Head of the Library's arm.

This time, it wasn't Seol controlling the Night Crow but Jamad.

Creak…

The Head of the Library raised its other arm to strike down the Night Crow.

Flinch…

Creak… Creak…

But the other arm didn't move.

Wondering if it was the Frostmaw Tribe, the Night Crow turned their head around and saw a single troll clinging to its arm.

It was Branka who had finally climbed up the snowy mountain.

"Huff… Huff… Jamad. If I, Branka, had lived in the same era as you… Would our fates have been different?"

"Who knows…? Maybe I would have made you my right-hand man."

"Pff… Hahaha!"

"We're having such a trivial conversation at a time like this… Ugh!"

Crack—! Crack—!

The Head of the Library slammed its arms to the ground, trying to shake off Branka and the Night Crow.

To stop it, the Frostmaw Tribe members rushed forward once more.

"Branka!"

"Protect the Chief!"

However, both Branka and the Night Crow had withstood the impact.

With a voice growing weaker, Branka said.

"Let it end with just my death."

"What…?"

"The remaining tribe members… They had nothing to do with my plan. Let them live."

"…"

"Please."

The voice was so clear that one of the warriors of the tribe who heard it shouted angrily.

"Branka! Are you planning to die?! Without you, what do we have to live for?!"

"Don't run!"

"Give us a reason to fight! For what are we supposed to…"

Jamad replied.

"I'll do my best…"

"Then… I'll believe in you."

Paf!

The Night Crow was sent flying from the impact.

With one hand free, the Head of the Library grabbed one of Branka's legs.

The black remnants resurfaced.

[- The great chief of the Frostmaw Tribe, Branka. His legendary presence…]

His legs started turning into letters, disappearing into the void.

"Haha… I'm not running away. I'm clearing the path."

"Branka!"

"Trolls, fight for the future."

Branka's eyes flared up with a brilliant blue flame.

Fwoosh—!

[Branka used Forbidden Shamanic Spell: Ice Tomb.]

[Ice Tomb deals massive cold damage in a small area.]

[Ice Tomb inflicts Abnormal Status: Freeze proportional to the damage dealt to the nearest enemy.]

[The caster is also inflicted with Abnormal Status: Freeze.]

[Cold Penetration is applied to the damage.]

[The caster is immune to Ice Tomb’s damage.]

[The Forbidden Shamanic Spell uses the caster's Energy of Life as a sacrifice.]

CRACK—!

Branka was frozen along with the Head of the Library.

The once rampant Head of the Library was now frozen in place, unable to move.

And the advancing light momentarily stopped.

"Branka…"

But.

Crack…

Crack—!

Despite Branka's sacrifice, one of the Head of the Library's arms didn't get frozen.

- Partial freeze confirmed. Attempting normalization.

"Haha… Didn't I tell you? That isn't how you're supposed to use a Forbidden Shamanic Spell."

Just as the situation seemed to plunge into despair again, the two Magicians shouted.

"It's ready!"

The Night Crow smiled.

"But still, well done. I'm going to finish things off… Start!"

WHOOM…

Several magic circles appeared around Santio.

WHOOSH…

They began spinning, converging into a straight line in front of Santio.

Santio's Aries' head swelled dramatically.

[Santio used Exceptional Skill: Celestial Alignment.]

[Your magic penetration is greatly increased.]

[Magic resistance is ignored.]

"One more!"

ZIINNG-!

[Santio used Exceptional Skill: Sluggish.]

[The target's magic resistance is greatly decreased.]

[It was affected by magic penetration.]

[Magic resistance is ignored.]

Whoosh…

The Head of the Library was enveloped in brilliant light alongside the snowstorm.

"Here we go!"

Joneh's cloak flapped violently.

[Joneh used Exceptional Skill: Scorpion Door.]

[The target is transferred to a linked mark.]

[A transfer route has been created to the linked mark.]

[The success rate is influenced by the target's size and magic resistance.]

A scorpion formed by stars lashed the ground beneath the Head of the Library with its tail.

BOOM—!

"It was a success!"

After reaching the 4th floor, Seol had considered the possibility of a confrontation with the Head of the Library.

Ever since meeting Joneh, he had thought of a way to deal with the Head of the Library.

- How about using teleportation magic on that giant and moving it to another floor?

- Something so big? That’s impossible.

- Why?

- To teleport something so big, I would need to draw a sigil. It’s a magical process where I have to mark the location I’m teleporting it to. It’s a magic ritual, so there’s no way around it.

Taking that hint, Seol stopped Joneh before leaving the 4th floor.

- Sir Joneh.

- Yes? What's wrong?

- Could you leave a transfer mark here?

After listening to Seol's explanation, Joneh accepted the request.

- Hmm… You have a point. It wouldn't hurt to be careful. Give me a moment.

As a result, a transfer gate leading to the 4th floor of the Library of All Knowledge was created. And that transferring door appeared beneath the Head of the Library's feet.

"We got him! Now… What?!

Joneh screamed at what he saw.

Crack—!

Snap!

The Head of the Library had taken a step out of the gate.

It seemed Ice Tomb had already worn off.

Seol rushed toward the Head of the Library.

"Stop… Cough…"

Fwoosh!

The Head of the Library's arm pierced through Seol's body.

"NO!"

But instead of blood, his body dispersed like smoke.

From behind the black smoke, his real body appeared.

WHOOM—!

His arm grew larger.

"Fall!"

BOOM—!

The Head of the Library's body tilted backward.

Whoosh…

BOOM—!

The Head of the Library fell through the Scorpion Door to the 4th floor. It twitched, looking like it might get up at any moment.

Seol approached the Scorpion Door and rummaged through his belongings, pulling out a book he had taken from the 4th floor.

The book's author was Joneh Fria.

- So, if we open the first chapter of this book, the most powerful Magician in human history will pop out?

- Exactly. What do you think?

Seol reached into the Scorpion Gate and opened the book.

As he felt something starting to flow out of the book, he quickly threw it and pulled his arm out.

Then he immediately shouted.

"Close the gate!"

[You have violated the rules.]

[The story contained in 'The Prosperity and Glory of the Zodiac' Chapter 1 is now unfolding.]

[- Azran! A frost magician powerful enough to even freeze death! Wherever he appeared, everything turned into ice…]

[Warning! You have committed a grave mistake within the Library of All Knowledge!]

[Your foolish actions have been reported to the Head of the Library.]

BOOM—!

The Scorpion Door closed.

"Wh-what happened…?"

CRACK—!

The closed Scorpion Door started to freeze over.

And then, a message appeared.

[The position of Head of the Library of All Knowledge is currently vacant.]

…